After the failed attempt to pretend to be dead, the sickly child was favored by the treacherous mini

"How could you not know?" The bandit closest to Xun Lan asked angrily, "Didn't you instigate this?"

"Boss, today's incident has reached such a level that even if you get the silver, you can't save your lives."

"If you are truly helpless, Xun will do his best to ask the Emperor for a way out for you."

He passed the imperial examinations and became the most prominent eunuch in the Eastern Palace, and his only thought was to help Xia Ling become a wise ruler.

But now, after being trapped in the cave for several days and seeing a different picture of people's lives, Xun Lan began to question whether the path he had chosen was the path he wanted to take.

The boss looked at Xun Lan with an inquiring look. The bandit standing beside him whispered to comfort him: "Boss, we are not afraid of death, so why not tell him?"

The big boss looked around, lowered his head in the approval of all his brothers, and retreated fiercely, only to be replaced by embarrassment.

"We have lived a peaceful life for several years."

"When the new dynasty was established, we were given land and exempted from taxes. Naturally, we were very motivated and our family was getting better and better."

"After a few years, although some taxes were collected, every household still had surplus food and could barely get by."

"The current tax rate of 1 in 30 is not considered high, but since the land has been allowed to be bought and sold as collateral, our lives have become worse day by day."

Even though he was sitting on the ground with his hands and feet tied, Xun Lan was not embarrassed at all: "Since you think the taxes are not high, why don't you cultivate the land, but instead do these things like robbing houses and even threatening the court officials?"

The eldest boss sighed and continued, "We didn't intend to threaten the court. We just wanted to exchange some silver from your father."

"Although it is not a disaster year, every family has its share of disasters and diseases." This was said by a woman, holding a three-year-old child in her arms.

"My child got sick, and we had no money left, so we had to exchange our land for the money to save his life. We have to work as tenants for him to make a living."

"San'er's family was relatively well-off. The money they used to deduct the land was quite appropriate. But when my mother was about to die, my land was only sold for half of the original amount."

Life is getting harder and harder, more and more people are applying for deductions for their farmland, but the price of the deduction is getting lower and lower.

Even if you don't accept this price, there are many people who do.

If you don't get a discount today, the price will only get lower and lower tomorrow.

"We all had no education and were illiterate. We worked hard as tenants for a year and the few grains of rice we had left were not enough to pay the taxes."

The hardships of the people's lives have never been something that Xun Lan, who sits high in the government, can check: "Since your land has been deducted, why do you still have to pay taxes?"

"The contract we signed originally said that we were responsible for the taxes." The eldest boss took a sip of Shaodaozi and said, "We also asked the government for an explanation, but in the end we were beaten with a stick."

After saying this, Xun Lan and Han Shu's postures suddenly became heavy.

The weather has been good in recent years, and they have only heard that granaries all over the country have long been unable to store new grain, but they have never imagined that these farmers cannot even have a full meal.

The child in the woman's arms woke up, rubbed his eyes and asked Han Shu: "Who are you? I have never seen you before."

All the bandits in the cave became alert instantly. The woman took several steps back holding the child. The bandits in the cave picked up their weapons and surrounded Han Shu.

When a fight broke out, Han Shu did not want to hurt anyone, so the sword in his hand was not unsheathed, and he did not use much strength in his punches and kicks, which made the bandits think that Han Shu was easy to bully.

Unable to dodge in time, the black scarf covering her face was pulled off by the bandit, revealing Han Shu's true appearance.

"This... this is the princess."

When the boss heard this, he immediately felt that he had been deceived by Xun Lan. What this person just said was to attract their attention so that this woman would kill them in exchange for credit.

He walked angrily to Xun Lan and grabbed his throat with one hand: "Put down the sword, or I will kill him."

Xun Lan smiled slightly, a little bitterly.

His neck has been in a lot of trouble these past two days.

As a result, a fishy and sweet taste surged into his throat, and the blood that he couldn't swallow in time flowed down the corners of his mouth.

Xun Lan felt that he looked extremely embarrassed now and must have offended Han Shu.

Putting down the sword in his hand, Han Shu chose to surrender.

The two were tied up and thrown into a corner. Xun Lan leaned against the rock wall and took a few deep breaths. He bowed his head and apologized: "I'm sorry, Xun has dragged the princess down."

There was no blame. Han Shu had been ordered by the emperor to save Xun Lan. "Lord Xun is really a weak man. Anyone can kidnap you."

"The princess is right." He nodded sincerely. Compared with Han Shu, Xun Lan was indeed a bit useless: "When I get out of the cave, I will definitely strengthen my body."

The cave was silent, the night was deep and the sky was cold, and Xun Lan was injured again. Han Shu did not dare to let Xun Lan fall asleep, so she took the initiative to talk to him: "What do you think of what you just heard, Lord Xun?"

“When any decree is passed down from the top, there will be countless changes. The people’s livelihood in a county, a town, and a village often does not depend on the orders of the court, but on the executors of the decree.”

Han Shu asked quietly, not wanting to show her position: "Master Xun, do they still have a chance to survive?"

He glanced sideways slowly, with a smile in his eyes: "Xun Mou, in this life, must take it as his responsibility to benefit the people's livelihood."

The moonlight crawled out of the haze, poured into the cave through the entrance, and fell on the two people.

A smile appeared on Han Shu's lips. It was the first time Xun Lan saw a smile on Han Shu's face. "If this is really possible, it would be worth it for my princess to be captured today."

"Princess, I take back what I said to you."

They only spoke a few times in total, and Han Shu really forgot what Xun Lan said to her.

While Han Shu was puzzled, Xun Lan slowly lowered her head and said softly: "Women can also worry about the country and the people, and there is an infinite world for them."

.

Han Shu had not returned for a whole night since entering the forest, and the guards of the Tiger Wing Army were as anxious as ants on a hot pan.

After finally waiting until daybreak, he went straight into Shen Jinmo's tent. Shen Jinmo, who was usually a light sleeper, pulled out the whip from his waist and attacked the newcomer.

His sharp eyes opened with anger for a moment, and when he saw the identity of the person in front of him clearly, the whip changed direction in an instant. The huge tent could not withstand the power of the whip and was directly broken into strips of cloth.

The personal guard was so frightened by this whip that he fell to his knees. His hands on the hilt of the sword trembled uncontrollably, and his body crawled on the ground, showing his absolute fear of Shen Jinmo.

If this whip had hit him, his head and body would have been separated long ago.

He retracted the whip and walked out of the tent, not even glancing at the soldier kneeling on the ground.

Shen Jinmo naturally knew that this person came in because Han Shu had not returned all night, and the reason for not returning all night must be because the operation failed.

What bound Han Shu and Xun Lan was not the rope, but the compassion for the weak, the pursuit of justice, and the pursuit of ideals.

Han Shu will definitely fail if he goes up the mountain this time.