Chapter 112: Poverty Should Not Breed Evil

The courtyard was desolate. Pan Yueqing's soft laughter and the mockery in it filled everyone's ears. Her skin was very fair, and in the moonlight, it even had a somewhat ghastly look. Her lips, pursed tightly, were as red as roses, but they unconsciously made Qian Cheng, who was still in a state of shock, feel terrified. She composed her expression and enunciated clearly, "You deserve to die."

Qian Cheng was tied up tightly. The smell of the severed limb still lingered on his hands. He let out an indignant cry towards Pan Yueqing, and his body was like that of a rabid dog. It seemed that if he were let go, he would pounce on Pan Yueqing and bite her. Pan Haiyun instinctively stood in front of Pan Yueqing, shielding her. He frowned and had someone gag Qian Cheng's mouth.

After watching Qian Cheng being taken away, a soldier beside Su Ruoqing stepped forward and whispered in his ear.

Su Ruoqing's expression changed and he said, "The night watchman committed suicide."

Pan Yueqing stopped in her tracks. When she raised her eyes and saw Pan Haiyun's serious expression, she knew that something bad had happened. She stepped forward and was about to inquire, but Pan Haiyun shook his head, signaling Pan Yueqing not to be in a hurry. He gave an order to Su Ruoqing, "Later, you take your sister to distribute the porridge for relief."

Pan Yueqing looked up in surprise and met Pan Haiyun's gaze.

Pan Haiyun's gaze lingered for a moment. "The second porridge distribution of the day will be carried out at the City God Temple later."

Su Ruoqing and Pan Yueqing looked at each other. She understood that Pan Haiyun didn't want her to know what would happen next. Su Ruoqing seemed a bit dissatisfied. There were clearly many clues to follow up on, such as the whereabouts of the food and supplies. He wanted to participate in the interrogation of Qian Cheng, which was much more interesting than the relief work.

Before Su Ruoqing could speak, Pan Yueqing raised her hand and held his arm, shaking her head slightly.

"Thank you just now," Pan Yueqing turned around and saw Li Zhe, who had changed his clothes, coming out of the Main Hall. She smiled faintly at Li Zhe, who had a calm expression.

"It's nothing. I was just doing a favor for someone," Li Zhe just glanced at Pan Yueqing. His thin lips parted, and his voice was devoid of any emotion.

Pan Yueqing's gaze met Xiaoshi Tou, who was standing beside Li Zhe with a bright smile. Sure enough, it was impossible for Li Zhe to act casually. She stepped forward and took a fine silk handkerchief to wipe the white powder off Xiaoshi Tou's face. She was both surprised and amused. "How do you know so much about pretending to be a ghost?"

Under Pan Yueqing's wiping, Xiaoshi Tou revealed his original skin color. "It was all taught by the Young Master. He said that smearing the juice of the chicken blood vine on the teeth can be very scary in the dark." When Xiaoshi Tou mentioned Li Zhe, the pride in his tone was hard to hide. Pan Yueqing nodded. "But how did you know that the vajra pestle was the murder weapon?"

"The one under the table, the skull was completely deformed," Li Zhe said indifferently. "In the Main Hall, the vajra pestle in the hand of the Arhat couldn't be found."

Pan Haiyun deliberately stopped in his tracks, nodded slightly as if meaningfully, and looked up at the sky that had unconsciously darkened. He couldn't help but sigh, "The sky in the northern border still gets dark so easily." After saying that, he raised his foot and walked away. Before leaving, he gave Pan Yueqing an order, "Remember, always take Luo Shui and Cang He with you for everything."

Pan Yueqing nodded. She and Su Ruoqing bid farewell to Li Zhe and Xiaoshi Tou, and then mounted their horses with Luo Shui and Cang He.

There was already a large crowd in front of the City God Temple. This was the first time these victims of the disaster had heard that the government was starting to distribute relief porridge. After inquiring, they learned that it was the officials from the capital who were in charge. So they all came with the attitude of giving it a try.

Although the soldiers were shouting, "Come one by one!"

Pan Yueqing, who was standing in the distance, couldn't help but frown.

There was a blind old woman outside the crowd. She was leaning on a walking stick and holding a broken bowl. Her hair was gray, and she was carrying a baby in a swaddle on her back. She was like a headless fly, begging the people passing by, "Please, sirs, give me a bowl of porridge. My baby is almost dying..."

But no one listened to her, and no one showed her any mercy.

The people surrounding the porridge shed were still those young and relatively strong men. In response to the soldiers' questions, they calmly said that they were getting porridge for their families. However, there was a clear polarization. The people inside clearly received the means to sustain their lives but still occupied the resources, while the people outside couldn't squeeze in no matter what.

"What are you doing?!" At this moment, a rough shout came. The withered hand of the blind old woman grabbed the arm of a strong man. She was about to beg for a bite of porridge for her little grandson but was pushed away. Then the strong man punched and kicked her, saying, "I'm about to starve to death myself! Why should I care about you!"

"Slap!" There was a cracking sound of a whip breaking through the air, and the strong man was whipped around like a top. Perhaps the sound of the whip was too sharp. With just one strike, the originally noisy sound from the porridge shed suddenly stopped. These were people who were terrified of being whipped by Qian Cheng. When they turned around and saw the handsome young man in a green robe riding a tall horse, they unconsciously showed fear.

The porridge was knocked to the ground and spilled all over the old woman. She didn't seem to feel the heat at all. She picked up a little bit of the porridge water, carefully untied the baby, and although she was blind, she was very skilled at feeding. She touched the baby's tender face and then fed the porridge to the child.

"Go and help the old woman up and check on the child," Pan Yueqing ordered Luo Shui beside her.

"You old hag! You still dare to pick it up!" The strong man suddenly flew into a rage when he saw the old woman's actions. He clenched his fists and was about to step forward, but Pan Yueqing whipped him again, and the whip landed on his shoulder. The strong man gritted his teeth at Pan Yueqing but didn't dare to say a word.

"What? Are you so capable when dealing with the old and the weak?" Pan Yueqing retracted the whip. Although Su Ruoqing had been shaking his head frequently, signaling her not to do this anymore, after all, the officials from the capital were supposed to save the people from suffering. How could she use Qian Cheng's methods? Pan Yueqing ignored him and sneered at the strong man, "You're really not a man!"

After saying that, she rode her horse towards the porridge shed. The young and strong men around, holding bowls still stained with rice grains, all showed fear and made way for her. Pan Yueqing looked down at the soldiers distributing the porridge and said coldly, "Who told you to distribute the porridge like this?"

The leader of the soldiers stammered but couldn't say a word. Pan Yueqing pulled the reins and turned her horse around, pointing at the old people and thin women under the city wall in the distance. She angrily shouted, "Are you blind?! Those people! They've never been able to get even a little bit of porridge!" Seeing this, the two soldiers in charge of distributing the porridge quickly knelt down and pleaded for forgiveness.

Pan Yueqing's expression softened a bit. She nodded at the food and supplies official accompanying her. "I'm warning you. Register everyone. Give one bowl of porridge to young and strong people, and two bowls to the old, the weak, and pregnant women. If this happens again, I'll behead you!"

The food and supplies official was inexplicably scared into a cold sweat by her words. The young and strong men behind were unhappy. They immediately started to clamor, "Why should the old people and women get more to eat!" "They'll die sooner or later anyway!" "It's better to leave the food for us!" "It's not fair!"

Pan Yueqing whipped the ground with her whip, and the dust it raised startled everyone.

"Why?" Pan Yueqing's eyes turned cold. "Just because I have the power to decide whether you live or die with just a word!"