Chapter 51

All of Yuan Qiong's sword techniques were taught to her by Lin Qiang.

Back in the mountains, whenever Lin Qiang started teaching Yuan Qiong martial arts, he seemed like a completely different person, utterly devoid of his usual indulgence. No matter how tired she was or whether she was injured, he was ruthless and wouldn't go easy on her in the slightest. Only after training would he tenderly massage her strained muscles, letting her vent her anger with a doting expression, as if he wasn't the one who was strict during training.

Therefore, Yuan Qiong knew this man much more than others. She couldn't understand what kind of experiences could turn a bandit who grew up in the mountains into this kind of person, as calm and undisturbed as the deep sea after experiencing all the storms, indifferent to everything except her.

Yes, except for her.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.

"Where are you taking me?" She gripped his shirt tightly, tilting her fair face up and glaring at him fiercely. "Don't think I don't know what you're up to!"

"Hahaha..." Even as he leaped rapidly, Lin Qiang still had the mind to tease her. He lowered his head and rubbed her forehead, asking, "So tell me, what do I want to do?"

"Hmph!" Yuan Qiong snorted and turned her face away, refusing to say anything! "Put me down!"

That bandit is despicable! She's furious and can't let this go so easily, or he'll never learn his lesson!

"Wait a minute, I'll take you somewhere, we'll be there soon."

He knew, of course, that the little girl was very angry, so he absolutely couldn't put her down, or he'd be in big trouble. Hmm... So, he'd better find something to distract her first.

Yuan Qiong watched in horror as Lin Qiang led her off the city wall and headed straight for the refugee camp. She began to struggle.

"Let me go, I don't want to go to that kind of place!"

"Be good, listen to me. You have to face the consequences of what you've done, instead of running away from them."

She glared at him stubbornly: "I did nothing wrong! If there are no supplies at the front, what will the soldiers eat? What will they use to fight?"

There's no such thing as having it all; you can't have your cake and eat it too. If the war is lost, many people will die, so she didn't do anything wrong!

“If you really think you’re not wrong, why don’t you dare face these people?” Lin Qiang stopped outside the refugee camp and let go of her, saying, “Go see them. They are all people of the Great Yan, and they were once your people too.”

Yuan Qiong stood still, and Lin Qiang bent down to adjust the jasmine hairpin in her hair, and smiled, "Go."

"......."

She pursed her lips and looked up at the tall man beside her. He seemed to always be like this, as majestic and steady as a mountain, as unfathomable as the sea, completely different from other men.

When Hung Sin heard about the refugee camp, her first reaction was to forbid her from coming, saying that women were not suited to watch over such things. Even when she couldn't resist Hung Sin's stubbornness and reluctantly brought her over, she only let her stand on the city wall and watch from afar, worried that it would be dangerous for her to get too close.

But the man in front of her placed her at the gates of hell, leaving her to step in alone and experience it for herself.

"Big Beard, aren't you afraid I'll be in danger?"

"With me here, it won't happen."

He gently pinched Yuan Qiong's pert little nose, his eyes filled with tenderness and determination.

"Don't be afraid, sweetie."

Yuan Qiong gave him a deep look and said nothing more. She lifted her skirt and, steeling herself, walked into the refugee camp.

Her arrival was like a firefly lighting up the dull darkness, conspicuous yet out of place.

The disheveled, emaciated disaster victims looked at the beautiful woman who seemed to come from another world. The filthy ground stained the soles of her delicate embroidered shoes, and muddy water, whether mud or excrement, soaked the hem of her elegant skirt. She remained expressionless throughout.

Amidst the swarms of flies and the starving corpses, she walked step by step, enduring the empty gazes of the refugees. Wherever she went, there was a deathly silence, completely different from the frenzy of fighting for food earlier. On ordinary days, they were mostly still.

Some people are alive, yet already dead. All that remains is a shell, clinging to life.

Just then, a gust of wind swept in from behind. Yuan Qiong dodged it.

Before she knew it, three or four skinny men had already set their sights on her, their eyes like those of hungry wolves eyeing their prey, which terrified Yuan Qiong.

Without uttering a single word, they pounced. Yuan Qiong lifted her foot and, with little effort, kicked away these men who were already starving and barely had any strength left.

“You can’t beat me,” she said.

Those people ignored them completely, got up, and pounced on them again.

"Knowing you can't beat me, why did you still come up here to die?!"

More and more people joined the struggle, and those who remained, though not yet charging forward, were also watching with predatory eyes.

At that moment, Yuan Qiong suddenly realized something.

The way they looked at her wasn't lustful; it was the look of someone eyeing food! They wanted to eat her!

They want to eat her!

Yuan Qiong, somewhat distraught, rushed out of the encirclement and ran outside. The tears that had welled up in her eyes that morning finally fell with the wind, not from fear, but from sorrow. Sorrow for these people, sorrow for the mother and daughter in prison, sorrow for their husbands who had been beaten to death, sorrow for the soldiers bleeding on the front lines, sorrow for the people living in dire straits, unable to save themselves.

At the entrance of the refugee camp, Lin Qiang saw Yuan Qiong running towards him crying. He opened his arms, and the little girl threw herself into his arms, hugging his waist tightly and burying her head in his chest. For the first time, she cried so hard that she could hardly breathe.

"Let's go! Get out of here!"

"good."

Lin Qiang hugged her tightly and disappeared from the spot in a flash.

The bridge of fame and fortune, the path of worldly affairs, is a journey everyone must take in their youth.

Lin Qiang had reached the end of his rope, leaving behind a lonely end, so he didn't intend to touch it again in this life. In his previous life, Lin Qiang was a businessman, and only skilled in business. He didn't want to, and wouldn't, get involved in, the struggles of politicians. But the little girl was different; she had just embarked on the path of fame and fortune and had no intention of turning back. She was a born politician, ambitious, resourceful, and born for power.

He couldn't stop her from living a mundane life with him; that would only lead to enmity. So, he chose to support her, to fulfill her ambitions and aspirations, and to pave her way to the top.

“Big Beard, I didn’t do anything wrong.” On the rooftop of the tallest building in Jiangbei Province, the two sat side by side. Her long eyelashes were still damp with tears. Yuan Qiong turned her head to look at him and repeated, “I really didn’t do anything wrong.”

"Um."

Lin Qiang cupped her small face in his hands and used his thumbs to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"You did nothing wrong."

"Extravagance is rampant in the court, but the national treasury is empty. After being squeezed out at every level, less than one ten-thousandth of the taxes paid each year actually reaches the national treasury. Any of the ministers in the court are richer than the royal family, but at the slightest sign of trouble, they start crying poverty and asking me for money."

“After Yuwen Ting rebelled, the border regions also became restless. If Yuwen Ting’s offensive cannot be contained in time, the situation will only get worse. This is why my grandfather agreed to let Guan Xiao lead the troops into battle.”

"The national treasury only has so much money. If we use it for disaster relief, we can't pay the military salaries; if we pay the military salaries, we can't use it for disaster relief. I have no choice..."

The spring breeze was gentle. Lin Qiang pulled her into his arms and comforted her, saying, "The fault is not yours. It's just that Dayan has been rotting from the root. This is a fact that you can't stop, and no one else can stop either."

Of course, the male lead can, because he has a special aura.

"I don't want you to get too caught up in it. Instead of arguing with those people about meaningless things, you should go out and see the vast land and the real lives of the people. Throughout history, no wise ruler has ever risen to power through power struggles in a wealthy and powerful family. Those who rise to power through power struggles in a wealthy and powerful family never last long."

"So, this is your reason for kidnapping me from the palace?!"

The petite and adorable girl who was just moments ago instantly changed her expression, shoved the man away, stood up, and looked down at him condescendingly.

"How was it? Had a great time on the trip, huh? You drugged me, played hide-and-seek, and even watched me cry. Did you feel really accomplished? Hmm?"

She kicked Lin Qiang's skirt, leaving a muddy footprint on his clothes—it was unclear whether it was mud from the refugee camp or...

“............”

Before Lin Qiang could react to her lightning-fast change of expression, a small hand grabbed the back of his neck... a patch of skin!

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch..." She was involuntarily lifted up: "Girl, be gentle..."

What's going on? Wasn't my attention diverted? How did it come back? Lin Qiang mentally lit a row of candles for himself, his face contorted with despair.

"You call this pain?" Yuan Qiong raised an eyebrow and sneered, her slender fox eyes gleaming with cold light: "You'll find out how gentle I am right now!"

After saying that, he kicked the man off the roof, leaving another footprint on Lin Qiang's coarse cloth shirt.

Oh my god! My wife has turned into a shrew! What do I do? Urgent help needed online…

Author's Note: The first update will be released early Saturday morning, followed by another update around 6 PM. Sunday will also see two updates.