The Emperor's heart is won, she sits on the Phoenix Throne! The Divine Physician's Eldest

"The princess recognizes this man; he is Li Qing."

Song Siyao listened to Han's answer and looked completely surprised. "How could it be him?"

However, Tinghan was someone she had trained, and she knew his abilities; he wouldn't make a mistake.

"I was quite surprised when I found out. When distributing disaster relief grain, Li Qing was conscientious, fair and just, busy with everything without stopping for a moment," Ting Han said.

“Let’s go to his house and take a look.” Song Siyao trusted her judgment; she wouldn’t be wrong about Li Qing’s concern for the villagers.

By this time, it was already dark.

When Song Siyao and Tinghan arrived at Li Qing's house, Li Qing was cooking for his son.

Li Qing's wife passed away from illness many years ago, and he has never remarried, raising his son alone.

His son has been frail and sickly since childhood, and now he has to rely on medication to stay healthy all year round.

"Princess Youfeng, Guard Song, what brings you here?" Li Qing put down the kitchen knife in his hand and greeted Song Siyao and the others warmly.

People from Tianji Pavilion who don't know their own surname all take Song Siyao's surname, and Ting Han is an example of this.

"My princess said that Captain Li has done a great job in this disaster relief effort. We're leaving tomorrow, so we came to see Captain Li," Tinghan explained.

Li Qing wiped his hands clean, then wiped the chair clean with his sleeve, and placed the chair in front of Song Siyao. "Princess, please sit down. Guard Song, please sit down."

"Captain Li, you're too kind," Ting Han said.

Song Siyao didn't sit down; she looked around the room and finally walked towards an earthenware pot.

Captain Li handed a glass of water to Song Siyao and explained to her, "Princess, this is medicine I brewed for my son."

Song Siyao took the water glass, looked at Captain Li, and said casually, "The medicinal herbs in this jar are all top-grade, including a century-old ginseng."

“Princess Youfeng is right. There’s no other way; my child needs these medicinal herbs to survive,” Li Qing explained.

Song Siyao asked, "This jar of medicinal herbs must cost at least one hundred taels of silver. Captain Li would need to save up for ten years without eating or drinking to accumulate one hundred taels of silver. Captain Li, where did you get these medicinal herbs?"

“I picked them from the mountain,” Li Qing said.

"The entire Pingyang County has been hit by a locust plague. Where did you collect the herbs?" Song Siyao pressed.

"These were collected before the locust plague." Li Qing walked away to pour the medicine out of the jar, went to the bedside, and said to the little boy on the bed with a pale face, "Son, come on, take your medicine."

"Tinghan." Song Siyao called out, and Tinghan immediately understood. She stepped forward and said to Li Qing, "Captain Li, let me do it."

"Captain Li, let's go outside and talk," Song Siyao said.

“Princess Youfeng, may I finish feeding my son his medicine first?” Li Qing asked.

“Okay, I’ll give you fifteen minutes. I’ll wait for you outside.” Song Siyao said and walked out.

Tinghan stood guard at the door.

"Daddy, you go ahead and do your work. I can take my medicine by myself." The little boy was very sensible.

"Shall I feed you?" Tinghan asked.

The little boy nodded.

Li Qing said to the little boy, "Son, be good and take your medicine properly."

The little boy smiled sweetly, "I know, Daddy, I'm the best boy."

Li Qing walked out of the room and came to Song Siyao. "Princess Youfeng."

"Captain Li, should you tell me yourself, or should I tell you?" Song Siyao said. "You're a smart man, and your son is still young. Think it through."

“Princess Youfeng, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Li Qing said calmly.

"If everyone knew that Captain Li, whom they trust and respect, was the one who released locusts and caused them to suffer from the locust plague, what do you think their reaction would be? Would your son still be able to continue living here?" Song Siyao asked.

Li Qing's expression changed, and he said angrily, "Princess Youfeng, what makes you say I'm the one who released the locusts? What evidence do you have?"

“Li Qing, do you think I would come to you without evidence? I only brought one person with me, which is to give you a chance. Even if you don’t think about yourself, you should think about your son.”

Song Siyao presented the evidence to Li Qing, her voice slightly cold, "This is only part of the evidence."

Li Qing's expression changed drastically, and he gave a bitter smile. "I knew this would eventually come out. I can tell you everything, but I have one request: cure my son."

“Okay.” Song Siyao replied without hesitation.

"Okay, I'll tell you."

Li Qing recounted everything in detail.

“I don’t know who he is. He took the initiative to contact me. Every time he saw me, it was at night. He was dressed in all black and wore a straw hat. He never showed his face.”

“He found me and said he could cure my son. He gave me a box of locusts and told me to put them in the field.”

"When the locusts become a plague, you come to help with the disaster relief, and then I will lead the villagers to kill you."

Song Siyao asked, "If that's the case, why did you support me when I first arrived in Pingyang County?"

“It’s too hard. We ordinary people are suffering too much. They have no food, and some people have starved to death. I have nightmares every night. I feel sorry for them.”

Li Qing, his face filled with guilt, knelt before Song Siyao, tearfully confessing, "Princess Youfeng, I am guilty, I deserve to die. My son is innocent. What I did has nothing to do with him. Please save him!"

Just as Song Siyao said, once what he did is exposed, the villagers will definitely not tolerate him, and of course they will not tolerate his son either.

"kill him!"

"Li Qing, come out here!"

"We trusted you so much, and you actually betrayed us!"

"His son is the real scourge, kill his son!"

"Burn them!"

……

Hearing the shouts of battle, Song Siyao came outside. The pitch-black night was suddenly brightly lit, and a group of people holding torches surrounded Li Qing's house.

"Everyone, calm down. Captain Li already knows he was wrong. I will deal with him according to the law. The laws of the Great Zhou will not wrong an innocent person, nor will they let a bad person go unpunished."

Song Siyao had only just learned that Li Qing was the one who released the locusts, and these people had already received the news. Clearly, someone had deliberately told them this to incite public sentiment and escalate the situation.

The most important thing now is to reassure the people.

Song Siyao continued, "Li Qing has made a mistake, and there are laws and the imperial court to deal with it. If you kill him now, you will be murderers. You will go from being victims to perpetrators and you will also be punished."

The previously restless crowd instantly quieted down upon hearing this.

But just then, He Zhen appeared.

"Fellow villagers, Li Qing is the murderer! Catch him and kill him!"

As He Zhen's voice fell, someone threw a torch into the yard. There was tung oil in the yard, and the tung oil ignited instantly upon contact with the fire.

The yard was piled with firewood, and with the dry weather, the whole yard burst into flames in an instant. The night wind blew the flames, and sparks flew onto the houses, setting them ablaze as well.