When the people around heard that it was contagious, they were somewhat resistant, feeling that the adults shouldn't have left the person behind. If they all got infected, wouldn't they all be doomed?

But after seeing Jiang Jiuniang's face, the escort officer felt it would be a pity to give up on her like this. If he sent this widow and her child to the city ahead to get them treated, wouldn't that be a good deal for him?

He also noticed that the child was quite wealthy, having just given away a small ingot of gold; he must have other things in his possession.

There are too many people around, so he can't make a move right now. He needs to find a secluded place.

So he insisted, "Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. It is only right for me to do things for the people! As long as you don't get close, you won't be infected!"

As he spoke, he moved a little further away, deciding that whatever thoughts he had would have to wait until he recovered.

The carriage had already started moving. Jiang Jiuniang opened her eyes and grinned at the dog. The first step of the plan had been successful.

Luckily, she was quick-witted and deliberately let the guard see her face, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to stay so easily.

She always knew she was good-looking, so she naturally used that advantage to get things done.

The dog winked at her; a good start makes things go smoothly from there.

Their plan was to infiltrate first, lower the guard of these people, and then secretly replace the food with sand to scam them out of a large number.

The people of Dongting are enemies, and to be merciful to the enemy is to be cruel to oneself, so Gou'er doesn't think there's anything wrong with doing so.

After all, this batch of grain was meant to feed the soldiers who were fighting against his father, and he wasn't that stupid!

The mother and son were very well-behaved and stayed in the car the whole time. When they rested, they only ate the dry food and water they had brought with them.

The escort officer found it strange that they had food and drink, so he came up to them and tried to find out their identities.

The dog earnestly tried to deceive people: "Our family runs a clinic. My mother is a doctor and likes to go out to collect herbs. Unfortunately, the weather was too cold, and she fell ill not long after she went out. It's too far from the city. If it weren't for the kind help of the adults, we wouldn't know what to do."

"Are you from Chengzhou?"

The city ahead is Chengzhou. The escort officer was thinking that if they lived in Chengzhou, wouldn't he be at a disadvantage when they arrived in their territory?

The dog shook its head: "No, our home is in the capital."

The escort officer smiled again and asked, "So, where are you going now that you're cured?"

"We're going to the border," Gou'er explained seriously. "The herbs my mother is looking for are in the mountains on the border. That's why we're going there. Once we get to Chengzhou City and cure my mother's illness, we'll hire a carriage to go to the border. Then we won't have to trouble you, adults."

"Oh, no trouble at all! I'm also heading to the border! It's not safe for you and your child to travel alone. Why don't you come with us? We can guarantee your safety!"

The escort officer grinned somewhat lewdly, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. Gou'er looked at him with a hint of disgust, but still put on a grateful smile: "Thank you so much, sir. My mother is a renowned doctor in the capital, and I will definitely repay you in the future!"

"Hehe, no problem, no problem!"

The escort officer stroked his chin, looking in Jiang Jiuniang's direction, but his view was always intentionally or unintentionally blocked by the dog.

Fortunately, he wasn't in a hurry. The woman was still sick, and he wouldn't get any benefit from her. He would wait until they reached Chengzhou before making any decisions.

After saying a few words to him, Gou'er went to keep Jiang Jiuniang company. Jiang Jiuniang whispered, "No, this car is too uncomfortable to sit in. I don't want to play along with their act anymore. Let's finish this quickly and leave!"

The dog blinked. How could Mommy change so quickly?

They've only been performing for half a day!

However, he respected his mother's choice and asked, "Then what should we do?"

Jiang Jiuniang gave him a packet of powder and instructed him, "Go out and wander around, find an opportunity to sprinkle this powder on those people, then don't worry about anything else, just come back to the carriage."

The dog nodded and quickly went to do it.

It was only then that Jiang Jiuniang realized that bringing her son out had many benefits.

Now, she only needs to lie down and give a few instructions, and her son will take care of it for her. Maybe that's the meaning of having a baby.

Inside the carriage, she lay on a pile of grain and straw, leisurely crossing her legs. If she weren't afraid of being overheard and having her identity exposed, she would have hummed a little tune.

The dog returned shortly afterward, indicating that he had wiped the powder clean. The people didn't suspect anything, but they figured that kids his age were just being mischievous and didn't bother with him.

An hour later, as darkness fell, the commander ordered them to rest on the spot and set off again at dawn.

Just as everyone was starting a fire on the spot, they suddenly heard the howls of wolves and the roars of tigers, which startled them.

At this time of year, animals hide away to hibernate, making it difficult for carnivores to hunt. It's common for them to attack humans, but they still don't dare to come with a large convoy like this.

Even so, everyone was still very worried, wondering what would happen to those animals when they were starving.

“Animales are afraid of fire. If we each take a torch, they won’t dare to come near.”

The commander's voice trembled slightly. There was nowhere to hide people in this forest, and even if people could be hidden, the horses couldn't. Without the horses, they wouldn't be able to transport the grain.

I'm still very panicked. I really can't understand why I'm so unlucky to encounter such a bad thing.

Jiang Jiuniang and Gou'er did not show up at all. In the emergency, no one thought of them. They were on guard the whole time, fearing that those beasts would attack.

They had initially held onto a sliver of hope, but soon the commotion grew louder and louder, clearly indicating that the enemy was rushing this way. In an instant, they arrived right in front of them and began to pounce on the people and horses without saying a word.

The screams were deafening, and Jiang Jiuniang knew her chance had come.

She looked at the dog, whose face was a little pale, and asked, "Are you scared?"

The dog shook its head: "Mommy, I'm not afraid."

As the saying goes, feeling sorry for your enemy is the cruelest thing you can do to yourself.

"Well done!"

Jiang Jiuniang rubbed his head and quietly led him out.

Both people and horses were frightened. The horse dragged the carriage around. Jiang Jiuniang quickly put the grain into her space, replaced it with sand, deliberately made a bloodstain, screamed, and then ran away.

At that moment, those people were too busy taking care of themselves to look after the mother and child, so they naturally didn't realize that the mother and child had already run away.

This was the first time the dog had done something like this. He was both excited and flustered, and he ran a long way with his mother before stopping.

"Mother, shall we go find Father now?"

He looked at Jiang Jiuniang, panting, still feeling a little scared, but also feeling very good.

"No rush, let's take it slow."

Jiang Jiuniang was fine with it, but considering it was her son's first time experiencing something like this, she still wanted to take care of him.