"I am the Supervising Crown Prince, how can I abandon my people and live on my own?!"
As expected, when Li Chengfeng and Zhao Feiyue anxiously found the Crown Prince, Zhao Hanqing, the Crown Prince was in the quarantine area, personally examining the patients who had consumed the Penta White Flower. After hearing Li Chengfeng and Zhao Feiyue's persuasion, the Crown Prince rejected their suggestion without hesitation.
Zhao Feiyue knew her Third Brother very well. He was a person who was soft on the outside but hard on the inside. Since young, he had always had his own ideas. Usually, he would not make any judgments and would only smile without saying a word. It seemed like he did not have his own ideas, but his heart was very upright. The more dangerous the situation was, the more he would have his own ideas.
Ever since he was young, Zhao Feiyue had only seen three people who could influence Zhao Han Qing, who had already made up his mind. The first was the Eldest Imperial Son, who had already passed away. He was the idol of Zhao Han Qing since he was young. The second was the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor, the teacher who had taught him since he was young, the leader of the scholars, Zhang Datong. The third was the Crown Princess, who was known for being well-educated, gentle, and virtuous.
Zhao Feiyue did not think any of them could become the fourth person.
But Li Chengfeng did not give up. He said hurriedly, "Your Highness, did you not hear the commotion at the east of the city?
These are the ten greatest devils in the world!
One of them is enough to destroy a city!
Your Highness, you are being kind now but you will harm the entire city in the end! "
Li Chengfeng could not help but raise his voice. The quarantine area immediately fell silent as everyone stared at Li Chengfeng and Zhao Feiyue.
How could they not have heard the commotion at the east of the city?
But as mortals, especially those who were already sick, what could they do?
The entire quarantine area was sealed off, and the high walls were filled with caltrops. The entrance was blocked by layers of barricades and heavily guarded. Rather than calling this a quarantine area, it would be better to call it a huge prison cell.
If the Crown Prince had not come personally to take care of them and accompany them, the thousands of patients here would have rebelled long ago.
They had to deal with these people who were also sick. Almost every hour, there would be familiar faces being taken away, never to return.
Slowly, they understood that they had a terminal illness. A terminal illness that could not be cured!
The people were not afraid of death, so why should they be afraid of death?
The Crown Prince knew this very well. That was why he took the initiative to enter the camp many times before the people's anger boiled over. Not only did he take care of the patients, but he also did not act like filth and personally fed the patients.
These despairing patients were like drowning people who had seen a life-saving straw, like a dark cage that had seen freedom and light. They were all moved to tears by the Crown Prince's actions.
But when they saw Li Chengfeng persuade the Crown Prince to abandon them and escape by himself, they were all shocked and panicked.
Indeed, if the people were not afraid of death, why should they be afraid of death?
However, even ants lived without purpose, let alone humans.
Even if they lived a hard life and lived in poverty, there weren't many poor people who committed suicide by hanging themselves!
Even though they were terminally ill and in so much pain that they wished they were dead, they still wanted to live!
If the Crown Prince abandoned the city and fled, what would they do?
They didn't have much experience, and they didn't have much foresight. Even so, even a fool knew that they would die!
The Crown Prince looked around and gave Li Chengfeng a look, gesturing for him to follow him to the resting area at the back of the barracks.
The moment they entered, the Crown Prince put down the heavy curtains and said, "That's impossible!
If I abandon the city and flee, the people of Taiyang will be threatened by the demon's vengeance!
Besides, if I run away, the officials of Taiyang City will definitely flee as well. At that time, Taiyang City will be in total chaos. Once the order that the city has spent so much effort to establish collapses, the patients will flee, and the plague will spread to all directions. What should we do then? "
Li Chengfeng's heart skipped a beat. He immediately realised that the Crown Prince's refusal to flee was not because he was pedantic, but because the Crown Prince was keenly aware of Daqi's corrupt governance. If he ran away, the consequences would be dire.
With the Crown Prince here, although the plague had ravaged Taiyang City, the officials were afraid but none of them dared to flee. If the officials did not flee, the lower-ranked officials naturally did not dare to move either. With the officials as an example, the lower-ranked officials naturally did not dare to act. With the government and the army in charge, the entire administrative system and effective operations of Taiyang City were guaranteed.
However, if the Crown Prince fled, Li Chengfeng knew that Taiyang City would collapse in an instant!
The first to flee were the officials who first received the news. Then, the aristocrats would swarm out and flee. Then, the soldiers and officers would throw away their helmets and armor and flee. In the end, only the common people and disaster victims who could escape were left, as well as … the patients who were infected by the plague.
The disease that was finally contained would spread in an instant. It would be an unimaginable disaster!
Li Chengfeng whispered bitterly, "Is … there really no other way?"
Before this, Li Chengfeng had thought that the Thundercloud Demon's seemingly generous' mercy 'had given them time to react and even escape. But now, it seemed like this was a suicidal move!
Because this seemed to be giving Li Chengfeng and the others a way out. However, if Li Chengfeng and the others really chose to escape, that would be the start of the real disaster. Moreover, from the looks of it, it was very likely that Old Demon Thundercloud wanted them to do so.
The Crown Prince said decisively, "Hold on for two more days. I've already informed Tai Chang. He's rushing to Taiyang with his men!"
Li Chengfeng said anxiously, "But tomorrow …"
Before Li Chengfeng could finish, there was a commotion outside. A sickly old man stumbled in and was stopped by the guards at the door. He yelled, "I want to see the Crown Prince, I want to see Your Highness!
Your Highness, Your Highness!
Your Highness, you can't leave without us! "
Hearing the commotion, the Crown Prince walked to the door, lifted the curtains and walked out quickly. He quickly helped the old man up and said gently, "Uncle, why do you say that? I'm not going anywhere!"
The old man did not believe him. He glared at Li Chengfeng and said, "Your Highness, you must not listen to these lowly people. If you leave, Taiyang City will become a ghost town and the consequences will be unimaginable!
Your Highness, anyone who instigates you to abandon the city should be executed without mercy! "
Li Chengfeng listened expressionlessly without a word. Zhao Feiyue raised a brow and was about to explode but Li Chengfeng stopped her with a look. He wanted to see how the Crown Prince would react.
The Crown Prince gently helped the old man up, then said in a gentle voice, "Old Uncle, do you know that with such a place for treatment, such a method of treatment, and the fact that your family and friends can be well protected and quarantined so that they won't be infected, such a terrible disease did not spread quickly, and the majority of the people in the city were spared, it's all because of Brother Chengfeng's advice.
If not for that, Taiyang's condition would be ten times worse! "
The old man looked at Li Chengfeng hesitantly and begged, "Your Highness, please be careful with what I said!
Your Highness, you can't leave without us! "
As he spoke, he began to sob.
All the patients in the barracks, whether they could or could not, struggled to get up and kowtowed to the Crown Prince, sobbing.
The Crown Prince had become their last hope in life!
The Crown Prince comforted them gently and helped them up one by one. With just a few gentle words, they were already in tears. They grabbed the Crown Prince's hand and shook it vigorously, unwilling to let go.
Li Chengfeng watched with a heavy heart and turned to leave.
When he left the barracks, Zhao Feiyue looked at him carefully and whispered, "Are you angry?"
Li Chengfeng shook his head. "It's human nature to seek survival, it's normal to have misunderstandings.
But … since the Crown Prince refuses to leave, then … "He looked at Zhao Feiyue inquiringly.
With this gaze, Zhao Feiyue immediately understood. "You mean …"
"We'll escape with a fake Crown Prince. We won't let anyone know but we have to let the Old Demon Thundercloud find out. We'll lure him away!"