Chapter 0002: Your Highness, do not self-destruct!

The next day, as they traveled to a deep mountain forest, a village guard in front, carrying a hoe, suddenly ran breathlessly to Li Xuan and the others, saying: "Not good, there are a large number of troops ahead!"

There are more than ten individuals who are referred to as the Imperial Guards, formerly known as the estate laborers and tenants of the Li family. These individuals appear to be relatively normal, at least they look like ordinary people, but each of them is dressed in tattered clothing. Some are carrying or shouldering various items, while others are holding an assortment of weapons: hoes, kitchen knives, and wooden sticks.

Two long, gaunt faces appeared yellow; when they spoke, they revealed a mouthful of large yellow teeth, and the breath was so foul it could suffocate a person. There were also two women who were the epitome of toughness; one carried the hundred-pound Princess Huichen yet moved with remarkable agility, while the other was laden with several bundles both in front and behind, walking even faster than Li Xuan

Immediately, he lowered his voice and said, "So what shall we do next? Are we just going to keep fleeing like this?"

Unexpectedly, as soon as these words were spoken, Liu Bagou said: "Your Highness, be cautious with your words. Our Great Tang is the chosen ruler of heaven, and it is destined to replace the Ming dynasty. Your Highness, instead of striving diligently for great achievements, is now disheartened. How can you face the late emperor who sacrificed himself for the country?"

However, after thinking for a long time, he could not come up with any good way out, as his current identity was indeed too awkward, a joke of a prince from a mountain village. The officials and soldiers behind him were relentlessly pursuing him, wanting his head as a means to gain promotion and titles. The future, no matter how one looked at it, did not seem optimistic.

Hearing the title "Your Highness" made Li Xuan both amused and exasperated: "Daoist, there is no need to call me Your Highness; just address me by my name."

During their escape, Li Xuan carefully counted their group, which consisted of twenty-six people in total. The main body was the "Royal Family," which included the "Queen," Li Xuan's mother; and Princess Huichen, Li Xuan's younger sister, a ten-year-old girl who had already inherited her mother's plumpness at such a young age. With her chubby face and a body that could barely fit into her clothes, she showed no potential to be considered a beauty.

Behind, Liu Bagou noticed that Li Xuan's pace had slowed down, and immediately took a couple of steps closer: "Your Highness, are you tired from walking? Would you like to take a rest for a while?"

Upon hearing his mother's words, Li Xuan couldn't help but regard this overweight mother, whose flesh jiggled as she walked, with a newfound respect. It seemed that among this group of people, she was the only one who maintained a normal way of thinking, not at all resembling a foolish rural landlady.

If one cannot forget the late Emperor's entrustment day and night, how can Your Highness lightly speak of giving up and disregarding the country and us ministers

Immediately, she took two quick steps and walked to the side of Lady Bai, her mother. The Queen, Lady Bai, also heard their conversation and immediately said: "Both of them are mad, do not pay any attention to them"

This idea is quite similar to what Li Xuan was thinking!

Rebellion? In fact, Lin Xuan does not mind it. If he had a few thousand or even tens of thousands of people under his command, it would be hard for him not to entertain thoughts of dominating the world. Even if he were the son of a bandit leader with a few hundred fierce bandits under him, rebellion would be feasible. But the key issue is, who are these people around him? Among the twenty or so individuals, there are men, women, the elderly, and the weak—essentially, they are just refugees. More critically, these people foolishly shout about the Crown Prince and the Empress every day. Continuing to stay with them will inevitably lead to being captured by the officials and then executed. But the key issue is, who are these people around him? Among the twenty or so individuals, there are men, women, the elderly, and the weak—essentially, they are just refugees. More critically, these people foolishly shout about the Crown Prince and the Empress every day. Continuing to stay with them will inevitably lead to being captured by the officials and then executed.

Unexpectedly, Liu Bagou waved his tattered robe with long sleeves and then, with a stern expression, said: "Your Highness, why do you speak in such a manner? Although we are currently in a difficult situation, the principles of etiquette and hierarchy still remain intact"

Seeing their resolute expressions, Li Xuan sighed inwardly and chose not to speak further. He considered himself a normal person and felt it was quite difficult to communicate with these neurotics

Indeed, we will surely make a comeback!" Chen the butcher quickly added, "As long as I am here, the officials and soldiers will definitely not be able to catch us!

However, his thoughts were soon ruthlessly shattered

The best scenario would be to find a place to live incognito and start anew, perhaps in that way one could survive in this unfamiliar era

Looking at this Liu Bagou, Li Xuan felt as if he were living in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. What scene is this? Is it Liu Bei entrusting his son? This Liu Bagou sees himself as Zhuge Liang, while Chen the Butcher sees himself as Zhang Fei? And he even sees himself as Liu A Dou?

Looking at the people in front and behind him, Li Xuan knew that mingling with them would inevitably lead to a dead end

However, she lowered her voice and said: "But now, the three of us rely on them to escape, so we shouldn't stoop to their level even if there's nothing going on!"

Li Xuan had long been dissatisfied with their incessant references to the queen and the prince. It was one thing to have been foolish in the past, but now they were being pursued and killed by the officials and soldiers. How could they still cling to this ridiculous 'Tang' dynasty? This is truly absurd.

This group of people is clearly just a band of refugees; they do not appear to be a rebellious army guilty of committing the grave crime of treason.

It is already quite extraordinary to have traveled back to the Ming Dynasty, yet I happen to encounter a group of fools; what could be more frustrating than this in the world

At this moment, Liu Bagou has clearly entered a state of madness: "On the day the Ming army attacked, the late emperor once said, 'I entrust the crown prince to you, and you must do your utmost to assist the crown prince in enduring hardships and preparing for the restoration of the country.'"

Furthermore, there were also Prime Minister Liu Bagou, General Chen Tufu of the Feather Guard, and General Bai Yunqi of the Cavalry. Originally, this small dynasty had several other disorganized officials, but they were either killed or have fled to unknown locations.

This butcher, Hu Cai, continued: "Yes, we must absolutely not give up on ourselves. Now, as long as we evade the pursuit of the officials and reunite with the leader Fang, we will be able to make a comeback..."

At this moment, Li Xuan was walking along the mountain path while contemplating how to navigate the road ahead in the future

At this point, he paused again and then habitually glanced at Liu Bagou

Lady Bai said: "Once we shake off the soldiers behind us, the three of us will part ways with them and find a place to live peacefully!"

Liu Bagou's expression stiffened, and then he weakly said: "Make a comeback!"

Thus he said: "No matter what has happened in the past, let the past be the past. Now we need to find a place to live in obscurity and start anew"

Therefore, the most ideal and realistic course of action now is to part ways with these few madmen and then find a place to live incognito, so that in the future, one might still be able to live comfortably in this era

What remains are a few palace maids, well, they are just a few maidservants from the Li family in the past. When it comes to the maidservants in the storybooks, most of them are described with the word 'charming', making them the best choice for countless predecessors who have traveled through time to tease and warm their beds. However, when Li Xuan looks at these maidservants, no matter how he sees it, they have nothing to do with the word 'charming'.

At this moment, the butcher Chen also walked over: "Indeed, Your Highness, you must never self-destruct..." At this point, he paused for a long time. Seeing him struggling, Liu Bagou beside him immediately whispered a prompt: "Self-abandonment!"