The Dramatic Crown Princess Wants to Poison Me!

Chapter 269: Chapter 269: It Really Is Him

The Undying Poison Doctor followed Huangfu Jingchen as he dismounted, laughing almost to the point of stumbling: ”See, no matter how much you give, in these people’s eyes, it’s all expected. But if there’s the slightest displeasure, they’ll make a fuss. Human nature is inherently evil; peoples’ hearts are selfish, understand?”

Huangfu Jingchen glanced sideways and said, ”Senior, please wait a moment. Once I handle this matter, I’ll invite you to treat my friend!”

He was burning with anxiety.

It was hard enough to get the Undying Poison Doctor; he couldn’t wait to bring him to Xia Wenjin first thing and ask him to treat Xia Wenjin.

He hadn’t seen Wenjin for two days; he didn’t know how she was doing.

But before he even got into town, they were blocked by these outraged villagers at the town’s entrance.

He ignored the sour tone of the Undying Poison Doctor.

Right now, solving the issue was more important.

Several people at the front were already clashing with the soldiers. The previous bloodshed was about to repeat itself, and once someone broke through, more people would follow, and the scene would spiral out of control.

Huangfu Jingchen shot forward like lightning, rushing into the middle of the villagers.

Shang Jingwang was startled. These villagers were all trying to rush out, their emotions running high. If he went in, what if the villagers turned on him?

This person was a noble from the Capital City.

Shang Jingwang anxiously shouted, ”Young Master Jing, don’t...”

However, before he could finish, Huangfu Jingchen had already plowed into the crowd, targeting a person with a soot-blackened face, half-hidden under a hat.

Seeing things go south, that person immediately tried to push deeper into the crowd, causing a commotion as people scattered in disarray.

Cries of chaos arose: ”Oh no, he’s here to capture us! Let’s fight back; don’t let him catch us!”

”Stop him, stop him!”

But who was Huangfu Jingchen?

Though the villagers pushed and ran chaotically, with some desperately trying to break through the barricade, he moved through them like a fish in water. The villagers couldn’t even touch the hem of his garment.

Soon, Huangfu Jingchen was in their midst. As some tried to lay hands on him, he sidestepped, brushed past, grabbed someone, lifted him up, and flung him outward, pressing a point on him before letting go.

He also grabbed a few others who were stirring up trouble and flung them out together. Then he moved swiftly among those charging the soldiers, using his inner strength’s subtle power to send them staggering, many falling to the ground, the chaos putting a stop to their assault on the barricade.

Huangfu Jingchen returned outside, striding purposefully toward the man with the soot-blackened face hidden by a hat.

The man tried to run, but his acupoints were sealed, so he couldn’t move, his eyes flickering with fear.

Huangfu Jingchen approached, pulled off his hat, wiped his face with it, smearing the soot irregularly, then grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up for all to see, and said in a deep voice, ”Look who this is!”

The previously chaotic villagers quieted down. Huangfu Jingchen’s voice, laced with inner strength, echoed in their ears, compelling them to look his way.

Someone exclaimed in shock, ”Isn’t this Doctor Zhang?”

”It’s Zhang Jiantang!”

”It really is him!”

”So what if it’s him? No one wants to die; he’s just like us, not wanting to wait for death!”

”Yeah, we’re all the same!”

...

Huangfu Jingchen called out, ”You should think carefully, who organized you? Who contacted and informed you? Isn’t it these people?”

He dropped Zhang Jiantang and grabbed the collars of the others, hauling them up for the crowd to see.

The uproar diminished considerably.

Many recognized familiar faces.

These were the ones who had told them about the isolation zone treating lives like they were worthless, about being left to die without notice to families, weren’t they?

But they hesitated.

These people weren’t entirely wrong.

Staying in the village meant waiting for death, should they really remain? They weren’t even sick!

Someone piped up, ”Young Master Huang, maybe you’re mistaken. Doctor Zhang never talked to us!”

Zhang Jiantang also protested with a face full of grievance, ”Young Master Huang, I know I offended you before, but you can’t falsely accuse me! I’m just trying to escape with everyone because I don’t want to wait for death in the town.”

Seeing Huangfu Jingchen capture the ringleaders without a word, Shang Jingwang sighed in relief and stood beside Huangfu Jingchen, pointing at Zhang Jiantang and scolded, ”Then why are you sneaking around?”

Zhang Jiantang complained, ”Not many people in the village like me; I didn’t want to draw attention!”

A voice rose from the crowd, ”They’re trapping us here, not letting us leave, and falsely accusing us. Do they mean to arrest us?”

”Why should they arrest us? We’re not sick!”

”Yeah, what’s wrong with not wanting to wait for death?”

”If they really care about us, why won’t they let us go?”

...

Shang Jingwang felt relieved when Huangfu Jingchen caught the ringleader, but that relief turned to concern as the crowd grew more agitated. If the villagers succeeded now, future issues would be more complicated.

Did they really need to resort to forceful measures? He furrowed his brow, about to speak, but Huangfu Jingchen seemed to anticipate his words and said, ”Lord Shang, please wait!”

Though he had thrown the troublemakers to the ground, Huangfu Jingchen clearly saw where their eyes were looking. He approached one and asked, ”When did you start planning?”

The man’s eyes flickered under Huangfu Jingchen’s piercing gaze, feeling sweat bead up, he stammered, ”Wha...what plan? We just don’t want to wait for death...”

Their mouths were still tight.

Huangfu Jingchen coldly said, ”You’d better tell the truth, otherwise, I have ways to make you speak!”

The man said, ”Young Master, I’m telling the truth. Surely you won’t force me to falsely accuse others, will you?”

This sparked anger among the villagers again.

Huangfu Jingchen offered no explanation, but he addressed those few, ”You know why you came, as do I. If you speak the truth, I can plead with the Prefect for leniency. But if you stay silent and we proceed as usual, don’t regret it later!”ℯℯ𝘭.