Wu Dongming said nothing and handed over an oil-paper bag.

Mu Wanqing was stunned. What was going on?

She looked down and saw six white buns, plump and white, giving off an enticing aroma. Steamed buns were nothing like these.

She was stunned. What was going on?

She counted it again, and there were exactly six, no more, no less.

Could it be... good luck? Everything will go smoothly? Will the Mu family survive this time? No need to worry about being beheaded?

She looked up and saw a smile flash in Wu Dongming's eyes. What a smart girl.

He was just returning a favor and making some good connections.

It's just a piece of cake, no big deal, and no one can find fault with it.

After he left with Mu Zhongde, everyone gathered around eagerly, "What is it? Ah, white bread."

My mouth is watering. I want to eat it. I want to eat it like crazy.

Mu Wanqing waved away the smelly crowd. Why were they pushing for it?

I know you all crave white bread!

However, have you forgotten that the second wife has been excluded and neglected these days?

Ever since she had a falling out with Old Madam Mu, the Mu family has viewed her as a thorn in their side. If fighting wasn't prohibited in prison, they would probably have wanted to tear her to pieces.

Mu Wanqing was not affected at all. It was a trick that only three-year-olds would play, and they were taking it so seriously.

"How should I know? Go ask Lord Wu."

Who dares to ask? No one dares to die.

Old Madam Mu asked maliciously, "How could you not know what was going on? You are not a naughty boy at such a young age, and you deliberately teased..."

The gap from falling from the top of the cloud to the bottom of the valley is too big, and his mentality is extremely unbalanced. He was not a kind person to begin with, and he is a little abnormal.

She hated Mu Wanqing.

How can this be what an elder says? Madam Mu was so angry that she cried.

Mu Wanqing's eyes turned cold. "I advise you not to talk nonsense. It's a small matter to offend me, but Lord Wu's reputation is tarnished. How will he punish the Mu family? If you don't want to live, your children and grandchildren haven't lived enough."

She smiled coolly and asked, "Uncle San, what do you think?"

Come on, let’s create it together.

Master Mu jumped up as if he was pricked by a needle, and shouted angrily, "Mom, please stop talking nonsense."

The other descendants also became anxious, "Grandma, please shut up."

"Can we talk nonsense to the masters of the Wuyi Guard? Grandmother, you are old, are you confused?"

They have been miserable enough. If they offend the Wuyi Guards again, will they be able to survive?

Old Madam Mu is used to being flattered. She is the high and mighty ancestor in the family and everyone has to please her and coax her. But now, she has no idea what will happen tomorrow and may be beheaded at any minute. Who still has the mood to coax her?

She was so angry that her chest hurt.

Mu Wanqing took out a white bread and shared it with Madam Mu Er, "Mom, you eat it."

Mrs. Mu's mouth was watering, and she couldn't wait to bring it to her mouth. Suddenly she stopped and looked at the family members opposite her, "Your father and brothers haven't eaten yet."

Master Mu was also very greedy, as he hadn't had a good meal for several days. However, he looked away with great effort, "No, you guys eat by yourselves. My sons and I are all men and can handle it."

My wife and daughter are frail and need to eat better food.

The two elder brothers also shook their heads repeatedly as they endured the hunger.

Before Mu Wanqing could say anything, a gloomy voice sounded, "Our Mu family has been a family of scholars for generations. We have backbone. We will not accept food given out of pity. Return it quickly."

It was Mrs. Mu, acting like an elder giving a lecture.

In fact, he just couldn't stand Mu Wanqing being better than his daughter and didn't allow her to be more outstanding than his daughter.

Obviously, Mu Wanqing just gave her daughter a pill.

Even if it was a transaction and the money was paid, it wouldn't be so unceremonious.

Mu Wanqing took a big bite of the white bread. It was fluffy and soft, and the delicious and fragrant meat filling melted in her mouth, bringing the ultimate taste enjoyment.

She was very surprised. "Ah, it's actually a meat bun. The skin is thin and the filling is rich. The meat filling is fresh and juicy. It's delicious."

When Madam Mu heard this, she took a bite completely uncontrollably. Oh my God, it really was a meat bun. Ahhhh, she was so happy.

After eating pig food for several days, a meat bun is the ultimate delicacy.

The mother and daughter ate voraciously, their eating looks were really appetizing. The others were so envious that they cried and were eager to try the food.

Mu Wanqing ate very slowly, savoring the food carefully.

She saw through their thoughts at a glance, "Don't even think about stealing. Everything that happens here will be reported, and then..."

She didn't finish her words, leaving plenty of room for imagination.

The jailer on the side had already figured it out. There must be a reason why Lord Wu looked at this little girl differently.

He didn't dare to ask too much, but it would always be a good idea to be more considerate.

"Anyone who breaks the rules will be dragged out and beaten, whether to death or disabled."

When everyone heard this, how could they dare to do anything? They just stared and drooled.

"Sister Wanqing, my little girl didn't eat much. She won't be able to hold on any longer. Please be kind and give her a bite to eat."

This is the daughter-in-law of the sixth aunt from the side branch, Jiang, holding a sickly little girl in her arms.

Children’s throats are delicate and they cannot eat rough food. They are so hungry that they are too weak to even cry.

Mu Wanqing pondered for a moment, then cut a meat bun into two halves, gave one half to herself and the other half to the eldest wife's little niece, who was only three years old this year.

She doesn't get along with the eldest wife, but she has no problem with the younger children.

The two little girls held the meat buns and ate them in big mouthfuls, looking very satisfied and happy.

Others looked at them with envy, wanting to grab them but not daring to. Third Master Mu was very dissatisfied, "Why give it to them? They are just useless girls. It should be given to the men in the family. The men are the ones who continue the family line."

He is spoiled. He was a playboy when he was young. Now that he has married and has children, he is still unruly and overbearing.

Mu Wanqing didn't even raise her head and said calmly, "Because I'm also a girl, there's nothing wrong with girls helping other girls."

Everyone: ...It makes so much sense, there is no way to refute it.

Madam Mu San watched her two daughters looking at the meat buns pitifully, her mouth watering, and she felt a pang of pain in her heart, "Third girl, respecting the elderly and loving the young is a virtue. We are a family. You should give it to the oldest lady in the family first, and then give it to the weak children..."

Before she could finish, Mu Wanqing interrupted and said, "Wrong."

"What?"

"The second branch is a family that loves each other." This is Mu Wanqing's definition of family. There is only a small family, not the concept of a big family.

She pointed at the mean-looking Old Lady Mu and said, "You, relying on your status to suppress our Second Branch, have trapped us in the mansion and not allowed us to go out, fearing that we would show up. This is unkind."

She pointed at Mr. Mu San and said, "You are disrespectful to your half-brother and ignore the existence of your brother and sister-in-law. This is unrighteous."

He flattered his eldest brother's family and tried his best to get benefits from them.

"As for the eldest uncle, the head of the family, he only knows how to protect his own interests and is obsessed with power. He knew that the second branch had been wronged but pretended not to know. He is not generous enough and is not a qualified head of the family and brother. He is also the main person responsible for the decline of the Mu family. He is unkind."

She pointed at Madam Mu and said, "As the mistress of the household, you are deliberately harsh on the second house's supplies. You are picking thorns in eggs and are narrow-minded. You are not virtuous."

There are many who enjoy wealth and dignity, but not a single one who can make plans. The bosses are all obsessed with profit and have no long-term plans. The people below them fight for power and only care about their own interests. Note (1)

Each generation is worse than the previous one.

The person she pointed at was extremely angry, with a distorted face.

But what? I couldn't hit her, I could only glare at her.

Just stare at me, who’s afraid of who?

She shook her head and sighed, "The Mu family is rotten from top to bottom. Everyone is extravagant and licentious. It would be strange if they didn't fail."

She cursed bitterly, and then she felt better. "Sir, please give this oil paper bag to my father."

There are three meat buns inside, just one for each person.

The jailer was very polite to her and naturally helped her with the small task.

This was exactly his attitude, and the other members of the Mu family did not dare to step forward and snatch it.

Master Mu Er distributed the buns to his two sons without hesitation, while Master Mu San was so anxious that his eyes turned red.

"Good second brother, give me one. My limbs are weak and my heart is beating fast. I am going to get sick from hunger. We are good brothers, you don't want to see me fall down, do you?"

He is very thick-skinned.

Mu Zifeng, the eldest son of the first wife, swallowed his saliva. He was so hungry that he had only one thought in his mind: to have a good meal.

"Uncle, give me one. I am the eldest grandson of the Mu family, more noble than anyone else."

Among the younger generations, he is the oldest. He is married and has a son and a daughter. The daughter is the little girl to whom Mu Wanqing got half a bun.

But now, they are actually fighting for food, completely losing the dignity of the eldest grandson of the family.

Master Mu hesitated. He had been brainwashed since childhood and was taught to give way to the legitimate wife and sacrifice for the family.

Mu Wanqing doesn't indulge these people. "Ah, it's not easy for my brothers. They didn't dare to compete with others since they were young. They would be scolded if they ate a few more pieces of meat. The second house had to build a small kitchen to cook, but the ingredients and clothes they got were the worst. They made their own clothes and repaired broken furniture by themselves. They are obviously children of the Mu family, but they live worse than ordinary people."

The second wife suffered so much for this small kitchen.

"The descendants of the legitimate family are different. They eat delicacies from land and sea every day. They are tired of eating meat. They would rather throw it to the dog than to their cousins. The behavior of this noble child is admirable. It is impossible not to admire it."

After hearing this, Mu Ziang grabbed the bun and took a big bite. It was so delicious.

"Dad, big brother, eat quickly."

If people don't give him meat, he won't give them meat buns. There's nothing wrong with that.

Mr. Mu and his son also started eating under tremendous pressure.

Master Mu was shocked and angry. How dare they do this to him?

All the good things should belong to him, why should the second wife compete with him?

A bastard born to a maid, bah.

He was so angry that he jumped up without thinking and pounced on Master Mu. Master Mu was caught off guard and fell to the ground, with the bun in his hand flying out.

Everyone rushed to grab the things, the scene was quite chaotic, and Master Mu was stepped on several times.

In the dim prison, the dark side of human nature is infinitely magnified, revealing its ugliest side.

What tolerance, what courtesy, what virtue? Who are you pretending to be for at this time?

They have only one goal, to live well, even if it means stepping on the corpses of others.

Qian couldn't help but get very anxious. Mu Wanqing frowned and shouted, "Sir, my third uncle wants to rebel."

A stick came swinging over, and Master Mu San was caught off guard and was hit directly, screaming in pain.

"I'm not, I didn't, stop hitting me."

The stick flew towards other people, and everyone fell to their knees and begged for mercy wherever he hit them.

Brother Mu Ziang hurried forward to help his father up. Master Mu's clothes were torn, his hair was spread out, and his eyes were full of annoyance. "I just tasted one bite of my meat bun."

The buns had been snatched away and divided among several people and eaten by them.

Everything that happens here will be reported. After listening to the jailer's report, Wu Dongming couldn't help laughing.

He is scheming and resourceful, has a kind heart, and can distinguish right from wrong. Not bad.

"From now on, give her six meat buns for every meal."

"Yes." The jailer was a little confused, "Just give us buns?"

"Enough." Wu Dongming's words were meaningful.

At the next meal, Mu Wanqing ate the delicious meat buns again. She took a bite and her mouth was full of meat filling. She was so satisfied that she wanted to cry.

"Why is it that she is the only one who has it and we don't? It's not fair."

"Not convinced? Want to talk fairness to me?" The jailer sneered and swung his stick at him.

Mu Wanqing didn't eat alone. Each person in the second room got one, and the extra one belonged to her.

She usually only eats one, and then has some pig food to barely fill her stomach, and then she will share the remaining one with others depending on the situation.

Either a well-behaved cub, a sickly girl, or someone trying to please her.

What worries us is not the scarcity but the inequality; what worries us is not the poverty but the instability.

Relying on this meat bun and the help of the jailer, she managed to muddy the waters and break the situation where a group of people were banding together to exclude them.

They were not united to begin with, and for the sake of a meat bun, they all used their talents and played palace intrigues.

Mu Wanqing doesn't care, but her parents and brothers are people with clan values and it is impossible for them to be independent from the outside world.

She never got involved, just watched from the sidelines, and when she was happy, she would share some with those who performed well.

If you are unhappy, who cares?

Soon, the verdict came out, and the entire family was exiled three thousand miles away and sent to Liangcheng in the northwest as soldiers.

The border is bitterly cold, with flying yellow sand, and it is a wild and desolate place with a particularly bad environment. When a war comes, you have to go to the battlefield to fight, and you can become cannon fodder if you are not careful.

Moreover, many people did not make it to their destination and died of illness during exile.

Several people fainted on the spot, and some even burst into tears.

Mu Wanqing was relieved instead. It was okay, it was okay. She was a craftsman!

Looking at Qian who was crying silently, she gently advised, "Mom, don't be afraid, I'm here for you."

Madam Mu wanted to cry even more when she looked at her delicate and weak daughter.

Can the family reach Liangcheng safely? She has no confidence at all.

Mu Wanqing, however, was full of fighting spirit and expectations.

Fighting with the sky is endless joy; fighting with the earth is endless joy; fighting with people is endless joy. Note (2)

The author has something to say:

Note (1) There are many who enjoy wealth and dignity, but not one who can make plans and strategize. This sentence comes from Dream of the Red Chamber.

Note (2) Struggling with the heavens brings endless joy; struggling with the earth brings endless joy; struggling with people brings endless joy. This is from Chairman Mao’s 1917 “Struggle and Self-encouragement”. The version that has been circulated is “Struggle with the heavens, struggle with the earth, struggle with people”, omitting the word “struggle”. The feeling is completely different. I prefer the version of “struggle”.