flstandardbreds Chapter 1468 Harming People
Chapter 1468 Harming People
You underestimate me, Zhan Miao.
That's a gross underestimation of the conscience deep within people's hearts.
Rumors can kill.
But the truth can be devastating.
She slowly released Youyi's hand and walked step by step toward the door.
"Auntie!" Mo Ziyu quickly got up and ran to catch up.
Yu-yi gritted her teeth and followed.
She stopped hiding.
She wanted to stand beside Zhan Miao with her son.
Zhan Miao walked to the center of the city lord's mansion gate and raised his hand.
"Open the door."
The guard exclaimed in alarm, "Miss Zhan! The people outside are agitated; it's dangerous to open the gate!"
Zhan Miao repeated, his tone calm but with an undeniable authority: "Open the door. I'm here. If anything happens, I'll take responsibility."
The guards exchanged glances, but ultimately dared not disobey, and slowly opened the heavy door a crack.
The curses and cries from outside surged in instantly.
"You jinx, come out here!"
"We don't want you to be the city lord!"
"Give us back our loved ones' lives!"
Stones and rotten vegetable leaves clattered against the door.
Zhan Miao took a deep breath, pushed open the door abruptly, and stepped out.
The setting sun cast its last rays upon her, making her figure appear tall and solitary.
She stood there on the steps, facing the angry, fearful, and frenzied crowd, without flinching.
A pair of cold eyes slowly swept across the entire room.
"Have you had enough of arguing?"
A clear shout rang out, like a thunderclap.
The entire room fell silent instantly.
All eyes were on her.
Zhan Miao raised her hand and pointed behind her. Mo Ziyu held Youyi's hand tightly and walked out step by step, standing beside her.
The child stood straight, his small body gleaming with tears, but his eyes were resolute and no longer daring to look away.
"You all say he's a jinx," Zhan Miao's clear voice echoed in every corner.
“You say that he brought the epidemic.”
You say that people died in Jingcheng because of him.
She paused, then suddenly raised her voice: "Fine! I, Zhan Miao, here today, will bet you that within three days I will debunk the rumors, trace the source of the epidemic, and find the real culprit who killed people!"
"If I can't do it, you don't need to rush me. I will take Mo Ziyu and Princess Youyi and leave Jingcheng immediately, never to return!"
"But if I do it!"
Zhan Miao's gaze was like a knife, piercing straight into the figures stirring up trouble in the shadows behind the crowd. His voice was as cold as ice: "Those who spread rumors, caused chaos in Jingcheng, and used the lives of ordinary people as pawns, I will tear them to pieces to appease public anger!"
After he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.
As the people gazed at the tall figure before them and at the young city lord beside her, who, though small, refused to bow his head, the anger fueled by fear began to waver for the first time.
Some people began to hesitate.
Some people began to calm down.
Some people glanced discreetly at the unfamiliar faces in the crowd who had been shouting the loudest.
Zhou Chongshan, who was hiding at the far end of the alley and watching coldly, saw the figure in front of him and his face gradually darkened.
He never expected Zhan Miao to be so bold as to open the door directly to the enraged people and even dare to make a three-day agreement.
Three days.
What can she really find out?
A sinister smile crept onto Zhou Chongshan's lips.
Zhan Miao, you're too arrogant.
In Jingcheng, I've always been the one to call the shots.
Three days later, the epidemic will only get worse, and the rumors will only get more rampant.
By then, no matter how capable you are, you won't be able to win back the people's hearts.
He turned and disappeared into the shadows.
He didn't know that this glance would be the last time he looked down upon the people of Jingcheng in the posture of a ruler.
Zhan Miao finished signing the agreement without any delay.
She raised her hand to stop Princess Youyi, who was about to step forward to explain, then nodded slightly to Mo Ziyu, whose face was tense. Her voice was steady and powerful, penetrating the crowd:
"Fellow elders, I, Zhan Miao, will not break my promise within three days. From this moment on, all medical clinics in the city will open their warehouses and distribute medicines, and all wards will uniformly admit patients. I will personally oversee the operation and will not shirk my responsibilities!"
Having said that, she said no more, turned around and led the two of them straight into the mansion.
The door slowly closed, shutting out the noise and doubts from the outside world.
Upon entering the inner courtyard, Princess Youyi couldn't help but grab Zhan Miao's sleeve, her face pale: "Zhan Miao, have you gone mad? Finding the source of the plague and catching the culprit in three days is simply impossible! What if..."
"There's no 'what if'."
Zhan Miao interrupted her, his tone resolute, his eyes showing no panic, only a cold and clear gaze.
She raised her hand and stroked Mo Ziyu's head. The boy was young, but his eyes were unusually firm. He gritted his teeth and said, "Aunt Miao, I believe in you. We will definitely be able to protect Jingcheng."
"Okay." Zhan Miao nodded. "From now on, we'll make the most of every second."
She immediately summoned all her trusted guards and physicians, who gathered in a circle in the main hall, where a huge map of Jingcheng was hung on the wall.
"Everyone, listen to my command."
Zhan Miao's fingertips hovered over the map, his voice calm and clear:
"The first team, immediately go to all the clinics, wards, and morgues in the city, and write down for me every single name, address, time of onset, symptoms before death, and people who ate and lived with the patients and the deceased in the past month. This must be compiled into a book before nightfall."
"The second team will lead people to investigate all water sources in Jingcheng, including the city moat, the official road irrigation canals, public wells and private wells in the city, especially in the densely populated areas of the west and south city. Take water samples from each place and examine them one by one with silverware, soapberry, and poison-testing herbs. There must be no omissions."
"The third team, keep a close eye on the major grain shops and pharmacies in the city, especially those that have suddenly raised grain and medicine prices in the past half month and have been hoarding large quantities of goods. Also, keep a close watch on those outsiders of unknown origin who are stirring up trouble in the crowd. Report everything they do."
"The fourth team will guard the area around the city lord's mansion, with both overt and covert sentries deployed to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the chaos to set fires, poison, or create further trouble."
The instructions were clear, the division of labor was well-defined, and there was no hesitation or delay.
Everyone was taken aback, and then their hearts trembled. The young woman in front of them, though seemingly young, possessed a composure and strategy far beyond that of ordinary people, and was definitely not someone who acted impulsively.
"Yes!"
Everyone answered in unison and turned to act swiftly.
The room was instantly left with only three people.
Holding a thick old register from the City Lord's Mansion, Mo Ziyu's little face was full of seriousness: "Aunt Miao, I'll help you organize the records. I remember that the earliest incidents all happened to families in the West City."
Zhan Miao felt a warmth in her heart and went over to look through the pages with him.
On the old book, stroke by stroke, are recorded the major and minor events that have occurred in Jingcheng over the past month.
Just as Mo Ziyu had said, the earliest cases and the earliest deaths were all concentrated in the western part of the city.
Despite the panic in the prosperous areas of the East and North districts, there were almost no cases of illness.
“The spread of an epidemic, regardless of wealth or location, would never be so uniform.” Zhan Miao tapped the words “West City” with his fingertips, his eyes sharp as knives. “Only the people of West City die, only the land of West City is in chaos. This is not a natural disaster, but a man-made one.”
Princess Youyi's expression changed: "You mean, someone is really deliberately trying to harm people?"