The next morning at dawn, Li Qingmu went out together with Long Yue.

They took a carriage, the coachman drove, and Ning Xiang and Liu Xiang attended at the side.

They were heading south to look for Qi Jingyu.

"Do you think he’ll go to Jiangling?"

"That’s where he was born. I know that brat; he’ll definitely end up running there in the end. Besides, the most dangerous place is the safest one. Now everyone in Shengjing City is looking for him, but who would imagine he’d go there?"

Long Yue froze for a moment, then giggled. "True, indeed. Those in the game are confused, onlookers see clearly. You’re just too calm and collected, always standing at the highest vantage point looking at things."

Li Qingmu gave a faint smile. Is that so?

Yet he felt he was also someone who acted on emotion.

The reason he could stay this calm was probably because this still didn’t involve the people he cared about most, right? If it were Yue’er and the two children, he figured he could go crazy too.

All the way out of Shengjing City, someone stopped them.

The one who came was Xuan Xu.

"Subordinate acts under the Supreme Emperor’s orders to protect Your Highness and the Princess Consort!"

Li Qingmu smiled stiffly. His imperial father really couldn’t rest easy about him, sending a guard to watch over him—was he afraid he’d slack off?

Seeing the man’s depressed expression, Long Yue laughed so hard her shoulders shook. "Father Emperor is worried you’ll run off to loaf around, so he’s tied you up."

Xuan Xu listened to their conversation, looking extremely embarrassed. "The Supreme Emperor truly is worried about you two, so he sent this subordinate to protect you!"

"Alright, I know. My thanks to Father Emperor!"

Li Qingmu said with a smile, and the group set off on their way.

They left Shengjing and kept heading south, south.

Xuan Xu was quite surprised. "Your Highness already knows where the Crown Prince is?"

"Can’t be sure, but it should be in that direction. That brat’s been used to living in Jiangnan since he was little; it’s unlikely he’d go north."

Xuan Xu nodded, praising him. "As expected of Your Highness, truly different from the others!"

At this flattery, Li Qingmu only felt like giving a bitter smile.

In the blink of an eye, they were already far from the Imperial City. This was a small Zhou Government near Jiangnan, called Liuzhou City.

"Your Highness, Princess Consort, shall we rest here for today?"

"Mm!"

"Princess Consort, this servant heard people say Liuzhou City is quite a nice place. The four seasons are distinct, and now that it’s early spring, it’s just right for walking around and seeing the sights."

Ning Xiang’s big eyes rolled, and she said with a smile.

Beside her, Liu Xiang gave a light cough, signaling her that this wasn’t the right time to say such things.

Sure enough, Xuan Xu’s face darkened.

So they really were out here to have fun...

This Regent King was truly far too carefree.

Ning Xiang realized she’d misspoken, hurriedly covered her small mouth, and gave an awkward smile.

"Let’s find an inn to stay in first, and then start searching for the Crown Prince from here."

Li Qingmu glanced at the little woman beside him and saw her looking all around; she was probably interested in this Liuzhou City? In that case, why not linger here a few days and have some fun before moving on?

Anyway, Qi Jingyu’s matter wasn’t urgent. He’d gone to seek true love; if he’d already found it and they showed up now, wouldn’t that ruin the mood?

It had to be said, this uncle’s emotional intelligence was really high—and he’d muddle-headedly guessed right!

Just like that, the couple temporarily settled down here.

"Heavens above, how are mother and child supposed to go on living like this? There’s just no justice in the world! I...I might as well go bash my head to death, wuu wuu wuu..."

"You wretched woman, want to die? Then hurry up and die, will you? Stop wasting food here!"

"Waa waa waa..."

Long Yue and Li Qingmu had just gotten settled and were about to take a stroll outside. As soon as they stepped out of the inn, they suddenly heard faint wails coming from nearby.

Then came a man’s shouting and a child’s crying.

Long Yue and Li Qingmu exchanged a glance.

This counted as meddling in other people’s business, but since they were idle anyway, they went over to take a look. Besides, quite a few people were heading in that direction.

Up ahead was a small alley. Quite a few people were already gathered there watching the commotion. When Li Qingmu and Long Yue walked over, they saw a young woman and a five- or six-year-old child kneeling in front of a household, wailing loudly.

The one berating her was a man in his thirties dressed like a house steward. He wiped his mouth, pointed at the woman with a face full of disgust, and said, "Noise, noise, noise—do you think making a fuss will help? Debts must be repaid; that’s only right and proper. You brought this on yourself!"

He paused, then planted his hands on his hips. "Hey, if you’re not convinced, you can always go report us to the government, huh? Why block our doorway every day? If you keep bringing bad luck to our household like this, believe it or not, we’ll send you to the government, hmm?"

As he spoke, the man’s face twisted into a vicious grin. Hearing this, the woman broke into sobs again, but her voice clearly grew much smaller out of fear.

"Ah, the Guo Family really is pitiful."

Beside them, someone watching couldn’t help but shake his head, sympathizing with the woman.

"Isn’t it so? Two years ago her father-in-law went up the mountain and fell to his death, then her mother-in-law caught a serious illness and needed money for treatment. The Guo Family wasn’t well-off to begin with; they used up all their savings just to give the old man a proper funeral. For the medical fees, they could only borrow everywhere. But in times like these, whose family has spare money to lend them? With no other way, this Guo Erniang could only turn to high-interest loans, and she ended up borrowing from the Wu Family..."

"Alas, how can you just casually borrow from high-interest lenders? Once you borrow, you’re bound to lose everything. People who go to them are all penniless to start with—how are they supposed to pay it back?"

"Exactly! Isn’t having their fields annexed just the natural outcome?"

The onlookers discussed in low voices. They were all residents of the neighborhood. Their gazes toward Guo Erniang held sympathy, helplessness, and also that detached look of people just here for a show. All in all, every kind of human attitude was on display.

Li Qingmu and Long Yue halted their steps.

The two looked at each other; Long Yue’s expression was puzzled, while Li Qingmu’s eyes grew deep.

High-interest loans, land annexation...

Years ago, when he’d still been at the Imperial Censorate, he’d already heard about such things.

It was said that many commoners, having no money, went to borrow from high-interest lenders, and in the end their houses were confiscated, their land annexed, leaving them utterly ruined and destitute.

At the time, he’d wanted to submit a memorial to court to do something about it. But too much had happened afterward; he could barely handle his own affairs, and he’d also been sent to Daliang to be tempered for more than a year. In the end, he simply forgot about it.

This...couldn’t really be blamed on him.

Now that he’d run into it again, he felt it was something that needed to be properly dealt with.

"Your Highness, commoners displaced and starving—this has been the root cause of dynasties’ downfall throughout the ages! In Shengjing City, under the Emperor’s very nose, those local gentry and rich families don’t dare be too blatant. But in other State regions, many commoners actually live in dire misery."

Xuan Xu was the commander of the Silver Armor Guards, a rather special position. There were things others didn’t dare say that he could.

Li Qingmu nodded. "I know this. I wanted to handle it before, it’s just..."

He gave a slight shake of his head. Those years were really hard to sum up in a few words. These last two years he’d been living in Shengjing City, occasionally keeping his father company and teaching his son. Life had been too leisurely, so naturally he hadn’t thought much about it.

Xuan Xu understood that Li Qingmu was someone with certain aspirations. He lowered his head and took a step back; what followed was no longer his place to speak on.

"Wuu wuu wuu, my husband has already been thrown into prison by you. You...you might as well send us mother and child in there too. Even if we die, at least our whole family can be together again, ah..."

The woman cried heartbreakingly, her voice rising louder once more.