The Heavens: From Film and Mythology to Conquering Myriad Realms

After deciding to marry Lü Su, Lu Yao discussed the specific details with Lü Gong.

After setting the wedding date, Lu Yao informed the other party that he would be leaving for a while, citing the need to return to Xianyang to make preparations.

“What my son-in-law says makes sense; we do need to make some preparations.”

Lu Gong nodded. This important marriage indeed requires careful preparation, and it is only right that the son-in-law should go back and make some preparations.

After leaving Lu Gong's room, Lu Yao went to the outside of Lu Su's room.

Is Susu in the room?

Lu Yao knocked on the door and called out softly.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Lü Su was embroidering, and a smile on her face revealed her mood at that moment.

When she heard that her father wanted to marry her off to Lu Yao, she felt more joy than nervousness.

Hearing Lu Yao's voice from outside the door, she accidentally pricked her finger while nervously sewing.

Feeling the pain, he quickly put his finger in his mouth and got up to open the door.

"Yes, Young Master Lu, please wait a moment."

Lu Su walked to the door and opened it. She saw Lu Yao and, feeling shy, dared not look him in the eye.

"Susu greets Young Master Lu."

Lu Su bowed slightly and spoke softly.

Just as Lu Yao was about to speak, he noticed a touch of crimson on Lü Su's fingers.

"How did Susu hurt her finger?"

Lu Yao took Lü Su's small hand and took out a band-aid from his storage space to bandage her finger.

When Lu Yao suddenly took her hand, Lü Su was very shy, but she did not pull her hand away.

"Young master, what is this?"

Looking at the small strip of cloth tied to her finger, Lü Su asked curiously.

"This is to protect Susu's fingers, don't take it off for now."

Lu Yao held Lü Su's hand and said gently.

Lu Su nodded. Although she didn't know what it was, she trusted Young Master Lu.

Lu Yao then told Lü Su about his plans to go to Xianyang to prepare for the wedding.

"Susu is waiting for the young master."

Lu Su smiled slightly, her clear eyes gazing affectionately at Lu Yao.

Lu Yao then embraced Lü Su.

......

On his way back to his room, Lu Yao ran into Yi Xiaochuan.

"Brother Yao, my elder brother is escorting conscripts to Xianyang, and I plan to go with him. How are your preparations going?"

Upon hearing that Liu Bang was going to Xianyang, Yi Xiaochuan volunteered to go with him.

“I have made all the arrangements, and we can go to Xianyang together.”

Lu Yao nodded, indicating that he had no problem.

"Great! We can finally leave this place!"

Yi Xiaochuan clenched his fist excitedly, his face beaming with joy.

"Hey Xiaochuan, is Lü Zhi really that scary?"

Lu Yao looked at Yi Xiaochuan's expression and was speechless.

"Hey! Brother Yao, you don't know, this Empress Lü..."

Seeing Yi Xiaochuan's resistant expression, Lu Yao knew that he was determined to stay away from Lü Zhi, so he didn't ask any more questions.

......

a few days later.

Liu Bang, the head of Sishui Pavilion, led a group of laborers to Lü's residence to meet up with Yi Xiaochuan and Lu Yao.

"Liu Bang has met Miss Lü."

Liu Bang, who was waiting at Lü's residence, saw Lü Zhi pass by, quickly walked up to her, and bowed to greet her.

"Humph!"

Empress Lü had always looked down on Liu Bang, and seeing him only fueled her anger. Without a word, she turned and left.

Liu Bang, seeing that he had been rebuffed, was not angry, but touched his nose and continued to wait.

"It seems that bringing Yi Xiaochuan to Xianyang was a wise move. If Xiaochuan doesn't leave, how will I have a chance?"

Liu Bang stroked his chin, thinking to himself.

After Liu Bang finished drinking a cup of tea, Yi Xiaochuan and Lu Yao met up with him.

Without saying much, the group greeted each other and set off with a group of laborers.

The corvée system in the Qin state mainly included two aspects: military service and labor service.

Military service is simply serving in the military, which goes without saying.

Labor service refers to the labor that the people of Qin contributed to the construction and development of the country, including the construction of roads, water conservancy projects, palaces, and mausoleums.

The group of laborers escorted by Liu Bang was to build a palace in Xianyang. Moreover, Qin law was harsh; if even one person was absent, the entire team would be executed.

Thinking about this, Lu Yao had to admit that the corvée system was indeed extremely harsh, no wonder the world was in rebellion.

The weather was scorching hot, and the group was taking a break in a grove of trees, drinking water and eating to replenish their energy.

Suddenly, a group of bandits wielding swords and with fierce faces rushed out from all directions.

"How can they be a bunch of conscripts, a bunch of poor wretches!"

Upon closer inspection, the robbers who rushed out realized that it was a group of conscripted laborers and cursed their bad luck.

As is well known, although corvée labor is mandatory, there are ways to circumvent it.

This method, commonly known as "donating laborers," actually involved bribing local officials to select other laborers to go there.

Since the number of people subject to corvée labor remained unchanged, the upper-level officials of the Qin Dynasty turned a blind eye and did not investigate further as long as the number was sufficient.

Therefore, wealthy people would not perform corvée labor, which is why robbers secretly considered it bad luck.

The sudden appearance of the robbers caused some commotion in the crowd, but Liu Bang, citing the harshness of Qin law, frightened those who wanted to escape.

"Boss, look at that group of people, there seem to be a few who don't look like poor bastards."

One of the bandits' henchmen next to the leader rolled his eyes and pointed at Lu Yao and his group, saying...

The gang leader took a look and realized it was true.

"Looks like the trip wasn't in vain. You two, with your delicate skin, come here yourselves. Don't make your grandpa do it himself."

The bandit leader laughed and pointed at Lu Yao and Yi Xiaochuan.

Lu Yao and Yi Xiaochuan exchanged a glance, then smiled at each other.

"Bibi?"

Yi Xiaochuan chuckled softly, cracked his knuckles, and looked at Lu Yao.

"Good! I just witnessed the martial arts you learned at the Xiang family, Xiao Chuan."

Lu Yao didn't take these petty thieves seriously at all.

His swordsmanship has never declined; he practices diligently. He might have some difficulty fighting regular troops, but he can easily take down a few bandits.

"What are you two babbling about? Don't you want to live anymore?!"

The bandit leader was furious that the two men were ignoring him.

Lu Yao flashed like lightning, instantly appearing before the bandit leader, his long sword swiftly thrusting towards his vitals.

The bandit leader was startled and quickly held his broadsword horizontally in front of him to block.

"You've got a tough problem, and you're just going to let me watch? Come at me all at once!"

The bandit leader barely dodged the sword, cold sweat pouring down his face, and hurriedly shouted at his henchmen around him.

The henchmen around them reacted quickly and rushed over with their swords drawn.

Yi Xiaochuan pointed his long sword, stopping the two robbers who wanted to help.

"Your opponent is me."

Yi Xiaochuan laughed loudly, displaying the air of a carefree swordsman.

Lu Yao watched as the bandit leader dodged a sword and smiled slightly.

"This is interesting. I'm going to get serious now. I can't die so easily!"

Seeing the bandit leader's tense expression, Lu Yao gave him a sharp look and continued to strike with his sword.

"Stop looking down on others!"

Seeing that he was no match for Lu Yao, the bandit leader roared and slashed at him with his knife to bolster his morale.

A flash of cold light appeared, and the two brushed past each other.

Lu Yao twirled his sword and walked towards the other robbers without looking back.

"I...I...I'm not reconciled!"

The bandit leader clutched his throat, blood seeping from his hand, and then knelt down and died.