Because they had arrived in the city in the afternoon, by the time it got dark, there were already many bonfires lit around where Lin Zaozao was located. The soldiers she had brought also set up many tents.
During this time of distributing the antidote, Lin Zaozao kept issuing various orders to the soldiers below while distributing the medicine.
As she had guessed, when she was giving the antidote to the refugees in Border City, there really were spies mixed in among the refugees who wanted to take the opportunity to disrupt Lin Zaozao's distribution of the medicine.
But as soon as they opened their mouths, Lin Zaozao ordered people to cover their mouths and drag them away.
Now was a special time, she really didn't have the patience to be a kind big sister and give those damn spies a lesson.
In special times, using violent means was the most direct and effective way to solve problems.
Killing the chicken to scare the monkeys!
This was a trick her mother often used when managing her employees. It was most appropriate for her to use it now.
The night wind in Border City was still very cold. Coupled with the surviving commoners in Border City, they only mechanically accepted the antidote and rice porridge that could save their lives.
It was unknown whether they had no energy to speak after surviving the calamity, or if they were too hungry to have any spirit.
All the commoners in Border City only mechanically put the medicine and porridge into their mouths after receiving it.
For a while, the only sounds around Lin Zaozao were footsteps shuffling and the sound of swallowing food.
The atmosphere was extremely oppressive in the mechanical actions of the commoners.
Under this oppressive situation, Lin Zaozao, with the help of Dashan and Ji Fantian, still busily distributed medicine to the refugees.
Although she was very tired after working all day, this was a matter of life and death, so Lin Zaozao didn't dare stop.
After all, when she first entered Border City that afternoon, many people had already died here.
When she first entered Border City, along the sides of the road were several corpses that had already started to stink.
Some of the people had died from the plague, while others had starved to death.
The smell of the corpses was really too foul.
To be honest, when Lin Zaozao first saw this hellish scene, she was afraid in her heart.
After all, from childhood to adulthood, she had only seen fake dead people on TV. In real life, she hadn't even seen a dead person before.
But just now, when she calmly dealt with those spies and ordered soldiers to bury those corpses, there was not a ripple in her heart.
It was as if everything should be like this.
Restraining the fluctuations in her eyes, Lin Zaozao mechanically handed the antidote to the frail woman in front of her.
Whether it was in Canglan Country or in Fengshuo Country, women were very scarce.
But in this border city, just in one afternoon, she had already seen the corpses of several women.
Judging by their age, they should have been enjoying a happy life in their prime, but they died at the most brilliant moment of their lives.
To be honest, Lin Zaozao couldn't help but feel regret for those dead girls.
And all this was the fault of that damn Princess Qianyue, or rather, she should blame the person behind Princess Qianyue.
They really did not value human life at all. Although Lin Zaozao disliked meddling, she really couldn't stand such disregard for human life.
"Zhuzhu, drink some porridge. We won't fall behind even if we take a break to save people."
Hearing this gentle voice, Lin Zaozao looked up and saw Han Ye, the high priest of Han Country who had helped her outside Border City that afternoon.
"You, how did you get in?"
"Zhuzhu, call me Brother Han Ye."
"Brother Han Ye, how did you get in? There is a lot of plague here. If you come in without protection and get infected, what should you do?"
Saying that, Lin Zaozao took a cup of antidote and brought it to Han Ye's mouth.
"Just in case you get infected, hurry up and drink this antidote."
"Okay, Zhuzhu."
Seeing Han Ye drink the antidote, Lin Zaozao unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. Although she had just met Han Ye, the sense of familiarity in her heart made her inexplicably fond of Han Ye.
"Zhuzhu, hurry up and drink the porridge while it's hot. And these side dishes were made according to your taste. See if you like them?"
Lin Zaozao looked at the food Han Ye had placed in front of her. At a glance, they were indeed dishes she liked to eat.
Did this Han Ye know her? Otherwise how would he know her preferences?
"Brother Han Ye, we should not be meeting for the first time, right!"
Facing Lin Zaozao's confusion, Han Ye smiled and said,
"No, Zhuzhu. This is indeed not the first time we've met. Eat first, we can catch up after you finish eating, okay?"
"Oh! Okay, okay."
Lin Zaozao lowered her head and picked up two bites with her chopsticks. Looking at the six large dishes in front of her, she felt that she alone could not finish them.
So she pulled Dashan, Ji Fantian, Uncle Zhang and Han Ye to sit next to her and motioned for them to eat with her.
"The conditions now are limited. Let's eat together and eat our fill so we have the energy to keep working. After distributing the antidote for an afternoon, I'm really starving now."
Uncle Zhang and Han Ye looked at the chopsticks Lin Zaozao handed over with a smile and started eating gracefully.
Their young master really was thoughtful and cared for others.
Dashan looked at the dishes in front of him and couldn't help feeling distressed for Lin Zaozao.
If it wasn't for the limited conditions now, he would have liked to fry eighteen dishes for his young master.
Now the six dishes brought by Han Ye the high priest still had to be divided among five people. He really was incompetent as a chef and bodyguard.
Sitting on the side, Ji Fantian now clearly understood the huge chasm that existed between him and Lin Zaozao when he saw Han Ye.
Her wife was the future empress of Han Country, not the village woman Lin Zaozao from that small village.
Now he was no longer worthy of his wife, let alone the future Empress Mingzhu of Han Country...
"Fantian, don't just drink porridge! Eat more dishes, the dishes Brother Han Ye brought are delicious."
Ji Fantian looked at the dish Lin Zaozao put in his bowl and couldn't help but smile faintly.
"Zaozao, thank you."
"Fantian baby, we're family. Why are you being so polite with me!"
Lin Zaozao smiled at Ji Fantian, then turned to Uncle Zhang and the others,
"Come on, Uncle Zhang, Dashan, Brother Han Ye, let's each take a bite, I'm being fair, right!"
"Yes, yes, yes! The young master is the fairest." Dashan said happily.
"Of course." Lin Zaozao said unabashedly with a laugh.
"Zhuzhu, just eat your own food."
"Okay, Brother Han Ye." Lin Zaozao answered with a smile.
After quickly finishing the meal, Lin Zaozao, Dashan and the others started distributing medicine again. With Han Ye's help, Lin Zaozao's speed of distributing medicine was even faster.
They continued this mechanical action of distributing medicine until the next morning. Lin Zaozao forced her eyes open and asked the advisor next to her tiredly,
"Are there still any plague patients left?"
"Princess Mingzhu, apart from those who died, the rest of the plague patients have all taken the antidote. The situation in Border City is now under your control."
"Have all the corpses been burned?"
"Replying to Princess Mingzhu, they have all been burned."
"What about the grain? Has it been distributed to the commoners?"
"It has already been distributed. The commoners who are still able to move have already returned home."
"That's good then!"
Seeing Lin Zaozao's weary eyes, the advisor thought for a moment before continuing to ask,
"Princess Mingzhu, what should we do with the spies we caught?"
"Interrogate them, record their confessions, then send those spies to my dear little aunt. I believe she will handle those spies very well."
"Understood, Princess Mingzhu."
"Anything else?" Lin Zaozao asked again.
"No more." The advisor respectfully replied.
"Oh! I see. Now that Border City is under control, I can rest assured."
After saying that, Lin Zaozao immediately turned around and leaned on Ji Fantian. The next second, a slight snoring sound came out.
After days of rushing on the road, plus the mental and physical fatigue yesterday, Lin Zaozao could not hold on any longer.
Hearing the snoring sound in his ear, Ji Fantian's hand held Lin Zaozao's wrist. The poison in Lin Zaozao's body had been completely cleared out, and her snoring now was just a habitual problem. It should be gone after a while.
Ji Fantian looked at Lin Zaozao's face that had become much thinner, with nothing but worry in his eyes.
If he had been worried about Lin Zaozao's fatness before, then now he was worried that Lin Zaozao was really too thin.
Or rather, she was a little too thin now.
How did she become so skinny in such a short time? Her originally round chin was now sharp and pointed.
Her baby face that used to be the size of a palm had become pitifully small.
If she kept losing weight like this, how could her body stand it? But it was impossible for a person to lose weight so quickly even when exhausted!
From his observation, Lin Zaozao now weighed no more than eighty pounds at most. Given her current height, she really was too thin.
Just as Ji Fantian was silently thinking about Lin Zaozao, Han Ye draped his cloak over her and picked her up by the waist, heading for the tidy courtyard nearby.
"Dr. Ji, come with me! I have something to discuss with you."
"Alright, Prince Han."
After Han Ye had put Lin Zaozao on the bed and thoughtfully helped her take off her shoes and wiped her face and hands, he signaled Ji Fantian, who had been standing to the side, to go outside.
"Ji Fantian, Border City now belongs to the territory of Han Country. Border City borders Han Country, so your clan of divine doctors can take root and grow slowly in Border City under the protection of Han Country."
"Prince Han, do you still allow me to follow Zaozao?"
"Zaozao! Is that her name now? Sounds nice."
Han Ye smiled faintly before turning his head back to Ji Fantian.
"Ji Fantian, I allow you to follow Zaozao on one condition."
"Please tell me the condition, Prince Han."
"I want you to swear that you and your clan of divine doctors will devote yourselves wholeheartedly to Zaozao for life, with absolutely no ulterior motives.
If your clan dares to betray Zaozao, the day of betrayal will be the day your clan is annihilated.
Ji Fantian, you have to believe me, the curse I, Han Ye, make will definitely come true."
Facing Han Ye's icy gaze, Ji Fantian knelt on one knee, raised one hand, and said loudly,
"I, Ji Fantian, the 75th generation patriarch of the clan of divine doctors, swear that if I ever dare to betray Zaozao in the future, may I and my clan be forever denied reincarnation."
"Ji Fantian, just because you dared to swear by your clan of divine doctors, I can rest assured to hand over Zaozao to you.
Remember, Zaozao is just a child who has not grown up yet. I don't expect her to amount to much in the future either. I only ask for one thing - just let her have a smooth life, and that would be best."
"Prince Han, you are still young. Why would you hand over Zaozao to me? As long as you are there to protect her, I don't think anyone in the world would dare harm her."
In response to Ji Fantian's confusion, Han Ye stretched out his hand in front of Ji Fantian and said,
"Dr. Ji, more than ten years ago, Han Xinbei and I defied the heavens to alter Zaozao's fate of dying young. When it comes to matters of life and death, how could there be no price to pay for changing it!"
Seeing the hand in front of him that was so white it was almost transparent, Ji Fantian's eyes were full of disbelief.
He had always heard that the priests of Han Country could defy the heavens and change fate, but he never imagined that this was actually true.
