From cute to empress

Chapter 137 Sailing against the current

The laughter and joyful chatter from the banquet seemed to still be ringing in my ears, but in the blink of an eye, I was already in the midst of a storm.

"Your Majesty, watch your step!" Zhen Youcai held me steady, his voice a little broken by the howling wind and rain. I steadied myself and looked out. The once smooth road had been swallowed by the flood, leaving it muddy and in ruins.

"How could this happen..." I muttered to myself, feeling as if an invisible hand was gripping my heart. Before leaving, I never imagined that the disaster would be even more serious than I had anticipated.

"Your Majesty, we must get to the town as soon as possible, otherwise more people will suffer!" The guard's anxious voice brought me back to reality.

"Pass the order down, all soldiers lead the way, craftsmen and workers follow closely behind, and be sure to pay attention to safety!" Zhen Youcai gave the order decisively, his firm gaze seemed to be able to penetrate the wind and rain.

I followed closely behind, trudging forward with the other soldiers, one foot deep, one foot shallow. The raindrops, as big as beans, pelted my face mercilessly, freezing me to the bone. Someone in the group began to complain, "How can we make it on this road? It's so hard to move forward!"

"Yeah, when will this rain stop? I don't want to die in this damn place!"

Complaints and cries, mixed with the sound of wind and rain, echoed in my ears, like fine needles, pricking my nerves.

"Shut up!" Zhen Youcai roared, shocking everyone. "Now is not the time to complain. We have the responsibility to save the people! Think about those people trapped by the flood, think about their wives, children and the elderly. Can you bear to watch them suffer?!"

His voice was sonorous and powerful, with a strong appeal that instantly quieted the originally somewhat scattered team.

"Everyone, cheer up. We will definitely overcome the difficulties and complete the rescue mission!" Zhen Youcai once again boosted morale, his eyes firm and full of hope.

I looked at him, and a warm feeling welled up in my heart. Yes, the more difficult the time, the more we must unite as one to overcome everything!

"Boom--" With a loud noise, a wooden bridge in front was washed away by the flood, completely cutting off our road to the town.

"What should we do? What should we do now?!" someone shouted in despair.

I looked at everything in front of me, feeling extremely anxious, but there was nothing I could do.

"Your Majesty, don't worry, I have a solution!" Zhen Youcai said, turning to look at the team behind him, his eyes determined...

Zhen Youcai's gaze swept across the tired yet resolute faces, finally landing on a lean man in the crowd. "Craftsman Li!" he shouted.

Upon hearing the voice, Master Li immediately stepped out from the crowd, wiped the rain from his face, and replied, "What are your orders, General?"

"You are a veteran in the engineering camp. Do you have any solution?" Zhen Youcai pointed at the broken bridge ahead and spoke in a hurried tone.

Craftsman Li narrowed his eyes, carefully observing the water flow and the broken bridge. After a moment, he said firmly: "General, as long as we find the right wood, we can build a simple floating bridge!"

"Okay!" Zhen Youcai shouted, "Everyone, listen up! Collect usable wood immediately and fully cooperate with Craftsman Li in building the floating bridge!"

At the command, the initially panicked troops sprang into action. Soldiers braved the wind and rain to search nearby for usable timber. Under the direction of Li, the craftsmen began measuring, cutting, and splicing the timber. Migrant workers also spontaneously joined in, some carrying timber, others delivering tools, each doing their utmost to buy time for the rescue effort.

Zhen Youcai and I joined the team and helped carry the wood. The rain soaked our clothes and the sweat soaked our clothes, but no one complained or backed down.

After several hours of hard work, a simple floating bridge was finally built. Watching this "bridge of life" swaying in the wind and rain, we were all thrilled.

"Let's go!" Zhen Youcai gave an order, and the team stepped onto the floating bridge and headed towards the town on the opposite bank.

When we arrived at the town, the scene before us was shocking. The flood had submerged most of the houses, leaving only a few rooftops exposed above the water. Many residents were trapped on the rooftops, waving their arms and shouting desperately, hoping for help.

"Hurry! Help!" I shouted anxiously, as if someone was clutching my heart.

Zhen Youcai didn't have time to say anything more. He immediately ordered the soldiers to throw the ropes they brought to the trapped residents, preparing to rescue them one by one.

"Wait," Craftsman Li suddenly said, "General, the water is flowing fast. It's too dangerous to rescue directly with ropes. We..."

"Then what do you say we should do?!" I asked anxiously, my eyes fixed on the figures swaying in the wind and rain. "We must rescue them as soon as possible!"

Craftsman Li took a deep breath and said with a firm look, "We can..." Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by a cry of surprise.

"Oh no! The house over there is going to collapse!"

I looked in the direction of the sound and saw a house not far away that had been soaked in floodwaters for a long time. It was tottering in the wind and rain and was about to collapse at any time...

"Hurry! Go save them!" I pointed at the house about to collapse, my voice trembling. "Hurry, save them!" My voice was almost drowned out by the howling wind and rain. My heart felt like it was being tightly grasped by an invisible hand, and I could hardly breathe.

Without hesitation, Zhen Youcai immediately rushed towards the dilapidated building with several nimble soldiers. I held on to Master Li's arm tightly, staring at their figures intently, as if pinning all my hopes on them.

"Don't worry, my queen. The general and the brothers are veterans who have fought in many battles. Nothing will happen to them." Craftsman Li held my hand with his backhand. His hand was rough but warm, which gave me great comfort.

"But..." I still couldn't help but worry. That was a dangerous building that could collapse at any time. The flood had already overflowed half of the house and could swallow up the entire house at any time.

"Trust them!" said Master Li firmly.

I could only suppress my worry and turned to the soldiers beside me and shouted, "Quick! Throw the rope over! And get some planks and hemp ropes!"

The soldiers immediately took action, throwing ropes towards the crumbling house and handing the wooden planks and hemp ropes they had brought to Craftsman Li. Craftsman Li took the planks and hemp ropes and began to direct the craftsmen to build a simple support frame.

"Empress, look!"

I looked in the direction Wang the migrant worker pointed and saw Zhen Youcai leading several soldiers into the dilapidated building. A moment later, they came out, helping several panicked victims.

"Thank God..." I breathed a sigh of relief, and my heart finally settled down.

With everyone's concerted efforts, the victims trapped in the dangerous houses were quickly rescued. Seeing their terrified faces, my heart ached.

"Hurry, take them to a safe place and give them some food and water," I ordered.

"Yes!" The soldiers immediately followed my order and took the rescued victims to higher ground for resettlement.

"My lady, look, it's Landlord Zhao!" said Wang the migrant worker, pointing to a small boat in the distance.

I looked closely and saw it was indeed Landlord Zhao. He was standing on a small boat, directing his servants to bring bags of food and medicine to the shore.

"Landlord Zhao, why are you here?" I asked in surprise.

"Your Majesty, I heard that the disaster here was severe, so I brought some food and medicine here, hoping I can be of help." Landlord Zhao said, and then ordered his servants to bring the food and medicine in front of me.

"Landlord Zhao, you are so thoughtful." I looked at him gratefully. "Thanks to you this time, otherwise..."

"Your Majesty, you are too kind. This is what a commoner should do." Landlord Zhao said humbly.

I nodded and turned to the soldier beside me and said, "Quick, distribute these food and medicines to the victims."

"Yes!" The soldiers took the order and left.

Just as the rescue operation was nearing its end, the sky suddenly became even darker, with strong winds howling and raindrops as big as beans falling down with a crackling sound.

"Oh no! The water level seems to be rising again!" Craftsman Li's face changed drastically. "My Queen, General, we must retreat immediately, otherwise..."

"It's too late!" Zhen Youcai pointed to the distance and said in a heavy voice, "Look!"

I followed his gaze and saw in the distance, a larger flood was roaring towards us...