Intimidated by the old village chief's usual authority, the few families' whispered objections vanished completely.

Seeing that he had lost his voice of support, Li Si shrank back slightly. He didn't have much food left, and if he didn't follow the main force, it would be a problem not only how long his food would last, but also whether he could protect it.

So, with a somewhat ingratiating smile, he pleaded with the old village chief, "Could I travel with these able-bodied young men? I'm still in good health."

As he spoke, he patted his chest, which made a popping sound as he spoke.

The old village chief frowned. This Li Si was a menace; he hadn't caused any trouble along the way. Even though he protected the orphans and widows, it was difficult to keep them safe. Li Si often resorted to stealing, threatening, cheating, or robbing them of their food and water. The orphans and widows already had a hard life, and they often swallowed their anger, afraid to truly provoke Li Si, lest he become ruthless. He had nothing to lose, and what if he did something bad to them?

The old village chief was in a dilemma. If he didn't let Li Si come along, Li Si wouldn't obediently hand over the grain, nor would he stay obediently in the remaining group. If he did let him come along, although he wasn't as strong as the young men, it wouldn't be impossible for him to follow. However, Li Si had questionable character. Although the young men were physically strong, he might deceive those fourteen or fifteen-year-old boys.

Just as the old village chief was in a dilemma, dust rose from the opposite side, along with the sounds of horses galloping and wheels rumbling. Everyone was startled, wondering who was coming.

So they all hid behind the miscellaneous trees on both sides of the road, but they were just sparse trees with no leaves, so they didn't really provide any cover.

In no time, a group of several dozen people arrived in front of them. Judging from the attire of the horsemen, they were guards of wealthy or powerful people, but they looked travel-worn, as if they were in a hurry to get there.

Behind them were several carriages carrying passengers, escorted by guards as they moved forward.

Several horse-drawn carriages followed behind, carrying bags and sacks, the contents of which were unknown.

Shenxi, with her sharp eyes, noticed that one of the bags had a hole in it, and some grains of rice had popped out; it turned out that the bag contained grains of food.

Several cartloads of grain... Chenxi licked his dry lips. If they received it, mixed with other food, they could at least get through autumn and winter. Next spring, when the weather warmed up and flowers bloomed, perhaps the drought would be over.

But then she glanced at the armed guards and shrank back; these were people she couldn't afford to offend.

Just as these people were about to pass by, dust rose up again on the other side, and many horses galloped towards them, numbering about two hundred. The riders on the horses were all well-equipped, and they had already drawn their bows and shot arrows when they were not close.

The head guard of the leading group immediately ordered his men to hold them off, and said to the carriage in the middle, "Madam, it seems they have caught up after all."

A powerful female voice rang out, "What's the panic? We'll deal with whatever comes our way. If all else fails, we'll fight."

"yes."

The head guard then said, "Madam, why don't you and the young master get out of the carriage and ride away on horseback?"

"You can protect the young master and leave, I don't need it. I want to see what this dog Xie Ning can do to me!"

The head guard knew the mistress's temperament; she was a woman of her word. Since he was ordered to take the young master and leave first, he had no choice but to obey.

He asked another question: "What about this old concubine and her concubine daughters?"

Madam Mo Yuhua gritted her teeth, "Ignore them!"

After hesitating for a moment, he instructed, "Take Xiang'er with you!"

"Yes." Xie Aixiang, the concubine's daughter, is ten years old this year and is a sensible girl.

If it weren't for this old aunt, her own mother-in-law, her deceased husband's own mother causing trouble, she certainly wouldn't have brought so much grain, nor would the carriage have contained so much gold, silver, and silk, and they wouldn't have escaped so slowly.

Indeed, when her husband ordered her to take her mother-in-law and children out of the city, her husband was still resisting the rebels. Her aunt was causing too much trouble, so she had no choice but to take her aunt to her family home in the north to avoid the war.

But halfway there, she was caught up by several of her husband's guards who told her that her adopted son, Xie Ning, had betrayed her in the face of danger, opened the city gates, her husband had been killed in battle, and the city had fallen.

She ordered the immediate disposal of the grain and silk fabrics, but the old concubine threatened to kill herself, saying that these were her treasures. Apart from Xie Aixiang, the other concubine daughters also protested against throwing them away. They had long known about the drought in the north, and that in order to prevent refugees from causing trouble, the cities basically did not allow outsiders to enter or leave. If they wanted to reach their stepmother's family home smoothly, these grains were the foundation for their survival.

This delay meant that although Mo Yuhua was the daughter of a military family, she was still taught to be respectful and filial, so she naturally dared not disobey her aunt too much.

At this moment, she deeply regretted not sticking to her decision! She just wanted to save her own son.

The head guard selected some fine horses, and led half of his men, along with the seven-year-old young master and his illegitimate daughter Xie Aixiang, galloped away.

The mistress, Mo Yuhua, also got out of the carriage. She was about fifty years old and mounted her warhorse. Shen Xi stared at the mistress with great envy. What a majestic woman!

He's obviously a trained fighter!

Shenxi had learned some martial arts in her previous life because almost everyone in the place where she was born knew some martial arts. Her father started teaching her from a young age, and she even won an award in a martial arts competition when she was in college.

But now her body is really weak. On the one hand, her diet is not good enough, and on the other hand, this girl was raised according to the standards for girls here.

So even if she can still remember the martial arts techniques, their effectiveness will be greatly reduced if she uses them in this body.

Even after firing the arrow, the horse continued to charge forward and reached Mo Yuhua in an instant.

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