The horsewhip lashed out, striking several members of the Lu family nearby.
Immediately, loud wails and cries of pain erupted: "Ouch! Stop, stop hitting us!"
"What are you yelling about? Once we reach Hefengting, if you don't behave, we'll tie you all up!" The Jiechai was a burly, rough-looking man, riding high on his horse and looking down with contempt at these people he once had to look up to.
Concubine Feng was still glaring at Shen Yunyue with defiance:
"You make my Xuanting get on the carriage. She's still a child."
"Concubine Feng, the 'child' you speak of is older than me."
Shen Yunyue knew she wasn't convinced. But even if she wasn't, she'd have to swallow it—there was no place for her to be giving orders here.
Besides, Fu Xuanting was several months older than Shen Yunyue.
Was there such a thing as a "child" that big?
"Big Sister. Yuncheng and I will drive the carriage." Shen Yunfeng cracked the whip with practiced flair and drove the carriage away.
There were several hundred people who had been stripped of their status to commoners.
Shen Yunfeng and Shen Yuncheng drove the carriage slowly at the back. Neither of them had the skill to make the horse run faster, and besides, this was an old horse that simply didn't have the strength to run anyway.
Shen Yunyue didn't get on the carriage either. She, Mo Yiran, and Liu Xiaoyun walked behind on foot.
She thought to herself that she'd need to build a good relationship with the escort officers in the future, and then find a way to get another carriage.
Fu Xuanheng lay half-reclined inside the carriage, a thick mattress beneath him and a wild duck feather cloak draped over him.
He couldn't help but reflect—though the Shen family had fallen from their newly risen status, with this kind of momentum, they wouldn't stay down for long.
He liked families with cohesion.
Behind them, the He family members were gradually leaving.
The other families were also on the road, but only the He and Lu families each had a carriage.
Everyone else had to walk.
The journey ahead was long and treacherous, and the able-bodied young men had all become victims of the blade.
Of those who remained, who knew how many would even survive to reach the place of exile?
Along the way.
People sighed and groaned, some weeping as they walked.
People who had lived their entire lives in Jingcheng were now leaving their homeland.
In the future, they would be buried in foreign soil.
Even in death, they couldn't return to their roots.
For them, this was a cruel thing.
Even the winter sun hurried home early to nestle in. After walking more than half the way, the sky gradually darkened.
Shen Yunyue walked beside the carriage, listening to the sound of the carriage wheels crunching over dead leaves. Mixed in were the mournful "caw, caw…" of crows, sending off those leaving their homeland with their desolate cries.
"Those in front, continue forward to Chaitou Huang and find a broken temple to rest. The rest of you, settle in the open space ahead." A guard with a mustache and a mole on his brow shouted loudly.
The whip he casually raised cut through the air with a particularly harsh crack.
"Yunfeng. We don't need to go further—let's stop at the open space the guard mentioned. We need to find a place to spend the night first." Shen Yunyue didn't want to continue forward to look for a broken temple.
With this many people, even if there was a broken temple, there wouldn't be room for them.
Anyone could bump into them and crush them to death.
The Shen family was small in number—when it was time to lie low, they should lie low.
"Got it, Big Sister." Shen Yunfeng acknowledged.
Concubine Feng, who was holding Fu Xuanting, refused to accept this. In this freezing winter weather, they'd surely freeze to death out in the wilderness.
Besides, the wild beasts in the wilderness weren't vegetarians—they wouldn't show any mercy just because they saw living people.
"We can't stop. Let's follow Chaitou Huang and find a broken temple."
"Where do you think all these broken temples are? Do you think with several hundred people here, it's your turn to stay in a temple?" Shen Yunyue closed her eyes and retorted impatiently.
"Yunyue. As long as you and Xuanheng agree to come with me to the He family, we can follow them." Concubine Feng thought of what Aunt He had said and felt a spark of hope. "I've already arranged it with the He family—they're just waiting for you to agree."
"Concubine Feng. My affairs are not for you to decide. The He family made conditions, didn't they? Your abacus beads just hit me in the face."
"You want us to become their servants, so you can curry favor with the He family?"
Concubine Feng: … How could a thirteen-year-old child have so many schemes in her head?
Fu Xuanheng looked at Shen Yunyue expressionlessly from the carriage window, a flicker of amusement passing through his eyes that even he didn't realize was there.
Mo Yiran glared angrily at Concubine Feng. This woman had such a venomous heart. How could her precious Yuebao become a servant for the He family?
Old Master Shen's eyes were filled with gratification. His fierce granddaughter wouldn't be bullied.
The carriage traveled another two or three li before they spotted an open space.
Not far from a birch forest, many people in the clearing had chosen to camp there for the night.
Everyone knew they couldn't compete for the broken temple.
Better to go into the woods to gather firewood and make early preparations.
Shen Yunfeng's driving skills weren't great—the horse simply wouldn't obey his commands.
An old man nearby took the opportunity to jump up, placing his hand over Shen Yunfeng's. "Now use your strength—you need to show some authority. Horses are the most intuitive creatures. If you're afraid of them, they'll bully you."
"Go this way. Yes, yes—clever boy."
The old man was clearly someone skilled in horsemanship. In a few moves, he guided the Shen family's carriage to a corner spot. Then he made a "whoa…" sound from his mouth.
The old horse obediently stopped.
The old man finally released the reins and stepped down from the carriage. "Little one, you'll need to feed the horse yourself. Build a bond with it—this is a retired war horse, and it'll serve you well if you take good care of it."
"Thank you, Grandfather. May I ask your name?" Shen Yunfeng stepped off the carriage and bowed to the old man.
"Hahaha, just a dying old relic of the Lujia family." The old man let out a bitter laugh and walked away.
By the time Shen Yunyue arrived, she saw the old man in the gray cotton robe returning to the Lujia residence.
He didn't seem to be from the main branch—more like a collateral member of the Lujia family.
A dozen or so constables had claimed the best spots. One tall constable with a cold expression said, "Go find your own food in the woods. You have the time it takes to burn one stick of incense."
"Yuncheng, you go with Fu Xuansheng, Fu Xuanting, Concubine Feng, and Second Aunt to gather firewood." Shen Yunyue stepped down from the carriage and saw that their spot was in a corner—good, it wouldn't provoke any other families.
But the corner was cold.
They'd need two extra campfires. She had tents and such in her Space, but now wasn't the time to bring them out.
"Yunfeng, you feed the horse." Shen Yunyue took a handful of feed from her Space and mixed it with the horse's hay.
This old horse needed good care—the feed from her Space was the most nourishing.
"Mother and I will go see if there's a pond nearby."
Concubine Feng was appalled that this little girl Shen Yunyue was actually assigning chores.
When had she ever done manual labor?
"I'm not gathering firewood, and my Xuanting—a young lady—certainly won't do such lowly work." Concubine Feng stood outside the carriage, freezing half to death, stomping her feet against the carriage to keep warm.
Her upturned phoenix eyes narrowed with contempt. "We're used to being waited on hand and foot. How dare you make us do such vulgar work?"
Shen Yunyue slammed the stick in her hand hard against the ground.
"Who here wasn't once served by maids and nurses? Do you think we're still in Jingcheng? Concubine Feng, stop dreaming. You're a commoner now—only a step above a slave."
Mo Yiran was too frightened to even breathe. When had her daughter become so fierce?
Daring to talk back to Feng Xiao'e like that?
"If you don't want to work, fine. Tonight when we eat, you watch. When we warm ourselves, you stand aside." Shen Yunyue had no intention of having her own family wait on them.
Who did they think they were?
Fu Xuanheng was crippled—that couldn't be helped. But two able-bodied people refusing to work and just waiting to be fed?
Nice dream.
Shen Yunfeng fetched some straw from the carriage and spread it beneath a birch tree about half an arm's width thick, then brought out a mattress.
Shen Citong climbed into the carriage and carried Fu Xuanheng down, setting him on the mattress.
Shen Yunfeng ran over and said, "Brother-in-law, sit on the mattress to stay warm. We'll go gather firewood—you watch the carriage here."
Ever since the Shen estate had fallen.
Nine-year-old Shen Yunfeng and his eight-year-old cousin Shen Yuncheng had grown up overnight. The two little ones considered themselves the men of the family and had to hold things together.
"Yunzheng, come over here." Fu Xuanheng nodded. As a cripple, he couldn't help with much. He could only watch over four-year-old Yunzheng.
Fu Xuansheng followed Shen Yunzheng over as well.
"Second Aunt, you can leave Shubao with me." Fu Xuanheng hesitated for a moment, then made up his mind and looked at Liu Xiaoyun.
Liu Xiaoyun didn't dare hand her three-month-old daughter to him.
"No need. You rest and recover—Mother will help me look after Shubao." Liu Xiaoyun handed the child to Old Madam Shen.
Old Master Shen walked toward the woods without a word. He wanted to gather firewood too. When Shen Family's First Master saw his younger brother heading into the woods, he followed along.
Feng Xiao'e bit her lip but ultimately didn't go. She didn't believe Shen Yunyue would actually let the two of them go hungry.
She grabbed Fu Xuanting's hand and ran over to the He family's area, waiting for First Madame He and the others to come so she could pour out her grievances. That girl Shen Yunyue was too detestable—they needed to find a way to deal with her.
Shen Yunyue took a wooden bucket from behind the carriage. She'd bought these things when she purchased the carriage—a few dozen copper coins. Having purchased some supplies along the way also gave her a plausible explanation for where things came from.