Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince-Chapter 369: Prince An still hasn’t made much progress
Chapter 369: Chapter 369: Prince An still hasn’t made much progress
Gu You stood in front of the government office, addressing the newcomer, "This subordinate greets His Highness Prince Qi."
Throughout Li Mingjue’s journey, all he had witnessed were the tragedies of Qingzhou City, and his impression of Gu You was extremely poor.
At this moment, seeing Gu You in full official uniform, not at all emaciated and even showing some healthy color in his cheeks, he commanded coldly, "Kneel down!"
Startled by his rebuke, Gu You’s legs went soft, and before he could react, he was already kneeling.
Shuddering all over, he continuously kowtowed vigorously, crying out, "This subordinate deserves death, this subordinate deserves death! I beg for the Prince’s mercy!"
Li Mingjue, watching his spineless display, felt even more incensed.
Shen Xiheng also dismounted from his horse, holding the Imperial Sword in his hand. Looking down at Gu You kneeling on the ground, he said icily, "Gu You, do you see this Imperial Sword in my hand? Today is the day you die!"
Gu You’s life surely couldn’t atone for the lives of one hundred thousand people in Qingzhou, but with things as they were, they could only appease the public rage by executing him first.
"I already realize my mistake!" Gu You hadn’t expected Shen Xiheng to genuinely intend to kill him, and he pleaded desperately, "Spare me, Lord Shen. I have parents above me and a wife and children below!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Xiheng sneered coldly, "Did those Qingzhou commoners you caused to die not have parents, wives, or children?"
With that, he no longer cared to listen to Gu You’s excuses and drew his sword, stabbing straight toward his neck.
The next second, Gu You’s head had already fallen to the ground, dead for all to see.
As for this, everyone present felt it was well deserved, and no one sympathized with Gu You.
When Li Ming’an arrived, he witnessed this scene.
Bright red blood was flowing everywhere, strikingly harsh to the eyes.
His expression faltered, and within his sleeves, his fists were already clenched tightly.
Shen Xiheng saw him and with indifferent eyes and an expressionless face said, "It has been a long time, yet there seems to be no progress with Prince Ming’an."
Li Ming’an’s face turned pale from Shen Xiheng’s stinging remark. His eyes locked onto him furiously as he said, "Audacious, who gave you the courage to talk to me this way!"
Shen Xiheng chuckled softly, took out a handkerchief from his chest, slightly lowered his gaze, and carefully wiped the blood off the Imperial Sword. His tone doing little to conceal his indifference, he said, "The Imperial Sword cleaves a demented sovereign above and a wicked minister below. What is it, does Prince Ming’an wish to taste the blade of my sword?"
Li Ming’an could only bitterly shut his mouth, turning his head away.
He was but a Commandery Prince now, with Li Mingjue still above him in rank, and coupled with the Imperial Sword in Shen Xiheng’s possession, he couldn’t openly conflict with these men.
Seeing the sword cleaned, Shen Xiheng then ordered that Gu You’s head be hung on the gates of Qingzhou City as a warning.
Cailin watched in sheer disbelief, never expecting the seemingly frail Lord Shen to dare kill a man.
Shen Xiheng’s glance swept onto Cailin, giving him a faint look.
Cailin coughed twice and joined Zhou Hong in arranging accommodations for the troops.
The government office was naturally requisitioned, and after everyone resettled, they became busy once again.
Li Mingjue went to tally the previously delivered food and saw that over half of it was missing. After inquiring, he discovered it had been embezzled by Li Ming’an and Gu You, which left him with a throbbing pain at his temples.
He tallied the remaining food and added to it the batch from the capital city.
Elsewhere, Qi Yu, along with the Imperial Physicians, had gone to investigate the disease.
The odor of rot hung in the air all over Qingzhou, but none of them felt discomfort. Firstly, because they had already become accustomed to the unpleasant smell upon entering the city.
Secondly, they were focused solely on the disease and had no mind to bother with these things.
They arrived at the outskirts, where those sick with the epidemic were gathered—a place set up by Gu You to drive the sick from the city.
Corpses lay everywhere; those still alive were in unbearable pain, left to lie there waiting for death.
Chen Shi had witnessed this scene before, and although his heart ached, his expression had already become numb.
Qi Yu patted his shoulder and comforted him with a few words before going to check the pulses of the patients.
The imperial physicians, carrying their medicine chests, split up and began to diagnose the illnesses.
Qi Yu and Song Ling worked together, distributing the medicine pills they had prepared in advance to the patients.
The pills were designed to reduce fever and detoxify. Taken, they could alleviate some of the symptoms of fever.
But to completely cure the plague, one had to start from the source.
Qi Yu had the imperial guard dig a pit in the suburbs and moved the bodies there, then set them alight with a fire.
They then transported those citizens who were still alive back to the city and placed them in one area for easier observation and care.
By the time all this was done, it was already night. The entire Qingzhou was shrouded in darkness, with only a few candle lights emitting a faint glow.
Qi Yu had been busy all day, but she had no appetite and merely gulped down a bowl of porridge to fill her stomach.
After returning to her room, she took a bath, changed clothes, and when she lay in bed, there wasn’t a single part of her body that didn’t ache.
Li Mingjue had also been busy all day, but not as laboriously as her. Seeing her lying there with a furrowed brow, he felt uneasy.
However, given the urgency of the situation, he couldn’t very well tell her not to overexert herself.
Instead, it was Qi Yu who noticed his gloom and comforted him, "Although the situation in Qingzhou seems severe, it’s not incurable. Everything will get better in some time."
Li Mingjue lay down beside her and sighed upon hearing this, "I’m worried about you."
Qi Yu paused, then laughed, "I’m fine. What’s there to worry about?"
Li Mingjue watched her face silently for a while, his tone somewhat heavy as he said, "I know."
Qi Yu knew what he was worrying about, but it was something unavoidable.
She couldn’t afford to rest now, as there were still many people waiting for her help.
"Actually, I’m quite happy," Qi Yu suddenly said as she turned over to face him.
Li Mingjue glanced at her and asked, "Happy about what?"
Qi Yu pursed her lips and replied, "Nothing much, just feeling fortunate to be a doctor and able to help them."
Li Mingjue’s eyes flickered and then he smiled in understanding, his voice gentle, "Yes, my princess is very impressive."
Qi Yu’s face reddened at his words, but not wanting to break the lighter mood, she boasted with feigned pride, "That’s right, I’m quite amazing!"
Li Mingjue saw her pride and barely concealed a smile.
The gloom had faded a lot, and when he finally smiled, Qi Yu silently breathed a sigh of relief.
She then proactively extended her sore and limp arm towards him and huffed, "Aren’t you going to give me a massage? You’re so unobservant!"
Li Mingjue obligingly began to massage her arm, but he had never performed such a service before, and at first, his touch was too firm, causing Qi Yu to grunt in dissatisfaction and complain, "Are you even good at this?"
Li Mingjue narrowed his eyes at this and softened his grip a bit.
Given that she had had a long day, he didn’t take offense at her ambiguous statement.
Outside the door, Mo Qingshan, who had just arrived in Qingzhou and had something to say to them, abruptly stopped his knock upon hearing that phrase.
He silently turned and walked away, shaking his head with a sigh, thinking that it seemed the medicinal wine was still not enough!
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