Jiang Shuyue lifted a corner of her veil: "Madam is right, I do wish to ask for some well water."
The woman had a kind face. Seeing Jiang Shuyue's exceptional beauty, she kindly said, "The Emperor is open to all beauties from across the land. With your looks, why don't you enter the palace and try your luck?"
Jiang Shuyue smiled faintly: "Thank you, Madam. I am already married and my child is still young. We have run out of the dry food we brought. So, I have come to ask for some water to cook porridge for my child."
Most people here consider entering the palace a great honor, and Jiang Shuyue knew the woman meant no harm.
Once inside the courtyard, as the woman went into the house, Jiang Shuyue had a thought and poured the spiritual spring water into the bucket by the well.
When the woman came out again, she was seen filling several water bags with water.
"Alas! When will it rain? If it weren't for this old well in my house, everyone in our village would have to leave to escape the famine," the woman sighed.
"Who knew that people from the capital would say that those fleeing famine couldn't enter the city gates, so everyone went to other places."
Feeling indebted to those who had done her a favor, Jiang Shuyue told the women that she couldn't enter the capital, so that they wouldn't have to make a wasted trip if they couldn't hold on any longer.
Before long, several people came to ask for water.
Just then, a woman walked in from outside and looked at the refugees queuing up to get water.
Smiling, she said, "Madam Wu, there are more and more refugees these days. Why don't you sit by the well and collect money? You can collect one coin per bucket of water, and you can make quite a bit in a day."
The woman's expression turned slightly cold: "You said we're all refugees, how could I take their money? Don't make jokes like that, I don't want people talking behind my back."
Jiang Shuyue cast an admiring glance at the woman. Along the way, there were indeed villagers selling water, and not many people would refrain from taking advantage of the situation.
“Yes! It hasn’t rained in my hometown from winter to spring. We had no choice but to leave. We’re out of food, so where would we get the money to buy water?” a middle-aged man said.
“That’s right, many people have sold their children along the way. We are very grateful to our master for his kindness.” Someone stepped forward to agree, bowing deeply to Madam Wu.
Moved, Madam Wu said to everyone, "It's not easy for anyone. This is a century-old well in my house that has never run dry. You can draw water without worry."
The crowd expressed their gratitude once again.
The woman who had urged Mrs. Wu to accept the money was humiliated and left in a huff.
"Sister."
Su Jin walked over and took the water bag from her hand.
As night fell, a pot of porridge was cooked, and Aunt Su served Grandma Xu a bowl first.
I added some marinated chicken to the porridge, and it tasted good even without pickled vegetables.
After finishing their meal, Sui Sui and Shui Sheng pestered Su Hui to tell them stories.
"Do you want to hear Little Red Riding Hood or Du Shiniang angrily sinking her treasure chest?" Su Hui asked the two with a smile.
These stories were all told to her by Jiang Shuyue, especially the story of Du Shiniang angrily sinking the treasure chest, which she liked very much.
After listening to her sister's story, she realized that a woman should not place all her hopes on her husband; if her husband is heartless, it will be a disaster.
"Auntie, Sui Sui loves listening to the story of the Calabash Brothers." Sui Sui tilted her head back, her soft and cute appearance was very adorable.
"this……"
"Auntie has never heard the story of the Calabash Brothers."
So, the style changed, and Sui Sui started telling stories to Su Hui and Shui Sheng.
Qiuju washed the dishes and fed the water to the horse. Lin Miaoshou carried a wooden bucket to fetch water for tomorrow morning.
Jiang Shuyue looked up at the sky; the moon was bright and the stars were few tonight.
She called out to Qiuju, "Qiuju, let's go for a walk around the neighborhood."
"Miss, I noticed those human traffickers have hostile eyes. We must be careful tonight."
“Let’s go over to the other side and see how far away the slave traders are,” Jiang Shuyue said, pointing to the campfire burning in the distance.
Along the way, most of the people fleeing famine brought their families with them, using mule carts, oxcarts, and many others on foot.
The two wandered around the area but couldn't find the slave trader's carriage.
Suddenly, a familiar figure came into view in the distance: a man and a woman were walking into the woods.
The man walked in front, and the woman followed closely behind, the two acting furtively.
Qiuju's eyes widened, and she tugged at Jiang Shuyue's sleeve, saying, "Miss, doesn't that person look like Widow Li? Why is she with another man?"
Watching the figure of a man and a woman quickly disappear at the edge of the grove, Jiang Shuyue turned her head and said, "It's not surprising that people can look alike."
"No, Miss, Widow Li's house is right next to Shui Sheng's. I would recognize her even if she were ashes! It really is her!"
"So what if it's her? It's tough for her as a widow with a child. It's not a bad thing that someone helped her along the way in order to survive."
Qiuju sighed.
“Miss is right. There are many people along the way who would give up their sons for a bag of rice. Widow Li’s willingness to live a life of hardship is far more noble than those who sell their children.”
When the two returned, they saw Su Jinzheng about to come out looking for them.
The two were perfectly in sync and kept quiet about seeing Widow Li.
The night was silent all around, not even the chirping of crickets.
Aunt Su and Su Hui slept in one carriage, Grandma Xu and Shui Sheng slept in another carriage, and Jiang Shuyue and Qiu Ju slept in another carriage with Sui Sui.
Su Huai-ren, Su Jin, Su Nan, and Lin Miao-shou laid out straw mats on the ground and slept next to the horse.
Su Jin was afraid that there would be horse thieves at night, so he tied the reins to his wrists before going to bed.
Hearing Qiuju's even breathing, Jiang Shuyue had a thought and put Suisui into the space.
To ensure Sui Sui could sleep soundly, Jiang Shuyue stuffed a nightgown into his hand.
Every half hour, Jiang Shuyue would go into the space to check if he was sleeping soundly.
After a bumpy journey, everyone was exhausted and soon fell asleep.
Suddenly, a cry of surprise echoed through the night sky.
"Thief! Someone is stealing a child!"
Su Jin and the others suddenly rolled over and got up from the ground.
"Sister, where's Sui Sui?"
Hearing the exclamations from afar, Jiang Shuyue put Sui Sui back into the carriage.
She lifted the carriage curtain: "Sui Sui is alright, come and see Shui Sheng."
"Grab him." Lin Miaoshou saw several people moving in the distance and quickly chased after them.
"Oh no! Shui Sheng has disappeared!"
"Quick, after them!"
Immediately, several men, including Su Nan, rushed out.
Qiuju hugged Suisui tightly, still feeling a bit scared.
Grandma Xu was awakened by everyone's shouts, only to find that there was no one beside her.
She burst into heart-wrenching sobs: "Shuisheng, my grandson! That damned slave trader!"
"Grandma Xu, don't worry, everyone has gone after them." Aunt Su, Su Hui, and Jiang Shuyue quickly ran over to comfort Grandma Xu.
"I want to go take a look," Grandma Xu said, getting off the carriage.
Aunt Su had no choice but to help her down from the carriage.
Hearing the cries of the refugees across the street, Grandma Xu suddenly fainted.
Jiang Shuyue quickly pinched the acupoints.
Meanwhile, Lin Miaoshou chased after them and saw the thief mount his horse.
He ran back, grabbed a horse, and chased after them.
In an instant, cries, curses, and the sound of horses' hooves filled the air in chaos.
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