Zhan Qingrou could no longer suppress her anger and abruptly rose to her feet.
“Cheng Yao, what do you mean? Third Sister-in-law kindly brought meat for Big Brother to help him regain his strength, and you refuse it? Are you trying to starve my brother to death?”
Cheng Yao raised her eyes and looked at her as if she were an idiot.
“Then go ahead and feed it to your brother. If you can get him to swallow it, I’ll be grateful to you.”
“You!” Zhan Qingrou’s pretty face flushed with anger. “Fine, I’ll feed him.”
She had just reached out when Zhan Haochen slapped her hand away.
“Use your brain. If Big Brother could eat meat, would he need you to feed him? He can only drink liquids right now.”
Zhan Qingrou froze. When she heard snickers coming from the group, her face turned red, then white.
“I…” Feeling utterly humiliated, she stamped her foot. “Ninth Brother, you’re scolding me!”
Covering her face, she ran off crying.
Feng Xianxian was embarrassed as well and hurriedly tried to smooth things over. “Eldest Sister-in-law, you could stew the meat until it’s softer and make it into a puree for Big Brother.”
“I don’t want to,” Cheng Yao refused flatly.
“Why?”
“I’m afraid you’ll poison it.”
Feng Xianxian: “!!!”
“Eldest Sister-in-law.” She could no longer keep her composure. “We’re all family. How can you say something like that?”
“One can never be too careful, even with family.”
Cheng Yao did not say much, but every word struck Feng Xianxian where it hurt most.
“You even guard against your own family. Eldest Sister-in-law, you really have lost your mind.”
Feng Xianxian flicked her sleeve and turned around. As she did, her gaze happened to sweep over Zhan Haoting. She discovered that he was actually awake, lying there limp as a pile of mud. His dark, sunken eyes were like the depths of hell, as if they would swallow her whole.
She shuddered and fled.
How terrifying!
The next day, the sky was gloomy, with dark clouds pressing down overhead.
The convoy reached Duanlong Slope, a stretch of road that had long been known as Soulbreak Ridge.
Few carts ever traveled this section. The mountain road was steep, the surface slick, and it had always been the favorite place for bandits to ambush and rob travelers.
The constables were extremely tense and urged the convoy to hurry past.
But after traveling for two days straight, everyone was exhausted. Their legs were weak and sore, and no matter how much they wanted to hurry, they simply could not.
Old Madam Zhan’s household had eaten and drunk their fill, so they were in fairly good spirits. Their carriage led the convoy, followed by the members of their household. Zhan Yurong and Feng Xianxian were even chatting and laughing merrily.
Zhan Haoting’s household had fallen to the rear.
Zhan Haochen was carrying Zhan Haoting on his back, and it was becoming more and more difficult. They gradually fell farther behind the convoy.
Cheng Yao stopped to wait for him.
After a while, Xiao Fu also climbed down from the carriage and hurried back. He took over from Zhan Haochen.
Second Madam Zhan quickly climbed into the carriage to rest.
“Go faster.”
She urged Hongxiu on, unwilling to let Zhan Haoting’s household catch up and take her place.
The carriage moved faster and faster over the uneven road, soon leaving the rest of the convoy far behind.
Suddenly, the carriage slammed into a rock in the middle of the road with a loud bang. It spun out of control, rolled down the slope, and crashed violently into the jagged rocks below!
The carriage broke apart, and the shafts went flying.
Hongxiu leaped from the carriage and rolled through the grass, using the motion to lessen the impact.
Old Madam Zhan, who had been sitting inside, was thrown out. Half her body was pinned beneath a broken crossbeam. Her shoulder blade struck a rock, and blood slowly seeped from the corner of her mouth, staining the front of her clothes red.
Second Madam Zhan had been thrown a short distance away, and blood was running down her forehead as well.
Several men in black appeared from the shadows. After checking the carriage and confirming that Zhan Haoting was not inside, they immediately withdrew.
Hongxiu quietly crawled a little closer, smeared some blood from Old Madam Zhan onto her own head and face, then closed her eyes and lay there motionless.
By the time the convoy caught up, Old Madam Zhan’s eyes were tightly shut. Her breathing was so faint it was almost nonexistent, and her face was as gray as death.
“Mother!”
When Zhan Yurong and the others saw the horrifying scene, they broke down and began to weep.
The constables stood several paces away, watching coldly. Not one of them stepped forward.
“She’s old and can’t walk anymore anyway. It’s better if she dies and saves us the trouble,” someone muttered with a sneer.
The chief constable rode over on horseback, his dark official robes snapping in the wind.
He looked down at the old madam lying on the ground, the corner of his mouth curling mockingly.
“Since Heaven wants to take her, why should I waste food on her? Drag her away and bury her.”
The Zhan family’s hearts all jolted.
Shao Yutong dropped to her knees in the mud. Looking up at the chief constable, she spoke through trembling lips, tears streaming down her face.
“My lord! Although the Zhan family are convicted ministers, the imperial decree sentenced us to three thousand li of exile—it did not order us to be executed on the road! If my maternal grandmother and second aunt die while in transit, what becomes of the laws of the imperial court? And how will you answer for your duty?”
Every word was neither servile nor arrogant, yet each one struck at the heart of the matter.
Zhan Haochen had just caught up as well. He was stunned and turned to look at her.
Cheng Yao thought to herself, Here it comes. The heroine is finally making her move.
In the original novel, Zhan Haoting had been able to travel in a prisoner cart during the exile.
But someone had tampered with the cart, causing it to lose control and plunge off a cliff.
The constables had stood by and done nothing, and Shao Yutong had delivered this very same righteous speech.
It was at that moment that Zhan Haochen had fallen in love with her.
And now, he was probably moved by her too.
The chief constable narrowed his eyes, his gaze cutting into Shao Yutong’s face like a blade.
She was only thirteen or fourteen, with a young yet exceptionally beautiful face. Faced with such a terrible situation, she showed not the slightest trace of fear. Her words were clear and forceful, even carrying a faint sharpness that could not be ignored.
She was not a criminal. Her future held limitless possibilities.
She must not be offended!
The chief constable mulled it over before saying, “You certainly have a filial heart.”
“Carry her back,” he ordered. “Whether she lives or dies will be up to Heaven.”
The constables found it troublesome and cursed as they came forward to carry away Second Madam Zhan first.
Before the old madam could be carried off, Shao Yutong hurriedly placed several thin slices of ginseng into her mouth.
“Maternal Grandmother, you have to hold on.”
The carriage had shattered into pieces, and its contents lay scattered everywhere.
Madam Zhan brought Zhan Qingrou along as they hurriedly gathered everything up.
The horse was also badly injured. After obtaining Cheng Yao’s permission, the chief constable arranged for it to be carried back and slaughtered.
Cheng Yao had no choice.
She could heal the horse’s injuries, but there was no way for her to care for it on the road.
Thus, the horse’s eventual fate would either be to starve to death or be killed and eaten by the constables.
When Madam Qi gave her the carriage, she had already anticipated this.
The reason she accepted it was that the carriage could withstand one assassination attempt, giving Zhan Haoting one more chance to survive.
Cheng Yao went to check on Hongxiu.
Hongxiu secretly opened one eye halfway and winked at her.
…
The convoy had barely left Soulbreak Ridge when torrential rain began to pour from the sky.
The icy rain struck their faces like arrows. The mountain road became even wetter and more treacherous, and no matter how carefully everyone proceeded, they continued to slip.
The constables grew increasingly irritable. Their curses and beatings pierced through the curtain of rain.
“Hurry up! Anyone who can’t keep up can die here and feed the wolves!”
Xiao Fu was carrying Zhan Haoting at the rear. The constable thought he was moving too slowly and lashed out with his whip.
The whip came cracking through the air, trailing muddy water.
Xiao Fu instinctively tried to turn aside; otherwise, Zhan Haoting would be the one injured.
But his foot was stuck in a mud pit, and he could not pull it free in time.
Zhan Haochen reached out and took the blow for him. The whip struck his arm.
A sharp pain shot through him. The constable kicked him in the chest, sending him sprawling into the muck.
Rainwater and mud smeared across his nose and mouth. He struggled to lift his head and saw the constable raise his whip and bring it down toward Xiao Fu’s head and face.
