Li Qingyao had heard somewhere that if a person's life goes too smoothly, God will make him stumble and fall hard.
Li Qingyao felt that he was in this situation.
His father was a fourth-rank official in the capital, and his mother was also from an official family. He was born amidst his parents' expectations and grew up healthy. As the only child in the Li family, a boy, he was always the center of attention.
The first head of the Li family was just an ordinary scholar who had passed the imperial examination. He was fortunate enough to gain the favor of his superiors, who married his daughter to him. It was because of this promotion that the Li family gradually rose to prominence.
With his future in his boss's hands, he naturally wouldn't have any crooked thoughts, and because of his wife's reputation, he also received a lot of benefits.
The Li family gradually established the rule of not taking concubines. The collateral branches of the Li family were originally the direct line, only they had separated from the main family; in terms of blood ties, they were very close.
His grandfather was an accident, because his grandmother had been unable to conceive for a long time, and it was only through her insistence that she had a concubine who gave birth to a son born out of wedlock.
Perhaps after the pregnancy, her grandmother's worries were relieved, and soon after she became pregnant again and gave birth to his father, who only had him as his child.
If nothing unexpected happens, he will take the imperial examination, achieve a good ranking, marry a gentle and virtuous woman like his mother, enter officialdom, and succeed his father as the new pride and banner of the Li family.
However, his life took a sharp turn for the worse.
In just one month, his father died, his home was ransacked, he was imprisoned, and exiled. Before he could recover from the blow of losing his father, he embarked on a path with no future in sight.
With his family destroyed and his family gone, the fifteen-year-old boy, who had previously only seen the beauty under the protection of his parents, is now suddenly thrust into the real world. His servants have also been sold off by the brokers, and he has no one left to rely on.
"Mother, I'm going to gather firewood. Wait for me here."
Li Qingyao carefully helped Yan Shi to sit down on a patch of grass. They had walked about ten miles today, and he was almost exhausted, but he had to persevere in order to take care of his mother, who was frail and needed his care.
Madam Yan looked at her son tenderly, "Alright, Mother won't move."
Since being imprisoned, she has been fortunate to have her son by her side. Now, she can only rely on her son. Thinking of this, Yan Shi couldn't help but feel sad again.
Li Qingyao skillfully searched for dry firewood around the woods, and soon he had collected quite a lot.
In just a few days, it felt like a lifetime had passed. The past seemed like a dream, and Li Qingyao could hardly remember what his life used to be like. Only the pain in his body at this moment was clear.
Having gathered enough, Li Qingyao walked to a less crowded area, sat down on the ground, and, panting, took off his shoes. He then took the thatch he had found and used the thorns to prick the blisters on the soles of his feet.
After several days, Li Qingyao's delicate skin was covered in wounds. He grimaced as he cleaned the blisters on his feet, let them air dry for a while, then grabbed some wild grass to wrap his feet before putting on his shoes. It was getting dark, and he needed to quickly gather enough firewood to get through the night.
Suddenly, a dark-colored money bag was thrown at his feet.
"?"
Li Qingyao gripped the money pouch tightly, looking warily ahead. The people who threw the pouch were from the same escort agency they'd encountered earlier that day. They'd only been able to set up camp and rest early thanks to this agency. Right now, the escort agency was treating the constables to meat!
The man didn't look very big. When he saw Li Qingyao holding the money bag, he turned his back and found a grassy spot to relieve himself.
“I’ve observed that no one noticed there’s medicine in the purse. Take it out and apply some medicine yourself. Figure out how to use the money inside.”
After saying that, he got dressed and was about to leave.
"Who are you? I have nothing to give you."
Li Qingyao looked completely bewildered; he had no use for him whatsoever.
"Hey, you're pretty alert, aren't you? Someone asked me to take care of you."
Who is it?
"You'll find out when the time comes, young master." With that, the man turned and left.
Once the person left, Li Qingyao's tightly furrowed brows relaxed. He took out medicine from his purse and applied it to all the wounds on his body. He still had to take care of his mother and couldn't afford to get sick on the way.
After applying the medicine, he found some loose silver and a few silver notes, which he carefully hid, afraid that Madam Yan would worry if she waited too long. He then quickly took the firewood back.
Li Qingyao started a fire, and only after the officials distributed the food did he collect his and his mother's portions.
Besides them, several other families were also exiled on this trip; they were all relatives of officials involved in the salt smuggling case.
After the officials had eaten and drunk their fill, Li Qingyao escorted his mother far away from the Wang family.
Sure enough, not long after, some officials sauntered toward the Wang family. It was Xu Datou, the official in charge of this operation. He had a fierce look on his face. As soon as he arrived, Wang Tongji, the head of the Wang family, handed a thin woman to Xu Datou with a fawning expression, and kept bowing and smirking.
Xu Datou laughed and patted Wang Tongji on the shoulder, looking like a good brother. He then turned and pushed the woman into the shadows. Soon after, the woman's cries and the sound of slaps could be heard.
Li Qingyao gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.
He can't; he would harm himself and his mother.
Since they embarked on this journey of exile, the Wang family had given Lord Wang's daughter to the officials, so the Wang family was considered the most comfortable people in the group.
Facing the scornful looks from everyone, Wang Tongji declared righteously, "His father caused our whole family to be exiled, and this is what they deserve!"
The girl wanted to die at that moment, but because of her younger brother, she couldn't die even though she wanted to.
Li Qingyao felt an intense hatred for his own insignificance at this moment. Without family background or connections, he could do nothing and save no one.
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