In early June of the third year of Tongzhi, Pu Zixuan and his party, except for Su Sanniang, who went to Tianjing alone, four others had arrived in Zhejiang, and their first stop was Changhua County, Hangzhou Prefecture.

Perhaps it was because my father, who had been missing for many years, was in Zhejiang, or perhaps because of the new companions Zhu Yuanliang and Xiaoshu, who joined him on the way, Pu Zixuan was no longer as lonely as before. In addition, because Xiaoshu covered up the power of purification, everyone did not encounter monsters all the way. Instead, they encountered some mountain and wild monsters, which could even be regarded as a different kind of pastime.

However, in Changhua County, Pu Zixuan quickly felt the strange atmosphere.

Changhua County is located at the junction of Zhejiang and Anhui. It was recovered by Zuo Zongtang from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom three months ago. The four of them came to an inn called "Jiuli Yang" in the evening to seek accommodation. But Pu Zixuan had a dispute with the store at the counter. The reason was that Pu Zixuan asked the four to live in three next to each other, but the store insisted that the four people live in a separate room. This was not a big deal, but Pu Zixuan got stuck in the horns.

"Hey, I said the store owner, four of us stayed in the hotel and arranged three rooms next to each other for us. This requirement is reasonable. Why do you disagree? It's so strange!"

The store owner looks about thirty years old and is not a kind-hearted person. However, perhaps he has been accustomed to such doubts and does not seem impatient. Instead, he smiled and explained: "The four guests don't know that our Zhejiang is different from other places. The Qing army has just recovered. Isn't it that the plague in Jiangzuo area recently? The government requires that in order to prevent the spread of the plague, people must maintain a sufficient distance. Take our Jiuli Yang Inn as an example. There are 38 guest rooms in the yard on these two floors, 19 rooms up and downstairs, but only ten rooms on each floor can be opened across the air. Ninety rooms are not allowed to live in, and two people are not allowed to live together. Alas, as soon as this government order was issued, our shop, which is already ordinary in business, was even more hit, but there is no other way except to implement the rules."

"Plague?" Pu Zixuan was stunned and said, "That's okay. My body is not afraid of plague. You can arrange three rooms for us in the air, one for this child and one for the fat man, and I live in one for the girl. If you get sick, it's our own. I will never cause trouble for your store, right?"

The store owner kept shook his head and said, "Oh, don't say, the most feared thing about the government is that men and women live together. It is said that the chance of getting sick is the highest. Even if I have ten courage, I dare not disobey. I would also like to ask the official to understand and cooperate with us."

Pu Zixuan said unhappily: "I said that getting sick is our own problem. As long as you agree, how about I'll add the room rate to you?"

The store owner said: "No, it's not a matter of how much money it costs, but the government often comes to check in the middle of the night. If it is found that an inn violates this regulation, it will be sealed immediately and then arrested us and sent to jail!"

Pu Zixuan was most angry about her and Chen Shuqing's inability to sleep together, and said angrily: "You don't do the business of giving money? If it doesn't work, we'll change a store!"

The shop owner was not angry and advised confidently: "It is my own freedom to go to which inn to go to by the guest official, but I still want to give you a piece of advice. This is the case in Zhejiang, let alone Changhua. It is precisely because of this regulation that inns in the city are in short supply. It is not too late now. Maybe there are only a few empty rooms in our place. If the guest official hesitates, I am afraid there will be no place to stay tonight."

If it were the past, Pu Zixuan would turn his head and leave. At worst, he could just let Chen Shuqing turn into a hammock. But now there are two more people in the team, so this trick is really inconvenient to spend the night, so he has to scratch his head and ears.

Zhu Yuanliang smiled at Pu Zixuan and said, "Hehe, Xiaoshu and I must be fine, it depends on yourself."

Chen Shuqing also said: "Forget it, Xiaoqi, since there is a plague and the government is so tough, let's cooperate to avoid violating the rules and causing trouble."

Pu Zixuan knew that there was no other choice, but he was full of resentment and didn't know how to vent his anger. He asked: "Shopkeeper, is there really a plague in Zhejiang? If there is a plague, then it may not only be accommodation, but also food and transportation. The quarantine policy should be implemented, and the streets should be strictly controlled. But I think that except for the hotel, Changhua has this requirement, everything else is normal. How come it looks like there is a plague? But what other reasons are there?"

"Hehe, the customer is really too careful." The shop owner looked around carefully. Seeing that there was no one else, he didn't want to lose the customer Pu Zixuan, and then whispered: "I'll tell you the truth. Just listen, but don't tell me. The city has been spreading. At the beginning of this year, a long-haired collie named Wang Dun of Jinhua Mansion stayed overnight in Lanruo Temple in the north of Jinhua City. He met a banshee. The banshee has a strange ability to control a man's mind and make him fascinated by her. Once he gets into lovesickness, he will be the most important thing in his heart.

If the person is forced to expel the disease, the more the disease is. The closer the two get, the greater the transmission force will be. If a man and a woman sleep together, the man will die of illness without half an incense stick. As a result, that night, Wang Dun died in the temple. People suspected that he was caused by having an affair with his beloved woman in Lanruo Temple. As for who the woman was, no one knew, and no one knew whereabouts. The next day, the Chu army commanded by Zuo Zongtang recaptured Jinhua Mansion and took this control measure to strictly control the accommodation distance. In this way, even if a man was caught, it would not have occurred so quickly."

Pu Zixuan immediately became interested and said, "Well, it sounds quite like that. However, since the banshee appears in Lanruo Temple in Jinhua Prefecture, what's the matter withholding Hangzhou Prefecture?"

The shop owner smiled and said, "Although the banshee mainly appears in Lanruo Temple, it is not inevitable. People in the entire Jiangzuo area have encountered such evil things." After saying that, he whispered: "I heard that even Jiangsu is the same. The Heavenly King Hong Xiuquan did not die of illness normally, but was caused by the banshee pretending to be a harem and sneaking into the Heavenly King's Mansion."

Just as he was talking, a woman holding a child walked out of the side room and coughed loudly, as if she was implying that the shopkeeper shut up. The coughing also made the child cry. The woman kept patting and coaxing: "Oh oh oh, be good, don't cry or cry..."

The shopkeeper also realized that he was oversighted, and immediately stood up straight and said with a righteous voice: "Of course, these evil sayings that confuse the public are absolutely false. Where are the monsters in this world? The real situation must be plague. Don't believe it. Our Jiangzuo area has been wars for years, and corpses are everywhere, and has been raging for many years. This is not my random fabrication. Shen Zi's "Diary of Avoiding the Bandits" knows? Not to mention it, just talk about these years. In the tenth year of Xianfeng, plagues prevailed in Changshu, Wuxi, Wuzhen and other places. In the eleventh year of Xianfeng, plagues and cholera occurred in Lin'an, Changhua, Jiaxing, Zhejiang. In the first year of Tongzhi, Jiaxing, Changshan, Shaoxing, and their long-haired capital, the plagues broke out one after another, causing the population of Jiangzuo area to drop by nearly half in recent years. Alas, I think, if the long-haired people are not wiped out for a year, the plagues will not stop for a year."

Pu Zixuan heard that the shop owner had a "long-haired" on the left and the other "Kou" on the right, and then he realized that in this area where the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had ruled for many years, people's hearts had already fluctuated. No wonder this regime had already reached the end. He also sighed that it was fortunate that Su Sanniang was not in the same team, otherwise it would be difficult to accept her loyalty to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. At least, she had to theory with the shop owner.

At this time, another bus of guests came outside the inn. When they got off the bus, they seemed to be staying.

The store owner glanced at the visitor, turned to Pu Zixuan and said, "Okay, this is the situation. Please decide whether the guests will stay as required or not."

Seeing this, Pu Zixuan stopped talking and said, "Okay, okay, then we will book four rooms according to Zhejiang regulations. Please arrange it quickly."

The store owner collected the money and once again told Pu Zixuan: "I feel relieved to the rest of the people. The guest officer must abide by the rules. Don't sneak into the girl's room at night, otherwise we will expel the guests immediately once we find out."
Chapter completed!