Although the guards were dressed in thin clothes, they trained every day and sweated a lot, so they were used to wearing them and no one went to get any clothes.

Having said what she needed to say, Ning Yan stopped making empty promises. After all, the exile caravan had been gone for a while, and she needed to hurry and catch up with them.

She now has four carriages. The maids can squeeze into one of them, and Yu Zhu and the others can squeeze into the other carriages. The guards came on horseback, so their travel speed is very fast.

The exiles were traveling in shackles, and because there were so many of them, they were moving slowly. The caravan soon caught up with the exiles.

The officers in charge of escorting the convoy quickly spotted the caravan following behind.

"Boss, are there any problems with these guys?"

Jin Daofei glanced at the convoy behind him for a moment before relaxing his guard: "No, at least they won't try to break us into prison."

The group behind them were at most acquaintances of some of the prisoners, and they would follow them all the way, perhaps looking after them a little.

Hehe, maybe money will be delivered to our door soon.

Ning Yan looked through the car window, which revealed a small crack. Through this tiny crack, she saw Chu Lin struggling to move forward.

The little child was dressed in thin clothes. Although he was not shackled, he was born into a wealthy family and was usually carried by servants or in carriages. Even if his biological father did not like him, he was pampered by his biological mother. He had never suffered like this before.

Chu Jingxuan is a real scoundrel! This is his legitimate son, yet he actually had the heart to let the child walk all the way!

Fortunately, the exiles were finally able to stop and rest.

Ning Yan immediately summoned Yu Zhu, "Go and find out who is in charge of escorting this time, and bring them to see me."

"Yes, Master."

Yes, Yu Zhu already considers the Second Miss his master. Anyway, the Second Miss said that when she returns to the capital, she will ask the old lady to release their indentures and allow them to redeem themselves. So the Second Miss is his master.

Even if the second young lady goes back on her word and gets fat, he will not suffer any loss.

Soon, Jin Daofei was invited to Ning Yan's car.

Ning Yan had already gotten out of the car by this time. Jin Daofei had a lot of bad habits, but he was also pragmatic!

If Ning Yan doesn't get a divorce, she'll remain an exile, and he won't even give her a kind look.

But now that the person in front of him had been restored to the status of the second daughter of the Marquis of Chengyang, he was naturally very respectful.

"What are your instructions, Miss Ning?"

Ning Yan took out a stack of silver notes and handed them to the man in front of her. Jin Daofei's eyes lit up at the sight of money, and he smiled broadly. He took the silver notes and was even more satisfied after seeing the amount on them.

There were ten silver notes, each worth one hundred taels, totaling one thousand taels. Jin Daofei naturally didn't need to ask any questions.

"Please feel free to give your orders, Second Miss."

Ning Yan smiled, "Lord Jin, you're too kind. How could I dare to give you any orders?"

They just hoped to remove the shackles and chains from the Chu family.

Furthermore, the child is too young. If he continues like this, I'm afraid he won't be able to keep going. Could you please do me a favor?

"Once we reach the North, I will certainly give you a proper thank you, sir."

Jin Daofei had been staring at Ning Yan's pretty face the whole time, so he naturally saw her glance at his carriage and understood that she wanted the child to ride in the carriage with her.

He looked troubled. "Removing the shackles is no problem."

I travel thousands of miles on official business only for money; I only care about silver.

However, the Chu family's crimes were too serious, and some things still couldn't be taken too far..."

He feared that if he gave the Chu family too much convenience, people would think he was in cahoots with them, and he would become one of the exiled prisoners next time. It's only natural for a person to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune.

"How about this: whenever the prisoners rest, you can quietly bring the child to the car to rest for a while."

If you're worried the child might get too tired on the way, you can have your guard carry him for a while. But I really can't promise to do anything more than that.

Ning Yan breathed a sigh of relief. "You are so thoughtful, sir. I was just worried and almost caused you trouble. Please forgive me."

"No, no, thank you for your understanding, Miss."

The fact that the fourth wife of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion and the second legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Chengyang's mansion was so easy to talk to and so polite to him, a mere official, was beyond his comprehension. Therefore, he didn't mind giving her some more conveniences!

"Then I'll have someone bring the child over right away, is that alright?"

Jin Daofei nodded: "Of course it can be done."

Ning Yan was overjoyed and ordered Yu Zhu to bring people along. Jin Daofei also returned to the constables with a full thousand taels of silver notes in his pocket.

Chu Lin'er leaned against his grandmother's chest, his feet and legs aching, and he was hungry and thirsty. The hardships of the journey had left him feeling somewhat listless.

He wanted to find his mother, but everyone around him told him that his mother didn't want him anymore. He was so sad, so very sad, and tears streamed down his face uncontrollably. The howling wind stung his face...

Suddenly, someone patted his shoulder. "Young Master, the master sent me to fetch you to rest in the carriage."

"Who are you? Who is the master you speak of?"

Yu Zhu pointed in Ning Yan's direction, "Look over there."

Chu Lin'er spotted her mother standing at the back of the convicts' line immediately. "Mother, it's my mother! Didn't she abandon me? Why is she here again?"

Hearing the commotion, the Chu family all looked in Ning Yan's direction.

The early winter wind blew up the hem of the woman's light blue skirt, making it rustle in the wind. The woman was without makeup, yet she possessed a kind of otherworldly and independent beauty!

"It's the fourth son's wife!"

The old lady sighed, "She's still her own flesh and blood. She must be worried about Lin'er and came to see him off. Quickly, go find your mother."

Chu Lin had been raised by the original owner's side since childhood, and his relationship with his mother was incomparable to anyone else's. The moment he saw his mother, he had already forgiven her for abandoning him.

Upon hearing his grandmother's words, he immediately wiped away his tears and ran towards Ning Yan.

Yu Zhu hurriedly reminded him, "Young Master, don't run away. We need to be quiet and try not to be noticed."

Chu Lin listened to the advice and immediately turned around, pulled Yu Zhu along, and walked past him.

When they reached the carriage, Ning Yan picked up the child and got into her carriage. "Hurry up and change the child's clothes. He can still wear the old clothes he's wearing on the outside. I can see that he's very uncomfortable walking. I think he has blisters on his feet. Treat the injury on his feet."

"Yes, Miss."

Soon, Chu Lin was stripped down to only her inner garment, then put on a thick cotton coat and cloth socks. Sure enough, her fair little feet were covered with several large blisters, some of which had broken the skin. Her feet were red and swollen, making her look extremely pitiful.

Ning Yan picked up a pastry and held it to the child's mouth, saying, "Eat some quickly, you'll have energy if you're full."

Chu Lin was already starving. When he saw the pastries, he thanked his mother and immediately started eating them in big mouthfuls. He quickly ate up the plate of pastries until only two pieces remained. He stopped, his outstretched hand. "Mother, can I give these two pieces of pastry to Grandmother?"

Ning Yan: "You eat yours. Your mother prepared some food separately for your grandmother. You can take it to her later." (End of Chapter)