As soon as Furong finished speaking, Xu Qiong's expression suddenly changed. He stared at Furong for a long time and said slowly: "I didn't expect you to have expected this. I really admire you. If they know about it, you will probably be the first person to get rid of."
Yanmei added: "Xu Qiong, as long as you tell everything you know, I can guarantee the safety of sister Rudan. You also know that she and I are like sisters."
Xu Qiong shook her head and said, "Princess Princess, you can't protect her."
Liu Shui shouted: "Tie Xu, you are full of evil, and you will inevitably die today. Miss Rudan is kind-hearted, tell me everything, and I promise to protect her."
Xu Qiong said: "You are Liu Shui, right? Ru Dan always thinks about you. He said that you have an easy-going personality and are generous to others. I feel relieved that you will take care of her in the future. But I don't know what grudges we have, this Hongying girl Who is it that insists on taking my life?"
Hongying said: "It seems that you have harmed too many people. My surname is Zhou, my grandfather's name is Zhou Jingzhen, and my father's name is Zhou Quan. You should know it by now, right?"
Xu Qiong said in surprise: "Are you Zhou Jingzhen's granddaughter and Zhou Quan's daughter?"
Hongying snorted and didn't answer him.
Xu Qiong looked at Hongying and Liu Shui and knew that she would not be able to escape today. He suddenly pounced and hit Meihua's sword. Mei Hua had no time to sheath her sword, and the sword had already passed through Xu Qiong's chest, and Xu Qiong was killed instantly. This turned into an elbow and armpit, and in an instant, Xu Qiong had committed suicide.
Hongying and Liu Shui looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief. Otherwise, no matter who among them takes action, it will be difficult for him to see Rudan in the future.
Yanmei sighed and said: "I didn't expect that he had already made up his mind to commit suicide. It's a pity that he couldn't tell the person behind it."
Hongying said: "Princess, you think too highly of him. With his status, it is impossible to know the mastermind behind the scenes."
Yanmei asked strangely: "Miss Hongying, why do you think so?"
Hongying said slowly: "Think about it, during the fight just now, no one on the other side paid any attention to him, which shows that he has lost the value of using him. The other side doesn't care whether he is alive or dead, and the other side has obviously deliberately abandoned him."
Furong then said to Liu Shui: "Master, I said something big will happen after the Lushan Conference. I am right."
Liu Shui said: "The female half-immortal has the ability to predict the future. Brother Yu admires her very much."
Yanmei couldn't help but stare at Furong, looked at her for a long time and said, "The last time I met a girl, she was also very sharp-tongued, and she was on par with you."
Fu Rong said: "The princess has given you the award. There is something I don't understand. Since the princess has planned to follow and protect her secretly, why doesn't she bring more helpers?"
Linglong interjected: "I originally thought that the troops would be divided into two groups, and Zhang Dahu's side would be able to attract opponents. I was more at ease here. Originally, I was just asked to lead people to protect me secretly. But the night before departure, we received a dart with a message, saying There were eight or nine masters who wanted to rob Xu Qiong's food and silver. When the princess saw it, she took action personally as a precaution. She didn't expect that the other party was so powerful." Linglong wanted Yanmei to say less, so she rushed to answer.
Fu Rong pondered, who is this person? He actually knew that someone was going to rob Dao. Since he was secretly tipping off the information, why didn't he name him?
Yanmei asked Furong: "From a girl's perspective, where do these people come from? What is their purpose? Their strength is shocking."
Fu Rong shook her head and said, "I don't know about that. Master, should we go back?" Liangchen couldn't stand the coldness and arrogance of the princess, so naturally he would not tell everything about his thoughts.
Yanmei turned to Hongying and said, "I didn't expect that the girl is Zhou Jingzhen's granddaughter, and your ancestor is a loyal person. Yanmei is disrespectful."
Hongying said: "Princess, you're welcome, I'm just a person in distress."
Yanmei said: "You must use colorful swordsmanship, it is indeed exquisite."
As soon as these words came out, Liu Shui and Hongying were shocked. Not many people could recognize this sword technique, but she could actually recognize it.
Hongying said: "The princess is knowledgeable and can see it at a glance. But in front of the princess, she is just doing a job, how dare she pretend to be exquisite."
Yanmei said: "You came here to assassinate Xu Qiong, but unexpectedly you saved us. Xu Qiong did a lot of evil and deserved to die, but he helped me. If he hadn't attracted you, I would have been a corpse." It’s a barren mountain.”
Hongying said: "What the princess said is that we have been following."
Yanmei smiled and said to Liu Shui: "The swordsmanship you just performed was extremely powerful. You must be a famous swordsman recently, right? I have also heard of your name."
Liu Shui said: "It's a small skill, nothing worth mentioning." Liu Shui didn't like her, so he didn't want to talk to her anymore.
Liu Shui glanced at Xu Qiong's body and said to Furong and Mudan, "Come dig a hole for me and bury him." Several people quickly buried Xu Qiong.
Liu Shui secretly thought that this was worthy of Rudan, and then said: "Furong and Peony, you support the princess, please support Linglong, chrysanthemum and plum blossom support Cleverness, let's go to the official road and find a way to hire a carriage. Return to Tanzhou."
So Liu Shui and Hongying led the way, and everyone walked in turn. When I came to the official road, I waited for a long time before hiring a carriage.
A few days later, everyone sent Yanmei and the others to the gate of the government office, and Gao Qian and others came out to greet them.
Gao Qian was shocked when he saw that all three princesses were injured. He hurriedly asked for help and informed the governor Wu Qiong.
Just as Liu Shui was about to say goodbye and go back, Yanmei said, "Please stay here, Master. I will repay you for your great kindness." While he was talking, Wu Qiong, the governor of Tanzhou and the Marquis, heard that the princess was injured and hurriedly came to the door.
Seeing Wu Qiong coming in person, Yanmei hurriedly said: "Father, my daughter is incompetent and failed to protect the food and silver. Please punish my father."
Seeing that his daughter was seriously injured, Wu Qiong was shocked and asked: "How is Dan'er's injury?" This time he went south to take up a post, and his wife did not accompany him because she had to take care of her family in the capital. She originally thought that her charming martial arts would be enough to deal with the martial arts masters from Jiangnan, but she didn't expect that her daughter would be seriously injured.
Yanmei pointed at Liu Shui and said: "Fortunately, this young master led people to rescue and use Qigong to treat him. He is alive and well. He just needs to rest for a while. Please treat them well, father."
Yanmei said to Liu Shui again: "This is my father." Liu Shui led everyone to salute Wu Qiong. Wu Qiong quickly welcomed everyone into the government office and sent the three princesses back to the back hall to rest and receive medical treatment.
In the main hall, Wu Qiong invited Liu Shui and others to sit down and watch tea.
Wu Qiong said: "Thank you sir and all the ladies for coming to the rescue. I wonder what you call me?"
Liu Shui said: "Liu Shui, a commoner, this is Miss Zhou Hongying." He also introduced the Liangchen people one by one. Wu Qiong thanked them one by one.
After Wu Qiong said a word of thanks, he ordered people to bring out gold and silver treasures to thank him, but Liu Shui quickly refused.
When Wu Qiong saw that Liu Shui was determined not to accept the offer, he stopped forcing him and said, "Since you are so polite, you can come anytime if you need anything in the future."
Wu Qiong took out another token and handed it to Liu Shui and said, "With this token, you can enter and leave the government office at will." Liu Shui thanked him and saw that Nao Nao had been there for a long time, so he stood up and left. Wu Qiong personally delivered it to the house. After leaving the government office, Liu Shui and Hongying parted ways. Hongying and others returned to Yang's house, while Liu Shui and the others returned to Li's house.
When Liu Shui and the others returned to Li's house, they saw that Li Xin and Li Feng had also returned. It turned out that their journey went very smoothly to Yuezhou, and then they rushed back to Tanzhou.
Liu Shui met everyone and explained what happened in detail. Everyone was shocked when they heard that the princess was injured. Li Yan saw that everyone was very tired, so he asked everyone to rest first.
Liu Shui originally wanted to visit Ru Dan, but felt ashamed of her, so he hesitated. After a few days, he felt that it was not a long-term solution to avoid him, so he had no choice but to go there.
But when Liu Shui arrived at Huichun Hall, he didn't see Ru Dan. Licorice said that Rudan was invited to see a doctor by the princess. Liu Shui asked about Xu Qiong, and Licao said that the princess could not rescue her in time, and the master had died in the battle, and asked Ru Dan to treat her family as his own from now on.
Liu Shui secretly thought that although the princess was ruthless on the surface, she had a kind heart. She did not bring Xu Qiong's crime to Rudan, but instead intended to protect her, and finally felt relieved.
Liu Shui was about to say goodbye and leave, but heard endless noise outside. He hurriedly walked out of the door and saw hundreds of officers and soldiers surrounding a place in the distance. He walked over and saw clearly that it was Zhang Dahu who led people to surround a group of people.
Zhang Dahu was shouting to the people: "Listen, the grain tax must be paid today, otherwise everyone will be thrown into jail." The people cried out that they were wronged.
An elder came forward and said: "Master, we have already handed it in as required, why do we have to pay it again?"
Zhang Dahu said: "The imperial court has an urgent need and must comply with it. It doesn't matter what happened last time."
The old man said: "We really can't afford to pay." Zhang Dahu shouted: "If you dare to resist, you will be punished."
Everyone shouted: "Does the government not want us to live?" The people were furious and picked up sticks and poles one after another. The officers and soldiers also drew their swords from their scabbards and drew their bows and arrows. The situation was imminent.
Seeing that the people were trying to cause trouble, Zhang Dahu waved his sword and shouted: "Archers, prepare!"
Seeing that the situation was critical, Liu Shui didn't have time to think about it and shouted: "Stop."
After Liu Shui shouted, he raised his inner strength and jumped up. He turned over in the air and landed between the people and the officers and soldiers. He said to Zhang Dahu: "Please give the order immediately and the officers and soldiers retreat. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Zhang Dahu saw that it was Liu Shui and waved the officers and soldiers to retreat. He heard about Liu Shui's rescue of the princess, knew that he had extraordinary martial arts skills and was highly valued by the Marquis, so naturally he did not dare to offend him easily.
Liu Shui said coldly: "Master Zhang, what are you going to do? Are you planning to massacre these innocent people?"
Zhang Dahu said with a smile: "Liu Shaoxia misunderstood, I am acting under orders. The governor has ordered that every household in Tanzhou must pay taxes. They actually resisted, and I can only do this."
Liu Shui was surprised and asked, "What did you say was the governor's order?"
Zhang Dahu said: "Of course, the government has posted a notice, Zhang will not dare to falsely pass the order."
The old man said to Liu Shui: "There is a notice from the government, but we really can't afford it, so we have to gather people to redress our grievances."
Liu Shui wondered, how could Wu Qiong give such an order? Wasn't he asking the officials to force the people to rebel? It seems that I have to go to him and ask for clarification.
Liu Shui said to Zhang Dahu: "In this case, I won't embarrass you. You evacuate the troops first, and I will take them to see the governor. Wait for his instructions, what do you think?"
Zhang Dahu thought for a while and said, "For the sake of rescuing the princess, I will give you face today." Then he led the people away.
Liu Shui turned around and said to the people: "Everyone, please go home first. I will go to the government office to intercede for you. Everyone waits at home for news." But everyone refused and wanted to go together. Liu Shui had no choice but to agree.
The people followed Liu Shui to the government office. The guards outside the government office suddenly became extremely nervous. They were on full alert as if they were facing a formidable enemy.
Liu Shui said to everyone: "Please sit still, don't make any noise, let alone move rashly. To avoid misunderstanding." He also asked several old men to appease everyone and wait for the good news.
Liu Shui then came to the door of the government office and showed Wu Qiong's token, and the guard let him go immediately. Liu Shui came to the hall and met Wu Qiong.
When Wu Qiong saw it was Liu Shui, he said, "You came just in time. I was thinking of someone to find you, but you came by yourself."
Liu Shui said: "Sir, the common people are here to intercede on behalf of the people outside the door."
Wu Qiong said: "Young Master is unaware of something. I was forced to do this because of helplessness."
Recently, the imperial court is preparing to use troops abroad and is in urgent need of money and food. Therefore, the urging was urgent, and Wu Qiong had to re-collect taxes to meet the urgent need.
Liu Shui said: "Aren't you afraid of getting hurt if you act like this? The people are so angry now. Wouldn't it be worse if it leads to a civil uprising?"
Wu Qiong asked: "What do you have in mind?"
Liu Shui said: "Please revoke your order to re-impose taxes and calm the people's hearts. Liu Shui is willing to look for grain and silver. Please tolerate me for a while."
Wu Qiong hesitated, then Yanmei walked in with Ru Dan's support. After several days of careful treatment and care by Ru Dan, Yanmei has improved. Although her internal injuries have not healed, she can barely walk.
Yanmei immediately said: "Young Master Liu is right. Please listen to your advice. In the event of a civil uprising, my father will be guilty of more sins. Please think again."
Rudan also said: "My lord, you can't catch all the benefits, otherwise there will be endless troubles. My lord, tell the story truthfully. I believe the emperor can understand the sentiments of the people."
Wu Qiong thought for a moment and said to Liu Shui: "I can promise you to postpone the tax increase. But you also have to promise me something."
Liu Shui guessed that he was talking about looking for food and silver, so he said, "You have your orders, and you should obey them."
Wu Qiong said: "Some people in Lingnan gathered to make trouble. The local officers and soldiers were unsuccessful in suppressing it, so the imperial court ordered me to go out. After I left, the government office was empty, so I wanted to ask you to come and take charge. When the experts from the capital arrive, I will go look for food and silver for me. .What do you think, Young Master?"
Yanmei said: "Dad, why bother Mr. Liu with this matter?"
Liu Shui felt a little surprised, thought for a while and said: "Thanks to your lord's respect, the common people must obey your orders." Then he said to Yanmei: "Princess, there is no need to be polite, the common people volunteer to serve."
Wu Qiong said: "You can go outside to appease the people first. I will order a suspension of tax collection."
Liu Shui was overjoyed and said, "Thank you so much, sir. The people of Tanzhou will be even more grateful for your kindness."
Wu Qiong said: "You're welcome, please come over early tomorrow."
Liu Shui said goodbye to Wu Qiong and Yanmei, greeted Ru Dan, then came outside and conveyed Wu Qiong's order to the people.
After hearing this, the people burst into cheers. They thanked Liu Shui in unison and kowtowed to the government office. After a long time of commotion, the crowd dispersed.
