Madam Qian knew that Zhao Shi had spent hundreds of taels preparing all those things because she wanted her children to live more comfortably.
However, the truth was—“a tall tree attracts the wind.”
Just imagine: on the road to exile, prisoners who were supposed to suffer punishment were riding in comfortable carriages, wearing brand-new fine cotton clothes, and eating dried meat and refined grains.
Meanwhile, the escorting officers had to walk and eat their own cold, coarse rations.
Would they really be willing to endure hardship while watching prisoners enjoy comfort?
Even if, at the beginning, they held back out of respect for the Duke’s household, once they left the city and were far from authority, it was very possible that the officers would seize all those goods.
Worse, they might even take pleasure in tormenting those once high-born young masters and ladies to satisfy their twisted sense of superiority.
“Sigh… Zhao Shi’s heart is full of maternal love, but she’s overthinking out of concern and losing clarity.”
“If she really does this, not only will the Wang family fail to enjoy these things, they might even invite disaster.”
The most important point was this: Madam Qian noticed that in Wang Yi’s plan, there was no preparation of gold or silver—no actual money.
Was this simply an oversight due to her young age, or intentional?
As the manager of the Duke’s household, Madam Qian was far from someone who avoided talking about money out of false pride.
She understood very well the importance of wealth.
If it were her preparing supplies for exiled relatives, she would do it differently:
She would buy one spacious, comfortable carriage—and one shabby, worn-out donkey cart.
The carriage would be given to the officers, and the donkey cart left for the Wang family.
She would prepare clean but ordinary clothing and bedding—not new or luxurious, just usable.
As for food, she would prepare some, but always follow one principle: do not attract attention.
Even so, these things were not the most important. If they were taken, it wouldn’t matter too much.
What truly mattered were life-saving medicines and easily hidden valuables like gold leaves, silver ingots, and banknotes.
Wang Yi could not hear Madam Qian’s thoughts. Otherwise, she would have given her a thumbs-up:
“Aunt, great minds think alike. If they were truly my family, I would prepare things exactly as you described.”
Unfortunately, the Wang family did not deserve it.
From the Dowager Madam to Wang Jiao, from her father and brothers to the extended relatives—they were all selfish, cold-hearted, and vicious.
Only the second brother could barely be considered decent, but he was impulsive and easily manipulated—someone who caused harm with good intentions.
Such a person was like a soaked cotton coat—too heavy to wear, yet hard to discard.
Sometimes, people like that were even worse than outright villains.
In her past life, Wang Yi had already suffered once.
Even though she later took revenge, her heart had been deeply wounded.
In this life, even in prison, Wang Jiao and the Dowager Madam had tried to scheme against her again.
Wang Yi didn’t necessarily need revenge—but she could no longer treat them as family.
The money? She spent it.
The supplies? She prepared them.
She fulfilled her duty as a daughter and sister. No outsider—not even Zhao Shi—could fault her.
As for whether the Wang family could actually enjoy those things… that was no longer her concern.
She was only a thirteen-year-old girl—how could she possibly understand all the dangers of human nature or plan everything perfectly?
If blame had to be placed, then it could only be blamed on the Wang family’s bad luck.
Madam Qian, unaware of Wang Yi’s past-life grievances, did not realize this was deliberate.
Holding her handkerchief, she gently reminded, “Zhao Shi, the Wang family is going into exile. Doing things this way… might not be appropriate.”
Zhao Shi paused mid-task.
After a moment of thought, she nodded slowly. “Sister-in-law, you’re right. I didn’t think it through.”
Yes, the Wang family were prisoners.
If they appeared too comfortable, not only the officers, but even common people along the road would resent it.
If things escalated, having their goods seized would be the least of their problems.
What if it led back to the Duke’s household?
Having just experienced the downfall of the Marquis residence, Zhao Shi had become more cautious.
She could not let the Duke’s family be implicated.
Wang Yi’s eyes flickered, and she put on an innocent, puzzled expression. “Mother, Aunt, what are you talking about? What’s wrong with it?”
She was still young—she could pretend not to understand.
Zhao Shi patiently explained everything.
Wang Yi hesitated. “But Mother… if we prepare too little or things that are too plain, what if Grandmother and Father get angry?”
“What if they think we didn’t put in effort or weren’t willing to spend money?”
“And Sister…”
She deliberately paused at the mention of Wang Jiao.
Zhao Shi immediately thought of her eldest daughter’s temper—spoiled, willful, and far less sensible than Wang Yi.
If given plain things, Wang Jiao might truly become angry.
She might even accuse her mother of being cold-hearted and biased.
In the past, Zhao Shi might not have believed it.
But after what happened in prison, she now knew—Wang Jiao didn’t just lack closeness; she harbored resentment.
Even if Zhao Shi meant well and tried to reason with her, Wang Jiao would neither appreciate it nor listen.
A trace of pain and helplessness crossed Zhao Shi’s eyes.
Wang Yi saw it clearly.
But it still wasn’t enough.
Zhao Shi didn’t know—but Wang Yi did:
Wang Jiao had also been reborn.
In the previous life, Wang Jiao had come to the Duke’s household and knew about the five hundred taels given by Madam Qian.
She wouldn’t think about “attracting attention.”
She would only calculate:
“How many good things can five hundred taels buy?”
If the supplies didn’t match her expectations, she might explode on the spot.
Wang Jiao had never had a good temperament—and rebirth wouldn’t change that.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have foolishly tried to steal Wang Yi’s life back in the prison.
Stealing was one thing—no one said she couldn’t choose differently.
But in doing so, she had hurt Zhao Shi just to prove her resolve.
Didn’t she realize that the only person who could still help the Wang family… was Zhao Shi?
By offending her, wasn’t she cutting off her own lifeline?
Perhaps Wang Jiao knew.
But she had been spoiled her whole life.
She believed that since Zhao Shi was her mother, no matter what she did, Zhao Shi would never abandon her.
What she forgot was this—
Even the closest bonds can break when the heart is wounded too deeply.