Ahead, on a shallow slope, an old man nearing sixty was struggling to pull a two-wheeled cart. It was piled high with things, though it was impossible to tell what they were.
The wheels seemed to have sunk into a rut. The shoulder straps cutting into the old man and the veins bulging on his arms were stretched taut, yet the cart did not budge. He did not dare let go, afraid that it would slide down and send everything on it tumbling.
Seeing this, Chen Shiyi hurried over and gave the cart a push.
She had been doing manual labor since she was young and was strong.
Together, the two of them finally pushed the cart free, and Chen Shiyi was drenched in sweat.
Panting, she wiped the sweat from her forehead and prepared to leave.
The old man called out to her. In his weathered, callused hand lay a large red sweet potato.
Chen Shiyi was genuinely taken aback by the unexpected kindness.
“No need. I didn’t do much. You should keep it for yourself.”
The old man smiled kindly.
“Take it, girl. Don’t turn your nose up at it.”
Chen Shiyi accepted the sweet potato with trembling hands, deeply moved.
“Thank you.”
Indeed, good deeds brought good rewards.
The road was muddy and extremely difficult to travel. Even the guards had their troubles, though they could hardly complain.
The order from above for the exile journey was that they had to cover fifty li every day and arrive at the place of exile within twenty-five days. Otherwise, they would lose their heads.
It was, in truth, a miserable assignment. The route was too short and the time too limited, so there was no profit to be made, and not many people would die.
Besides, they had been specifically ordered from above not to make things difficult for this group. And no one dared provoke those being exiled to Fangling.
Now that it was growing dark, they still had roughly ten li left to travel.
It seemed they would have to rest where they were and make up another ten li tomorrow.
They chose a spot that was somewhat level, and the entire Wen family sat around a bonfire.
Several of the women broke off dry branches and wiped the mud from their shoes. The chains clattered with every tremor of their hands.
All their exhaustion and resentment were being vented on their shoes.
The guards resting not far away found the noise unbearable and began shouting curses.
“If you make that racket again, don’t expect to eat!”
In an instant, the sound of every chain fell silent.
A paper seal had been placed over Wen Zhiheng’s cangue, so it could not be removed at all. He leaned against a withered tree trunk and closed his eyes to rest.
From time to time, he would open his eyes and glance at the Wen family. When he looked askance toward the maid, he saw that she had gathered firewood herself and was sitting around a bonfire alone, seemingly unwilling to have anything to do with them.
She felt around for the large sweet potato she had received from the old man that day and tossed it into the fire to roast. Suddenly, a voice called out to her.
“Why did you throw your food away?”
Chen Shiyi looked up and saw the young Miss Wen staring at her with a regretful expression, clearly unable to comprehend her actions.
Wen Zhiyuan quickly smoothed things over.
“Zhirou, roasted sweet potatoes are placed in the fire to cook. They aren’t being thrown away.”
The young lady’s expression turned sheepish, and she looked somewhat embarrassed.
Chen Shiyi did not reply. She merely sat quietly beside the bonfire, doing her best to keep the flames burning brightly.
The evening meal was pitifully meager. Each person was given only two small, black wheat cakes, which could not possibly fill their stomachs.
Before long, the sweet fragrance of roasted sweet potato drifted everywhere. Throughout the exile procession, the sounds of people swallowing saliva rose one after another.
Chen Shiyi split open the roasted sweet potato and cautiously took a bite. It was sweet and piping hot. As it slid down her throat, warmth spread through her entire body, leaving her wonderfully comfortable.
Suddenly, a soft, childish voice sounded beside her.
“Big Sister, I want some too.”
Chen Shiyi looked up and saw the little boy called Rui'er standing before her, his eyes gleaming with longing and drool running from the corners of his mouth.
She peeled open the other half and handed it to Rui'er.
“Eat carefully. Be careful not to burn yourself.”
“Thank you, Big Sister.”
Rui'er ate two careful bites, then lowered his head and said softly, “Big Sister, can I give a bite to Grandmother?”
Chen Shiyi had not expected Rui'er to ask that. She raised her eyes and glanced toward the Wen family.
In truth, she was unwilling. Sometimes, once one began giving, another person’s initial gratitude would eventually turn into entitlement.
Naturally, however, she was unwilling to make things difficult for a child’s filial devotion to his grandmother.
“It’s yours now. What you do with it is up to you.”
She drew a deep breath and rubbed her wrists and ankles, sore from the chains. Just then, she heard a set of footsteps approaching.
Chen Shiyi looked up and immediately stood.
The guard opposite her looked her up and down, his brows drawing together slightly.
“Did you make those ropes?”
Chen Shiyi was still somewhat fearful in the presence of these guards. In the capital, the kind ones were officials, while the vicious ones were yamen runners.
In the past, whenever she went to the market with Lu Erniang and encountered petty officials collecting fees, they would bow and scrape before them.
Lu Erniang was such a fierce woman, yet before these people she behaved like a house cat. That alone showed how formidable they were.
Chen Shiyi was somewhat apprehensive.
“Yes!”
“Make a few more. We’ll need them tomorrow.”
He turned to leave, but Chen Shiyi hurriedly called out, “Sir, but…”
The guard turned around, his face darkening.
“What? Unwilling?”
Chen Shiyi hastily waved her hands.
“No, it’s just…”
The guard cut her off and pointed at the Wen family.
“You’re with them?”
Chen Shiyi nodded reluctantly.
“If you finish making the ropes, I’ll remove your handcuffs and leg irons. Work properly, and I won’t treat you unfairly.”
When Chen Shiyi heard this, she was so delighted that her heart nearly leaped from her chest. There was only one problem…
“Sir, making the ropes requires cutting grass, but I don’t have a knife…”
Without a knife, pulling up the grass would take a very long time. No matter how quickly she wove or how long she worked, she would not be able to make so many ropes by tomorrow.
The guard could not possibly hand Chen Shiyi a knife directly. He frowned, then walked away, apparently to discuss the matter with the other guards.
Before long, he returned to Chen Shiyi and handed her a curved knife, though no one knew where he had obtained it.
This time, Chen Shiyi worked with tremendous enthusiasm.
In the past, if she did a poor job, Lu Erniang might only scold her a few times when she was in a good mood. When she was in a bad mood, being denied food was the least of it—the soft bamboo strip kept in the corner would lash across her body until the pain reached her very heart. In that household, no matter how well she worked, she would never receive a single word of praise.
But things were different now. The fruits of her own labor would benefit her.
As long as she endured through tonight, the handcuffs and leg irons that had been chafing her raw would be removed tomorrow.
A torch stuck into the ground beside her swayed in the wind. Chen Shiyi worked hard, cutting grass, and as she braided it into ropes, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly while she softly hummed a little tune from her hometown.
After working through the night, the first faint light of dawn appeared, and she finally braided that pile of dry grass into one rope after another.
With her eyes bloodshot, Chen Shiyi examined her reddened right palm. Several places had already broken through the skin. Her left hand had been bandaged after being burned, and the dressing had remained securely wrapped around it, fortunately preventing any new injuries.
It was nothing. She had endured far more painful things in the past.
Thinking that she would soon be able to remove the handcuffs and leg irons, Chen Shiyi felt that staying up all night had not been difficult at all.