Chapter 41: Fourth Young Master Qiao

Old Master Qiao remained unconscious for nearly three full days and nights. Upon waking, forcing his ailing body to endure, he set off for Yuzhang Commandery with immense grief to find his son.

He was going to collect his son's remains.

The Yellow Turban Rebellion, also known as the Yellow Turban Uprising, was a peasant war in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, akin to the Taiping Rebellion of the late Qing and early Republic eras in later history.

This uprising was also one of the largest religiously organized popular rebellions in Chinese history!

It began in the seventh year of the Guanghe reign under Emperor Ling of Han, which was 184 AD. At that time, the imperial court was corrupt, eunuchs and imperial relatives fought endlessly, border wars were continuous, and national strength grew increasingly weak. Furthermore, a nationwide severe drought left crops completely failed yet taxes remained unabated. Driven to desperation, impoverished peasants rose in revolt under the command of Zhang Jue from Julu.

In the late Eastern Han, the political situation was unstable, with external relatives and eunuchs monopolizing power. Wars against the Western Qiang had lasted for decades, consuming massive resources and imposing heavy labor and military service.

Compounded by severe land annexation, aristocratic families made their living by exploiting the lower classes, causing public anger to boil over. Moreover, in that society, the people were relatively superstitious. Seizing this opportunity, Zhang Jue combined his medical skills with the esoteric text *The Key to the Way of Peace* to heal the people, while vigorously propagating the slogan: "The Blue Sky is already dead; the Yellow Sky shall soon be established. In the Jiazi year, there will be great prosperity under heaven."

Zhang Jue won the support of many commoners, while the current imperial court had long lost the people's trust. Under these circumstances, Zhang Jue founded the Way of Peace, using religion to win over hearts and establishing prestige among the impoverished peasants, gathering hundreds of thousands of followers.

Leveraging his prestige among the populace, Zhang Jue organized believers across the eight provinces of Qing, Xu, You, Ji, Jing, Yang, Yan, and Yu into thirty-six *Fang* (districts). A major district had over ten thousand people, while a minor district had six to seven thousand. Each district was led by a commander under his unified command, preparing for a massive uprising aimed at overthrowing the Han Dynasty and establishing a new world ruled by the Yellow Turban army.

The uprising peasants wrapped their heads in yellow turbans, shouting the slogan "The Blue Sky is already dead; the Yellow Sky shall soon be established. In the Jiazi year, there will be great prosperity under heaven," launching fierce attacks against the imperial court and local aristocratic families, delivering a massive shock to the rule of the Eastern Han court.

To quell the rebellion, local officials amassed military power for themselves. The most famous was Liu Yan, the smooth talker mentioned in the previous chapter, who persuaded Emperor Ling to "abolish regional inspectors and establish provincial governors." Although the Yellow Turban Uprising ultimately ended in failure, the situation of warlord fragmentation and the Eastern Han existing only in name became irreversible, eventually leading to the formation of the Three Kingdoms period.

Old Master Qiao's eldest son was killed by the Yellow Turban army during this turmoil. Overwhelmed with grief, Old Master Qiao eventually decided to take his family and rush to Yuzhang Commandery to find his eldest son's body.

However, along the way, they encountered refugees driven by the Yellow Turban army. The Fourth Young Master Qiao, Old Wang, and Wang Peiling became separated from Old Master Qiao and his party.

Eventually, the Fourth Young Master Qiao and Old Wang rushed to Yuzhang Commandery. Later on, the Fourth Young Master vanished from the public eye, replaced by City Defense Guard A-Si and Phoenix Immortal Tower's proprietor Old Wang.

Reaching this point, little Liu could not help but sigh.

"How do you know all this?" Liu Xie asked curiously, his brows slightly raised.

Little Liu gave a bitter smile and said, "Because I was originally a servant of the Qiao family, and I always stayed by the Fourth Young Master's side."

"Aren't you afraid that we are Liu Yan's men, specifically sent to capture you?" Liu Xie asked with a half-smile.

"Not afraid!" little Liu said with certainty.

"Why?"

Little Liu stared directly into Liu Xie's eyes and said word by word, "I can tell from your eyes that you are not a bad person!"

Hearing this, Liu Xie was slightly startled, then gave a dumbfounded smile and shook his head, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say.

Finally, he said slowly, "In that case, tomorrow you will take me to see the young lady your young master cannot forget. Perhaps I can help."

A spark of light burst forth in little Liu's eyes.

"Thank you, Young Master!"

Early the next morning, little Liu was waiting outside the door. After Liu Xie and Erniu finished washing up, he led the two of them to visit the young lady.

Liu Xie looked at the courtyard before him with some surprise.

The courtyard did not look large; in fact, it appeared rather dilapidated.

The courtyard gate was merely a low wooden door. If a thief wanted to break in and steal something, this gate would probably only serve as a decoration.

Seeing Liu Xie's astonished gaze, little Liu gave a bitter smile. "Does the Young Master find it strange why my proprietor's dwelling is so dilapidated?"

Liu Xie nodded and said, "As far as I know, your Phoenix Immortal Tower is one of the premier restaurants in this Yuzhang Commandery."

A bitter smile flashed across the corner of little Liu's mouth. "Indeed. It's just that my proprietor exhausted nearly all his family wealth to treat his younger sister's illness."

Hearing little Liu's words, a trace of an inscrutable expression flashed across Liu Xie's eyes, but he quickly concealed it.

Liu Xie turned around as if unintentionally and glanced at Erniu.

When Erniu met Liu Xie's gaze, he instantly grasped the meaning in those eyes.

"Ouch!"

Hearing Erniu's cry, little Liu turned around and saw Erniu clutching his stomach, squatting on the ground with a distressed expression.

"Brother Hu, what's wrong with you?"

Erniu put on a miserable look, waved his hand, and said in pain, "I think I ate some unwashed fruit at noon, and now my stomach hurts a bit."

"How about..."

Before little Liu could finish, Erniu interrupted him abruptly. "Oh dear, you guys go on inside first! I can't hold it much longer! I need to find a place to relieve myself!"

With that, he got up and scurried away.

Seeing Erniu's retreating figure, a flash of panic crossed little Liu's eyes, clearly caught off guard by Erniu's sudden stunt.

Although he hid it well and it only lasted for a split second, Liu Xie captured it with careful observation.

Acting as if he hadn't seen anything, Liu Xie said,

"Then take me inside now!"

"Aren't we going to wait for Brother Hu?" little Liu asked with a forced smile.

Liu Xie patted him on the shoulder with a smile and said, "Never mind him; he's just like that! He always drops the ball at moments like this! Let's go on inside first!"

"Drops... the ball?" little Liu looked at Liu Xie in bewilderment.

Seeing this, Liu Xie smacked his forehead, forgetting for a moment that this was ancient times, and quickly corrected himself, "I mean he runs into trouble! Alright, never mind him, take me to see your young miss!"

Seeing Liu Xie acting this way, little Liu glanced back at the direction Erniu had left, gritted his teeth, and said, "Very well, Young Master, please follow me!"

Liu Xie nodded and, guided by little Liu, stepped into the courtyard.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, Liu Xie felt as though he were being watched.

Scanning the surroundings, apart from little Liu walking ahead, there was no one else in the courtyard.

Could it be that my senses were wrong? Liu Xie muttered doubtfully to himself.

The courtyard was not large; it was very open and basically devoid of any furnishings.

Led by little Liu, the two quickly arrived in front of a room door.

"Young Master, please enter!"

Liu Xie looked at little Liu standing motionless before him, just as he was about to ask something, he felt alarm bells ringing loudly in his heart, followed by a rush of strong wind striking the back of his head.

Damn it! Not again!

This was Liu Xie's final thought before losing consciousness.