Back and forth: I brought supplies to help the impoverished prince

Qiao Shinian bit her lower lip and asked softly, "How long have you been here?"

"I have been in the village for two years and three months in total." The child curled his lips, "I am not afraid of death. I will be a brave man again in eighteen years. I have eaten meat and drunk wine with big mouthfuls! I have nothing to worry about in this life!"

Mu Qingchen stood behind Qiao Shinian and looked at the man with many old injuries. He patted Qiao Shinian on the shoulder and said, "Don't try to understand. Everyone has a story. The more you empathize, the more you will be hooked by it. There is nothing you can do."

"Of course! Your Highness the Wise King! I'm just curious why he is here at such a young age! What happens here has nothing to do with me. I'm just a little maid. What can I do in this great era and environment? Maybe one day I will be like him, helpless and die in the end." Qiao Shinian looked up at Mu Qingchen's handsome face.

Mu Qingchen looked at Qiao Shinian for a long time without saying anything. Finally, he took out his handkerchief and gave it to her: "Wipe your tears."

Qiao Shinian shook his head: "I am just a lowly servant."

Wen Jiu held Qiao Shinian's hand, and said with encouragement in his voice: "Sister, don't worry, I will always be with you."

Qiao Shinian looked down at Wen Jiu, then at the poor child.

He had lowered his head, awaiting his own inevitable death.

Qiao Shinian felt the breath of death approaching. She looked up at Mu Qingchen again and asked, "Your Highness, will he definitely die?"

"Well, when Wenshan comes back, they will be brought back to the city and made an example of!"

"Then can I touch him?" Qiao Shinian asked.

Mu Qingchen was puzzled, but nodded slightly.

In fact, when Qiao Shinian first came in, she was made uncomfortable by the smell of blood. When she saw so many people locked in cages or tied to pillars, she just thought these people were hateful and pathetic.

This child was just seen by chance. He happened to appear in her sight when she was imagining how people in ancient times treated these bandits and how many people died in the bandit suppression.

She was just curious about how such a young child could be part of the bandits. She guessed that there might be a mistake and that he might have been captured by the bandits and taken to the mountains.

She asked this question with the purpose of clearing the child's name, thinking that if she asked this question, the child would definitely argue fiercely that he was not a bandit.

So that's how it is, it turns out he is really a bandit.

Qiao Shinian couldn't describe how he felt about having his expectations dashed. After hearing what the child said, it felt a little unreal, as if he was back in the classroom, listening to the teacher lecturing on a sad classical Chinese text.

There are a lot of poor people, and she just listened to the tragic stories in history through books.

In fact, she was not sad, but she didn't know why tears fell. She just felt how miserable this person was.

“It’s not your fault, it’s just this era that’s wrong! When you close your eyes for the last time, when you open them again, you will definitely go to a country without hunger and war.

There, at your age, you will be in school, there will be no more chaos, it will be beautiful and safe.

There you will have clothes to wear, food to eat, and an education to go to. There you will be free and will never be bullied again. "

Qiao Shinian touched the child's head, her voice soft yet firm.

The child looked up and asked with difficulty: "Is there really such a place?"

"Yes, I promise you!" Qiao Shinian's voice became more determined. "Such a place does exist. I can swear on any oath you think is credible. I promise that such a place does exist."

"If there is, I will go to the underworld to find my parents and sister first and ask them to go with me. In this way, our family will never have to suffer from hunger or bullying again." The child's voice was filled with tears, and he lowered his head: "I will never be a bandit again! I will never be a bandit! I will sit in school obediently and grow a lot of food."

"Well!" Qiao Shinian turned to Mu Qingchen and whispered, "Your Highness, I'm sorry to have wasted your time."

Mu Qingchen took a deep look at Qiao Shinian, then turned around and rode on his horse: "Let's go back to the city!"

Qiao Shinian took one last look at the crying boy and followed him out of the bandit-suppression camp.

On the way, Qiao Shinian was in much better spirits than before, but the light in his eyes was a little less.

The horse's rapid speed no longer frightened her.

As the sun slid westward, the earth became a little cooler. After a bumpy journey, the group finally found a stream and prepared to spend the night there.

The three of them sat together by the stream, and Qiao Shinian stared at the fire in a daze.

The shadows of the trees are dim, and the darkness of the earth can set off the brilliance of the starry sky.

The leaves rustled in the night wind, making a loud noise. Looking at the grilled fish, Qiao Shinian hummed softly.

Mu Qingchen looked at Qiao Shinian. She was like a puppet. Against the backdrop of the firelight, she was so peaceful. The tune was so strange yet had a calming melody.

"We're going to camp outdoors tonight. I wonder if you're afraid." Mu Qingchen picked up the fish and handed it to Qiao Shinian. Qiao Shinian shook his head, "Thank you, Your Majesty, but I'm not hungry."

"What are you afraid of? It's not like you haven't lived in the wild before." Wen Jiu reached out to take the fish from Mu Qingchen's hand for Qiao Shinian, took out a small porcelain bottle from his bag, and sprinkled some chopped chili on it.

A pungent and irritating feeling came over Mu Qingchen when he smelled the chili pepper. He almost subconsciously covered his nose and looked at Wen Jiu and asked, "What is this?"

"Seasoning, your seasoning is too bland, and it smells fishy." After saying that, he turned his head to look at Qiao Shinian, but saw that Qiao Shinian still had no reaction.

"Well, maybe my sister wants some vegetarian food." He turned to Haruyuki and said, "Let's go find some mushrooms in the woods."

Qiao Shinian immediately reached out to cover Wen Jiu's mouth, looking apologetic: "Don't listen to his nonsense, I just have a poor appetite. I will be able to eat well when I go back tomorrow, don't worry about it."

"Sister! You slapped my face so hard that it hurts!" Wen Jiu was helpless. He used the firelight to spread the seasoning evenly on the grilled fish and handed it to Qiao Shinian, "Just one bite?"

"No, you added too much, I'm afraid I'll get a stomachache if I eat it." Qiao Shinian declined politely, took out a bag of tangerine peel candy from her bag, handed it to Mu Qingchen, and asked him if he wanted to have one.

"What is this?" Mu Qingchen was about to put it in his mouth when Qingyu beside him stepped forward and stopped him.

Mu Qingchen shook his head, Qingyu stared at Qiao Shinian closely and then retreated.

"Chenpi candy." Qiao Shinian replied: "You can eat some when you don't have any flavor."

Seeing that Mu Qingchen's eyes were always on him, Qiao Shinian asked uncertainly: "Don't you like this kind of sweets?"

"No more honorifics?"

"I'm a little mentally disturbed, please forgive me." Qiao Shinian said sullenly. She could naturally hear that Mu Qingchen was joking, and her answer was not very polite.

Mu Qingchen smiled and stretched out his hand, indicating that he wanted another piece. "You guessed right. I prefer some sweet foods to other foods."

Qiao Shinian stretched out his hand and handed a bag to Mu Qingchen: "Take more. Do you have a clean bag for food? I'll give you more."

"Okay, thank you very much, young lady."

"You're welcome." She said in a muffled tone, lowering her eyes slightly.