Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

Chapter 530 Let’s Run

Jiang Zhiming was scolded by her, but he was not angry, just felt aggrieved and helpless.

"Madam, things are different now. You may say that I was a coward in the past, but now Lu Sichu is in the mansion. Do you know how he treats those infected with the virus?"

"How is it?" Mrs. Jiang looked at him.

Jiang Zhiming made a gesture of strangling her neck, "Bury her alive! Suffocate her to death! No one can escape this fate once they fall into his hands!"

How scary!

When Jiang Zhiming thought about it, his legs began to tremble.

Smallpox spreads quickly and the symptoms come on suddenly, so it is difficult to cure once infected. If he were to be infected while leaving the house, he would be crushed to death by Lu Sichu!

If he died, what would happen to his wife? What would happen to the seven concubines who were devoted to him?

Mrs. Jiang had long heard about Lu Sichu's cruelty, but she felt that the crux of the matter did not lie with Lu Sichu.

No matter how cruel others are, what does it matter? Jiang Zhiming, the prefect, should stand up at this time.

"Master, you are so afraid of him, what about the people? If the infected people really fall into his hands, how can they have a chance to survive?"

"And the doctor also said that the situation is not clear now, but in two days at most, the epidemic will be confirmed. Whether it is smallpox or not will be clear by then. You still have one or two days to think of a countermeasure, but why don't you do anything?"

Although she was a woman in the harem, she also knew that protection was needed when an epidemic struck. If proper protection was taken, the chance of the people contracting the disease could be reduced.

"I, I..." Jiang Zhiming actually knew it in his heart, but he just didn't dare to face it for the time being. He just lowered his head and asked, "Now there are only two places in Huanxi Lane where people are sick. If it is really a smallpox epidemic... then tens of thousands of people in Xingning Prefecture will be unable to escape."

That was smallpox! Only half of the ten people survived, thanks to God!

"master!"

Madam Jiang suddenly stood up after hearing this and said sternly, "I have told you so much, but you are still afraid of this and that. Are you a child who has not been weaned? Don't forget that you are the backbone of the entire Xingning Prefecture now. The people in the prefecture are all looking forward to your life!"

It would have been better if she hadn't said this. As soon as she said this, Jiang Zhiming felt as if a huge burden was pressing down on him, making his knees weak.

"What can I do?" Perhaps because he was scolded, Jiang Zhiming's self-esteem surged up, and his voice became a little higher: "Madam, I am not a god! In fact, you and I both know that this epidemic is not like smallpox, but it is smallpox!"

He panted, looking at Madam Jiang with a look of despair in his eyes, "This is smallpox, Madam, not typhoid fever or a cold! In ancient times, when smallpox broke out in many places, everyone died or ran away. I'm just a prefect, what can I do? Even if His Majesty came in person, he would have no way to deal with smallpox!"

Mrs. Jiang fell back into her chair weakly.

Jiang Zhiming was a little negative, but what he said was right.

When smallpox raged, it was like a massacre in the city.

Hundreds of years ago during the Daqian Dynasty, there was also an outbreak of smallpox in some places. The prefectural and county officials of that place ran away before the smallpox broke out.

If you run away, you still have a chance of survival. If you stay, you will really be waiting for death.

The hall fell into silence. Jiang Zhiming slowly squatted down, buried his face between his knees, and held his head with his hands.

He thought a lot.

At first, I wanted to know where to go and how much money I should bring to survive.

Then my mind suddenly went out of control and I started to wonder how Lu Sichu would treat those untouchables.

"Those people..."

Vivid faces flashed through his mind one after another.

There are restaurant owners, wonton stall owners on the roadside, waiters in taverns on the corners of the alleys, and people from street performing troupes.

They are not like me. Some of them have a hard time just trying to get food to eat and survive. For them, dying in vain... is really too cruel.

The words "Why don't we run away?" weighed a thousand pounds and kept spinning in his throat.

"Why don't I go to the government office and take a look?" He said, "The news will soon reach Lu Sichu's ears, and by then those people will die in his hands before they die of smallpox."

He just... didn't want those people to die in obscurity.

And what does Lu Sichu understand?

It is true that Jiang Zhiming is staying in his mansion today, but he has also read all the records about smallpox in ancient books - this is definitely not an epidemic that can be solved by killing people.

"I can't just run away like this." Jiang Zhiming raised his head, his eyes flashing with a light that Mrs. Jiang couldn't understand: "If I run away, Jiang Zhiming will act without scruples and will put all the blame on me. So even if I want to run, I can't run far."

He spat on the ground and said, "If I did it, I did it. If I didn't do it, I was right. How can I let him accuse me of something for nothing?"

The soft bones suddenly became hard, which made everyone in the hall feel a little uncomfortable.

"Master..." Mrs. Jiang just opened her mouth when she was interrupted by Jiang Zhiming: "Madam, you take them and run. You pack up your belongings, take away all the silver and money you can take away from the mansion, and then change into peasant clothes. I will make a household registration for you, and then send someone to pick you up and let them take you out of the city. After leaving the city, you go south..."

"What?" Madam Jiang and the other seven concubines were stunned and asked in unison: "What about you, Master?"

"I have to stay."

Jiang Zhiming gave them a smile that he thought was very carefree, then turned away and said, "None of you were born in the South, so it's less risky to go there. Remember, don't look for any old acquaintances."

Let them run?

Mrs. Jiang stared at Jiang Zhiming blankly, her heart in a turmoil.

In the past, she always said that she married the wrong person, and her concubines also said that they followed the wrong person, a useless man. Jiang Zhiming seemed to have a high official rank, but he was always hesitant and afraid of this and that when doing things.

In particular, Mrs. Jiang happened to see Jiang Zhiming and Lu Sichu together - her husband was humble and fawning, and he was just about to wag his tail and beg for mercy.

But such a man, such a "useless" man, actually took care of them first when the critical moment came?

The money belonged to them, and their household registration was also established, but he was the only one left behind...waiting to die?

Mrs. Jiang opened her mouth several times but could not utter a word.

The concubines looked at her and then at Jiang Zhiming, obviously not knowing what to do.

At this moment, the servant came in from outside and reported in a low voice: "Master, Governor Lu asked you to go to the government office as soon as possible."

These few simple words sounded like a death sentence to everyone.

The concubine Yin'er stood up suddenly and slowly stretched out her hand, as if saying - Master, run with us.

Jiang Zhiming didn't look at her, but his back stiffened, and then he let out a sigh of relief, smoothing his robe and said: "What is coming will still come..."

He turned his back to Mrs. Jiang, and after what seemed like a long time, he said, "Madam, please listen to me this time. I..."

went.