Chapter 137 Who's really being a scoundrel?
With the date set, everyone began making preparations for departure.
Those who wanted to exchange items went out to exchange them, while Liu Yan returned with silver and gifts to find the village chief to hire a guide.
The women started steaming buns and making flatbreads, pot after pot. In such cold weather, no matter how many they made, they wouldn't spoil. It was also difficult to start a fire on the road. The women worked for three days straight, making a whole cartload of buns and flatbreads, and only stopped the night before they were to set off!
After daybreak, the village guide led the way and we set off.
The wheels crunched and groaned in the snow as Liu Laohu and his men cleared the road ahead. Everyone in the carriage got off and pushed the horse-drawn cart.
The group stumbled and staggered, but managed to continue their journey.
"Young master, please sit in the carriage. We can walk!" Chunxue advised.
Shen Lanxi: "No need, let's go!"
An hour passed in the blink of an eye, and there was no sign of anyone having been on the road. If it weren't for the local guide, they wouldn't even be able to tell which way to go.
"Our area is vast and sparsely populated. Sometimes you might walk for hours and not even come across a village!" the guide said as they walked.
Liu Yan was cold and tired, and felt like her legs no longer belonged to her.
"Grandpa, how much longer until we reach the next village?"
"It's not far, it'll only take another day to get there!"
Liu Yan almost fell to the ground: This is what you call not far?
About a hundred meters away from them, people from Peach Blossom Valley and Ghost Valley followed.
Xiao Fang and his henchmen are also needed.
"Uncle, we should have come after spring, not now!" The henchman slipped and fell to the ground.
Xiao Fang clutched his chest, and as he walked, he cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.
The henchmen yelled and pounced.
"My dear uncle, you're gone so young..."
"Let me, an old man with white hair... ptooey ptooey ptooey... a black-haired person sending off an old-haired person..." doesn't seem right either.
"You're my only family member left. What am I supposed to do if something happens to you?"
The people from Peach Blossom Valley and Ghost Valley all twitched their lips.
"You're blocking the way, get out of the way!" Feng Wu kicked Xiao Fang.
Xiao Fang opened his eyes, slapped the henchman on the back of the head, and said, "You can't leave now, your men have beaten you up and you've got internal injuries!"
The women of Peach Blossom Valley had truly experienced the shamelessness of Xiao Fang and his nephew these past few days, and they scoffed at his act of lying on the ground with utter contempt.
Li Lan was furious and immediately retorted, "What nonsense are you talking about? Who was jumping around in the yard practicing with a gun yesterday? Who ate eight steamed buns and two large bowls of vegetables in one meal!"
The henchman, hands clasped in his pockets, said, "Sister, you can't say that. My uncle and I even worked for you."
"We shovel snow, carry water, and even gather firewood for you, and you don't even want to feed us?"
Li Lan glared: "You said you'd be our slaves for ten days, and now you don't want to admit it?"
Henchman: "Even oxen and horses need to eat! You make us work but don't give us food. Even landlords and rich people aren't as cunning as you!"
Li Lan: "..." So it's their fault now?
"Get out of here! If you won't let us, we'll run you over!"
Xiao Fang lay back down and closed his eyes.
"I've never seen anyone act so shamelessly!" Li Lan was so angry she wanted to kick him.
Feng Wu's eyes twitched twice, and he called out, "Lie down in the carriage!"
Xiao Fang sat up abruptly.
"Then I won't be polite!"
Feng Wu said speechlessly, "You can also pretend I didn't say anything!"
Without saying a word, Xiao Fang stood up and climbed onto the carriage.
"I heard everything, you can't play dirty tricks!"
Who's really being unreasonable here?
Henchman: "Uncle, I want to go up too!"
Get out of my way!
They spent the night in the snow, and no one dared to be careless, not because they were afraid of being attacked, but because they were afraid of freezing to death!
"Wasn't the Shen family known for causing trouble? Why aren't they causing any more trouble?"
"Who dares to cause trouble? Even your own father can be buried in the ground. Do you believe that if the Shen family dares to cause trouble, we'll be watching them build snowmen?"
"That's true. If we keep our mouths shut, we're much better off than the other exiled prisoners!"
Whenever they feel they can't take it anymore, they tell themselves this!
The north wind was howling, and the wind felt like knives cutting my face.
"Auntie, my face hurts!" Shen Yuanhe muttered softly.
Zhang Zifen wished no one would notice her right now. She hadn't gotten off the bus all day, worried the whole way that someone would drag her out and make her walk.
Given her current condition, she might end up losing both her baby and herself; she was truly terrified!
After being scolded, Shen Yuanhe turned around and left the carriage unhappily.
"Auntie, has my sister gone out?" Shen Yuanrui asked.
"Don't worry about her, no one will give her a place to stay, she'll be back in a bit!"
Sure enough, Shen Yuanhe returned shortly afterward with a dark face. Once inside the carriage, she immediately hugged her legs and cried.
Normally, Zhang Zifen would have already soothed her daughter, but now she was too busy taking care of herself to hear her daughter crying, and only felt annoyed.
"Instead of crying, you should try to please Shen Lanxi."
Shen Yuanhe dared not, stubbornly saying, "No, why should I try to please her? We are both daughters of the Shen family. Just because she is the legitimate daughter, should I give in to her?"
If this were in the capital, before the Shen family committed their crime, Zhang Zifen would have felt sorry for her daughter's precociousness and her extensive knowledge if she heard her say this.
Now~
"Fool, I told you to curry favor with Shen Lanxi because everyone listens to her now. If your father were powerful, I would have told you to curry favor with him!"
This stupid daughter doesn't resemble her at all!
"Remember, you are a woman, and women can only live by depending on men. Whoever is more powerful, you must curry favor with them. Whoever can bring you benefits, you must use any means necessary to attach yourself to them!"
Zhang Zifen gritted her teeth and fiercely taught the children the ways of survival.
"No, I don't want to please her. She made me so embarrassed, I hate her!" Shen Yuanhe refused loudly without even thinking.
Zhang Zifen was so angry that her vision blurred. This stupid daughter of hers, she would never care about her again.
"Yuanrui, your sister is stupid. Don't be like her. Remember what your aunt said. Your aunt is only doing this for your own good!"
Shen Yuanrui was a little scared when she saw her aunt like this, and said in a small voice, "I know!"
Many people huddled together for warmth that night and managed to get through the night!
At this moment, everyone forgot their past, put aside their prejudices, wariness, and vigilance, and only thought about uniting to get through this difficult, cold night.
...
The next afternoon, they finally arrived at the place the guide had mentioned. Looking at the houses in the distance, everyone's face lit up with a genuine smile.
However, the smile didn't last long.
They encountered the two exile groups they had encountered before!
Their numbers are almost half of what they used to be!
(End of this chapter)
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