Chapter 551: City Lockdown
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Tran slation
The auction ended, and the Salvation Hail of Tianjing began its operation.
According to the plans of Gu Qingluan and Qi Tianyou, apart from Tianjing, other cities would also establish Salvation Halls.
The news spread and the reputation of Gu Qingluan and the royal family greatly increased.
Gu Qingluan didn’t go to the Salvation Hall. After Tang Shijun stayed there for a day, she came to report to Gu Qingluan at the Jun Residence.
“Today, there were a lot of people coming to the Salvation Hall, and something happened during that time. Someone pretended to be a beggar and came to the Salvation Hall to deceive for food and drink. Fortunately, someone recognized him; otherwise, we wouldn’t know how long he would have freeloaded,” Tang Shijun said, getting angry when mentioning this incident.
“These kinds of things can happen anywhere and will continue to happen in the future. There’s no need to dwell on it; getting angry will only harm your health in the end.”
Gu Qingluan smiled as she handed a cup of tea to Tang Shijun.
Tang Shijun puffed up her cheeks. “The Crown Prince said the same thing, but I’m still upset! Our Salvation Hall is meant to help those in real need, not to support a bunch of lazy people! If only there were a way to identify the genuinely needy individuals.”
Gu Qingluan remained calm and said, “Actually, it’s not that difficult.”
Tang Shijun’s eyes lit up, and she asked eagerly, “Doyou have a solution? Of course, Qingluan, you’re the smartest; you must have thought of something.”
“People are generally driven by self-interest and avoid things that don’t benefit them. You can establish a rule in the Salvation Hall: anyone who reports someone impersonating a poor person will receive a certain reward. Naturally, people will be willing to step forward and report those who break the rules. Secondly, to solve the problem at its root, those who pretend to be beggars and occupy resources, once discovered, should be heavily punished. If the punishment is something they can’t bear, they won t dare to do it again. You can try using this to make an example of someone as a warning to others. It should deter those who are trying to take advantage. You can discuss these details with the Crown Prince. After all, the Salvation Hall has the support of the royal family, and ordinary people won’t dare to resist.”
Tang Shijun exclaimed with joy, “Ah, Qingluan, your mind works so fast! You came up with such a good idea so quickly! ”
The idea sounded simple, but the key was being able to come up with it in the first place.
She was about to get up to hug Gu Qingluan when suddenly she turned and sneezed heavily.
Gu Qingluan raised an eyebrow. “Are you getting sick?”
“Yes, I caught a slight cold, probably because of the cold weather. There have been quite a few cases of fever and cough these past few days among those seeking help at the Salvation Hall.’1
“Then you should be careful. Don’t go to the Salvation Hall for the next couple of days. Go home and rest.”
“It’s just a minor cold; it’s no big deal!” Tang Shijun waved it off. “Now that the Salvation Hall has just been established, there are many aspects we haven’t fully considered. 1 need to keep a close eye on things to prevent any unexpected incidents.”
Thinking of the method Gu Qingluan had just proposed, she hurriedly went to find the Crown Prince to discuss it and took her leave.
Gu Qingluan stopped her and took out a bottle of pills from her storage s.p.a.ce, handing it to her.
“This can strengthen your body. You’ve been frequenting the Salvation Hall lately, so you need to take care of yourself.”
“Okay, got it. Thank you, Qingluan! Once I finish my work these two days, I’ll definitely come to celebrate your wedding!”
Gu Qingluan smiled.
The next day, news came from Tang Shijun that after using her method, the results were significant.
As the wedding date approached, even with Feng Tianlan taking care of the preparations, she became busier and didn’t pay much attention to the situation there.
Gu Xiaonan and Feng Yuanxi revolved around her every day, like two little bees, busy and happy.
Outside the mansion, the sound of coughing began to appear in many corners.
At first, no one paid much attention, thinking it was just a common cold that would pa.s.s with time. If the condition worsened, they would go to the pharmacy and get some medicine to recover.
Before long, more and more people around them were coughing, and it was impossible to continue to dismiss it as a common cold.
With the weather turning cooler, the peak season for colds was upon them. Many people began to take it seriously, dressing warmly and taking precautions.
However, similar situations were happening throughout the city despite taking precautions, people were still contracting colds. What was even more shocking was that several patients were dying suddenly, from falling ill to death in just a few hours.
Some suspected that it wasn’t a common cold at all but a plague.
As the death toll increased, these suspicions spread rapidly, and panic began to ferment within the city.
The wealthy and influential people began to flee the city.
Meanwhile, word had reached the palace. Initially, they didn’t take it seriously, but when they realized something was amiss, the Emperor immediately ordered the city to be locked down.
Once news of the city lockdown got out, the residents of Tianjing City began to panic.
Those who hadn’t planned to leave the city immediately began to pack their belongings for an escape.
However, the city gates were already blocked, and no one could leave.
Those with influence and power tried to use their status to pressure the soldiers guarding the city gates to open them, but they were met with a cold rejection.
The area around the city gates was crowded, and the occasional stifled cough could be heard.
Now, anyone coughing would arouse the anxiety of others.
People who coughed were immediately isolated.
As the Magistrate of Shuntian Mansion, responsible for all matters in Tianjing, heard about the congestion at the city gates, he promptly dispatched people to help with the evacuation.
Originally, everyone was preparing to disperse, but suddenly someone began foaming at the mouth and collapsed on the ground.
For a moment, everyone present panicked.
When it was confirmed that the person who collasped had died, there was a deafening explosion of panic in the crowd..