Chapter 8
"You are wrong, Master Feng. I will no longer be a member of the Qin family. Please call me Second Lady Gu or Miss Gu."
As Gu Ran spoke, he straightened his back subconsciously and glanced at Adjutant Feng.
"Oh, good, good, Gu Erniang." Adjutant Feng looked Gu Ran up and down, then smiled, "You are new here, do your best, and don't be worse than the others."
"Don't worry, Master Feng. Before my father comes, I will behave myself and not cause any trouble for you."
In order to make the fake play real, she asked Liu Yichang to write down her later experience in Li Jieguan's escort team in the letter, and send it to the capital after the New Year when the postman took the job.
Because the officer in charge of her escort was changed to Li Jieguan, the letter she sent to the Ningyuan Marquis' Mansion in the capital was not only reviewed by Liu Yichang, but also reviewed by Li Jieguan. Adjutant Feng probably knew about it as well.
Sure enough, Adjutant Feng did not make things difficult for her. He nodded and walked into the house with his hands behind his back, leaving only two officers to watch them.
During this process, Aunt Mai and Mai Xiang, mother and daughter, who were in front of Gu Ran, seemed very nervous. They forgot to sweep the snow and listened stiffly until the servants behind them shouted, "Don't be lazy, work faster!"
Aunt Mai and Mai Xiang then took action, and Mai Xiang even secretly turned back and glanced at Gu Ran.
Gu Ran forced a smile, then lowered his head to continue sweeping the snow.
Qingyi was built right next to the official road. Behind the station was a small hill. In front of the station, on the other side of the official road, was a wasteland, and further on was a forest.
The area they were responsible for sweeping was the official road from the beginning to the end of the post station.
After sweeping the snow, they had to shovel it. Of course, shoveling snow required hoes and shovels, but these tools were not for the prisoners to use. After they finished their work, the officers took over.
Gu Ran swept for a while and felt tired. He turned around and glanced at the officers who were monitoring them. He found that they were huddled together, holding the fire basket to warm themselves. They didn't care whether they were working seriously or not, nor were they afraid that they would take the opportunity to escape.
Of course, there is no escape.
There are iron chains on my feet, so I can't run fast. Besides, it's a windy and snowy day, and everything is covered with snow. Even if I escape, I'm in the middle of nowhere, and I don't know the way around. I have no food or water, so I'll either starve to death or freeze to death. The officials are not afraid of that!
After sweeping the snow for a while, Gu Ran felt colder and colder, and the hunger in his stomach became stronger and stronger.
She had just recovered from an illness and had been recuperating for these days. She had slept well and rested well, but her nutrition had not kept up. Every day she ate either dry pancakes or steamed corn bread, coarse flour steamed buns, whole grain porridge, etc. How could she keep her body healthy without any oily or meaty food?
Now I still have to work, which consumes more energy. No wonder the two pancakes I ate today were not enough to satisfy my hunger or cold.
Is there any place where we can find something to eat?
Gu Ran looked up and saw a vast expanse of white in front of him, a vast expanse of white behind him, and a vast expanse of white on both sides. He was also confused for a moment.
It’s freezing and snowy, where can we get anything to eat?
Gu Ran withdrew her gaze and absentmindedly slacked off at the sight of Aunt Mai and Mai Xiang, who were sweeping the snow vigorously in front of her. Seeing that she was falling behind, Aunt Mai turned back and urged her, "Miss Gu, you have to finish your work quickly and go back inside. Otherwise, you'll freeze to death if you stay outside for too long."
"Oh, okay!"
Gu Ran responded perfunctorily, grabbed a broom and swept the snow to the other side of the official road, piling it next to an old tree stump that had already accumulated a lot of snow.
The old tree stump was half a person's height. When she was knocking the broom against the stump to remove the snow, she heard a slight noise inside the stump and was startled.
Perhaps it was because Gu Ran was a cultivator in his previous life. Although he had lost all his cultivation, his ears and eyes were more sensitive than those of ordinary people.
At first, Gu Ran didn't realize it. After all, he had been alone in the prison for a while, with no one to compare with. After Aunt Mai and her daughter came, every time Aunt Dou brought food, she could hear footsteps while she was still outside. When she told them that Aunt Dou had brought food, they didn't believe it until Aunt Dou entered the prison door, and then they realized it was true.
At that time, Gu Ran discovered that he had sharp ears and eyes, and could see farther and more clearly than them, and could also hear farther and more clearly.
At this time, Gu Ran was very sure that there was movement inside the old tree stump.
She heard it.
Gu Ran hesitated for a moment, then reached out to dig out the snow that had accumulated outside the old tree stump. After breaking off a few pieces of snow on the outside, he found that the snow inside had turned into a thin layer of ice, which just happened to lock a hole exposed in the stump.
It turns out there's a tree hole inside this old tree stump, and inside the tree hole there's...
Gu Ran leaned forward to take a look, subconsciously widened his eyes, and performed a pupil earthquake on the spot.
Yes, a coiled snake.
Gu Ran was so scared that he took two steps back.
Hibernating snakes.
When Gu Ran realized this, he was scared.
Even cultivators, when encountering some small demon beasts or spiritual beasts outside, their first reaction is to be on guard, because they don't know whether they are friend or foe, or whether they are good or evil.
Now she is an ordinary person, so of course she has to stay away from creatures like snakes.
Maybe it was because she startled it when she was knocking the snow off the tree stump with a broom, causing it to move?
Fortunately, it was winter and the snake's reaction was slow, otherwise the moment she got close to it, the snake would have jumped up and bit her.
Gu Ran was feeling relieved and was about to leave, but then he realized belatedly: snakes are also meat!
The image of the snake's fat body coiled up in a ball flashed through her mind. She licked her lips subconsciously and her mouth immediately became salivating.
Snake meat, very nutritious!
I just took a quick glance at it, and the snake looked gray and didn't look poisonous. Is it edible?
Again, another glance.
Gu Ran looked around and found that no one was paying attention to him. Aunt Mai and her daughter in front were even further away from him, so he took another step forward and quietly took another look into the tree hole he had just dug out.
Probably because of the cold wind, the snake coiled even tighter, with its head in the middle, seemingly unconscious, with its seven inches exposed in front of her.
I heard that when snakes hibernate, they are defenseless and even a small mouse can catch the snake and eat it clean.
There was a glimmer in Gu Ran's eyes, a glimmer of surprise.
The snake's head is cone-shaped, thin at the front and thick at the back. It is not triangular like a poisonous snake and can be eaten.
I looked around again, good, still no one was looking at me.
She searched in the workshop and found a small knife for cutting animal skins. She took it out and pierced the snake's vital point without hesitation. Then she quickly grabbed it and threw it into the workshop.
The whole process was quick, accurate and ruthless, and the act of killing and hiding the snake was completed in a flash.
Before anyone noticed, Gu Ran had already grabbed the broom and quickly caught up with Aunt Mai and her daughter, actively sweeping the snow.
Her originally lazy hands were waving rapidly, and the corners of her mouth could not help but rise slightly, and she was happy in her heart: Tonight, she will have snake meat to eat!
Thanks to this unexpected gain, Gu Ran finally survived today's snow-sweeping job. Before returning to the post station to hand in the broom and return to the prison, the officer asked them to go to the kitchen to get a bowl of ginger soup.
Seeing that the weather was freezing cold, the officials and the runners could not bear to see anyone suffer from the cold, so they not only distributed the standard mats and cotton-padded clothes of the post station, but also asked the kitchen to make a pot of ginger soup for the prisoners to drive away the cold after work every day.
The ginger flavor is not strong, but it is warming.
After Gu Ran got the ginger soup, he took a sip first. He felt the warm ginger soup going down his throat and the warming effect of ginger radiating to his stomach, and he felt much more comfortable.
The prisoners who did the same job as her were all drinking ginger soup in big gulps, with very satisfied looks on their faces.
Gu Ran saw Aunt Mai and Mai Xiang standing together with two other prisoners, drinking and talking about something with a smile. Judging from their appearance, they were probably Mai Xiang's father and brother.
Uncle Mai was dressed like a farmer, with a sturdy build. It was obvious that he was used to doing farm work and must be quite strong. As for Maidong, he seemed to be about the same height as Uncle Mai, but half as thin. Except for his small eyes, he was a man with regular features.
She subconsciously looked at her fellow prisoner Pei Liuniang and found her standing alone in a corner a little away from the crowd, drinking ginger soup silently.
As if noticing the gaze coming over here, Pei Liuniang also looked over at her.
This glance surprised Gu Ran.
In the prison, Pei Liuniang always seemed to avoid them, so Gu Ran only had a general impression of her. He knew that she was good-looking, but he didn't expect that she was so good-looking.
Because he was still young, his face was childish, but his facial features were as delicate as jade carvings. Perhaps because of the cold weather, his skin was exceptionally pale, and the tip of his nose was lightly red.
But what is particularly impressive is not the outstanding face, but the pair of overly clear eyes, which reveal a coldness that is inconsistent with his age.
The moment he met her gaze, Gu Ran quickly looked away, and for some reason his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Wow, Pei Liuniang is so pretty.
When she heard someone calling "Pei Liuniang!", Gu Ran looked up again and saw that it was Adjutant Feng again. She didn't know what he was saying to her, and Pei Liuniang pursed her lips in embarrassment, bent her neck helplessly and lowered her head.
Looking at this situation, Gu Ran suddenly guessed something.
A beautiful female prisoner like Pei Liuniang, being exiled thousands of miles away, is most likely to get into trouble along the way. It is said that some officers with bad morals, not afraid of the long and arduous journey of exile, take the initiative to serve as escort clerks, just to have the opportunity to do bad things to the female prisoners on the way.
Looking at Adjutant Feng staring at her like a vulture, I'm afraid he has already set his eyes on the sixth lady of the Pei family.
Gu Ran didn't notice that her face had turned ugly, and she even startled Mai Xiang who was walking over. "Sister Gu, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?"
"A little." Gu Ran remembered that when they were sweeping the snow today, Adjutant Feng made things difficult for Pei Liuniang, and Mai Xiang subconsciously asked Aunt Mai for help.
I think Aunt Mai and the others understand what kind of person Adjutant Feng is.
Yes, Aunt Mai and her daughter are from Zhengzhou. They were exiled from Zhengzhou and had a lot of contact with the officer along the way. They could more or less understand the character of the officer who was bringing them to justice.
Seeing Mai Xiang so scared, and Aunt Mai so wary, she was afraid that Adjutant Feng was a man of limited character and not a good person.
"Xiangxiang, why is Master Feng always clinging to that Pei Liuniang? Has he always been like this?"
Gu Ran saw that Aunt Mai was still talking to her husband and would not be coming back for a while, so he deliberately asked Mai Xiang this.
Sure enough, when Mai Xiang heard Gu Ran mention Adjutant Feng's name, her face turned pale. She glanced at Adjutant Feng standing next to Pei Liuniang and subconsciously hid behind Gu Ran.
"Xiangxiang?"
"Sister Gu, please stop talking." Mai Xiang suppressed her throat and pleaded softly, "You don't know how scary Master Feng is. Please don't say these things, otherwise something bad will happen."
"What's going to happen?"
Mai Xiang hesitated and didn't dare to say anything, "Anyway, Sister Gu, you should stay away from Master Feng from now on."
"Why should we avoid him?" Gu Ran pretended to be puzzled. "Isn't Master Feng our deputy officer? I have something to do, so why can't I go to him?"
"We can't look for him." Mai Xiang was anxious. Due to their friendship, she revealed a little bit of the inside story. "Mother said that Mr. Feng was not a good person. Aunt Fang was killed by him."
Gu Ran's heart sank.
She guessed that Adjutant Feng was up to no good, but she didn't expect that he had actually caused a death.
"Aunt Fang?"
"She was going to go to Fujian with us, but..." Mai Xiang subconsciously grabbed Gu Ran's arm out of fear. "She was originally traveling with us, but then, when we were climbing a mountain, she jumped off a cliff and died. Mother said it was Master Feng who forced her to do that. Master Feng is a bad man."
Later, when following this group on their journey south after the New Year, Gu Ran accidentally learned that Aunt Fang was originally a girl from a small shop in a county under the jurisdiction of Zhengzhou, and was married to a scholar in the same county.
Xiucai's family was very poor, but he was talented, so he was chosen by Aunt Fang's father. Not only did he marry his daughter to him to help him manage the family finances, but he also gave him all the money he had, hoping that one day Xiucai would pass the imperial examination, lead his daughter to live a good life, and provide the Fang family with a supporter.
However, after Aunt Fang got married, she was looked down upon by the scholar's family because she was a merchant. She was repeatedly tortured by her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law. Finally, Aunt Fang could no longer bear it and killed her mother-in-law in resistance. She was then imprisoned and sentenced to exile.
So, Aunt Fang was the last one to die among the group of exiles mentioned by Aunt Mai.
Forced to death by Adjutant Feng?
How was he forced to death?
Gu Ran raised his head and looked towards Pei Liuniang again, biting his lip hard.
She could probably guess it.
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