Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Sick and Seeking Medicine

The Taihu Lake dike burst twice this year, once in June and once half a month ago.

Gu Wen was neither the person who supervised the construction of the Taihu Lake dam, nor the person who provided disaster relief after the dam burst. Logically speaking, even if the Taihu Lake dam burst was related to him as a doctor in the Ministry of Works, he could only be considered jointly liable at most.

Exile was already a serious crime that the subordinates took advantage of to make use of the emperor's intentions. I didn't expect those people to be so blinded by greed that they dared to take the opportunity to torture and extract confessions based on groundless suspicions.

With red eyes, Mrs. Du helped her husband sit down, and kept telling him to go slower and not touch the wound.

"It's okay, I was only whipped a few times, don't cry." Gu Wen took a breath and sat down slowly, without forgetting to coax his wife.

The more Gu Wen said this, the more Du Shi couldn't hold back her tears: "They are too bullying."

Gu Wen, born in a humble family, rose to the rank of fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Works after more than a decade of official service, all thanks to his ability to read and work. But in officialdom, what's more important than reading and working is the ability to speak and have connections.

Gu Wen had been extremely careful and attentive, and he had finally made it to where he is today. Gu Wen did not regret anything in the past, his only regret was getting his family into trouble.

"Don't be sad, this is the worst. Fortunately, our family is still here." Gu Wen and the Du couple thought the same thing.

Gu Wen thought of several other colleagues with whom he had a good relationship. They were involved in the incident, and the palace beheaded them without caring that yesterday was Mid-Autumn Festival.

Mrs. Du hated the current emperor so much that she gritted her teeth and had to swallow her hatred.

"Daddy, do you want some cake?"

Axuan didn't like the dry and chewy cake. Just like before, she stuffed the food she didn't like into her father's mouth.

Gu Wen smiled slightly and patted his little daughter's head: "Daddy doesn't want to eat, Axuan can eat it by herself."

A-Xuan's eyebrows wrinkled like a caterpillar, and she tugged at her father's clothes and said coquettishly, "A-Xuan doesn't want to eat."

Mrs. Du glared at her daughter: "Even if you don't like it, you have to eat it. It's not as good as home outside. Don't be picky."

"Mianmian."

"Where is the flour for you to eat? Eat your bread quickly."

Her mother was yelling at her, and Axuan cried and threw herself into her father's arms. Gu Wen accidentally touched his injured back and groaned in pain.

"Axuan, don't bump into your daddy." Mrs. Du quickly picked up her little daughter.

"What happened, Daddy?"

Gu Wen was in pain himself, but he was also concerned about his little daughter: "Daddy is sick, he will be well in a few days."

Gu Wenqing, who had been silent since coming here, whispered, "Dad has a fever, we can't just let him go. When we get to the post station tonight, we must find a way to get some medicine."

Mrs. Du said, "I'll take care of this matter. I have a way."

Gu Wen and Mrs. Du looked at each other. As they had been married for many years, Gu Wen knew that his wife was telling the truth. He wondered in his heart whether his wife had secretly hidden some silver.

Gu Wenqing also knew that his mother had always been successful, so he didn't ask.

Gu Youan opened the sack that his uncle Du had thrown to him when he was leaving the city gate early this morning. Inside was a small bag of silver and copper coins, a stack of meat patties, and a gourd filled with water.

Gu Wen asked, "Did you bring it from home?"

Mrs. Du sneered, "How could those people who sucked my blood out of me let me bring these things out?"

Gu Youan said, "These were thrown to us by Second Uncle Du when we were leaving the city. He threw several, and we only grabbed one."

Mrs. Du took off two pieces of clothing and stuffed them into her bag: "We are lucky, thanks to the kind-hearted official who is guarding our house. He asked me to bring you a change of clothes."

Adding the two extra pieces of clothing on my body, it helps a lot.

Gu Youan looked carefully at her father's clothes. He was probably imprisoned and exiled in a hurry, so he only took off his official uniform and outer robe. His inner clothes, pants and shoes were all his own.

Gu Wenqing was dressed similarly.

"Mom, Dad and big brother are short of clothes." She knew how cold the Northeast was, and it would definitely not be enough to wear only two pieces of clothing.

"It's okay. We still have some money. We'll figure it out on the way."

Seeing that his sister could now speak, care about them, and worry about the difficulties at home, Gu Wenqing smiled.

Dad is right. My sister can be said to have turned a disaster into a blessing.

"Stop talking, let's eat first."

With the delicious meat pie, A Xuan immediately smiled happily, stuffed the corn tortilla to her sister, took the meat pie, opened her mouth wide, and took a big bite like a hungry tiger. It was so delicious!

Gu Wenqing was reluctant to eat it. He was already seventeen years old and knew how difficult life was on the road of exile. He wanted to save the meat pie for later.

Mrs. Du stuffed a meat pie into her son's mouth and said, "Eat it. It's too hot to hold it in, so it's better to keep it in your stomach. You've been carrying your father all this way today, it's hard enough. You can't let your stomach go hungry anymore. There will be a way later."

Gu Youan also took a pancake to eat.

Gu Wen looked at his daughter with satisfaction and smiled at his wife, "You used to argue with me about whether our daughter's personality would be more like you or me after she came back to life. Now it seems that An An's personality is still like mine."

Mrs. Du looked at her husband, then at An An, a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth: "A Xuan is like me, Wen Qing and An An are like you in temperament."

Gu Youan was very familiar with her parents and brothers and sisters, and she often saw them in her dreams. Now she looked carefully at the living family in front of her and smiled.

She accepted Gu Youan's fate and regained her family who loved her, so it wasn't a bad thing.

After a short rest, the officers shouted and set off. Gu Wen, who had been hungry for almost two days, ate some bread and drank some water. When he stood up, he had regained some strength and refused to ask his eldest son to carry him on his back.

"You're tired too. I have the strength to walk now. You can take a rest."

Gu Wenqing supported him: "Dad, hold my arm. If you can't walk, I will carry you."

Mrs. Du also supported Gu Wen. After walking a few steps, she thought of her daughter. Ah Xuan stood up and jumped a little: "Mom, I can walk by myself too."

Mrs. Du hummed, then looked at her eldest daughter: "Are you feeling unwell?"

Gu Youan shook his head: "I can still walk, don't worry about me, mother."

Hundreds of people set out under the scorching sun, lacking food and water. These families of convicted officials had never endured such hardships. Within an hour of their departure, many of them fainted on the way.

Gu Youan was very weak. She gritted her teeth and followed the team slowly, refusing to fall behind.

Gu Wen had a fever, but he could still walk. Mrs. Du's attention returned to her two daughters. When Axuan could no longer walk, Mrs. Du carried her youngest daughter on her back and continued walking.

Mrs. Du stuffed several sets of old clothes she brought from home and the gourd given by her second uncle into a bundle, which was then hung on Gu Wenqing.

Tired of walking, Gu Youan kept thinking about other things to divert her attention. She walked for a long time with her head down, until the sun went down. She looked like a walking corpse, and the fifty-mile walk for the day had come to an end.

"An An, we've arrived at the post station."

The evening wind blew over from the fields by the roadside, and Gu Youan's fuzzy and chaotic mind became a little clearer.

Looking up and around, the post station is in front, behind the post station is a small hill, in front of the post station are fields, and in the distance a river is flowing in the fields.

There were more than 300 exiled officials and their families, and there were only two rooms left for them to live in at the post station.

How could there be room here? As soon as the officer gave the order, the strong and able-bodied men immediately rushed into the house, vying for space.

The places in the house were all taken, and the places in the courtyard of the post station were almost all taken. Except for Gu Wenqing, the other five members of the Gu family were women, children, sick and disabled, and there was no way they could compete.

Mrs. Du saw that it was no big deal, so she carried her little daughter on her back and took up space under the back wall of the post station, where at least there was a wall to block the wind.

There was hay in the post station. Mrs. Du put her little daughter down and ran over to ask for some hay, and Gu Wenqing followed her.

A few more fugitives who failed to get a seat in the house came under the back wall. Gu Youan hurriedly helped Gu Wen to sit down and put A Xuan between her and Gu Wen. The three of them, father and daughter, occupied a lot of space.

"Master Gu."

Gu Wen leaned against the wall and looked up. Seeing that it was Censor Tian from the Censorate, he immediately smiled bitterly: "I am a convicted official. Sir Tian, ​​is it okay for you to make fun of me?"

Censor Tian also gave a bitter laugh: "We are all criminals, who is making fun of who?"

Censor Tian's name was Tian Qingde, a true gentleman from a humble family.

The Taihu Lake dike collapse and corruption case originally had nothing to do with Tian Qingde. The emperor used this as an excuse to implicate many innocent officials. He was so angry that he wrote a letter to remonstrate with the emperor. The emperor was so angry that he found a reason to provoke him, and Tian Qingde was exiled.

Tian Qingde sat down and sighed, "One should do his job well. As an imperial censor, I should have advised the emperor. I deserve the punishment for angering the emperor. Unfortunately, my wife and two sons have been implicated by me."

Gu Youan looked up at the four members of the Tian family. Tian Qingde and his wife were less than 40 years old and were still in good health. The two sons of the Tian family were probably around 20 years old, in the prime of their youth. People like theirs should be able to survive until the exile.

"Why didn't Brother Tian and his family stay at the post station?"

"I'm in good health and don't mind the night wind, so I won't fight with others. It's quiet enough to sleep under the back wall."

Tian Qingde said quietly, "The current emperor governs the country with filial piety. The empress dowager will celebrate her sixtieth birthday next spring. I wonder if the emperor will grant amnesty to the entire nation."

"Even if there is a general amnesty, after we go to Songjiang City, our family probably won't return to Beijing." Gu Wen didn't think about this.

Gu Wen and Tian Qingde were in different situations. Although both of them were exiled, Tian Qingde only offended the emperor by his rude words, but Gu Wen offended the current emperor to death because he supported someone else to ascend the throne.

Tian Qingde also understood. He sighed softly, "I know you are an upright person. This time... our family is also exiled to Songjiang City. If you need any help along the way, just ask."

The food in exile is definitely poor, but you can still endure it by gritting your teeth. However, the climate is unbearable.

It was only Mid-Autumn Festival yesterday, so sleeping outside at night wasn't too cold, just physically exhausting. Once we passed Shanhaiguan and entered the Northeast, it was freezing cold, and that was when it got really tough.

Having trustworthy people to help each other in difficult times is something that the small and weak Gu family could never ask for more.

Gu Wen bowed gratefully and said, "Thank you for your kindness."

Tian Qingde smiled bitterly: "I don't mean well, that's all."

The thing has been done. At this point, he can't regret it anymore. This is the only way.

While they were talking, Mrs. Du and Gu Wenqing came back. Mrs. Du put down the hay and said, "If the weather is not cold, we can still mix it up. If the weather gets cold, I'm afraid it will be hard. We need to plan ahead."

Gu Wen nodded, he thought the same.

Gu Wenqing said, "Mother, let's find a way to get some medicine first."

The unnatural blush on Gu Wen's cheeks was very noticeable, and it was obvious that he was sick.

Gu Wen coughed, swallowed his dry throat, and said, "This is the nearest post station to Luoyang, and we are exiles. The officials in the post station, from top to bottom, dare not act recklessly. I'm afraid this medicine will be difficult to find."

"Oh, that's not necessarily true. People die for money and birds die for food. What can't they do?"

This group of people were exiled in a hurry. The emperor had imprisoned them yesterday. Most of the families of the convicted officials were not imprisoned. They were kept at home for one day before being exiled.

There were many families of convicted officials who, like Mrs. Du, shamelessly begged for two sets of old clothes, and some of them must have smuggled valuables. The post station officers were not stupid and would have guessed it. It would be strange if they didn't try to scrape a few ounces of oil from them.

Gu Wen took a deep breath and said, "The fever I had last night wasn't from the whip on my back. I think it was because I took off my clothes and lay on the ground and caught a cold. I feel better now. Even without medicine, I'll recover after a night's rest."

"father."

Gu Wen told Gu Wenqing to stop talking: "We have a gourd at home, go get some water."

There were only two meat patties left, so he had to rely on the bread distributed by the officers to fill his stomach. The bread distributed by the officers was dry and hard, and he had to rely on water to swallow it down.

Gu Wenqing went to ask for water, and the Tian family, who lived next to the Gu family, and several other families also quietly went to ask for water. Each family left one or two people to take the place and guard their own hay.

Most of the people in the corner had left, and Gu Youan stood up: "Dad, Mom, I'm going to go over there and get some dry firewood. We'd better light a fire tonight."

Mrs. Du continued, "We should find some firewood. We're near the mountain behind us, and the wind is strong at night. There might be snakes, insects, rats, or ants. It's hard to sleep without firewood."

Gu Wen asked his daughter to sit down: "We'll discuss this after everyone comes back."

Even if they needed to burn firewood, they couldn't be the only ones doing the work. The journey was long, and they couldn't let others think they were easy targets.

After a while, the families came back one after another. Mrs. Du gave her daughter some dry biscuits and water and said, "Take a couple of bites first."

Gu Wen and Tian Qingde, who had just returned, whispered about spending the night there. Tian Qingde stepped forward and went to discuss it with the other families at the back wall.

These families were not familiar with the Tian and Gu families, and were unwilling to join them, so they refused. Tian Qingde did not care, and came back and said to Gu Wen: "Well, let's have a fire together."

Gu Wen nodded.

Gu Wenqing stuffed the pancake into his mother's hand and got up to go to the woods with Tian Dalang to find firewood.

"stop!"

Two officers with swords came over, and one of them squinted at them: "We just left Luoyang today, if you dare to escape..."

"I dare not."

"Haha, it's best if you don't dare. There's a tight net around Luoyang. I'm sure you'll be caught before the court issues a warrant. By then, it won't be as simple as exile."

Another officer with a stern face said, "There are still many days ahead. If you are smart, you should stay calm and stop causing trouble for us."

"You families must supervise each other. If anyone is missing tomorrow morning, you will all be in trouble."

This was the nearest post station to Luoyang, with many officers and soldiers from the Beijing camp stationed nearby. Perhaps knowing that these people couldn't escape, the officers gave them a few scoldings and left.

Gu Wenqing and Tian Dalang went to the mountains to collect firewood. Gu Youan took her mother into the woods as well. The families nearby looked at them coldly and left them alone.

The sky gradually darkened, and there were several people collecting firewood in the woods. Mrs. Du guessed that her daughter was going to that secret place, so she took her daughter for a long walk, twisting and turning, and only let go when they reached an uninhabited bush.

"Mom, I'm going to get some medicine for Dad. Please wait for me."

Mrs. Du nodded: "Don't delay, come out quickly."

"Um."