Chapter Thirty Protect You for Life

  When class was dismissed, Mr. Hong announced that there would be no afternoon classes, and Zhou Tianhao and the others could finally have a half-day break.

  The students seemed to be still unsatisfied with the discussion in class and were talking about something in twos and threes.

  Zhou Tianhao caught up with Jiang Keyue and praised: "You spoke really well in class, simple yet profound, it's not easy!" Keyue smiled slightly, "Really? Thank you! Actually, I also admire you, your knowledge is rich, you haven't been secularized by the world, no utilitarian color, you understand so many principles of being a person and doing things, don't forget to teach me in the future."

  "Haha, you're being humble now. But having a beautiful and talented girl like you as my student is my greatest wish." Tian Hao said proudly, "Why don't you become my apprentice right now?"

  "Say you're fat and you really start panting..." Ke Yue teased.

  "Right, you've been in Longtan City for a while now and haven't had a chance to go out and take a look around. How about I take you out this afternoon? I heard that Longtan City is having its flower lantern festival, it's the most lively time of the year here, don't miss it!"

  "Everything will be arranged according to your wishes." Jiang Keyue agreed readily.

  "How could something so good have slipped your mind? You're really not a good friend!" A voice sounded from behind.

  The two turned their heads to look, and saw that this person had a sturdy build, with black long hair tied up loosely, a long face shape, icy blue eyes that were both sentimental and indifferent, a high nose bridge, and red moist lips. He wore a blue brocade robe, held a white folding fan in his hand, had a golden waistband around his waist, and wore a pair of black boots on his legs, with a piece of jade the size of an egg on the back of the boot... It was their fellow student Li Yun Tian.

  "Quickly, Zhou Tianhao introduced Li Yuntian to Jiang Keyue: 'Keyue, our fellow student Li Yuntian, his hometown is Shaanxi. He also came because of the great reputation of Mr. Mu Hong.'"

  "I've already learned from his excellence in class, and I hope to receive more guidance from him in the future!" Jiang Keyue said humbly.

  "Miss Jiang is indeed a talented lady! It's my great fortune to know her!" Li Yun Tian bowed with his fists, "I heard you're going out on the streets, may I join you?"

  "Are you going too?" Zhou Tianhao asked, glancing at Jiang Keyue, who nodded slightly.

  "Alright then. Let's call Aqui too, and we'll all go together." Tian Hao said with a smile.

  Four people came to the main street, which was called Shunhe Street, the central street of Longtan City. It was like a snake preparing for hibernation, lazily coiled in the center of the city, stretching east and west. Shunhe Street was three miles long and five or six steps wide, winding and turning. The entire street was paved with colorful flagstones of various shapes, smooth and clean, exceptionally beautiful. The middle of the street was raised, and the two sides were low and concave. When it rained, the water flowed to both sides, and people walking on the street wouldn't even get their shoes wet. On both sides were single-eaved, two-story small buildings, very rustic. Although hundreds of miles away from Longtan City, war was raging, but this small city seemed as if nothing had happened, just as bustling as before. The streets were crowded with people coming and going, not like the women in the capital who didn't dare to show their faces. On this main street, beautiful women wearing brocade clothes walked slowly under parasols held by maidservants; young girls from wealthy families lowered their heads and walked into silk shops; there were also delicate little girls holding their mothers' hands, making a fuss about wanting to buy ice sugar gourds... Various vendors' calls echoed each other, occasionally interrupted by one or two horse-drawn carriages passing by, with adults pulling children aside to avoid the carriages. Men wrapped their heads in turbans and wore coarse linen clothes, walking on the street to hurry to the market, glancing unintentionally at the beautiful girls and women on the street, couldn't help but think of their wives at home, shaking their heads slightly, sighing lightly...

  Jiang Keyue looked around on the street, everything was so fresh, and she always lingered until others urged her to leave.

  Four people were walking on the street, chatting and laughing. Suddenly, a loud gong sound came from afar, and the people on the road panicked, scattering to both sides of the road or hiding in dark places... A cloud of dust rose up not far away and rushed towards them quickly... Just as three of them had barely hidden by the roadside, several horses galloped swiftly over, shouting "Make way! Make way!"

  Those who couldn't dodge in time would only get flogged, and the unlucky ones would be trampled to death by horse hooves...

  A battered and worn-out old man in his sixties fell to the ground, struggling with all his might. Four people rushed forward and helped him to the side of the road.

  "Are you alright, old man?" Zhou Tianhao asked while supporting the elderly man with one hand.

  The old man hadn't even had time to respond when the clanging of gongs grew loud and near, making people's ears numb. More than a dozen officials and soldiers dressed in ceremonial attire led the way, blowing conch shells, followed closely by several dozen members of the honor guard. The honor guard lined up on both sides of the main street, holding high colorful flags and placards reading "Silence" and "Make Way". In the middle of the honor guard, a magnificent eight-bearer palanquin proudly made its way down the center of the road, surrounded by many officials and attendants...

  "Old man, are you okay?" Zhou Tianhao asked with concern.

  "Ah, this isn't the first time either, I'm used to it." The old man said, trying to shake off the crowd's support and walk away. It was only then that the crowd noticed two gashes on the old man's tattered clothes, with faint bloodstains seeping through...

  "Hurry up and help the old man find a doctor!" Zhou Tianhao said to the three of them.

  "Alright, there's a pharmacy over there, let's help the old man over." Li Yun Tian said, pointing to a nearby pharmacy.

  "Old man, who were those people just now? So domineering!" Zhou Tianhao asked as he walked.

  The old man looked around cautiously and saw that there was no one else nearby. He whispered, "It's Deng the eunuch inspector, sent personally by the Emperor."

  Li Yun Tian scolded fiercely: "These beasts, using the tiger's might to deceive, bringing disaster to the country and harming the people. One day they must be put to death! Alas, this country is also rotten to the core!"

  "Don't talk nonsense, aren't you afraid of death?"

  Li Yun Tian said with a scornful tone: "Afraid of death? If I don't kill all these corrupt officials, I won't be able to die!"

  Zhou Tianhao said: "If you don't speak softly, you won't be able to wait for that day." Li Yuntian was so angry that he hummed a sound.

  Jiang Keyue also angrily said: "What kind of world is this?!"

  Before long, the four of them helped the old man to the pharmacy. The doctor cleaned and bandaged the injured old man's wound, telling everyone that the injury was not serious, and he would be fine after resting and nursing his wound.

  Zhou Tianhao paid the medical expenses for the old man and took out a silver ingot, handing it to the old man, telling him to go home. The old man was extremely grateful and wanted to bow to everyone, but was stopped by Zhou Tianhao and others.

  "Old man, you'd better hurry back home." Zhou Tianhao repeatedly advised, and the old man finally left.

  Three people saw off the old man. Zhou Tianhao said to the three of them, "I heard that this year's flower lanterns on Yonghe Street are very good. Why don't we go and take a look?"

  All three of them agreed. So the four of them came to Yonghe Street, only to see that the street was packed with people and the crowd was very noisy. The flow of people was stuck together, and it was impossible to move forward. Not only that, but some people were also very emotional. The four of them didn't know what was going on, so they asked the people around them: "Why are all these people stuck here and not moving?"

  An elderly insider sighed: "Alas, it's Director Deng who is admiring the flower lanterns. The roads have been blocked early on, and we common people are not allowed to enter..."

  Li Yun Tian was extremely angry: "Is the lantern festival prepared just for him alone? Is there such a reason in the world?"

  The old man said: "What can be done about it?"

  The people around were also discussing: "Is it interesting for this official to appreciate himself?"

  "Maybe they just like this kind of thing."

  "Isn't this obviously a trap?"

  "Are those who fight and bleed in front still singing and dancing with those who hold power in the back?"

  "The emperor is still able, but the root has already rotted, what can be done?"

  ……

  Although many people were very indignant, they just shook their heads helplessly. Li Yun Tian was extremely angry: "I'll go and kill that corrupt official." After saying that, he squeezed into the crowd...

  Zhou Tianhao and Jiang Keyue rushed over to stop him, grabbing hold of him. Jiang Keyue advised, "If you do that, you'll only end up losing your life. Is it worth it?" Li Yuntian finally relented.

  Zhou Tianhao apologized to Jiang Keyue, "I'm really sorry, the first time I take you out, we encounter such a thing, and can't let you see the good scenery, but instead got angry."

  "It seems that this rebellion is justified. The common people have no food to eat, no clothes to wear, and are bullied by officials everywhere. It's strange if they don't rise up in revolt."

  Zhou Tianhao joked: "If you lived in Hubei or Shaanxi, you might have become a female knight long ago."

  Jiang Keyue smiled and said: "That's really uncertain."

  Zhou Tianhao made a face and said, "Does your family agree with this?"

  As soon as Jiang Keyue mentioned his family, he let out a sigh and the smile on his face disappeared. Zhou Tianhao saw that he had touched Jiang Keyue's sore spot and felt that he had said too much, so he stopped talking. Li Yuntian said harshly: "With this kind of government, how many families can live a good life?"

  Tian Hao glared at him and said: "You'd better not spout nonsense, take a look at where we are. If someone reports this, you'll have to think about the consequences."

  Li Yun Tian let out a long sigh: "Yes, if it's really like this, then it's not worth it. Looking at how chaotic society is, we two must take good care of Ke Yue from now on." He finished speaking and glanced at Ke Yue.

  "It's really reassuring to be with you two. I feel very safe. But don't get too used to it, or it'll be a disaster."

  "What's wrong?" Zhou Tianhao asked in confusion.

  "I can't follow you guys for the rest of my life, right?" Jiang Keyue said with a blush.

  "Then I'll protect you for a lifetime." Zhou Tianhao paused and continued: "Who made you my little sister?"

  "I'll protect you for a lifetime too." Li Yun Tian hastily said.

  "You two are quite good at coaxing people." Jiang Keyue said with a smile.

  "Hey, hey, how could I be kidding you? I'm speaking from the heart." Li Yun Tian said seriously.

  At this time, a shabbily dressed man quickly walked past Kang Yuyue's side and snatched the silver from her pocket. Li Yun Tian discovered it, took an arrow step forward to grab the thief, seized the silver, pressed the man to the ground with one hand, and returned the silver to Jiang Yuyue.

  Zhou Tianhao also stepped forward and said to the thief: "A man like you, instead of engaging in a proper profession, how could you do such a thing?"

  The thief knelt on the ground and begged for mercy: "Two brothers, I have no choice. This is my first time doing this kind of thing, if my old mother finds out, she will surely beat me to death. Now my old mother is sick in bed with no money for medical treatment, I really had no choice, so I resorted to this desperate move. Please let me off lightly."

  "Are you telling the truth?"

  The man repeatedly kowtowed and begged: "If there is half a word of falsehood, heaven will strike with five thunders!"

  Looking at the pitiful sight, Zhou Tianhao reached into his pocket to find some silver to give to the man kneeling on the ground, but he didn't have much with him and had already given what little he had to the old man. Jiang Keyue saw this scene and quickly took out her own silver and handed it over to him.

  Zhou Tianhao looked at Jiang Keyue with a nod of approval, smiled at her and handed the silver to Hanzi. Hanzi was so moved that his eyes were filled with tears. Zhou Tianhao told him: "You go back quickly, first take care of your elderly's illness, from now on you must be self-reliant, never do such thieving things again." Hanzi nodded in agreement, thanked him and left...

  Li Yuntian looked at Hanzi's departing back, sighed and said to Zhou Tianhao: "How many people are there in the world today who cannot eat their fill, cannot be cured of illness, cannot return home, and cannot be supported in old age... Can you save them all?"

  Zhou Tianhao also sighed: "Yes, it's really can't be saved. Just do what we can. Seeing the current situation of the Ming Dynasty, it's indeed very heartbreaking!"

  Jiang Keyue said: "When I was in my hometown, I heard that Li Zicheng from the south killed corrupt officials and distributed food, and everyone praised him." Li Yuntian hurriedly added: "I also heard that Li Zicheng's army had strict discipline, which was in sharp contrast to the Ming dynasty. The future of the world will definitely belong to the king of Shun."

  Zhou Tianhao looked at them and didn't say anything else, silently walking forward...