Ordinary observers in fast time travel

Chapter 909 Refugees
The midday sun was exceptionally strong, illuminating the earth with a white glow. The green leaves, red flowers, and yellow soil also looked pale.

Far away, there is a group of whitish black spots, which look like people!
"Why are there so many people? Is it the army?" Shi Jia looked carefully and curiously, but the sunlight was too scorching. Not only did he not see clearly when he tried hard, but he was also blinded by the scorching light.

She quickly lowered her head to relieve the discomfort in her eyes.

"Da da da--"

A series of rapid horse hoof sounds came from afar. Shi Jia looked back and saw only billowing smoke and several horses rushing out of the smoke.

"Master, please lower the curtain quickly." Chuncao realized something and hurried to pull the curtain.

But it was still too late, "Ahem... Ahem..."

Dust was blown into the carriage, and the master and disciple both started coughing.

"We've found a doctor. Are you all okay?" The one driving the carriage was Ling Dingfeng's bodyguard Heiyu.

"It's okay." Shi Jia said in between coughing.

"Okay, Doctor Zhao, you've worked hard. It hasn't rained for a while, so there's a lot of dust and sand on the roads. Try not to lift up the curtains. Hang in there a little longer, and we'll get to Shangdu City before dark so we can have a good rest." Hei Yu reminded.

"Well, thank you."

The carriage was not moving very fast, but it could reach a speed of about fifteen kilometers per hour, so it quickly caught up with the group of black spots that Shi Jia had seen earlier.

Ever since he had a mouthful of mud, Shi Jia didn't dare to open the curtains, so when he heard the noise, he realized that they had caught up with a group of refugees fleeing famine.

"Master, please be kind. My father hasn't had water for two days. Can you give us some water? Just one bowl." The voice was hoarse and dry. Shi Jia opened the curtain and saw a dark-skinned man with clothes of unknown color kneeling in front of Ling Dingfeng's carriage.

"Heiyun, get him a pot of water." Ling Dingfeng said.

Heiyun hesitated a bit, but still took out a water bag. They didn't have much water left, but they would reach Shangdu City tonight, so they could just replenish their supplies then.

"Thank you, thank you, you are such a good person." The man took the water, kowtowed to Ling Dingfeng, and then rushed back to the crowd holding Shuihu.

Shi Jia looked from afar and saw a skinny old man lying on a cart, silent and looking like he was about to die.

She shifted her gaze and looked at the crowd. It was a dark mass of people, estimated to be five or six hundred people. They were all covered in dust and had dull eyes, like fish waiting to die on the shore due to lack of water.

At this moment, their dull eyes were looking towards their carriage, and the desire in their eyes almost turned into substance.

After a while, several tall and strong-looking men started to move. They drove their carriages over and knelt down with a few thuds.

"Master, master, please be kind, I haven't had any water for two days."

"Master, Master, I haven't eaten for two days."

"Master, I haven't eaten or drunk water for two days."

"Please be kind--"

"..."

More and more people knelt in front of the carriage, chattering like hundreds of ducks quarreling. Shi Jia felt a headache. His tired body from days of traveling was even more overwhelmed.

"Chuncao, give them some food and water." Shi Jia closed her eyes in pain. Although she had used various methods to replenish her body over the past six months, her body was like a funnel, and nothing could replenish it.

Chuncao was a little hesitant when she heard this, "Master, we don't have much water and food, they may not have enough to share."

If they don't get enough points, they are likely to become resentful and even fight.

"It's okay, just give as much as you can." Shi Jia knew that the little food he had was just a drop in the bucket for the refugees. In fact, the best solution to this kind of thing was to ignore it and avoid trouble. "Okay." Chuncao took out most of the food and water from the carriage, leaving only enough food for them to go to Shangdu.

"I'll give you all these." Chuncao didn't get off the carriage. With so many refugees, she was afraid of being torn apart. As she expected, the food and water were looted before they even left her hands. During the looting, the carriage was hit several times. It was shaking, and the horses were frightened.

It was thanks to Heiyu's superb horse training skills that he was able to calm the horses down and avoid a stampede.

Chuncao swallowed her saliva and said loudly, "Don't gather here. If we give you food, we will have none left."

"Girl, please be kind."

"Fairy……"

"Buddha……"

Shi Jia frowned, but did not regret it. Although that little bit of food could not help much, it might prevent a few people from dying a day later.

One day later means one day more hope.

But when the carriage was knocked, she still felt a little regretful. She felt that she was a very contradictory person. She should have a heart of stone after going through so much, but every time she faced these things, she was always soft-hearted and always liked to show her "hypocritical" saintliness.

"Heiyu, let's go." Shi Jia let out a breath, suppressed his chaotic thoughts, took a deep breath silently, and relieved his physical discomfort.

"Master?" Chuncao noticed Shi Jia's abnormality at the first moment, and hurriedly took out a porcelain bottle from her sachet, opened the bottle cap, poured out a mung bean-sized pill, and handed it to Shi Jia's mouth.

"Yeah." Shi Jia swallowed the pill, "Don't worry, I'm fine."

Chuncao just silently handed over the warm water.

Shi Jia looked through the curtains blown open by the wind, lost in thought at the refugees who were left far behind by the carriage. "Hei Yu, where did those refugees come from?"

Hei Yu drove the horse and leaned against the carriage. "They must have come from Chongzhou. There was a severe drought in the north and east this year, and the people had to migrate south to survive."

"But, I don't think they are going south."

"They are probably going to Shangjing." Hei Yu said, "But even if they go to Shangjing, they can't go into the city. They probably stay outside the city and live on the porridge provided by the dignitaries in Shangjing."

Shi Jia frowned, "Doesn't the court care about them?"

"It's impossible to manage it all. Although there's no severe drought in the south, there have been frequent crop failures in the past few years. There's also a severe drought in the north, and the treasury is out of money." Hei Yu whispered, "Besides, now that I'm old, the princes are seeking to ascend to the throne and are busy winning over the ministers. How can they have time to care about the common people? ... Ahem, Doctor Zhao, just pretend you didn't hear it."

He was used to talking to his master Heiyun and the others on a daily basis, and he would blurt out his true feelings without realizing it.

"Don't worry, I won't say anything." Shi Jia thought of the mission description, in which Zhao Wenwen married a royal family member who was the last to ascend to the throne in her second life.

Who is this royal family member? Oh, Anyuan Hou! Wait, isn't this just one letter different from Anding Hou?

Is it just one person?

Shi Jia quickly asked, "Hei Yu, do you know An Yuan Hou?"

"Ah?" Hei Yu was stunned. "Marquis Anyuan? Doctor Zhao, why are you asking about Marquis Anyuan? Do you know him?"

"I don't know him. I heard my master talk about it. Then I remembered that there is only one character difference between Anyuan Hou and Anding Hou, so I asked out of curiosity."

"Oh, Marquis Anyuan. Like our Lord, he is a first-rank duke personally appointed by His Majesty." Hei Yu said, "Marquis Anyuan also holds military power and guards the northwest border for His Majesty. At the same time, Marquis Anyuan is His Majesty's nephew and has a noble status..."

Hei Yu talked incessantly about the great achievements of An Yuan Hou, and he was extremely excited, just like that fanatical fan!
Shi Jia did not interrupt him, but only said one sentence when he finished, "In this way, Marquis Anyuan can be said to have achieved greater merits than his master."

Of course, as expected, Hei Yu strongly condemned him, "How can you say that his achievements are greater than his master's! An Yuanhou is obviously loyal to His Majesty..."