Chapter 22 Arrival in Yongcheng!

Those who have personally experienced severe droughts will run away as soon as they see fit.

Liu Laohu brandished his whip and lashed out, shouting, "Whoever spouts nonsense again, I'll kill them!"

"I don't care if there's a severe drought ahead. Anyone who dares to run away is a fugitive, and I'll kill them without hesitation!"

Liu Laohu only stopped when the whip drew blood and the runner lay half-dead on the ground.

This move stunned all the exiled prisoners, and no one dared to speak again; fear gripped them throughout the journey. That night, to prevent the prisoners from talking to each other, their guards were scattered.

When Li's mother returned with the food, her clean clothes were covered in handprints and dirt.

"Aunt Li, why are your clothes torn?" Qiu Shuang asked with her sharp eyes.

Li Mama walked up to Shen Lanxi and replied, "When I was delivering the food just now, luckily the constables saw it, otherwise all the food and drink would have been stolen." Li Mama was also terrified as she spoke.

Shen Lanxi: "Chunxue, give Li Mama some money. When we get to Yongcheng, let Li Mama buy a new set of clothes!"

Chunxue quickly took out her money and stuffed it into Li's hand before Li's mother could refuse.

“Miss, when I was little, I heard my family talk about a great drought. Everything in the fields withered and died. People were so hungry that they ate tree bark, and so thirsty that they drank blood. Nine out of ten people died. Many people sold their children, and some even resorted to cannibalism when pushed to the limit.” Chunxue finished speaking in fear and rubbed the goosebumps on her arms.

Shen Lanxi stared blankly at the exile procession; no one knew what she was thinking.

"There's always a way out. If we're afraid, aren't the constables afraid too?"

Qiu Shuang's eyes lit up: "Young master, could they lock the prisoners up in jail and wait for the drought to pass before setting off?"

Shen Lanxi thought to herself, if it were just ordinary exiled prisoners, perhaps it would be possible. But the fact that there were members of the Shen family among these exiled prisoners provided an opportunity for those in the shadows.

But it is also an opportunity for the Shen family!

With guards watching over them, the prisoners dared not speak and went to sleep early. The next day, they set off an hour earlier than usual.

After walking for less than half an hour, they encountered three groups of refugees. Liu Laohu stopped one of the groups and questioned them. After the questioning, his face looked very bad.

Shen Lanxi seized the opportunity, found Liu Laohu, and stuffed a one-hundred-tael silver note into his hand.

Liu Laohu dared not accept it; the silver note was too hot to handle!

"Brother Liu, I'm sure you've noticed it too. The refugees we encountered today looked even worse than yesterday, and there were very few of them on their mule carts. They must have come from even farther away. When those refugees passed by my cart carrying goods, the way they looked at me was as if they wanted to steal them!"

Liu Laohu silently put the silver note in his pocket. He knew in his heart that the further he went, the more expensive the prices would be, and the less money would be worth!

"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. I have a suggestion I'd like to discuss with Brother Liu!"

Although Liu Laohu's expression was serious, he did not immediately refuse.

"explain!"

Shen Lanxi: "It would take us about three or four hours to walk to Yongcheng. If we were to use a carriage, it would definitely shorten the journey by more than half. I'm thinking of using carriages to transport the constables and exiled prisoners in batches, so we can get into Yongcheng before it's sealed off!"

Liu Laohu's expression hardened, and he gave her a scrutinizing look.

Yongcheng is close to the capital, so given the current situation, it shouldn't need to be locked down. She deliberately exaggerated the severity of the situation.

Liu Laohu has been escorting prisoners for many years and is very knowledgeable, so it won't be difficult for him to believe her!

"Sure, but I must decide which batch goes first!"

Shen Lanxi clasped her hands in a fist and smiled, "Of course!"

With a solemn expression, Liu Laohu made the arrangements, and soon their two carriages were requisitioned. Among the first group to leave were Shen Congwen and his wife, several servants of the Shen family, and then other exiled prisoners who had been separated from their families.

Liu Laohu didn't leave; Shen Lanxi invited him to ride in the oxcart. This time, Liu Laohu didn't refuse. The oxcart couldn't fit so many people, so Li Mama and her family of four adults got off, leaving the two children on the oxcart.

Their group managed to completely lower the guards' guards' guards, and they left together.

The Shen family looked at Shen Lanxi sitting on the oxcart with envy.

"Lanxi has gone too far. She didn't even invite your grandparents to ride in the oxcart!" Shen Congyi said through gritted teeth as he walked away.

Shen Yuanjing retorted indignantly, "Fourth Uncle, it was already quite an achievement for my eldest sister to persuade the yamen runners to let us travel by carriage. If you continue to say such things, you are putting my eldest sister in a difficult position!"

Shen Yuanjun: "That's right, my eldest sister isn't a yamen runner. It's already very difficult enough to let an exiled prisoner ride in a carriage. What if she makes other demands and angers the yamen runners? Does she want to get whipped?"

Shen Congyi glared at the two of them with a livid face: "Couldn't she come down herself and let your grandparents go up?"

Shen Yuanjing: "Fourth Uncle, why don't you ask the yamen runners if they're willing to sit with exiled prisoners? Grandparents are so old, do you really want them to grovel before the yamen runners?"

When Madam Shen thought of her granddaughter bowing to the constables, her face turned ugly.

Even a first-rank lady used to have to bow to her, so she was too embarrassed to bow and speak well of a yamen runner!

"Congyi, say less. Yuanjing and the others are right. We have no relation to the yamen runners. We've made demands of them repeatedly, and they've gotten angry with us. They'll find plenty of ways to make us suffer on the road. Things are different now. We need to be more patient and avoid offending petty people!"

Shen Congyi walked forward silently with a dark face. It was his turn to carry Old Master Shen next, but he pretended not to hear and continued walking forward, so it had to be the next person!

Chunxue and Qiushuang were also among the first group to leave. After they arrived, they immediately went into Yongcheng and rented four carriages without carriages. They let the two horses rest while the four carriages continued to transport prisoners.

After making six trips back and forth, they finally brought all the prisoners to the foot of Yongcheng.

They didn't rush to take people in, because half an hour earlier, people had started paying to enter the city at the city gate!

Liu Laohu ordered his men to watch the prisoners at the city gate while he entered the city with two constables carrying official documents.

Shen Lanxi no longer needed to inform the yamen runners before speaking to the Shen family, but she still followed the rules and spoke to her father and mother in front of the yamen runners.

"Father, Mother, I'm going into town to sell my goods. I'll leave Qiushuang here and come back after I've finished selling them. Is there anything you'd like me to take with you?"

Shen Congwen said worriedly, "There's no need to bring us anything special. Use the money to buy some grain and store some water. Don't spend the money recklessly!"

Shen Lanxi: "I understand!"

They gave Li Mama the money to exchange for a horse-drawn carriage and grain, and agreed to meet her at the city gate an hour later.

She and Chunxue left the carriage at the inn, and then Chunxue went to buy clothes and shoes for everyone in the Shen family, while she went to buy grain. They agreed to meet at the inn in half an hour.

The price of grain in Yongcheng has doubled. As usual, Shen Lanxi rented an empty room and had the grain shop's clerk transport the grain there. On the way, she bought a lot of grain and vegetable seeds from a seed shop.

I did this repeatedly, using different identities to buy things, and then just threw them into my spatial storage afterward.

Taking advantage of the cheap prices of bedding, fabric, cotton, and thread, I bought a lot more and stocked them up in my storage space.

(End of this chapter)