All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

The man's words caused everyone to pause slightly, but then their laughter grew even louder. A wealthy young man spoke to the man.

“Brother Ziqi, you haven’t returned to Pei County for the past two years, so I don’t know why. The Liu Sanye you mentioned is now nothing but a fart. In the first half of the year, he escorted a group of laborers to Xianyang, but three of them died of illness, and most of them ran away. Liu Sanye directly became an outlaw and is now said to be in the Mangdang Mountain area. His fate is still unknown!”

Liu Sanye is none other than Liu Bang. In the first half of the year, he was escorting corvée laborers, but then that incident happened, and he had no choice but to become an outlaw. Now, with the death of Qin Shi Huang and Gao Yao's rise to power, Liu Bang's future is bleak.

Lu Gong was originally quite prestigious and had a network of connections in Pei County, but last year his old friend was transferred away, and with Liu Bang's misfortunes, the Lu family collapsed. Lu Gong's whole family was forced to move out of the mansion and could only rent a small farmhouse in the east of the city.

The Lü family had two daughters. Lü Zhi had already married Liu Bang, but now she was also implicated. The Lü family spent a lot of money to save Lü Zhi and her son Liu Ying from blame. However, the Lü family was now severely weakened, all the servants had left, and Lü Gong was entirely taken care of by Lü Su.

The eldest daughter of the Lü family is married, but the second daughter, Lü Su, remains unmarried. Countless wealthy young men in Pei County are eyeing her.

They barely managed to survive because of Lu Gong's connections and Liu Bang's prestige in Pei County. Now that Lu Gong's family has fallen from grace, people will naturally come to bully them.

At first, many wealthy young men came to her door, wanting to take Lü Su as a concubine. However, Lü Su appeared weak but was strong-willed and refused to agree. The wealthy young men also began to lose patience.

This group of wealthy young men has already bribed officials to force Mr. Lü to sell his daughter, ultimately turning Lü Su into a plaything for the rich young men of Pei County. The plan has already been implemented, and all that's left is for the show to begin.

Lu Su carried the wooden basin in silence, ignoring the foul language behind her back, and carefully carried the basin home.

Her little hands were red from the cold. She rolled up her sleeves and started hanging clothes to dry in the courtyard. She had just hung one piece of clothing when she heard a noise inside the house and quickly ran back inside.

As soon as she entered the room, she saw her father fall by the bedside, his body cold and weakly groaning. Lü Su quickly helped her father to the bed. Seeing her father's wet robes on the ground, Lü Su, with red eyes, began to change her father's clothes.

Just then, someone knocked on the courtyard gate. Lü Su quickly got up to check, and as soon as she stepped out of the room, she saw the courtyard gate being kicked open, and four burly men walked straight in.

Upon seeing the leader, Lü Su immediately understood the purpose of their visit.

These men were notorious local thugs in Pei County, making a living by lending money at exorbitant interest rates. As they watched Lü Su approaching, they all lewdly laughed, and one of them put his hands on his hips and said...

"Young lady, this is our umpteenth time coming. According to the rules, should Master Lü sign it himself, or should we force your father to sign it?"

Lu Su trembled with fear, but she still held back her tears and mustered her courage to rebuke him.

"We've already paid back all the money we owed you, and now you...you're bullying us!"

Several burly men laughed heartily, and one of them chuckled.

“You have indeed paid back the money you owed us, but your Lü family still owes interest. It’s twenty times seven coins of interest, and it’s been a year and three months. Now you have to pay back four thousand three hundred and twenty coins. We have the government as guarantor for this!”

Upon hearing this, Lü Su was furious, but she was powerless to do anything about it. The Lü family had already collapsed, and Lü Su knew very well what their purpose was.

But Lu Su's inner conviction told her that the uncle in her heart would definitely come back.

The leader looked Lü Su up and down, fantasized for a moment, and then chuckled as he spoke.

"Young lady, don't resist anymore. Be a good girl and come with us. We won't make things difficult for Master Lü. Don't worry, we'll have someone treat Master Lü's illness, and we'll also notify your sister to take your father away to take care of him. How about that?"

With tears welling in her eyes, Lü Su clenched her teeth and clutched her skirt tightly with her small, red hands.

Ahem, Han Chunming, riding his horse, coughed lightly a few times at the door, interrupting this scene of forcing a woman into prostitution.

Hearing the cough, the people in the courtyard turned around and saw a burly man in his forties, with a long sword at his waist, riding a black horse slowly into the courtyard.

Han Chunming's attire was rather intimidating, and no one spoke for a moment.

Han Chunming ignored the others, his gaze passing over the crowd to meet the eyes of the girl opposite him. The disbelief in the girl's eyes was palpable.

She had encountered this scene countless times in her dreams. Even now, she still thought she was dreaming. Even though tears kept streaming down her face, she still felt like she was in a state between dreaming and waking.

Han Chunming slowly dismounted and walked step by step to Lü Su. Without saying a word, he gently pulled her into his arms and then whispered in her ear.

"Susu, I'm back!"

Upon hearing this voice, Lü Su froze, then trembled uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face. Finally, she collapsed into Han Chunming's arms.

Han Chunming gently picked up Lü Su's small hand and looked at it, which was red from the cold. He felt a pang of heartache. Looking at the girl who had fainted in his arms, Han Chunming felt a sense of guilt for the first time.

"Silly girl, alright, leave the rest to me!"

Han Chunming muttered to himself, looking at the thin linen cloth on the other person's body, and then took off his own coat and gently tied it around Lü Su's body.

Seeing Han Chunming and his wife being so affectionate, the burly men couldn't stand it anymore, and one of them shouted.

"Where did this stray dog ​​come from? It eats shit without even asking if it has an owner. Does it think we don't exist?"

Han Chunming picked up Lü Su with one arm, turned to look at the group of people, then at the small courtyard, and then said with a smile.

"You just said the Lü family owes you a certain amount of money."

The group carefully examined Han Chunming's attire. Seeing that his clothes did not resemble those of an ordinary person, and hearing his tone, they assumed he wanted to return the money, and then spoke.

"It totals four thousand four hundred and sixty coins. How about you help them pay it back?"

Han Chunming was speechless and asked in confusion.

"I just heard it was four thousand three hundred and twenty coins, and now it's more than a hundred coins more?"

The other party snorted and said.

"Interest rates have just gone up. What, you're not happy about it?"

Upon hearing this, Han Chunming laughed heartily, then nodded with a smile and said...

"Okay, then let's make it four thousand four hundred and sixty coins. Let's go outside and talk!"

As he spoke, Han Chunming, carrying Lü Su in one arm and holding the Starry Sky Sword in the other, took the lead and walked out of the courtyard.

The other party looked at the Starry Sky Sword in Han Chunming's hand, but they weren't afraid. As local bullies, they had nothing to worry about.

The group walked out of the courtyard and came to a small vegetable garden. Han Chunming looked at the garden and, seeing that there was no one around, nodded in satisfaction. He then stopped and turned to the group behind him.

"Alright, here it is. Four thousand four hundred and sixty coins. Who wants to collect the money first?"

The group was puzzled by what the uncle across from them was saying. They exchanged a knowing smile, put on grumpy faces, and then all stepped forward to surround Han Chunming.

Han Chunming looked at the group, smiled, and then with lightning speed, drew the Starry Sky Sword and shouted at them.

"Everyone, stand in line! Get ready to collect the money!"

As Han Chunming spoke, the longsword in his hand moved like a series of black shadows, piercing into the bodies of the crowd and then being pulled out at such a speed that it became a blur.

Four thousand four hundred and sixty swords, each one piercing flesh, not a single one missing, leaving not a single gap in his entire body, inside and out.

After finishing his sword strike, four puddles of flesh collapsed softly in the vegetable garden. Looking at the blood-red flesh, Han Chunming sheathed his sword with satisfaction, picked up Lü Su, and returned to the courtyard.

As soon as she entered the room, Lü Su slowly woke up. The first thing she did upon opening her eyes was to reach out and touch Han Chunming's face to confirm that she was not dreaming.

Han Chunming lowered his head, letting Lü Su's small hands touch his face. After confirming that he was not dreaming, Lü Su was overjoyed and hugged Han Chunming's waist, refusing to let go.

Han Chunming rarely showed such doting affection. As Lü Su poured out her longing for him, Han Chunming stroked Lü Su's face, and all his guilt turned into a promise.

"Susu, we'll never be apart again. Come with me!"

Upon receiving Han Chunming's promise, Lü Su burst into tears of joy, nodding frantically as she buried her face in his chest, wiping her tears of happiness onto his robes.

The two were intimate for a while, but were finally interrupted by Lü Gong's cough. They then came to their senses and quickly separated.

Han Chunming stepped forward to check on Lü Gong's condition and confirmed that it was not a serious illness. He was old and frail, and it was just a minor ailment that had been left untreated. He could recover after taking a few doses of medicine and resting for a month.

After regaining consciousness, Lu Gong learned of Han Chunming's arrival and was filled with emotion, recounting all the suffering Lu Su had endured over the years.

Han Chunming nodded, his eyes filled with tenderness as he looked at Lü Su. "Alright," he thought, "since this girl is truly devoted to me, I'll grant her a lifetime of wealth and honor."

Han Chunming then learned about the current predicament of the Lü family. After Lü Zhi married Liu Bang, she originally lived a decent life, but after Liu Bang became an outlaw, Lü Zhi and her son had to make ends meet with great difficulty.

The Lü family can only rely on Lü Su to survive now, as those thugs often come to cause trouble, and recently they have even prepared a scheme to force a good woman into prostitution.

After learning what had happened, Han Chunming immediately said that he would make the arrangements from now on.

The matter concerning the Lü family was not a big deal; it was merely a scheme devised by a group of heartless rich young masters.

Pei County was just a small place. That night, a group of bandits broke into the county town. Several wealthy families were wiped out, and even the newly appointed county government office was burned to the ground.

Han Chunming didn't have much time to reason with them, so he used simple and violent methods to eliminate any future troubles. No one would have thought that all of this had anything to do with the Lü family.

Han Chunming only stayed in Pei County for three days before taking Lü Su back to the Western Regions.

Besides Lü Su, Han Chunming also brought one other person with him, Lü Zhi's son Liu Ying, a little boy who was just over five years old.

Because of Liu Bang's influence, Lü Zhi is now living a miserable life, struggling to make ends meet with her son Liu Ying.

Han Chunming delivered Lü Gong to Lü Zhi and gave her a sum of money. This money was enough for Lü Gong to enjoy his old age and for Lü Zhi's family to buy a few servants and live a good life.

Han Chunming did not reveal his identity, but Lü Zhi still sensed that Han Chunming was no ordinary person.

So before Han Chunming left, Lü Zhi knelt before him and begged him to take Liu Ying as his disciple and take him away from Pei County so that he could receive a good education.

Empress Lü was now completely lost about her future and had even less faith in Liu Bang, so she could only pray to Han Chunming.

Han Chunming originally didn't want to agree, but looking at the little boy who looked eight parts like Yi Xiaochuan, his heart softened and he actually agreed.

Thinking that he had taken away Yi Xiaochuan's opportunity, giving his son a future was a kind of compensation.

Although this little boy was the second emperor of the Han Dynasty in history, his existence made it uncertain whether the Han Dynasty would still exist.

Moreover, historically, this little guy ascended the throne at the age of sixteen and died at the age of twenty-three. He was a pitiful child who was under the control of his mother, Empress Lü, his entire life.

Liu Ying is only five years old now. He can have a brighter future. Even if he can't become emperor, he can be a useful person to the people!

And so, Han Chunming, along with Lü Su and Liu Ying, followed a caravan, and after nearly four months, they finally returned to the Dragon Kingdom.

Chapter Thirty-Five: Rebellion

Han Chunming's trip to Daqin took nearly a year.

Back in China, development continued as usual. China was still speeding along on a high-speed train, not stopping because of Han Chunming's temporary departure. Many departments made new technological breakthroughs.

The steam engine was already quite mature, and factories in Tianshan City and Jushi City had basically adopted it. Countless large chimneys soared into the sky in both cities.

Smoke and water vapor drift over the city, with a layer of mist perpetually hanging over it, making it impossible to see the stars at night.

Modern industrial cities are beginning to take shape, and sacrificing the environment for development is an inevitable path.

The ministers and officials remained as respectful to Han Chunming as ever, his statues were found all over the country, and the people who recited the Dragon God Bible every morning were still as devout as ever. The followers of the Dragon God Cult were found in every corner of the country.

Han Chunming should have been happy to see this scene, but after returning for a few days, the people and things he encountered made him feel a strange sense of unfamiliarity. He couldn't explain it, but it was there, as if he were somewhat superfluous.

Han Chunming originally thought that it was because he had stayed in Da Qin for too long that he felt this way.

Just like Lü Su, she always thought that Han Chunming was just doing some small business in the Western Regions, and at most had a little money.

But as soon as she arrived in the Western Regions, she discovered that her man actually owned a kingdom.

Her man was the king of this place, and a large group of people knelt before her, leaving her somewhat at a loss.

However, Lü Su quickly adapted to her new identity. She was content to follow her husband wherever he went, especially since she was marrying a king. With such an outstanding man, any woman would feel joy and let go of her nervousness.