Chapter 51 Arrival at the Post Station
"Hurry up, everyone, get up for me!"
A group of ragged former nobles trembled and were rudely awakened.
An officer with a face full of flesh, holding a long whip, his eyes as sharp as an eagle, swung the whip violently, and the whip cut through the air, making a sharp sound of breaking wind, and rushed straight towards an old man who was struggling to support his body, his eyes full of anger and unwillingness.
"Ouch!" The old man was unable to dodge and the whip brushed past his shoulder, leaving a bloody mark. He cried out in pain and staggered, but stubbornly refused to fall down.
Seeing this, the people around were all terrified, but they didn't dare to say anything. They could only mutter softly, and their complaints and dissatisfaction echoed in the small space.
Seeing this, the officer curled his lips into a sneer, and a cruel light flashed in his eyes.
He raised the whip again, and this time, he lashed the old man without mercy. A young woman screamed and covered her face with her hands, tears welling up in her eyes.
The whip drew a cruel arc in the air and landed on the old man again with a deafening bang, which shook everyone's heart.
There was a hint of sarcasm on the corner of the official's mouth. Looking at these former nobles, who now dared not even fart in front of him, it satisfied his self-esteem.
He swung the whip violently, making a crisp sound of cracking air, like the call of the god of death, making the air of the entire exile team tremble.
"Hurry up, everyone! You still want to enjoy the glory and wealth of the past? Now, you are prisoners!" He roared, and every word was like a heavy hammer, hitting everyone's heart.
No one dared to be lazy, so they packed up their things and started on their way again.
There is no food to eat in the morning, so I have to eat on an empty stomach.
But there were no members of the Xia family among these people. They secretly ate their fill when others were not paying attention.
Even the three little ones were fed from time to time by the adults. They were smart and just ate without asking where the food came from.
After walking for more than two hours, someone in the team cautiously asked Zhang San quietly: "Sir, we didn't eat breakfast this morning, and we all caught a cold last night. Can we rest for a while before we continue?"
Zhang San was also in a bad mood at the moment: "What's the point of resting? I haven't eaten yet, and you still want to eat? What the hell are you dreaming of?"
"But sir, look at these people in the team. Most of them caught a cold last night and can't walk any more!"
Zhang San looked back with a sullen face and saw that half of the people in the team were sick, especially the children.
They are all pampered children who have never experienced any hardship. They traveled all day yesterday and slept on the floor at night. The weather in early spring is still very cold. Not to mention the children, even the adults can't stand it.
With this physical condition, it is hard to say whether he can make it to Liangzhou.
Zhang San frowned and said unhappily, "There's a post station five miles ahead. You can resupply yourselves there."
Perhaps everyone had been oppressed for a whole day and was stunned by this sudden surprise.
Yang picked up her feverish son and said excitedly, "That's great, it's really great. My son is saved. Let's hurry on our way."
If he could get to the post station earlier, his son would suffer less.
A normal person wouldn't be able to sleep in the wild for a night, let alone Xia Qingluo who was whipped yesterday. He had a fever and was even fainted from it.
Mr. Xia and his family also wanted to reach the post station as soon as possible. The four of them were thrown into the stream by Bai Wan'er last night, and their clothes were soaked. Although they were later dried, they all had a fever.
I feel top-heavy right now, and I'm relying on my strong will to hold on.
They have hidden a lot of silver. If they can really buy supplies, they won't have to worry about starving or freezing along the way.
Did the others also show joy?
Compared to other people, the Xia family members didn't even suffer from cold or fatigue. Everyone was full of energy and didn't look tired at all.
I don’t know if it was because we were about to reach the post station, or because supplies would soon arrive, but everyone was hurrying on their way, and we arrived at the post station in less than half an hour.
As soon as they arrived at the post station, everyone rushed to buy supplies.
Dong went to a place selling cotton-padded clothes, picked up a cotton-padded coat and asked, "How much is this cotton-padded coat?"
"Ten taels of silver each."
"What did you say? How much is this cotton coat?"
Dong held a green cotton jacket, her eyes wide open, and asked Yichen Yicheng in disbelief.
The postmaster was a middle-aged man in his thirties, with a fat head, big ears, a big belly, a greasy face, and a pair of eyes as big as green beans. He stared at the people in the exile team with a cunning look, as if he was staring at a bunch of fat sheep.
When questioned by Dong, the postmaster showed a hint of disdain on his face: "The post station can sell things to people like you, so just be happy."
"The imperial court has stipulated that the post station cannot sell you anything or provide you with any conveniences. We are all taking risks, so isn't it normal that things are more expensive?"
"Our prices are clearly marked. Ten taels each. Quantities are limited, so it's on a first-come, first-served basis. You'd better think carefully. If you miss out, they won't be sold out when you want to buy them later."
This kind of cotton-padded jacket is the kind commonly worn by ordinary people. It costs at most one or two taels of silver per piece, but this post station is charging ten taels for one.
The cotton-padded jacket she wore in the capital also cost about ten taels each, but the material was many times better than this one.
Dong never imagined that this small post station could be so cruel!
If she buys it, she really doesn't want to be taken advantage of. But if she doesn't buy it, it's too cold, especially at night.
She was really scared of the cold last night, and she never wanted to feel the chill of the wind in her bones again.
Even though he was reluctant in his heart, he still gritted his teeth and spent forty taels of silver to buy one for each of the four members of his family.
There were not many cotton-padded coats, only about two hundred, and they were all sold out in less than a quarter of an hour.
Yang watched from the side as the Xia family members scrambled to spend money to buy cotton clothes.
The hatred in her heart sprouted like a seed and could not be controlled.
Yesterday they kept saying that they didn't have even a tael of silver on them, but now they can take out dozens of taels at will.
If they had each paid an extra half tael of silver yesterday, her son would not have been beaten and would not be unconscious now.
They all have the same blood, are descendants of the same ancestor, and are relatives!
How could they be so cruel!
At this moment, she hated all the members of the Xia clan!
In addition to selling cotton-padded clothes, the post station also sold kettles, dry food, quilts, tents, pots and pans, all of which were things that could be used on the road of exile.
The post station also provided food and accommodation for the exiled prisoners, but they were charged!
Zhang San was particularly kind and agreed to let them have lunch before continuing their journey, which meant that they had a full two hours of rest time.
"Dad, Mom, should we buy some things too?"
Xia Qingyun knew that his mother had a lot of silver on her, and his wife also had a lot on her.
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