An hour later, long past lunchtime, everyone was finally allowed to rest in place, dizzy with hunger.
Zhu Mingqing's throat was sore, and her calves ached terribly.
"Madam, drink some water." Fen Tao's heart ached at the sight of her mistress's pale face.
Luo Huai silently handed her a piece of dry ration as well.
Zhu Mingqing glanced at him—he said nothing—and took it in silence.
She chewed the dry, tasteless flatbread, and the moment she swallowed, it made her throat sting even more.
Thinking of the food in her Spatial Storage, she wept bitter tears of indignation inside.
She could endure having no supplies, but sitting on a mountain of gold and silver she couldn't use?
Ugh… it was unbearable!
She needed to find a way to legitimize these things.
Madam Song rested while tending to the Old Princess Consort and the children. When she saw how well Zhu Mingqing was being looked after—especially her clean, pretty face—she immediately felt a pang of resentment.
"Father, I'm so tired. Let Eldest Sister-in-law take care of Mother for a while."
Her voice was weak and listless, her face pale. Zhu Mingqing's red marks on her neck were strikingly visible. Old Prince Luo turned to his third daughter-in-law and said, "Third Son's wife, come here."
Mrs. Wu had already overheard the exchange. In the past, Second Sister-in-law was always the one fawning over Mother, and she was always Mother's favorite.
Now she wanted to pass the burden off? Dream on!
She said bluntly, "Father, Mother doesn't like me. She likes Second Sister-in-law's care the most."
Seeing this, Old Prince Luo was about to say something helplessly when the Old Princess Consort's eyes suddenly moved.
"Mother!" Madam Song was overjoyed, and the others gathered around.
The Old Princess Consort slowly opened her eyes, took another sip of water, and looked around. "Have we already left the city?"
Madam Song nodded tearfully. "Yes, yes, we've left the city. Mother, you're finally awake. No matter how tired Wen Hong and I are, it's worth it."
Hearing this, Mrs. Wu rolled her eyes.
Seeing how drenched in sweat they all were, the Old Princess Consort felt deeply sorry for them. "Alright, Mother is awake now. I'll make it up to you."
With that, her gaze shifted to Zhu Mingqing, and she spoke in a commanding tone:
"Eldest Son's wife, come over and take care of me."
Madam Song's smile could barely be contained. "Eldest Sister-in-law, why aren't you moving? Don't you want to take care of Mother?"
If this were any other time, Zhu Mingqing might have had the energy to play along with them. But now…
She rolled her eyes, unladylike as it was. "Not going!"
Those two decisive words stunned the entire Luo family.
The Old Princess Consort's eyes went wide, and even her aches seemed to vanish. "What did you say?"
"Eldest Sister-in-law, how can you be so unfilial? The road ahead is long. Aren't you afraid—" Madam Song went straight to threatening her.
Zhu Mingqing simply closed her eyes to rest. Bring on whatever tricks you have—she'd never been afraid of anyone!
The atmosphere grew tense.
Liang He heard the commotion and barked, "All of you, shut up! If you don't want to rest, get up and march!"
Silence fell around them.
But this reminded Zhu Mingqing of something—the road ahead was long and treacherous. She didn't want to keep tangling with these people forever. If only she could shake them off.
Just as she was thinking this, another surprising statement came from nearby.
Luo Feng said quietly to his wife, who was eight months pregnant, "Go over and see Grandmother."
Wu Yunyun actually obeyed and started to get up.
Luo Huai frowned in disapproval. "Eldest Brother, Eldest Sister-in-law shouldn't exert herself right now."
Zhu Mingqing: "…"
Stay calm!
"Don't go!" She pressed her hand on her eldest daughter-in-law's arm and shot Luo Feng an icy glare. "Your grandmother has always doted on you. Why don't you go over and show her some filial devotion yourself?"
Luo Feng tapped his calves to ease the soreness, pretending he hadn't heard a thing.
But Luo Xiao chimed in with a grin, "Yeah, Eldest Brother, now's your chance to shine."
Luo Fu agreed enthusiastically, urging, "Eldest Brother, hurry up and go."
The others also looked over curiously. With no way to save face, Luo Feng could only slowly shuffle over.
The Old Princess Consort smiled with satisfaction, then shot Zhu Mingqing a vicious glare.
The eldest son is dead, and she still dares to put on airs? I'd like to see how you and your orphans and widows survive the hardships ahead.
…
The sun slanted westward, a cool breeze blowing. The scorching midday heat had finally eased somewhat.
"Third Brother, I'm so hungry." Luo Fu rubbed her growling stomach, her face twisted in misery.
Luo Xiao pulled out the leftover hard flatbread from noon. "Want some?"
Luo Fu wrinkled her nose. "Can't eat it."
"Bear with it a little longer. We'll soak it in soup at dinner."
Zhu Mingqing had been thinking all the way about how to get along with these two children. When Luo Fu was ten, she'd been pushed into the water by Luo Dan of the second branch. Luo Xiao, never one to take a loss, had directly cornered Luo Dan with Luo Fu and let her beat the girl up.
The incident had caused a huge uproar at the time. The Old Princess Consort had severely punished the two children of the eldest branch, but showered the second branch with concern.
The original owner, as their mother, hadn't comforted them at all—instead, she'd scolded them for causing trouble and berated them harshly.
From then on, the two children had grown distant from her, not calling her "Mother" for two years.
They were barely teenagers and already exiled. Modern kids their age would probably be lounging in air conditioning playing on iPads.
Zhu Mingqing felt a rare pang of sympathy. She quietly took two pieces of pastry from her Spatial Storage and handed them over.
"Eat."
Luo Fu was just about to reach out when Luo Xiao immediately slapped her hand away, and she pulled it back.
"Don't eat it. Who knows what she's really thinking? What if it's poisoned?"
Luo Xiao had long since given up any hope for this mother of theirs who wished they didn't exist. For all he knew, she'd be delighted if they died on the road to exile.
Hearing this, Zhu Mingqing quickly calmed down.
Fine. So much for her being the good Samaritan.
Luo Huai's face darkened. "Third brother, apologize."
Luo Xiao curled his lip and muttered something under his breath, then dragged Luo Fu away.
Luo Huai's expression faltered. After a moment's thought, he said, "Don't mind them. They're just…"
Zhu Mingqing raised a hand to cut him off, her voice perfectly calm. "I don't mind."
They weren't her biological children anyway. Whether they ate or not was up to them. She'd risked being discovered to bring them food—that was already doing her part.
Seeing his mother's utterly indifferent expression, Luo Huai fell silent.
In the past, his mother had never bothered with them either, and today was no different. Yet somehow, he felt that something had changed.
Zhu Mingqing was, in fact, the cold and detached type. She'd grown up in an orphanage, gotten into a military academy in college, and joined the special forces before she'd even graduated. Over the ten years that followed, she'd undertaken countless missions and met countless people.
Aside from her comrades-in-arms, she never held expectations for anyone else.
As for these children, she'd thought that since she had the means, she might as well look after them. But if they didn't appreciate it, she certainly wasn't going to go out of her way to be charitable.
With that, the group continued on their way, as if they wouldn't stop until the sun set.
The heat was stifling, and Zhu Mingqing was parched. Fortunately, the Spatial Storage still held the large water vat she'd stashed inside.
When no one was looking, she quietly filled her waterskin halfway.
"Madam, I still have water. Please, have a drink." Fen Tao noticed her mistress's dry, cracked lips and hurriedly offered her waterskin.
Fen Tao had bought the waterskins back in the capital—three in total.
One for herself, one for Zhu Mingqing, and the last one shared among the children.
Though they weren't happy about having to share, they had no choice but to make do at a time like this.
Luo Fu reached out directly. "Fen Tao, I'm thirsty."