The first thing that caught the eye was a large group of refugees. Their simple sheds were connected together outside the city gate. It looked crowded, but there was order in the chaos.

Tents were arranged in rows. Near the city gate, there were more than ten large pots. It was the afternoon, and black smoke was coming out of the pots. In the middle of the rows of tents, the refugees were lined up in a long queue, moving forward like ants.

There were also two long queues at the city gate. The people in the queue were carrying large and small bags, and they seemed to be waiting in line to enter the city.

The line grew longer and longer, but no one was seen moving forward. The city gate and the two corner gates were tightly closed.

"The city gates are closed. Can't we go in?" After seeing the scene clearly, Jiang Zhengmao's joy turned into sorrow.

Jiang Zhou heard it and comforted his father, "No, Dad, if we can't enter the city, why are so many people queuing up? We are not stupid."

At this time, a man who looked like a soldier walked towards this side while looking at Jiang Zhengmao's team.

It was freezing cold, and Jiang Zhengmao's palms were sweating. "What should I do? These military masters are the most difficult to deal with. Are we safe? Knives? Bows and arrows? Have they all been hidden? If we're discovered, we'll be beheaded, right?"

The more I think about it, the more scared I become, and the more scared I become, the more I want to look back and check again.

Jiang Miao whispered, "Here we are, Dad! Those things are well hidden. What if you show your fear and we think you are guilty?"

Hearing his eldest son's reminder, Jiang Zhengmao forced a smile and walked over to ask, "General, we are waiting to enter the city. When will the city gate be opened?"

The soldier asked suspiciously, "Are you refugees? Why are you dressed like that? What was your household registration?"

Jiang Zhengmao was shocked and tried to remain calm, but his broken voice revealed that he was not at peace at the moment. "We are refugees from the same village. We were all good citizens in the past, General! As for this on my face, it's to prevent plague."

The soldier laughed and said, "If the plague can be prevented like this, how could so many people die?"

He took another look at the carriage and horses behind Jiang Zhengmao and began to doubt his life. He had never seen a village fleeing with a horse team.

"Go ahead and read the notice!"

The soldier waved his hand to signal to move forward.

"Read the notice? Read the notice! Jilang! Come quickly—"

Jiang Huaixu and Jiang Wei joined in the fun and followed Jiang Erlang towards the notice.

A number of people had gathered in front of them, muttering and cursing as they read. Their mumblings were generally about how someone who couldn't read a single word could read a notice? Were literate people so rare these days? And after waiting so long, not even one showed up!

"Get out of the way, get out of the way! My Erlang can read. Get out of the way!"

The crowd immediately made way for him, and everyone's eyes were focused on Jiang Zhengmao. Jiang Zhengmao pulled Jiang Erlang forward, and Jiang Huaixu hesitated and did not follow.

When it comes to being the best in the society, it has to be my uncle.

Jiang Huaixu pulled Jiang Wei to stand outside the crowd and listened to Jiang Erlang read the contents of the notice. He translated it in his mind as follows: first go to the medical officer to feel everyone's pulse one by one. After confirming that there is no epidemic, you can get a small wooden sign, and with the sign you can go to get porridge.

Anyone entering the city paid ten taels of silver and could be assigned to open up wasteland. Those who didn't want to open up wasteland but wanted to settle down had to rely on either financial resources or luck. Luck meant being considered a local citizen, and you could be settled directly. Otherwise, you could pay a fee. Those without money and unlucky were forced to do corvée labor, going wherever there was work, and having words carved on their faces.

Jiang Huaixu felt that the King of Yan was quite evil-minded, but then he thought about the many refugees who needed resettlement, and felt that this approach was inevitable.

After hearing this, some refugees almost collapsed to the ground. How could they afford so much money after fleeing for so long? Wasn't the only option left to them was to do forced labor?

They used to be good citizens!

The gap between them is so huge that it is simply unacceptable!

Some people even wiped away tears.

When Jiang Zhengmao came out with Jiang Erlang and other villagers, everyone looked as if they had lost their parents.

"Let's go, let's get everyone in line to have their pulses taken, and then fill their bellies."

He went back and told everyone the contents of the notice again. Without caring about being sad, he pulled the carriage and carried his luggage to line up.

Jiang Huaixu was not worried after taking the pulse. If any villagers had an epidemic, she would be the first to know. It would always be useful to be on guard along the way.

As there were more refugees on the road, she asked the villagers to wear masks and cloths on their faces again.

Lian Sheng was a juren (a successful candidate in a juren exam). The soldiers treated him with respect, but neither did they boss him around like they did other refugees. Jiang Huaixu wondered if this "luck" was fame or honor.

They have no luck, but they have Yunqi!

The silver they robbed from the bandits' lair should be enough for them to qualify to open up the wasteland, and the favor Yun Qi owed her cannot be wasted.

After queuing up slowly, Jiang Huaixu gave her small wooden sign to Jiang Sanlang and asked him to help her queue up for porridge while she went to find Yun Qi.

Looking around, there was no sign of Yun Qi.

I called out Fu Tuan and found that Yun Qi was talking to a soldier at the city gate.

After saying a few words, the soldier ran away. Yun Qi was still waiting at the city gate, and Lian Sheng walked towards him.

After closing the scanning screen, Jiang Huaixu rubbed her hands, waiting for the hot porridge to arrive. She wanted to know if Yun Qi would say a word for the villagers she had been with every day these days, but she didn't want to rely on eavesdropping.

When the hot porridge was brought back, Yun Qi also came back.

"Follow me." Jiang Huaixu, who was drinking porridge, felt his tongue burned by these words. He stood up and followed Yun Qi without hesitation. Jiang Erlang was also with him.

"I'm leaving now."

Jiang Erlang asked, "Brother Yun, are you going to enter Ganzhou City?"

Yun Qi nodded.

"Then I wish Brother Yun a bright future. We will meet again in the future."

Yun Qi clasped his fists in return, then looked at Jiang Huaixu with a slightly evasive look in his eyes. "I just told Lord Cheng that the entrance fee for your entire village will be waived, and you can settle down directly. However, there are too many of you, so I'm afraid we can't be grouped together. We need to consider this carefully."

Jiang Huaixu was a little surprised. He thought he would have to pay a sum of money, but it turned out to be so easy. With just one sentence, all the money was free.

She also performed a male salute and said sincerely, "Thank you, Brother Yunqi. Have a safe journey, brother. I'm sorry I can't see you off!"

Cloud Seven: ······

Sometimes he didn't know whether the sarcasm he heard in Jiang Huaixu's words was his problem or Jiang Huaixu's.

A trace of melancholy passed through his heart. This would be the only experience he would have in his life, but it also made him see things more clearly.

"Jiang Huaixu, if you want to accomplish something, sometimes it's not enough to rely on yourself alone."

Jiang Huaixu blinked, "Of course I know, otherwise why would I tell you?"

Yun Qi was choked and speechless for a moment.

"Don't worry, I won't make it too difficult for you. I will try my best."

Yun Qi's stern face suddenly melted like ice and snow, and his eyebrows softened a little. "Remember, my name is Cang Heng."

After saying this, Yun Qi turned around, put on the cloak handed to him by the soldier, jumped on his horse, the horse neighed, and the young man rode away in the sunset.

"Surname Cang? Yun Qi is - a member of the royal family?" Jiang Erlang asked in a vague tone.

"Should, right?"