Chapter 576: Just Like His Sixth Uncle
As the Xie family walked, bombs were still fired into the sky from time to time behind them, but not as frequently.
Zhang Dayi and Chu Feijian looked back from time to time.
The exiled team struggled forward in the cold, fatigue and hunger. The cold wind often changed direction after the afternoon, making everyone's forehead numb.
The young children were held in the arms and carried on the backs of adults. Occasionally they would go out to walk for a while, helping each other and walking several miles without realizing it.
I thought that after walking so far, I should be able to see some human figures, but I didn't expect that after walking for several miles, I didn't even see a wild mouse.
Chu Feijian had walked in this direction before and had a bad feeling in his heart.
As far as I remember, there should be some houses nearby.
He looked solemn and was noticed by Mrs. Xie when he was checking the team for fugitives.
Seeing that she looked thoughtful, Madam Zhou, who was standing beside her, supported her mother-in-law and asked softly, "Is there something on my mind, mother?"
Madam Xie did not hide it from her. She hinted at the escort Chu Feijian and whispered, "I see a look of worry between Lord Chu's brows."
Chu Feijian happened to come back from the back. Zhou secretly looked at him and nodded slightly, saying, "It seems to my daughter-in-law that Master Chu is indeed worried about something."
Behind them, Second Madam Zhang, holding Xie Jiarui, the youngest child of the Xie family, heard them talking and said, "I just saw Master Chu looking around, as if he was looking for someone."
Old Madam Xie was walking unsteadily with the help of a cane. Upon hearing this, Zhou turned around to look at her brother and sister-in-law. Her sight unconsciously fell on Rui Ge'er. Seeing that he was now sleeping with his arms around Zhang's neck, she raised her eyes to look at Zhang.
"Let me hold him for a moment."
Zhang shook her head and said with a smile, "She's already asleep. Sister-in-law, just take good care of mother. Rui Ge is not seriously ill."
"Besides, I just took it from the second girl not long ago, it's okay."
Zhou could only nod, looking back into the distance, and muttered to herself, "I wonder what the situation is like in Yuchuan?"
"Auspicious people are always blessed by heaven, and Yuchuan is also protected by the family gods. Sister-in-law, don't worry."
Zhou nodded, glanced around, and asked curiously, "Where is she?"
Seeing her asking about her daughter, Shen Shi beside her quickly said, "Zhen'er was just invited to the back. Master Zhang was worried that something might happen to her, so he went with her."
Zhou looked at her clothes and asked, "Are you cold?"
Shen shook her head and smiled gently, "Although the wind is cold, it doesn't penetrate my body and it's still warm."
What Shen said was true. Fortunately, the Xie family's gods sent them warm and protective clothes along the way, which reduced most of the hardships on the journey.
The further north you go, the whiter the road becomes.
A thin film of ice covered the ground, making walking not as smooth as before, and the wheels at the back of the team began to slip.
The pace of travel slowed down a lot as the ground became difficult to walk on.
After the afternoon, the temperature dropped sharply.
The sky began to darken, and darkness pressed down heavily, giving the northern scenery a bleak and desolate feel.
Looking around, there was no one in sight.
Chu Feijian looked at the hungry people, thinking about the little food left in the team. The crisis in the rear had not been completely resolved, and the road he had chosen now could not find the villagers he remembered. As time passed, Chu Feijian had to reconsider his plans for tonight.
The team took a short break to replenish their energy.
The food that the Xie family had distributed had already been eaten along the way.
If it were in the past, many prisoners would have complained long ago after having no food or water for such a long time.
We stopped to rest today and the camp was completely silent.
Whether they were convicts or police officers, at the command, they all sat down and lay down on the spot, seizing the time to recuperate. Even speaking a word felt exhausting.
After Zhang Dayi sat down, he felt a chill rising from under his buttocks, and his body couldn't help but tremble.
Everyone was the same. They didn't know what the climate was like here. The ground was hard and cold, not suitable for sitting for a long time.
Zhang Dayi was worried about the child of the Xie family, so he took off his outermost layer of clothes and laid it under Rui Ge'er.
Ruan would never let Zhang Dayi do this. She would never let Zhang Dayi ignore his own health, even though Zhang Dayi was worried about her child's frailty.
"It's so cold, sir, please dress warmly. It's only a short while, it's not a problem."
Zhang Dayi lost the argument and put his clothes back on.
"Sir! Brother Rui is not cold."
A clear childish voice sounded, and a pair of black eyes looked at Zhang Dayi with sparkling eyes.
Zhang Dayi stroked his head and smiled, "Sir, would you like to hold me?"
After Zhang Dayi said this, Ruan Shi couldn't refuse his kindness anymore, so she turned to look at her son.
Xie Jiarui faced Zhang Dayi's outstretched arms, shook his little head, and said seriously: "Jiarui is not afraid of the cold, he can do it obediently, sir, have a good rest."
A child's words made all the adults around laugh.
Old Madam Xie asked Zhou to put her thin blanket on Rui Ge'er.
Since the supplies were abandoned, even the Xie family, who were cared for by the gods, now don’t have many useful things.
Xie Jiarui, wearing a thin blanket, moved to Zhang Dayi's side and wanted to cover his husband with the blanket, but Zhang Dayi hugged him and wrapped him tightly with the thin blanket.
Everyone couldn't help but look towards the back.
Although they don't talk much to each other now, the worry in their eyes is still evident.
Madam Xie closed her eyes and rested.
Zhang Dayi used local materials to give Xie Jiarui a temporary "make-up lesson".
Looking at Rui Ge'er who was in such a situation and still had to lower his head to study seriously with his teacher, Xie Zhen felt as if a scene in his memory suddenly appeared before his eyes. Why was there ice on the ground?
As I thought about it, I couldn't help but chuckle.
“It really seems like it.”
"Second sister, what do you mean?"
Ruan, who was standing by, heard her laughter and asked curiously.
Xie Zhen leaned over and gestured towards Rui Ge'er, who was studying with the teacher. He chuckled softly and said, "I remember when my sixth brother was little, when he was Rui Ge'er's age, he also loved following the soldiers under our father's command and learning things like this. They were exactly the same as before."
Ruan Shi couldn't help but laugh when she heard this, but then she remembered that Xie Zhen was talking about Rui Ge'er's sixth uncle. She couldn't say anything, so she could only cover her mouth with a smile and asked, "Really?"
"Yes, when Yuchuan was a child, he hated sitting in class."
"How can we study if we don't go to school?" Ruan asked.
She was married into the Duke's Mansion later. As the eldest sister-in-law, it was not appropriate for her to interrogate her younger brothers-in-law about their embarrassing childhoods. Moreover, her husband had been away for many years. Ruan had never heard of this matter in the past few years in the mansion. She only knew that her sixth uncle Xie Yuchuan had always been the most rebellious person in the Duke's Mansion.
Xie Zhen looked at the elders and saw that everyone's eyes curved up at the same time, with a look of secretly laughing.
Then he smiled at Ruan and said, "Sixth brother, I don't know how many teachers he angered and drove away back then. But he is not like other children who would bother the teachers like that. He just always asks the teachers some strange questions."
"The master was so annoyed by him that he left without a word. Grandfather and my great uncle had no choice but to look for a master everywhere, but they couldn't find one. One year, a soldier who had been injured and was recuperating in the mansion came to the house and was caught red-handed by Yuchuan."
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