The Dramatic Crown Princess Wants to Poison Me!

Chapter 266: Chapter 266: Pointing the Spear

Shang Jingwang roughly estimated that there were at least eight hundred people, including the villagers rushing forward and the ones swarming from the back.

Wangshan Town, comprising seven villages and the town itself, had a population of over three thousand seven hundred. Among them, nearly one thousand five hundred had been infected and sent to quarantine, and two hundred had already died from the epidemic. Over two thousand people were temporarily uninfected. Excluding the old, young, women, and children, there were approximately one thousand able-bodied men in Wangshan Town, and almost eighty percent of them were here.

This was an organized and planned assault.

Shang Jingwang knew immediately that the situation was serious.

Even though Wang Bolao was the mayor, at such a critical moment, none of the villagers paid him any attention. Moreover, he was out of breath, speaking in such a low voice that lacked presence, barely louder than a mosquito’s hum against the wrathful commotion of the villagers.

The villagers, eyes filled with malice, were actually considering killing the twenty-four men blocking their way to escape.

Huangfu Jingchen squinted his eyes, tapped his foot on the horse’s back, and soared into the air, thrusting a palm against the surging villagers.

He moved swiftly forward, charging into the midst of the villagers.

This palm carried a supple force and a swirling power, yet with an unparalleled momentum, it momentarily halted the strength of the villagers who were at the forefront trying to crush the twenty-four soldiers. At this moment, Huangfu Jingchen arrived, darting into the crowd, his hands as fast as lightning. The hoes, rakes, and sickles held tightly by those fierce-eyed leading villagers thudded to the ground.

They seemed momentarily dazed, completely unaware of how their tightly-gripped weapons landed on the ground.

With this pause, the twenty-four scattered soldiers managed to regroup, aiming their spears at the villagers once again, preventing their advance.

Huangfu Jingchen returned to his horse, glancing aside to see the Undying Ghost Doctor snicker, ”That supple force was splendid. You should have used three more parts of your strength to kill a few, and it would’ve scared others stiff!”

Huangfu Jingchen ignored him.

Wang Bolao was pale with fright. With the Prefecture Lord here, people dared to storm the barricade; it was suicidal. He bellowed, ”What are you doing? Do you not want to live anymore? Doing such a thing, are you all mad?”

One of the villagers responded to Wang Bolao, ”Mayor Wang, it’s not that we’re disrespecting you, but look at us, we’re all healthy with no disease. Should we just wait to die in the village?”

”Yes, Mayor Wang, staying here means only one dead end for us. We don’t want to wait here to die!”

”We’re obviously healthy, why are we being kept here?”

”Our lives matter too. Just because we’re born in Wangshan Town, do we have to be buried with the town?”

”Let us out!”

...

Shang Jingwang raised his voice, ”Folks, listen to me!”

He exuded authority, and his voice, though calm, seemed to have a penetrating power, causing the clamorous villagers to quiet down instantly.

Shang Jingwang said, ”Folks, I understand your feelings. Epidemic is happening in Wangshan Town, right beside us, and I share your anxiety. As a parental official, I absolutely won’t allow the epidemic to worsen. Our doctors are researching medicinal prescriptions, and once the remedy is found, all epidemic patients can recover! You are now at the epidemic center; it’s not wise to move around. What if you develop symptoms mid-way? What if you carry the source of infection? That would only worsen the situation! Please endure a little longer; the epidemic can be cured, trust me!”

”Lord Shang, it’s not that we don’t believe you. We’ve heard before, once knowing it’s an epidemic, the doctors didn’t even want to come. Those who came are few and lack genuine skills. No prescriptions can be truly developed.”

”Exactly, if a remedy could be found, we wouldn’t be seeing so many deaths daily.”

”The night before last, I went with Gouzi to the quarantine, beside which countless corpses had been burned. We knew none of those people; perhaps among them were our relatives. You kept everything from us, not even letting us mourn our deceased relatives. How are we supposed to trust you?”

”My father has been in quarantine for more than ten days. I don’t know if he’s alive or dead. We were allowed a visit every three days before, and now they say those already in the Severe Epidemic Area can’t be visited. I haven’t seen my father for seven days. Is he dead?”

”My little Jun is just a child. No one knows if he’s being cared for in quarantine. We can’t even get through the quarantine gates; are our relatives alive or dead inside? It seems devious confinement!”

”You speak nice words to make us obedient, to make us wait for death. Why should we wait for death? Are we supposed to die?”

”Yes, we heard even Doctor Xia infected. If there’s a solution, how come she couldn’t even cure herself?”

”What? Even Doctor Xia is infected? What hope is left for us?”

”We’re healthy, why should we wait for death here? We don’t want to die; we want to break out!”

...

Shang Jingwang said solemnly, ”Everyone, I’ve said I will stay with you until the epidemic ends. Who isn’t afraid of death? I’m afraid too! I understand your feelings, but think about it—what if you carry the source of infection while leaving? Isn’t spreading the infection far and wide more catastrophic? Not just Wangshan Town, but all of Yanglu County, all of Huainan Prefecture would suffer. Would you want to be seen in history as the culprits who caused such widespread harm?”

”We don’t understand being culprits or not; we just want to live.”

”Yes, if healthy, why can’t we leave!”

”Because we’re civilians, we aren’t allowed to leave, while others can?”

...

Huangfu Jingchen acted quickly earlier, and his movement technique was swift. Amid the chaos, not many saw clearly that it was his intervention. Now, as Huangfu Jingchen and the Undying Ghost Doctor’s horses approached, someone immediately pointed blame at him: ”Look at that Huang, how can he come and go at will?”

All eyes turned toward him, and with Huangfu Jingchen sitting atop his horse—his presence indeed difficult to overlook.

Suddenly being turned into a target by the villagers, Huangfu Jingchen: ”...”

The Undying Ghost Doctor spoke with schadenfreude, ”See? This is why I never bother to show random kindness. Ungrateful people are everywhere. Why bother good deeds?”

Huangfu Jingchen spoke wordlessly, ”Undying Senior, people panic in despair; it’s human nature. While Senior stands above, surveying all, have you pondered from their perspective?”

The Undying Ghost Doctor scoffed, ”Women’s compassion!”