Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 177 - 175: Public Resentment

Chapter 177: Chapter 175: Public Resentment

"How did you know?" Di Shaowei’s face became serious.

"Do you know when?" Shangguan Xuanyi asked in the same serious tone, how they knew didn’t matter as long as they did know.

"Four days from now at around midnight."

"I need to return to the palace." Shangguan Xuanyi, having said this, quickly turned and left.

Four days were not much time left!

An earthquake was far worse than the anticipated snowstorm.

"Oh, I have to go to Qinghe County too!"

"Absolutely not!"

Xiao’er: ....

Whether she went or not, it should not be his decision, right!

"Brother Di, I’ll wait for you at the city gate!" Xiao’er shouted towards their departing figures.

"Right! Let’s promise to meet there, or we won’t leave!"

Shangguan Xuanyi was furious, "You should not go either!"

So, they are finally ready to part!

Xiao’er returned to the inner courtyard and told her family about her intention to follow Shangguan Xuanyi to Qinghe County.

Mrs. Liu immediately opposed, "Such a dangerous place, what are you doing there as a child!"

"I’ll do whatever I can! Mother, have you not heard of the saying, ’In times of trouble, help comes from all sides’?"

"As a child, what could you possibly do to help? This is not a game, and it could cost you your life if you are careless."

"Right, you go home with your mother, I will go to Qinghe County." - Rescuing people is an adult’s responsibility.

"Father, I have to go! The Gods sent me a dream, if I don’t go to save people, they might get angry with me! I have Gods’ blessings, I will definitely be safe." Xiao’er winked at Shen Chengyao.

Shen Chengyao was also reminded of the matters of Fairyland, he was put in a difficult situation.

Indeed, in this world there is no free lunch.

Eventually, Shen Chengyao managed to persuade Mrs. Liu, and he decided to take Xiao’er with him.

As for Mrs. Liu, she decided to stay in the house with the children and not return to Shengping County for now.

Xiao’er and Shen Chengyao waited a while before Shangguan Xuanyi, Shangguan Xuanhao, and Di Shaowei, finally arrived.

Seeing the father-daughter duo, Shangguan Xuanyi’s face darkened, Marquis Shengping was spoiling this girl too much! Letting her have her way no matter what! This was sheer lawlessness!

Shen Chengyao dismounted the carriage and bowed.

"Fourth Prince, Sixth Prince, Brother Di, I’ve been waiting for you for half a day."

"Marquis Shengping, take the Countess of Rui’an home. That place is dangerous, and you could easily get in trouble without any martial arts skills." Shangguan Xuanyi still didn’t want Xiao’er to go.

"’In times of trouble, help comes from all sides’! You surely know less than me, I can’t be specific, but I will definitely be of great help if you take me along!"

"This girl is indeed capable, look at your head, you lost half a bucket of blood, yet a day later, you are bouncing around like a monkey! Let this girl come, she’s more valuable than the entire Imperial Hospital."

"Fourth Prince, you’re truly wise and a great warrior! You know talent when you see it!" Xiao’er said, trying to please the Fourth Prince with a smile.

The Fourth Prince began to act spoiled again: "Isn’t that true? Hurry up and get in the carriage, follow closely and learn something when we arrive, understand! Don’t look so dumb! It’s disgusting!"

Xiao’er’s face stiffened, "Your mother! You’re the one who’s dumb, your whole body is dumb, down to every single strand of your hair!"

"As soon as I lighten up on you a bit, you start grandstanding!"

But this time, she held her tongue.

This trip to Qinghe County had mobilized nearly a hundred thousand soldiers, and almost half of the Imperial Hospital’s physician’s also accompanied them.

Everyone in the party had high-speed and high-stamina horses, Xiao’er’s carriage-pulling horse, which came from her spatial storage, didn’t even need food or drink and could travel a thousand miles a day. Despite the half-day’s journey, it had not shown any signs of exhaustion. Upon reaching the destination, it was still energetic, elegantly stepping around. None of the other horses had this kind of energy.

At this time, it was already very late at night and the households had already put out their lights and sleeping.

Xiao Fuzi and Xiao Guizi took the Emperor’s edict to the county government to find the local official.

The rest rested briefly at the Post Station, ate some food, and waited for the county magistrate to arrive.

Everyone quickly filled their stomachs in just a few bites and then started discussing how to deal with the imminent natural disaster.

Where should the shelters be located to be truly safe, and how many were needed.

How to persuade the people to momentarily leave their homes and go to the designated shelters.

How to arrange for the people’s food at the shelters.

"I know where the epicentre is. Early tomorrow, let us start evacuating the populace based on the epicentre." Xiao’er pointed to a spot on the map of Qinghe County with her finger.

"Here is a mountain, the epicentre is here, so the city dwellers don’t have anything to fear, right?" Shangguan Xuanhao commented after hearing this.

"The city is not far from the epicentre, the tremors will surely be big. The biggest fear is buildings collapsing." Di Shaowei shook his head.

"Here, here, here... how about using these places as temporary shelters for the people?" Shangguan Xuanhao asked, pointing out several locations.

Xiao’er quickly made a rough calculation and agreed, "That will work, we need to find spacious locations. The weather has been so good during this period - the worst thing would be if it started to rain or snow there. We need to prepare the people with raincoats and straw hats."

Everyone shared their opinions...

"Early tomorrow, the army of a hundred thousand will be here, along with a hundred thousand stones of provisions. At that time, let the county magistrate announce it to the people and let the soldiers assist the village chiefs to bring everyone in the village, young and old, to the designated shelters without exception."

Gathering all the people was difficult in practice, especially with the isolated households being more difficult to locate.

But do what men can do and let fate decide.

That night, the imperial astrologer also spent the night observing the sky, the signs of great disaster were still there, but there were also auspicious stars shining.

The next day, everyone got busy.

Xiao’er gave Shen Chengyao a spatial storage ring, instructing him to store all the grains and medicinal materials from the ring in their villa, and to additionally buy some more grains and medicinal materials under the guise of preparing for unpredicted circumstances.

With an excuse, Shen Chengyao left.

The people at the epicentre of the earthquake, whether voluntary or forced, were all sent to the shelters.

However, due to the limited time, those living a bit farther from the epicentre who were informed, left if they were willing to. Those who were not, had no time to be coerced and could only leave their fate to chance.

On this day, it started to rain in the evening. The rain gradually worsened and eventually turned into a snowstorm.

The weather was so cold it would freeze one’s breath.

In the shelters, some temporary straw sheds were built, but they were not sufficient to accommodate all people, so the elderly and children were given priority.

As a result, many people were discontent. As midnight grew closer and still nothing happened, the villagers, wearing raincoats and drenched to the skin, became even more disgruntled, starting to demand to return home.

"What earthquake? Are they playing tricks on us? It’s a scam! I want to go back, it’s freezing to death!"

"Right, they’re trapping us here in the middle of the night, there must be some kind of conspiracy."

"If we continue to stay here, we’ll freeze to death. It doesn’t matter if there’s an earthquake or not!"

...

Midnight came, and still, there was no sign of any activity, those who couldn’t bear the freezing cold started to unrest, and even forcibly left.

"No, I want to go, I’m not afraid of dying in the earthquake!"

"There’s no earthquake at all! I want to go home!"

"It’s freezing, we haven’t committed any crime! The Imperial Court can’t forcibly keep us here!"

"The Imperial Court wants to freeze us to death. I can’t just sit here and wait to die. I want to go home!"

"Home!"

"Home!"

"Home!"

...the villagers were shouting and pushing each other, some were even pushing the soldiers, starting to resist.

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