Shen Muzhou flipped the wrist holding the sword, pressing the hilt against the little girl’s shoulder, and said coldly, "If you dare spout nonsense again, I'll kill you."
After all, they were just children. Hearing Shen Muzhou's words, they showed a trace of timidity and dared not shout anymore. Their momentum immediately weakened.
Only the little girl glared at him, shielding the other children behind her, unafraid of the sword in his hand. "What are you afraid of? If he wanted to kill us, his sword would have been unsheathed long ago. Using the sword hilt is just to scare... scare... us away."
Before she could finish speaking, Shen Muzhou pushed the sword in his hand with his thumb, revealing a small sliver of the white blade. His face was grim, his eyes calm yet covered with a layer of cold, thin malice, making people feel dread.
The little girl's words were suddenly choked in her throat, and she swallowed.
Lin Yanxi’s voice behind him was a little weak. She said softly, "Put the sword away."
Shen Muzhou tilted his head slightly to look at her, and was momentarily stunned. He worried that these thoughtless children might say something inappropriate.
She grabbed the sleeve of Shen Muzhou’s sword-holding arm, frowned slightly, and shook her head at him, afraid that the sword had no eyes and that Shen Muzhou, being violent in his actions, might actually harm these children.
Shen Muzhou put away the sword in his hand.
After his arm dropped, the little girl became persistent. She glared with angry eyes and said fiercely, "You killed Brother Shi Tou, and now you want to kill us too?"
Lin Yanxi looked at the little girl and asked calmly, "If I wanted to kill you, would I have put my sword away?"
Shen Muzhou clasped Lin Yanxi’s wrist and said, "Let's go."
The little girl, with the other children, ran over and blocked them, saying, "You killed Brother Shi Tou, you can't leave!"
Lin Yanxi didn't want to explain too much. Her eyes slightly cooled as she asked, "Then what do you want?"
This question stumped the children. The little girl was the most clever. She rolled her eyes, thought for a moment, and said, "I want justice for Brother Shi Tou. He said he found his sister, but your sister killed him. Don't even think about shirking responsibility!"
Lin Yanxi felt that this girl had a stubborn personality, with a certain tenacity that was admirable.
She bent down slightly, extending her slender arm. The little girl subconsciously took half a step back. Lin Yanxi paused, then gently ruffled the little girl’s hair and said, "Xiao Shi Tou is dead, and I am as sad as you are. If you feel better by hating me, then hate me."
The little girl froze in place, like a punch landing on soft cotton. She did not defend herself, nor did she get angry. She walked out of the courtyard calmly.
"Sister Xiao Yan, are we just going to let it go?" asked one of the boys.
Xiao Yan stared at their retreating figures and said, "Of course not, let's go!"
Lin Yanxi remained silent the entire way. She looked at the hurried pedestrians on the street and stopped at the tea stall where tea had been distributed earlier. Shen Yu was sitting in the tea stall, lounging on a rocking chair, with two soldiers serving him, bringing him tea and fanning him.
He sat with his legs crossed, half-reclining in the rocking chair, his eyes half-closed as he commanded, "Hey, I'm talking to you. Give the people porridge, add more rice. Do you hear me!"
The soldier behind him, who was making porridge, said helplessly, "Sir, this porridge is already thick enough. If I add any more, it won't stir."
Shen Yu impatiently said, "Hiss, I told you to add more, so add more. What's with all the nonsense!"
The soldier quickly smiled and added another two spoonfuls of washed and prepared rice. "Alright, everyone line up. Everyone gets a portion!"
Many ragged refugees sat in the tea stall. At the entrance, soldiers were distributing tea and porridge. Children and the elderly could also receive an egg.
Shen Muzhou explained, "The county magistrate has been impeached. This is all his ill-gotten gains from selling well water, which were used to buy this. The wells have also resumed normal supply. The great drought in Nanmin is far from over. Although the water is free now, its use is still restricted daily. One ladle of water per person per day, at least everyone can use water every day."
Lin Yanxi listened and looked at the tea stall without speaking. Her previously listless complexion regained some spirit. She stood opposite for a while longer, then said, "I'm tired, let's go back."
Shen Muzhou and Lin Yanxi walked to the main street in front of the inn. The group of children suddenly appeared from somewhere and surrounded them.
Xiao Yan, holding a small basket, stared at Lin Yanxi with hostility in her eyes. "If you hadn't promised Brother Shi Tou that you would take him to the capital and help him find Brother Jiang, he wouldn't have died! Nanmin can't be reached, so what about your previous promise to find Brother Jiang? Have you found him?"
Lin Yanxi subconsciously glanced at the people around them. She was worried that another group looking for Jiang Cong was hiding among the crowd. The fact that Jiang Cong might still be alive was absolutely not to be known by anyone.
She was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "I haven't found him yet, but I have news of him."
Shen Muzhou knew as soon as he heard it that she was saying this deliberately for outsiders to hear.
Xiao Yan asked, "Where is Brother Jiang?"
Lin Yanxi sighed and raised her voice slightly, "He's dead, Jiang Cong is dead!"
"Dead?" The children were surprised for a moment, then quickly accepted the fact. The Jiang residence had fallen overnight, and everyone had disappeared. It was obvious that their fate was grim.
However, upon receiving this definitive answer, their hearts still felt a pang of sadness.
Xiao Yan was convinced that Lin Yanxi had not gone to look for Brother Jiang at all. She had clearly seen people entering the Jiang residence two days ago. She gritted her teeth furiously and said, "Liar!"
As she spoke, she took the bamboo basket and, from somewhere, grabbed rotten vegetables mixed with small stones and threw them all at Lin Yanxi.
Seeing her take action, the other children were not to be outdone and quickly followed suit, throwing their prepared items at them.
Shen Muzhou immediately pulled Lin Yanxi into his greatcoat, but her skirt was still stained with mushy vegetable leaves, mixed with a foul odor.
Fortunately, they were not far from the inn. The people from the Dark Night Guard rushed out to protect them as they returned to the inn.
The Dark Night Guard quickly subdued the children. Led by Xiao Yan, she shouted unwillingly, "Let me go! If you have the guts, kill me!"
She pointed at Lin Yanxi and aggressively said, "You killed Brother Shi Tou, he died because he trusted you! You are a jinx, and anyone who gets close to you will die!"
Xiao Liu asked, "Your Highness, how should we handle these children?"
Shen Muzhou frowned and looked at them. "Lock them up in the county jail."
Those words cut into Lin Yanxi's heart like knives. No matter how much she comforted herself, Xiao Shi Tou's death was inseparable from her. Her body trembled slightly, her face became paler, and she bit her lower lip tightly, staring at them, unable to speak.
She no longer pleaded for these children.
Xiao Yan smiled triumphantly and said, "What? You have nothing to say? You know you are guilty of great sin, having killed Brother Shi Tou, and dare not speak! Then why don't you die? A life for a life."
Shen Muzhou poked Xiao Yan's shoulder with the hilt of his sword. He controlled the force, only to make her suffer a little, not to truly harm her.
"Sister Xiao Yan!" the other children shouted.
Xiao Yan clutched her shoulder, her brow furrowed in pain, and glared at them hatefully.
Luo Wanwan had been watching everything from the second floor. She felt pity for the girl being accused. As she was about to go downstairs, Si Qin stopped her and said, "Miss, let's not get involved in their business."
She hesitated for a moment, but then went downstairs. She slowly walked out of the inn and timidly said, "Little girl, I don't know what happened between you. I just want to ask you one thing, if you were her, could you have done better?"
Xiao Yan looked at Luo Wanwan, then stared at Lin Yanxi. "At least if Brother Shi Tou died because of me, I would feel guilty and sad, but her? Is there any sadness on her face?"
Luo Wanwan retorted, "Does sadness have to be tears and sobbing?"
"If she wasn't sad, why would she kill all the bad people in the prison to avenge Xiao Shi Tou, and then be unconscious for two days and two nights? Little girl, stop making trouble." Shen Yu had just returned from the tea stall. His gaze swept lightly over Luo Wanwan and then settled on Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan wanted to say something more, but Shen Muzhou, suppressing his anger, said, "If you say one more nonsense word, I will cut out your tongues."
He was not good at explaining, and used the simplest and most brutal method to silence them.
Lin Yanxi, who had been looking down, raised her eyes and looked intently at Xiao Yan. She walked out of the inn with her frail body. She walked to a member of the Dark Night Guard and took a small basket of rotten vegetables mixed with cow dung from him.
"What are you doing?" Xiao Yan, who was held by her arms by two Dark Night Guard escorts, could not break free.
Lin Yanxi's almond-shaped eyes remained placid. Holding the basket, she raised it with almost all her strength and dumped it entirely onto Xiao Yan.
Now Xiao Yan was covered in rotten vegetable leaves, just like her, emitting a foul odor.
Her fair little face was filled with disgust, and her expression was gloomy and stern. Her voice, though soft, exuded a fierce resolve: "What I owe Xiao Shi Tou, I will repay him. But I owe nothing to you. We are even."
Shen Muzhou said in a deep voice, "Lock them up. They will be released when they admit their mistake."
Xiao Liu bowed, and then led these children, who were twelve or thirteen years old, away.
Seeing that there was nothing else here, Luo Wanwan was about to turn back to the second floor when Shen Muzhou called out to her, "Miss, could you trouble yourself to help Yanxi change into some clean clothes?"
She was unsure of Lin Yanxi's temperament and tentatively took her hand, leading her upstairs. Unexpectedly, Lin Yanxi was extremely cooperative and followed behind her.
After a simple wash-up and change of clothes for Lin Yanxi, seeing that she was still dispirited, Luo Wanwan took out a small packet of candy from her bag, took one piece, and put it into her own mouth.
She then took another piece and placed it in Lin Yanxi's hand. "I was raised in a harsh, cold land since I was young. This is the best thing we could eat there. Try it. When I'm sad at home, I eat a small piece."
"It's sweet in the mouth, and it makes one feel a little better."
Lin Yanxi looked at the candy in her hand, which had a hint of ginger. She put it into her mouth, and it tasted surprisingly good. The sweetness was paired with the refreshing ginger, and the aftertaste was slightly bitter, blending perfectly with the sweetness.
Seeing that her mood had improved slightly, Luo Wanwan's curious heart could no longer be contained. She tentatively asked, "The tall man outside... the Prince, is he your husband?"