Rong Yue pursed her lips upon hearing this, thinking to herself that these cultivators were unreliable. Even with the state of Chen Kingdom in such a state, they still acted aloof and superior, showing no concern for the common people whatsoever. Zhang Xu, noticing the Grand Preceptor's cold gaze, quietly tugged at Rong Yue's sleeve.

Perhaps because of the great shock she suffered today, Rong Yue refused to return to the palace. Instead, she found two sets of tattered servant's clothes from the Imperial Preceptor and changed into them.

"My father and mother don't tell me anything. All they do is make me happy and keep me locked up in the palace. I'm all grown up now, and I can definitely help them share their burdens."

Rong Yue said this.

When this disaster struck, Rong Yue was still a carefree little princess, pampered by her parents and cared for by her siblings. But when darkness completely descended, the little princess's fairytale world was shattered. At that moment, everything around her urged her to grow up quickly.

Remembering the original story, Zhang Xu silently changed clothes with Rong Yue and slipped out of the Imperial Preceptor's residence.

"These immortals keep saying that they take the well-being of all people as their responsibility, but Chen Kingdom is so dry that they only come down the mountain to make a show of it."

The streets were no longer bustling with people as usual. The scorching sun baked everything on the earth. The leaves drooped, and cicadas, hiding among the leaves, kept chirping, "It's hot! It's hot!" Most of the shops on the street were closed, and the few that were open had only a crack in their doors. Refugees from other places huddled under the eaves.

When the two reached the city gate, they discovered that it had already been closed.

Only after asking the guards at the city gate did they learn that the area outside the city was full of refugees. When refugees came in earlier, they didn't expect there to be so many, so they let some in. Now there were too many refugees waiting outside the gate, so they dared not open it.

The guard sighed as he spoke, "I don't know what's going on this year. My great-grandfather told me that he's lived for almost a hundred years and has never seen such hot weather!"

The guard on the other side gripped his spear and said, "I heard that this year's situation is caused by evil spirits, and Yu Qingshan has sent many disciples down the mountain!"

"If it's the work of evil spirits, I hope the immortals can capture them soon. The refugees outside the city have already started smashing the city gates. I wonder how many more days the gates can hold out."

The two stood quietly in place, and could indeed hear the wails outside the door. Perhaps it was too hot in the sun, because no one was banging on the door, but judging from the wails outside, there seemed to be quite a few people.

"You two must be servants of some family. I advise you to go back quickly. These refugees will not care about who they are when they get jealous."

Seeing that the two men showed no sign of leaving, the two guards kindly advised them to stay.

"Are these refugees just going to stay in the city like this every day? What are they going to eat? What about the refugees outside the city?" Rong Yue felt a pang of pity seeing the numb expressions on their faces.

"Young man, you're quite kind, but I advise you not to be too kind. These refugees can be ruthless and can eat people," one guard said kindly. Upon hearing this, another guard immediately nudged him with his elbow.

“Don’t listen to his nonsense. You two should go back now! Don’t get involved in this mess. These refugees are being fed by the people of Jingzhao Prefecture, so they won’t starve. Besides, the Imperial Preceptor will soon request rain, and once the rain comes, these refugees will go back.”

Seeing their conversation, Zhang Xu quickly pulled Rong Yue aside, saying, "Princess, why don't we go back first? You didn't know these things before, and even if you did now, there's nothing you can do. If you really want to know the truth, you might as well go back and ask the Emperor; perhaps he'll know more."

Rong Yue clenched her fists, her eyes red.

Perhaps because they had changed clothes, they didn't receive any strange looks on their way back, but they did hear a lot of noise.

A frail infant was suckling at its mother's shriveled breast, crying loudly; a man, delirious with hunger, raised his weak hands, trying to strangle his elderly mother; and a woman whose face was no longer recognizable was repeatedly pulling at people, asking if there was any food.

Even knowing that it was all fake, just a plot from a book, Zhang Xu was still deeply shaken by the first time she faced disaster. The plot that was only briefly mentioned in the original book and the naked confrontation were two completely different concepts. Zhang Xu still felt that something was fermenting in her heart, which made the reader feel suffocated.

"Didn't those two guards say that someone had arranged food? Why are these people like this? It's only been a few months since it rained, how come there are so many refugees?"

Rong Yue's eyes were red and she looked very sad. Zhang Xu looked at the still scorching sun and the refugees huddled together scratching lice. Hearing the noise, she turned her gaze back to her: "Princess, what are you saying!"

Rong Yue ran back anxiously.