In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

When Xue Qi left Yuezhou, he saw wanted posters for him and his junior sister posted in many cities, with a bounty of up to a thousand taels of silver on them!

It was only because the White Lotus Army had just occupied those cities and had not yet completely taken control of the entire city that Xue Qi and Jiang Weiyu were able to leave Yuezhou smoothly.

Xue Qi picked up his drink and downed it in one gulp, seemingly trying to drown his frustrations in alcohol. Helping those in need was a principle he lived by, but alas…

He has limited abilities and cannot erase the injustices of this world!

Even Jiang Weiyu turned his gaze away from Xiao Yuan and sighed.

She understood her senior brother. Although he was a chubby guy, he was a person with a dream of chivalry and justice. In fact, wasn't she the same way?

It sounds good to be a chivalrous hero, but how easy is it to actually do it?

These days, people who can bully others often have powerful family backgrounds. Just like the Qing King who just passed by. Even if she and her senior brother are dissatisfied with the Qing King's behavior, so what? Can they draw their swords and slash at the Qing King?

That's impossible. At most, they can only curse the Green King in this restaurant to vent their dissatisfaction.

"Brother Chen."

Slightly tipsy, Xue Qi put his arm around Chen Dao's shoulder and said warmly, "You must be from Qingzhou, right?"

"Yes."

"Brother Chen, are you aware of the current situation in Liangzhou? Have you ever heard of Yang Zheng's character?"

When Yang Zheng's name was mentioned, a hint of admiration flashed in Xue Qi's eyes, as if he had a very good impression of Yang Zheng.

"That's unknown!"

Chen Dao shook his head. Although he lived in Taiping County, which bordered Liangzhou, he had never been to Liangzhou and his knowledge of Liangzhou was limited to hearsay.

"Brother Chen, you are rather ignorant!"

Xue Qi said with a smile, "You've never heard of Yang Zheng, such a big name."

Chen Dao remained silent, while Xue Qi continued, "I had heard of Yang Zheng's great name when I was in Yuezhou. He came from humble beginnings, yet he rose to prominence in Liangzhou, a place known for its fierce and valiant people. He even defeated 25 imperial troops and was crowned the King of Liangzhou. He truly deserves to be called a hero of his region!"

Upon hearing these words, Zheng Qiuyan frowned. The more she looked at Xue Qi, the more she felt that he was a traitor, and that he actually shared a mutual respect with the great traitor Yang Zheng.

Of course, Zheng Qiuyan had no intention of arresting Xue Qi and reporting him to the authorities. Xue Qi was a traitor, and Zheng Qiuyan herself wasn't exactly loyal to the Xia Dynasty either.

To put it bluntly, in Zheng Qiuyan's view, the Xia Dynasty court, which could tolerate the evil deeds committed by the King of Qing, was not worthy of her loyalty. Only those who benefited from the system and those corrupt scholars who only knew how to study and become officials would be loyal to the Xia Dynasty.

"Brother Xue seems to have a very high opinion of Yang Zheng?" Chen Dao asked casually.

"Of course!"

Xue Qi blurted out, "I think the Xia Dynasty is doomed sooner or later, and the change of power in the Nine Provinces is only a matter of time. And looking at all the heroes in the world, I have the highest opinion of Yang Zheng!"

"Why?"

"Because Yang Zheng can give the common people a way to survive!"

Xue Qi said decisively: "Whether it is the heroes who rebelled in the three upper states or the White Lotus Sect who rebelled in Yuezhou, they have never regarded the people as human beings. In their eyes, the people are just pigs and sheep waiting to be slaughtered, beings that can be killed and eaten at any time."

Only Yang Zheng of Liangzhou never wielded his sword against the common people. Instead, he turned his blade against the wealthy and powerful, killing those who enslaved and exploited the people, and plundering their accumulated wealth to support the populace!

Chen Dao nodded repeatedly. According to the information he obtained from Xu Zhiwen, Yang Zheng of Liangzhou rarely attacked ordinary people. On the contrary, he was extremely disgusted with powerful families. Every time he broke through a city, he would strictly control his soldiers to prevent them from harassing the people. He would only slaughter the landlords and powerful families in the city and then use their property to support the army and provide relief to the people.

This is also why there are fewer and fewer migrants in Taiping County nowadays. Under Yang Zheng's governance, the people of Liangzhou have indeed found a way to survive. And when they can survive, of course no one is willing to leave their homes and become migrants in Taiping County.

"According to the information I have."

Xue Qi continued, "Now, within Liangzhou, the powerful clans have been almost entirely slaughtered by Yang Zheng. There isn't a single aristocratic family left in the entire Liangzhou!"

After saying that, Xue Qi continued, "To be honest, my junior sister and I were passing through Qingzhou this time with the intention of going to Liangzhou to seek refuge with Yang Zheng. If Yang Zheng is truly a wise ruler, my junior sister and I will stay and serve him!"

"I see!"

Chen Dao suddenly realized why Xue Qi and Jiang Weiyu, two people from Yuezhou, would make a special trip to Qingzhou. It turned out they were using Qingzhou as a transit point to reach Liangzhou and seek refuge with Yang Zheng.

only……

Chen Dao was somewhat puzzled. Judging from their clothes and swords, the two didn't seem like commoners at the bottom of society. Why would Xue Qi despise the powerful clans so much?

Chen Dao didn't ask the question, but continued chatting with Xue Qi.

Meanwhile, the guests in the restaurant kept glancing at their table, their hearts filled with shock.

The reason is simple: Chen Dao and Xue Qi's conversation was just too explosive... or rather, Xue Qi was too outspoken!

At first, Xue Qi's insults towards the Prince of Qing were somewhat understandable, given that there were at least 400,000 to 500,000 people in the entire city who disliked him. But then Xue Qi said he wanted to join Yang Zheng...

Who is Yang Zheng?

That's one of the biggest rebel leaders in Kyushu, who just defeated the imperial army of 25!

On the current imperial court's wanted list, Yang Zheng's head is worth a full 20 taels of silver...

This shows just how much the imperial court hated Yang Zheng!

But Xue Qi said he was going to seek refuge with Yang Zheng...

If this gets out, Xue Qi probably wouldn't have enough heads to chop off even if he had ten.

but……

Everyone glanced at the sword at Xue Qi's waist, but ultimately lowered their heads, pretending not to have heard anything.

There's no way around it; these days, no one who carries a sword is an ordinary person, let alone the fact that Xue Qi and Jiang Weiyu's sword sheaths are inlaid with gemstones.

They could never afford to offend such a person. For the sake of their own lives, they could only pretend they hadn't seen him and had never heard his outrageous remarks.

…………

…………

"Sir, your rooms have been prepared!"

After the meal, the restaurant staff found Chen Dao and his group of four and handed them two sets of keys: "Your rooms are rooms A3 and A4 on the third floor, don't go to the wrong ones!"

"Thank you."

Chen Dao took the keys and had Chen Cheng help the slightly tipsy Xue Qi upstairs.

Chen Dao already knew that Xue Qi and his companion had booked a room at the restaurant while they were eating, and the room happened to be on the third floor.

Upon reaching the third floor, Chen Dao gestured to Chen Cheng to hand Xue Qi over to Jiang Weiyu for care: "Miss Jiang, I'll leave your senior brother in your care for a while!"

Jiang Weiyu reluctantly withdrew his gaze from Xiao Yuan's face and nodded.

The two groups then parted ways and went to their respective rooms.