Upon hearing what Old Lady Zhu said, everyone tensed up instantly and hurriedly grabbed the rope and rice.
The people split into two teams, each standing on one side of the cart. One person held a rope while the other climbed under the cart to tie rice, grain, and cured meat to the bottom.
After they were secured, everyone hurriedly tidied up the things in the car.
Just then, one of the escorts walked towards them, looking suspiciously at the two carts behind Old Lady Zhu.
"Why are your handcarts showing up again?"
"We were parked not far away, but my son just pushed us back." Old Mrs. Zhu saw the surprise on the escort's face and tried to explain with a smile.
The escort did not believe Old Lady Zhu's words and waved at the escort.
"Come quickly and help me check everything in the car."
The escorts who arrived had bandages on their arms and held sharp swords. They roughly threw everything off the carriage while muttering to themselves.
“We suspect you of colluding with mountain bandits and need to inspect your luggage.”
Seeing his luggage being treated this way, Zhu Haotian was furious and wanted to go forward and argue with them.
Grandma Zhu grabbed her son's arms with both hands, frowning as she signaled him not to act impulsively.
After thoroughly inspecting both carts, the escorts got off the carts with agitation, glaring at Old Lady Zhu with a menacing look.
"Let's leave the matter of the bandits for now. If we find out you've been hiding food on your own, don't blame us for being ruthless."
Old Mrs. Zhu knew she couldn't go against the guards now, so she could only nod and bow, agreeing, "I know, we will never hoard food."
Seeing that Old Lady Zhu was behaving well, the escort, carrying his sword, walked toward the group, shouting as he went.
"Get moving, we're about to set off."
After the escort left, Old Lady Zhu finally felt relieved, her legs went weak and she almost collapsed.
Fortunately, Zhu Haotian and Zhu Chenfeng supported her from behind, preventing her from falling.
"Mother, what should we do next?" Zhu Chenfeng didn't understand why the escorts were suddenly checking their luggage, and looked anxiously at the messy luggage.
Grandma Zhu was also at a loss for what to do. She rubbed her dizzy head and bent down to pick up her luggage.
"Let's pack up first! We'll take it one step at a time. Oh, right, third brother, go and bring the goat over."
Reminded by Grandma Zhu, Zhu Chenfeng realized that he hadn't taken the goat yet. He quickly gave Zhu Hao a look and ran towards the bushes not far away.
After receiving his younger brother's hint, Zhu Haotian first looked around before turning around and jogging away.
What happened to Grandma's face? She doesn't look well.
While busy tidying up, Liu heard her daughter's mutterings, turned around, and sure enough, saw that Old Madam Zhu looked extremely unwell.
She quickly stepped forward and handed Zhu Xixi over to Old Lady Zhu.
"Mom, you hold Xixi and rest for a bit. We'll take care of things here."
Having just been holding her breath, the sudden relaxation left Old Mrs. Zhu breathless and her head heavy with gloom.
She did not refuse her daughter-in-law's suggestion, and carried Zhu Xixi to sit on the stone stool, looking at the sleeping Zhu Xixi in her arms with a loving expression.
Suddenly, Zhu Xixi felt uncomfortable all over her body, pouted her little mouth, and angrily twisted her body.
Curious, she opened her eyes, tilted her head, and gazed at the azure sky. Her little lips were pursed, and her rosy cheeks were full of worry.
[There are so many bugs! The bugs are biting Xixi, and Xixi feels uncomfortable!]
Is it going to rain heavily?
One plot point in the book is that many people died in the exile procession during this heavy rain.
The Zhu family also caught a cold during the heavy rain, and without herbal medicine to treat it, they continued their journey while barely alive.
Zhu Yanyan, on the other hand, managed to find shelter from the rain at the post station with the silver in her spatial storage, and only set off after she had rested enough to recover.
The heavy rain had no effect on Zhu Yanyan's family, and because of this, the escorts treated Zhu Yanyan even more politely.
If Zhu Borong has a conflict with his grandmother and the others, the bailiffs will have the opportunity to beat up his uncle and aunt, and even his brother will not escape punishment.
Thinking of this, she burst into tears.
Xixi didn't want her family to get wet in the rain and get sick, nor did she want Zhu Yanyan to stay comfortably at the inn.
[I especially don't want Zhu Yanyan to curry favor with the guards, and for them to bully my uncle, aunt, and brother.]
Grandma Zhu noticed her granddaughter squirming around, so she quickly picked her up and put her on the cart, took off her coat, and checked her chubby body.
"Oh dear, why are there so many red spots?"
Upon hearing her mother-in-law's words, Liu hurriedly put down her luggage and ran to her daughter.
"Mother, why does Xixi have so many red spots on her body?"
After observing her granddaughter's body, Grandma Zhu looked up at the sky and indeed saw many invisible mosquitoes flying around.
"Why are there so many mosquitoes? It looks like it's really going to rain."
Remembering the medicine her sister-in-law had found, Liu quickly took all the medicine bottles out of the package.
After searching around, she finally found an ointment that could be used to treat mosquito bites. She quickly opened the ointment and hurriedly applied it to her daughter's body.
At this moment, the escorts issued an ultimatum from a short distance away, signaling Old Lady Zhu and her family to hurry up and follow.
"Mom, wipe Xixi's face with this. I'll find some mosquito repellent powder, pour it out, and distribute it to everyone so they can carry it with them."
Upon hearing the escort's voice, Liu quickly handed the ointment to Old Lady Zhu and continued searching for the medicinal powder.
After receiving the ointment, Grandma Zhu looked at her granddaughter's delicate skin with a sense of helplessness, and anxiously looked at Madam Sun.
"Third son's wife, you wipe it. My hands are rough and I'm worried they might hurt Xixi."
Just as Sun finished tidying up all the luggage on the ground, she ran forward to take the ointment after hearing her mother-in-law's call.
"Mother, let me do it."
After giving the ointment to her third son's wife, Old Lady Zhu hurriedly took out a piece of cloth from her bundle to help Liu sort out the medicine powder.
After a while, Zhu Xixi, who had applied the ointment, happily blew bubbles and comfortably waved her arms and legs.
After applying the ointment, Sun dressed Zhu Xixi, held her in her arms, and gently tapped her nose after hearing her niece's heartfelt words.
"So happy! The itching is finally gone, right?"
At the same time, Zhu Chenfeng and Zhu Haotian wrapped the goat in a blanket, carried it, and trotted to the cart.
To hide the goat, the two quickly covered its body with a blanket and then used other kitchen utensils to cover its head.
After getting everything done, he looked at Old Lady Zhu, panting.
Just then, Old Mrs. Zhu finished packaging the medicine powder and distributed it to her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson before urging her sons to set off.
"Alright, everyone, let's get going. It's about to rain, and the roads will be difficult to travel when it rains."
Sun looked up anxiously and asked, "Mother, do we have anything to shield ourselves from the rain?"
"I'm glad the adults are alright, but I'm worried that Xixi will get wet in the rain."
As she listened to her daughter-in-law's words, Old Mrs. Zhu stood on tiptoe, watching the gradually disappearing procession, and then turned back to wave to her son.
"Third brother's wife, don't rush. Eldest brother's wife, get in the car first. We'll discuss this on the way."
Upon hearing this, Liu didn't dare to linger. She picked up Zhu Xixi and climbed onto the cart, her expression flustered as she looked up at the azure sky.
Led by Grandma Zhu, Zhu Chenfeng and Zhu Haotian hurried and finally caught up with the group.
However, because they walked too fast, everyone was panting, and coupled with the hot weather, everyone felt stuffy and hot.
As soon as they sweated, the dust on their faces would drip down, and everyone was disheveled as they hurried along the path.
After catching up with the group, Grandma Zhu finally had a chance to look up at the gradually changing weather and pursed her lips uneasily.
“I remember we have straw hats. Why don’t we use them to cover Xixi’s head? The team is on the move right now, so it’s not convenient to cut grass and bamboo to make raincoats.”
Although she knew the straw hat wouldn't be very useful, Lady Liu had no choice but to agree, taking a straw hat from her luggage and covering her daughter with it.
After hearing what her mother and grandmother said, Zhu Xixi rolled her dark eyes, shook her little head, and tried to look out through the gap in her straw hat.
Seeing that the rest stop was still a few hundred meters away, she excitedly waved her little hand and squinted her eyes happily.
Is this the post station where Zhu Yanyan changed the escort officer's opinion of her?
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