Young hero, stay put and don't be reckless.

Chapter 44 Well Done

Jiang Xun was taken aback for a moment, then smiled: "Really?"

"Hmm." Yu Xiaoyi nodded, paused, and then added, "Better than I was back then."

Jiang Xun laughed even harder.

Seeing his expression, Yu Xiaoyi couldn't help but smirk slightly, but she immediately straightened up again.

"Don't get cocky," he said. "That's just the easiest part. There's more difficult stuff to come."

"It's alright." Jiang Xun chuckled. "You're here to guide me."

…………

After a busy period of time, the clinic finally had some free time today.

Taking advantage of a lull in patients, Jiang Xun sneaked off to the city gate.

He froze before he even got close.

Outside the city gate, it was a dark mass of people.

It's not that there are no people, it's that there are too many—men and women, young and old, with their families.

Some carried bundles on their backs, some pushed wheelbarrows, and some held children in their arms, surging into the city like a tide.

Their faces were ashen, their lips were chapped and peeling, and they walked with unsteady steps, as if they might collapse at any moment.

"This is..." Jiang Xun blurted out, "Disaster victims?"

He had already heard about it in the past few days.

The southeast was hit by severe flooding, which inundated several prefectures and counties, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless.

The imperial court's disaster relief grain was delayed, and the government did not care, so the people had no choice but to flee on their own.

Yunzhou City is not too far from the disaster area, so it naturally became the first choice for refugees.

At first, the prefect allowed refugees to enter the city to beg for food.

As more and more people arrived, the city descended into chaos, so the city gates were closed, keeping all the refugees outside.

Unable to enter the city, the refugees could only build shacks outside the city, dig for wild vegetables, and drink river water, leading a very miserable life.

But when Jiang Xun saw the massive, dark crowd in person, he was still stunned.

He recalled his childhood—that year there was also a flood, and people starved to death everywhere. The government's relief grain couldn't reach them, and people died in droves.

The old man dug him out of the pile of dead bodies.

He looked at those people and suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

The crowd was surging, but moving very slowly, as if they were queuing.

Jiang Xun tilted his head and asked the person next to him, "What are they waiting for?"

"It's the family of Chief Secretary Gu cooking porridge for disaster relief." The man gestured towards the distance—there were several large pots set up there, steaming hot.

Someone nearby chimed in, "This Lord Gu, I heard, is a high-ranking official in the court, who cares deeply for the people. It's a pity he was ostracized by petty people and demoted to our Yunzhou..."

Jiang Xun didn't hear what was said next.

He saw a woman wearing a light blue dress, busy in front of a large pot.

The woman had a slender figure and moved nimbly. Although she was dressed simply, her elegance was undeniable.

Jiang Xun looked at that figure from behind and felt that it looked somewhat familiar.

When the woman turned around, he recognized her—it was Gu Yunqian!

"What's she doing here?" Jiang Xun was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously took a few steps forward.

Gu Yunqian was bending over, stirring the porridge in the pot with a long-handled wooden spoon, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

Although her movements were clumsy, she did it very seriously, without any airs of a young lady.

The porridge was ready, and the refugees lined up with their bowls to receive it.

Gu Yunqian and several servants served porridge to everyone, reminding them as they did so, "Eat slowly, don't burn yourself."

Jiang Xun stood under the city gate, watching her busy figure, and a warm feeling suddenly welled up in his heart.

"This girl has a really kind heart," he murmured.

But then, an unexpected event occurred.

A dozen or so strong "refugees" suddenly rushed out of the crowd, skipping the queue and rushing straight to the porridge pot, reaching out to grab the porridge spoons.

"Get out of the way! I've been starving for days, give me some food first!"

"Exactly! You rich people are all just putting on airs. Who can eat this little bit of porridge?"

"Either bring out more food, or stop pretending to be kind!"

The group of people, one after another, pushed Gu Yunqian and several servants aside, grabbed the porridge spoons, and served themselves.

Gu Yunqian stumbled from the push and almost fell, her face turning pale.

Several servants were also pushed to the ground, but dared not speak out in their anger.

The guards at the city gate saw it, but none of them came over to do anything. Some even looked on with amusement, as if they had been instructed to do so beforehand.

Jiang Xun frowned and stared at the dozen or so "refugees" for a while.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that something was amiss.

These people said they hadn't eaten for days, but they all had rosy complexions and were full of energy. They didn't look like they had ever been hungry.

Looking at their clothes, although they were worn out, the fabric was of good quality, clearly indicating that they had deliberately torn them.

"It's fake." Jiang Xun knew what was going on. "They're here to cause trouble."

He glanced at Gu Yunqian and saw that she was pale with fright, and a surge of anger suddenly rose in his heart.

Damn it, what kind of skill is it to bully a girl?

He strode over.

"Make way! Make way!"

Jiang Xun pushed through the crowd and walked a few steps to the porridge stall.

The burly men were scrambling for the food when suddenly, a young man appeared before them, smiling broadly.

"Brothers," Jiang Xun said with a friendly smile, "are you fighting over porridge?"

The burly man in the lead paused for a moment, then looked him up and down—skinny and looking like a nosy, poor kid.

He glared at him and said, "Who are you? Get lost!"

Jiang Xun did not move.

He glanced at the bowl in the burly man's hand; it was overflowing with porridge.

"So much," he said, his tone quite serious, "Can we finish it all?"

The burly man was infuriated by his unhurried manner, so he put the bowl aside, rolled up his sleeves, and charged forward—

"You fucking want to die—"

Before he could finish speaking, he had already flown away.

"Bang!"

He crashed into the city wall, slid down, and lay on the ground, motionless for a long time.

The area in front of the soup kitchen suddenly fell silent.

The other burly men stared blankly at the scene, forgetting to put down their bowls.

Jiang Xun clapped his hands and said with a smile, "Next?"

The burly men exchanged a glance, and suddenly pounced on them all at once.

Then—bang bang bang bang bang!

With a series of muffled thuds, five burly men flew out one after another, landing neatly on the ground like five turtles whose shells had been flipped over, groaning and unable to get up.

Jiang Xun stood in the middle, patted off non-existent dust from his clothes, and asked with a smile, "Any more?"

No one answered.

The crowd was stunned for a few moments, then suddenly burst into cheers.

"good!"

"Well played!"

"These bastards deserve a beating!"

Jiang Xun grinned and looked back at the porridge stall.

Gu Yunqian stood there, still clutching the spoon in her hand, staring blankly at him.

Sunlight filtered through the clouds, falling on her face and making her eyes sparkle.

Jiang Xun suddenly felt a little embarrassed and scratched his head.

"Um... are you alright?"

Gu Yunqian looked at him, her eyes reddening, and shook her head: "It's nothing, thank you."

"You're welcome." Jiang Xun looked at her, feeling his heart beat even faster.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps and shouts came from behind—

"Make way! Make way! This is an official case!"

Jiang Xun turned his head and saw a group of yamen runners running this way. The leader, a man with a fierce face, was panting heavily.

He frowned, glanced at the burly men lying on the ground, and then at the city guards who had been pretending to be deaf and dumb—now they were all alive and looking this way.

Jiang Xun understood perfectly well that these people were in cahoots.

He turned around and glanced at Gu Yunqian.

"I'm leaving now."

"it is good."

She didn't ask any more questions, she just nodded.

Jiang Xun turned and left, disappearing into the crowd in a few steps.

Gu Yunqian stood there, gazing in that direction, and after a long while, she slowly looked away.