Chapter 103: I can’t even start a fire.
"Nephew Nanfeng, the imperial court is about to change. Do you still think you can stay safely in Wuheng? The only way to survive is to leave with me!"
Qi Nanfeng braved the wind and snow and ran to a high place. He could only vaguely see some flames in the wind and snow, but they were not clear.
He turned his head and looked at Li Mao deeply, as if thinking about something.
At the same time, a strong wind blew at the entrance of the cave, bringing heavy snow in.
The fire couldn't be lit.
Seeing this, Ruan Mian decisively took out a piece of cloth from the supply box and asked Xixi and the others to temporarily block the lower edge of the hole.
Then they scattered the people all over the cave, and they stayed close to the cave wall to avoid the wind.
Looking at the almost blocked view outside, everyone felt scared.
One of the old men was hunched over, his white beard frozen into a mass.
With a hoarse voice, he suddenly walked up to Ruan Mian and bowed deeply.
"Madam Ruan, I am Xue Yuanzhao, the village manager. Thanks to you for reminding us in time and bringing us here for refuge, we were able to avoid disaster today."
"I'm so grateful."
Ruan Mian quickly helped him up: "It's okay. If you are willing to trust me, then that is the way to survive that you have chosen. This snowstorm won't stop anytime soon, so we can only hide here for now."
Nowadays, the officials are probably too busy taking care of themselves to care about them.
But what she didn't expect was that the man in the green robe was galloping on horseback. When she saw the thatched house that had almost been razed to the ground in the blizzard, her heart tightened.
Minister Dong, who was standing by, was also feeling depressed: "Sir, are we still a step too late? Madam Ruan and the others..."
"Go up the mountain and go to the nearest cave."
The wind and snow were so strong that the horses could no longer sit still, and Xie Huaian and Minister Dong were injured while trying to escape from the post station.
They had no choice but to abandon their horses and head quickly into the mountains.
…
Ruan Mian cooked some hot porridge for everyone.
During the conversation, she discovered that although Mr. Xue was old, he had more than a dozen children.
At first they blended into the crowd and Ruan Mian didn't notice them.
It was only when I went to deliver the porridge that I saw there were so many children.
The older one is only twelve or thirteen years old, and the younger one is even younger than Rui Ge'er.
Mr. Ruan also saw this scene and took the initiative to step forward and talk to Xue Yuanzhao.
Later, it was learned that Xue Yuanzhao had actually been the third place in the imperial examination chosen by the late emperor, and was also chosen by the eldest princess as her husband.
But before he took the exam, he already had a wife in his hometown. He was unwilling to abandon her, so he disobeyed the imperial edict and was thrown into prison and exiled ever since.
At that time, he knew that he would not have a good ending, so he wrote a letter of divorce to cut off ties with his wife and was exiled here alone.
These children were all those he picked up from Wu Heng over the years.
Either both parents are dead, or they are abandoned by their families.
He could teach them to read and write, and he earned a living by working to get some simple food.
It's better than being homeless and dying outside.
Hearing this, Ruan Mian was moved. He had seen too many monsters along the way, but there were not many people as kind as him who did not ask for anything in return.
Especially in this hellish place where people eat each other, it is difficult to survive.
Seeing this, Ruan Mian comforted him: "There is always a way to live a good life."
What's more, she has her own space. Even if there is nothing here, she can lead everyone to create a good life.
They just have to wait patiently for the storm to pass.
However, at the end of the day, although the wind and snow had subsided, Ruan Mian still felt a vague sense of unease.
It stands to reason that with so many fugitives fleeing everywhere, it is impossible for the officers and soldiers to have no reaction at all.
What's more, the wind and snow had died down a lot, and there was not even a sound of movement.
So she planned to wait until the weather was better, then go down the mountain to take a look and make sure that everything was fine before taking everyone back.
However, what she didn't expect was that someone unexpected came to the cave entrance.
Minister Dong rushed in quickly, shouting, "Madam Ruan! Madam Ruan, are you there?"
Ruan Mian stood up when he heard it. When he saw Minister Dong, he was puzzled: "Minister Dong? Why are you here?"
There was no way to explain so much now, so Minister Dong first took her to the cave entrance and brought in the unconscious Xie Huaian.
Ruan Mian was surprised to see this sickly boy injured again.
"What happened? Why did you get injured again?"
At this moment, Xie Huaian was exhausted and frozen all over.
Ruan Mian quickly asked someone to light a fire and fed him some spiritual spring water and medicine.
As he calmed down, Minister Dong's body also gradually warmed up. Then they heard Minister Dong say that it was the Lanqiang army that took advantage of the Wuheng snowstorm to launch a mutiny.
There was chaos in the internment camp because of the illegal peat mining incident. The newly transferred officials went to the internment camp to arrange for the fugitives.
The enemy had an opportunity to take advantage of the bad weather and the chaos in the army.
The post station fell and they could only avoid fighting and hide.
"We searched for a whole day in the wind and snow, but couldn't find your whereabouts. Finally, the adults said that there are many rocks here, and there is a greater possibility of a cave, so we came here to try it out. I didn't expect to actually see you."
As soon as Minister Dong finished speaking, Xie Huaian behind him slowly spoke.
"It's not advisable to stay here for long, Madam Ruan. Once the wind and snow outside subside a little, we must go deeper into the mountains. Otherwise, the enemy can catch up here at any time."
This place is not far from the exile village and the post station.
No wonder there was no movement from the officers and soldiers, it turned out that there was a mutiny.
Ruan Mian comforted them first, and then discussed the matter with his family.
As soon as they heard about the mutiny, Ruan Qingsong's expression became solemn.
"Mianmian, if we continue to go deep into the mountains, I'm afraid our chances of survival will be slim."
"We have so few supplies and so many people. The mountains are full of dangers and we don't know how many days we can survive. But...if there is a mutiny outside and we are encountered by the enemy when we go down the mountain, we will die."
When Chen heard this, her eyes immediately turned red.
She just felt that they had reached a dead end and her child really could not be born.
Ruan Mian quickly comforted him, "Going down the mountain is a dead end, but there's still a glimmer of hope up there. As the saying goes, you live by the mountain. Don't worry, we'll definitely be able to survive in the mountains."
At worst, we can migrate all the way to a place far away from the war. Even if it is an uninhabited place, we can occupy the land and rule as the king. Then we won’t be controlled by others. Isn’t that better?
Seeing Ruan Mian's determined eyes, they had no way out.
In the evening, the wind and snow died down a little.
There was a thick layer of snow piled up at the entrance of the cave. Everyone worked together to clear it, while Ruan Mian took Yun Xiu, Mei Xi and others to find some food outside.
Using this as an excuse, she went to the space and took some bird eggs and some sour jujube fruits while no one was paying attention.
The big white tiger following behind him was like a clingy spirit. Seeing it, Ruan Mian suddenly had an idea.
He turned around, touched its big head, and asked, "Little spirit beast, you are sure you can hunt the little rabbit, right?"
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