Yan Qing's eyes grew colder as she listened to what he said.

Even Liang Tao next to him frowned. The governor of Xuzhou was so absurd, but he couldn't just believe the words of the person in front of him. He wanted to remind Yan Qing, but seeing that Yan Qing seemed to have his own thoughts, he didn't say anything immediately.

Yan Qing suppressed the coldness in his eyes and said in a tone of doubt: "How could this be? Isn't the governor of Xuzhou always loved the people like his own children and had a very good reputation?"

The young man sneered, but there was pain in his eyes: "Who knows? Whether you believe it or not, I have said it all here."

Seeing this, Yan Qing's eyes flickered slightly. This person might have a secret, but even if he wanted to dig out the secret, he couldn't be in a hurry.

She straightened her expression and said, "Thank you for your kindness, sir. May I ask your name?"

The young man's eyes flickered: "My surname is Fan and my name is Qiao. I am not worthy of your attention, young lady."

The reason why Fan Qiao said so much to Yan Qing was not only because he didn't want Yan Qing to follow in her sister's footsteps, but also because he had doubts about the identities of Yan Qing and the others. He wanted to sell them on their behalf and see if he could use their help to rescue his sister.

He did not have much ill will towards Yan Qing and the others at the beginning. They had not seen so many people coming here for a long time, and the guards all looked extraordinary. So he asked his men to investigate. Unexpectedly, those guards were too alert, and his men were captured from behind before they could get close.

Then the man who looked ferocious and was obviously the leader of the guards brought his men up the mountain and captured them all.

Yan Qing nodded: "I'll remember that."

After saying that, she looked at Liang Tao again: "Uncle Liang, have those who became bandits together killed anyone?"

Hearing Yan Qing's words, Fan Qiao no longer cared about what he had just thought about, and kowtowed hurriedly: "I am willing to guarantee with my life that I have not harmed innocent people, and I have only occasionally intercepted some local tyrants who prey on the locals! We have become bandits because we have nowhere else to go. This action is only to save our lives. Please spare our lives, young lady."

Yan Qing smiled and said soothingly, "If it's really as Master Fan said, they will be safe."

After saying that, she turned her gaze back to Liang Tao. Liang Tao did not care about Fan Qiao's interruption. At this time, he had not forgotten the brothers who followed him. He was a very affectionate person.

He waved his hand behind him, and a soldier who was also dressed as a guard stepped forward. He was Chen Chengze, a captain of the sixth rank. Liang Tao valued him very much, so he brought him along when he escorted Yan Qing to Xuzhou this time.

Chen Chengze wanted to salute, but Liang Tao stopped him with a look. He just said respectfully: "I asked someone to separate those people and question them. It is indeed as the young master said. No one else's life was harmed."

Fan Qiao looked at the soldier who had spoken with an anxious look on his face, but it was not appropriate for him to interrupt.

Chen Chengze saw Fan Qiao's worry and said something to comfort him: "Don't worry, Mr. Fan. Those people were fine now except for some injuries they suffered during the resistance at the beginning. We did not torture them to extract confessions."

These people are just a mob of refugees. Except for the leader Fan Qiao who is a little smart, the rest of them are relatively simple-minded.

They didn't need to use the methods used in the capital at all. Just a little intimidation would make them tell most of the truth. However, these words had to be presented to the princess, so he had to be cautious and strive for perfection.

So Chen Chengze sent some brothers to find a way to infiltrate the group, and then to make indirect attacks from the side. The result he got was the same as before, so he told Yan Qing with confidence.

Fan Qiao didn't think about so many twists and turns for a while. He was relieved when he heard that his men were fine. He was no longer wary of Liang Tao and Chen Chengze.

Yan Qing nodded to Chen Chengze and was a little troubled about how to deal with these people.

She hadn't entered Xuzhou yet, so all the news was hearsay. Bringing all these refugees into Xuzhou would be too conspicuous. If what Fan Qiao said was true, it might alert the enemy.

Liang Tao obviously also thought of Yan Qing's concerns. He glanced at Chen Ziping and whispered to Yan Qing, "Why not leave them where they are? If you are worried that they will cause trouble, let Chen Chengze take some people to stay and watch. I still believe in Chen Chengze and will definitely not let them cause trouble again."

Hearing this, Yan Qing's eyes lit up with a smile. This was indeed a good idea.

Although Liang Tao only asked Chen Chengze to stay and watch over the refugees, he also began to suspect the governor of Xuzhou.

Even if the governor of Xuzhou knew that Yan Qing was about to arrive in Xuzhou, he certainly didn't know who was coming with her except Liang Tao.

If Chen Chengze stays here, he will have an extra way out, and he can do more things in the dark.

Although Liang Tao looks like an honest and simple-minded veteran, he has experienced three dynasties of emperors. How could he be as simple as he appears? Fortunately, he has no bad intentions towards Yan Qing and always cares about her.

But Fan Qiao cannot be kept. He is a strange guy. Taking him to Xuzhou might have unexpected results.

"Uncle Liang is right. I wonder what Brother Chen thinks."

Hearing Yan Qing calling him "big brother", Chen Chengze was flattered and immediately knelt down to salute, saying, "I don't deserve it. I will certainly obey the young lady's orders."

Although he didn't understand the intention of Liang Tao's words at first, now he knew the intention after thinking about it.

Chen Chengze actually wanted to stay with Her Royal Highness the Princess, but then he changed his mind and thought that staying in the dark would allow him to see more details that Her Royal Highness the Princess and General Liang could not notice.

Since he could help Her Royal Highness the Princess, he would do it without hesitation and thus agreed.

Yan Qing helped Chen Ziping up and said with a smile, "You don't have to stick to these etiquettes outside. Besides, if I remember correctly, you and Brother Chen are the same age, and you used to have a good relationship. You can call me Brother."

Chen Chengze looked up, even more excited than when Yan Qing called him "big brother". He didn't expect Yan Qing still remembered him. They were both young at that time, and he thought Yan Qing didn't remember him.

The reason why he was able to gain Liang Tao's trust was that he was destined to have an inseparable relationship with the An family army since birth.

His father was also An Zexing's deputy general, but he died in battle early. The young Chen Chengze was raised in the military camp by these rough guys.

When he was young, he had a good relationship with An Feizhu and often practiced martial arts together. He also met Yan Qing, but An Feizhu was very protective of him and they never spoke.

Until the chaos that night, when An Zexing and An Feizhu both passed away, they thought Yan Qing was also dead, but unexpectedly they found Yan Qing only two meters away from An Feizhu's body.

Fortunately, she was fine, but Yan Qing had changed. Her eyes were no longer as bright as before, and she reacted more slowly than usual when she heard anything, and she had forgotten many things.

Uncle Yang and Uncle Liang both said that this was caused by too much stress. They both blamed themselves, but there was nothing they could do. They could only wait and see if things would get better in the future.

Perhaps it was those wooden eyes that touched Chen Chengze's heart. He thought of his father who died in battle, and also of An Feizhu.

He thought that now that An Feizhu was gone, he would protect sister Yan Qing on behalf of his good brother. However, things did not go as he wished. However, Yan Qing was going to the capital the next day, so he could only hurriedly see her off.

More than ten years have passed since they last met. Time can dilute everything, but Chen Chengze still hasn't forgotten his thoughts. Instead, they have become even more profound.

That was to protect Yan Qing well, so when he came to the Imperial Guard, he had to take good care of this little sister...

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