The Princess of the Substitute Bride Strikes Back

After marching for more than two hours, the team finally saw the city wall of Yuanbei County in the distance. However, the city gate was closed. Outside the city, there was a group of people gathered. They were wearing tattered clothes, had haggard faces and thin bodies. They seemed to be fleeing from somewhere else.

"Stop and rest first, don't go any further. Yang Er, take two people to the front to scout out the situation and report back."

Zheng Chengyuan stopped the team, and he was suspicious. Could these people outside the city be refugees? And judging from the large number of people, they couldn't rush forward rashly. After all, they had horses and supplies, but the refugees might not.

"Everyone cheer up, things might not be peaceful tonight." Mu Yibai said to the people in the big house.

"Brother Bai, did you notice something?"

"Mother, you don't have to worry. But I see a lot of refugees gathered at the city gate. It may not be easy for us to enter the city tonight." Mu Yibai didn't want his mother and others to worry too much, but he still had to be vigilant.

"Based on the current situation, if those refugees have just arrived here, they may have some food left and are just waiting for the city gates to open so they can go in and find shelter. But if they have been squatting here for several days, they are most likely starving. Now that our team is so conspicuous, with horses and carts, we do need to be vigilant, but there is no need to worry too much, as we haven't wasted these days." Fu Yunxi comforted everyone.

"Xi'er is right. We have been practicing sword swinging these days. Now I dare to say that I can fight against two men."

Aunt Jiang was quite optimistic, and what she said was true. Over the past half month, everyone had been drinking spiritual spring water, enjoying delicacies from the mountains and the sea, walking dozens of miles, and practicing swordplay every day. The results were remarkable, and even Mu Yiheng, the weak scholar, had become much stronger.

"I see that you are full of confidence. You are probably just bragging, haha." Seeing Mrs. Luo teasing Aunt Jiang, everyone laughed out loud and the tense atmosphere dissipated in an instant.

Yang Er and his companions had strong legs, so even though they did not ride horses, they returned in less than an incense stick of time.

"Boss, the situation over there is not optimistic. The city gates are closed. We explained to the officers and soldiers that we are an exile team and have documents from the court, but they said that they cannot open the gates without the order of the county magistrate. A large number of refugees have gathered at the city gates. It seems that they have been there for several days. It is estimated that there are hundreds of people."

"What? You won't open the gate even though we have the documents? It seems the situation in the city is not optimistic. So, a few of you will follow me and hand over the documents. The rest of you will stay alert."

"Okay, boss." The rest of the officers and soldiers followed Zheng Chengyuan's instructions, stood around the team and remained on guard.

Zheng Chengyuan led a few people to the city gate, presented the exile document, and said: "We are escorting the prisoners to the northern frontier under the order of the emperor. We need to enter the city to rest for a day and replenish supplies. This is the customs clearance document stamped by the court."

"The county magistrate has ordered that outsiders are not allowed to enter the city, and locals are not allowed to leave the city without reason." After checking the document, the officer handed it back to Zheng Chengyuan.

"Brother, we can wait outside, but please inform them that this is the emperor's order. At least the county magistrate needs to give the order in person before we can stay out of the city."

"It's not that I won't report it, but the city is in chaos, grain production has decreased, and the income is not enough to make ends meet. There is a severe drought this year, and many people from the surrounding areas have come to seek refuge. There is definitely not enough food. It's useless for you to enter the city. The shops on the street are all closed and there are refugees everywhere."

The words of the soldiers guarding the city made Zheng Chengyuan feel cold.

"Then please trouble me to make the trip. We have used up all our supplies along the way and need to be resupplied urgently."

"Okay then, I'll report it, but don't get your hopes up."

Zheng Chengyuan's men flattered the officers and soldiers and gave them a hundred coins. They did nothing but wait because it would take half an hour for the officers and soldiers to go back and forth.

After Zheng Chengyuan and his men came back with sad faces, they just rested and didn't say anything.

Seeing this, Wang Ling and Chen Jianzhong felt uneasy and went to discuss it with Mu Yibai.

"Brother Mu, Zheng Chengyuan didn't say anything. Is there a problem entering the city?" Wang Ling spoke first.

"Brother Wang is right. There are a large number of refugees outside the city. If we enter the city, the refugees will definitely riot." Chen Jianzhong agreed.

"You are right. Even if we can go in, it is not the right time now. It is getting dark and accidents are likely to happen. Once the city gate is opened, it may not be closed. So when you go back, tell everyone to take good care of the luggage and don't separate the family. Especially keep an eye on the children."

Mu Yibai's words alerted the two men. The probability of opening the door tonight was very small. If they spent the night outside, even if more than a hundred of them were guarded by soldiers with knives, they would not be able to stop hundreds of hungry refugees.

Brother Mu is right. Thank you for your advice. We will go back and settle our family affairs now."

"Wait, I have some surplus food here, you can take it back and eat it tonight."

"Brother Mu, how can we do this!" Wang Ling and Chen Jianzhong looked at the package in Mu Yibai's hand, not knowing what to do. At this time, even if they were brothers, they would not voluntarily give food to each other.

"Take it. It's not just for you. It's for the old folks and children. Times are different now. If we don't unite, it will be hard for us to survive the exile safely."

Wang Ling was thinking about his wife and hungry children, and Chen Jianzhong was worried about his grandfather who had fainted today. Both of them couldn't help but have tears in their eyes as they took the packages.

"Brother Mu is absolutely right. Only by uniting together can we overcome the difficulties together."

They were all intelligent people, so they naturally understood Mu Yibai's deep meaning. They had no way to repay this timely friendship, but could only remember it in their hearts.

The reason why Mu Yibai did this was not because he was kind and charitable, but because he had learned from the lessons of his previous life and believed that in the exile team, the Chen family and the Wang family were both upright people and could be befriended.

Moreover, they may encounter natural disasters and man-made disasters such as bandits, wild beasts, and wildfires. No matter how strong a person is, it is difficult for him to survive. If everyone unites, the chances of winning will increase exponentially.

As for the Ruan family and the Zhu family, he would not take the initiative to win them over. After all, there were many disputes between them in their previous lives.

Mu Yibai's action of wrapping Wang Ling and the others did not attract everyone's attention, because since Zheng Chengyuan came back, everyone's eyes were focused on him, and everyone was secretly calculating in his heart.

Everyone was wondering why Zheng Chengyuan hadn't led everyone into the city yet, why they were waiting here, and they were running out of food and water.

After a while, the soldiers guarding the city rode to Zheng Chengyuan and handed him the customs documents, saying, "Our county magistrate said that you should lead the team to camp outside the city tonight. It's easy to get into trouble in the dark. There are so many refugees outside the city. We can't open the gate rashly. Other matters can be discussed tomorrow."

This was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for them.

"Brother, didn't you show our documents to the county magistrate? Did you tell him that we have no food and water now? If we don't go into the city, it will be difficult for us to survive until tomorrow."

"I have said everything I need to say. This is the situation. Please also understand the situation of our city. Let's camp outside the city today for just one night. The county magistrate will definitely come up with a solution tomorrow morning."

"Okay, then I'll send someone to the city gate tomorrow morning to wait for news from the county magistrate."