Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside
Chapter 51 - 051: Being Driven Away

Chapter 51: Chapter 051: Being Driven Away

Displaced citizens, after a long and arduous journey from the Northwest, finally arrived at Central State Yuchang Prefecture, only to find themselves utterly exhausted. Who would willingly leave?

Upon hearing the Government Official’s words, the displaced citizens were stunned for a moment, then began asking, "Brothers, are you sure you haven’t made a mistake? We haven’t caused any trouble nor harmed the neighboring farmers, why do you want us to leave?"

"Indeed, brothers, we have been staying quietly in the broken temple, neither stealing nor robbing from the nearby families, and even using our own Silver Coins to buy goods from the farmers. We’ve committed no wrongs; why are you forcing us out?"

"We’ve fled famine all the way here, losing many people along the way. We’ve only just managed to reach Yuchang Prefecture, and now as the weather turns cold, if we leave Yuchang Prefecture we might freeze to death on the roads!"

Although Yuchang Prefecture was also disaster-struck, they still had water and food to eat. Here, they no longer had to desperately struggle for every sip of water and morsel of food. The days they spent in Yuchang Prefecture were the most comfortable days of their fleeing journey; they had never thought of leaving.

Moreover, many displaced citizens wanted to settle in Yuchang Prefecture.

Just as their days started to show a glimpse of hope, these Government Officials arrived to drive them away.

However, the Government Officials did not care one bit about their lives. Seeing their continuous questioning, they instantly drew their waist knives, pointing at the displaced citizens, "Shut up, anyone who causes trouble, we’ll slaughter him!"

These Government Officials were led by Squad Leader Gao. Seeing that these displaced citizens were unwilling to leave, he produced a handwritten letter from the Lord Magistrate, waving it at the crowd, "Look clearly, this is the official seal-laden handwritten letter from the Lord Magistrate, stating clearly that you must leave Yuchang Prefecture by tonight. If you don’t, it won’t be us who come to force you out, but the stationed troops."

The Lord Magistrate had been so stressed about the displaced citizens’ issue these past days that he had developed blisters on his mouth, feeling extremely unlucky. Out of the Six Prefectures of Central State, why did these accursed displaced citizens have to run to his Yuchang Prefecture?

With all these displaced citizens lingering in Yuchang Prefecture, not to mention the necessity of food and drink each day, the cold weather might also lead to deaths from freezing. If too many people died under his rule, it would negatively impact his work performance.

The Magistrate’s steward even reminded the Lord Magistrate, with so many displaced citizens pouring into Yuchang Prefecture, even locking the city gates couldn’t keep them out. Given their numbers, they could potentially revolt.

Such a situation would be a capital offense; under no circumstances could they allow rebellious displaced citizens to emerge in Yuchang Prefecture.

Whether these displaced citizens engaged in murder or rebellion, such events must not occur in Yuchang Prefecture; they must drive these people away as soon as possible.

If they wanted to die or rebel, let them do it in other State Prefectures, just not within the boundary of Yuchang Prefecture.

Upon hearing his steward’s words, the Lord Magistrate was so frightened that he quickly ordered all three squads of Government Officials to go to the outskirts of Yuchang Prefecture to drive people away.

Squad Leader Gao and his men had received an absolute order to drive these citizens away. If any of the displaced citizens refused to leave, they were instructed to find any excuse to kill them. After killing a few, the rest would likely be intimidated.

Among the displaced citizens, there were scholars. Seeing Squad Leader Gao pulling out the handwritten letter, one approached a few steps forward and bowed, pleading, "Esteemed Government Official, may I read the content of the letter?"

Squad Leader Gao glanced at the speaking displaced citizen, noting his approximately twenty years of age, and his clothing, though tattered, was that of a scholar. He then relented, saying, "Alright, take a look so you won’t think I’m deceiving you."

The displaced citizen carefully read the letter, not finishing before tears started streaming down, dropping to his knees, he wept, "The Lord Magistrate is not leaving us any way to live."

Bang!

Hearing this, Squad Leader Gao snatched the letter from his hands and kicked him over, scolding, "Foolish fool, how dare you slander the Lord Magistrate? Bring him aside!"

"Yes." Two government officials immediately seized the disaster victim, dragged him out of the ruined temple, and threw him onto the roadside.

Squad Leader Gao waved the handwritten letter and declared, "You’ve all heard, the letter is genuine. Stop clinging on and refusing to leave; get lost quickly. Don’t blame me for not warning you. Tomorrow morning, stationed soldiers will come to search the outskirts. If you don’t leave, you’ll certainly face the threat of armed conflict."

Armed conflict!

Hearing this, the disaster victims were so frightened that their legs went weak. The soldiers were going to kill them.

"God Almighty, how are we to live?"

The victims cried bitterly, but the government officials did not care about their lives. After passing the order, Squad Leader Gao led dozens of officials and stationed themselves outside the ruined temple, waiting for them to leave.

Third Grandma clutched Third Grandpa’s arm, her face full of despair, and asked, "Old man, do we really have to leave?"

Third Grandpa sighed, "We have no choice but to go."

The government officials had already come to drive them away. That squad leader also said that if they did not leave tonight, the soldiers would be dispatched tomorrow morning. They had witnessed the soldiers of Yongtai Prefecture commit murder and were now terrified of the soldiers.

Gu Jinli grasped Third Grandma’s other hand and comforted her, "Third Grandma, let’s go. Yuchang Prefecture has also been hit by the disaster, with rivers drying up, and only deep wells still have water. If it doesn’t rain soon, and the water from the deep wells can’t be extracted, the people here will also have to flee."

Yuchang Prefecture was not suitable for settling down; it was better for them to leave as soon as possible.

Elder Qin also said, "Let’s go. The Magistrate didn’t allow us into the city from the start, didn’t register our households, nor did he find a place for us to settle. This means he doesn’t intend to keep us here. It’s best to leave early, perhaps we can find a place to settle before the depths of winter."

After hearing Third Grandpa and Elder Qin, and seeing the officials with knives stationed outside the temple, the families knew they had no choice but to leave. After feeling miserable for a while, they started packing their belongings.

Fortunately, they had bought plenty of things from the nearby peasants, such as clothes to keep warm, coarse grains, water, and salt, which would make the journey somewhat easier.

Third Grandma, Old Mrs. Yan, and others had recovered from their illness, so there was no need to worry about them anymore and they could focus on hastening their journey.

After Gu Jinli and his families packed up their belongings, they did not leave immediately. Elder Qin said, "It’s too conspicuous to be the first to leave. We have a lot of things, and although it’s unlikely, we must avoid attracting the attention of these officials."

These families had several young girls who were quite attractive, and if those officials took notice of them, it would be disastrous.

After hearing Elder Qin’s words, the families nodded in agreement, huddling with their belongings in the shelter and waiting until some disaster victims started leaving. Only then did they, carrying their belongings, along with the elderly and children, blend in with the disaster victims and leave the temple.

During this, Gu Jinxiu smeared her face with ashes from the fire to make herself less recognizable. After the near experience of being sold by the Old Gu Family, she was very cautious not to bring any trouble to everyone due to her appearance.

Gu Jinli, holding Gu Jinxiu, followed behind Mrs. Cui with their heads lowered.

Inside Gu Jin’an’s clothing was a waist knife, following behind his sisters, protecting them.

This waist knife was bought by Gu Jin’an with the silver given to him by Gu Dashan from nearby peasants, after Gu Jinli had severed Wu Da’s tendons. Gu Jin’an said, "In any future incidents requiring bloodshed, let me, as the brother, handle it."

Gu Dashan felt very guilty and took out eight taels of silver, personally accompanying Gu Jin’an to buy two cleavers and two kitchen knives. He gave the cleavers to himself and Gu Jin’an and the kitchen knives to Mrs. Cui and Gu Jinxiu for self-defense.