Before they knew it, they were about to reach the borders of Lingnan. Despite having witnessed so much life-and-death uncertainty and the coldness of human nature along the way, everyone grew even more panicked at the thought of Lingnan’s notorious poisonous miasma and the savage barbarians who drank blood and ate raw flesh.
The timid Xiao Mo’er was so worried she couldn’t sleep all night. Especially since the grime on her body had accumulated heavily, and as they drew closer to Lingnan, the rising temperatures caused rashes and prickly heat to break out all over.
Tossing and turning, she clearly disturbed Xiao Yunqing sleeping beside her.
Xiao Yunqing’s birth mother was a concubine of the Marquis of Zhenbei who died during childbirth. Thus, she was sent to the primary wife’s courtyard and raised there for two years. Even after the wife passed away from illness, she continued living with her older brother Xiao Yunyan.
As a result, she lacked the pettiness often seen in other illegitimate daughters.
Now unable to sleep properly due to Xiao Mo’er’s restlessness, she couldn’t help asking in confusion, “Aunt, didn’t you say it’s been ages since you slept on such a soft bedding? Why aren’t you asleep yet?”
Indeed, sleeping rough and exposed to the elements had been commonplace throughout their journey. A stable or cowshed thickly padded with dry hay like this was a rare luxury.
Too anxious to sleep, Xiao Mo’er noticed her second niece staring wide-eyed at her. “Qing’er, aren’t you afraid?”
“Afraid of what?” Xiao Yunqing’s eyes remained round with bewilderment, truly unable to understand why her aunt—despite being older—was frightened of everything.
Xiao Mo’er swallowed hard. “Haven’t you heard what everyone says? Lingnan is full of man-eating savages.”
Xiao Yunqing dismissed it casually, “So what if they eat us? By then we’d already be dead and wouldn’t feel a thing. What’s there to fear?”
Xiao Mo’er suddenly felt a sense of helplessness, thinking this niece was indeed too young to grasp her concerns.
She then turned over and gently poked Xie Mingzhu, whispering urgently, “Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, are you asleep?”
Xie Mingzhu had long been awakened by her stirring. Although the bedding was soft, it was too hot, and with all the grime on her body, sweating now made her unbearably itchy all over.
“What is it?” She turned toward Xiao Mo’er.
Xiao Mo’er’s thoughts jumped abruptly. Instead of discussing the Lingnan savages, she fretted anxiously, “I wonder where we’ll be assigned? We won’t be sent to… that kind of place, will we?”
If that were to happen, she’d rather die now.
Xie Mingzhu knew that for exiled convicts like them, if they were placed near military camps, young women could indeed be forced into becoming army prostitutes, while men would be sent to work in quarries or iron mines. None would lead decent lives—that was the standard arrangement.
But there were also the lucky ones, where exiles were settled together in a village and assigned to reclaim wasteland. Lingnan had sparse population and vast lands; she could only hope the local officials would send them to farm.
Yet the chances of that were slim.
With no local relatives to pull strings, they couldn’t even try to seek connections for a better placement.
At this moment, Xie Mingzhu too felt utterly lost about the future. “I don’t know. We’ll take it one step at a time.” However, she glanced back at the cluster of children around them—the youngest only two years old and still needing care—and thought surely they wouldn’t be separated?
Xiao Mo’er had always relied on her as the backbone. It was entirely thanks to Xie Mingzhu that they had avoided unnecessary suffering throughout the journey.
But now, seeing even Xie Mingzhu looking dejected, Xiao Mo’er’s heart sank even deeper into despair. She couldn’t sleep at all for the rest of the night.
Soon, dawn broke. The male compilers from the Hanlin Academy were sent to chop firewood and fetch water for the courier station. By the time they finished these tasks, the Escorts had already eaten and drunk their fill.
It was time to set off again.
If all went as expected, they would reach the borders of Lingnan by noon.
Everyone’s mood was heavy, as if what awaited them next was eternal damnation.
Yet even so, under the long whips of the Escorts, they had no choice but to trudge forward.
There were those who thought of escaping, especially the younger men among the compilers, who could no longer endure the harsh conditions. In recent days, some had attempted to flee.
But with insufficient food, restless sleep, frequent beatings, and forced labor at passing courier stations, their bodies had been worn down to mere skin and bones.
How could they possibly succeed in escaping? They were quickly caught by the Escorts, and a severe beating was considered a light punishment.
Those less fortunate, encountering Escorts in a foul mood, had their limbs broken outright.
After all, who could say whether their injuries were from falling during the escape?
As the boundary marker of the prefecture ahead came into view, everyone’s footsteps grew increasingly sluggish.
Xie Mingzhu, however, noticed a crowd gathered there. Could it be that exiled convicts were treated so well here, with people specially sent to receive them?
The Escorts in charge of the escort mission also found it unbelievable. Soon, one of them rode forward to inquire.
He returned shortly, whistling cheerfully.
Xie Mingzhu pricked up her ears and listened carefully, catching snippets of the conversation.
She whispered to the others, “It seems Lingnan has indeed sent people to receive us.”
Xiao Mo’er clenched her grimy sleeves. “Are they sending us to the military camp?” Her eyes darted around, searching for the thickest tree trunk, hoping to dash her head against it and end her life.
Xie Mingzhu shook her head. “No, it seems the population there is too small, and they’ve been waiting for us to go and work.” She also overheard the officials checking the headcount. A quick glance revealed that their numbers had halved, and now they were arguing with the Escorts, accusing them of greed and selling off other exiled convicts as illegal laborers.
The Escorts were currently defending themselves vehemently.
Xiao Mo’er only cared about whether they were being sent to the military camp. Relieved to learn they were merely going to work, she let out a long sigh.
Up ahead, the two parties negotiated for a while before finally reaching an agreement. The officials from Lingnan came over to take charge of the prisoners.
Once the handover was complete, the Escorts who had brought them here, long disgusted by the humid heat, mounted their horses and turned back without hesitation.
Left behind were the terrified exiles, uncertain of what fate awaited them.
To their surprise, the leader was a middle-aged, burly man. Though not tall, he had thick eyebrows and large eyes, with a large-ringed saber hanging at his waist, giving off an imposing and formidable aura.
Striding over briskly, his first order was to his subordinates: “Remove their cangues and leg irons.” This would allow them to walk faster.
Moreover, he noticed many young women as tender as spring onions—they must not be overworked.
The prisoners were both shocked and overjoyed. They hadn’t expected such kindness from an official. Murmuring “Amitabha” and offering thanks, they expressed their gratitude profusely.
The burly man sat resting nearby and, upon hearing everyone’s thanks, waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, folks. Lingnan isn’t as terrifying as you might think. I am Yang Defa, the constable of Guangmao County, here under our magistrate’s orders to bring you all back to Guangmao County.”
This batch of exiled convicts had been specially secured by their magistrate from the prefectural authorities, a effort that had cost him considerable trouble!
Though he appeared somewhat fierce, his gentle tone put everyone at ease. The bolder ones even ventured to ask, “Where does the magistrate plan to settle us?”
Yang Defa seemed to understand their concerns. “Rest assured, our magistrate is the most benevolent. As long as you behave and don’t think of escaping, you’ll be properly taken care of.”
As he spoke, an unusual stench occasionally wafted through the air, and he now sniffed carefully to locate its source.
It didn’t smell like the foul sweat of days without washing.
Soon enough, he spotted the heavily soiled Xie Mingzhu and her family at the back of the group.
Nearby, a yamen runner tasked with removing their leg irons was retching.
Xie Mingzhu felt apologetic, but she had no choice—this was her method of self-preservation, even if it harmed herself as much as it deterred others.
Yang Defa stared at them as if he’d seen a ghost, clearly unable to believe that relatives of a high official from the capital could be so unkempt.
Instinctively covering his nose and mouth, he ordered, “You there, go wash up immediately!” He then pointed to a small river not far away.
Xiao Mo’er and the others all turned their eyes to Xie Mingzhu, clearly seeking her opinion.
It was time to wash. The filth had caused many of them to develop rashes and large moles, even on their faces.
Xie Mingzhu figured that a woman covered in bright red moles, no matter how young, would be unappealing to anyone.
Moreover, she worried that prolonged dirtiness would lead to health issues.
So she replied, “Thank you for your kindness, sir. We’ll go right away.” She then led her family to the riverbank to scrub off the grime.
Thanks to their bath, the others got a bit more rest.
As for Yang Defa and his men, they had no fear of anyone escaping. The nearby mountains were dense with forests where one could hardly set foot, teeming with snakes, insects, rats, and ants.
Entering the woods meant certain death.
More importantly, there was the miasma.
That was why they had so readily removed the men’s cangues and everyone’s leg irons.
Xie Mingzhu and her family were excessively dirty. As she entered the water, she watched the flowing water around her turn pitch black and suddenly found it amusing.
Her laughter prompted the children, sitting in the water fully clothed, to burst into giggles.
For a moment, everyone was in high spirits, scrubbing off the strangely satisfying grime.
Beneath the dirt, red rashes and moles of varying sizes made them all look rather peculiar. They glanced at each other, then couldn’t help but point and laugh at each other’s odd appearances.
Xie Mingzhu didn’t need to imagine what her face looked like—she could feel the bumps and lumps under her fingers. It was probably quite frightening!
Especially when she saw Xiao Mo’er’s face, once as smooth as fine jade in the capital, now pockmarked like a peasant woman’s. Hers must be even worse.
After washing for nearly an hour, they were barely clean. The damp clothes and hair weren’t a concern either—in this sweltering weather, they would dry on their own soon enough.
So Yang Defa didn’t delay any further. He somehow rounded up seven or eight mule-drawn carts and arranged everyone onto them.
The carts were relatively spacious, with most families needing only one or two to carry all their belongings.
Of the young men from the compilation bureau who had resisted or attempted escape along the way, only six remained after the ordeal.
They too were seated in one of the carts.
But the sun here was unbearably fierce, and even the wind in the air seemed to carry heat—completely different from the breeze they’d felt earlier by the boundary marker.
Thus, Xie Mingzhu and the others’ hair and clothes dried completely before long.
She and Xiao Mo’er sat on the cart. After simply tying up their own hair, they began styling the children’s hair.
For a moment, there was an almost serene, peaceful atmosphere.
The children grew lively too, as if having forgotten their status as exiled convicts. They excitedly looked around, asking, “Mother, that tree has so many fruits—do you think we can eat them?”