Seeing her family happy, Zhu Xixi's eyes crinkled with joy, and she happily blew bubbles.

Dinner consisted of cooked food that only needed to be heated up, and everyone gathered around to enjoy the delicious meal.

Tao took a bite of the greasy roast duck, squinted his eyes, tilted his head back, and made a sound of enjoyment.

"I almost forgot what meat tastes like."

Zhu Chenfeng was a meticulous person and worried that the food might be a trap deliberately set by bandits. Only after going through the whole process was he satisfied with distributing it to everyone.

"All the food was tested with silver needles and found to be non-toxic. It was also cooked for a long time, so it should be safe."

[These foods are definitely not poisonous; Xixi carefully selected them all.]

How could it be poisonous?!

Only when you're well-fed and well-hydrated will you have the energy to bombard the bad guys!

Although Zhu Xixi couldn't enjoy the delicious food with everyone, she was happy to see her loving family members.

She was so happy that she danced around and kept twisting her body in Grandma Zhu's arms.

Xi Xi's reminder immediately darkened Old Mrs. Zhu's face, and she looked around at her surroundings with worry.

"Hurry up and eat! It's too quiet around here. We didn't encounter any bandits during the day, but they'll probably show up in the middle of the night."

The mention of bandits instantly killed everyone's excitement for the meal, and they all looked at each other uneasily.

"Mother, do you think the bandits will appear?" Sun asked her mother-in-law, holding a chicken leg in her hand, her face full of worry and fear.

Yes, these bad guys have been hiding nearby.

[The bad guy is really bad, Auntie, you have to protect yourself!]

[Mom and Grandma, you must stay away from these bad guys too.]

Zhu Xixi thought of the description in the book of how none of the women in the Zhu family had a good ending after being attacked by bandits, and her little face immediately turned sad.

The book's descriptions of her aunt and mother's experiences were too cruel, and Xixi pouted with grievance when she thought of those words.

Grandma Zhu knew she shouldn't bring this up during the meal, but after hearing Xixi's hint, she had to emphasize it again.

"I don't know, but we must be fully prepared. You all hurry up and eat."

"After hiding the cart, carry the weapons on your person. The second and third brothers are responsible for patrolling, and then we will switch shifts in the middle of the night."

That's right, the bandits are in the forest. You'll find them when you enter.

Zhu Haotian felt that his mother's concerns were justified, after all, the boulder during the day was too suspicious.

"Mom, I'll do whatever you say. I'm full, so I'll go take the sheep out for a stroll."

"Okay, don't go too far. Once you're in the woods, run immediately if anything seems amiss!"

After taking a few bites, Grandma Zhu lost her appetite, put the dough in the basket, and handed Xixi over to her daughter-in-law.

"I'll go help the second brother get the sheep down."

Upon seeing this, Zhu Chenfeng hurriedly stuffed the duck meat into his mouth and quickly got up to go to his mother's side.

"Mom, your back hurts, let me do it."

“Then I’ll push the cart into the bushes and hide it. The second brother will hide the sheep in the bushes later.”

Grandma Zhu felt uneasy and needed to keep herself busy to make herself feel better.

The others who were originally sitting and eating dinner also got up after seeing Grandma Zhu start moving.

Seeing this, Old Lady Zhu hurriedly waved to them, "I'm not at ease, I need to stretch my legs. You can eat your fill before you get back to work, we'll be staying up late tonight."

After saying that, he followed Zhu Haotian and Zhu Chenfeng to lift the goats off the cart and push the cart toward the grass.

As Sun ate the braised pig's trotter in her hand, she turned around to observe her mother-in-law's actions, her face full of doubt.

"Sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, do you think the bandits will come tonight?"

After finishing the roast duck in his hand, Tao sighed and shook his head, looking preoccupied.

[They will come, Mother. Please remind the aunties to take good care of themselves.]

You need to protect yourself too.

"I don't know, but tonight is definitely going to be turbulent."

Upon hearing her daughter's thoughts, Madam Liu's expression revealed a hint of unease, and she hugged Xixi tightly in her arms.

After a moment of contemplation, he slowly raised his head to look at Madam Sun and Madam Tao, and said in a firm tone.

"Jiayan, Qinru, I also have a bad feeling. How about we hide the cart later?"

"Let's scout out the path in the grove on the slope ahead. If we really encounter bandits, we'll know where to run."

[Mommy, you're amazing! You truly are my mother.]

Be careful, Xixi will protect you.

Sun and Tao Qinru both nodded in agreement.

After eating her fill, Liu carried her daughter on her chest with a cloth and instructed her two sons to stay in the camp and observe the situation.

He, along with Sun and Tao, carried torches and walked forward.

After the three left the camp, they ran into Zhu Haotian, who was walking around with a goat.

Zhu Haotian felt a little strange when he saw the three of them walking together, and hurriedly went up to ask them.

"Sister-in-law, where are you going?"

"We'll go ahead and scout ahead, we'll be right back."

Liu pointed to the slope at the edge of the cliff ahead and explained in a low voice.

Zhu Haotian looked in the direction of the gesture and saw only darkness ahead, which made him feel uneasy.

"Sister-in-law, it's so late, it's not safe for you all to be alone. Why don't you wait for me?"

"No need, the three of us will be fine as long as we are careful. We are already short-handed, and if we wait any longer, the bandits might come over."

After this period of travel, Tao no longer felt the anxiety and fear she had when she was first exiled.

Without hesitation, she rejected Zhu Haotian's suggestion and pulled Sun and Liu forward.

Even so, Zhu Haotian was still worried about the three of them going alone, seeing that his wife was unwilling to wait for him.

He had no choice but to secretly follow behind them with his goat, protecting their safety as he herded the goat.

The three walked very fast, and Zhu Haotian, leading the goat, could not keep up with them at all. He could only watch the three figures that were faintly visible in the darkness from afar.

Just as he was about to continue walking forward, he heard a rustling sound coming from the grass not far away, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

To scare the goat away, he quickly extinguished the tinderbox, stuffed the goat's mouth with a strip of cloth, and swiftly picked up the goat and hid behind a big tree.

Just then, several burly figures suddenly emerged from the bushes. After looking around furtively, they waved behind them.

"Be careful, everyone. Although these people are exiled criminals, there are still officials around. Don't alert them."

As soon as they finished speaking, seven or eight men wielding large knives quickly appeared behind them. The men were dressed in cloth, with headscarves tied around their heads, and some of them had several hideous scars on their faces.

After emerging from the bushes, these people followed their leader toward the camp.

Zhu Haotian hid behind a big tree, not daring to breathe loudly, until the others disappeared from the vicinity. Only then did he carry the goat and run quickly towards his wife.

At this time, Tao, Sun, and Liu had already arrived at the slope beside the official road, and the group climbed up the slope.

After climbing the slope, I found that the jungle inside was lush and dense. If I hid there, I could safely survive until the next day.

Just as they turned around, they saw Zhu Haotian running down the slope, panting heavily, and waving frantically at them.

[Oh no! Bandits have appeared! My goodness!]

Run! Hide!

Standing on the slope, Liu looked at Zhu Haotian, who was covered in sweat and looked flustered, and instantly understood.

Just then, Tao, unaware of what was happening, also spotted her husband down the slope and happily waved, intending to reply loudly.

Seeing this, Liu quickly covered her sister-in-law's mouth and whispered, "Don't make a sound. Haotian must have come in such a hurry because something must have happened."

Upon hearing this, Tao's face immediately turned panicked, and she tightly closed her lips, not daring to utter another sound.