Chapter 11 Chapter 11 The Evil is Unpredictable
The Gu and Li families had a quarrel, and all the joy brought by today's outing was gone. The children also knew how to read the mood, and the three grandchildren of the Su family did not dare to play. After dinner, they curled up in the haystack and went to sleep.
Ah Xuan also went to bed early. Gu Youan couldn't sleep, so she helped her mother take apart her cotton-padded clothes. She took out the old cotton-padded clothes she had bought, took out the clumped cotton wool, stuffed them with thick reed fluff, and sewed them shut.
Gu Youan had a plan in mind. The old cotton-padded jacket she had taken apart had the most cattails in it, and the sleeves of the jacket had swelled up. If she hadn't pressed it down, the jacket would have been almost impossible to sew.
Mrs. Du took a glance and said, "You are too honest, child. There is no need to quilt your father so thickly. I am afraid he won't be able to move his hands when walking."
Gu Youan tugged at her sleeves. The rough stitching on her clothes was crooked and looked unpresentable. She said, "Let my brother wear it."
Gu Wenqing was flattered: "I won't wear it, let Dad wear it."
Gu Youan didn't respond.
Mrs. Du had finished her work, so the mother and daughter went to help Mrs. Bai.
Mrs. Du gave all the reed fluff left over from altering her own cotton-padded clothes to the Tian family. She said to Mrs. Bai, "I think the cotton-padded clothes you bought are better than mine. Apart from the two you have, you don't need to alter the other cotton-padded clothes or trousers. The reed fluff left over from our two families is enough to make another reed-fur quilt for your family."
Mrs. Du sincerely offered reed catkins, and considering the close relationship between the two families, Mrs. Bai naturally would not refuse. She simply said, "The reed catkins are enough, but unfortunately, we don't have enough cloth to make a quilt cover."
"Just make do with some old clothes. Once you get to that icy and snowy place, you'll understand. A reed quilt is a treasure you can't even ask for."
Mrs. Du continued, "A cotton quilt is warmer than a reed quilt. When we get out of the customs, you can sleep with the three of us, mother and daughter, at night, and let the five men use the reed quilt."
If the quilt is to be big enough for five men to cover, how long should it be?
"Make it longer, not too wide. Have them spread the quilt sideways and cover themselves with it. If they're worried about cold feet, they can curl up and sleep. That should help."
Bai said guiltily, "That's fine, I'll just tear apart a few of your clothes, and I..."
"Let's not talk about the friendship between our two families. Change it quickly and finish it as soon as possible. We can still sleep for an hour or two in the middle of the night."
Gu Wenqing slept until midnight and got up to add firewood to the stove. In the light of the fire, his mother and others had already modified the reed fluff quilt. He compared the length and found that if he covered it horizontally, the quilt would only cover his knees.
Mrs. Du's eyes were red from staying up late. She helped Mrs. Bai fold the quilt, yawned, and then went back to their own hay beds to sleep.
The next day was a sunny day, and the sun was even slightly scorching on people. However, the four exiled families, carrying warm clothes, rations, and holding hay, prepared themselves and headed out of the pass.
When passing the checkpoint, Officer Huang took the document to the officers guarding the city to get their approval. Among them, a captain with bulging arms glanced at Su Guang.
After Officer Huang had completed the customs clearance procedures, he turned back, frowned, and scolded, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and leave before you delay your journey."
The fugitives were released. The man who had just approved the documents for Officer Huang came over and said to the captain with the sturdy arms, "I heard that Su Guang sent someone to find Captain Li yesterday and asked him to send a message to Songjiang City?"
The man being questioned said with a cold face, "The person in charge of our Shanhaiguan Pass is the General of Yanzhou. Prince Qi has no control over us. If Captain Li dares to send someone out of the pass to report without the general's order, he will probably want to die."
"About this matter... well, it's hard to say."
"There's nothing to be ashamed of. Word has come from Luoyang that no letters are allowed to be sent to Prince Qi. We all eat the emperor's food, how dare we disobey him?"
That's true. Prince Qi is the emperor's uncle, not the current prince. Even if they want to help Su Guang, they can't do so, lest people misunderstand that they have sided with Prince Qi and have ulterior motives towards the court.
Even if Su Guang died on the way to Songjiang City, it was not their fault. If they wanted to blame someone, they should blame the people above them.
"I think Su Guang is in good health and has prepared some cotton clothes. If he doesn't get delayed after leaving the customs, he might be able to reach Songjiang City before the snow starts."
"That would be the best. We won't offend either side."
I don’t know if it was a psychological reason, but after just a few days of leaving the customs, Gu Youan felt cold, especially when it was cloudy and there was no sun, he felt that even single clothes were a little too loose to wear.
The weather was changing quickly, and Mrs. Du paid special attention to her two daughters, watching them take off and put on clothes, for fear that they would accidentally catch a cold.
Along the way, even though Gu Youan occasionally went to the space to replenish some food, she was now as thin as a bamboo pole. Axuan was also thinner, but the chubby flesh on her cheeks was still there. She was in good spirits and looked healthier than her sister.
Mrs. Du had just praised her little daughter for her good health in the evening, but she caught a cold at night and started coughing in the second half of the night. Mrs. Du regretted it deeply.
"Alas, it's my fault for not thinking carefully. My child doesn't deserve praise. If I praise him, the Plague God will hear it and the prophecy will come true."
They slept outdoors that night, and the straw hut could barely block the wind. Mrs. Du was afraid that her daughter would catch a cold again, so she held her little daughter in her arms, with only her head exposed.
Mrs. Bai slept on the other side. She took an old piece of clothing and wrapped it around Axuan's head, comforting her, "Axuan is in good health. We found her early, so she'll probably be well in a day or two. Axuan fell ill several times on the way, and it was always the same. It should be the same this time."
"Well, I hope God blesses me and everything goes smoothly for A-Xuan."
Mrs. Du thought that every time Axuan recovered quickly, it was because of the good medicine that An An brought.
This time, Gu Youan was well prepared. He stuffed the medicine into Axuan's mouth and fed her water in the dark.
Fortunately, the medicine was sugar-coated, so Axuan didn't feel bitter in her mouth. She swallowed it without opening her eyes and without making a sound. Bai, who was standing next to her, didn't notice it and thought she had just been fed two sips of warm water.
There was a rustling in the straw shed next to him, and Gu Wen called out, "Is there anything wrong?"
Mrs. Du said, "Axuan is making a fuss, it's okay, you guys go to sleep."
Gu Wen pricked up his ears and listened for a while. When he found that there was really no movement from the female relatives, he went back to sleep.
It suddenly got cold last night and many people caught cold and fell ill. In addition to the little Axuan from the Gu family who was coughing, the granddaughter and Lu from the Su family were sick, and the concubine Zhang from the Li family was also sick.
The Gu family lived far from the Li family's thatched hut, so how did they know Zhang was ill? It was because Zhang was scolded by Liu when she was boiling water that morning, saying she was unlucky.
Mrs. Du sneered when she heard this, saying that some people are born without conscience.
Bai sighed, "Zhang's life is also miserable."
Mrs. Du was so disappointed that she couldn't make up her mind. "Why is her life so miserable? It's all her own fault. If she had any sense, she shouldn't have followed the Li family into exile and endured this suffering. Even if she came, she would have taken care of the Li family's food and drink. That was a great favor to the Li family. If Mrs. Liu scolded her, she should have scolded her back with confidence."
Bai smiled and said, "You are a person of this nature. It is easy for you to say it and do it. Zhang can't do it. Otherwise, she wouldn't have ended up in this situation."
Gu Youan looked up and saw people walking about a mile away. If nothing unexpected happened, they should be the group of mountain people who had followed them since they left the border.
"Dad, they've been following us for several days. What's their intention?"
Gu Wen said as he was tying hay: "They might not be following us. Maybe they were going this way anyway."
Gu Wen pointed to the undulating mountains ahead and said, "The area around Shanhaiguan is the territory of the Yanzhou Army. Hunters outside the pass usually stay in hiding. Most of them make a living in the deeper mountains. Occasionally, they come down from the mountains to exchange meat and fur for food and salt."
"Can they pay taxes?"
Tian Qingde came over and said with a smile, "Going to the mountains to collect taxes? No matter how capable the tax officials are, they can't do that. To collect taxes from these mountain hunters, we can only wait until they come down the mountain to sell their goods."
It is also because they are exploited when they go down the mountain to sell things. People in the mountains will not go down the mountain easily unless they have no other choice. Even if they go down the mountain, most of them are men, and women and children rarely come out.
Gu Youan lowered his eyes and thought, if that was the case, then for those who did not seek fame, wealth or power, hiding in the mountains was also a way out.
These days, Gu Youan discovered that among the group of mountain people and hunters who had been following them, there was a man whose figure looked very familiar to her. If she was not mistaken, he should be the man who talked to Zhang in the woods a few days ago.
"You're deaf and can't hear me? I told you to collect hay, so what are you doing standing here? Are you waiting for me, the mistress of the house, to do it?"
"I dare not."
"Since you know you don't dare, then hurry up. The others are waiting."
After a simple breakfast, the other three families, except the Li family, packed up and prepared to leave.
Zhang's face turned red from coughing. She gathered the hay with trembling hands, tied it up and put it on her shoulders. She looked particularly pitiful.
But Li's children, daughters-in-law, etc. all despised her. Even her husband Li Hongwen didn't say a word to help her, but just looked at her with a frown.
At this time, one of the mountain people who had been following them walked out. The old man shouted at Li Hongwen and muttered a few words.
The old man's official language was not very accurate, and Li Hongwen didn't quite understand it.
The officer who had been to Songjiang City once was from the north and had a similar accent. He understood what the old man was saying and burst out laughing.
"Old Five, what are you laughing at?"
The officer named Lao Wu turned around and laughed at his brothers, "This old man called Li Hongwen a beast, saying that since he couldn't protect his own woman, he should sell her to him. The men in his mountain village can protect women."
The men present burst into laughter. Li Hongwen, who was cursed in the face by an unknown pariah, was so angry that he trembled all over and shouted angrily: "You country bumpkin, you only know how to say vulgar words that are not worthy of being mentioned in public. Get out of here now."
Liu glared at Zhang first, then laughed, "Master, Zhang is seriously ill anyway. Sell her to that old man. It would be a good thing to get some money back."
"Ignorant and foolish woman, is this how your Liu family taught you to be the mistress of the house?"
Liu was embarrassed, so she snorted and ignored it.
Zhang was so sick that her cheeks turned red and her head felt dizzy. She looked at the laughter and laughter in a daze.
The officers were eager to watch the fun, and Officer Huang asked Lao Wu to question the old man and ask him how much silver he wanted to spend to buy a wife.
The old man showed three fingers: two deerskins and one wild sheepskin.
Lao Wu smiled and said, "This price is not cheap, it shows that you are sincere."
The old man nodded, he was indeed sincere.
After playing around for a while, it was time to hurry on. Officer Huang waved his hand and told the old man to leave: "Zhang is a fugitive. The Li family has no right to sell her. You can leave now."
"Master, in the past..."
"It was your business in the past, and it has nothing to do with me. I won't take responsibility for it."
Seeing that Officer Huang refused, the old man had to retreat with his men, but he didn't go far and still followed from a distance.
When Gu Youan heard the tone of the mountain man and Officer Huang's conversation, he immediately understood that some of the female prisoners who had been exiled to Songjiang City in the past and were reported to have run away, died, or disappeared were probably sold into the mountains.
Gu Youan guessed that the reason why these people were not sold was that, firstly, Officer Huang was too timid to do it, and secondly, among them was someone like Su Guang who came from a prominent family and was once the teacher of Prince Qi. He was afraid that if the news leaked out, he would be killed.
If left unprotected, young women of childbearing value would be destined to be bought and sold, whether in the prosperous capital of Luoyang or in remote mountainous areas.
If Zhang had survived and followed the Li family to Songjiang City, she would probably have been tortured to death.
Gu Youan looked at Zhang, who was carrying hay and walking tremblingly. She might as well go into the mountains.
Before he knew it, Gu Youan walked between his parents.
Mrs. Du whispered to her eldest daughter, "See? From now on, don't go to unfamiliar places without someone by your side. There are many mountains and dense forests here. If you encounter a bad person, your parents won't know where to find you."
Gu Youan nodded silently.
It's just that the evil is more blatant, she is not afraid, she will protect herself and her family here.
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