freenovelworld Chapter 204 Don't linger, hurry up and go.
Chapter 204 Don't linger, hurry up and go.
Chen Pingyuan was just a junior officer guarding the city. Although he was not very knowledgeable, he could tell at a glance that the dagger was extraordinary.
Upon hearing Lu Yangyang's words, he was so astonished that his eyes almost popped out of their sockets. He looked at Lu Yangyang with shock and wariness: "You, what did you say? You are our general's sister?"
Chen Pingyuan couldn't believe it no matter how he thought about it. The northwest border was bitterly cold, and their general was said to come from a prestigious family in the capital. His sister was naturally a noble lady from a prominent family in the capital. How could she possibly come to such a place?
However, as he stared at Lu Yangyang, his doubts turned to uncertainty. To be honest, her features did resemble those of their general.
However, he did not believe Lu Yangyang because of this. He took the dagger and said cautiously, "I still need to report to our general. I'll have to trouble you to wait a little longer, young lady."
Lu Yangyang nodded: "Okay."
Chen Pingyuan dared not delay. He hurriedly told his mother and uncle, and instructed a few soldiers guarding the city to take care of them. Then he rushed into the city.
Looking at the closed city gates and the slowly darkening sky, Li Duan tugged anxiously at Lu Yangyang's sleeve: "Yangyang, are we really not going to be able to get in?"
Lu Yangyang shook her head: "It's hard to say, let's wait and see."
At this moment, Aunt Chen asked with a mixture of surprise and unease, "Yangyang, no, Miss Lu, are you really the general's sister!"
Now that things had come to this, Lu Yangyang had no need to hide anything anymore. She nodded and said, "I am very grateful for your care along the way, Auntie."
Aunt Chen hurriedly waved her hand, "No, no, it's all thanks to you. If it weren't for you, who knows what might have happened along the way. Oh my, you really are worthy of being the general's sister, you're so amazing. And Miss Xiaoli is also very capable."
Aunt Chen was truly surprised to learn that these two young girls had such backgrounds. In particular, Miss Lu was not only skilled in medicine but also worked very efficiently. Although the girl next to her, Little Pear, was a bit delicate, she never complained about being tired or dirty along the way. Aunt Chen only thought that these two girls were good-looking and had no idea that they were anything special.
On one occasion, she caught a cold and had a stomachache on the road. Thanks to the skillful hands of this Miss Lu, she recovered after just one dose of medicine.
Another guard accidentally touched a poisonous herb and developed a rash all over his hands, which was also cured by Miss Lu.
She already had a good impression of the two girls, and now she liked them even more, her eyes filled with boundless affection as she looked at Lu Yangyang.
As the two sides chatted back and forth for about four-quarters of an hour, the city gate opened, and a young man in silver armor rushed over. He stopped some distance from Lu Yangyang, dismounted, and looked excitedly at Lu Yangyang and Li Duan: "Yangyang? County Princess? You..."
When Sheng Junyao received the dagger from his subordinate, he was genuinely startled. Without thinking twice, he rushed over. He never expected that it was actually Lu Yangyang.
"Brother Sheng!" Li Duan's eyes crinkled with excitement, and she immediately went over.
But Sheng Junyao instinctively took two steps back: "Don't come any closer!"
Lu Yangyang quickly pulled Li Duan back.
Li Duan looked at Lu Yangyang and then at Sheng Junyao with a puzzled expression, asking Lu Yangyang with her eyes what was going on.
Lu Yangyang said to Sheng Junyao, "Brother, this isn't the place to talk. Let's go somewhere else."
Sheng Junyao snapped out of his daze and instructed Chen Pingyuan, "Commander Chen, find a place to settle your family down first. Make sure they don't wander off, understand?"
Chen Pingyuan immediately understood: "Yes, General!"
After Chen Pingyuan and his family left, only Sheng Junyao and Lu Yangyang remained outside the city gate. Sheng Junyao took out a handkerchief to cover his mouth and nose and walked a little further away. Lu Yangyang quickly pulled Li Duan to follow, but Sheng Junyao still kept a distance from them before saying, "Yangyang, County Princess, I'm sorry, it's probably not convenient for you to enter the city right now."
“Brother Sheng…” Li Duan looked at him nervously.
Lu Yangyang asked, "Big brother, has something happened? Is it a contagious disease?"
Sheng Junyao was stunned for a moment, then realized what he meant and burst out laughing: "Look at me, I forgot you're a doctor. How could I possibly hide it from you? A while ago, a passing merchant developed a high fever. A few days later, most of the people in the inn where he stayed also developed high fevers. We initially thought it was just a common epidemic, but after the doctor's diagnosis, he said it might be smallpox."
"Smallpox?" Li Duan almost couldn't hold back her voice and grabbed Lu Yangyang's arm.
Lu Yangyang was also stunned. Her mind went blank for a moment, and she looked at her older brother in disbelief.
In that instant, she seemed to suddenly understand why her elder brother had died on the battlefield in her dream. There hadn't been any major battles, and she hadn't heard anything unusual, but in the end, her brother's remains were never able to return to the capital.
It turned out to be the case.
Someone brought smallpox into Yangguan City. At this time, the surrounding alien tribes attacked. Under these circumstances, it was very likely that the eldest brother himself, or many soldiers, were infected with this deadly plague. However, in order to defend Yangguan City and this line of defense of the Great Zhao Kingdom, they resolutely fought back, repelled the enemy, and defended Yangguan City.
But in the end, the eldest brother fell, and perhaps countless soldiers behind him also fell.
Even if news of such a small-scale battle reached the capital, it was nothing to boast about. No one cared why the generals, soldiers, or civilians who died on the frontier died—whether from disease or war.
In fact, to silence any gossip, those who knew the truth, and even the civilians and soldiers in Yangguan City who did not survive, were all burned alive to end the epidemic.
The person who did this was simply trying to cripple his opponent in the struggle for imperial power.
They seized control of Yangguan City.
Lu Yangyang felt a chill rising from the bottom of her heart, which made her tremble slightly.
Li Duan murmured fearfully and nervously, "Brother Sheng, what are you going to do? Someone wants to kill you, they want to kill you, could it be, could it be..."
She suddenly couldn't continue. No matter how innocent she was, after learning that someone wanted to harm Sheng Junyao, they rushed to Yangguan City and discovered that there might be a deadly epidemic like smallpox there. She couldn't deceive herself into thinking it was just a coincidence.
Li Duan's eyes widened, and tears immediately rolled down her cheeks.
Looking at the two of them, and considering their sudden appearance in Yangguan City, what else couldn't Sheng Junyao understand?
Before he left, the Crown Prince warned him that someone might secretly try to harm him. For more than a year, he had been extremely cautious, strictly controlling and monitoring everyone he came and went. He even managed to clean up and reorganize the military from top to bottom.
I never expected it to be like this.
He felt as if he had been struck a heavy blow to the heart, and the veins on his forehead bulged with hatred. He, Sheng Junyao, was not afraid of death, but how could the common people be so innocent, and how could the soldiers who guarded the border be so innocent?
He tried and tried to suppress his overwhelming anger, but he couldn't.
Looking at the two girls who were almost trembling, his heart softened and his voice became gentle.
"I'm sorry to have startled you. I've been in the epidemic zone in the city and can't stay long. I'll have someone send you away. Yangyang, you're a doctor, remember to go back and cook some herbal soup as a precaution. If you don't have a prescription, I'll have someone fetch it for you."
"Don't linger, hurry up."