Chapter 159 Just Wait and See
Liangzhou, Anding County, Pengyang County
After walking for a whole day, everyone in the second branch of the Qin family was too tired to move.
"Dad—Dad—" the groaning sound of a sick child could be heard in the broken thatched hut.
Cai touched her daughter Qin Yun's hot forehead and said to her husband, "Erlang, please hold the child." The child was in pain and kept calling for her father.
Qin Yan wiped his face, then went to the broken window, grabbed a handful of snow and rubbed his hands, then put his hands on his body to warm them up before reaching out to hug his daughter.
He patted his daughter's back and coaxed her, "Be good, Yun'er. Daddy is here."
He knew that he had paid less attention to his daughter these days, but he had no choice.
Qin Yan cradled his daughter's tiny body, his face buried in her. His father had died only two days earlier when the imperial decree of punishment had been issued, forcing his entire family into exile in Pingzhou. Even his father, Qin Yue's remains, couldn't be returned to Chang'an. They had to be buried in a scenic spot in the northern border, waiting for the Qin family to...beg for their remains someday.
Now, he, his wife, his mother, and his fourth brother's wife, four adults, are on the road with five children, the oldest of whom is only seven years old.
It was freezing cold, and the safety of him, a grown man, three women and five children all fell on him, so he had to keep his nerves tense.
In addition, his fourth brother's wife was raising two children by herself, so he had to pay more attention to them. They were not only his nephews, but also the only bloodline left by his two brothers. He couldn't let them get into trouble. His own three children would only make his wife and mother worry more.
The incident happened too quickly and they didn't have time to prepare.
Fortunately, the eldest brother made preparations and corresponding arrangements. Now Ma Jin has brought twenty or thirty brothers to protect them either openly or secretly.
The assistance Ma Jin and his men provided was limited, offering only covert support, such as secretly providing them with food and warm clothing, and protecting their safety. However, the main dangers they faced were the harsh weather and the surrounding environment, which they could offer little assistance with.
Every day, these adults not only have to carry their own luggage, but also have to carry or drag at least one child while walking in the snow. It is really hard.
The journey from the northern border to Pingzhou was over 4,000 miles, and he truly had no idea if they, especially the children, would make it to Pingzhou safely. He was under immense pressure, and his heart was in agony.
At the beginning of the escort, they had made some arrangements, giving the bailiff and the police officers many benefits, but in the end, they only got the convenience of not wearing shackles. This convenience was almost nothing. There were so many children in their group, as well as women and elderly relatives, that the other party had no fear of him escaping. He would not run away.
In fact, Wu Yasi also had some idea about the secret protection of Ma Jin and others. He respected the Qin family for defending the northern border against foreign enemies over the years and their contributions to the northern border. In addition, Ma Jin and others did not do anything excessive, so he turned a blind eye.
Now the child is sick and there is no medicine. Qin Yan asks Wu Yasi for help. He knows that it is impossible to ask a doctor, so he can only ask them to give him some herbs. Ma Jin and others can't help either.
There are few doctors in the northwest, and they are now in the wilderness, where they may not be able to find a doctor within a radius of one or two hundred miles.
Cai broke the herbs given by Wu Yasi and put them into a broken pottery pot to boil. While adding fire, she asked her husband, "Do we really want to give Yun'er this medicine?" She didn't know whether the herbs were suitable for her.
Qin Yan didn't say anything. If possible, he really hoped to find a doctor to prescribe medicine for his daughter instead of using it randomly.
Ma Jin was also very depressed at this time. He knew that the second master's little girl was in a critical condition, but he had also sent people out to look for a doctor, but there was really no doctor within thirty or forty miles around.
At this moment, two people quietly approached him. Sensing the movement, Ma Jin quickly turned around and found that the people coming were Zhou Da and a brother he brought with him. He was very surprised, "Why are you two here? Where are the others?"
"It's me. The others are somewhere else. How's the situation here, Second Master?"
"The situation is normal. Second Master's daughter has a fever. By the way, why are you here? If you go north, what will happen to the Crown Prince?"
Zhou Da replied, "The prince had other plans, and we were of little use there, so he sent us north to assist you. Now it seems that the prince's concerns were justified. You really can't take good care of people."
"Zhou Da, what do you mean?" The child is sick, and they are also very worried, okay?
"Literally, let's not talk about it anymore. Just quietly deliver the medicine to Second Master." Zhou Da removed the wooden hairpin from his head. It was something Sixth Master had quietly sent to him before he left, telling him it contained pills to treat children's colds, illnesses, and fevers, and that it could be used if necessary.
After Zhou Da took off the wooden hairpin, he identified the scratches on it and cut it along the scratches with a dagger, revealing a pill the size of a peanut kernel inside.
"Sure, you can hide the medicine this way. Zhou Da, when did you become so smart?"
Zhou Da said proudly, "I have always been smarter than you."
"You're kidding!" Ma Jin sneered, then said, "Wait a moment, I'll take the medicine to Second Master first."
After Ma Jin left, Zhou Da called his deputy over and asked, "Tell me how you usually take care of the Second Master and the others?"
Qin Yan took the medicine that Ma Jin secretly delivered to him, and was surprised to learn that Zhou Da had gone north. The medicine was prepared by his sixth brother's wife, whom he had never met.
After Ma Jin left, he quietly scraped some powder with his fingernail and put it in his mouth. After a quarter of an hour, when there was no reaction, he fed the pill to his daughter. The couple then cared for their daughter for half the night, and her fever finally subsided. They breathed a sigh of relief, their hearts filled with gratitude and curiosity for their sixth brother's wife.
As for Zhou Da, when Ma Jin came back with the medicine, he was met with contemptuous looks from the other party.
Ma Jin was confused. He looked at his deputy, who was lowering his head in shame.
Zhou Da: "Is this how you take care of people?"
What else could they do? They knew they couldn't take good care of him, and they were very anxious. The key point was that the Second Master and his men were being watched by the bailiffs and the guards, so it was difficult for them to step out of line.
Ma Jin explained the difficulties here, "Among the bailiffs and guards, the others are easy to deal with. But there's a troublemaker named Lin, who used to be under the Fourth Master's command. He was punished by the Fourth Master for violating military regulations, and he's been holding a grudge against him ever since. He's particularly fond of finding fault and is difficult to talk to."
"If we help too much, he will deliberately make trouble for the Second Master and the others. He even whipped the young master." This is one of the reasons why they are restrained.
Zhou Da sneered. A nitpicker? He loves to mess with people? Perhaps he thinks his life is too long.
Zhou Da's deputy naturally understood what his boss was sneering at.
But they heard that before the Prince and others met up with them, there was a guy named Zhao Long, who was a deputy bailiff and was also very difficult to deal with. Before he met them, he died quietly and the cause of death could not be found out.
Why, when the officers are escorting the convicts to their place of exile, only the convicts are allowed to die, but the escorts can't? The officers can't die?
"You stupid pigs, are you just going to sit there and watch the young master get beaten?"
Ma Jin's eyes widened. "Who are you scolding? If you can do it, come on."
"Okay, I'll do it! Just wait and see." Zhou Da made a bold statement.
"What are you going to do?" Ma Jin asked.
"You'll know later." Zhou Da kept it a secret.
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