During my escape from famine, I survived by eavesdropping on the whispers of food.

"Why can't you?"

"The cave doesn't belong to Qin Shuangshuang. If they really won't let us in, we'll join forces and drive them out," the refugee, who didn't want to get soaked in the rain, said irritably.

But when the group actually arrived at the cave, their attitude completely changed.

They looked pitifully at the warm cave, "Qin Shuangshuang, we're all from the same village, please let us in."

"No," Qin Shuang said resolutely, blocking their way. "There's no room left in the cave for you. Go find somewhere else to take shelter from the rain."

After answering, Qin Shuangshuang led Lu Jun back to the cave.

As soon as she left, some opportunistic refugees tried to squeeze in, but they were pushed out by the strong men in Qin Shuangshuang's group.

Although they were fleeing, Qin Shuangshuang had enough food for them. They were able to eat their fill every day and were all still strong and healthy. Dealing with the oddballs outside the cave was just a matter of lifting a finger.

They were at a disadvantage, and no one dared to force their way in. They could only leave angrily and go find another place to shelter from the rain.

Qin Shuangshuang never knew where they ended up.

It rained all night.

When Qin Shuangshuang woke up, the rain had subsided, and they had to continue their journey after finishing their meal.

As they were about to leave the cave, Qin Shuangshuang called out to them, "Put something on your face, make sure your face is clean, then you won't look like refugees at all."

After saying that, Qin Shuangshuang grabbed a handful of ash and smeared it on her clean face, and the others followed suit.

"Alright, let's go."

Qin Shuangshuang led the dusty-faced men away from the cave. They traveled for several days before daring to stop when they reached Lushan County.

Uncle Li wiped his sweat, looking at the large characters at the city gate with great joy.

“Wang Zhi is the local official in charge of sheltering refugees. We can settle down here from now on and no longer have to flee from place to place.”

With their luggage on his back, Uncle Li was about to lead the refugees into the city, while Qin Shuangshuang and Lu Jun stood behind them without moving.

"What are you doing? Is Lushan County a place for you beggars to go?"

The refugees hadn't taken two steps before they were stopped by soldiers.

Uncle Li dared not argue with the soldiers. He hunched over and pointed to the city gate, saying, "Sir, are we all refugees? We came here seeking refuge after hearing that Lushan County was taking in refugees."

Upon hearing that they were refugees, the soldier chuckled twice. "You said you were seeking shelter, so of course we won't let you in for nothing. Only those who pay food allow you in."

"This..." Uncle Li, who was reluctant to hand over the grain, looked embarrassed.

Seeing that they couldn't hand over the grain, the soldiers chased them away, shouting, "Get out, get out! Don't come in if you don't have grain!"

Qin Shuangshuang, who was at the back, could no longer bear it. The problem of refugees would never be solved if corrupt officials were not removed, so even if she didn't want to meddle, she had to go to Lushan County.

She stepped forward, grabbed Uncle Li and the soldiers who were about to leave, and said, "Who says we have no food?"

"Here you go." She handed a large bag of grain to the soldier and asked, "Can we go in now?"

The soldier opened the bag; it contained a fairly large amount of food. He said coldly, "Open the city gates and let them in."

The group was allowed to pass.

"Shuangshuang, you're confused. That's our rations. If we give it all to the soldiers, what will we eat?"

When Uncle Li saw the grain being handed over, he felt as if his own flesh had been cut off.

Qin Shuangshuang, who was at the front of the line, smiled. Seeing how anxious he was, she had no choice but to tell the truth, "Uncle Li, that big bag of grain only had grain on top, and the bottom was all stones. They were fooled by me."

Are there stones in the bag?

Uncle Li was utterly shocked.

Not only was Uncle Li surprised, but everyone in the group was astonished.

Zhou nodded at Qin Shuangshuang's head, "You're so full of tricks, aren't you afraid of being discovered?"

Qin Shuangshuang looked up at them with her head held high and said with a smile, "Of course I'm not afraid. People come and go at the city gate every day, and everyone has to hand over grain, but there's no sign on the bag indicating who handed it over, so they naturally won't find out."

Lu Jun, who was carrying the grain together behind, raised an eyebrow.

More than fearing being discovered, he wanted to know when Qin Shuangshuang had replaced the grain with stones.

Their joy was short-lived, as a group of men in black rode horses toward the city gate.

On horseback were not only men in black, but also a group of beautiful women, who had obviously been abducted by them.

Qin Shuangshuang frowned, looking at the refugees who were still looking around, and said, "All of you, lower your heads."

Before leaving the cave, they did as Qin Shuangshuang had instructed, making themselves look disheveled. Now, they were standing quietly in the crowd, so they naturally didn't attract attention.

But some foolish person pushed Zhou Shi out, and Qin Shuangshuang couldn't stop him.

Suddenly, the horse stopped.

Zhou slumped down in front of the horse, and the person on horseback said with interest, "So eager to follow Master, they've all volunteered."

Seeing his frivolous behavior, Qin Shuangshuang gritted her teeth and tried to leave, but Lu Jun stopped her in time.

“They outnumber you and if you try to rush out, you’ll get caught too. Don’t panic, we’ll figure out a way to rescue them later.”

Not only was Qin Shuangshuang gritting her teeth in hatred, but Qin Hao was not to be outdone. He pushed Lu Jun and said, "What are you waiting for? They're going to take my mother away. Are you just going to let my sister and me watch?"

Qin Shuangshuang took a deep breath. She really couldn't act impulsively. They weren't dealing with refugees, but with government soldiers who could easily decide the life and death of others. Right now, they could only outsmart them.

Once calmed down, the men on horseback had already forcibly taken Zhou away.

With the oppressive atmosphere gone, the refugees behind dared to speak, "Shuangshuang, your mother has been taken away, what are we going to do?"

The refugees wept in droves, and the people around them dispersed. Qin Shuangshuang ignored everyone and grabbed the woman who had pushed Zhou Shi earlier.

"So you're the one who pushed my mother?"

The woman was startled. "You little brat, what are you so arrogant about?"

“If I hadn’t pushed your mother out, she might have caught the eye of an official and married him, and she wouldn’t have had to become a refugee.”

As soon as she uttered those shameless words, the refugees all spat at her, and Qin Shuangshuang even slapped her, saying, "Shamelessness makes you invincible, that's you, isn't it?"

"Uncle Li, you take her with you. I'm going to rescue my mother first, and I'll deal with her when I get back."

She complained that hitting someone hurt her hand, so she simply tossed the person to Uncle Li and left.

Qin Hao grabbed Lu Jun, "I want to save my mother too. Please take me to find my sister."

Lu Jun pushed him away without blinking and went to chase after Qin Shuangshuang alone.

Along the way, Qin Shuangshuang heard a lot of chattering sounds.

"Did you see that? They arrested so many women today. I wonder whose daughters they are. They're so unlucky and miserable."

"I see. I'm quite curious today. One of those beautiful women seems to be a beggar. Why did they bring a beggar back?"

On the rooftop, Qin Shuangshuang glanced thoughtfully at the large radish in the yard.

The beggar they were talking about must be my mother; if I'm not mistaken, she should be locked up in this courtyard.

Just as Qin Shuangshuang was about to jump down, someone grabbed her waist and pulled her back a few steps.

As he pulled her back, Lu Jun asked, "There are quite a few people down there. Are you sure you want to go down now?"