Priceless: A widow with a baby asks the prince to marry again

In the end, little Qin Hao still couldn't say anything to the old Taoist priest, but the old Taoist priest looked like he wanted to follow them and didn't say when he would leave, so Qingyang could naturally spend more time with him.

Little Qin Hao was still lying on the cow's back and almost fell asleep, while Liu Rusi and Caiyun were also drowsy after drinking tea, leaning on the chairs with their eyes closed and taking a nap.

"Wake up! The water is coming in!" The old Taoist priest shouted, waking everyone up!

As soon as he finished speaking, muddy yellow water suddenly came in from the gate of the courtyard! It filled most of the courtyard at a very fast speed!

The dozen guards guarding the courtyard immediately rushed forward, and together they closed the gate and held it tightly! However, the wooden gate had gaps everywhere, and the yellow water almost rushed in!

Liu Rusi vaguely heard a noisy commotion outside, as if someone was shouting, "The river has burst its banks again!"

She immediately stood up and ran to Xiao Qinhao, but the old Taoist priest shouted, "Let him stay on Qingyang's back, it's safer than holding him in your arms! Qingyang is a water buffalo!"

This Qingyang was the cow that came from her place. She naturally knew that buffaloes were good at swimming. She had often seen buffaloes swimming in the pond at the doorstep before. She still ran over, but only let little Qin Hao hold the horns tightly, and did not hold the child down.

She just watched the water rising higher and higher, and she didn't know what to do. The water came from outside, and running out might be worse, but who knows how high the water will rise this time if she stays inside? Last time, it was already higher than her!

At this time, Qingyang stood up with little Qin Hao on his back and walked towards a big tree in the yard. The old Taoist priest also shouted, "Hurry up and climb the tree. This tree is too tall and should not be flooded!"

The water had already flooded over Liu Rusi's instep. She quickly pulled Caiyun up and ran to the tree, shouting to the two panic-stricken maids, "Go climb the tree next to us!"

Just as he reached the tree and helped Caiyun climb up, the huge pressure caused the gate to be blown open! The half-man-high water immediately scattered all the guards!

"Hold on to the door panels and frames!" the old Taoist shouted to the guards. He didn't know when he was holding a wooden table in his hands. When the water rushed to him, he floated up with the buoyancy of the wood. He pulled hard on the thicker branches of the tree to stabilize himself so as not to be washed away.

Caiyun had already climbed onto a big tree branch. Liu Rusi had no time to climb up, so she had to hold on to the tree trunk tightly to resist the impact of the water flow. Fortunately, although the yellow water rushed in violently, it dispersed after entering the wide yard, and the impact force was reduced a lot.

Feeling that the yellow water had calmed down a little after reaching her thighs, she hurriedly climbed up the tree with the help of Caiyun. Once she stabilized on the tree, she turned around to look for Xiao Qinhao.

What reassured her was that Qingyang was standing in the water calmly, and little Qin Hao's clothes on the cow's back were not even wet.

The yellow water was still pouring into the yard wantonly. As the water continued to rise, Qingyang was floating steadily in the water with the bull's head raised. Little Qin Hao held the thick horns as if they were two sturdy handles.

The water quickly rose very high, and Liu Rusi estimated that it had reached her chest!

suddenly!

"coax!"

A loud bang!

The house they were staying in suddenly collapsed, and several houses collapsed into ruins!

"Rusi!"

A hoarse shout came from the gate of the courtyard.

Liu Rusi turned around and saw a group of people rushing in with the flood. The one leading them was the terrified Chu Shiyu!

Even though she was some distance away, she could still see that all the color had drained from his face, leaving him as pale as paper.

"I'm here!" Liu Rusi shouted immediately. That expression was too frightening. She had never seen what she looked like that day, but she thought it was about the same...

As if he heard some heavenly sound, Chu Shiyu immediately came back to his senses! Turning his head, he saw her standing in the yellow water, all wet, and he couldn't help but smile as if he was about to cry.

Chu Shiyu hurriedly waded towards them, with dozens of people behind him tied together with ropes, holding various floating objects in their hands.

When they got to the big tree, Chu Shiyu looked at Liu Rusi carefully for a while, then turned to look at the dazed little Qin Hao lying on the cow's back. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, and sighed as if he had survived a disaster: "It's good that everything is alright."

The water was still rising and was already higher than Liu Rusi. Chu Shiyu could only expose his neck in the water. The group quickly made a decision that they had to go to higher ground outside the city.

Let Liu Rusi and Caiyun tie ropes around their waists like them, and then let the Taoist tie them up as well.

The guards who were scattered by the water in the yard earlier also swam over, but it seemed that a few were missing. However, no one mentioned it. Instead, one of the guards was holding a shivering little maid in his hands.

Liu Rusi turned around and looked at the other trees nearby, but there was no one there.

"Let's go! Save ourselves first!" Chu Shiyu didn't care about anything else and immediately pulled Liu Rusi down from the tree.

"I know, just take a look..." Liu Rusi adapted to the movements in the water. She knew how to swim a little, but she had only been in a swimming pool in her previous life. She had no confidence at all in such a flood.

Caiyun was taken in by Sun Zhizhao, and the little maid was tied between the old Taoist priest and the guards. The other guards also tied themselves up with strings one by one.

At this time, Liu Rusi looked at Qingyang who was still floating quietly in the water and Qin Hao on the back of the cow. It seemed that it would be safer to be tied together with them, but if they were not tied together, she was worried that they would be washed away.

"Take a rope and tie Qin Hao to the cow's back! We'll pull the rope on the cow!" Chu Shiyu quickly made up his mind.

When little Qin Hao was fixed on the cow's back, Qingyang spontaneously took the lead and swam towards the gate of the courtyard.

Chu Shiyu and Liu Rusi were in a group of people. They pulled each other and the cows, following the force and swimming along with them.

So the team automatically began to split in half, with pairs swimming at the back. Sun Zhizhao and Caiyun, the guards and the Taoist priest, the guards and the maids... They supported each other as they swam out, and it was surprisingly stable.

The water had already flooded to within a foot of the upper frame of the courtyard gate, which was just enough to save everyone from having to dive. After Qingyang swam out of the gate, he spontaneously swam towards the southern gate of the government office.

Along the way, more guards or officials and servants from the government office gathered up. At first, they tied the rope to the back, but later, when the rope was not enough, the ones at the back pulled the belt in front, forming a long dragon swimming in the water...

Qingyang swam slowly but steadily, and soon he swam out of the government office.

The yellow water in the sky suddenly became much more turbulent! There was an undercurrent, and Liu Rusi felt that it was a bit difficult to swim and it was difficult to keep her body steady!

Chu Shiyu, who was standing by, felt it and immediately moved closer, holding her waist with one hand and pulling the rope tied to Qingyang tighter with the other hand. Now the cow was more at ease.

Both of their hands were occupied, and in order not to drag Qingyang down, they pushed the water hard with their feet, letting Qingyang control the direction.

The main street is right outside the government office. Qingyang swam along the current on the main street, but after swimming a short distance, he adjusted direction and swam into the alley.

Chu Shiyu and Liu Rusi behind were puzzled, but Qingyang was in front and the direction was naturally controlled by him. The two did not resist and swam into the alley.

If you look down from above, it looks like a long dragon suddenly twists its head and swims into the streets and alleys with its long body.

The long dragon was still constantly growing its body. Merchants on the roadside and citizens in the city joined the queue, some joined in the middle, and many brought their families with them, helping the dragon to grow limbs.

But this team became more stable because many people brought their own floating objects. Even if a few people in such a long team encountered undercurrents, they would be easily carried through by the others.

Qingyang, who was heading in the direction of Longtou, had already passed the alley and arrived at the city wall of Xingzhou. He swam southward along the wall. Soon, the people in front saw a newly collapsed gap in the wall, and a dozen feet outside the wall was a high hillside!

Many people who had escaped danger had gathered on the hillside. They were all stunned to see a cow swimming out with a young child on its back. Some rushed forward eager to help, some watched coldly, and some rolled their eyes, not knowing what they were thinking about.

However, when the two adults at the back swam out, the latter's eyes disappeared halfway, and when a large group of people came out, all the unfriendly eyes disappeared. Only those who wanted to support were still in the front. When they saw Qingyang approaching, they took the initiative to pull the ox's horns to help them up, and then pulled the people behind along the rope.

The original group of people were gathered at the bottom of the hill and were a bit crowded. After a long line of people kept coming up, the original group of people spontaneously went to other places, keeping a distance from the newcomers.

Qingyang stood still on the hillside. Chu Shiyu and Liu Rusi came up and helped the people behind them. Then they untied the ropes on their bodies and let the people behind them help the people behind them.

Walking to a higher earth slope, Liu Rusi lay down exhausted in the weeds. She was so tired... She didn't even have the energy to care that Chu Shiyu was still holding her hand and lying next to her...

In her previous life, she died a very quick death when she was hit by a dump truck. This was her first time to experience struggling on the brink of life and death. Compared with the physical fatigue, she felt more mental pressure.

In the vast flood, she was as small as an ant. Even after escaping, the feeling of powerlessness still filled her heart. People are so fragile in the face of the might of heaven and earth...

Chu Shiyu held the still rough little hand, feeling the warmth and pulse, and slowly calmed down. Soon he found that Liu Rusi had fallen asleep.

He sat up and frowned slightly. She was still wet all over. Wouldn't she easily catch a cold if she slept like this?

The long queue led by Qingyang was really long, and the last person finally came up until sunset.

During this period, not only the long dragon came up, but also other scattered people who escaped on their own, and many animals. However, except for the horses, they were taken over by Chu Shiyu's subordinates as soon as they came up.

If the other animals didn’t run fast enough, they would be caught immediately. Some were killed on the spot and taken deep into the mountains…

Many of Chu Shiyu's guards survived, with more than 200 of them gathered on the slope. However, only half of the horses were gathered. Horses can swim, but the guards in charge of the horses found it difficult to gather the horses in a hurry, and most of them were separated from the group. Judging from the situation, those who were not found in time might be in a bad situation.

With so many people present, they quickly marked out an area on the hillside. However, they did not exclude others from approaching. Soldiers guarding the city, officials and servants in the government office, and some civilians who had contact with them were all tacitly allowed to stay in this area.

"There should be a granary on this mountain, right?" Sun Zhizhao asked a minor official.

"Yes, there are..." The minor official looked around in panic, but could not find his superiors who were in charge.

"Zhang Shiliang, the prefect, and several other officials disappeared in the flood. They must be in great danger..." Sun Zhizhao patted his shoulder and asked in a deep voice: "In order not to let down their sacrifice, we who are still alive must repair the embankment as soon as possible."

The minor official was stunned. They all died? The important people in the last flood were all alive and well. This time it wasn't much more dangerous than the last time...

"Prince Duan was sent by His Majesty to preside over disaster relief affairs. Even if you gentlemen can survive the danger, you still have to follow Prince Duan's instructions regarding the flood. The most urgent task now is to open the granaries to release grain and summon the able-bodied men. Only when they have enough food and drink will they have the strength to go up to the embankment to block the gap." Sun Zhizhao analyzed clearly.

Although the clerk knew that some things were not as simple as they sounded, he was also hungry, so he pointed the way up the mountain and said, "Go up this way. There is a granary in the valley, guarded by militiamen."

Sun Zhizhao nodded, but did not let the minor official go. He then asked, "Is it the local granary designated by the government?"

"Yes... The government has decreed that every city must build a granary. Xingzhou built three, one on this mountain, and the other two on the high ground to the south and east respectively." The clerk answered truthfully. These were kept secret from the common people, but were open to officials of a certain status.

Sun Zhizhao looked at the clerk gently and asked, "When we left the government office, we didn't see the families of Zhang Zhizhou and other officials. Do you know where they are? Since the officials are not here, we have the obligation to take good care of their relatives and friends."

Now the clerk was a little panicked again. This was a secretive matter of several adults. They were not in Xingzhou City in the past few days, and were taking refuge in Zhang Zhizhou's villa outside the city.

After receiving the order from Prince Duan, Lord Zhang first sent his subordinates to hire people with food to clean up the city, and then sent people to the official road every day to inquire whether he was coming. As soon as they got the news today, they hurried back to Xingzhou City. Prince Duan and his entourage walked slowly, so they had time to arrange and take care of things, and they seemed very calm...

"If we don't tell them, it would be terrible if the flood affects your families," Sun Zhizhao added.

"No, the manors are all on high mountains." The petty official didn't want to get involved in these fights. He was just a low-ranking official who earned only two and a half taels of silver a month and lived under the command of a big shot...

"Is this place directly connected to those manors? Look, we are now sleeping in the open air, without even clean clothes... Or do you want to stay overnight on this mountain?"

The clerk hesitated for a while. He had always followed Zhang Zhizhou and had lived in a mountain villa before. Now that the city was flooded, he really had nowhere to go.

After figuring out the current situation, the clerk gritted his teeth and told the location of the villa. Perhaps he felt that he had already betrayed his opponent, so he not only told the location of several villas he knew of, but also told the locations of several private warehouses he knew of.

It was already dark. Qingyang, the old Taoist priest, and little Qin Hao were sitting around the campfire. Caiyun and Liu Rusi were still sleeping beside them.

Not far away, Chu Shiyu had just incorporated the people he had gathered, including the city defense forces, officials and runners, and some civilians recruited by the promise of food. Led by his guards, they formed a temporary engineering corps. The collapsed dam must be blocked as soon as possible, otherwise the breach will get bigger and bigger!