Seeing that her mistress did not stop her, Fen Tao handed the waterskin over. Luo Fu drained it in a few gulps, but she was still parched.
She looked at her mother's bulging waterskin and said rudely, "Hey, I'm thirsty."
Zhu Mingqing gave her a faint glance but kept walking without stopping. While taking a drink herself, she turned to ask Luo Huai if he was thirsty.
Luo Huai looked at the now-shrunken waterskin and shook his head, though he visibly swallowed.
"Here, drink." Zhu Mingqing handed the waterskin over.
Seeing this, Luo Fu stamped her foot in anger: "Third Brother, look at her!"
Luo Xiao comforted his younger sister with a few words, then stepped forward and said loudly, "Hey, my sister and I are thirsty too."
Luo Huai said directly, "Give it to Third Brother and Little Sister."
Zhu Mingqing acted as if she hadn't heard a thing. She uncorked the waterskin and, without another word, prepared to pour it on the ground.
"Wait—I'll drink." Luo Huai's eyes twitched. Mother was really picking a fight with Third Brother and Little Sister.
Luo Huai was genuinely thirsty as well—nearly all of that water had been drunk by Luo Xiao and Luo Fu. The moment the water touched his lips, he couldn't stop himself and gulped it all down in a few mouthfuls.
A hint of embarrassment flashed across his face: "There's no water left."
"As long as it wasn't wasted, it's fine if it's gone." Zhu Mingqing looked completely unconcerned.
But Luo Xiao and Luo Fu, hearing this, nearly exploded with rage.
What—was giving it to them considered a waste?
"Xiaofu, Third Brother will find you some water." Luo Xiao's neck stiffened, looking quite defiant.
Luo Fu shot a sideways glare at her mother and snorted coldly: "Thank you, Third Brother. Third Brother is the best to me."
But even by the time the sun had fully set, the two of them still hadn't found any water, and they were parched beyond belief.
As dusk fell, the group came to a stop—they would rest at the foot of the mountain tonight.
The moment everyone heard this, groans erupted.
"There aren't wolves here, are there?"
"I've never slept outdoors before. There must be tons of mosquitoes and bugs. What are we going to do?"
Liang He barked: "Get yourselves sorted in a quarter of an hour, or none of you eat tonight."
The noisy crowd immediately bent down and began clearing the area.
Zhu Mingqing surveyed her surroundings and finally headed toward a large tree to the left front.
Beside the tree was a massive boulder. Sitting beneath it gave one a strong sense of security.
Moreover, there was open ground in front—easy to defend, easy to retreat. It was a good place to rest.
Wu Yunyun and Luo Huai followed close behind. Luo Xiao and Luo Fu exchanged a glance, then trailed along as well.
As for Luo Feng, he had already collapsed onto the ground to rest. He had spent the entire afternoon carrying the Old Princess Consort on his back, and his legs were still trembling.
Luo Huai, meanwhile, took off his outer robe and spread it on the ground. Turning around with a seemingly casual air, he said, "Sit here."
Zhu Mingqing raised her eyes and stared at him without moving. This child had always been used to being overlooked, never making any requests on his own initiative. Even when he was young, it was only because the Old Prince discovered he'd been staying home all along that he was sent off to the schoolhouse.
He seemed cold, but every action was filled with care—even asking if she was tired. Could it be that he harbored no resentment in his heart?
Impossible. Anyone would feel bitter.
Moreover, if he ever learned the true reason the Luo family had been exiled, he would probably hate her even more.
Luo Huai frowned. There it was again—that scrutinizing, appraising look. He always felt like Mother wanted to say something, yet for some reason couldn't.
He couldn't help but ask: "Is something the matter?"
Zhu Mingqing shook her head in denial. Never mind—why overthink it? Best to keep things as they were.
…
The guards had already begun rinsing rice and cooking porridge, bustling about to prepare dinner for the dozens of people.
Zhu Mingqing, too, began to think about what to eat tonight.
Although she could enter the Spatial Storage to eat, that wasn't a long-term solution.
They were in the mountains now—there was bound to be food around. And besides, this was a chance to take things out of the Spatial Storage.
The only problem was that she couldn't bring out pots, bowls, or utensils yet. She glanced at the guards over there, and an idea struck her.
It seemed her cooking skills from her past life would finally come in handy.
She said to Luo Huai, "I'm going to find some food. You sit here and rest."
"Madam, let me help you." Fen Tao made sure to keep her little treasure hoard tightly on her back.
Luo Huai's expression faltered. He had barely taken two steps when his arm was grabbed.
Luo Xiao: "Second Brother, don't bother with her. Little Sister and I are starving and dying of thirst. How are we supposed to get through tonight?"
The rations those guards handed out were bound to be awful and nowhere near filling.
Their only hope right now was Second Brother.
Luo Huai's face darkened slightly: "Third Brother, after such a great calamity, haven't you grown up yet? All you think about is yourselves—didn't you see Mother…"
"Stop!" Luo Xiao's face twisted with impatience. "After the way she treated me and Little Sister back then, are we not even allowed to be angry?"
Luo Huai felt weary to the bone: "It's been two years. No matter how great the anger, it should have faded by now. Besides, things are different from before. Only by standing together can we get through this. You two should think about that."
With that, he walked off without looking back, leaving Luo Xiao and Luo Fu standing there, fuming.
…
Zhu Mingqing saw Luo Huai following her again and felt a headache coming on.
Fen Tao alone was easy enough to send away, but this second son was like a shadow—nothing like the great villain described in the book.
"Wait—you can't eat that."
"Why did you throw away all the leaves?"
"You eat the part in the ground."
Seeing his mother's gentle expression gradually turn irritable, Luo Huai didn't dare to act rashly either.
In the end, Zhu Mingqing dropped a single line and walked away.
"You two stay here and dig for yams. I'll go take a look around."
After walking some distance away, she looked back and confirmed they really hadn't followed her before letting out a sigh of relief.
Finally, she could have some time alone.
"Qingqing, would you like to come inside and take a look?" the Little Realm Spirit seized the opportunity to say.
Zhu Mingqing thought of the supplies she had collected, her eyes sparkling. "Of course."
Pretending to be gathering wild vegetables, her consciousness eagerly entered the Spatial Storage.
The Spatial Storage was very bright, consisting mainly of two parts.
A massive two-story building and the land outside.
Although the building was only two stories, it had numerous rooms—counting them scattered about, there were at least several hundred.
The supplies she had collected were sorted and placed in seven rooms: clothing, food, gold and silver jade items, a study, an armory, an apothecary, and a miscellaneous storage room.
The entire building was enclosed by a wooden fence. On the left side of the courtyard stood a small, verdant sapling, and on the right was a dry well.
Outside the building was about ten mu of black soil, along with a small pond that was on the verge of drying up.
Although the Spatial Storage was bare with no scenery to speak of, Zhu Mingqing was still overjoyed.
Once she tidied things up, wouldn't this become the paradise she had dreamed of?
Suddenly, a transparent butterfly appeared before her eyes. Zhu Mingqing looked at it with curiosity. "You are?"
"Qingqing, I am the little World Spirit of this Spatial Storage. This place can grow everything in the world, it's just that…"
"Just what?"
"…The Immortal Abode is severely damaged and needs Restoration, otherwise it will dissipate before long."
The Little Realm Spirit stammered through its words, afraid that Qingqing would disdain it and not want to perform the Restoration.
Zhu Mingqing blinked, a hint of confusion appearing on her beautiful face. "Immortal Abode? Dissipate?"
She hadn't gotten it wrong, had she? Wasn't she transmigrated into a book?
And it was a chaotic world conquest storyline—how did cultivation elements suddenly appear?
Little Realm Spirit: "Yes, this Spatial Storage is the Planting Immortal Abode. Qingqing, you can ask me anything you want to know."