Just as the scene had finally quieted down, chaos broke out again. More and more people knelt on the ground, apologizing. Those who didn’t know the story heard the explanations around them, understood the cause and effect, and knelt too: “Miss Feng, you are truly noble! Miss Feng, you are truly noble! Repaying evil with kindness—Miss Feng, you are truly noble!”
Among everyone present, only Serena was unmoved. The rest were visibly emotional—Simon Sun was so happy he was almost speechless, and Sean Xuan wore an expression of pride in Serena. Only Serena’s face grew colder and more detached.
“Serena, are you alright?” Sean Xuan noticed something was off about Serena and asked softly.
“I’m fine.” Serena murmured, the corners of her lips twitching in a faint smile, but there was no trace of amusement in her eyes. Looking at the kneeling commoners, at their self-reproach, her gaze grew only colder.
She’d chosen to hold the free clinic near the city gate precisely to provoke this outcome—so why did it bring her no happiness at all?
Serena silently turned her head toward the direction of the Imperial Palace: Ninth Royal Uncle, are you satisfied with this result?
The harm and humiliation she’d suffered had nothing to do with these people—they were only being used by others. Whether they felt guilt or regret meant little to her; even without their apologies, she could live just fine.
Serena closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she spoke again, her tone was calm and her expression natural—completely unaffected by the crowd.
“Everyone, get up.”
No one moved, but the crowd quieted down. Each person looked at Serena, unable to understand how she could be so calm—they had hurt her so deeply before.
Serena kept her voice calm: "Everyone, get up. Let the past stay in the past. If I really held a grudge, I wouldn’t have come here to treat you." She hadn’t chosen this clinic herself, but since she was here, she could at least say something gracious.
Serena ignored the crowd, turning to Simon Sun: "Simon, get back to work. Don’t leave your patients behind."
"Master, are you alright?" Simon Sun asked, his face full of worry for Serena.
To them, it was heartfelt praise, but to Serena, it felt almost mocking. For Simon, watching the crowd apologize to his master was like seeing them reopen her wounds, making her suffer again. He was gentle, but in his heart, besides his parents, his master was the most important person in the world.
Serena didn’t feel 'good' at all. She gave a pragmatic answer: "What could possibly be wrong with me? It wasn’t my fault to begin with, and now they’ve apologized. Let the past be past." Even if she couldn’t truly let it go, she wouldn’t hold it against ordinary people.
"Alright, it’s freezing out here. Kneeling too long will let the cold seep into your bones—get up, don’t make yourselves sick." Serena’s voice was soft, almost chilly, but to the crowd it sounded caring. Simon nodded vigorously, relieved. "Good, as long as you’re alright, Master. I’ll get back to work now."
Before leaving, Simon glanced at Sean Xuan, torn. Young Master Cui had said Master didn’t want to marry Sean—even if Simon thought Sean was good, it didn’t matter. He should help Master drive Sean away, but for now, Sean was the only one by her side.
After a moment’s hesitation, Simon solemnly said to Sean Xuan: "Young Lord Sean, please take good care of my master." Her safety was all that mattered.
Those who had once hurt Serena felt even more ashamed, lowering their heads and not daring to look at her. Sean Xuan was stunned, but seeing Simon’s serious expression, he nodded solemnly: "Don’t worry."
Serena closed her eyes, hiding the cold smile in them. Did these apologies mean anything to her anymore? The two went their separate ways—one heading inside, one out. But before they’d gone five steps, more commotion erupted outside, accompanied by the crash and bang of smashing sounds.
“No, please—don’t! Sir, I beg you, don’t smash it, don’t smash it! This porridge is our lifeline, it’s all we have!”
“Sir, please, I’m begging you—don’t do this, give us a way to survive!”
“The buns—these are real steamed buns! Don’t stomp them, please don’t!”
“No—don’t tip it over! You’re killing us! You’re forcing us to die!”
The sounds of smashing and crying reached them. At that, everyone knew something terrible was happening. Serena spun around, dumped all the medicine into Simon Sun’s hands, and said, “Simon, I’ve written out the diagnoses and prescriptions for every patient inside. Just follow my notes and hand out the medicine. If you run into trouble, wait for me—I’ll go see what’s happening outside.”
Serena shot out like a whirlwind, racing toward the commotion.
“I’m going too.” Sean Xuan copied Serena, dropping the medicine into Simon Sun’s arms. “Hold on to these—don’t let them get smashed.”
With that, he dashed out after her.
“Hurry—go see what’s happening!”
“It looks like someone’s smashed the porridge and buns meant for us—go check!”
The people inside realized something was wrong and rushed out one after another.
“I want to go too, I have to go!” Simon Sun clutched a pile of medicine, stomping his feet in frustration. But no one had time for him now, so he could only carry the medicine inside to comfort the patients first.
When Serena and Sean Xuan came outside, they saw government soldiers acting like starving wolves, swinging their spears and smashing the porridge stalls. The ground was covered in spilled white porridge and buns stomped into mush. Some citizens tried to block them, but the soldiers didn’t care—one swing of the spear and they smashed through, ignoring whether the people lived or died.
“Please, sir, I’m begging you—don’t smash it, don’t smash it! If you have to vent, just hit me instead!”
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“Sir, this porridge is saving our lives—please, give us a way to survive!”
“Enough! I’ll fight you, I’ll fight you! There’s so many of us, and we’re counting on this porridge and buns to stay alive—who gave you the right to smash them? Who gave you the right?”
“You’re killing us—we can’t survive, we can’t survive…”
The people wept, shouted, and pleaded, but the soldiers didn’t budge. Their faces were full of mockery as their hands moved even faster: “A bunch of troublemakers, daring to question me? Why? Because I’m wearing this uniform! Today I’ll smash it all—what can you do about it?”
“Eat, eat, eat—I’ll eat you to death! The court hasn’t shorted you food or drink, and the officials already opened the granaries for relief. You lot eat from the government and still dare eat this porridge from who-knows-where?”
“Rebellion! This is an uprising, do you hear me?”
“Smash it—smash it all! Who gave you permission to set up these porridge stalls? Did you get approval from the authorities? All this fake charity, destroy it! Anyone who resists, throw them in jail!”
The soldiers were as brutal as bandits, treating the unarmed civilians like enemy troops, with no regard for their lives.
Bang—blood splattered everywhere, staining the eyes of the crowd and turning the snow crimson.
“Stop it, stop right now—what are you doing?” Jada Tang rushed out, her eyes blazing red at the scene. She tried to charge the soldiers, but Serena blocked her: “Don’t go.”
“Miss?” Jada Tang couldn’t believe these words had come from Serena’s mouth. Wasn’t her mistress supposed to be fierce against injustice, full of chivalry and ruthless courage?
“There’s no point in rushing in. Can’t you see those soldiers came prepared? What can we do if we go forward? The porridge and buns are already ruined—if we charge in, we’ll only make things worse.” Sean Xuan spoke up for Serena, seeing she didn’t want to explain.
He didn’t want the maid to misunderstand Serena’s intentions. Besides, civilians shouldn’t fight soldiers—if they started brawling, even if they were in the right, it would turn into a mistake.
“Miss, I…” Jada Tang immediately understood, looking at Serena with deep apology.
Everything had been smashed. What could they possibly protect if they charged forward now?
These soldiers were clearly here just to cause trouble. Once they’d smashed enough, they’d leave. If anyone charged forward now, it would only make them even more arrogant.
Serena said nothing, only blocking others who wanted to fight the soldiers. In the past, these people might have ignored her, but now things were different.
When Serena spoke, even if they didn’t want to listen, they stopped in their tracks. Still, their hearts burned with hatred.
“Miss Feng…” A burly man saw the thick white porridge and the ruined buns on the ground, and tears spilled from his eyes.
“Don’t go. It’s useless now. Let them smash everything—once they’re done, they’ll leave.” Serena didn’t comfort them, she just spoke plainly.
More and more people began to cry, their faces fierce as they stared at the soldiers, but none dared step forward. Most just stared at the ruined porridge and buns on the ground.
The white porridge was so fragrant and thick, none of them could bear to drink it all at once—they’d hoped to save some for their parents at home. The buns were soft and huge; it had been years since they’d tasted anything so good.
“Heavens above, do you want us to die?”
“Heavens, what did we do wrong? What did we do wrong…?”
You did nothing wrong. The ones at fault are those officials who never go hungry—they don’t understand the pain of starvation, the agony of dying from hunger.
Seeing the people didn’t rush forward to fight the soldiers, Serena felt a little relieved—at least there wouldn’t be any more casualties.
“Go—bring those people back.” She turned and ordered Sean Xuan bluntly.
He went to pull back those who’d already clashed with the soldiers. These people, beaten until their heads were bloody, stained the buns and porridge red. But they didn’t feel pain anymore, numb as they struggled with the troops.
With no porridge, no buns, and no hope left, what reason did they have to keep living? If they couldn’t survive, they might as well fight the soldiers to the end…
(Message to readers: Don’t get too excited! Jiujiu will show up—trust me!)