Chapter 53 Who lends a helping hand?
"A few days ago, Miss Third asked me to find other routes, and I have found two. Although they are both three to five days' walk away, we can make up for it if we go faster. There are slightly larger villages in these two places, and I believe there must be village doctors and medical practitioners. I hope Miss Third can make the decision on which one to choose." Xu Jian handed over the map and pointed out the two routes.
Qin Xiangnuan took a quick look. Although the distance between them was not far, one village was closer to the nearby important town.
Word of the General's exile would surely spread there. If she'd found the original owner's memories correctly, the county magistrate stationed there had a history with Qin Guang, and approaching would likely cause trouble. Qin Xiangnuan didn't want to risk bad luck, so she simply pointed to another route and said, "Then, Sir Xu, we'll take this one. Please take good care of me when the time comes..." Even without these words, Xu Jian would naturally be devoted to her.
After all, Xu Jian was carrying the Seventh Prince's token. With Ma Han's situation behind him, Xu Jian and Qin Xiangnuan's lives were tied together. Xu Jian knew full well that even if he returned to the capital after this mission, his future would be bleak. Since he was blacklisted by the Seventh Prince, he was sure to be suppressed everywhere. He might as well find a way to see which way the wind was blowing.
Qin Guang was able to become a general guarding the country, so he must have some ability.
If he could really survive on the border, it wouldn't be a bad idea to find a way to stay.
Xu Jian had discussed this idea with Shou Hou'er and his other brothers, and had sounded out their opinions. Shou Hou'er's family was poor, and the others had no relatives. With the exception of a few who were reluctant, the others all agreed to follow Xu Jian. So, in other words, they were now in the same boat, and whether the future was good or bad, they would have to bear it together.
Qin Xiangnuan looked at him standing there, as if he was worried about something, and he didn't leave for a long time. She asked, "Sir, is there anything else?"
"To be honest, there is one more thing."
Xu Jian, alerted by her, regained his composure and walked with Qin Xiangnuan to the two black horses. He opened the bag of rice and flour and pointed to the layer of white flour buns and hard pancakes inside. Qin Xiangnuan knew what he meant, but pretended not to know and asked, "Why? Is this strange?"
"We sorted things out that day, and as Miss Third said, we threw out all the moldy and spoiled food. I specifically noted that if we followed the daily rations per person, we wouldn't be able to eat them for more than two days. But now it's the third day, and I asked Skinny Monkey, and he's confirmed that the daily distribution is based on the original rations, with no mistakes." Xu Jian pointed to what was left. "Miss Third, look, there's still a lot here, almost the same as before."
Otherwise, this bag of rice and flour is a treasure bag that will automatically replenish itself after eating.
Or, there is something else hidden.
In fact, Qi's words had aroused a certain suspicion in Xu Jian. Since leaving the General's Mansion and embarking on their exile, all the difficulties they encountered along the way seemed easily solvable. Qin Xiangnuan had always stepped in to alleviate the food crisis. She never seemed to worry about food, which was why Xu Jian had come forward to test her. He began by probing her, "Miss Third, I promise I won't tell anyone about this."
"I'm just curious about how they did it."
He stared at Qin Xiangnuan, trying to see some emotion on her plain face.
But to Xu Jian's disappointment, Qin Xiangnuan also looked bewildered. She tilted her head and replied calmly, "Master Xu, do you really think I'm a street performer who can do magic? If I could conjure up living food, how could I let Grandmother starve like this? Don't we eat delicious food every day? How could we be afraid of going hungry?"
"But this..."
Xu Jian didn't expect Qin Xiangnuan to deny it and pointed at the sack.
Qin Xiangnuan clutched the corner of her clothes, knowing the officers weren't as easily fooled as Qin Feng. Since Xu Jian had questioned her directly, he naturally became suspicious. For the past few days, she'd simply put a little incense in the food and the lit bonfire to make everyone sleep more soundly. Then, she'd slowly taken some food from her space and filled the sack, pretending to be completely oblivious.
Although Xu Jian did not have the exact evidence, he would be suspicious and would definitely investigate.
"Master Xu, I guess, unless someone is like my grandmother, saving some from their mouth every day and putting it in the grain bag." Qin Xiangnuan secretly glanced at Xu Jian's face with the corner of her eye. Knowing that this explanation would not deceive her, she changed the subject and lowered her voice with a very cautious expression, "Or someone is secretly helping us, taking advantage of us to do something while we were asleep."
Helping in secret? Xu Jian frowned and looked around.
In the wild mountains and wilderness, his eyes could not see anything unusual, but he couldn't help but think about the feasibility of this possibility.
"Do you remember that group at the noodle stall in Furong Town? They were able to appear so quickly and help us deal with the assassins and gangsters. I think they must have been following us in secret! They're quite skilled and appear to be quite wealthy. They said that they were helping us because of a favor from my father. If that's true, then it's possible they were secretly restocking our supplies."
Qin Xiangnuan attributed all the good things to that group of people.
Xu Jian was half-believing and half-doubting. He looked at Qin Xiangnuan and felt that she did not seem to be lying.
It was already quite rare for such a young girl to have such courage. If she could really hide something along the way, it would be too much to imagine. Xu Jian breathed a sigh of relief, nodded, and said, "I'm afraid it was those righteous men who were secretly helping."
"That's right."
Qin Xiangnuan nodded heavily, revealing a well-behaved and confused expression.
At the same time, the dark guards couldn't help but sneeze. They touched their heads, feeling a chill down their spines, as if they'd been tricked. A dark guard skilled in lip reading stared at Qin Xiangnuan and Xu Jian, recounting the general content of their conversation. The leading dark guard frowned in confusion, "Did you see it wrong? Are you sure this is what they were talking about?"
"Yes, I saw it with both my eyes!"
He raised a few fingers to the sky and swore.
Shadow's eyes were filled with confusion as he turned back to look at his brothers, "Are you guys delivering food tonight?"
"No! We didn't dare to get close. I don't know what happened these days. I slept very soundly at night. I always seemed to smell some fragrant scent..." Several people were confused and didn't dare to say anything.
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