Chapter 12 Chapter 12 Encountered a robbery
After that day, it never got warmer and the weather got colder day by day. Fortunately, they could rest in the post station after two more days of walking.
Zhang was seriously ill and could hardly walk, but Du and Bai took pity on her, and the servants thought she was slowing down the journey, so they let her take turns riding in the two families' carts for half a day. Zhang was so grateful that she burst into tears.
Zhang was so pitiful that even Du sighed when she saw her.
The weather was cold, and Axuan had just recovered from her illness. Mrs. Du was afraid that Axuan would catch a cold again, so she boiled a large pot of herbs that she had collected along the way. Each family member drank half a bowl of the soup as a precaution, and the rest was given to Mrs. Zhang. Zhang finally got through her illness.
Zhang was grateful to the Gu and Tian families, but she had nothing, so after arriving at the post station, she actively helped the Tian and Gu families find firewood outside.
Zhang helped another family, so she had less firewood to find for the Li family. Liu was angry and no longer cared about her face. She picked up a piece of firewood and beat Zhang up.
Zhang was beaten so hard that she cried out in pain. Li Hongwen angrily scolded Liu, and Liu then snorted and threw away the firewood.
Not only did Zhang get beaten, but Liu also refused to let Zhang go without food and even snatched away the dry biscuits distributed by the officers.
Mrs. Du and Mrs. Bai looked away, feeling that Mrs. Zhang was so weak and not worthy of sympathy.
Gu Youan has a different opinion from her mother. Although Zhang is weak, she must know what is good and what is bad in her heart. Just because the concubine dares not fight back against her mistress does not mean that she dares not escape.
In the middle of the night, it was pitch dark and Zhang, who was in so much pain that she couldn't sleep, quietly went out.
But a quarter of an hour later she came back and gave each of the Gu and Tian families a piece of deerskin.
The Gu and Tian families woke up but didn't say anything.
Zhang knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the two families, then wiped her tears and left without looking back.
Mrs. Du and Mrs. Bai couldn't help but sigh.
Mrs. Du covered her daughter with a blanket and said, "Go to sleep. We have to travel tomorrow."
Gu Youan turned over and closed his eyes. After a long time, although he was obviously very tired, he couldn't fall asleep.
When Gu Youan woke up in the morning, he felt tired and sat in the corner to wake himself up. The shouting of the Li family over there was annoying.
"That bitch Zhang really dared to run away. I really underestimated her in the past."
"Hmph, I wonder where she can run. This whole world belongs to the imperial court. If she's caught, she'll be sentenced to death."
"The person ran away from the post station. We should go to the post station to get him back."
Liu had always disliked Zhang the most. After Zhang left, there was no one to do the work, and the two daughters-in-law were difficult to command. Zhang urged the two daughters-in-law to light the fire and cook soup, and at the same time, she was making a lot of noise, intending to ask the officer Huang and others to go find someone.
Officer Huang is an unfamiliar place, and he must be crazy to meddle in other people's affairs.
Besides, the person was lost at the post station, not on the road, so he cannot be blamed.
Just an insignificant concubine.
However, according to the rules, Officer Huang still had to ask a few more questions.
Officer Huang went to ask the minor official in charge of the post station about the mountain people. The minor official said that he knew there was a group of mountain people in the nearby mountains. A few years ago, the local county magistrate wanted to call these people down the mountain to settle down. The county magistrate brought a guide into the mountains, but after searching for several times, he couldn't find anyone and gave up.
"I don't like living down the mountain anyway. If I wanted to, I would have come down the mountain long ago."
"Those adults went up the mountain to look for him, but they probably got the news and left early, so they couldn't find him."
Officer Huang nodded and said, "That's right. If you're willing, why would you need someone to look for you?"
Judging from what the postmen in the post station said, if it's lost, it's lost. No matter how it was lost, if they don't come down the mountain, do you have the ability to go into the mountain to find it?
Officer Huang's guess was correct: Zhang must have gone with a group of mountain people.
Officer Huang wrote a document to the minor official at the post station, explaining the events leading up to and following Zhang's disappearance and clearly defining the responsibilities and powers. Officer Huang then took his men for a walk outside the post station and left the matter alone.
Seeing the officers acting like this, Liu shut up, and Gu Youan finally had some peace and quiet.
Yesterday at midnight, Zhang gave a piece of skin to the Tian family and a piece of skin to the Gu family. Gu Youan had already hidden the skin from the Gu family in his space, and he put the skin from the Tian family under his backpack so that no one would know about it.
After eating some soup and leaving the post station, Gu Youan glanced at the sack on the cart. It was the dry biscuits given by the post station just now. Based on the calculation that a convict could eat three or two dry biscuits a day, it would take them another three days to reach the next post station.
If there is no snow, it will take three days. If there is snow, it may take several days to arrive.
The postmen in the post station are all locals. They can observe the weather and tell them to hurry up, fearing that the first snow of the year will fall in the next few days.
Among the officers and convicts, only one officer named Lao Wu was from the north, and the others were from the south. They were all afraid. As soon as they left the house in the morning, the officers urged them to hurry on their journey, and they dared not rest for long on the way. At night, they had to walk until dusk before stopping to find a place to rest.
It didn’t snow the day before, nor the day after, and Gu Youan was very grateful.
The officers also said, "That's great, that's great. After tonight, we will be able to reach the post station tomorrow and we can rest assured in the post station for a night."
Just when I was feeling thankful, it started snowing heavily at dawn the next day. The snow got heavier as day broke, and I was so cold that I couldn't sleep.
"An An, are you cold?"
"Mom, I'm not cold. I can still bear it."
Mrs. Du was concerned about her eldest daughter. She then touched her youngest daughter's arm under the quilt and found it was warm. Then she raised her head slightly and called to the straw shed next door, "Gu Wen, Dalang, how are you?"
"Okay, I just put on the thick cotton coat and trousers that An An altered for me. They're very warm." Gu Wenqing answered his mother, and then asked his father, "Are you cold? How about we change into a cotton coat and you wear mine?"
Gu Wen glanced at his son and said he was not cold and didn't need to change.
Yesterday evening, the sky was very gloomy. An An was afraid that he would catch a cold at night, so while looking for dry firewood last evening, she gave each of the couple a down vest. It was inconspicuous and warm to wear.
Tian Erlang was too cold to lie down. The quilt was too short and it was uncomfortable to curl up his legs and feet. He simply got up and put on his clothes. Tian Erlang touched Gu Wenqing's arm and said, "Your sister loves you. She's really kind."
Gu Wenqing looked a little proud and touched his sleeves.
Seeing this, Gu Wen chuckled. An An had been prepared. After all, he was his brother, and An An's secret couldn't be known to him, nor could he be left cold. So, he had already made his cotton-padded jacket thicker.
Officer Huang urged from outside: "Hurry up, we'll leave in a quarter of an hour. We can't delay today. We must get to the post station before dark."
On a snowy day, several families had no time to light a fire and cook soup, so they just had to drink a few sips of the water they had boiled last night.
Cold water with dry biscuits, I seem to be used to it after traveling all the way from Luoyang.
They quickly packed up the hut, packed up everyone's belongings and were ready to leave.
They put on the cotton coats and trousers that took up the most space, which made it seem like the luggage of each family was much less.
A Xuan tugged at her dusty cotton coat and grinned at her sister, "It's warm."
Gu Youan put a hat on her and smiled. Of course she was warm. She stuffed down jacket into Axuan's cotton coat.
The snow was getting heavier. Just as I was about to leave, a quarrel broke out at the Li family's house for some reason.
Li Hongwen has three sons. The first two are already married. The youngest son, Li Wangfeng, was supposed to get married this winter, but because his father committed a crime and his entire family was exiled, the marriage was naturally postponed.
When Li Hongwen's concubine Zhang was around, the whole family forced her to do the work. When Zhang was not around, Liu bullied the two daughters-in-law. The two daughters-in-law were not easy to get along with, and the relationship between husband and wife was pretty good. The eldest and second sons both spoke for their daughters-in-law. Now, the third and unmarried son, Li Wangfeng, was alone and weak, and could not convince his brother and sister-in-law, so he was ordered around these days.
But Li Wangfeng was not a good guy either. When he was in Luoyang, he was a playboy who was not good at either literature or martial arts. Although he did not gamble, he indulged in all kinds of other things. He was no better than Zhang Wu, the second son of the Zhang family who died in the reed marsh.
The only thing that makes Li Wangfeng better than Zhang Wu is that he has good sense. He knows best who can be bullied and who should be kept away.
At this moment, his brother and sister-in-law were ordering him around, but he just threw his hands up and refused, sneering, "You bully me now, but you'll have to beg me later."
Mrs. Xie, the eldest sister-in-law of the Li family, smiled and said, "That's not true, uncle. Your nephew Wendan is not feeling well today, and your eldest brother and I have to take care of him, so we are busy now. I am sorry for the hard work, uncle."
Li Wangfeng didn't buy it at all and simply left the hut behind. "I don't need to live like a dead dog anymore. I don't need these cheap things. If you don't need them either, don't worry about them. Just throw them away."
Li Wangfeng got up and left. Li Erlang saw this and ignored his wife's wink at him. He went to dismantle the straw shed and tied up the hay and carried it on his back.
The eldest sister-in-law, Xie, praised her mother-in-law, Liu, saying, "Our family still depends on my second brother and his wife."
Liu was particularly satisfied with the hardworking second son, but Xu, the second son's wife, was so angry that her heart ached. What a bullshit hard work, it was just treating her husband like a cow.
Xu had made up her mind that once they arrived in Songjiang City, she would take Erlang away from her parents-in-law, elder brother and sister-in-law to live separately. If Li Erlang disagreed, then they would divorce. After all, she would not work like a slave for the Li family with him.
Gu Youan observed the commotion at the Li family and, as they hurried on, whispered to her father, "Ever since leaving the confinement, I feel like the Li family's youngest son has become increasingly arrogant. Why is that?"
Gu Wen didn't know: "Maybe there are other ways."
Tian Dalang was pushing a wooden cart in front, and Tian Erlang came over and whispered, "Does the Li family have a backup plan?"
For example, did you arrange someone to pick you up in Songjiang City in advance?
"The exile was so sudden. Did your family anticipate it and make arrangements in advance?" Gu Wenqing said.
"We are a small family like the Tian family, and we don't have that kind of connections. Li Hongwen is capable. These big families are different from us. I don't believe they don't have connections. Besides, even if Li Hongwen didn't make arrangements in advance, wouldn't the Li family's relatives who were not implicated help them?"
"Disaster."
It's true that the Liu family produced a noble concubine, but Songjiang City is the territory of Prince Qi. The current emperor is at odds with his uncle Prince Qi. Li Hongwen and the Liu family, no matter how capable they are, can they be more powerful than the current emperor? Can they reach from Luoyang to Songjiang City?
Gu Youan only asked her father one question and then stopped talking. After listening to her father, her brother and Tian Erlang talking, she still felt something was wrong.
She had a hunch that something must have happened to Li Wangfeng.
"Axuan can't walk anymore."
After walking for half an hour, Axuan felt tired and reached out to her father for a hug.
Gu Wen was carrying a quilt on his shoulders, and Du Shi was also carrying a basket on her shoulders, helping her eldest son push the cart. Only Gu Youan was empty-handed. She squatted down and said, "Come here, sister will carry you."
A Xuan ran over with a smile and lay on her sister's shoulder.
Gu Youan carried her on his back, and the little girl quietly asked, "Is Axuan heavy?"
"It's not heavy, Xuan is light."
Gu Youan shook the little man on his body, and Axuan laughed. Du scolded her and told her to shut her mouth and not breathe in the cold air to get a stomachache.
A Xuan shut up obediently. Gu Youan pinched the little girl's legs. Compared to what she saw when she first came here, A Xuan had lost a lot of weight.
In fact, it's not just Axuan. Their whole family, the Tian family, the Su family, and the Li family, are all dark, thin, and dirty, like beggars begging on the street.
A gust of cold wind blew, and after turning right in front, there was a forest. The white snow covered the distant forest with a layer of white coat. There was no bird singing or human voice in the mountain, and it was completely silent.
Looking closer, the white snow covered the caravan's wheel tracks on the road to the pass. Some feet were deep, some were shallow. Gu Youan was afraid that he might sprain his ankle by stepping in the wheel tracks, so he kept his head down as he walked.
As they walked, the officer in front suddenly stopped and Gu Youan looked up in confusion.
Suddenly, more than a dozen strong men appeared in the snow ahead. Each of them wore leather boots, a leather hat, a wolfskin coat, a black scarf on their face, and held a machete in their hands. They looked like tough guys at first glance.
Gu Youan's heart tightened. Was he being robbed?
Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that they were a group of penniless fugitives. How could they be worthy of being robbed by these bandits in the heavy snow?
Mrs. Du and Gu Wenqing abandoned the wooden cart, and the Tian family did the same. The two families quietly retreated together, back to back.
"Outside the Great Wall, on the first snowy day, the mountains are covered with gold and silver! Mr. Li, where is the benefit you promised us?"
Mr. Li?
Amidst the panicked gazes of the crowd, Li Wangfeng laughed heartily and took a step forward: "Is the visitor Wang Da, the leader of Qingshan Village?"
"It's me. Over a month ago, a brother from the underworld sent me a message saying you were going to surrender your wealth to me. Is that a promise now?"
"It counts, it counts, of course it counts. The gold, silver and jewelry in my private collection are my token of loyalty. Brothers on the underworld all say that Master Wang is a righteous man and the best outside the Great Wall. From now on, I will follow Master Wang. I hope Master Wang doesn't despise me."
The other members of the Li family were both frightened and shocked. Liu asked Li Hongwen in a trembling voice, "Apart from what we brought with us, where else do we have any gold, silver, or treasures? This evil third brother is trying to kill us. Master, please say something."
Li Hongwen said nothing.
Gu Youan glanced at the bandit, then at Li Wangfeng, and then at Li Hongwen, and immediately realized that the Li family really had other hidden wealth, and that the playboy Li Wangfeng had somehow found out about it and used it to attract the bandits.
While Gu Youan's mind was racing, he saw the officer over there drawing his sword and confronting the bandits. Even Gu Youan could tell that Officer Huang was bluffing, without the bandits having to tell him.
But after just two or three words, Officer Huang failed to scare the bandits away, and the two sides started fighting. The one called Wang the head of the family shouted: "Brothers, these are all high-ranking officials. Take them back and interrogate them one by one. It's possible that each of them has hidden tens of millions of wealth."
The bandits rushed forward with excited shouts. The Tian and Gu families were at the end and turned around and ran back almost without hesitation.
But the bandits were tall and strong, and there was no way these fugitives could outrun them. After they turned the corner, Mrs. Du gritted her teeth and pushed Gu Youan, saying, "Carry your sister and run to the mountains. Mother will stop you."
"mother!"
Gu Wen said quickly, "Listen to your mother. They're after money, and even if we get caught, we won't die for a while. You're a smart kid, you know what to do."
Tian Qingde was out of breath from running, and now he stopped running. He also said, "You young people run, I can't run anymore."
Bai stamped her feet anxiously, wondering what would happen if she was caught by the bandits: "Don't be discouraged, run a few more steps."
Tian Qingde sat down on the ground, panting and waving his hands. He really couldn't run anymore.
"Go!"
Gu Youan understood what her father meant, but she didn't care anymore. She gritted her teeth and carried Axuan on her back as she ran towards the mountains. As soon as she left, Gu Wenqing and the two Tian brothers also ran towards the mountains separately, each taking a different path.
The first snow was hanging on the trees, and the snow on the ground in the forest was not thick yet. Gu Youan gritted his teeth and ran into the mountains. After running for a while, he could still hear the shouting of bandits behind him, but after a while, he could no longer hear it. He didn't know whether the bandits were not interested in catching the two little girls, or whether their parents had blocked the bandits.
With her last bit of strength, she ran deep into the mountains and found a cave to hide in. She was so frightened that she couldn't speak. Then she started to cry, "Sister, I'm scared. I want my parents."
Gu Youan quickly covered her mouth and said, "Don't cry. If the bad guys hear us, we'll all be arrested, okay?"
A Xuan's big round eyes were sparkling with tears, and she nodded quickly in fear.
Gu Youan loosened his grip, and Ah Xuan wept silently, tears falling like beads from a broken string. Gu Youan held her in his arms and sighed, "It's okay, it's okay, there will be a way."
A Xuan cried for a while, wiped her tears, and tugged at her sister's clothes: "A Xuan is hungry."
If you’re hungry, that’s easy.
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