The group of people calmed the residents of Tongzhou Prefecture.
Su Xiaoqi even left them a few prescriptions for common ailments like headaches, fevers, and colds, and they finally set off on their return journey.
The mood of the group was exceptionally joyful on the way back to the capital from Tongzhou.
They had handled this matter properly, and the official gazettes had already been sent to the capital. They expected to be rewarded for their excellent work on this mission.
Of course, the most important thing was to have genuinely helped the common people.
Everyone was relaxed during the journey.
Even Wang Enze, who usually appeared somewhat distant, became familiar with Shen Yun.
However, Wang Enze’s words always seemed to probe Su Xiaoqi’s true identity.
He didn't believe that someone as capable as her could be a beggar from the common streets.
This point displeased Shen Yun.
However, as it was Wang Enze, he merely spoke casually and immediately changed the subject when he saw Shen Yun’s displeasure.
Wang Enze’s father, Wang Chengyi, had previously served as the Chancellor of the former Crown Prince’s Household and was an old acquaintance of Mr. Gu, even being very close once.
Due to this lingering connection, their feelings quickly warmed up along the way, filled with laughter and pleasantries, and their mood was excellent.
After passing Tongzhou and while passing a village in Bazhou, the few of them could no longer laugh.
That village was not on the official road, and by rights, they should not have passed by it.
However, a large fire had broken out there, which was very conspicuous and made one unbearable hot from a distance.
At first, they all thought it was a mountain fire caused by prolonged drought and dry conditions.
Driven by curiosity, they approached to find out that the entire Wangjia Village had been deliberately set ablaze.
There were also imperial guards surrounding the area.
The group was perplexed, and Wang Enze sent his subordinate Mo Wen to inquire.
Upon learning that the visitors were imperial officials, the leader brought his subordinates and rushed over in a grand manner.
Upon seeing this person, both Su Xiaoqi and Shen Yun’s faces changed simultaneously—Su Jiamo.
Su Jiamo, who was leading them, also saw the two.
He let out a cold snort at Shen Yun, but he was extremely attentive towards Su Xiaoqi.
“Xiaoqi, why are you here?” Su Jiamo asked.
Su Xiaoqi looked at Su Jiamo, dressed in a sixth-rank official robe, with an unreadable expression.
If she remembered correctly, hadn’t he just passed the Imperial Academy’s selection to become a Shujishi?
In just a few months, he had risen to the rank of a sixth-rank official.
He was half a rank higher than Shen Yun, who was the Zhuangyuan (top scholar).
Su Jiamo’s triumphant gaze shifted from Shen Yun, sizing them up, and he recognized Lu Mingyang, the Director of the Imperial Hospital, and Wang Enze, a Censor from the Censorate.
This was because he also had people from the Censorate and the Imperial Hospital by his side.
The teams that went to various places to treat plagues and patients were basically composed of people like them.
He saluted the two but looked coldly at Shen Yun, waiting for him, who was half a rank lower, to come forward and salute him.
Shen Yun would not pay him any mind.
He was only half a rank higher, and he was still the Deputy Minister of the Household of the Grand Court, so he couldn't control them in the Imperial Academy.
Moreover, there were more important matters to discuss now.
“Why did you set fire to the village?” Shen Yun went straight to the point.
Su Jiamo’s eyes flickered, and he felt a bit flustered.
But he quickly glanced in a certain direction and calmed down.
He was no longer the insignificant Shujishi standing before Shen Yun.
He was an official in the Household of the Grand Court who had the favor of the Crown Prince.
Furthermore, in a manor not far ahead, His Highness the Crown Prince was also present. What could they do to him?
Su Jiamo, having found his patron, became arrogant.
“Does the Crown Prince’s actions require an explanation from a mere Hanlin Academy compiler like you?”
As soon as these words were spoken, Wang Enze immediately knew that the two were at odds.
Thinking further that both of them came from Mianzhou City, he understood when their animosity originated.
However, this had nothing to do with him.
He was concerned about whether the fire was set by the Crown Prince.
“Seeing the great fire, why didn’t you put it out?” Wang Enze pressed.
“You don’t need to concern yourselves with this. All you need to know is that this is the Crown Prince’s will,” Su Jiamo said sternly and forcefully.
If they had been discussing other matters, he would have considered building good relations with them and chatting a bit, as they were officials of the same court, and this Censor Wang’s father also held a high position.
He naturally did not want to offend them if he could befriend them.
But since he had come with Shen Yun, he did not hold out much hope.
Upon hearing that he was also inquiring about the matter of burning the village, he lost interest.
He refused to answer anything, citing that it was a direct order from His Highness the Crown Prince.
However, Su Xiaoqi noticed that Su Jiamo was not alone, like them, with just a few officials and their attendants.
He was leading a troop of soldiers.
They were clad in the silver armor of the Eastern Palace Guards, holding weapons, their faces stern, as if carrying out a mission.
If it were just to burn the bodies of those infected with the plague, as they had, there wouldn’t be such a strong guard.
Su Xiaoqi looked at the raging fire and saw some distorted shadows, which she thought looked somewhat like human figures.
She shared her suspicions with Shen Yun.
Shen Yun’s brows furrowed quickly.
Even without Su Xiaoqi’s mention, he had already noticed.
And he had noticed it even earlier than her.
What Su Jiamo was guarding with his troops being burned was definitely not just the bodies of those infected with the plague.
However, with the Crown Prince’s orders and so many guards here, they couldn't find out anything.
They could only choose to take a detour and leave.
But along the way, the four who were previously cheerful and laughing could not laugh anymore.
Each of them appeared incredibly heavy-hearted.
“Brother Xuzhi, what do you think they are burning?” Wang Enze asked first.
Shen Yun replied, “Having not seen it with my own eyes, it is difficult to make a hasty conclusion.”
Wang Enze saw that he was being reserved and then guided the conversation, saying, “Mo Wen told me that there might be living people inside.”
Upon hearing this, the steps of all four of them halted.
The attendants following behind also stopped.
Shen Yun looked at Wang Enze.
Wang Enze also looked at Shen Yun.
Their eyes met in the air, and they simultaneously made a decision.
Wang Enze suggested, “Why don’t we turn back and investigate?”
Shen Yun nodded in agreement.
He could not stand by and watch living people be burned to death.
Su Xiaoqi had initially only suspected, thinking perhaps she had seen incorrectly.
But hearing the reliable Shen Yun and Wang Enze say so, she felt that the matter was almost certainly true.
But if they could be saved, why were they being burned?
As the few of them turned around, preparing to return, they saw a group of ragged people dart out from the direction they had come.
They ran and scrambled through the forest as if they had seen a ghost.
“Stop, stop, don’t run.”
Someone was shouting from behind as they chased.
Soon, they caught the people wearing tattered clothes, with swaying bodies and unsteady gaits.
Everyone stood there, staring blankly at what was happening before them.
Just as they were about to be tied up and taken back, Shen Yun said, “Stop, who are you people?”
The leader, wearing a Chengzi-style robe, glared fiercely and said resentfully:
“Who are you? I’m warning you, mind your own business, or we’ll drag you along and burn you too.”