The words weren't finished when the child, like a starving wild beast, pounced, snatching all the dry rations she had prepared for other refugees.
The nearby refugees swarmed forward, and before Lu Qingwan and her attendants could react, they were surrounded.
They cried out, "Please, give us some food?"
Though they called it pleading, their demeanor was no different from that of bandits robbing travelers.
"Li Su, go!"
Lu Qingwan pushed through the crowd, grabbed Chi Yaoyao, who was stunned by the refugees, and ran.
Fortunately, she was strong enough to push the refugees aside.
After managing to shake them off, she directly threw Chi Yaoyao onto a horse. Lu Qingwan said to Li Su, "Lead the way directly to the main camp. Do not stop on the way."
Li Su did not dare to delay. He spurred his horse and galloped, and in about fifteen minutes, they saw the military camp.
The "Xuan" banner fluttered in the air. Lu Qingwan stopped only when she reached the entrance of the main camp.
The Xuanjia Army at the gate, seeing strangers approaching, vigilantly raised their spears.
Li Su displayed his token, "It's me."
The guards then let them pass, but still reminded them, "No riding horses within the camp. Please dismount, Officer Li Su, and you, ladies."
Li Su wanted to announce Lu Qingwan's identity but was stopped by her, "Follow the rules."
So, everyone dismounted. Chi Yaoyao had been riding for days and no longer needed assistance.
However, after dismounting, she ran to Lu Qingwan's side like a fledgling chick, asking in confusion, "Why?"
Lu Qingwan was surprised. "Why what?"
"Those refugees, I wanted to help them. Why did they do that to me?"
Chi Yaoyao looked at Lu Qingwan with embarrassment. She dared not tell Lu Qingwan that they had not only snatched her bag but also touched her hand.
Such acts of ingratitude were incomprehensible to the young girl.
Lu Qingwan replied with a calm expression, "They have been hungry for who knows how long. The most important thing is to eat and survive.
Gratitude and honor are things to consider only after surviving.
You should be fortunate that we were with you. Otherwise, whether your bag, your clothes, or your chastity could be preserved is debatable."
Chi Yaoyao was certain she detected sarcasm in Lu Qingwan's tone. She asked, confused, "Do you think I shouldn't have helped them?
Is being kind also wrong?"
She wanted to argue with Lu Qingwan indignantly.
Before she could finish speaking, she heard a familiar voice say, "Kindness used in the wrong place can also become a murder weapon.
If you don't have the state of mind to cut flesh to feed eagles, don't think about saving all sentient beings, and don't drag others to pay for your futile kindness."
The speaker was Lian Yu. After speaking, he didn't even glance at Chi Yaoyao. He turned to Lu Qingwan and said, "The Prince knew the Princess was coming and specially ordered me to escort the Princess to see Marquis Lu."
"Great, quickly, lead the way."
As they spoke, they strode away.
Chi Yaoyao, before even the hint of a joyful smile at seeing Lian Yu could appear on her face, was left behind.
Seeing this, Li Su took the initiative, "Miss Chi, I'll take you to rest for a while.
Marquis Lu's condition cannot be delayed. After the Princess sees him, I will request the Prince on how to settle you."
Chi Yaoyao stood there blankly. Following Lu Qingwan north, she had vaguely thought she was also a capable, powerful woman like Lu Qingwan.
But Lian Yu's appearance made her realize with absolute clarity that she and Lu Qingwan were never the same.
She nodded dazedly, "This is Ah Wan's bag. Please help me give it to her. What if she needs it and can't find it?"
Lu Qingwan was accustomed to self-sufficiency. Her guards were all highly capable. On their journey, Chi Yaoyao often felt like a burden.
To prevent her from overthinking, Lu Qingwan let Chi Yaoyao carry her bag. It was when the refugees were snatching things that Chi Yaoyao, in her attempt to protect Lu Qingwan's bag, had been molested by some men.
Li Su, unaware of what Chi Yaoyao had gone through, took the bag, called someone to give instructions, and then said to Chi Yaoyao, "Ru Yue and the others are all top-notch experts. Miss Chi, please bear with us and temporarily share a tent with them. It will be safer for you."
Chi Yaoyao looked at Ru Yue and the others. They were also girls, yet they didn't seem out of place standing in the military camp.
Only she, like a lamb lost among wolves, nodded uncomfortably, "Okay, I'm fine with anything."
Her confidence as the sole young lady of the Chi family had been worn down to almost nothing by the events of the journey.
Meanwhile, on the other side, as Lu Qingwan followed Lian Yu to find Lu Zhenting, she casually asked, "Cheng Jiuxiao presented the Prince with such a difficult challenge, and it's clearly overdue by now.
He didn't really massacre the city, did he?"
Lian Yu's expression was not good. "That despicable scoundrel was originally going to massacre the city. The Prince mobilized fifty thousand Xuanjia troops from the northern frontier to directly breach Yunqiang's defenses, bypassing to the upper reaches of the Yongning River near the Yongning Dam. That old fellow got scared."
Lian Yu's words brought a temporary release to the tension in Lu Qingwan's heart, but she continued, "From what you say, the two sides should be in a standoff. How is it that there are so many refugees on our way here?
Given the speed of the Beiwu cavalry's siege, the civilians in the seven prefectures of Saibei wouldn't have had time to escape the city. The refugees who had already fled due to the war have been resettled by the court.
Where did so many refugees with families come from?"
It was better that Lu Qingwan didn't mention it. As soon as she did, Lian Yu's face turned as sour as if he had swallowed a fly.
"It's all because of Su Bojun. As soon as he heard his official position was in jeopardy, he decided to go all out. He ordered his clan to extort taxes everywhere. If the common people couldn't pay his fabricated taxes, he would forcibly seize their land.
Some villagers' homes were not even affected by the war. They weren't even considered refugees, and the court didn't arrange for them. Since they had no land of their own, they became refugees!"
Lu Qingwan was greatly shocked. "When Su Bojun was exiled, I didn't hear about how much property was confiscated.
Where did the taxes paid by these people go?"
Lian Yu didn't speak, but pointed to the sky.
Lu Qingwan choked back a mouthful of blood. "Him again.
Tell me honestly, is he involved in my father's poisoning and the replacement of military supplies?"
Lian Yu awkwardly pulled at the corners of his mouth. "Even if I said that none of these things were unrelated to that person, Princess, you probably wouldn't believe it, would you?"
Lu Qingwan let out a cold laugh. "Others seek dealings with a tiger and find at most one tiger. He's good; he's gathered jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards. What is he doing, trying to wear down me and the Prince so he can divide the spoils?"
"Shh!"
Lian Yu suddenly made a silencing gesture and said softly, "Marquis Lu's poison is strange. Do not be startled. Princess, please speak softly."