Several people were stunned. Fengzhou was indeed very far, located at the northernmost part of the Yan Kingdom.
Yet, after a moment’s thought, it seemed reasonable. If such a place existed in the prefectures of Juanzhou and Haijiazhou where they had been before, they would have known about it long ago.
As for the possibility that Master Chen was deceiving them? That thought never crossed their minds.
Who would willingly put themselves in mortal danger just to trick others?
What they had contracted was a plague. Although Master Chen and his people had medicine, the risk of infection and death was ever-present.
Moreover, they had nothing worth scheming for—just their worthless lives. Why would anyone go to such great lengths to lure them to Fengzhou?
"If you truly want to go, I can arrange for someone to lead the way," Chen Xi said, his voice gentle as he looked at them.
Ma Feng made his decision without much hesitation. "My village, the Ma Family Village, is willing to go."
"However," he added, his face slightly flushed, "I’m afraid we don’t have enough food for the journey."
He knew he was pushing his luck, but he had to be honest.
It was better to speak the truth now than to let problems surface halfway through the long journey.
The Ma Family Village was relatively united, and he had some foresight, having urged the villagers to stockpile grain early on. Even after fleeing for so long, most villagers still had some reserves, though limited.
Along the way, they had witnessed countless starving people who had died halfway, and even cases of swapping children for food. This had only deepened the villagers’ trust in him.
So even deciding to go to Fengzhou was within his authority—he had already sounded out the villagers earlier. But he hadn’t expected the destination to be the northernmost Fengzhou.
If some villagers truly didn’t want to go, he wouldn’t force them. They would simply part ways.
Chen Xi knew about the food problem without Ma Feng having to mention it. He reassured him, "Don’t worry about that.
I’ll make preparations in advance. Just tally up the grain your village has, and I’ll figure out how much more is needed."
Deeply moved, Ma Feng could barely express his gratitude, quickly promising, "Rest assured, Master Chen. We’ll pay for the grain. Those who can’t afford it will consider it a loan. Once we’ve settled down and have crops, we’ll repay you."
"Master Chen, you are truly our savior. We don’t know how to thank you enough."
Chen Xi waved his hand with a smile. "I’m just doing my master’s bidding. The money and grain pass through my hands, that’s all. If you want to thank someone, thank my master later."
Ma Feng nodded repeatedly, his nose stinging with emotion. "Yes, yes. When we arrive, I will definitely kneel and thank your master."
An Liuliang and the others exchanged glances and quickly chimed in, "We are also willing to go to Fengzhou. Please take us in, Master Chen."
Chen Xi breathed a silent sigh of relief. Finally, it was settled!
His face betrayed no emotion as he nodded with a smile. "Then tally your grain as well. If you have spare funds, you can buy directly from me at our price."
Ma Feng and the others were overjoyed, their eyes welling with tears. They were almost ready to kneel before Chen Xi right then.
The price of grain had soared to over a thousand copper coins per shi, and they couldn’t even get into the city to buy it.
Chen Xi’s price was less than half of that. For these impoverished commoners, it was nothing short of a life-saving grace.
By their reckoning, Chen Xi and his master had saved their lives twice now—first with medicine, and now with grain. And Chen Xi had bought the grain at high prices from Jiuan City, only to sell it to them at a loss.
Chen Xi cautioned them, "It’s a long journey. Make sure you calculate just enough grain for the trip. We have grain to sell along the way, so there’s no need to burden yourselves with too much, which could slow us down."
He understood that these destitute people, having endured starvation, might be tempted to spend all their money on cheap grain. That would be detrimental to the journey.
Chen Xi’s grain came from Kang Yun, who gave him a discount, but the price was still much higher than what Chen Xi sold it to the people for.
Fortunately, he had glass and paper. Through barter, he could exchange those for grain with little effort.
Ma Feng and the others nodded quickly. "Rest assured, Master Chen. We understand. We will remind and supervise our villagers."
They grasped Chen Xi’s meaning. Even they, when they first heard about buying grain, had been tempted to hoard as much as possible. It was the fear of hunger.
But recalling that Chen Xi was selling at a loss and that carrying too much grain would hinder their travel, they suppressed the impulse and silently resolved to warn their fellow villagers.
Seeing that they were sensible and disciplined, Chen Xi nodded approvingly and said solemnly, "However, since so many of you are leaving at once, it might cause unnecessary attention. Let’s do it in batches…"
That very afternoon, several thousand people from the Ma Family Village and Anping Village left Jiuan City in successive groups.
Over the next few days, more batches departed one after another.
Hua Yuanyi frowned as he watched the dwindling crowd of refugees outside the city.
His deputy, Wu Gui, sighed. "Fortunately, Master Chen at Fengge Xuan had medicine, or these people would have…"
"Unfortunately, the city is overcrowded and we can’t let them in. Now that Sizhou is in its current state, finding places to settle them won’t be easy."
Though he voiced these words, Hua Yuanyi felt an instinctive unease about the situation.
Hua Ruo’s eyes flickered as she felt the gentle breeze. "Actually, we could allocate them some remote land for reclamation," she said softly.
Hua Yuanyi shook his head. "Right now, the better land in Sizhou has already been distributed. All that’s left are true wastelands.
Reclaiming wasteland is no easy task. Even if it’s cleared, it takes years to enrich the soil. For the first few years, you might not even recover the seeds you plant."
He sighed in resignation. "The people would go hungry, and then there would be riots. The First Prince has no choice."
Hua Ruo opened her mouth to speak but stopped. Was it right to do nothing for these people?
Inaction would lead to one of two outcomes: either they would starve to death or freeze as winter set in, or they would revolt.
In the end, she said nothing, turned, and descended the city wall.
Hua Yuanyi watched his daughter’s retreating figure, worry etched deep in his eyes.
That evening, Chen Xi and Mu Ning returned to the city.
A couple of days earlier, once the plague was under control, they had requested permission to re-enter.
The gatekeeper, Hua Yuanyi, had consulted the First Prince directly.
This time, Jiang Chun didn’t hesitate. He sent Qiu Dao out to inspect the situation.
As soon as Qiu Dao left the city, Chen Xi insisted he wear a mask and long pants and sleeves.
Qiu Dao complied. Though the plague was under control, some affected people had not fully recovered. He too feared infection.
Seeing that Chen Xi and his people always dressed this way when near patients, Qiu Dao understood there must be a reason.
Qiu Dao first took Chen Xi and Mu Ning’s pulses and examined them, confirming they had not contracted the plague.
Then he checked some of the previously infected people, finding that many had recovered, while even those still ill had their conditions under control and were improving.
Delighted by Qiu Dao’s report, the First Prince waved his hand generously and approved Chen Xi’s request to return to the city at any time.
Not long after they re-entered the city, Qiu Dao sent someone to invite Chen Xi for a talk.
Mei Sheng looked slightly worried. "Physician Qiu is looking for you at this hour. I wonder what it’s about."
Chen Xi reassured him, "It’s nothing. It must be about the refugees outside the city."
His guess was indeed correct; Qiu Dao was inquiring about the sudden decrease in the number of people outside the city.
Regarding the situation of the people outside the city, Hua Yuanyi, who was now in charge of guarding the city, was certain to report it to the First Prince. Otherwise, if problems arose, he would be unable to bear the responsibility.
Chen Xi had cured the plague, so whether for his merits or for the medicinal formula, the First Prince should have met with him. However, since Chen Xi had just been in contact with the plague, senior officials and close attendants were worried about the First Prince’s safety and health, thus they sent Qiu Dao to meet with him instead.
Chen Xi explained, “I don’t know the specifics either, but during the treatments these past few days, I heard the people talking. With winter approaching, and with them being stranded outside the city, they…” He sighed. “They have no choice but to seek other paths. Alas, the suffering of the common folk. If they remain outside the city, they will barely survive this winter. You know how cold it gets, and on top of that, they have very little food left.”
