Along the way, they encountered refugees, huddled in corners in tattered clothes. Women held their children in their arms, but it was to no avail. Many people froze to death every day.

Song Tangxue felt a pang of sorrow. Those in the palace had no idea that the people here were starving every day. Li Zhaoxian, the crown prince, was indulging in women all day long and was unworthy of his position.

The people of Feng County wore expressions of despair. The floods had been raging for days, but the imperial court seemed to have forgotten about them, not distributing any supplies. If it weren't for the arrival of the Left Chancellor a few days ago, none of them would have survived until now.

"Hand over all the food you have, or we'll harm the children!"

"Gentlemen, we haven't eaten much for two days, we really can't pay..."

Then came the sound of something heavy falling to the ground. Song Tangxue looked over and saw several men dressed in mountain bandit clothes kicking a woman to the ground. She lay motionless, her eyes closed in a trembling voice.

The child in her arms was horrified and shook the woman's body, but she could no longer respond to him.

"What bad luck! So weak, it's gone with just a light kick."

The child stumbled toward them, pounding them with negligible punches: "You bunch of bad people!"

As if they'd heard a joke, they lifted the child up with one hand: "Funny, what can you do to me?"

When Song Tangxue saw this scene, she felt a surge of anger. She knew there were rioters and remnants of the previous dynasty here, but she did not expect them to be so arrogant. This reminded her of how weak she was in her previous life.

"Stop!" Seeing that they were about to kill the child, Song Tangxue finally couldn't bear it any longer. She kicked one of the men and shielded the child behind her.

"Where did this beautiful young lady come from? She's so gorgeous!" They were initially furious, but when they saw Song Tangxue's unadorned face, only her beautiful figure remained in their minds. They had seen beautiful women before, but they had all abducted those women. They had never seen one so breathtaking.

Song Tangxue was different from others; although she wore the simplest clothes, they could spot her at a glance, and they instantly had some lewd thoughts.

"This young lady must also be from Feng County. Since you're all alone, why don't you come and have some fun with us? If you come with us, you'll never have to worry about money again!"

They dared to mention money to the Crown Princess; they were incredibly bold. Seeing that Song Tangxue remained silent, one of the bolder men tried to touch her face, but was slapped away by her, leaving him feeling disgusted.

Their faces stiffened, and they stepped forward, placing their large knives against her neck: "Our patience is limited."

Their oppression of the people in Feng County was not something that happened overnight. I had heard of unrest in the area before the flood, which must have been related to them.

"You dare?!" Just then, a slightly cool voice rang out from behind. Upon hearing this voice, Song Tangxue's eyes lit up instantly.

Thank you, Qianzhong!

He was dressed in black, his hair was simply tied up, and he looked exhausted. His face was also covered in wounds, making him look rather shocking.

"Xie Qianzhong..." the leading man gritted his teeth.

"I have warned you many times not to bully the people anymore. It seems you haven't had enough of being beaten yet." Xie Qianzhong shielded Song Tangxue behind him. She felt a sense of relief. After two days of running around, seeing him appear before her unharmed finally allowed her to relax a little.

Whether it was Song Tangxue's imagination or not, they seemed somewhat afraid when they saw Xie Qianzhong.

"Who do you think you are? I've been in charge of this place for years. Why should we stop as soon as you arrive?" the man complained. To prove his authority, he tried to snatch Song Tangxue away. Xie Qianzhong grabbed his wrist, gradually increasing the force. The man's screams echoed in his ears, "Let...let go, let go now!"

"I have come to Feng County on His Majesty's orders. If you are dissatisfied, it is naturally an act of disrespect for imperial authority. I will write a letter to His Majesty requesting additional soldiers..."

At this moment, Song Tangxue was somewhat dazed. The figure in front of her gradually overlapped with that of her past life. On that day, he stood in front of her like this, his voice strong and clear. During the thirteen years of Yongfeng, he stood on her side without hesitation in front of several people in the capital. It was at that moment that she was attracted to him.

Xie Qianzhong was harassed by them as soon as he arrived. He suppressed their arrogance in just one day and successfully made them resentful. So, on the first night, they ambushed him. Fortunately, Xie Qianzhong reacted quickly and only suffered some scratches. For some reason, the news spread that he was seriously injured.

Because he was beaten so badly that day, he felt a chill when he saw Xie Qianzhong and the others.

"You just wait! Our Tiger Gang has never been afraid of anyone. So what if he's a Left Prime Minister? We'll make sure you don't leave alive!" They scrambled away.

Xie Qianzhong looked exhausted. He had been forcing himself to stay upright, not wanting them to see the weariness on his face. Now that he didn't have to pretend anymore, Song Tangxue realized how badly he was injured.

No wonder he was wearing black clothes and his wounds were open, so that the blood couldn't be seen.

Song Tangxue's voice trembled with tears: "Qianzhong..."

"Let's go back to our accommodation first."

The so-called dwelling was just a thatched hut. It was quite difficult to find a sheltered place. Inside, there were several elderly people with patched clothes, their faces still covered in mud, and they looked somewhat wary.

“These people are the ones I took in when I first arrived in Feng County. They are all pitiful people. As you just heard, they are all members of the Wei Hu Gang. They act arrogantly here. I encountered them begging for food from the people as soon as I arrived, and that's how I started my feud with them.”

Xie Qianzhong's face was deathly pale, and his breath was weak. A doctor took his pulse and frowned, saying, "The lord is very weak and needs to rest for a while."

Xie Qianzhong suffered a knife wound to the abdomen, and since there were few medicinal herbs available, his recovery was naturally slower. In addition, the wind in Feng County at night aggravated his already recurring injury.

"Qianzhong, you should rest well."

"No, those people are still being coerced by the Tiger Gang, and there are even remnants of the previous dynasty secretly lurking around. I must..."

Song Tangxue was furious, and for the first time spoke to him in such a harsh tone: "Xie Qianzhong, if you keep this up, you might die!"

Xie Qianzhong fell silent. Song Tangxue couldn't help but sob at the thought of him leaving her. They had missed so much in their past lives, and now that they had finally come to understand each other, she couldn't accept that they would have to separate.

Song Tangxue then gave up.

Throughout the journey, she was filled with anxiety, fearing that she would hear terrible news upon arriving here. A wave of sadness and grief washed over her. Xie Qianzhong silently stayed by her side without saying a word.

After a long while, Song Tangxue looked up again, her eyes swollen like steamed buns: "Leave them to me, I'll handle it for you."