flstandardbreds Chapter 158 Moral Kidnapping
Chapter 158 Moral Kidnapping
In less than half an hour, everyone in Nanping Prefecture knew that refugees had arrived outside the city.
The people understood each other's intentions and hurried back to their homes, locking their doors tightly. In an instant, the streets were deserted except for the patrolling guards.
Yan Wanwan rode his horse at full speed and arrived at the city gate in a flash.
Without hesitation, she gave the order: "Open the city gates!"
The guards were startled when they saw her and rushed forward to stop her, saying anxiously, "County Lady, the city is full of refugees now. You must not leave!"
Yan Wanwan looked at the yamen runner blocking the main gate, feeling quite helpless. She could only point to the door on the other side and explained, "I asked you to open the small door."
The yamen runner was adamant and responded decisively: "That won't work either. It's too dangerous!"
Faced with the other party's tough rejection, Yan Wanwan had no choice but to settle for the next best thing and climb up the city wall.
She stood on the city wall and looked down, only to see a dense crowd of refugees.
They sat outside the city gate, leaning on crutches, and uttered weak prayers.
Yan Wanwan stood tall and straight on the city wall, looking down at everything below. There was no ripple on his cold face, and his eyes were as calm as a bottomless pool, without the slightest trace of emotion.
Not long after, the prefect hurried up the city wall with a look of anxiety on his face. He breathed heavily and wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead. He bowed and said in a respectful yet cautious tone, "County Master, the amount of grain in the granary has been counted. Here is the detailed account book."
As he spoke, he widened his eyes vigilantly, his gaze like a hawk, carefully scanning the surroundings, not missing any tiny corner. After making sure that there were no suspicious people around and no one would eavesdrop, he slowly handed the account book in his hand to Yan Wanwan with both hands. His movements were gentle and cautious, as if the account book was a priceless rare treasure.
The prefect's look of being in a state of panic, as if he was afraid that someone might be eavesdropping, successfully made Yan Wanwan laugh.
The corners of her mouth rose slightly, revealing a faint smile. She then lowered her head and opened the account book. Her eyes quickly scanned the densely packed data on it. In just a moment, she had a clear idea in her mind.
"Take out half of the grain from the granary and transport it here immediately."
Yan Wanwan gave the order directly in a calm but unquestionable tone.
Upon hearing this, the prefect's face was instantly filled with confusion, his eyes widened, and his eyes were full of doubt and puzzlement.
He muttered to himself: What's wrong with the county lady? Wasn't she firmly opposed to helping the refugees before? Why did she suddenly change her mind? What's going on?
His lips trembled slightly, and after hesitating for a long time, he couldn't help but ask, "County Master, are you going to...distribute this food to the refugees?"
"That's right." Yan Wanwan's answer was concise and clear, without any hesitation.
"But Princess, didn't you clearly say before that you would not help these refugees? Why now..." There was a hint of urgency in the prefect's voice. He really couldn't understand the Princess's intentions, and the doubts in his heart grew like a snowball.
"What I mean is not to open the city gates to rescue." Yan Wanwan raised her eyebrows slightly, with a mysterious look in her eyes.
The prefect frowned, and the wrinkles on his forehead formed the shape of the Chinese character "川". His brain was working rapidly, trying to understand what the county lord said.
How could food be distributed to the refugees without opening the city gates? Could it be that the county lord had some hidden trick up his sleeve?
He was full of confusion, but he didn't dare to ask any more questions. He could only suppress all his questions in his heart.
In the end, the prefect obeyed the order and immediately sent people to deliver half of the grain in the granary.
The noise on the wall was quite loud, and was soon noticed by the refugees below. They shouted to the people on the wall, "Save us! Please be kind and give us some food. We can't hold on any longer!"
The voices of the refugees praying for help grew louder and louder, and even the people in the city could hear them clearly.
However, in the face of these noisy shouts, the city became increasingly silent and no one dared to go out.
At this moment, Yan Wanwan raised her hand and waved to the crowd, shouting, "Everyone, be quiet!"
Immediately afterwards, several heavy drum beats were heard, and the crowd below the city finally quieted down. Everyone raised their heads, staring intently at Yan Wanwan, ready to listen to what she was going to say next.
"I understand. You are all refugees fleeing from all over the place. We in Nanping Prefecture deeply sympathize with your plight. However, we also suffered a severe earthquake not long ago and suffered heavy losses ourselves. So, it's not that we don't want to help you, but we simply don't have the ability to do so."
As soon as Yan Wanwan finished speaking, she heard the refugees below shouting loudly: "You are talking nonsense! You clearly have the best fertilizer and seeds and have been able to be self-sufficient for a long time. Why can't you share some with us?"
"That's right! You live a prosperous life, even a day laborer can earn three or four taels of silver, but you just don't want to save us!"
"How despicable! Why are you so heartless? Will giving us some food cost you your lives?"
As the voices of rebuttal grew louder, Yan Wanwan strangely showed no intention of stopping them. Instead, a faint smile played on the corner of her mouth. She just stood there quietly, listening carefully to the refugees' accusations.
The prefect listened to these voices, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and he couldn't help but say to Yan Wanwan: "County Lady, don't we need to stop them?"
Yan Wanwan asked in confusion, "Stop it? Why would you stop it?"
"They are so rude..." The prefect's face turned ashen in an instant, veins popped out on his forehead, and his eyes burned with anger.
His chest heaved violently, his hands were clenched tightly into fists, and his knuckles turned white from the exertion.
Yan Wanwan laughed secretly in his heart. If the prefect had been to the modern times, there would be a term called moral kidnapping. He was weak but he was right.
She stepped forward, patted his shoulder and comforted him, "Don't be angry about these people. It's unnecessary and a waste of emotions."
"But they..."
"As the saying goes, there's always something hateful about a pitiful person. They've been traveling all this way, passing through so many cities, all of which refused to help them, yet they left without a word. Why are they pestering us now that we're here? Could it be that they think we're easy prey for Nanping Prefecture and are treating us like soft persimmons?"
After Yan Wanwan's reminder, the prefect also vaguely sensed that something was amiss. Whether it was the refugees' route or their recent words, all signs indicated that someone was secretly manipulating and deliberately directing their actions.
The prefect's face flushed with rage as he raged, "Someone must have mentioned our Nanping Prefecture to these refugees, deceiving them by saying we're prosperous and have plenty of food!"
After hearing this, Yan Wanwan nodded slightly.
"Who is this person? He actually wants to harm us."
"It doesn't matter who it is. Since they've made a move, we should reciprocate."