The gates of Yunyang Academy were already open. Some of the teachers and servants had fled, leaving only the guards to protect the students.
Most of these students were the sons of the powerful and wealthy. If anything happened to them, no one could bear the responsibility.
"Baobao." Yi Qing was being protected by Xiao Jinghan as they rushed towards the dormitory to find Baobao.
Amid the chaos and screams, the students of Yunyang Academy witnessed a woman with her hair unkempt and her clothes and belt in disarray shouting her son's nickname and running inside. This scene would be engraved in their memories for a lifetime, for it was at this moment that they truly understood the profound bond between a mother and her child.
"Mother, I'm here." Baobao couldn't help but smile.
There were many people in his courtyard, and most of the bats dared not swoop down.
Seeing that Baobao was safe, Yi Qing rushed over and hugged him tightly. She was really scared.
Since Baobao entered the academy, she had rarely been with him. And due to the numerous affairs in the general's mansion, she often neglected him. After this incident, she decided not to let Baobao live in the academy anymore. Only by seeing him every day could she feel at ease.
"What's going on?" Xiao Jinghan looked at Li De, the guard of Yunyang Academy. "We've already sent a batch of medicine to Yunyang Academy before. If all the places were fumigated, the bats wouldn't be so rampant."
Li De bowed and replied, "General, those arrangements were made by Mr. Liu, the supervisor of the academy. I don't know the details."
"Ruohong, quickly light the medicine." Yi Qing didn't bother to pursue the responsibility for now. Handling the matter at hand was the top priority.
"Go and invite all the teaching staff of Yunyang Academy here. And arrest all those who fled from the academy tonight." Xiao Jinghan gave the order.
Lu Tianxun had been fully occupied with searching for Wu Min recently and hadn't paid attention to the affairs of Yunyang Academy. Who would have thought such a big incident would occur.
When he arrived at the academy, some of the powerful and wealthy had also come. They were hugging their sons and crying. Yi Qing was treating the students who had been bitten, and some of the teaching staff had also gathered.
Xiao Jinghan looked at Lu Tianxun coldly. "Good job you've done."
"I'll handle it." Lu Tianxun knew he couldn't shirk the responsibility for this incident.
Soon, more and more people gathered in Yunyang Academy. With a large number of torches and the fumigating smoke, the bats in the sky finally retreated.
"General." Tie Ying entered and saluted.
"Have you found anything?" Xiao Jinghan looked solemn.
"No." Tie Ying had searched the entire area around.
"Go down." Xiao Jinghan didn't blame him. Last time, even with so many people in the general's mansion, they still failed to catch the culprit.
At this time, Liu Yifeng, the supervisor of the academy, was brought in. He knelt down tremblingly.
"General, please spare my life!" Liu Yifeng kowtowed.
"The general's mansion sent so much medicine to repel the bats to Yunyang Academy. Where did it all go? Why wasn't it used?" Xiao Jinghan asked.
If it weren't for the fact that Baobao's courtyard could protect the people, the situation in Yunyang Academy would have been far more serious than just a few injured students.
"We used it. All of it." Liu Yifeng said fearfully. "The academy is so big—"
"You're lying. We only used it for one day, and then there was none left." A student shouted.
"Yes, you didn't give it to us at all."
...
These sons of the powerful and wealthy weren't afraid of Liu Yifeng at all with their parents around. They started to accuse him one after another.
"General, please discern. Yunyang Academy is too big. Those medicines were simply not enough." Liu Yifeng defended himself.
Xiao Jinghan drew his sword and placed it on Liu Yifeng's neck. "Speak!"
This scared the people on one side into quickly protecting their sons. However, the students rolled up their sleeves and watched excitedly.
Liu Yifeng trembled all over. He finally realized how terrifying the God of War of the Great Jin was. "I'll say. I'll say. It was the various officials who coerced and lured me into giving them some of the medicine to repel the bats."
"Writing brushes and ink." Xiao Jinghan gave the order.
A guard quickly brought over the writing brushes and ink.
"Write down who took it and how much. You can also choose to write with your own blood." Xiao Jinghan commanded.
"I'll write. I'll write." Liu Yifeng trembled as he started to write. He actually filled a whole sheet densely.
Hetai picked it up.
Xiao Jinghan glanced at it. "Is that all?"
"There's still... " Liu Yifeng said and continued to write.
The only sound in the courtyard was the crackling of the torches. Everyone held their breath. Judging from General Xiao's expression, no one knew how many people would be in trouble today.
Liu Yifeng had no choice but to write down everyone. Thinking that the law doesn't punish the multitude, he hoped that the emperor would show mercy when there were so many people involved.
Looking at the two full pages, Xiao Jinghan really wanted to kill Liu Yifeng on the spot. For the sake of building relationships with others, he dared to touch the things of the Xiao family, and they were the things to save the children's lives!
The teachers who had fled were also captured.
"The teachers and guards who fled will be flogged eighty times. Their lives are in their own hands. The other teaching staff will be flogged forty times, regardless of their status. The guards who protected the students will each be rewarded with a hundred taels of silver. The money will come from Yunyang Academy." Xiao Jinghan said and looked at Lu Tianxun at the end.
"Yes." Lu Tianxun bowed.
If Xiao Jinghan didn't deal with this matter, others would surely cause trouble. By handling it so decisively, Xiao Jinghan left no room for others to complain.
"As for Liu Yifeng..." Xiao Jinghan glanced at him. "Send him to the Jinyiwei."
"General Xiao, please spare my life! General Xiao, please spare my life..." Liu Yifeng thought he was doomed.
By the time all these matters were settled, it was already the fourth watch of the night. Xiao Jinghan tidied up and went to the palace for the morning court. Yi Qing took Baobao home. As soon as they entered the door, they saw that the light was still on in Xiaoran's room, and there was a crowd of people around.
"Madam." Xue Miao'er almost cried.
As soon as the madam left, the bats came. These bats were particularly strange. They only bit the two young masters. Fortunately, they were well-prepared. Ranran was holding the two children tightly, and the others protected Ranran and the children in the middle, which managed to fend off the bats.
Yi Qing thought that she had just met Weng Lian, and such an incident happened at night. Was this a warning or a provocation?
"Thank you all for your hard work." Yi Qing pushed through the crowd and saw Ranran holding the two children nervously. The two children were probably too tired and had fallen asleep.
Although Yi Qing knew they hadn't been bitten, she still checked them.
"Ruohong, go and check on Weng Lian and the others right now." Yi Qing was a bit worried.
Ruohong nodded. She understood what the madam meant.
The land temple in the west of the city was extremely quiet at this moment. When Ruohong and her men arrived, the people there showed no reaction. All the beggars here had actually been bitten to death by the bats.
She took a look around and let out a sigh. The enemy was too cruel. Just as she was about to leave, she heard a noise. Looking back, she saw a large urn covered with straw moving.
"Move it away." Ruohong said hurriedly.
Several people moved the urn away. Little Mouse was curled up inside. He looked terrified when he saw them.
"Are you Little Mouse?" Ruohong was surprised.
Little Mouse didn't know how the other person knew his name. He hesitated and nodded.
"Were they all bitten to death by the bats?"
Little Mouse nodded. His eyes started to turn red. He tried his best to hold back his tears.
Ruohong saw that there were more dead people on one side of the straw. Maybe they had hidden Little Mouse together at that time, so they died here.
"Come with me first." Ruohong reached out her hand.