South Ning Prefecture was the largest prefecture in the central region of Tianning Country, and one of the areas hit hardest by the famine.
If this was any other time, they'd be able to sense the liveliness and prosperity of South Ning Prefecture from the outskirts. Now, however, the place was filled with a deathly stillness.
Han Yunxi and Long Fei Ye saw nothing but desolation on their way. The soil along the way was so dry that it was cracked. Not a single blade of grass grew, much less grain. The villages they passed by were filled with a deathly stillness, as if they were shrouded in the aura of death. They didn't want to stay a moment longer than they wanted to escape.
Generally speaking, most of the places affected by the famine were villages. Those who couldn't afford to buy grain were mostly peasants at the bottom of the food chain. They were usually self-sufficient and rarely had the extra money to buy other kinds of food. If the harvest wasn't good, they wouldn't even have enough grain to pay the landlords for rent, much less keep it for themselves.
In the past, it was common to see hordes of famine victims roaming the mountains in search of wild herbs to allay their hunger. It was even more common to see them fight over a single stalk of wild herb. But this time, Han Yunxi and Long Fei Ye didn't see many famine victims. Occasionally, they'd see a few hungry old people huddled up in front of their houses.
South Ning Prefecture was a large prefecture, so the population in the outskirts far exceeded the population in the cities. From what they knew, there hadn't been any mass migration of famine victims because the other prefectures and counties had strictly controlled the area to prevent riots. They didn't allow refugees to enter as they pleased.
So why hadn't they seen any famine victims? Were they all hiding in their houses?
With these doubts in mind, Han Yunxi and Long Fei Ye's carriage slowly entered the heart of South Ning Prefecture, South Ning City.
A town was a town, where the rich and powerful resided. Even if it looked bleak and desolate, at least order was maintained.
Behind the vermillion gates, meat and wine went to waste, while on the roads, bones froze to death. The rich and powerful would never lack for rations.
The carriage slowly moved forward. Long Fei Ye was taking a nap with his eyes closed. Han Yunxi looked out of the window and saw that the street was less bustling, but it was still clean and tidy. There were still pedestrians on the road, but there were fewer of them.
Although they had changed carriages, Long Fei Ye and Han Yunxi still did not reveal their whereabouts. Many people passed by the carriage, and some even glanced at it. However, they did not know that the people sitting in the carriage were the imperial envoys sent by the court to provide disaster relief. They were also the most talked about figures in the country, His Highness Duke of Qin and Qin Wangfei.
Long Fei Ye and Han Yunxi were walking in the direction of the Prefectural Governor's Manor. Who would have thought that as they walked, a carriage would suddenly rush over from the front, causing a commotion on the street.
"Out of the way! Step aside! Get out of the way! "
"I won't compensate you if you bump into me. Get out of my way!"
…
The coachman was a young lad. He waved his whip and shouted arrogantly. The pedestrians on both sides of the street dodged. Many people couldn't dodge in time and fell to the side of the road.
Han Yunxi had already poked her head out of the window to watch.
She saw that it was a two-horse carriage with four wheels coming towards them. The carriage was luxuriously decorated. The curtains were made of pure silk and the four corners were decorated with golden tassels. She couldn't see the insignia on the carriage, but from the outside, she could tell that the people in the carriage were either rich or noble.
Han Yunxi's carriage slowly moved in the middle of the road without any signs of moving out of the way. The carriage in front of them grew closer and closer, but it didn't seem to have any intention of stopping.
It had to be known that the other party was traveling at such a fast speed. If they bumped into them head-on, it would definitely cause a large impact. A car accident was unavoidable, and the consequences could be very serious.
This was the first time Han Yunxi had encountered this kind of situation. Needless to say, she was still a bit panicked when she saw the carriage fly towards them as if it couldn't stop. However, when she turned her head to look at Long Fei Ye inside the carriage, her anxious heart immediately calmed down.
She saw Long Fei Ye leaning lazily in the carriage with his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. He didn't take the emergency situation outside seriously at all.
After following Long Fei Ye for so long, Han Yunxi had gradually learned a skill. That was, if this man didn't take it seriously, she didn't have to worry about it.
Thus, she returned to the carriage and continued to laze around.
Long Fei Ye's carriage didn't move, and the carriage in front of them didn't stop either. The distance between the two sides was less than twenty meters, and the surroundings were quickly filled with onlookers.
The young coachman of the other side naturally noticed this situation. He drove the carriage at a high speed while asking, "Master, there's a carriage blocking the way. Don't move!"
An arrogant voice came from inside the carriage, "Dare to block this old man's way? Are you looking for death? Charge over for this young master and see if he'll move! "
"Yes! This little one understands! "
This coachman couldn't wait for something to happen. He became excited and crazily waved his whip as he sped up.
This kind of speed, no matter who it was, they would be scared!
He originally thought that the other side's carriage would move aside, but who knew that not only did the other side not move aside, they didn't even put them in their eyes. They still maintained their original speed and drove on at a moderate speed!
Gradually, the distance between the two carriages got closer and closer, and the surrounding onlookers trembled with fear!
The coachman finally got scared and said anxiously, "Master, they're still not stopping. What should we do?"
A young master came out of the carriage. He was dressed in brocade and looked very noble.
In such an urgent situation, he wasn't afraid. He glanced at the carriage in front of them and said disdainfully, "Force them to stop. This young master doesn't believe that there's anyone who isn't afraid of death!"
As he said that, he took the whip and reins from the coachman and drove the carriage himself. He actually sped up and rushed over aggressively.
This scene was really thrilling. With this momentum, a collision was inevitable. The surrounding onlookers couldn't take their eyes off of it, afraid that they would miss the scene of the collision!
The distance kept shrinking. The young master's expression gradually turned serious and focused, while Long Fei Ye's coachman's expression remained calm.
Only six meters left! They could all see each other's expressions.
Three meters, they're about to collide!
Only two meters left. Soon, soon, they're about to collide! If they didn't move aside, it would really be too late.
Everyone couldn't help but hold their breaths, waiting to see Long Fei Ye's carriage move aside at the last moment.
Who knew that at the most crucial moment, seeing that the carriage was about to collide, Long Fei Ye's carriage still didn't move aside and continued to move forward.
Heavens!
Both sides' horses were about to collide!
Could it be that they were really going to …
Suddenly!
At this critical moment, the young master suddenly grabbed the reins with both hands. No one knew how much strength he used, but he managed to forcefully turn the horse's head around. The two horses raised their front hooves and the entire carriage immediately stopped. It tilted back and formed a ninety degree angle with the ground!
One couldn't help but praise this young master's driving skills. It was really amazing. In such an urgent situation, he was actually able to stop and didn't flip the carriage!
The horses neighed a few times and quickly landed on the ground. Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air, rejoicing for both sides of the carriage. Many people even praised the young master's driving skills.
But the young master was scared out of his wits!
His face was deathly pale, and the hand holding the reins was still trembling. One must know that he had rushed over just to force the other side to stop, to force them to move aside!
He originally thought that the other side's carriage would move aside at the last moment, but who knew that they actually didn't move aside!
He had done too many such things on the road. It had always been others who were afraid of him, but he had never seen anyone who didn't care about their lives!
The carriage was right in front of them. Long Fei Ye's coachman had no choice but to stop. The two carriages were really facing each other.
Although the young master was scared out of his wits, he quickly became tyrannical. He turned his horse around and faced Long Fei Ye's carriage.
He waved his whip and pointed at the coachman, scolding, "Did you not bring your eyes out? How dare you not move aside when you see this young master's carriage! "
He didn't care whether the people in the carriage wanted their lives or not. In any case, within South Ning County's sphere of influence, anyone who met him would have to move aside! The consequences of not moving aside were very serious!
The surrounding onlookers were frightened and worried for Long Fei Ye's carriage. One must know that this young master was none other than the treasured son of South Ning County's governor, Nanguo Jun.
This guy relied on his father's position as the governor of the county. Since young, he had been tyrannical in South Ning County and was privately called the Crown Prince of South Ning County! There was a saying in South Ning County that one would rather offend the governor than offend the governor's son.
In the face of Nanguo Jun's arrogance, the coachman was calm and collected. "Young master, this one doesn't know you. Please move aside."
As expected of one of Long Fei Ye's men. Even if he was just a coachman, his words and actions were calm and very well-mannered.
"Hahaha, there's actually someone who doesn't know this young master. This must be your first time in South Ning!" Nanguo Jun laughed loudly.
"Young master, who you are has nothing to do with this one. My master has important matters to attend to. Please move aside." This was the second time the coachman asked him to move aside.
Nanguo Jun's face was filled with disbelief. He looked at the surrounding crowd and laughed loudly. "Did you hear that? He actually asked this young master to move aside!"
Everyone laughed foolishly. When Nanguo Jun had enough of laughing, he raised his chin and coldly looked over. He sternly warned, "Who is in the carriage? Get out immediately or this young master won't be polite!"
Who knew that the coachman still didn't take it seriously and turned to report, "Master, he won't move aside."
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Nanguo Jun was completely ignored. He was about to flip out when a low and cold voice suddenly came from the carriage and said two words, "Push aside."
Push aside?
What did that mean?
Nanguo Jun and the others didn't understand. The coachman suddenly raised his whip and whipped the white horse. This white horse seemed to have a mind of its own as it stamped its feet and prepared to charge.
After the coachman whipped the white horse a second time, it exploded with astonishing strength and charged forward without caring about the things in front of it!
The man didn't react, but Nanguo Jun's horse did. The two horses hurriedly fled to the left and right. Long Fei Ye's white horse charged forward and crashed into the shaft of the carriage with a bang. It actually broke the shaft of the carriage!
With the shaft broken, the two horses fled in panic. Nanguo Jun and the coachman fell to the ground, dumbfounded.
Only then did they understand what "push aside" meant …
The surrounding crowd was shocked. Nanguo Jun was so arrogant and overbearing, so aggressive, but he didn't dare to actually crash into the carriage. He even braked at the last moment. Who knew that the other party would actually crash into them!
Even if they didn't care about the horses or the carriage, they still had to care about their lives!
Everyone was still stunned when that cold voice came from the carriage for the second time. "Old Lin, why aren't you leaving?"
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