Old Madam Zhan was weeping bitterly. “Even so, you shouldn’t have brought Yutong along.”
Shao Yutong’s eyes swept over the procession as she said, “Grandmother, I didn’t want to be bullied and controlled by my stepmother either. I want to stay with Mother.”
What more could Old Madam Zhan say?
All she could do was have Second Master Zhan plead with the escort officers to let the mother and daughter join the procession.
The group continued on its way beneath the blazing sun, which scorched the earth.
Everyone was exhausted and thirsty, and their footsteps grew heavier with every passing moment.
Second Madam Zhan was already fuming. After glancing at Zhan Yurong several times, she could no longer hold back her complaints. “Yurong, are you stupid? If the Shao family wanted to divorce you, you should have coaxed your husband into staying. Look at you—you’re already exhausted after walking such a short distance. Aren’t you just adding to our troubles? Things are difficult enough as it is…”
Zhan Yurong shot her a cold look. “Second Sister-in-Law, maybe you should examine your own conscience before saying something like that. I was cast out by my husband’s family because of trouble brought on by my own family. Now I have nowhere to go, and I haven’t even blamed my family for it. Yet here you are, complaining about me?”
Second Madam Zhan was rendered speechless by the retort. With a cold snort, Zhan Yurong walked around her.
Listening to their quarrel, Cheng Yao secretly clicked her tongue. It seemed Zhan Yurong was no pushover either.
The exile procession moved slowly along the winding road, raising clouds of dust in its wake.
Everyone was utterly exhausted. Sweat soaked through their clothes, and they staggered forward with every step.
Zhan Haochen carried Zhan Haoting on his back, his steps growing heavier and heavier.
He gritted his teeth. Every step seemed to drain the last of his strength.
“Haochen, if you’re tired, go rest in the carriage for a while,” Cheng Yao said, concerned.
Zhan Haochen shook his head. “Sister-in-Law, I can hold on a little longer.”
Uncle Xiao was already advanced in years, and carrying Eldest Brother was even more taxing for him.
Zhan Qingrou was both heartbroken and angry. “Ninth Brother, they’re clearly refusing to let Eldest Brother ride in the carriage just to make things difficult for you and him, yet you still go along with her.”
“Eldest Sister-in-Law has no reason to harm us.”
Zhan Qingrou shook her head in exasperation. “You’re beyond saving. What kind of spell has she cast on you?”
“Eldest Brother’s life was saved by her.” Zhan Haochen lowered his voice. “Just for that alone, I’m willing to listen to her.”
As a martial artist, he could tell that Eldest Brother—who had been barely clinging to life at first—had developed much steadier breathing after being cared for by Eldest Sister-in-Law, and his injuries had stabilized as well.
The ginger broth Eldest Sister-in-Law had prepared the previous night had eased the soreness in his body considerably. Even the soles of his feet, covered in bloody blisters from walking, no longer hurt as much. The festering wounds had even begun to scab over.
All of this was thanks to Eldest Sister-in-Law, though he had no idea how she had managed it.
Zhan Qingrou, however, had not noticed any of this. She shook her head helplessly. “Ninth Brother, you really are a lost cause.”
That night, the procession camped out in the wilderness.
Zhan Yurong had brought plenty of food. The smoked meat and roast chicken gave off such an enticing aroma that everyone in the procession began drooling.
She was not one of the convicted prisoners, so the escort officers had no excuse to confiscate her provisions.
She also knew how to handle people. After slipping the officers a small pouch of silver and giving them some of the food, she had them grinning from ear to ear. They stopped interfering with her group.
Cheng Yao, meanwhile, was taking stock of the supplies her grandmother had given her.
When they said gold and silver valuables, what they really meant were simple, crude bars of gold and silver—thirty of each.
There was also a large pouch of silver pieces, two strings of copper coins, and ten banknotes worth one hundred taels of silver each.
None of it was particularly attractive, but it was practical.
The food consisted of a bundle of noodles that would keep well, a handful of dried vegetables, twenty salted duck eggs, a large bag of meatballs, salted fish, and the like—all food that could be stored for a long time.
To be honest, with all the eating and drinking their large family would need along the way, even ten carts would not have been enough.
This was already the limit of what the little old lady could bring. She had even given them so much money. If they ran out, they could simply find a way to buy more themselves.
Apart from that, everything else was medicine.
There were remedies for external illnesses and internal injuries, medicines to dispel wind and drive away the cold, and preventatives against epidemics. Some were traditional Chinese medicines, while others came in bottles and jars. They were packed to the brim and remarkably comprehensive.
From then on, the medicine Cheng Yao gave Zhan Haoting would have an explanation for where it came from.
Cheng Yao was deeply grateful to the little old lady.
She put all the money into her personal space, leaving only a small amount of food and medicine in the bundle and placing it on the cart as a pretense.
Tonight, she planned to cook noodles. That would make it convenient for her to add water from the spiritual spring and improve the health of the entire family.
That morning, she had secretly given the old station clerk at the courier station a silver bracelet in exchange for his earthenware pot. He had even thrown in two bowls and a pair of chopsticks.
“Oh, eldest sister-in-law,” Feng Xianxian called out loudly from over there. “We haven’t split up the family yet. Isn’t it inappropriate for you to keep eating alone?”
Cheng Yao straightened up and gave her a half-smile. “Then may I ask, do you have enough food on your side to cook for the few people with me?”
Feng Xianxian was rendered speechless.
Zhan Yurong immediately said, “Of course not. I only brought enough food for myself to last a few meals. How could I possibly support such a large family?”
Cheng Yao looked back at Feng Xianxian. “Then may I ask whether Third Sister-in-law has any food to share with us?”
Feng Xianxian stammered, “I—I don’t have any either.”
Cheng Yao immediately lost her temper. “If you don’t have any, then what are you doing here making snide remarks? You have food but refuse to share it with us. You’re the ones eating alone!”
Over on the other side, Zhan Yurong frowned and said to Old Madam Zhan, “How did Haoting end up marrying such a crude woman?”
Old Madam Zhan curled her lips in disdain, and Second Madam Zhan immediately joined in. “Crude? She’s far worse than that! She’s practically a wild woman who knows nothing of propriety or shame—unfilial, disrespectful, heartless, and immoral.”
“She’s truly that unbearable?” Zhan Yurong exclaimed in shock. “To marry a woman like that is a disgrace to the family—and a misfortune for Haoting!”
“You don’t know, do you? She was a substitute bride sent to marry Haoting. On their wedding night, no one knows what seductive tricks she used to coax him into keeping her. Not only did Haoting not care that she had deceived him, but he also protected her at every turn and spoiled her rotten.”
Zhan Yurong stared in astonishment, as though she were listening to some fantastical tale. Jealousy, like a slow-acting poison, gradually began to seep into her heart.
Hers had been a marriage arranged between influential families. After marrying into that household, she had lowered herself to serve her mother-in-law, following every rule and never daring to make the slightest mistake.
She had kept the household in perfect order. Yet her husband found her dull and would rather spend the night in the pleasure quarters, bringing one concubine after another into the family, than visit her chambers.
She had never once tasted what it was like to be cherished or protected. Yet Cheng Yao had married into the prince’s residence through such an obvious deception—and had instead won her husband’s love.
What makes Cheng Yao think she deserves it!
“It’s such a shame. She went to all that trouble to marry into the Prince of War’s household, only to gain nothing from it. Instead, she has to be exiled along with the rest of us. She must regret it terribly by now. Hee-hee.”
Second Madam Zhan’s gleeful laughter carried through nearly the entire procession. Zhan Yurong pressed her lips together in a smile, feeling somewhat better.
Cheng Yao, however, kept her face impassive as she busied herself, pretending not to hear.
Zhan Qingrou stared at her, her eyes filled with disgust.
Zhan Haochen’s thoughts were complicated as well.
His studies had kept him busy. After attending his elder brother’s wedding feast that day, he had hurried back to the academy, completely unaware of what had happened.
No wonder Grandmother and Second Madam treated Cheng Yao so coldly. She had actually done something so brazen, shameless, and despicable!
His elder brother was a celebrated God of War. How could she humiliate him like that?
Strangely, though, his elder brother had not pursued the matter.
And if she truly was as vile as everyone claimed, why would she be so devoted to his elder brother?
If she had not secretly treated him, his elder brother would have collapsed long ago.
So… was it possible that her supposed depravity was merely a facade—that his elder brother had arranged it as a safeguard for himself?
For a moment, Zhan Haochen’s thoughts raced in every direction.
“Sister-in-law, are you cooking noodles? But Big Brother is weak. He won’t be able to endure on food with so little nourishment.”
Feng Xianxian handed over a bronze bowl containing a roasted chicken leg and several slices of smoked meat.
“Here. Feed Big Brother this.”
Without even looking up, Cheng Yao replied, “No need.”
