newbobooks Chapter 263
Chapter 263
As Nalan Jingwen predicted, since the disaster began, the local government has not taken any action, leaving the people to freeze to death or starve to death.
The key point is that the capital city has not received any news. If a local government can be so arrogant, then it must be under someone's protection. The government of Xuzhou is protecting four cities, and there may be even higher-ups with people protecting them.
The city gates had already been opened, and the people were displaced. No one noticed the arrival of Nalan Jingwen and his party. They found a surviving inn to stay in.
Nalan Yin opened the window and looked down. All he could see were corpses. No one was collecting them, and they wouldn't smell even in winter. Nalan Yin then closed the window again.
Nalan Jingwen changed into some comfortable clothes, and Nalan Yin sat at the table, propping her face up with her hand to watch.
"Is my sister going out?"
Nalan Jingwen firmly tied the Thousand Silk Blade to her wrist, glanced at him upon hearing this, and said, "You should stay in your room tonight and don't go out."
"Sister, aren't you planning to take Yin'er with you?"
"obedient."
Nalan Jingwen's voice became a little harsher, and he said again, "Take off your clothes, they're all wet from the snow."
Nalan Yin smiled, walked up to her, and wrapped her arms around her waist. "Sister, help me change."
Nalan Jingwen calmly pushed the person away, saying, "Come down for dinner after you've changed."
After saying that, she turned and left.
Liu Qingxu had already packed up and was waiting downstairs. When he saw Nalan Jingwen come downstairs, he immediately stood up, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.
Nalan Jingwen gestured for her to sit down, "I know you want to go back and visit, but now is not the right time."
Liu Qingxu looked dejected. "It's been so long since I came back. I don't know if Mother will blame me."
“Your mother won’t blame you. She will only be pleased that you didn’t act impulsively but instead traveled thousands of miles to find me. She will definitely be proud of you.”
Liu Qingxu looked at Nalan Jingwen, his eyes welling up with tears, but he still managed to laugh.
Nalan Jingwen poured her a cup of tea and handed it to her, saying, "I'll go with you later."
Liu Qingxu was surprised, "You're going too?"
Nalan Jingwen nodded, "You don't have the skills. What if they send people to stake out your house?"
"You must understand the principle of cutting weeds without pulling them out by the roots."
Liu Qingxu was stunned for a moment, then nodded bitterly.
"I just feel that I have nothing right now, yet you've helped me so much. I don't know how to repay you."
Her current appearance almost makes Nalan Jingwen forget that she used to be a sharp-tongued and irritable woman.
"Just repay me with your body."
Nalan Jingwen spoke these words calmly. Liu Qingxu understood what he meant, took a deep breath, and his gaze gradually hardened.
"it is good!"
"I don't allow it!"
Nalan Yin quickly stepped forward, sat down next to Nalan Jingwen, hugged her, and glared at Liu Qingxu.
"I won't allow it!"
You two cannot be together!
Liu Qingxu silently looked away.
Nalan Jingwen didn't believe he didn't know what he meant, so she raised her hand and gave him a sharp rap on the head, saying in a deep voice, "What nonsense are you talking about?!"
Nalan Yin glared at her, "You've never said anything like that to me!"
As he spoke, he turned to look at Liu Qingxu and warned, "Stay away from your sister!"
Liu Qingxu wanted to cry but had no tears, feeling wronged, but he couldn't very well argue with a man. The sad atmosphere had been completely disrupted by his interruption.
Nalan Jingwen forcibly ripped the person off his body, saying, "You should sit properly."
Nalan Yin is much more lively now than before, no longer lifeless and always wanting to drag Nalan Jingwen to his death. She hasn't said the word "death" in a long time.
He turned his head and sulked at Nalan Jingwen, "So, sister doesn't care about Yin'er at all, right?"
"Alright, stop pretending and eat properly."
She took Nalan Yin's hand, which was still icy cold, and frowned slightly. "Are you still not well?"
Nalan Yin's eyes flickered, and she withdrew her hand.
"It'll be over soon. It's just that the weather is too cold, which has triggered a lingering illness from before. It's nothing serious."
Nalan Jingwen remained silent. It was normal for Nalan Yin to have suffered a lot in the palace and develop a chronic illness.
"When we get back, I'll have Qishan take a look at it for you."
Liu Qishan's medical skills are superb; he should be able to cure Nalan Yin.
Nalan Yin seemed to be thinking about something, and her expression wasn't very good. Without even thinking, she refused.
"no need."
"why?"
Nalan Jingwen knew that Nalan Yin was hostile to those around her, but that was not a reason.
Nalan Yin still refused to budge, saying nonchalantly, "I'm fine. I've been through so many years, I'm used to it."
He glossed over the suffering he had endured over the years with a single stroke of his pen, speaking of it with utter ease, as if he had never suffered at all.
Upon hearing this, Nalan Jing's tone softened.
"Be good, and you can stay at my place when we get back."
Nalan Yin suddenly turned to look at her, her eyes lighting up. "Sister, you keep your word?!"
"The premise is that you need to let Qishan help you recuperate."
It will be tough on Qishan, but she will make it up to him.
Nalan Yin deflated, remained silent for a long time, and finally nodded in agreement.
"it is good!"
Nalan Jingwen gave Liu Qingxu some more instructions. Soon the waiter brought up the last dish. Although it was all vegetarian, there was almost nothing to eat in the city due to the disaster. He wondered where this inn got its food and how it had survived the disaster.
The owner of this shop must have some tricks up his sleeve.
Nalan Jingwen pondered for a moment, then called out to the waiter and took out a gold ingot from his pocket, placing it in front of her.
"May I ask you some questions?"
The waiter's eyes lit up. He looked around and then discreetly slipped the gold into his sleeve.
"Please tell me, and I will answer to the best of my knowledge!"
"The disaster is already so severe, why hasn't the government opened the granaries to distribute grain?"
Upon hearing this, the waiter's expression turned somewhat strange. He whispered, "Actually, the government did distribute porridge at first. However, there were bandits on Hongcheng Mountain. Every time porridge was distributed, the bandits would receive a message soon afterward and bring their men to smash up the stall. They even said that if the government dared to distribute porridge again, they would smash it every time they saw it, and if the government didn't obey, they would smash up the government office as well!"
Liu Qingxu's face darkened. "So arrogant, and the government isn't doing anything about it?"
The waiter clapped his hands and said, "How dare we interfere? Those good-for-nothings aren't even worth a beating. We can only do whatever they say!"
Liu Qingxu was furious. "What about the Chen family? Don't they care either?"
After all, who in business doesn't want to earn a reputation as a philanthropist? Those who do too many unsavory things become particularly concerned with empty fame.
The Chen family that Liu Qingxu mentioned is the richest family in Hongcheng, the Chen family that has always ranked second to the Liu family.
Xiao Er curled his lips, "Them? There are so many disaster victims now, who would be so kind? To be honest, at the beginning, the Chen family was just like those government officials, pretending to do good deeds and putting the reputation of being charitable on their heads. But that porridge was basically all water, and you could hardly see any grains of rice."
"Later, as the number of disaster victims increased and the costs rose, their attitude changed drastically, and they told people to get as far away as possible."