The Yunzhou prefect had already issued an order that the yamen runners take the exiled prisoners along the mountain road, so it was impossible for the yamen runners to change the route and go down the mountain.
The prisoners could only follow the route of the yamen runners.
For the sake of the Mu family, the Su family also had to follow the mountain road.
Otherwise, if something unexpected really happened to the Mu family, the Su family would feel guilty.
For them, this little bit of suffering is still bearable.
Most of the prisoners were hungry.
Unable to buy food from the yamen runners, they could only turn their attention to the Su family.
Chen Zhiheng's injury had not yet fully healed, so he always fell behind when traveling.
Mrs. Chen was pregnant and worried that her husband would not have enough food to eat and would weaken his health, so she forced herself to come to the Su family.
"Girls, can I buy some food with you? Anything is fine. My man and I can't hold on any longer."
...
...
In order to treat her husband, Mrs. Chen gave the last hundred taels of silver to Mu Wanjun.
Mu Wanjun later secretly returned the ninety taels.
So she had money in her hands.
She stuffed a tael of silver into Shen Shuli's hands, her eyes full of pleading.
Shen Shuli glanced at her big belly and was somewhat moved.
In the later stages of pregnancy, the baby needs to absorb a lot of nutrition. If the pregnant woman is unable to supplement nutrition, it will be very dangerous for both the adult and the child.
Seeing that there was still some leftover rice, Shen Shuli scooped two bowls of porridge for her, and took a few eggs and a scallion pancake: "Eat quickly, there is bacon here, eat some with it."
Mrs. Chen saw that the Su family had some leftover food, so she came over to beg for food with such a thick face.
She didn't expect that the little girl was so easy to talk to, and she was ready to pay more money and kneel down.
"Thank you girl! Thank you girl!"
Mrs. Chen's two sons hurried over to support her, and their eyes lit up when they saw that she had bought the food.
"Mom, did you buy food?" Mrs. Chen's eldest son was surprised.
He and his younger brothers and sisters helped their father and mother walk all the way, and they were very tired and hungry every day.
"Well, go and feed your father. You can share the rest." Mrs. Chen handed the food to the children.
"No, mother, you have to eat first. You and the baby in your belly both need nutrition, otherwise it will be dangerous for both of you. It doesn't matter if we go hungry for a few meals."
Mrs. Chen's son refused verbally, even though his stomach was rumbling with hunger.
"Madam, please eat quickly. You are the one who needs the most care in our family." Chen Zhiheng limped over and urged.
Seeing this, Mrs. Chen stopped refusing and started eating immediately.
She ate a whole bowl of porridge, two eggs, and half a pancake before she felt full.
"I, I accidentally ate too much..." Mrs. Chen was a little embarrassed.
She felt that the Su family’s food was so delicious that she ate too much without realizing it.
Seeing that she was enjoying the meal, Chen Zhiheng felt much better and shared the remaining food with his children.
When other exiled prisoners saw the Su family selling food, those who had money in their hands quickly gathered around and begged to buy.
Shen Shuli took the money and sold the leftovers.
The Yunzhou government officials looked at the Su family's behavior and did not stop them, but their eyes revealed unfriendly intent.
Rest area almost.
The bailiffs urged the prisoners to set off.
The Su family then packed their luggage and followed the team.
The bailiffs led the prisoners through the mountains for two days and two nights and had already entered the deep mountains.
The environment in the deep mountains is better than that outside.
There is a stream along the way, and you can occasionally hear the roar of wild animals.
But the mountain roads are becoming increasingly difficult to travel on.
Most prisoners had shackles on their feet, making it extremely difficult for them to walk.
It was also difficult for Su and Chen's families.
Because almost everyone of them was walking with a heavy load, and walking was very difficult.
This road is obviously going deeper into the mountains.
Mu Wanjun felt that she couldn't go on like this.
She took a few quick steps and walked up to Xue Bufan to ask.
"Commander Xue, where are you taking us? Are we taking the wrong road?"
Xue Bufan turned around and glanced at Mu Wanjun, and said, "I don't know the way. I rely on my colleagues in Yunzhou to lead the way. Why don't you ask them?"
The chief of the Yunzhou government officials was named He Liang.
He Liang glanced at Mu Wanjun, with calculation in his eyes undisguised at all.
"Princess An Rong, right? Haha, of course we took you through a shortcut, where else can we take you?"
"Going through this mountain not only allows us to bypass the bandit den, but also saves half a month of time. Isn't that the best of both worlds?"
Mu Wanjun looked at He Liang expressionlessly, not missing the filth in his eyes.
"Really? I just want to ask, if the bailiff takes the wrong route and we fail to reach the place of exile on time, will you bear the responsibility?"
"Ha ha ha ha!"
He Liang really couldn't help laughing out loud, as if he was laughing at Mu Wanjun's naivety.
The other yamen runners also started laughing, and it took a long time for them to stop.
Most of the exiled prisoners noticed something was wrong and looked at the yamen runners with vigilance.
Xue Bufan couldn't guess what these yamen runners were planning, but he had his own tasks to complete and was on guard against them.
"Don't worry, we will definitely take responsibility!" He Liang finally stopped laughing and responded to Mu Wanjun's words.
"Hurry up and get going. There is a village in the mountains. I will treat you to a good meal when the time comes."
Mu Wanjun became more alert.
Even Xue Bufan looked at He Liang a few more times.
Although these yamen runners were under his command, it was obvious that they had no intention of obeying him.
Even he didn't know what these people were doing.
Xue Bufan didn't want things to get out of control. If something uncontrollable really happened, it would be too late to regret.
Caught off guard.
Xue Bufan grabbed He Liang's neck and his fingers kept tightening.
"Tell me! What is your purpose? Why do you want to bring prisoners into the mountains?"
He Liang's strength was far inferior to Xue Bufan's, and he couldn't break free at all.
In just a few breaths, his face had turned red.
The other yamen runners did not expect Xue Bufan to attack their leaders, so they immediately drew their swords and surrounded him.
"Let go of our heads!"
"What are you going to do!"
Xue Bufan was not afraid at all. He glanced around coldly and directly strangled He Liang's neck.
"How dare you! You are so bold! I am the supreme commander appointed by His Majesty to escort this exile team. All of you runners must obey my orders!"
"He Liang wants to do something bad to the exiled prisoners. This commander has the right to decide his life or death!"
"I advise you to tell the truth. Otherwise, even if you all join together, you are still no match for me! Do you all want to die?"
Xue Bufan's aura suddenly surged, shocking the yamen runners so much that they subconsciously stepped back.
When the prisoners saw this, they were all frightened and ran away, fearing that they would be implicated innocently.
Mu Wanjun didn't expect Xue Bufan to suddenly take action.
But for her, Xue Bufan's actions were beneficial to her.
You can see.
Xue Bufan had no idea what these yamen runners were planning, and was worried that he would not be able to control the situation, so he just turned against them.
Seeing that the bailiffs retreated in fear and no one came forward to explain, Xue Bufan drew his sword and stabbed one of them.
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