Chapter 242: Brother without Blood Relationship
That night, all the prisoners stayed beside the cars they were responsible for, and those who did not have cars gathered in one place according to the requirements of the supervisor.
The next morning, before leaving, the officer distributed steamed bread and water as usual, humming as he did so: "We don't have much water left. From now on, if you want water, you'll have to find it during your rest periods... Drink sparingly."
After the prisoners finished eating, everyone set off.
Some were pulling the cart, some were pushing the cart, and the rest were following behind, giving a vague feeling of grandeur.
Chen Ning and Qiyue sat in the carriage, Eryue and Shuchiyan sat on the carriage frame, and Shen Qingbai rode a horse beside them.
The prisoners needed to push and pull the carts, and the wooden shackles were opened and then locked to the carts with chains... In fact, no one would escape even if they were not locked.
Behind the team followed hundreds of soldiers equipped with swords and carrying longbows. Anyone who dared to run around would be shot to death by an arrow.
Moreover, they were all prisoners, without travel permits or identification documents, and they had no way to survive wherever they went.
Now that I can follow the caravan and be employed by it, in addition to being able to survive by labor, if I can really earn a salary, then when I get to Beihai Prefecture, there may be a chance for me to survive.
So, in fact, staying here might offer more prospects than going somewhere else. That's why the whole morning was very quiet, no one was bothering themselves, and everyone was just busy on their way.
There are water bags on each vehicle, and during breaks, officers will take several prisoners to fill the bags with water.
When they stopped to rest at noon, the officers and soldiers ate some dry food to fill their stomachs. Just when the prisoners were starving, they saw several servants coming over from the manager's side carrying sacks of burlap.
The sacks contained coarse steamed bread, but they were very large. Without saying a word, the men threw the large steamed bread into the prisoners' arms, just like the officers did in the morning.
"Eat, our shopkeeper said that we will not only be paid for the journey, but also provided with food... But we are not working in the canteen, so eat and work hard, and don't cause any trouble."
The man raised his voice.
The next moment, the prisoners who had not dared to move rushed to grab the steamed bread and stuffed it into their mouths.
The steamed bread was much bigger than the ones given by the escorting officers, and not as rough, dry and hard. There was a water bag in each car. The prisoners swallowed the steamed bread in big mouthfuls and took turns drinking water... They looked at each other in silence, but they clearly saw the same light in the eyes of their companions around them.
Maybe they can actually survive...
Chen Ning has two little ones, August and September, who cook.
After being at home for more than half a year, the two little ones actually fell in love with cooking. With the addition of the thirteen spices and other things that Chen Ning brought with her, a big pot of fragrant broth was stewed.
Shen Qingbai naturally ate with them. Not far away on the other side, the servants smelled the fragrance drifting over from the wind and were all envious.
But they don't think much about it, after all, these people are smart.
Although Shen Qingbai's official position is not high, he is a student in the Imperial College. He is just getting a gilded degree now. He may soar to the sky after passing the imperial examination in the future, not to mention that his sister is the princess and the future Princess Ding.
This is not someone they can afford to offend.
After the meal, the huge team set off to continue their journey. The prisoners walked with much more energy than the day before and carefully looked after the goods on the car.
When evening came, everyone stopped to have dinner and rest.
After dinner, Shen Ning had nothing to do so she taught Shu Chi Yan how to read and learn his own name.
After she learned the three characters "Shuchi Yan", Shuchi Yan asked her to write "Chen Ning".
Shen Ning laughed as she wrote it down, and then she saw the young man grinning, revealing his white teeth: "Sister's name is so beautiful."
Qiyue looked over at the side and said, "Be careful, the young lady is going to be the princess in the future, stay away from her."
"Princess Ding..."
Shu Chiyan turned around and looked at Shen Ning: "Sister, do you like Prince Ding?"
The boy's foreign blood gave him deep eye sockets, and when he stared at people, his light-colored pupils seemed to contain the clouds of the snow-capped mountains and Tianshan Mountains on the grassland.
Shen Ning smiled: "Of course."
The young man blinked: "What does my sister like about Prince Ding?"
Qi Yue, standing nearby, said bluntly, "Do you even need to ask? His Highness Prince Ding is valiant, handsome, and renowned for his military achievements. Most importantly, his heart is solely devoted to my young lady... If he doesn't like Prince Ding, does he prefer a brat like you?"
"Am I not more handsome than Prince Ding?" Shuchi Yan came closer and said, "Sister, I am more handsome than him."
Qiyue Wuqing laughed and taunted, "You, who haven't even grown all your hair yet, dare to compare yourself to His Royal Highness Prince Ding."
Shen Ning held her forehead helplessly: "Xiao Qi, where did you learn these vulgar words?"
July said innocently, "The last time I heard someone say that about February..."
February driving the car outside:?
Shuchi Yan said seriously, "I am also very brave... Later I will conquer the entire Mongolian tribe and give it to you, sister. Can you choose me?"
Shuchi Yan was busy talking to Prince Ding: "From now on, I will only have my sister in my heart."
Shen Ning had a headache: "Um, Shuchiyan, you are still young..."
Shuchi Yan said happily, "I grow very fast. I will be taller than Prince Ding soon. Then sister will choose me?"
Shen Ning:?
Qiyue tutted her tongue. "Is this a life-saving favor and I'm going to repay it with my body? I didn't expect you, this wolf cub, to be so bad at talking in Daxuan. You're so good at playing the Daxuan Dynasty's tricks..."
Don't waste your time. If His Royal Highness Prince Ding knew you dared to covet my young lady, the grass on your grave would probably be taller."
Shuchi Yan couldn't bear it any longer and raised his hand to scare July. July cried out and punched him directly. Shuchi Yan groaned, covered his stomach and fell beside Shen Ning, unable to speak.
Qiyue chuckled: "That's it! How can you compare with His Royal Highness Prince Ding?"
At this moment, there was a sudden cry of surprise outside. Without Shen Ning's instructions, Qiyue had already lifted the curtain of the car and went out to check.
As soon as I opened the curtain, I saw the childish Jiu Yue running towards me, her face full of panic and confusion: "Miss, there is someone there...someone is going to give birth."
The pregnant woman is about to give birth.
Shen Ning quickly got off the carriage and walked over there, only to see a group of ragged women gathered under a tree.
The prisoners had nothing to cover themselves, and the woman who was about to give birth cried out in pain under the covers.
"Go, get the bamboo mats, straw curtains, and bedding..." Chen Ning asked Jiu Yue to get the things, but Qi Yue still stayed by her side.
The things were delivered quickly. Shen Ning asked the women to move the woman in labor to a bamboo mat and cover the surroundings with straw curtains. She tied up her skirt and squatted beside the woman in labor.
In July, someone was sent to get hot water.
A fire had been lit just now, and Chen Ning always asked someone to boil water for her to drink, so there happened to be water in the pot.
Soon, hot water was brought over, along with Shen Ning's medicine box...
"Don't be nervous. I'm a doctor and I know medical skills. You and the baby will be fine." She spoke to comfort the woman in labor.
The woman in labor tried to raise her neck and kept thanking her, tears in her eyes.
The prisoners around were all silent, feeling extremely surprised.
This is the princess... Now, the princess doesn't mind the dirt or disgust, and doesn't care about her own status, and is here to deliver babies for people like them.
When going out, Shen Ning was already wearing narrow sleeves, so it didn't matter if she rolled them up. She gently pressed the woman's lower abdomen and then breathed a sigh of relief.
The mother had been malnourished, so the baby was not big and the fetal position was normal, so there was no danger.
Here, she concentrated on guiding the woman in labor to accumulate and exert strength, and asked July to bring a bowl of hot milk for the woman to drink.
Not far away, a tall man was pacing back and forth with an anxious look on his face, straining his neck and staring over here.
Half a while passed... and with the woman trying hard to hold back her cries of pain while taking rapid breaths, the baby was born.
Honghong is thin and small, but her crying is quite powerful.
Not far away, a tall man with red eyes was waiting with tears streaming down his face. Several people beside him were comforting him.
Shen Ning asked the woman next to her to clean the woman with hot water and then changed her into a set of slightly thicker clothes that July had someone bring over. It was men's clothing, just right for the woman's current condition.
She quickly cleaned the baby herself, wrapped it in thick cotton cloth, and gently placed it in the mother's arms. She smiled and said, "Congratulations, it's a little girl, very healthy and cute."
The mother's eyes were filled with tears as she kept thanking him.
Shen Ning washed her hands and stood up. Just as she was about to turn around, she saw a ragged man not far away kneeling down and kowtowed to her several times, but did not dare to get close.
She withdrew her gaze and returned to the carriage. After washing her hands carefully, she asked someone to take care of the woman in labor.
She knew that these people were all prisoners, and she also knew that most of them had been forced into desperation and turned into rioters... It was too inhumane to let a woman who had just given birth carry a child on a long journey, so she wanted to take care of them.
A moment later, the husband of the woman who had given birth was changed from pushing the wheelbarrow to pulling a cart... Most of the goods on the cart had been unloaded, leaving only some food, which was placed sideways and took up half the space.
The other half of the place was covered with mats and bedding, and the woman was lying in the narrow space holding her newborn baby... The couple looked at each other, their eyes filled with tears.
One of the guys said sternly, "You have less cargo on your truck, so your pay is less than others."
The man nodded repeatedly and even wanted to say that he didn't need to pay.
After all, they were supposed to be prisoners.
A few days ago, he even thought that his wife and children would have no chance of survival after he embarked on the road of exile... After all, a normal person might not be able to survive in exile, let alone a wife who was about to give birth.
But now, not only did his wife give birth successfully, they became a family of three, and they also had a cart for his wife to live in and bedding that was delivered at some point in time.
Knowing who his benefactor was, the man knelt down and kowtowed several times in the direction of the carriage after the servant left.
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