By the time Jiang Qingshu arrived, she was already too late.
The soldiers had reached the area before her.
For now, she could only hide nearby and wait for the right opportunity.
The appearance of the officers made the Jiang family suddenly realize the truth—
This fire had been deliberately set.
“Perfect timing! I’ll send every last one of them to accompany Little Sister and Little Fifth in death!” Jiang Chengyu spun his spear, murderous intent blazing in his furious eyes.
“Third Brother, don’t act rashly!” Jiang Kun immediately raised a hand to stop him. “Watch the situation first and adapt accordingly!”
“To hell with that! I’m going to kill them all!” Sun Yuluo rolled up her sleeves, ready to butcher someone on the spot.
Jiang Qingshu had lost her birth mother at birth, and it was Sun Yuluo who had raised her with her own hands. Their bond was no different from that of a real mother and daughter.
As for Jiang Luoyou, she was Sun Yuluo’s biological child.
The apparent deaths of both girls had shattered all her reason.
Jiang Kun lowered his voice angrily.
“If you act for momentary satisfaction now, the consequences will never end. Think about the children!”
The deaths of his daughters hurt him no less deeply.
But he still had to leave a path of survival for the rest of the family.
If they completely exposed themselves here today, Prince Li would certainly dispatch even more elite troops to hunt them down.
Would they still be able to escape safely then?
“Little Sister…”
The three brothers glanced at Linbao, whose eyes were swollen red from crying.
Their uncontrollable rage was finally forced down.
More soldiers arrived one after another, quickly surrounding the refugees.
And whether by coincidence or deliberate intent, the refugees quietly crowded the Jiang family toward the center of their group.
“Honorable officers, we’re only refugees fleeing famine. We haven’t done anything wrong…” the clan leader stepped forward trembling as he explained.
Under the torchlight, the officer approached for questioning.
“Why are you gathered here in the middle of the night?”
“We were sleeping over there in the haystacks when the fire suddenly broke out, so we…”
The officer’s face darkened impatiently.
“Enough. Have any suspicious people appeared around here?”
Instantly, vigilance rose in Jiang Kun’s eyes.
The women tightly hugged the children, barely daring to breathe.
The Jiang brothers quietly gripped their hidden weapons, ready to strike at any moment.
“Suspicious people?”
The refugees exchanged confused looks.
“They’re a group of vicious fugitives. If any of you discover them and report it immediately, each person will receive one dou of white rice.”
“A whole dou of rice? Really?”
The refugee crowd instantly erupted into noisy discussion.
A complicated emotion flashed through the old clan leader’s cloudy eyes before he cupped his fists respectfully once more.
“Rest assured, officer. If we discover anything, we’ll report it truthfully.”
The officer’s savage gaze swept across the refugees like a hungry beast.
“Good. Harboring fugitives is punishable by death. Let’s go!”
As the soldiers departed, the two leading officers chatted among themselves.
“Looks like that family really has already left Qianzhou.”
“Exactly. Still, this trip wasn’t a total loss. Didn’t we capture Xuánjīzi?”
The moment Jiang Qingshu heard the name “Xuánjī,” her curiosity flared.
Xuánjīzi?
Could it really be the Imperial Advisor Xuánjīzi from the story?
The brilliant strategist whose godlike schemes gathered powerful allies for the tyrant emperor, ultimately helping him unify the world?
In the novel, Xuánjīzi was born into poverty. Early in life, he was completely unknown and unable to fulfill his ambitions.
Despite possessing extraordinary talent, he lacked any opportunity to display it.
Later, the tyrant emperor recognized his worth. And under Xuánjīzi’s wholehearted assistance, the tyrant eventually conquered the realm.
Jiang Qingshu’s revenge plan had already begun.
At this moment, she needed capable people more than anything.
If she could gain the aid of such a brilliant strategist, it would truly be like adding wings to a tiger.
Meanwhile, among the refugees—
The soldiers finally sheathed their blades and withdrew.
Only then did the clan leader secretly release a long breath.
Whether from tension or heat, his back was already drenched in sweat.
Once the soldiers had gone far enough away, Jiang Kun suddenly strode forward and cupped his fists deeply toward the old man.
“Brother… and all of you villagers. Thank you.”
The Jiang family were not blind.
From the very beginning, these refugees had intentionally protected them.
They clearly knew the Jiangs were the fugitives the soldiers sought, yet they were neither tempted by rewards nor frightened by threats to their own lives.
Instead, they chose to protect them anyway.
In this chaotic and desperate world, such loyalty was deeply moving.
The clan leader hurriedly returned the salute.
“These two heroes once saved our lives. How could we repay kindness with betrayal?”
“That’s right! Our benefactors’ family is our family! If not for them that day, we’d already have been boiled into human soup!”
The other refugees also looked toward the Jiang family with gratitude.
Jiang Yifeng cupped his fists modestly.
“It was merely a small effort. You truly needn’t take it so seriously.”
“A life-saving恩情 is greater than the heavens. How could we not repay it?”
Looking at the ragged refugees before him, Jiang Kun’s heart still bled from the loss of his daughters.
Yet their gratitude and loyalty moved him deeply.
“I see you’ve lost all your belongings, and you still have children with you. If you don’t mind… why not travel together with us?”
The clan leader’s sincere invitation genuinely surprised the Jiang family.
“This…” Jiang Kun was about to decline.
“If you stay with us, we can help cover for you. Those soldiers will have a harder time noticing you.”
“Exactly! Over the last two days, we’ve actually gathered quite a bit of food. As long as we have a bite to eat, you’ll have one too!” several young men declared confidently.
It turned out that while trying to leave Qianzhou during the past two days, the refugees had discovered many supplies abandoned along the roadside.
White rice, flour, pork, salted eggs, water, and even large quantities of delicious pastries they had never seen before.
They collected everything into five huge sacks.
Assuming the goods had accidentally been lost by some wealthy household, they stayed nearby waiting.
If someone came searching, they planned to return the supplies.
If no one came, they would divide and eat them themselves.
After waiting two full days without anyone appearing, they finally decided the food belonged to them now.
The clan leader even eagerly brought Jiang Kun and the others to inspect their findings.
Clearly, these refugees already regarded the Jiang family as one of their own.
Otherwise, they would never reveal their hidden food supplies in such troubled times.
Watching from the shadows, Jiang Qingshu finally relaxed.
These refugees were honest and kind-hearted. With her family traveling alongside them, she no longer needed to worry too much for now.
And she herself had something even more important to do.
If she reunited with them now, leaving again later would become far more troublesome.
So after setting the unconscious Jiang Luoyou down safely, she retreated farther away and tossed a stone to create a disturbance.
“Someone’s there!”
Hearing the noise, Jiang Chengyu immediately rushed over and discovered Jiang Luoyou leaning unconscious against a rock.
“It’s Little Fifth! She’s alright!”
His shout alarmed everyone, and the Jiang family hurried over at once.
But apart from Jiang Luoyou, Jiang Qingshu was nowhere to be seen.
The family’s joy lasted only a brief instant before sinking again into despair.
“Little Sister…” Jiang Chengyu smashed his fist against a rock in agony.
Then he suddenly noticed a piece of paper pinned beneath a water pouch beside Jiang Luoyou’s hand.
He quickly pulled it out and read aloud:
“Feed her the medicine in the pouch. Shuer is safe. She will return within two days. Do not worry.”
Seeing the message, Jiang Kun and Sun Yuluo burst into tears.
“They’re both alive… thank heavens…”
At that moment, the entire family wept with joy.
Jiang Fengyu suddenly remembered something.
“When we were separated, Little Sister said her master was nearby. Could it be…”
“There’s no doubt,” Jiang Kun said firmly. “Shuer must have been rescued by her master. We’ll stay here and wait for her.”
“Yes… we’ll wait for her…”