Amidst the sound of explosions, Yan Qing quickly evacuated with Qi Huan.
After escaping to a deserted corner, Qi Huan took out the system countdown and retrieved an elderly disguise kit from her spatial storage. She skillfully disguised herself as an old woman.
Yan Qing played the role of her granddaughter.
The grandmother-granddaughter pair pretended to be beggars, huddling in the corner of an alley.
With the emperor and prince consort of Liang Country mysteriously dying in succession and the culprit still at large, the entire Liang Capital was under strict martial law, and the city was filled with anxiety.
Since Qi Huan couldn't access items from her spatial storage, and with restaurants and teahouses closed, the two went hungry for a meal before deciding to use some silver to quietly buy food.
However, each establishment was cleaner than the last, with nothing but water and tree bark in the kitchens.
Almost all the trees in the city had been stripped of their bark.
Yan Qing had no choice but to take the risk of stealing food from the homes of the wealthy and powerful.
She ended up encountering commoners who were also there to steal food.
They were discovered by guards as soon as they climbed over the wall, and Yan Qing was caught up in the chase.
After shaking off their pursuers, Yan Qing handed the hard-won pastries to Qi Huan.
"My lady, eat quickly."
"Let's eat together!"
"...Your servant already ate some while stealing the pastries. I'm quite full now."
Just as she finished speaking, her stomach growled twice.
Qi Huan forcefully pushed the pastries into her hands, insisting, "Eat together! How will you have the strength to protect me if you don't eat enough?"
Yan Qing realized she had a point and began to wolf down the food, one small pastry at a time.
Over the next two days, people died of starvation every day.
Gradually, some people began to think about escaping the city.
As the group grew larger, Qi Huan mixed in among them, warning, "Young people, don't be rash, cough cough..."
"They have swords, and you don't. Don't try to fight them head-on."
In war, civilians suffer the most.
Qi Huan's dark eyes darted around as she continued, hunching her back and deliberately speaking in a hoarse voice, "We need to use our wits."
"Let's pool our silver to buy some knockout drugs and find a way to put them in the officials' water supply. When the drugs take effect, we'll all open the city gates together and quickly escape in all directions!"
After she made the suggestion, the leader chosen by the civilians discussed and refined the plan.
To thank her, the leader said, "Old lady, you're elderly and slow on your feet. When the time comes, I'll carry you on my back!"
"....."
Qi Huan was silent for a moment before replying, "Thank you, but I have my granddaughter to support me. It's no trouble."
Meanwhile, at the Li Army camp.
Li Shuchen ordered Mo Wangshan and others to hold their positions for now, and commanded Mr. Gongsun, who had just arrived, to take charge of the camp.
To prepare for potential enemy attacks, he listed all possible battlefield scenarios and explained to them how to respond.
After finishing, he returned to his tent to change into light clothing.
However, Yan Wu suddenly knelt before him, blocking his path.
"Your Majesty, you mustn't. Let your servant go instead!"
"If the enemy discovers you, they will surely spare no effort to surround and kill you. It's too risky!"
Li Shuchen gave him a cold, disdainful glance and commanded with authority, "Step aside."
"I am the emperor, and more importantly, I am Ah Huan's husband."
"I have already arranged all matters in the army. Now I just want to bring her home."
He never did anything without confidence. Mere Southern Liang couldn't stop him.
Li Shuchen disappeared into the night with his sword. When he silently flew up to the city wall, he found the soldiers all collapsed in sleep.
?
As he was wondering if it was a trap, a commotion suddenly arose below the city wall.
Strong men ran to open the front gates, while women supported the elderly and children, following closely behind.
Among them, an old lady with silver-white hair walked with agile steps, as swift as a young person.
Li Shuchen spotted her instantly among the thousands of people and smiled faintly.
In the next moment, a sudden change occurred.
Upon receiving the news, a large number of cavalry poured in, trampling lives indiscriminately.
Fresh blood splattered on Qi Huan's face as Yan Qing protected her, retreating quickly.
She saw the young man who had said he would carry her out of the city suddenly decapitated.
The cavalry initially thought that killing a few people would serve as a warning to intimidate the rest.
However, they didn't expect that the civilians, pushed to the brink and having just glimpsed a glimmer of hope only to have it cruelly extinguished, would now be consumed by thoughts of mutual destruction.
Children wailed, the elderly cursed bitterly, and Qi Huan frantically fired her hidden weapons.
The city gates were already open; they could save as many as possible.
She would run after exhausting her hidden weapons.
The system, in tune with her thoughts, understood her unwillingness.
These were all ordinary civilians, willing to abandon the dark and turn to the light, about to become citizens of Li Country.
The people in front had already opened the city gates, and they were about to escape, only to be surrounded by the pursuing cavalry...
And then...
What crime had the children committed?
The enraged cavalry didn't spare even the little ones.
Qi Huan licked her dry lips, drew a pistol from her waist, aimed at the cavalryman raising his sword against a child, and shot him in the head.
The gunshot startled the other cavalrymen, who quickly surrounded her.
Seeing the situation turn dire, she prepared to slip away.
She had already done what she could within her abilities. She still wanted to live and return to see Ah Shu, so when the situation became critical, she always prioritized self-preservation.
Just as she was about to embrace Yan Qing and tell her to retreat quickly, she suddenly fell into another warm embrace.
At the same time, the system asked, "Host, do you believe in light?"
In an instant, a bright white light burst forth from her pendant.
When the light faded, a small dwarf resembling Lu Ban Seven suddenly appeared before her.
Qi Huan tentatively asked, "System?"
"Host, open your eyes wide and watch me show off!"
Then, the system used electric currents to knock down one enemy soldier after another.
The civilians were dumbfounded, even forgetting to escape the city.
Was this a monster?
Or a deity?
But monsters wouldn't help them; they would just gobble them up with a roar.
So, it must be a god descending from heaven!
The civilians spontaneously knelt in worship.
Qi Huan said exasperatedly, "Why aren't you running?"
Following her voice, the civilians looked over and were even more shocked!
A young man wearing a mask was actually holding a feisty old lady...
It looked incongruous from any angle.
Mainly because the young man's gaze was too doting, as if looking at a lover?
While they were embracing, the system displayed its divine power, single-handedly defeating half of the Liang Capital's soldiers. The other half were so frightened they surrendered immediately!
No wonder it was said that the ruler of Li Country was the Star of Literary Talent. The previous year during the battle, the heavens had rained meteors upon them (referring to Liu Xiu and Wang Mang).
Now they had even sent a god to descend, bullying them.
It was truly terrifying!
They had heard that the emperor and prince consort had also died suddenly – it must have been heaven's punishment!
The civilians who were fortunate enough to witness the system's battle suddenly had another story to boast about for the rest of their lives.
As their exaggerated accounts spread, the belief that Li Shuchen was destined to rule by heaven's mandate took root in people's hearts.
The restless provinces immediately settled down, especially after Ying Province had just rebelled and then suffered a drought. Within the four seas, everyone was convinced.
After establishing protectorates in various parts of Southern Liang, Li Shuchen exempted the civilians from one-tenth of their taxes for the year, allowing them to recover and prosper.
The western frontier also reported continuous victories, and the three countries were basically unified.
As everything needed to be rebuilt, Li Shuchen ordered the distribution of various grain seeds that Qi Huan had sold him to a portion of hardworking and honest civilians.
After the grain harvest, they would select the best seeds and gradually expand the planting area.
At the same time, he encouraged the reclamation of wasteland and rewarded farming.
Under the current social conditions, agriculture remained the foundation of Li Country.
In terms of commerce, he gradually raised the status of merchants, developed water transportation, promoted trade between regions, and the economy flourished... the national treasury also became increasingly full.
Through the imperial examination system, he selected talented individuals, most of whom were first sent to local areas to gain experience, and then gradually promoted based on their performance.
........
While he was busy with state affairs, Qi Huan was not idle either.
She gradually established various academies.
When the medical academy was built, she invited Shen Jueming to be the dean.
Shen Jueming gladly accepted.
With his efforts alone, the number of people he could treat was limited.
If he passed on his medical skills, he could train more excellent doctors, turning the limited into the unlimited!
May all patients in the world have access to medical care, encounter good doctors, and recover to full health.
In addition to the medical school, Qi Huan gradually established various other colleges including agriculture, business, architecture, and more.
She bought traditional Chinese character books from Taobao to use as textbooks, encouraging comprehensive development across all industries.
She progressively developed some simple light and heavy industries, constantly encouraging innovation to improve the technological level of Li Country.
As her points gradually increased to over a million, she generously shared one-tenth with the System.
The System was delighted, joyful, pleased, elated, and blissful!
However, it has been a bit worried about its host lately.
