spoiled brat

Chapter 119 118. It’s hard to calm down (18)

Zhao Zhao smiled and said, "Alright, then I won't try to curry favor with you." She raised her hand to signal the soldiers to remove the barriers, and the biting cold wind made everyone shiver.

Then soldiers brought over several oxcarts to pour the hot water from the wooden buckets onto the ground. Large plumes of white smoke rose up, creating a fleeting warmth that quickly froze on the ground.

After a moment of silence, several sneezes rang out from the crowd, and a woman raised a trembling hand: "Girl, I'd like a bowl of hot water."

Everyone looked over and saw that the child in the woman's arms had pale lips and was quite cold, probably because he hadn't been exposed to such a cold wind since birth.

Beside them was a man who, feeling stifled by the stares of the crowd, pointed at the woman's nose and cursed:

"Women have no backbone! They just ransacked our house, and you're already spineless over a bowl of hot water! You're trying to scheme against us!"

“Scheme?” the woman asked, puzzled. “Do we still have any property? Do we still have a home? Three lives on the criminal register, what’s there to scheme against?”

The man was speechless for a moment, then retorted, "You're all talk and no action; you wouldn't understand even if I explained!"

The woman sneered, enduring the intense gazes of the crowd, and walked up to Zhao Zhao with the child in her arms, sobbing, "Girl, please give me a bowl of hot water."

Zhao Zhao took a clean porcelain bowl, filled it with water herself, and handed it over. She then ordered someone to bring a fleece blanket to wrap the child up so he wouldn't get cold.

Although the crowd was still angry, they were touched by her thoughtfulness and the fact that a woman had brought her child out to receive compensation.

There were many elderly, weak, women and children in the field, so Zhao Zhao did not want to humiliate them. She had a screen erected and bowls of hot water distributed to them.

The atmosphere eased, and the main event began. Zhao Zhao stepped forward and said leisurely, "As you all may not know, my royal family was forced into this situation."

Someone in the room sneered, "Our family fortune is at least 500,000 taels of silver. How could we be forced into such a desperate situation to make such a huge fortune?"

"That's military pay." Zhao Zhao first launched into a tirade about the urgency of the war and the greater good of the nation, before explaining the whole story.

Although everyone knew that their downfall was entirely due to the schemes of the Wu faction, how could they not resent the Ning Prince's Mansion, which had willingly become their executioner? Someone started cursing, one after another.

But then Zhao Zhao said, "To save your lives, everyone should keep your voices down."

"……What's the meaning?"

Zhao Zhao pointed to the ground beneath her feet: "Do you know why I led you here?"

Everyone was stunned and speechless.

"What do you think the capital sent troops for? If it were just to confiscate their pay, would they dare to harass the women of these families so easily?"

Zhao Zhao sighed and said cryptically, "...If it weren't for our Prince's Mansion taking you in, you would probably have been taken to the south of the city by now."

Everyone shuddered upon hearing this. South of the city, wasn't that where the mass grave was located? Connecting this with what Zhao Zhao had said earlier, the people sent by the capital were there to raid and kill? Although there was no conclusive evidence, it was certainly something the Wu faction was capable of doing.

“I know you all have been wronged, and it’s inevitable that you’re venting your anger.” Zhao Zhao tucked her hands into her sleeves, looking somewhat chilly. “But please keep your voices down, lest you attract the attention of the capital’s soldiers.”

Everyone was bewildered and at a loss, each hugging their family and weeping. Because of what Zhao Zhao said, even their cries were barely audible.

Zhao Zhao already had a plan in mind, but she didn't speak up.

Someone knelt down and pleaded tearfully, "Miss, we have been unjustly accused and suffered this calamity. We have lost our property and houses, and we are now on the criminal register. Our relatives are afraid of getting into trouble, and most of them will not take us in... Since your esteemed household has spared our lives, could you please seek justice for us?" Zhao Zhao helped the person up and said helplessly, "That's what the household intends to do as well. But with the war raging, we really have no time or resources... How about this, I will first settle you all in the various estates under the household, where you will have enough to eat and drink. Once the war is over, we will carefully investigate the injustice and the charges against you."

Having lost all their possessions and with nowhere else to turn, they were thrilled by this empty promise, feeling as if they were seeing the rising sun again, as if their bleak lives had a glimmer of hope.

As dawn broke, the confiscation of property within the city was completed, and all the spoils were transported to the Prince's mansion. Yuan Zhen, along with Li Fu and several minor officials from the capital, inventoried the contents. At the same time, a messenger was sent to convey that Xiu Ning thought their actions were excellent and that it would be best to settle them quickly to avoid further gossip while they were still out there.

Zhao Zhao and the soldiers led everyone out of the city. The wilderness was covered in snow, and the sky was gloomy and overcast. Everything was murky.

After a bumpy ride on horseback, Zhao Zhao felt drowsy and was just about to fall asleep when she heard the sound of horses' hooves behind the column. A soldier exclaimed in surprise:
"The prince is here!"

Zhao Zhao suddenly woke up and looked back. Who else could it be but Xiu Yi riding a horse through the snow in the dark and white sky?

In the blink of an eye, he was beside me.

Seeing that Xiu Yi was all alone, with only his horse and no He Bi, Zhao Zhao asked, "What are you doing here?"

With provisions and supplies in place and the army about to march north, he should be preparing to break camp now.

Xiu Yi slowed the reins of his horse: "I've come to see you off."

"You're seeing me off?" Zhao Zhao asked, pointing to the large group of people ahead. "I'm going to settle them in. What's there to see off?"

More than 700 people were to be resettled in batches in different villages.

She didn't know when she would return, so Xiu Yi said calmly, "I'm going north."

Zhao Zhao understood what he meant.

He wasn't there to see her off, but to see her one last time before leaving, in case the war went badly and this would be their final farewell.

The two men tacitly slowed their horses' hooves and trailed behind the column, like two stones forgotten by the torrent.

“I…” Zhao Zhao was speechless, her voice carried away by the wind: “I shouldn’t have bitten you that day, I’m sorry.”

Zhao Zhao was furious for failing to kill Li Qingwen, and this anger extended to Xiu Yi as well. But then she thought about it and realized that Xiu Yi had treated her well and didn't know about her grudges. She had meant well but had done something wrong, so why should she take her anger out on him?

Furthermore, if she were to kill Li Qingwen, the act of murdering the second-highest scorer in the imperial examination would certainly be investigated by the court, inevitably affecting the relationship between the Prince of Ning's mansion and the Jiang faction. Moreover, Li Qingwen, a hypocrite, values ​​his reputation more than his life; piercing his heart with an arrow would be far too lenient.

"It's not your fault, it's my fault for meddling." Xiu Yi lowered his eyes and looked down at Zhao Zhao's sleeve. After winter came, she always wore Yuan Zhen's clothes, and the sleeves were long enough to cover her hands: "You bit yourself too, so we're even."

Zhao Zhao smiled. She still remembered the resentment she felt hiding behind the curtain. In order to restrain herself from taking out a knife to kill that beast, the flesh on the back of her hand was almost bitten off.

He pulled up his sleeve, revealing two rows of ugly scars, and said, "The doctor said the marks are there and can't be removed."

It was just a casual remark, but Xiu Yi said, "What a coincidence. The same is on the back of my hand."

Zhao Zhao glanced at Xiu Yi's hand; the teeth marks were damn deep. "You're doomed. When you get married and people ask you how you got this scar, how are you going to explain it?"

Suddenly, the wind and snow intensified. Xiu Yi looked at Zhao Zhao, his eyes clouded by the swirling snowflakes. He remained silent for a moment, listening to the horses' hooves before finally saying, "I won't live to see that day."