Chapter 10 Why don't you just rob it?
"mother!"
Xu Qingshi exclaimed in disbelief.
They were all going to be exiled to Lingnan, a poor and remote place. How could she possibly find a husband there?
Just as they were about to start fighting, Yun Zhao leaned on Xu Yifei's shoulder and blinked at Li Peiwen.
Marquis Cheng'an, Mei Chengxu, died in the Huainan plague in his previous life; he was a good official.
"Mommy, hug me~"
The child's innocent voice drew Li Peiwen's attention.
Seeing the adorable little girl, Li Peiwen's heart melted.
"This must be Zhaozhao. Come here, let Aunt Peiwen hug you!"
Yun Zhao stretched out his chubby little arms and nestled into Li Peiwen's arms.
"Don't cry, Aunt Peiwen! Let Zhaozhao pat you! Hehe, Aunt Peiwen smells sweet!"
Yun Zhao giggled, looking carefree, and Xu Qingyi and her sister also stopped crying and started laughing.
Li Peiwen quietly slipped a longevity lock into her arms and whispered, "Zhaozhao, be good."
This longevity lock was originally intended as a gift from Aunt Pei-Wen when you came back; you should keep it with you.
"Hide it well. If you run out of money on the road, just secretly give it to your mother to exchange for food, okay?"
"Yes! Zhao Zhao understands, Zhao Zhao will protect Mother!"
Yun Zhao nodded heavily, mimicking Li Peiwen's lowered voice.
Her quick wit brought tears to Li Peiwen's eyes.
Such a clever and beautiful little girl, if raised in the capital, would probably become a famous talented woman in the capital in the future.
What a pity...
What are you talking about?
Xu Qingyi didn't hear what the two were saying, but when she saw her friend's eyes suddenly redden, she went up to her and asked with concern.
"It's nothing, I just feel sorry for you and the child."
Li Peiwen knew that if Xu Qingyi saw the gold lock, she would probably make her take it away again.
Yun Zhao was intelligent and naturally understood what Li Peiwen meant.
She shook her head, proudly tilting her little head back.
"Zhao Zhao promised Aunt Pei Wen that she would protect her mother!"
"Yes, Zhao Zhao is so good!"
Li Peiwen echoed Yun Zhao's words.
Xu Qingyi stepped forward and hugged Yun Zhao, taking the opportunity to lower her voice and say, "Peiwen, I have a favor to ask of you."
If you see Zhichun later, tell her to follow her from a distance and not to reveal herself until I find her.
"Zhichun? She wasn't resold?"
Li Peiwen was somewhat taken aback.
At this moment, Yun Zhao, who was nestled between the two, spoke up slyly.
"Sister Zhichun's indenture is gone! She can go home and find her parents now!"
That's it?
Li Peiwen was shocked, but quickly came to her senses.
"It's good that she's gone. Those girls are loyal. With them by my side, I feel more at ease. Don't worry, I'll send someone to look for her right away!"
Before they could say more than a few words, the officials started to drive them away.
Li Peiwen left in a hurry.
As the crowd gradually dispersed, Wu Lianzhen's face turned deathly pale.
"Didn't you say your parents would come?"
Xu Yiyuan tugged at his wife's sleeve, his face grim.
"They, they'll definitely come!"
Yun Zhao glanced at them and deliberately raised his voice.
"Mother, isn't Fourth Aunt's mother coming to see her off? She's so pitiful!"
"What nonsense are you spouting!"
Wu Lianzhen reacted as if her tail had been stepped on, and subconsciously scolded him.
"Sister-in-law! Your parents didn't come to see you off, so don't take your anger out on Zhaozhao!"
Xu Yifei was annoyed; this woman had yelled at his precious niece several times that day.
If it weren't for the fact that she was a woman, he would have already raised his arm to teach her a lesson!
Xu Qingshi felt a lump in her throat as she recalled what she had just said.
"That's right, Fourth Aunt's parents are heartless. They took so many benefits from the General's Mansion."
It's only natural that the General's Mansion would abandon you when trouble comes. Sigh, it seems the Li family still has some conscience.
At least they gave us a hundred taels of silver! The Wu family didn't even dare to show their faces; it's truly disheartening. Mother, don't you agree?
Madam Xu's face darkened, and she reached out her hand to Wu Lianzhen.
"Give me the Li family's belongings."
Wu Lianzhen's face turned pale. The duck that was about to be eaten had flown away, and she was naturally heartbroken.
"What, you're not even listening to your mother anymore?"
Xu Yiyuan snatched the bundle from his wife's hands. "Mother, don't be angry. Lianzhen is probably upset, that's why she was distracted."
Seeing these people arguing so shamelessly over a small thing, Xu Qingyi subconsciously tightened her grip on the bundle in her hand.
Fortunately, she told Zhichun not to come over yet.
As Yun Zhao hugged his mother's neck, he saw the true colors of this stepmother and her son even more clearly.
She took the bundle from Xu Qingyi's arms and said obediently, "Mother, let Uncle hold Zhaozhao, Zhaozhao will help Mother hold the bundle~"
Xu Yifei stepped forward, "Sister, let me carry Zhaozhao. You're not very strong, don't tire yourself out!"
"Don't worry, Mother, Zhaozhao will definitely keep up the good work!"
Yun Zhao gripped the bundle tightly, her small face full of determination.
In fact, the moment Xu Yifei carried her away, she had already switched the items in her bundle.
Li Peiwen genuinely considered Xu Qingyi a friend, and thoughtfully included small denomination banknotes and loose silver in the bundle she sent.
They also prepared a lot of copper coins for them to use on their journey.
Perhaps worried that food wouldn't keep well on the road, they only prepared some easily digestible dry rations, and the rest were various emergency medicines.
Yun Zhao exchanged all the silver coins for copper coins of equal weight, and the medicine for injuries was replaced with those made from precious prescriptions from his own space.
This weight was nothing to Xu Yifei, so he was completely unaware of it.
With a human vehicle by his side, Yun Zhao was happy to have some free time, looking around and scrutinizing the people in the exile group.
Although the Minister of Revenue was a high-ranking official, he was always honest and upright, and had no concubines in his household besides his principal wife.
Now that he has been exiled, besides his legal wife and three children, he only has his younger brother's family of five.
All told, the Wei family, the Minister of Revenue, only had ten members.
He was fair in his dealings and rarely colluded with officials in the court. At this critical juncture, not a single one came to see him off.
The family of the Vice Minister of Works probably knew that he had been pushed out by his superiors to take the blame, and they were unusually quiet.
Yun Zhao kept a close eye on things and noticed that these officials seemed to treat the family of the Vice Minister of Works particularly well.
Anyone who was even a few steps slower would be beaten and scolded by the officials.
The family of the Vice Minister of Works not only received no criticism, but were even given time to pack their belongings.
It seems that the Empress's family offered the Vice Minister of Works quite a few benefits when they sent him away.
In March of this year, Beijing was blanketed in snow, and the cold wind made the weather exceptionally chilly.
Fortunately, the sun had already risen when they left the city.
After walking for two hours, the officials found a flat area and allowed everyone to rest and have lunch.
The official set up the pot and shouted loudly.
"Ten coins for a dark-colored steamed bun, fifty coins for a white-colored steamed bun, and three taels of silver for a bowl of meat soup!"
"Three ounces for a bowl of meat soup? Why don't you just rob someone?"
Someone instinctively retorted, only to be met with a sneer from the officer, who then tossed a steamed bun at them.
"Don't just eat this cornbread!"
The cornbread was made from some kind of coarse grain; it was dry and hard.
It hit the ground with a "bang," creating a small crater!
"How...how are we supposed to eat this?"
Xu Yinan looked disgusted and subconsciously glanced at Old Madam Xu.
"Mother, it's cold outside, how about we buy some meat soup?"
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