Chapter 28 The Vanished Archives of Wei Family Army's Food and Salary!
Although it was a nearly dried-up pool, it was enough for people and horses to drink for several meals!
Qiu Shuang and Chun Xue received orders early in the morning to stop people who rushed forward to drink the water to quench their thirst. They took out two large black pots from the car and started boiling water!
"Our young master said that water must be boiled before drinking. If we get diarrhea from using unclean water in the middle of nowhere, not even a god can save us!"
Most of the exiled prisoners were officials, and they understood this principle, so they endured the water until it boiled before drinking it.
Another group consisted of commoners who were exiled. They believed that if something was unclean, it wouldn't cause illness, so they ignored advice and drank directly, while secretly laughing at others for being fussy!
Liu Yan greeted the constable and came over to help boil water.
Shen Lanxi watched calmly without making a comment.
Before long, Shen Yuanjing and his siblings came over to help. Shen Lanxi looked at the people who were diligently gathering firewood and decided to splurge a little!
"Mother Li, set up a few more pots to cook porridge, add more rice, and make it thicker!"
Li's mother quickly led her son and daughter-in-law to unload the large pot from the carriage.
"Spring Snow, give everyone ten peanuts!"
"Autumn Frost, take two dried chickens, chop them up, and make soup with some dried vegetables!"
Liu Laohu had been looking around since early morning. Seeing everyone busy in an orderly manner, he immediately brought over the prisoners' rations to heat them up and help out!
Before long, darkness fell, and the aroma of food filled the mountains. This meal was the best and most delicious one that all the exiled prisoners had ever eaten.
Everyone was too busy eating and drinking to speak!
Liu Yan walked over to Shen Lanxi with the bowl in her hand and sat down on the big rock just like her.
"Young master, I see wolf paw prints nearby. Wolves are nocturnal animals, so we must be prepared for the night!"
Shen Lanxi ate her meal at a leisurely pace: "Go tell Liu Laohu, he will definitely reward you!"
Liu Yanhui knew that Shen Lanxi still didn't trust her, so she offered her weakness.
"He'll return to Beijing after sending the prisoners to Dongchuan. It won't do me much good to curry favor with him. I don't care if I suffer, but my mother and sister will be left without anyone to take care of them. They definitely won't make it to Dongchuan!"
Shen Lanxi's eyebrows twitched: "You have a mother and a younger sister?"
Liu Yan Hui looked guilty: "I studied so that they could have a better life, but I never expected that after only a few days of good life, I would cause them to be sent to a harsh and cold place!"
A man doesn't easily shed tears, but Liu Yanhui's eyes were already wet!
Shen Lanxi doesn't believe in tears. She believes that people with family ties will think twice before acting!
She bluntly stated her point: "You've been implicated by my Shen family, don't you hate the Shen family?"
Liu Yanhui instinctively felt that the person in front of her didn't like empty talk; she preferred sincerity.
"At first, I hated them, but after I learned that the Shen family wasn't the real culprit in the theft of military funds, I stopped hating them. The Shen family didn't benefit at all; instead, they were all exiled. My hatred for the Shen family has been resolved!"
Shen Lanxi raised her head and looked directly at Liu Yanhui.
"How do you know the real culprit in the theft of military pay isn't a member of the Shen family? You're in charge of filing military pay records, did you notice anything?"
Her sharp gaze locked onto Liu Yanhui.
"I made the judgment based on the assassination attempt on the road and the missing document. I manage documents very strictly, and everyone who checks them is recorded. There are two locks on the door of the archives room. Only a few officials from the Ministry of Revenue and I have the keys. During the period when the document was missing, none of the officials entered or left the archives room, and there were no signs of damage to the locks."
Shen Lanxi: "So, you, the one who held the key, are convicted?"
Liu Yan opened her mouth, wanting to defend herself, but she didn't know how to defend herself. She could only turn her grief and anger into food and shoveled down a few mouthfuls of rice!
"Have you looked at that file carefully?" Shen Lanxi asked.
Liu Yanhui quickly swallowed the food in her mouth: "I've seen it. It's just a normal official document. It even has your father's handwriting and seal on it."
Shen Lanxi didn't believe it. Before the incident, this file was insignificant. After the incident, it disappeared without a trace. Apart from the evidence of the stolen salary in this file, she couldn't think of any other explanation!
"You want to overturn the verdict." She blurted out decisively!
Liu Yan nodded: "As long as you can help me overturn the case and clear my name, I am willing to serve you faithfully for the rest of my life!"
Shen Lanxi stared at Liu Yanhui and chuckled, "I don't have that kind of ability. You've asked the wrong person!"
Liu Yanhui said firmly, "Even if the case cannot be overturned, as long as you can ensure the safety of my mother and sister, my life will belong to you from now on!"
Shen Lanxi hesitated for two seconds: "This deal of yours is not worthwhile. Even if I get to Dongchuan, hiring an accountant would only cost me half a tael of silver a month at most. You would have to pay your wages and support your mother and sister. With that money, I could hire four accountants!"
Liu Yanhui gritted her teeth and knelt directly in front of Shen Lanxi, her head pressed tightly to the ground in submission!
“Young master, I can be more than just an accountant; I can also be your retainer. I was the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination of the eighteenth year of the Renxiao era. I may not be an expert in astronomy, but I am also knowledgeable in geography!”
"If I'm not mistaken, this time we're changing our route to head towards Tianjin, then we'll take a boat from Tianjin to Xiguan, and then travel by land to Dongchuan!"
Shen Lanxi raised an eyebrow; he had actually guessed right!
"I'll pay you ten taels of silver a month, and I'll guarantee your mother and sister will reach Dongchuan alive!"
Liu Yan knelt on the ground and respectfully said, "Thank you, young master!"
From now on, she would be the accountant. Qiu Shuang scooped a full spoonful of chicken from the soup pot and gave it to Liu Yan Hui.
Liu Yanhui shamelessly asked for two more spoonfuls of soup, filling the bowl before leaving.
This action made Chunxue's lips twitch repeatedly.
"What kind of shameless third-place scholar can be so brazen?"
Nu Bai: "Master, he took the chicken and chicken soup back and shared them with his mother and sister!"
Shen Lanxi replied to Chunxue: "A thick-skinned person who can collect debts is perfect for being an accountant!"
Chunxue thought for a moment and said, "That seems to be true!"
That night, Shen Lanxi discussed with Liu Laohu about finding four people to take turns keeping watch, promising that they could catch up on sleep in the carriage the next day.
Some exiled prisoners wanted to enroll, but the constables snatched their spots. How pleasant it is to be cool at night, so much better during the day than to lie down and sleep soundly in the carriage!
In the middle of the night, the howling of wolves could be heard from not far away.
The four men on night watch immediately became alert.
"Is that a wolf howling?"
"The sound is quite far away!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than Shen Lanxi jumped down from the carriage, stick in hand.
"Wake everyone up! The wolf is coming!"
The four constables were startled by Shen Lanxi's sudden jump down, and when they heard her shout, they all hesitated.
"Young Master Lan, the wolves are still quite far away. What if they don't come?"
Shen Lanxi's gaze pierced through the darkness: "They'll be here in the blink of an eye!"
Spring Snow and Autumn Frost were woken up and quickly went to call for help.
Thirty meters, twenty meters, fifteen meters...
There is enough time for everyone to come to their senses and pick up any weapons they can!
"Awooo..."
The wolf is coming!
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