Jiangxi Province, Shicheng County, Yangjiapai Village outdoors.

In a dark jungle, there is a huge mound with no grass growing on the mound, and even the leaves falling on it are sparse, forming a sharp contrast with the surrounding green grass connecting the sky. It seems to be artificially piled up recently. At the connection between the mound and the ground on one side, there is a pile of dead branches mixed with yellow-green and yellow-green leaves, which are extremely unnaturally close to the mound.

At this time, the pile of dead branches and leaves suddenly swayed and slowly spread out, revealing a cave under the mound. After a moment of silence, a hand stretched out from the cave to support the ground, and then slowly crawled out a unkempt boy.

Although he was so dirty that he was not as human-shaped, his appearance could still be distinguished from his facial features. This was Hong Tianguifu, the young king of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom that the Qing court was pursuing.

Hong Tianguifu crawled out of the cave and looked around in a daze. Seeing that there was no one coming within the visible range, he didn't care much and began to look for food. Soon, his eyes were on the mushrooms under a tree, and a hint of happiness suddenly appeared on his face. He walked over and squatted down quickly, picked a few mushrooms of large and small, and sent them into his mouth.

When he was hungry and food, two lines of hot tears had already formed a stream on his thin face, but he had no time to feel sad and continued to look around - besides food, water sources were the life-saving thing he needed more urgently.

In order to avoid the Qing army's search, he had been hiding in the cave for four days. In this secret world that even the remaining power of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom did not know, he was waiting in a dark place, relying solely on Su Sanniang's water supply to make a living. Now that Su Sanniang has not returned overnight, Hong Tianguifu has been hungry and thirsty, and finally took the risk and climbed out of the cave.

There was no water source nearby, and Hong Tianguifu didn't dare to go too far. It was a dilemma when he suddenly saw an old man in white clothes walking towards him in the distance.

If he had a normal state of health, Hong Tianguifu would naturally avoid the stranger as soon as he saw a stranger. However, when he saw the old man holding a wooden pot in his hand and no one was following him, he didn't care about his safety and went up to pray, "Old man, can you give me some water?"

The old man was stunned, frowned, stared at Hong Tianguifu and looked again and again, and then asked, "Child, have you encountered anything?"

Hong Tianguifu stroked his messy hair and fabricated it: "I encountered a robber at home and both my parents died. I ran away alone. I have not eaten enough for four days. I hope the old man will be fine and give him a drink." After saying that, his eyes fell on the wooden pot in the old man's hand and swallowed.

"So that's the case, what a poor child." After the old man said that, he handed the wooden pot in his hand to Hong Tianguifu, took out a piece of bread as big as a tea bowl from his arms and handed it to Hong Tianguifu, "Eat it. Where are you from? What's your name?"

"Ah... I am from Hubei, my name is Zhang Qingxiang." Hong Tiangui Fu Gong, a pseudonym designed by Su Sanniang, poured the water in the pot into his mouth, and then he feasted with the bread, as if he had lost the glory of the true emperor of the past, and looked like a beggar.

After drinking the water, Hong Tianguifu handed the wooden pot back to the old man. While the old man took the wooden pot, he touched Hong Tianguifu's right hand and his eyes stayed on his palm for a moment.

At this moment, a hurried female voice came from behind Hong Tianguifu: "Hey, Qingxiang, what are you doing?"

Hong Tianguifu looked behind him and saw Su Sanniang walking quickly towards the side. When he arrived at the two of them, he stared at the old man hard, grabbed Hong Tianguifu's hand and said, "Didn't I say, don't eat anyone's food?"

The old man said happily: "It's okay, it's just a matter of raising hands. How dare you ask this girl who is?"

Su Sanniang did not know the previous conversation between the two, and responded perfunctorily: "Sorry, old man, I am the child's mother. The child is not polite and offended so much. I have said goodbye."

"Mom?" The old man obviously heard the flaws in the words of the two, and was stunned for a moment, then said with joy, "Haha, okay, I'll feel relieved when the child finds his relatives. Now the world is so chaotic, don't let the child run around." After that, the old man gave a gift and walked away.

The two watched the old man go away vigilantly, and only then did they retract their gaze after confirming that nothing was wrong. Hong Tianguifu immediately reminded Su Sanniang, "Sanniang, I told him just now that my parents have both died."

"Oh, Your Majesty, I remind you again and again that I will definitely come back when I go out. Why does Your Majesty want to take action? Fortunately, this time I just met an old man. If I meet Qing Yao, it will be a mistake." Su Sanniang blamed her and said sincerely, "Also, before finding the large army, you should not call yourself 'I', and I will not call you 'Your Majesty' again. Safety must be the top priority in everything."

"Yes, if I had never been a 'me', how good it would be to be an ordinary person and spend my whole life openly..." Hong Tianguifu sighed and tried to ask, "You said, if I surrendered to the court and swear allegiance to the Qing Dynasty, would they give me a way out?"

After hearing this, Su Sanniang felt like she was poured with a basin of cold water in her heart. She shook her head and said, "Don't be naive! Not to mention that you shouldn't have this idea. Even if there is, do you think Qing Yao will let you go? No, they will not let you go, but will tie you to the execution platform, cut off your flesh with a knife, and let you die in extreme pain!"

"But... why did they treat me like this? I have never killed anyone, never done evil, and even a bird dies, I will feel heartbroken for a long time. Everything is theirs. What did I do wrong? I am hungry and cold every day. Last night, I drank my own urine three times in a row until I could no longer urinate. I was thinking, Heavenly Father, I praise your kindness every day, why do you treat me like this?" Hong Tianguifu suddenly roared, as if he wanted to vent the anger that had accumulated for many days. "Is it the mistake that I had committed the wrong birth and joined the Hong family?" After saying that, Hong Tianfugui's tears were already gushing out like a dam.

"Yes...yes, why should a child bear the evil committed by the previous generation?" Su Sanniang looked at this scene sadly, and suddenly felt that something in her heart that had been persisting for many years was re-examining her soul, and her eyes didn't feel wet. After a while, she squatted down, held Hong Tianguifu's hands, and said like a generous elder: "Okay, if you have decided to give up all this completely and become an ordinary child, I am willing to help you."

"Sanniang, do I really have a chance?"

"Well, yesterday, when I went to patrol the mountain, I found a unit of Qing Yao who was searching for the mountain, and some people had even set foot in this nearby area. However, I had eliminated all extremely dangerous people in time. Later, I activated the power of purification and went to a valley twenty miles away. I found that there was a family there, and the hidden residence was extremely difficult to find. So I visited the door and learned that there was only a seventy-year-old woman named Tang, who lived alone and lonely. I asked her if she was willing to take in an orphan in her teens and could do farm work for her. She was very happy."

Hong Tianguifu's eyes shone: "If possible, I am willing to be her grandson forever, do all the farm work for her, and also support her in the old age and see her off! Sanniang, take me there quickly, I'm so fed up with this ghost place!"

Su Sanniang nodded: "Okay, after all, Qing Yao doesn't know your face. After arriving at the Tang family, you have to wash your body, tie your braids, and live with another identity forever. Child, from now on, you will never have subordinates to serve you. You have to use your hands to chop firewood, feed pigs, carry water, and wash clothes. Do you know these dirty and tiring tasks?"

"No, I can learn!" Hong Tianguifu responded solemnly, "Compared with his capital and life, what are these?

Su Sanniang said again: "Okay, after you are stable, I will bid farewell to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom completely and be a simple demon-eliminating master to follow the steps of my friends. Our fate between king and minister will stop here, okay?"

Hong Tianguifu nodded deeply with tears in his eyes, and went up to give Su Sanniang a hug and said, "Sanniang, if there is a next life, will you be my mother, okay?"

"Okay, Sanniang promised you." Su Sanniang showed a gratified smile, and hugged Hong Tianguifu tightly, "If there is a next life, we will be a mother and son, depend on each other and live a good life in an ordinary life."

For Su Sanniang, when was the last time she experienced such a warm moment? She could no longer remember it. She seemed to be trying to make up for the regret of not being able to be a mother in this life. After a while, she finally stood up reluctantly and said, "Let's go."

When the two of them walked away, another figure came out of the forest. It was the old man who had sent water and dough cakes to Hong Tianguifu before. He came to the mound silently, bent down and looked at the pit below, and smiled evilly and said to himself: "The prey seems to have appeared, ah Chacha..."
Chapter completed!