Chapter 581 - The Plague in Qiu City (1/2)

Situated in the south of Shu Province, Qiu City is next to an autonomous region. And on the south of it is Gui Province.

The city flower of Qiu City is chrysanthemum. As it is autumn now, varieties of chrysanthemums are blooming on both sides of every main stem.

And chrysanthemum wine is the specialty of this place but Gao Ge hasn’t tasted it yet. He is thinking whether he can get to taste it tonight.

“When the Double Ninth Festival approaches, chrysanthemum will bloom with the other flowers withered.”

This is a poem written in an impotent momentum. Sometimes Gao Ge even wonders the author wouldn’t be able to compose such lines if he didn’t kill a few hundred or thousand people. The following lines–“The blooming chrysanthemums are beautiful and eye-catching with the fragrance permeating throughout Chang’an; immersed in the fragrance of chrysanthemums, the whole city is full of golden chrysanthemums” reflect the ambition of Huang Chao with the sharpness in every word and fierceness in every sentence.

“Boss, what flower on earth does Huang Chao likes?” Yue Xincheng asks.

“Excuse me?” Gao Ge is surprised.

“If I were the Emperor Qing (God of Spring), I would make the chrysanthemum bloom with the peach blossoms in spring.” Shaking his head, Yue Xincheng appears like a scholar, “Doesn’t it mean that he likes peach blossoms?”

Gao Ge is speechless.

Qingrou drags Yue Xincheng and whispers, “This poem is about chrysanthemums too, whose title is ‘On Chrysanthemums’.”

“Is that so?” Yue Xincheng blinks his eyes.

Seeing that Qingrou nods her head heavily, Yue Xincheng turns over his hands, “How imbarrass!”

“What?” Qingrou is stunned.

“He means that he is embarrassed,” Gao Ge says with a smile.

Qingrou takes a tumble.

As expected, the man she loves is such a “learned” man…

“Then why did the poet cite Emperor Qing? Why not Emperor Bai?” Yue Xincheng asks again.

Qingrou wants to answer him when Gao Ge speaks first, “As to the reason why Emperor Qing is chosen, it is quite simple. Emperor Bai has gone to be the chatelain.”

“What chatelain?”

“Of Baidi (Emperor Bai) City, the one as in the poem–‘In the early morning, I departed from Baidi City that was surrounded by colorful clouds’.”

Yue Xincheng takes a tumble and gives Gao Ge a thumbs-up, “Boss, good for you!”

Gao Ge waves his hand, “I’m flattered.”

Following behind these two men, Xia Lu stares at them with a complicated look. She is kind of worried that whether she will become stupid if she continues being with these two guys. She can’t help feeling a headache…

A young man of the Tang Family walks ahead of them. It is not because he holds a high position but because he serves as a guide for them.

This young man’s name is Tang Qiu, but Tang Jiusi just calls him as Sugar Ball (tangqiu), so Gao Ge addresses him in the same way.

“Young Master, Mr. Gao, shall we go back after wandering for a while?” Sugar Ball walks ahead of them, suggesting in a low voice.

Tang Jiusi is a bit irritated, “What? Sugar Ball, are you asking for a beating for not being beaten by me for such a long time? It is not so long and you seem to need a spanking?”

With a bitter smile, Sugar Ball replies, “Of course not, Young Master. I don’t have the guts! However, recently, Qiu City has been a bit chaotic. After all, it is under threat from the plague… I heard that tens of people have died, but the news has been temporarily blocked…”

“Blocked?” Xia Lu is a bit disgruntled, “Why is the news blocked?”

Xia Lu believes that everyone has the right to be informed. Since Qiu City has been attacked by the plague, the citizens should be sent away as soon as possible instead of staying here unknowingly, where they may get infected by the plague.

However, Gao Ge understands why.

For one thing, if the news is leaked, the people of Qiu City and the surrounding cities will be panicked. In this case, things will really be in turmoil.

For another, if the news is really spread, the first reaction of the citizens in Qiu City will be to get away from the city immediately, but God knows whether they have been infected. What if the plague is spread to the other cities through the fleeing people? A more serious disaster will be caused.