Chapter 226: Chapter 226: More than Half of Bai City’s Population Dead!
Xiang Li looked at her, his usually gentle eyes now filled with complete indifference.
“Qianqian, you need not beg me, I clearly remember how you treated Lingxiang.”
Having said that, he gently held Lin Lingxiang’s hand and walked forward, not glancing at Xiang Qianqian again.
Furious, Xiang Qianqian could only stare at his receding figure helplessly.
The cold wind blew, and she could no longer endure it, clumsily climbing back onto the carriage.
The night had deepened, and in the two carriages of Xiang Ying, there were enough burning logs.
After Tao Xue had fallen asleep with the three little ones, Xiang Ying secretly switched the logs to the spatial silver charcoal.
This charcoal produced no white smoke, and placed near the carriage door, it didn’t let too much carbon dioxide build up to suffocate anyone.
Fortunately, the carriage was not entirely sealed. To maintain the temperature, Xiang Ying had covered the three walls of the carriage with quilts in the evening.
The children and Aren lay on the furthest inside, Tao Xue was in the middle, followed by Xiang Ying.
Qi Fengyi always held his sword, sitting by the carriage door.
It was already late, and Xiang Ying was not at all sleepy.
Hearing the howling wind outside, she couldn’t help but put on her thick clothes and check on their horses.
In such cold weather, all the horses were taken inside the shed, mixed with the Jie Chen’s warhorses.
The entire stable was also covered with heavy felt curtains. Seeing the horses resting on the ground, Xiang Ying felt reassured and went to the second carriage to check.
Lin Lingxiang and the Seventh Princess Xiang Rongrong were sleeping inside it, separated by a curtain in the middle, with Xiang Li, Mr. Chu of the Imperial College, and Mr. Lin outside.
Xiang Ying sneakily replaced their charcoal fire with silver charcoal too, a subtle action, yet it made Xiang Li open his eyes.
“Ayin, haven’t you slept?” he sat up, instinctively handing over the blanket draped around him.
Xiang Ying leaned at the carriage shaft, smiling at him: “I was afraid your fire logs had gone out, so I came to check. Aren’t you cold, brother?”
Xiang Li, wrapping the blanket around, smiled, “Not cold, the Deputy General also sent someone to check earlier, don’t worry.”
Jie Chen also came over? She didn’t know.
Xiang Ying’s expression changed briefly, quickly smiled, and said: “Then you rest, brother, I’m going back to the front carriage.”
She was about to leave, but Xiang Li called her.
“Ayin,” Xiang Li spoke softly, “you shouldn’t have come back.”
Xiang Ying paused, only to hear Xiang Li say, “Once we enter Nanyue, everything will be out of our control.”
The howling wind and snow brushed Xiang Ying’s exposed cheeks, bringing the sensation of snow particles.
She raised her finger, lightly rubbed it twice, and said indifferently, “Brother, what if I really wanted to enter the Imperial Palace of Nanyue?”
Xiang Li was stunned, his eyes showing waves of confusion.
His pupils reflected Xiang Ying’s perfectly calm expression.
Even her smile was so beautiful.
“Just wait and see, the cheap Father almost killed us, I can’t let him off easily.”
Saying that, Xiang Ying waved her hand, lowered the curtain, and then returned to her own carriage.
Having stood outside for just that while, her clothes were already covered in frost and snow.
Hanging her clothes next to the furnace to dry, Xiang Ying took out a drone from her space.
She wanted to see how far away Bai City was now.
The snow was falling heavily, covering all the official roads.
The invisible drone was released, fortunately unaffected by the heavy snow, and flew forward unobstructed.
The pitch-black night, the ground snow reflecting light, was a dismal white expanse.
The howling snowstorm slightly slowed the drone’s speed. Xiang Ying used infrared detection and discovered that the road ahead seemed never-ending.
At this moment, a black dot quickly approached the station where they were located.
Upon enlarging the screen, Xiang Ying realized that it was the spy soldier previously sent out by Jie Chen.
The drone followed his galloping horse all the way back.
Before even pulling tight the reins, the spy soldier tumbled off the horse’s back, as if greatly frightened.
“Deputy General, it’s bad, Deputy General!” he clambered up from the snow and rushed into Jie Chen’s tent.
Xiang Ying hurriedly directed the drone to follow, only to hear the spy soldier’s voice hoarsely screaming, “Half of Bai City’s 120,000 people are dead! Now they have closed the city gates!”
In Jie Chen’s tent, the flames suddenly flared brightly.
To conserve wood and gather warmth, several team leaders and soldiers all stayed inside Jie Chen’s tent.
Hearing the spy soldier’s words, everyone woke up in shock. Acid Scholar directly said, “Deputy General, it seems we must change our path.”
Jie Chen was certainly considering it but had already studied the terrain – the nearest feasible stop was Bai City, and even if they now turned back to rest in the previous town, it would take two or three days.
They were completely out of supplies now, unless he sought help from Xiang Ying.
But doing so could easily expose Xiang Ying’s abilities to dangers.
Jie Chen’s complexion was somber, his gaze fixed on the sand table as he strategized, falling into a prolonged silence.
Everyone inside the tent waited for him to decide.
One step back was to freeze to death or possibly get lost and have the entire army perish.
Moving forward would mean entering plague-stricken Bai City, the only advantage being shelter from the wind and the cold.
Finally, Jie Chen made up his mind.
“Get everyone up; we are moving towards Bai City overnight.”
He personally wrote a letter and had the spy soldier carry his token: “Go tell the City Garrison of Bai City to prepare to open the gates and accommodate a few hundred people.”
The spy soldier nodded and plunged into the vast snowy night as he lifted the curtain.
In the Sixth Prince’s carriage, Qianqian lifted the curtain and saw the spy soldier rushing back hastily and then depart again swiftly.
The just-screamed words terrified and suddenly woke her up.
Beside her, the Sixth Prince also opened his eyes, listening to the sounds outside.
“Your Highness, that spy soldier has left again.”
The Sixth Prince sat up, his eyes narrowed somberly: “It seems Jie Chen is determined to enter Bai City.”
Qianqian was startled and quickly said, “Your Highness should stop him, the spy soldier just said that over half of Bai City’s 120,000 people are dead, how can Your Highness enter such a place with your esteemed status?”
In the dim carriage, the Sixth Prince’s eyes shone brightly, a sinister smile curling his lips.
“How foolish. This is my opportunity; of course I should go to Bai City.”
Qianqian’s heart skipped, puzzled as she looked at him.
The Sixth Prince did not say more, just lifted the curtain to gaze out at the vast snow in the night.
“Fate really favors me.”
If this whole Exile Team were to die in this epidemic, Jie Chen’s fault would be enormous, and he couldn’t escape the blame!
Even if he returned to the Capital, Father would be pressured and counter measures could only be abandoned.
The Sixth Prince knew, his opportunity had finally come.
Xiang Ying collected the drone and quickly put on clothes, waking up Qi Fengyi.
“Your Highness, what happened?” Qi Fengyi, rubbing his eyes.
Xiang Ying said: “In a while Jie Chen will have the team set off. The path ahead is cold and slippery, join me in tying anti-slip cotton on the hooves of each horse.”