The third prince paid much attention to Zhou Zonghan, especially after knowing the conflict between him and Zhou Xu, because the third prince actually regarded Zhou Xu as a thorn in his flesh, especially when the third prince wanted to recruit the Zhou family, but Zhou Xu said The words sent the third prince away, and the words of the third prince are still fresh in his memory: "Third prince, you are too ugly, and being an emperor will also damage the dignity of the country."
The third prince had already guessed that it might be difficult to assassinate the prince, but he hoped to get rid of the prince as soon as possible. If he couldn't get rid of it, then he had to act. Anyway, he must win the throne.
Zhou Zonghan was finally arranged by the third prince to southern Fujian, where he had his personal soldiers, and with the connection with Zhennan King, he would not be afraid if any accident happened.
Over there, Zhou Zonghan set off for southern Fujian, and here Zhou Xu and the prince finally arrived at the magistrate's yamen in Chenzhou, the hardest-hit area.
Chenzhou was the hardest-hit area this time, followed by Qinzhou. The combined number of victims in these two prefectures exceeded one million.
One million taels of the imperial court's first batch of disaster relief money was directly given to Chen Zhou, so what about the money
Chen Fumin, the magistrate of Chenzhou, went out to welcome the crown prince with a fat belly. He bowed with a smile, and then said emphatically, "Welcome Your Highness the crown prince."
"You didn't bow down when you saw the prince. You are..." A guard was so angry that he wanted to say something, but the prince stopped him. Backstage, then you can follow the vines and follow the vines. Meeting such an opponent is what the crown prince wishes for.
"Chen Fumin, the magistrate of Chen, has long admired his name. When you were visiting flowers in high school, I met him alone. It's really a sight to behold. The policy and theories are all admirable."
"His Royal Highness, you are very polite. Please come inside." Chen Fumin said with a smile. When he looked up and saw Zhou Xu behind the prince, his eyes flashed, but the flash of light fell on Zhou Xu's eyes completely. inside.
Sneering in his heart, Zhou Xu thought, this guy definitely knows himself, that is to say, someone had already sent him a letter before they came. Get up, just find it out, how simple it is.
Zhou Xu smiled slightly at Chen Fumin, his slender eyebrows looked even more alluring.
Chen Fumin was taken aback for a moment, and then laughed, "This is General Zhou's beloved son, Zhou Xu, Zhou Shilang, right? I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"Hehe, the magistrate Chen is the one. How many students regarded policy theory as a classic back then, and I am lucky to be able to meet you with my own eyes."
"No matter where, the article of today's champion is even better."
"Hahaha… "
"Hahaha… "
The two chattered back and forth, and entered the prefect's yamen without knowing it. After entering, they realized that the yamen was so dilapidated that even the desk was missing a corner.
Both Zhou Xu and the prince were thinking in their hearts, Chen Fumin did too much in this play, but unfortunately, no matter how good the play is, it can't stop the observation of those who are interested, because the brand-new "Mirror Hanging High" plaque has long since put everything together. betrayed.
But since it was a play, the prince and Zhou Xu naturally followed suit.
"Why is the magistrate Chen's government office in such a dilapidated state?"
Chen Fumin raised his hands to cover his face, and stood in front of the desk, seemingly embarrassed, "Oh, prince, Chenzhou is in great trouble, it's good that this yamen can be like this, thinking about the thousands of people, maybe even a shelter from the wind and rain None of the roofs."
"It's really a blessing for the common people that Prefect Chen's government is so clean and honest," said the prince.
"Oh, it's a pity that Chenzhou is in great trouble. I, the prefect, am ashamed of what I have done. So far, the disaster has not been brought under control, and a new plague has even been added. Alas..." Chen Fumin's heart ached.
Out of disgust, the prince looked away and said, "The plague was not caused by the prefect Chen, just do your job well."
"Oh, looking at the people, my heart hurts."
Zhou Xu came out and said, "Now that we've come to this point, isn't the one million taels allocated by the court not enough?"
Because Zhou Xu's tone was sincere and modest, and he didn't mean to question at all, so Chen Fumin didn't think too much about it, so he continued to answer with a heartbroken face: "One million taels, it's not enough, it's just a drop in the bucket, think about it. Limin, which one is not dragging the family, who is not without food and clothing? Naturally, winter clothes must be distributed, food must be distributed, next year’s seeds must be prepared, and houses must be repaired. Not even a fraction is enough."
"So that's the case. If this is the case, it's really hard work for the prefect Chen. We are a little tired from the journey, can you prepare a yard for us so that we can rest for a while, and then talk about other things?"
Chen Fumin nodded and bowed his head and replied: "That's natural, of course, although the courtyard is a bit broken, it can still sleep people, come, come, come with me."
A group of people followed Chen Fumin to a courtyard, but the follow-up small army with relief money and food did not follow the prince. Chen Fumin found another courtyard for them, not far from the prince's residence, so the prince agreed. up.
In fact, both the prince and Zhou Xu know that Chen Fumin dare not take any action now, because they know very well that the prince and themselves are not in the same faction, so they should be quiet if they can. Although they have always been arrogant, if the prince catches them, they will It's hard to say.
Putting down the few luggage, Zhou Xu looked at the yard prepared by Chen Fumin. If he really wanted to find a word to describe it, it could only be "simple".
There is nothing in the main room except for a few chairs and a table. There are two inner rooms on the left and right, and there is only one bed in the inner room.
After looking at the main room and the inner room, Zhou Xu went to the firewood room and the kitchen to have a look. It was as simple as the other two rooms, even the pot was broken, and the bowl was also chipped.
Smiling slightly, Zhou Xu said to the prince: "It's really thanks to Chen Fumin that he can do this. It really is the level of 'being able to sleep'."
The prince took off his dirty coat, put it on the chair, and said, "It's all right, if he regrets it, it's because he has wronged you."
He didn't speak, but Zhou Xu really didn't feel wronged, because he had even experienced the end of the world, so what was he afraid of
The crown prince called some guards to tidy up the two rooms. After cleaning, Chen Fumin's men came to deliver the food. Looking at the bowls of clear porridge, the crown prince said to Zhou Xu: "I'll ask someone to make it for you again." Get something else."
Waving his hand, Zhou Xu said, "No need, don't give Chen Fumin an excuse to pick on us, first investigate the situation clearly."
"I'll go out tomorrow, so don't follow me, the plague will be contagious."
Zhou Xu raised his head, with a slightly pale face, paired with bright red lips, there was a moment of tenderness in his eyes, and when he looked again, the tenderness had changed, with three points of provocation, three points of contempt, and the remaining four points were all charm.
Satisfied with the prince's reddened earlobes, Zhou Xu smiled evilly and said, "What if I say I must go?"
"Don't go!"
"How about using this as an exchange?" Zhou Xu's slender eyebrows and eyes were already in front of the prince.
The bright red lips pressed against the prince's lips, and while the prince was stunned for a moment, Zhou Xu firmly held the initiative in his own hands.
The tip of the tongue occupied the prince's mouth little by little, and Zhou Xu was fascinated by the silky feeling. Gradually, the initial provocation turned into a later struggle, and finally even became suppressed by the prince, but Zhou Xu liked this suppression very much.
After the kiss was over, Zhou Xu narrowed his long and narrow eyes slightly, and asked with a smile, "How is it?"
The prince brushed Zhou Xu's lower lip with his thumb, wiped off the water stains on his lips, smiled lightly, and said, "No."
Turning around, the prince went back to his back room, leaving Zhou Xu standing there alone.
A few seconds later, Zhou Xu laughed loudly. He finally saw the prince's smile. Although it passed away in a flash, that smile was enough to be engraved in Zhou Xu's mind, because it was too bright, too gentle, and too handsome. , as if the ice had just melted, as if the winter snow had dissipated.
On the second day, Zhou Xu and the prince still met in the plague area. When they met, Zhou Xu smiled slightly and said, "Your Highness, you can't control me."
The prince couldn't help it, and finally issued a death order: "Absolutely do not touch people infected with the plague."
As a result, Zhou Xu smiled again, and took out a prescription, "According to this prescription, the patient will recover within three days."
The prince looked at Fang Zi and asked in surprise, "You drove it?"
"right."
"Okay, I'll find someone to do it."
"No check check?"
"No, I trust you."
When the doctor saw Zhou Xu's prescription, he was skeptical at first. After all, those medicinal materials are too simple and cheap, and some of them contain toxins. If this toxin stays in the human body, it may cause other diseases.
However, the fact is that the symptoms of the plague were relieved on the same day for those who drank Zhou Xu’s medicine, they could basically move freely on the second day, and they were cured on the third day. Once, he looked at Zhou Xu with admiration.
Three days later, the crown prince distributed the prescriptions to various states and counties, and distributed the medicines for free. Not only Chenzhou, but the plague in other regions has also been effectively controlled.
However, after the plague was resolved, the problem of hunger rose again.
The prince still lives in Chenzhou, but while solving the plague problem, the prince also started other actions.
Not wanting to hide anything in front of Zhou Xu, the prince called Ye Qi when he was having dinner with Zhou Xu.
"Ye Qi, go check the home of Prefect Chen and see if there is any evidence."
"yes."
Zhou Xu was drinking porridge that was neither salty nor light, and he heard what the crown prince said, so he added: "There is also that dilapidated magistrate's yamen, I suspect there is something there too."
The prince nodded: "I just came here, and I also felt that it was behind the desk. Although the prefect Chen was unintentional, it was because he was unintentionally protecting the desk, so I felt strange. Normally, There would be no problem with an ordinary desk, but he kept his back to it from the beginning to the end, obviously so obvious, but he kept saying that the yamen was broken, but he didn't look at the broken desk at all."
Zhou Xu nodded and looked at Ye Qi: "Pay attention to the underside of the desk, I guess there is something like a secret passage."
"yes."
"Take all the hidden guards, Chen Fumin is not a fool, there must be an ambush."
"Then who will protect the prince and young master?" Ye Qi's voice was still dull and deep, as if this silly quality would never change.
"Don't worry, Mr. Zhou and I can finish our meal within a stick of incense, and there are Bai Yang and Bai Zhang at the door."
Ye Qi nodded, and there was no one in the blink of an eye.
As soon as Ye Qi left, Zhou Xu suddenly felt heart palpitations, and before he had time to think, he kicked on the table leg.
The table was overturned, and the prince almost fell over because of it, but after he stopped in time, he immediately pulled out the long sword beside the table.
At the same time, Zhou Xu's soft sword has also been unsheathed.
There were not many masked people, six of them, five of them chased the prince, and one got into a fight with Zhou Xu.
The soft sword is like a spirit snake, which is incomparably exquisite made by Zhou Xu.
The masked man was not bad either. During a fierce fight, Zhou Xu found out that the prince's one-on-five was not inferior at all.
Zhou Xu's momentary distraction made the masked man seize the opportunity, and the sword light suddenly appeared, attacking Zhou Xu's neck from the side.
The soft sword hurriedly swung to block it, but it was a beat too late.
Zhou Xu's heart had already started to howl, because he knew very well how painful it was to stab someone with a long sword.
However, the tip of the masked man's sword barely touched Zhou Xu's skin before it was blocked by another long sword. With a "ding", the masked man's sword fell to the ground.
Zhou Xu took the opportunity to go up, wrapped the soft sword around the masked man's neck, and drew back, the masked man's blood spattered, there was a line of red on the neck, and the knife edge was neat.
After solving one problem, Zhou Xu went to help the prince, but the prince signaled Zhou Xu not to get involved. Zhou Xu also discovered another abnormality, that is, the swords of these masked men were poisonous.
There was a slight pain in the neck, and the skin that was pierced by the sword point gradually began to turn red at this moment.
His whole body began to weaken, Zhou Xu shouted at the prince: "Be careful, there is poison on their swords."
Unable to support his body, Zhou Xu slowly slid down the wall, while the prince continued to confront the five masked men.
The sound of the clash of long swords seemed unusually abrupt in this quiet space, and the tacit understanding of the masked men began to upgrade. However, no matter how powerful they were, they could not be compared to real masters.
Jumping high, the long sword in his hand followed the jumping movement and pulled a flower in mid-air. This movement accurately knocked down the sword of one of the masked men.
In the process of landing, the prince changed hands and changed the sword from his right hand to his left. This unexpected way instantly made the masked man on the left of the prince lose the initiative.
The prince took advantage of the momentary mistake of the masked man on the left, and slapped him on the back with his backhand, while the long sword pierced the masked man on the right.
At this time, the masked man facing the prince continued to attack, the prince quickly dodged the counterattacks of the masked men on the left and right, and jumped up again.
Zhou Xu only saw his moon-white clothes, which turned into a beautiful flower as he twirled and leaped. Looking carefully, none of the people chasing the prince could fly as high as the prince. be fast.
When they landed, the three masked men had all fallen to the ground. The prince turned to look at Zhou Xu, but the person whose sword was taken away by the prince at the beginning attacked secretly from behind.
Because the prince was focusing on Zhou Xu, he didn't notice it. When he noticed, the masked man had already been sealed by Zhou Xu's sword.
With the last bit of strength, Zhou Xu said, "Are you not injured?"
The prince touched the wound scratched by the last man's sneak attack, and slowly passed out. At the same time, Zhou Xu couldn't hold on any longer, and passed out along with the prince.
The room was so quiet that a needle could be heard, suddenly there was a "squeak", the door was opened, and two people came in, one was Chen Fumin, and the other was the prince's bodyguard Bai Zhang.
Turning around and fastening the door, Bai Zhang asked: "How to cure this poison?"
Chen Fumin's greasy face was full of excitement: "If you don't take the antidote within three days, you will die."
"Then, how do they deal with it?"
"Kill the prince, and send the other one to my room. I want to play with it. Oh, it looks so good."
As Chen Fumin said, he raised his hand to touch Zhou Xu's face, but before he touched it, he suddenly felt pain, and when he looked again, he found that his hand was gone.
"Ah!" A wailing sound came out, waking up the silence of the whole courtyard.