Transmigrated into a seven-year-old child, my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens.

The Empress Dowager glanced at Chen Jing standing before her and drawled, "Speak, Chen Jing, what is it that you've been trying so hard to see me about?"

"This~"

Chen Jing glanced at Rong Momo standing next to the Empress Dowager, hesitating whether he should speak.

The Empress Dowager saw through his thoughts at a glance and waved to Rong Mama, who was standing to the side, "You may leave!"

The Empress Dowager felt a vague unease; it seemed that what Chen Jing was about to say to her today was no small matter.

"There's no one else here, so speak!"

The sun rose higher and higher, and whether it was the heat or fear, Chen Jing felt his clothes were soaked through. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Empress Dowager, this is a long story. Please let me tell you slowly. It's like this, in Suizhou City..."

The Empress Dowager frowned more and more as she listened, never expecting that Prefect Song would fail to suppress the plague.

"Just report this matter directly to the Emperor. Don't come to me with every little thing."

Chen Jing bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please don't be in a hurry. Let me explain slowly."

The Empress Dowager grew impatient: "Stop talking nonsense and get to the point."

Chen Jing suddenly knelt on the ground in a look of fear: "Empress Dowager, what I'm about to say is the truth, even at the cost of my life!"

Having come this far, Chen Jing was ready to go all out; now that things had come to this point, he had no choice but to speak.

The Empress Dowager was somewhat displeased: "Get up, what's wrong? You look so frightened!"

Chen Jing stood up and, forcing himself to speak, recounted everything Yao Miao had heard.

"..."

The Empress Dowager's face gradually darkened. She slammed her hand on the table and shouted, "Chen Jing, how dare you utter such insubordination! You even questioned whether the current Emperor is of royal blood. Either of these offenses is a capital offense!"

Chen Jing, his face deathly pale, knelt down again: "Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager, spare my life! These words came from the prefect of Suizhou!"

The Empress Dowager appeared calm on the surface, but inside she was panicking terribly; what she feared most had come to pass.

Taking a deep breath, the Empress Dowager's tone was icy: "Chen Jing, you just said that the plague in Suizhou Prefecture is out of control, causing countless deaths and injuries, right?"

Chen Jing nodded: "Yes!"

"The prefect of Suizhou is not only incompetent, but also audacious enough to utter words that insult His Majesty. I will speak to His Majesty myself. You must not spread this matter any further. If even a whisper of it is found, be careful, or you will lose your head!" The Empress Dowager narrowed her eyes, which immediately sent chills down Chen Jing's spine.

……

After leaving that small county town, Zhao Lian and her group hurried along, staying at inns whenever they could find one, and setting up camp wherever there were no inns, before continuing their journey the next day.

Along the way, the situation here has been quite good. There is no problem with water shortage, the people are not only simple and honest, but the material resources are also abundant.

After wandering around in the mountains, they could easily find something to eat. Half a month later, they finally arrived at Hengnan Prefecture.

Hengnan Prefecture looks much larger than Lian Prefecture, with more than a dozen streets, including old and new streets, lined with shops on both sides.

The streets were bustling with activity, and many of the people were dressed in tattered clothes, looking like the other disaster victims.

According to the regulations for those fleeing famine, once they arrived at the receiving area, they would first go to the prefectural government to register and queue up, and then wait for the prefectural government to arrange which county they would be assigned to, and then the arrangements would be made down through the levels.

This process won't be quick; it will take at least a few days.

Upon arriving in Hengnan Prefecture, Zhao Lian was no longer in a hurry. She thought that since she had finally arrived in Hengnan Prefecture, she should at least take a tour and familiarize herself with the place.

Otherwise, if I'm assigned to a village, I might not be able to visit the prefectural capital even once a year.

After looking around and asking about prices, Zhao Lian was delighted to find that things here were actually cheaper than in Lianzhou.

As noon approached, it was lunchtime, so Zhaolian led everyone to book a few rooms at the inn.

Unexpectedly, it was extremely difficult to find a room in this vast Hengnan Prefecture. After asking around, I found that almost all the inns were already full, and even if someone hadn't checked in yet, the room had already been booked.

Just as Zhao Lian was getting anxious, a kind-looking middle-aged woman stood in front of her and said with a smile, "Young lady, are you looking for a place to stay? I have a small courtyard with four rooms, 180 coins a night."

It turned out that the woman was well-off, but she only had two daughters. She had previously purchased a property and wanted to adopt her nephew so that he could study in the prefecture.

Later, due to some issues, she had a falling out with her sister-in-law, and her nephew was not adopted, so the house became empty.

Just then, she was looking for someone to rent a place when she saw Zhao Lian and her group wanting to stay at the inn.

Zhao Lian was overjoyed – “Okay! Take us there to see!”

The woman led them through two alleys and finally stopped in front of a small courtyard: "Miss, this is it."

The woman took out her key and opened the gate. The yard looked quite clean and spacious, with newly built flower beds on both sides, planted with flowers, and a loquat tree nearby.

Next to the loquat tree, there was a small hut, which the woman said was the kitchen.

There is a main hall inside, and two rooms on each side of the main hall. The key point is that each room has two beds.

There is a backyard behind the house, where the outhouse and well are located.

Although the house doesn't look particularly big, it's small but perfectly formed.

The key point is that the gate is wide enough and the courtyard is spacious enough to drive several carriages in.

The woman asked with a questioning look: "How are you? Are you alright, young lady? If you want to stay here, you need to pay the room rate and deposit first. The deposit is 180 coins. You pay for each day you stay. Pay first, then you can stay."

"Auntie, I'll pay for three days' room first."

Without saying a word or haggling, Zhao Lian paid the money and deposit directly.

Not knowing how many days they would be staying in Hengnan Prefecture, Zhaolian paid for three days' accommodation directly.

The woman took the money and said, "Okay, I'll come back in three days. If you want to extend your stay then, you can pay again."

Everyone brought their things in and each chose a room. The three Liu brothers each had a room, while Zhao Lian and Zhao Di shared a room with Yan Guihua and the others.

The kitchen was fully equipped with pots, pans, and utensils, and the room was cleaned, with straw mats and a thin, coarse linen sheet laid out.

Yan Guihua was overjoyed: "Zhaolian, this house is really nice."

Zhao Lian nodded eagerly: "Yes! The key is that there's also a well here."

She hadn't taken a bath in ages while traveling, and now that she had everything, she couldn't wait to take a hot bath.

Sun Shangxiang had the same thought as Zhaolian at this moment. As soon as she put down her things, she rushed to the backyard to fetch water to boil in the kitchen.

The kitchen not only contained pots and pans, but also chopped firewood, which came in handy.

Because there were so many people, everyone took turns showering. The grime on their bodies was thick, and Zhao Lian took three buckets of water to wash herself clean. She also became much fairer.