Seeing the old man's reaction, Tang Youyou knew that her plan had succeeded.
At the moment, all the common people regarded her as a living bodhisattva.
Tang Youyou, however, watched these people coldly. Although they were very grateful now, it might not be the case later.
Thinking of this, she looked at Qingyu beside her, who was in a daze, and smiled. "Well, do you think your mistress is extremely charming now?"
Rong Xun also watched Tang Youyou interacting with these people like this, feeling a bit helpless.
Hearing this, Qingyu nodded. "Yes. This servant originally thought that Her Majesty the Empress Dowager intended to let these people fend for themselves. Unexpectedly, she finally saved them."
Just then, Tang Youyou spoke again. "Since that's the case, I'll show you what true human nature is."
Hearing this, Qingyu nodded half - understanding.
Soon, the grain in their hands was exhausted, and they started to pack up their stalls.
Just as they were about to leave, another wave of common people came from afar. All of them were emaciated and shouted frantically.
"Don't forget about us! Don't forget about us!"
Saying so, they quickly came in front of Tang Youyou. But the moment they saw the empty table, their happy expressions vanished instantly.
Some of them even glared at Tang Youyou angrily.
"Why did you only give food to others but not to us? Are you judging people by their distance? Will you just ignore the villagers from afar?"
The hungry common people didn't care if this person was kind - hearted. All they cared about was the so - called "failure to save them" of the kind - doer.
Tang Youyou, sitting on the chair at the front gate, said casually, "There's nothing left. You figure it out yourself. If you really have to, you can take this empty rice bag."
Hearing this, the man changed his expression again. He raised his fist and was about to punch Tang Youyou in the face. But just as his fist was about to land, Rong Xun grabbed his hand and stopped him.
Seeing this, Tang Youyou still sat upright, pursing a charming smile. She looked up at the man. "What? I'm your benefactor. Even if I didn't help you, it's not right for you to hit me, is it?"
After saying that, the man was slightly stunned, then he said again, "So what? We didn't get any benefits in the end! Therefore, everything you said is just a joke!"
Hearing the man's heart - rending words, Tang Youyou looked at Qingyu beside her with a smile. "See? This is human nature."
Qingyu nodded upon hearing this and said seriously, "It seems that we need to prepare more food next time."
...
At this moment, Tang Youyou became expressionless again. Looking at the people in front of her, she was speechless. She turned to look at Rong Xun beside her and said coldly, "Rong Xun, you need to handle this."
As soon as she finished speaking, Rong Xun immediately turned around, made a fist, and punched the man in front of him hard in the face. In a short while, several people in front of him fell to the ground.
The leader had just stood up when he saw Rong Xun punching him again. This punch made him see stars.
This time, the originally arrogant people were completely panicked and quickly turned around and ran away.
Tang Youyou slowly stood up, looked at him leisurely, and smiled. "It still has to be you, Rong Xun."
"Whatever my wife says, I will surely do it seriously. It's my honor to stand up for my wife."
After packing up their things, they returned to the Empress Dowager's Mansion. Looking at Rong Xun, who seemed out of place in this mansion, Tang Youyou joked, "Are you really not going to take back your throne? Or do you have a better choice?"
Her words were a hint, and she just wanted to see what kind of lies this man would come up with.
After a while, the man said, "Something happened to our ancestors, and I don't have the energy to return to the palace."
After hearing this, Tang Youyou didn't ask any more questions.
In a blink of an eye, the plague was raging in the city and could not be controlled at all. The common people were dying one after another.
However, even so, the emperor above still did nothing. He regarded the lives of the common people in the streets as sand, which was lifted and disappeared with the wind, not worth caring about at all.
Now, the common people in the whole city began to riot. Everyone started to rob things from the pharmacies continuously, forcing the originally kind people into villains who burned, killed, and looted.
In the palace, Su Jin was sitting alone on the dragon throne. Looking at the man kneeling on the ground, he said leisurely, "Tell me, why have the common people become like this?"
The kneeling minister trembled and said, "Your Majesty, this official really doesn't know why this happened."
Su Jin laughed loudly looking up at the sky. "What? You told me before that you had strategies and courage. But now, when it comes to the critical moment, you tell me you can't do it?"
The minister immediately lowered his head. His timid look made Su Jin even more angry.
"If you can't come up with any ideas today, don't show up in front of me tomorrow."
Hearing this, the minister nodded repeatedly. As soon as Su Jin finished speaking, he ran away at full speed, afraid that if he was a bit slower, his head would be chopped off by the man behind him.
Seeing the minister's obsequious look, Su Jin sneered and returned to the harem.
In the Empress Dowager's Mansion, Tang Youyou had been sleepless for three days, painstakingly researching the antidote for the plague. Many herbs were discarded in her hands. After one trial after another, she finally gave up.
Rong Xun pushed the door open and came in. He put the food in his hand on the table, then walked towards Tang Youyou and smiled. "What, have you encountered any problems?"
"There's still one thing missing in this pill, something that can neutralize the medicinal properties."
Hearing this, Rong Xun then asked, "Since we don't know what it is for the moment, just eat something and think about it later."
Listening to Rong Xun's words, Tang Youyou finally put down what she was doing.
"In the past, I could solve such a minor illness in less than half an hour. It's just..."
It's just that this time, she just couldn't solve it no matter what.
Just as she was racking her brains for the antidote to the plague, she accidentally knocked the plate on the table to the ground. The plate shattered all over the place, cutting her finger. But at this moment, she didn't care.
Rong Xun just quietly accompanied her.
Tang Youyou ignored the pain in her hand and walked towards the medicine furnace. Looking at the pills inside, Tang Youyou was slightly stunned. While she was pausing, the blood from her fingertip dripped into the medicine furnace.
In an instant, these pills instantly turned blood - red, and the whole pill became dim.