Qi Qi: "???"
He can run into any kind of mess. The last time something happened was the last time, and this time it happened again!
Huangfu Jue's guards immediately drew their swords and approached Qi Qi. It must be said that their kung fu was quite good, and they were well-trained. Their swords were accurate with every strike. Unfortunately, the two sides were outnumbered. There seemed to be one or two hundred people on the other side who were capable of moving. It was dangerous to be fighting in the dense forest that the other side was familiar with.
Qi Qi ran a few steps and was hit on the shoulder by a rock. When he turned around, he saw that it was the young man who had bandaged him before. He was so angry that he stumbled as he ran.
When they were escorted to the place where the horses were tied up, they found that the guards had also been silently killed. Qi Qi felt a burning pain in his throat. He tried to keep his breathing steady and fought and retreated with the guards. They were well-fed and well-clothed, so there was no way they could outrun a group of refugees!
"Run into the woods! Some of them can ride horses!" a guard shouted. Qi Qi looked back and saw that their horses had been ridden by the other side. Of course, not all of the civilians could ride horses, but even those few were difficult to deal with.
Then it ran around the tree trunk and went further in.
After running for a long time, Qi Qi was left with only six or seven people. The group went up the mountain and hid in a lush area. After resting for a while, they called back the lookout and ran off to the other side.
We can't afford to delay; what if this group is still chasing us?
Perhaps these refugees were simply too weak in combat, and they were not nearly as dangerous as Qi Qi had been in Sifang City. When the group ran down the mountain from the other side the next morning, Qi Qi was relatively calm. He wondered how these people dared to cause trouble at the royal family's summer retreat. There must have been at least a few more of them.
Halfway there, a few small black dots came riding by in the distance. I took a closer look.
"Haha," Qi Qi laughed, "Don't panic! It's His Highness!"
Huangfu Jue was travel-worn and smelled of blood. His face looked like it was about to freeze. He rode up to him and saw Qi Qi smiling at him with his dusty and disheveled little face. He dismounted and grabbed Qi Qi and checked him over from head to toe: "Smiling? You still dare to smile? Is it that funny?"
Qi Qi: "Big brother, you've survived a disaster, you shouldn't be laughing. Did you really want to hear that I was arrested?"
There were other people present, so they resisted the urge to hug him. Huangfu Jue said, "What kind of auspicious words are you saying? You'll be crying later."
Qi Qi waved his hand: "We got separated. There are only a few of us left. The others are still in the mountains. Has Your Highness sent anyone to look for them?"
Huangfu Jue: "Of course! This bunch of rabble dares to rebel? They're incredibly audacious!"
After helping Qi Qi onto the horse, Qi Qi asked again, "Is the matter in Bai County true or false?"
Huangfu Jue: "It's true, but this group of people are the bandits. In fact, everyone in Bai County is a bandit."
"Then what should we do?"
Huangfu Jue didn't speak, and Qi Qi didn't ask any more questions.
The group headed straight back home.
But when Qi Qi was sound asleep that night, someone suddenly squeezed onto the small bed and mumbled against Qi Qi's back, "I killed them all."
"This year, the land tax has increased by 70%, and most people have lost their land. They have sold themselves into slavery to landlords, and their wives and daughters have been taken away. They couldn't bear it any longer, so they gathered a crowd, killed the county magistrate and the landlords, and took control of their own lives."
I don't know whose idea it was, but they came here to test the strength of the troops at the Summer Palace. Among them were several women and children, whom I let go.
The grievances have already been accepted. If they do not surrender in the future, the court will still send troops and kill them; otherwise, it will become a permanent problem.
I killed many people, and they all looked at me with hatred. They were right, but I couldn't let them live, because the Huangfu family needed to live.
He rarely rambled on like this, and he talked a lot.
Qi Qi turned around and bowed his head to him, touching his cold hands, and said, "That's where you're wrong, Your Highness. Do you know that you have to nip the problem in the bud?"
Huangfu Jue was stunned: "..."
Qi Qi said quietly, "Think of it the worst. You've already killed their fathers, and before that, they've already lost many relatives because of the court. The seeds of hatred have been sown at such a young age, and they'll come looking for revenge later."
On the bright side, life is full of suffering. Even if these women and children went back, how well could they possibly live in this era? Killing them all would be the end of it all, and they might be reborn into a better life next time—though they might not even know whether they're living well or not; they just want to be alive.
Huangfu Jue: "…………"
Qi Qi leaned close to Huangfu Jue's ear and whispered, "Forget it, Your Highness. Don't worry about it so much. People born into the Huangfu family are naturally burdened with sins, and there's nothing you can do about it. Just be yourself, just be Huangfu Jue. Why worry about so much? Don't dwell on what you've already done."
In the darkness, Huangfu Jue stared at Qi Qi in astonishment.
It's happened again.
Lai Bao seemed to possess an emotion that detached him from the human world.
He said, "But you clearly feel sorry for these people too."
Qi Qi said, "Yes, I feel sorry for them, but there's nothing I can do. That's how this era is. If they want to kill you, it's normal for you to kill them. If it's about them being forced or having no other choice, then you can also say that you had no choice but to be born into the royal family and have to face these things. In other words, if you were them, you might also rebel."
Wait, I've been overthinking it. I can't keep thinking about this; it's too much of a headache. But I have one more thing to say to you: You've already done very well, Your Highness. There's a long road ahead. You can be a good person again in the future. Now that you've done it, don't dwell on it anymore.
Huangfu Jue: "That's true."
The next day, when Huangfu Jue went out, Qi Qi secretly slipped out to meet Huangfu Yi, because Huangfu Jue was keeping a very close eye on him... He didn't even come to Huicui Tower when he was discussing matters with Huangfu Yi.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com