There was no fear among the other women once one dared to step forward.
As expected, when they saw her step forward to strike Zhou Ya, the other women also came forward, venting all their suffering here onto Zhou Ya.
Zhou Ya's cries of pain were quickly drowned out by the voices filled with hatred.
Tiliao Hong glanced cautiously at Zhou Ya behind her, then shook her head and whispered to Song Chaoyu, "Madam, I'm afraid if Zhou Ya continues to be beaten like this, she won't survive."
"It matters not."
Song Chaoyu's tone was indifferent, "This is something she should have foreseen long ago."
At the same time, a team of guards slowly entered from outside.
They wore the attire of the Chang Prince's manor, but they were a team of guards Song Chaoyu had never seen before.
She knew then that Mu Changxi had indeed not only brought those people with him to Haizhou.
They were here to deliver a letter to Mu Changxi.
It was a personal letter from the prefect of Haizhou City, meant to be delivered directly to Mu Changxi.
Mu Changxi was busy in the study hall, taking stock of what remained and the refugees in this area.
Upon seeing Song Chaoyu enter, he merely raised his eyes slightly, "Ayu, what does the letter say?"
Song Chaoyu was taken aback, "You want me to read it?"
Mu Changxi nodded with a smile, "Naturally. A letter to this Prince, and who else would read it if not his Princess Consort?"
Only then did Song Chaoyu take the letter.
The prefect of Haizhou City was named Gu Xuezhuo. He had served as an official in the capital for many years before being assigned to Haizhou by the Emperor. He had been in his post for over four years now.
It was rumored that while in the capital, the Emperor had trusted this Lord Gu. Upon arriving in Haizhou, he had entrusted him with everything in the city.
Over these four years, he had achieved many "merits" and repeatedly received the Emperor's praise.
Looking at it now, it was difficult to say how much truth or falsehood lay in these so-called "merits."
Lord Gu had sent a thick letter this time.
The letter first stated that they had received Xiao Ruizhi and the others in Haizhou City.
It mentioned that after receiving Xiao Ruizhi, they had not seen Song Chaoyu and Mu Changxi for a long time. Lord Gu only learned yesterday that they had not gone to Haizhou City but had gone directly to Ping'an County.
The letter inquired when they would be going to Haizhou City.
"Hmph!"
Upon hearing this question, Mu Changxi let out a cold laugh, "Is that all it said?"
Song Chaoyu coldly placed the letter beside her, "I don't believe Lord Gu is unaware of the current situation in Ping'an County. He is merely feigning ignorance. Does he not want to come to Ping'an County, or must we go to Haizhou City?"
Mu Changxi understood Song Chaoyu's meaning.
He sat up and looked at Pingjiang, "Give the order. From today onwards, this Prince will remain in Ping'an County to handle matters. Have Xiao Ruizhi bring the supplies over. If the officials of Haizhou City are willing, they should come to Ping'an County to find this Prince, rather than asking when this Prince will go to Haizhou City! If they are not willing, then they need not interfere with this disaster relief effort!"
At this moment, without needing anyone else to say it, Song Chaoyu and Mu Changxi knew that there must be something fishy going on in Haizhou City!
Even if it was to give Lord Gu a show of force, Song Chaoyu was not afraid of anything else.
She placed the letter back into the envelope, unopened, and handed it to Pingjiang, "As the Prince said, return this letter to Lord Gu and see how Lord Gu handles it!"
Pingjiang took the letter and immediately went down.
However, before any news came from Haizhou City, someone else had already arrived.
It was the county magistrate from the neighboring county. Hearing that Mu Changxi had dealt with Zhang Shi and his group, he had come to Ping'an County to request a meeting with Mu Changxi.
Mu Changxi had someone usher the county magistrate in. This Magistrate Hu at least appeared to be an upright official.
He said that after hearing of the arrest of Zhang Shi and his group, he had brought all the available forces from his county, hoping to assist Mu Changxi and Song Chaoyu. Regardless of anything else, his attitude alone earned Mu Changxi's admiration.
With the help of Magistrate Hu, a local official, the situation in Ping'an County improved considerably.
At least the refugees became more obedient, knowing that Mu Changxi was different from others and had truly come to help.
After the "punishment" of Zhou Ya and Zhang Shi, the women trusted Song Chaoyu even more.
As evening arrived, bonfires were lit everywhere in Ping'an County.
The women gathered to help with cooking, while the men spontaneously formed Mu Changxi's guard, protecting the study hall.
Song Chaoyu and Mu Changxi ate with the refugees. In this time of scarce resources, both of them only had a bowl of congee. Although they were still quite hungry, it was better than nothing.
Seeing them like this, although some refugees questioned if it was staged, most of them became even more convinced of their sincerity.
Thus, Song Chaoyu and Mu Changxi spent the night in the study hall.
To say they spent the night was an exaggeration, as in such circumstances, who could truly sleep?
It wasn't until the next morning that news arrived from Lord Gu.
It was said that after seeing the letter yesterday, Lord Gu had set off for Ping'an County with other officials from Haizhou City.
However, the road was extremely muddy, and there were also many refugees looting, which significantly slowed their progress. They would likely not arrive today.
"No rush."
Upon hearing this, Mu Changxi let out a cold laugh, "We encountered nothing on our journey. Yet, Lord Gu and his party encountered mud and looting refugees. This Prince is curious to see what else they will encounter. Haizhou is truly quite interesting!"
This was, of course, a mockery of Lord Gu and his party.
Indeed, not long after his words were spoken, before the day was even over, the figures of Lord Gu and his party appeared at the entrance of Ping'an County!
Regardless of what Lord Gu thought of Mu Changxi, with Mu Changxi now holding the disaster relief funds, Lord Gu dared not provoke him.
He entered Ping'an County with a group of prefectural officials and shouted, "Your subordinate greets His Highness Prince Chang, may Prince Chang be well!"
He led his men, without hesitation, to kneel at the muddy entrance of Ping'an County, which had just experienced rain, and began to beg for punishment, "It is all this subordinate's fault. Your Highness and Princess Consort have been in Ping'an County for so long, and this subordinate has not detected anything. I beg Your Highness to punish me!"
He was asking for punishment for such matters, not for failing to take good care of the people of Haizhou?
With such officials, how could the refugees of Haizhou be well?
Song Chaoyu's gaze grew colder, and Mu Changxi's eyes held a hint of disdain. He did not even personally step out of the study hall to welcome Lord Gu and his party.