Bai Qingyan leaped down from her horse and looked back at the two children and two women who had been brought back by the cavalry and had dismounted. Their faces were filled with uncertainty and panic.

She spoke to comfort them: “Rest assured, with me here… no one can take a single child from Chunmu City! Go back!”

Upon hearing this, the young woman’s eyes immediately filled with tears as she quickly pulled the two children to kneel and kowtow to Bai Qingyan: “Princess Zhenguo’s great kindness and virtue, this common woman will always remember and never dare forget! Hudan, Niuniu, quickly… quickly kowtow to Princess Zhenguo!”

The old woman also cried as she kowtowed: “Thank you, Princess Zhenguo!”

“Princess Zhenguo!” Liu Hong disapproved of Bai Qingyan letting these children go. Since the imperial edict demanded these children, they must be sent to the Nine-Tiered Platform. He believed the Emperor would trade the throne with Prince Liang, but he didn’t believe the Emperor would use the lives of a thousand young children to refine the illusory elixir of immortality.

Bai Qingyan turned a deaf ear to Liu Hong’s voice, helping the women and children to their feet: “Get up! There’s no need for this! Go home quickly!”

Seeing more bailiffs arriving after hearing the news, all drawing their long knives to charge into the prefectural office, Bai Qingyan’s eyes turned cold as she ordered: “Yang Wuce, surround the prefectural office. Don’t let those bailiffs get within a step of the common people!”

“Yes!” Yang Wuce responded, leading half the cavalry to dismount and surround the front of the prefectural office.

The bailiffs who had rushed over saw fifty soldiers surrounding the prefectural office entrance, actually drawing swords against them to prevent them from entering the office. The bailiffs looked at each other, confused about the situation.

Inside the prefectural office, the common people who had found their children saw them confined in wooden cages. They cursed as they smashed the locks to rescue the children, holding them close with kisses and caresses.

The crippled veteran soldier shouted for everyone to retreat quickly, and only then did the people hurriedly pull their children toward the exit.

But when they were about to rush out of the prefectural office, they saw soldiers surrounding the entrance. Strangely, these soldiers hadn’t drawn swords against them, but instead had drawn swords to keep the bailiffs outside the office.

The crippled veteran man protected the people and his son behind him, looking warily at the Jin army outside.

“General, are you… confused about something?” The bailiff who had come to capture the rioting people was puzzled. “Those people who took the children are inside!”

“I know that!” Yang Wuce stood at the front, gripping the sword at his waist. “Princess Zhenguo has ordered that you bailiffs are not to approach the people by even a step!”

Knowing they couldn’t fight these soldiers head-on, the bailiff could only turn and whisper to his subordinate: “Go quickly! Notify the county magistrate… Princess Zhenguo is here!”

Bai Qingyan and Liu Hong, leading the remaining fifty cavalry, walked toward the prefectural office entrance.

She glanced at the bailiffs and walked straight into the office.

The people inside the office hid their children behind them, glaring at Bai Qingyan’s group with gritted teeth, ready to fight to the death if anyone dared to snatch their children.

“I apologize for frightening you all!” As soon as Liu Hong entered, fearing that Bai Qingyan would agree to let the people take their children home and disobey the imperial edict, he quickly stepped forward and bowed to the people. “Everyone… everyone! I am Jin General Liu Hong. Today, I, Liu Hong, stake my life as a guarantee that His Majesty does not intend to use children’s lives to refine immortality elixirs, but rather to select children of pure character to ascend the Nine-Tiered Platform with His Majesty to seek immortal medicine!”

“Bah! Are you trying to fool ghosts with that talk!” A fierce woman spat at Liu Hong with reddened eyes, grinding her teeth: “If it’s so good, why doesn’t the county magistrate dare let his own youngest son go? And those wealthy families… they all bought children from human traffickers to send over!”

Because of this matter, boys and girls aged five to ten in the hands of human traffickers had become sought-after commodities, commanding extremely high prices.

“Exactly! If it’s just having children seek immortal medicine, why use such cruel laws as collective punishment? Whoever has children and doesn’t hand them over… will be executed along with their neighbors. Do you think we’re all fools?!”

“Princess Zhenguo!” The crippled veteran man looked at the silver-armored Bai Qingyan standing with hands behind her back, his eyes widening as he recognized her, his eye sockets suddenly warming.

The man limped forward, supporting himself with his crutch as he knelt on one knee: “Princess Zhenguo, this common man is a Jin soldier who was wounded and retired from the Nan Jiang battlefield in the sixteenth year of Xuanjia. I was fortunate to see Princess Zhenguo! Here… many children are the only remaining bloodline left by deceased Jin soldiers! This common man once saw Princess Zhenguo lecturing Jin soldiers in the military camp, saying… that soldiers are supported by the people’s taxes and are the people’s army! Though this common man hasn’t read many books, Princess Zhenguo’s words have always remained in my heart! This common man humbly begs Princess Zhenguo, for the sake of these children’s fathers who died for the Kingdom, please spare these children!”

“Princess Zhenguo?!”

“The eldest granddaughter of Duke Zhenguo, Old General Bai?”

“Is she really from the Bai family of Duke Zhenguo’s mansion?”

Seeing the man who had led them in rescuing children kneeling, the people talked among themselves and also knelt one after another, competing to tell Bai Qingyan about how their children’s uncles, fathers, or grandfathers had died fighting for the Kingdom.

“Princess Zhenguo! Please be like the late Duke Zhenguo, Old General Bai, and protect our children!” An elderly person who had received kindness from Bai Weiting kowtowed heavily, crying out.

Bai Qingyan’s hand gripping the riding whip nearly crushed it, emotions surging in her chest.

She spoke in a deep voice, raising her voice: “With me here, no one can take your children from you! Take your children and go home!”

Before the people could kowtow in thanks to Bai Qingyan, Liu Hong could no longer restrain himself and shouted: “Princess Zhenguo! Are you going to defy the imperial edict? These children… no matter what, are demanded by His Majesty’s edict! As subjects, how can we disregard imperial authority and majesty?! This is great disrespect to His Majesty!”

“Such an emperor, you want me to respect him… does he deserve it?!” Bai Qingyan gritted her teeth, turning to look at Liu Hong and raising her voice: “Whether it’s the two children outside Chunmu City or these children here, their grandfathers, fathers, and uncles died on the battlefield! They spilled their blood and sacrificed their lives to protect the territory and bring peace to the people! The Emperor wants to use their only remaining bloodline in this world to refine immortal elixirs, seeking immortality! General Liu… does such an emperor deserve respect?!”

Liu Hong clenched his fists: “His Majesty is the sovereign, we are subjects… if the ruler errs, we can offer counsel! But we cannot be disrespectful!”

“Counsel?! Didn’t Chancellor Lu offer counsel? Did the Emperor listen? Imprisoned on charges of great disrespect, issuing an edict to abolish the position of Chancellor and establish a cabinet – what was this for?! Wasn’t it because of Chancellor Lu’s counsel!” Bai Qingyan questioned Liu Hong loudly. “This is just Chunmu City! Throughout Jin, who knows how many other Chunmu Cities are conscripting children, how many cities are showing such miserable scenes like hell on earth!”