Chapter 16: It's Good to Be Alive
Just when Su Nuan was full of doubts, Ling Yun suddenly grinned, revealing a mouthful of teeth stained red by berries. He looked so stupid.
Su Nuan breathed a sigh of relief. She was overthinking it. If he wasn't stupid, she wouldn't be able to take things out of the space at will, and she would be restricted.
She put the snake in a basket on the back of the cart and didn't have time to make soup at noon.
When he looked back at the team, he found five donkey carts with covers behind them, and the soldiers driving the carts were napping on the shafts.
These carts should be prepared for the wealthy people in the team, but I don’t know how much this donkey cart will sell for.
Dong'er's carriage followed the team at a distance. She didn't dare to get too close during the day and could only find a chance to communicate at night.
She took out some dried meat and ate it casually. When she turned around, she saw Ling Yun holding the dried meat and looking at her eagerly.
He was like an abandoned puppy, looking pitifully at his departing owner.
Su Nuan got goosebumps when she saw his look. She quickly took advantage of the basket to grab a bag of candied fruits from the space and stuffed it into Ling Yun's hand.
"Take it and eat it secretly."
Ling Yun took the paper package, tore it open a little and saw the honey-covered dough fruit. He grinned and squatted on the ground to eat it.
Su Nuan sighed, "Be good and obedient, there will be other delicious foods in the future."
Ling Yun nodded fiercely, "Yes, yes, Xiao Yun listens to sister-in-law."
His expression was so innocent that Su Nuan couldn't help but raise her hand to ruffle his hair and said with a smile, "Be good, from now on your mission is to accompany Tuantuan, and my mission is to ensure your food and clothing."
After that, she said to herself, "We need some tarpaulin to cover the carriage, otherwise what will we do if it rains heavily?"
There were no large pieces of oilcloth in the space, only a few three-foot square pieces.
Just when Su Nuan was thinking about how to deal with the rainstorm, Ling Juan showed up again to cause trouble.
She said sarcastically, "Some people use crooked methods to sneak into the woods and bring back the meat. Who would believe me if I told them that?"
Su Nuan turned her head to look at Ling Juan, who was gnawing on a black-faced steamed bread fiercely.
These black-faced steamed buns were only given two in the morning, which was considered a day's ration. They were usually eaten in the morning. These should have been given to her by her father and brother.
Su Nuan chuckled, "The gods held an umbrella for you when they rained down the rain of wisdom."
Ling Juan didn't understand what this meant, but she felt it was not a good thing. She angrily cursed: "Little bitch, you are just as cheap as them."
Su Nuan looked in the direction she pointed and saw several people coming back from the bushes. They were soldiers and a few women. Judging from their disheveled appearance, she knew what they had done.
The soldiers put the women on the donkey cart at the back and left with a smile.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see why these women are qualified to ride in donkey carts. They just can't stand the hardship of walking on the second day of exile. These people do not deserve sympathy.
Su Nuan retracted her gaze and stared at Ling Juan coldly, "Watch your mouth, or I won't mind killing you."
As expected, to deal with such stupid people, you have to speak harshly and directly. Ling Juan shrank back, avoiding eye contact and not daring to speak again.
The rest time was over and the soldiers urged everyone to hurry on.
In the evening, the team came to a small river and the soldiers rode past the team on horseback.
"Rest by the river and set off tomorrow morning. Anyone crossing the river will be considered a coward and will be killed on the spot."
The soldier's voice gradually faded away, but it struck everyone's heartstrings like a heavy hammer.
After everyone else had gotten off the official road, Su Nuan came to Dong'er.
Dong'er turned around and took out an oil-paper bag from the carriage, "Cousin, eat quickly."
Su Nuan opened the oil paper package suspiciously, and found a sweet-scented osmanthus duck inside. The meat was tender and the aroma was fragrant.
She laughed and said, "People in exile are just like refugees. It's good enough to be alive. If you feed me like this, I will become the fattest person."
Dong'er scratched his head and smiled foolishly, "I don't care, I just can't bear to see you suffer."
Su Nuan used her sleeve as a cover and took out a stack of banknotes from the space and stuffed it into Dong'er's pocket.
"Take this. If you pass through a town, buy some more food for the carriage."
"By the way, there will probably be a heavy rain this weather. You should cover the carriage shed with tarpaulin to prevent it from leaking."
Dong'er declined when she saw the banknote, "You should take this money. You might need to make some money to get by."
Su Nuan shook her head. "Just take it if I give it to you. I have more. Besides, it's not safe to keep it here with me."
Having said that, Dong'er put away the banknotes. She pulled out a sack from the carriage and said with difficulty, "Cousin, please help me."
Su Nuan pulled out the sack suspiciously; it was quite heavy.
Dong'er exhaled and said with a smile: "Here are the things I bought in town, Miss, take them back."
Su Nuan didn't even look at the contents and asked, "Did you buy a quilt? It's early autumn now and it will be cold at night. You have to take good care of yourself."
Dong'er nodded. "I bought it, I bought it. You gave me a lot of valuables and banknotes, but it's a pity that I was in a hurry and sold them at a low price."
Su Nuan was speechless. This girl, all those valuables and banknotes amounted to tens of thousands of taels, enough for her to live a stable life, but she was so stupid as to follow him.
Seeing that she was silent, Dong'er thought she was angry and asked timidly, "Cousin, are you angry?"
Su Nuan smiled dotingly and took out a dagger from her bosom, "Take it, use it for self-defense."
Dong'er shook her head and reached out to pull out a butcher knife from the gap between the shafts. "Don't worry, I have this."
Su Nuan, "..." This girl is quite capable. She knows how to buy weapons to protect herself.
She put away the dagger and warned, "I think it will rain the day after tomorrow at the latest. We must be prepared to travel in the rain."
Dong'er's expression changed. "We have to travel in the rain? Won't we catch a cold? We don't have enough clothes to change into."
Su Nuan looked at the adorable Dong'er and pinched her cheek. "Little fool, we are exiled prisoners. Let alone rain, we have to hurry even if it rains knives."
Dong'er's eyes immediately filled with tears when she heard this, and she looked at Su Nuan with a distressed expression.
Su Nuan felt a pang of pain in her heart when she looked at him like that. She quickly picked up the sack and said, "I'm going back now. You should be more alert when you sleep at night."
"Yes..." Dong'er responded with a choked voice.
Miss is so kind. Even in such a difficult situation, she still reminded me to be careful. I must find a way to help her reach the north safely.
Su Nuan didn't know what the little girl was thinking, so she returned to the carriage with the sack on her back.
Ling Yun saw her coming back and laughed, "Sister-in-law, mother is over there."
Su Nuan nodded and looked in the direction he pointed.
The official road is located on a high ground, with a drop of about ten feet from the lawn below, so the exiles' activities can be seen at a glance.
She put down the sack, untied the horse and led it away. There was plenty of water and grass here, so the horse could eat its fill.
When she arrived at the river and saw Xue boiling water, she frowned. Could it be river water? Her space had everything, but she wasn't supposed to drink river water.
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