Chapter 100: The Troublesome Banditry Across Two Provinces

Chai Jin sat down next to his father and said, "Xie Yuchuan is not here. Second Miss Xie is resting with her family. I didn't want to disturb them, so I gave it to her directly."

"Then...didn't you ask for medicine for the cough?"

Chai Jin nodded and said, "I'll ask you next time I have a chance."

Chai Ji looked a little disappointed, but he didn't say much. He still understood his son Chai Jin's work to some extent. If he felt that the time was not right, he could just wait a little longer.

"That's fine. The Xie family still has some medicine, so there's no rush."

After a night, the coughing sounds in the carriage next to them were obviously not as frequent and rapid as before. Mrs. Chai slept a little longer today, which was rare, and the Chai father and son were happy.

The father and son were silent for a while.

Chai Jin: "The Xie family's medicine is really effective. After just one night, my mother's cough has improved a lot."

Chai Ji: "Your mother has an old illness that recurs every year. I wonder if the Xie family would be willing to exchange a few more with ours."

Chai Jin didn't know either.

Madam Chai was lying in the carriage when she heard the conversation between her husband and son outside. She turned to the person beside her and said, "Take out my pair of blood jade bracelets and prepare them."

No one knows better than her whether the Xie family's medicine is effective or not.

After taking it only twice last night and this morning, she felt the pain in her throat reduced by two or three points, and her energy and spirit, which had been depressed for a long time, seemed to have returned a lot.

She thought that she would not survive long in exile.

Unexpectedly, there is always a way out, and she saw a glimmer of hope.

Chai Jin specially went to the Min family caravan to exchange tea.

Xie Wenjie thought that the Chai family was wealthy and even had things like tea. In fact, the Chai family just had some extra gold, silver and money on the road, and they happened to meet a caravan selling goods, so it was not difficult for them to exchange some good things with the merchants.

Min Zhong had been following the exile team all the way and had already figured out the identities of several influential criminals in the team.

The Chai family was a family with special connections. On the way to exile, the women of the Chai family had carriages and horses to use. Chai Jin came over and said he wanted to exchange them for some good things. How could Min Zhong refuse?

After Chai Jin left, Min Zhong and Wu Liang said, "The Chai family is quite powerful. Others in exile had a miserable life, but they were much better off."

Wu Liang also agreed, but in his heart, he actually felt that the Xie family members who always kept a low profile in the team looked more extraordinary.

After leaving the customs, it is better for everyone to go their separate ways.

The team rested in the tea stall for a while, but the people behind never caught up.

Cheng Ye felt that he could not wait any longer and ordered his troops to continue moving forward.

There was a loud noise on the ground, and everyone picked up their bags and continued walking north under the scorching sun.

According to what the Gaojia villagers said before, after passing the tea stall, walk along the road ahead and you will reach the government post station in about two hours.

"In two hours, if there are no problems with Lord Xiong, we should be able to catch up."

The convicts staggered along the shortcut pointed out by the villagers. Although this detour was passable by horses and carriages, it was too winding and tortuous. The large group of people worked very hard and finally arrived safely at the official post station near the Panlong Mountains after two hours.

Xiong Jiushan was not there, so Cheng Ye went to the post station to sign in.

At this time, the sun was at its highest point in the sky and it was just past noon.

Everyone was hungry and finally arrived at their destination, exhausted.

Cheng Ye was even more ruthless than Xiong Jiushan in leading the team. He did not allow the team to rest while crossing the forest. He walked for two hours and brought the team to a safe area before he allowed them to rest.

This post station at the junction of Jingwei Prefecture and Qingzhou Prefecture is larger than the one in Songjiang Town, but no matter how big it is, it cannot accommodate so many people.

The arrangements were similar to the previous ones. The convicts were taken to a wide area to camp for the night. The escorting officers took turns to rest in the rooms of the post station. Those with higher titles had single and double rooms upstairs, while ordinary officers and soldiers could also sleep in the large bunk beds downstairs.

When leaving Jingwei Prefecture and entering Qingzhou, the most obvious change is the temperature.

The postmaster of Qingzhou Post was well-informed. As soon as this group of exiles left the capital, he received the news quickly and had already made preparations to receive them.

When the team arrived, they found that the chief officer Xiong Jiushan was not there, and the person who came to sign was actually an adjutant.

"This..." The clerk in charge did not dare to make a decision and went up to ask for instructions.

The Qingzhou Postmaster had just been woken from his sleep. After listening to his subordinates' report in a daze, his eyes rolled around. "The escort officer is not here. How did this mission get out? Go and count the number of people outside and check the list. If there is any discrepancy, they will be allowed to set up camp. The procedures cannot be arbitrarily passed."

When the clerk went down to reply, Cheng Ye understood what the Qingzhou Postmaster meant.

The team definitely doesn't have enough people. Xiong Jiushan and the others haven't returned yet, so even if the procedure can't be passed, it's legitimate and not a big deal.

But things on the road are not so rigid. There is always room for maneuver as long as money can open up the channels.

Cheng Ye and Xiong Jiushan travel frequently, so they can handle such matters with ease.

The silver was delivered upstairs, and soon he completed the formalities in the book to save the adults trouble when they returned.

Cheng Ye went out to inspect the resettlement of the exiled prisoners. The soldiers beside him couldn't help but say, "I didn't expect that the postmaster in Qingzhou has such a big appetite. Even ten taels of silver can't stop him."

"Guarding the main roads, welcoming and seeing off people, these are all lucrative jobs. Ten taels of silver is not considered normal."

"I wonder if the adults can come back today."

"If you don't come back, we can't move forward anymore. Let's wait here." Cheng Ye said.

Others have no objection.

After passing the post station and going forward, you will reach the most dangerous section of the road. There are many bandits in Panlongling. Several people can't understand why there is no one on both sides to suppress the bandits?

Cheng Ye had heard Xiong Jiushan talk about this before, "The Panlong Mountains span two states, making it difficult to deal with."

In the exile team.

Soon, everyone settled down around the Gyeongju Post Station.

The officers made a fire and cooked, and some of the prisoners who could afford it also began to prepare rations. Unfortunately, there were no rivers here, so drinking water was a problem.

There is a rare well water in the Gyeongju Post Station, so there is no shortage of water. Unfortunately, it is not easy for ordinary people to enjoy it.

After helping the Xie family settle down, Zhang Dayi quietly observed the surrounding environment. After studying it for a while, he said to Xie Wuying and Xie Wenjie, "Those officers look calm and collected. They might stay here tonight."

Xie Wuying looked up at the sky and said, "It's just past noon. Are the people behind not leaving?"

Zhang Dayi stroked his beard and said, "I guess the escorts have to wait here for Xiong Jiushan and the others to come back. Without the escort, they dare not go on the road ahead, not to mention that there are so many weak people in the team."

Xie Wenjie also looked around and found that the escorting officers were indeed relaxed and did not seem to be in a hurry.

"I hope Sixth Brother will come back soon."

We set up camp and soon the smell of food wafted into the air.

Far away in the imperial city of the capital.

A figure ran towards the imperial study at a rapid pace. When he reached the palace gate, he said breathlessly:

"Quick! Go and report! The Imperial Observatory has something important to report to the Emperor!"