Just as Balu finished speaking and everyone was lost in their own thoughts, suddenly some gravel fell from the cliff above their heads.
Everyone looked up in confusion and saw that at the highest point they could see, there was a strong black figure flying down the cliff. The gravel fell because he stepped on it.
I saw another bigger stone falling down.
Dongling Yuanhao was trying to protect Ximen Yourong, but Chu Hengye took him one step ahead and took Ximen Yourong to a safe place.
If it were just the obligation of a minister, Chu Hengye's caution would be understandable.
But Dongling Yuanhao once again felt that there was always something strange in the way Chu Hengye looked at Ximen Yourong. It was as if Ximen Yourong had other meanings to Chu Hengye besides the relationship between monarch and minister!
However, Dongling Yuanhao had no more time to think about this doubt, because the man who "fell from the sky" had already landed in the open space directly in front of them.
When the man turned around immediately, both parties were stunned, but then their guard was immediately lifted.
Because the person who fell from the sky was none other than Wuhen. He quickly came to Ximen Yourong, knelt down, saluted and apologized:
"I didn't know that your Majesty and Your Majesty were here, and I disturbed Your Majesty and Your Majesty. Please forgive me, Your Majesty and Your Majesty!"
When Wuhen flew down from the top of the peak, he didn't know there was anyone down there because he was too high and there were some branches blocking him. He didn't notice anyone until he was about to fall to the ground, but he didn't expect it to be Ximen Yourong and them.
.
Since he was one of his own, Dongling Yuanhao was not polite. He asked Wuhen to stand up and quickly asked:
"Wuhen, how did you come down from above?"
He didn't see Wuhen guarding Ximen Yourong, but he actually guessed that Wuhen was sent out by Ximen Yourong to do something.
However, looking at the cliff above his head, Dongling Yuanhao secretly exclaimed. He thought that his Qing Gong was already very good, but compared with Wuhen, he seemed to dare not say that his Qing Gong was one of the best. At least he was not perfect.
He grasped the peak with his bare hands, and flew down from the peak with his bare hands.
Wuhen listened to Dongling Yuanhao's question. He did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked at Ximen Yourong, as if he was asking for Ximen Yourong's permission before answering.
Wuhen was originally ordered by Dongling Yuanyong to stay close to Ximen Yourong. But after arriving in Yizhou, Ximen Yourong used various exclusions to determine that the most likely cause of widespread poisoning of the people in Yizhou was in the water.
.
However, when she arrived, she could no longer detect the problem in the water. So, she had to order Wuhen to investigate how the water sources in the entire Yizhou coexisted.
It is said that the soil and water support the people. Although Yizhou is a big city, the water source must be from the same root, but the distribution is different.
As long as she finds out where the water is diverted, she can better confirm the conclusion she already has in her mind.
After Wuhen got Ximen Yourong's permission, he said:
"I followed the instructions of the empress and began to investigate the water source of Yizhou. Although I am still not sure whether the "epidemic poison" that occurred in Yizhou is as the empress thought, the people passed the poison in the water. But I found that in Yizhou
Disasters do follow a time pattern."
"What's the time pattern?" Dongling Yuanhao asked.
"that is……."
Wuhen wanted to explain orally, but he suddenly stopped. Then he looked at the ground and thought for a while. Then he squatted down and picked up a dry branch on the ground and placed it vertically on the ground. He then picked up a few small stones and placed them separately.
At different positions on both sides of the dry branch, a slightly larger stone was placed at the top of the dry branch.
After setting it up, Wuhen continued to point at the schematic diagram he had laid out and said:
"Yizhou City is divided into the east and west sides with the Ancestor River as the boundary. There are two towns of almost the same size on the east and west sides. If you are in it, you don't feel anything special. But I just saw it from the top of the mountain and realized that the entire
The geography of Yizhou City is a circle on the outside and a square on the inside. Longquanzhuang is the highest terrain, and below are the four square towns. Through the Ancestor River, there are four diversions to allow water to flow to the four towns."
The first wave of "epidemic" in Yizhou was in the two towns at the farthest downstream on the east and west sides, but the number of poisoned people gradually increased from a small number to more. In about a month, almost no one in the two towns was spared. But
During this period, the two towns upstream were safe and sound. Starting from the second month, more and more people began to be poisoned in the towns on the east and west sides. As for Longquanzhuang, which has the highest terrain, I think everyone has seen it and also
That’s what happened in the past few days.”
To others, Wuhen's words seemed to have gone off topic to explain the overall situation of Yizhou City and the time before and after the "epidemic". But to Ximen Yourong, it was the explanation she wanted to hear.
Looking at Wuhen he asked directly:
"You just came down from the peak, but did you find it because you were searching for the water source in Yizhou?"
"Hui Niangniang, yes! I learned that the Ancestor River that the people of Yizhou rely on for survival is not a natural river, but an artificial river dug by humans..."
"Yes, yes, yes, the Ancestor River is indeed not a natural river. It is a canal ordered by the ancestors of Dongling a hundred years ago to give the people of Yizhou a place to live and work in peace and contentment. That's why we call it the Ancestor River. In drought years,
Our Longquan Village also helps supply water through the four diversions. But what does this have to do with the disaster in Yizhou? Is it possible that the water in the Ancestor River is also poisonous?"
Balu grabbed Wuhen's words with some excitement. He pieced together the meaning of Wuhen and Ximen's words. It was difficult for him to accept that their beautiful Yizhou City had a water problem and everyone was poisoned.
If there is really a problem with the water, how will they survive in the future?
Ximen Yourong knew what Balu was worried about, so she comforted him and said:
"Balu, don't worry. The water in Yizhou is very clean now, and it won't affect your ability to continue living in your hometown at all. There are other reasons for the water problems we are talking about. Only by finding out this reason can we completely solve the problem."
Save you all."
When Balu heard what Ximen Yourong said, he felt much relieved. He knew that Ximen Yourong and the others would continue to discuss, so he nodded slightly to express his belief in Ximen Yourong's words, and then kept quiet and stopped disturbing him.
Wuhen continued:
"The source of the Ancestor River is drained from a deep pool at the foot of the mountain east of Longquanzhuang. After I followed the Ancestor River to find the deep pool, I found that the endless water in the deep pool had no source.
, it looked like water emerging from the ground. Originally, I traced the deep pool to no avail, so I planned to return the same way. But I accidentally found traces of someone stepping on it above and behind the deep pool, so I followed those traces.
The traces were followed all the way, and the trace that finally stopped was here, which is why I came down from the peak."
After Wuhen finished speaking, Dongling Yuanhao, who had already understood what he said, and his always cheerful and cheerful face became solemn and angry, and he snorted coldly:
"In this way, the disaster in Yizhou is really a man-made disaster, not a natural disaster."
His words made Balu shocked and puzzled and said excitedly again:
"It's so good. Who took such pains to do something so outrageous to us in Yizhou? This is the life of hundreds of thousands of people in a big city. How dare those evil people...?"
Balu was so angry that the ups and downs of his chest were full of anger: "The Queen, Prince Hao, you must find the murderer for us in Yizhou. Otherwise, even if everyone's poison is cured, we will not be able to live in peace. Who can
We never know when we will suffer from them again!”
The entire Yizhou City has been suffering in panic for more than a few months. They thought they might have been punished by God for no reason, but they never thought that there were vicious people who wanted to destroy them in Yizhou.
Nowadays, the people of Yizhou don't know that they have been harmed by others. If they knew, Balu's grief and anger would probably be the grief and anger of all Yizhou people. It is very likely that it will cause additional problems, but it is not necessarily true.
Thinking that it was not time to make this fact public, Ximen Yourong said to Balu:
"Even if you don't ask for this, it is His Majesty's will to find out everything. As for me, I will never return to the imperial city unless I cure each of you... However, I need the cooperation of all of you, such as temporarily keeping what you know now
Secret. In this way, I can find a solution with more peace of mind."
"I will obey the Queen's orders in everything!" Balu was moved and knelt down to worship Ximen Yourong.
Ximen Yourong helped Balu up and finally asked:
"Balu, you said you drank this faucet water on the day of the sacrifice. Did you drink it at the same time as everyone else?"
Balu didn't know why Ximen Yourong asked this, but he answered truthfully:
"On that day, I was the heir to the next generation of clan leader, so I had to lead some people to stay at the ancestral hall to keep the incense burning until the villagers who went up the mountain came back from drinking the faucet water and someone took over to take care of the incense. Then we went up the mountain to drink the faucet water."
Ximen Yourong listened and she frowned slightly:
"How long is the interval between this period?"
"Calculating it all, it should have been dusk when those of us who were guarding the incense went up to Longtou Spring. In other words, we were at least three or four hours late before we drank the water from Longtou Spring." Balu said.
Then, he seemed to understand something and exclaimed:
"So, out of the thousands of people in the village, we are the only ones who went up the mountain to drink tap water and nothing happened... Could this have something to do with us being a few hours late?"
Balu's conjecture received no response from Ximen Yourong, because she seemed to have fallen into her own contemplation.
She walked silently to the edge of Longtou Spring again and squatted down to look at the gurgling spring.
No one knew why she was so focused on looking at the spring. After a while, Dongling Yuanhao approached and asked:
"Sister-in-law, do you know something?"
Ximen Yourong came back to her senses. She exhaled a breath and slowly stood up. However, she did not answer Dongling Yuanhao's words, but only ordered:
"Yuan Hao, take some spring water and bring it down the mountain." After saying that, she looked at Balu and ordered: "Balu, after you come down the mountain, could you please ask the people in the village to see who still has the faucet made on the day of the sacrifice.
Water. In addition, confirm whether the person who died of poisoning in the village was the first person to drink the tap water."
Ximen Yourong only gave instructions without explaining the meaning of her request.
But everyone also saw that she seemed to have a clue in her mind, but she hadn't confirmed anything yet, so she could only keep silent for the time being!