Chapter 274
Chapter 274
Looking at the great crowd of beggars, Ren Fengjue knew that Zhao Wan had brought nowhere near enough for everyone.
He immediately sent Axia to the shops in the city to buy more food and necessities in his own name…
Everyone was extremely busy when someone in the crowd suddenly shouted a rebuke, and a group of people began fighting.
The scene descended into chaos.
Zhao Wan immediately sent the Golden Plume Guards to restore order.
But there were so many beggars that the few guards could not force their way through.
Yu Lang was the one who found a solution. Taking several silver ingots from his robes, he shouted, “I’m giving out silver here! First come, first served!”
He leaped onto a rock beside the temple, immediately drawing part of the crowd away.
Even the fighters stopped at once and hurried over.
Ren Fengjue noticed that those who had been beaten were dressed somewhat differently from the beggars. They were probably refugees from elsewhere, which would explain why they were being excluded and bullied.
During past wars on the Northern Border, refugees had often fled from place to place.
But since Great Qi’s founding, the Marquis of Zhenbei had guarded and governed the Northern Border. The people should gradually have settled into stable lives.
What had happened to these people?
Wanting to learn more, he took some steamed buns and water and approached them himself.
At first, the refugees thought he had come to drive them away. Frightened, they rose to flee despite their painful injuries, only to find him offering food and water.
“Have something to eat first. Fill your stomachs a little.”
They were famished. At his words, they hastily accepted the food and began wolfing it down.
Only after eating for quite a while did they remember to kneel and bow in thanks.
Ren Fengjue stopped and supported them, studying them again. There were four in all. The oldest looked to be in his early thirties, while the youngest was only a boy in his early teens.
He asked, “Have you only recently arrived in Liangzhou?”
The older man answered, “We’ve been here for over half a month. We can’t get into Liangzhou City, so we’ve had to look for food around here…”
Another added, “We heard a great benefactor would be giving alms today, so we came to queue last night. But those people wouldn’t respect who arrived first.”
Ren Fengjue understood.
They might all be beggars, but even beggars had ranks and formed cliques…
As outsiders with no one to rely on, these people could only endure being bullied.
“Where are you from originally? How did you end up here?”
At Ren Fengjue’s questions, the young boy could not hold back his tears.
He choked out, “Our home was destroyed. So many people died. We had nowhere to go, so we had to…”
Before he could finish, the older man hastily covered his mouth.
Ren Fengjue saw that most of them had injuries, apparently old ones. Some wounds were severe and had already developed festering sores.
Knowing how guarded they were, he did not press them. He merely said, “This young fellow’s hand is badly injured. The wound needs treating as soon as possible, or it could affect his entire arm…”
“How about this? If you trust me, come into the city with me. I’ll find a physician to see you.”
They could scarcely believe what they heard.
The boy was unsure, but the others immediately knelt and struck their foreheads firmly against the ground several times. “Thank you, great benefactor! Thank you!”
Everyone was puzzled when Ren Fengjue returned with the four refugees. Upon hearing that he meant to take them back to Liangzhou City, Zhao Wan immediately frowned.
“How? Are they supposed to share a carriage with Miss Xia and me?”
Though the princess had a charitable heart, she had considerable objections to taking in refugees.
The four were about to say they could walk…
But Ren Fengjue said, “Let them use my carriage. The rest of us can squeeze in with Your Highness and Miss Xia. Would that do?”
He glanced at Xia Ximo, who said nothing.
Zhao Wan reluctantly agreed. “Very well. Since it’s New Year’s Eve, I’ll see this good deed through.”
By now, all the food and supplies for keeping out the cold had been distributed.
They were about to return to the mansion when someone in the crowd shouted, “The Holy Son is here! The Holy Son is here…”
At the cry, all the beggars surged toward the roadside.
A short distance away, a spacious, magnificent carriage drawn by five horses approached along the main road.
The driver wore a black gauze veil and radiated Baleful Qi. Most conspicuous was the sword case on his back, which looked half as large as the man himself.
Ren Fengjue’s brow furrowed deeply at the sight.
Great Qi had rules governing carriages. The emperor used six horses, feudal lords four. Below them, only court officials were entitled to use two.
He had never expected to see a five-horse carriage outside Liangzhou City. This was nothing less than placing oneself below the emperor but above the feudal lords.
“How outrageous! Doesn’t… the Marquis of Zhenbei do anything about this?”
Yu Lang was furious too.
Even back in the capital, they had heard that on the Northern Border, heaven was high and the emperor far away. His authority scarcely reached here.
But behavior as brazen as this had clearly been indulged…
Just then, one of the refugees beside them spoke quietly. “The Three Holy Sons are all adopted sons of the Marquis of Zhenbei. They’ve become immensely popular on the Northern Border over the years. Many people worship them as true gods.”
Yu Lang was stunned again. “True… gods? What kind of nonsense is that?”
Ren Fengjue, however, caught the key point. “You mean they’re all men of the Marquis of Zhenbei?”
The man nodded firmly, hatred in his eyes.
As they spoke, the five-horse carriage drew nearer and stopped a little over ten feet from Princess Fenghua’s carriage.
“Whoa!”
The driver pulled the reins to halt the horses. Only then did everyone see that, apart from one blood-sweating horse, the other four were rare, prized horses known as Snow Dragon Steeds.
Yu Lang shook his head and sighed. “What a waste of such fine animals.”
Xia Ximo said nothing, but her eyes remained fixed on the sword case on the driver’s back. A faint trace of Yin-Sha Qi wreathed it, making it highly suspicious.
Once the carriage stopped, the beggars crowded forward and knelt. “Holy Son, grant us your blessing! Grant us your blessing!”
In moments, kneeling beggars formed a dense mass all around.
Zhao Wan said in displeasure, “I was giving them things just now. Why weren’t they so devoted to me?”
She cracked her whip and shouted unceremoniously, “Hey! You’re blocking the road. Can’t you see?”
The beggars did not move, as though they had not heard her at all.
Only when a hand emerged from the carriage and scattered gold leaf did they stir, scrambling for it like madmen willing to risk their lives.
Zhao Wan had been angry, but now the sight only frightened her.
“These lunatics!”
In moments, all the gold leaf had been snatched up. Yet the person in the carriage never showed himself.
Only the driver gave a slight bow toward Zhao Wan from a distance, then turned the carriage around and left.