“Since Lord Wei has asked, I have to give him some face, don’t I? Fine, I’ll show you some consideration.”
The burly escort officer gave a malicious grin.
“Then we’ll remove the cangues from Miss Wei and Young Master Wei. But if you slow us down again, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”
“Sir, my daughter and eldest son are both injured. Could you switch them with two other people?”
Wei Qian hurriedly asked.
The burly escort officer glared at Wei Qian and coldly said,
“Lord Wei, just because I call you ‘Lord’ doesn’t mean you really think you’re still an official, does it?”
“Either those two carry the children, or everyone continues walking like this.”
Wei Yan glanced worriedly at Wei Ning.
Wei Ning nodded at him.
“Father, Ning’er and I will carry them.”
Wei Yan quickly spoke up.
Wei Qian had no choice.
He looked back at his eldest son and youngest daughter with heartache.
One was as thin as a stick, while the other had been weak and sickly since childhood. Both could barely walk on their own.
But when he saw his second sister-in-law’s tearful expression, he remembered that his third brother wasn’t here and that Wei Yuan was his third brother’s only child.
He had to protect her.
With no other choice, he said,
“Then we’ll do as Sir says. Let my daughter and eldest son carry the children.”
The burly escort officer snorted and signaled to the younger escort officer.
Only then did the younger officer step forward and remove the wooden cangues from Wei Ning and Wei Yan.
Wei Yan immediately rushed ahead of Wei Ning and carried six-year-old Wei Zhao onto his back.
Wei Ning didn’t compete with him.
She knew exactly what condition her body was in.
Carrying six-year-old Wei Zhao for such a long distance would be difficult for her.
Instead, she carried two-year-old Wei Yuan.
She took a cloth carrying strap from her mother’s bundle and secured Wei Yuan against her back.
Although Wei Yuan was only two years old, her dark, round eyes seemed to understand everything.
She neither cried nor fussed.
Previously, Wei Yuan had been carried alternately by her father and Second Uncle.
Only then did everyone set out again.
According to the original owner’s memories, they had left the capital at the beginning of May.
They had been traveling for more than three months, so it should now be the end of August.
It should have been early autumn.
Yet the scenery already looked like late autumn, with an early chill in the air.
Most of the wild grass along the roadside had already withered and turned yellow.
The waist-high weeds had dried at the edges and collapsed, leaving only scattered patches of green.
The leaves on the shrubs had also begun turning brown and yellow.
After being battered by last night’s northern wind and drizzle, the muddy mountain road was covered with red-brown and yellow leaves.
Wei Ning looked into the distance.
Everywhere she looked, the greenery was quietly fading away, replaced by a desolate landscape of yellow and brown.
This was troublesome.
It looked as though winter had arrived early.
Everyone trudged forward, their feet sinking deep into the muddy ground with every step.
At the very front walked Mother Yang and Grandmother Sun side by side.
Behind them were Second Uncle Wei Chong and Second Aunt Lin, one in front and one behind, protecting their two children who walked between them—eldest son Wei Jin and second daughter Wei Ci.
Behind Second Aunt was Wei Ning’s second brother, Wei Xiao.
Behind him were Wei Yan, carrying Wei Zhao, and Wei Ning, carrying Wei Yuan.
Father Wei Qian walked at the very back.
The two escort officers stayed beside the group, one in front and one behind, watching the Wei family like hawks.
Every now and then, they would viciously urge them to hurry or curse at them.
The Wei family didn’t take concubines, so their household wasn’t complicated and their numbers weren’t large.
There were only twelve members of the family here.
All their servants had already been dismissed.
As for their Third Uncle, Wei Zheng, he was a military officer stationed in Fujian, serving as a Deputy Commander of the Regional Military Commission.
He had been escorted here from Fujian, so he had taken a different route.
His wife, Third Aunt Wang Hui, was the second legitimate daughter of the prominent Wang family in the capital.
They had been married for only four years.
One lived in the capital while the other was stationed in Fujian, so they had spent most of their marriage apart and had a rather distant relationship.
After something happened to Grandfather Wei Zhang, the Wang family sent someone to request a divorce on behalf of Wang Hui.
Wang Hui was ruthless enough to abandon even her two-year-old daughter before leaving.
When Grandmother and Mother spoke about it, they could only helplessly shake their heads.
“She is still young. She doesn’t want to spend the rest of her life in that bitterly cold place.”
After the road became somewhat wider, Second Brother Wei Xiao slowed down and moved between Wei Yan and Wei Ning.
Wei Ning turned her head and looked at him.
He was fifteen years old, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, a tall nose, and wheat-colored skin.
He was half a head taller than Wei Yan, probably around 180 centimeters.
Although he was thin, it was the lean, muscular kind of thinness. He looked quite healthy.
When he noticed Wei Ning looking at him, he flashed her a wide grin, revealing a row of white teeth.
He looked rather goofy.
His mouth was a little wide when he smiled.
Taking advantage of the escort officers not paying attention, he whispered,
“Ning’er, how did you end up covered in blood? And don’t tell me you bumped into a corner. I get into fights all the time. You can’t get injuries like that from bumping into a wall.”
Wei Ning frowned.
She felt extremely dizzy.
It seemed that the wound had become inflamed and was causing a slight fever.
When Wei Ning didn’t answer, Wei Xiao didn’t mind.
He turned toward Wei Yan.
“Big Brother, tell me. Something definitely happened to you two last night.”
Wei Yan sighed helplessly.
His younger brother was a chatterbox who loved digging into everything.
“We’ll find a chance to talk when we get there. Now shut your mouth.”
Wei Xiao glanced at Wei Yan.
They had only been walking for a short while, yet a thin layer of sweat had already formed on Wei Yan’s forehead.
Wei Xiao clicked his tongue in exasperation.
“Fine! Big Brother, just look at you. You’re so weak now. You ruined yourself over a vain woman and turned yourself into this miserable state.”
Wei Yan’s expression immediately turned cold.
“Shut up.”
Wei Xiao dramatically rolled his eyes.
He turned toward Wei Ning again, about to speak.
“Don’t talk to me either.”
Wei Ning spoke calmly.
She needed to conserve her strength.
“Hmph! You two are both rejecting me. I’m going to tell Mother!”
Wei Xiao put on an exaggerated, dramatic expression and quickly walked ahead.
Wei Ning’s lips curved into a smile.
The original owner’s second brother was far too lively.
Wei Yan was seventeen years old and had placed first in this year’s provincial-level imperial examination.
When he had achieved the highest honors, he had worn a large red silk flower across his chest, ridden a tall horse, and paraded through the streets.
How glorious and full of ambition he had been.
Yet less than half a month later, he had become a prisoner.
His childhood betrothal and childhood sweetheart, Zhang Wanyi—the legitimate granddaughter of the Grand Secretary—had resolutely broken off their engagement without even showing her face.
He had fallen from the highest point straight into an abyss.
His ambitions and his love had both disappeared.
Throughout the journey into exile, Wei Yan had remained silent and withdrawn, barely eating anything.
In only three months, a refined young nobleman who had once been the picture of elegance had become as thin as a starving refugee.
If not for what had happened the previous night, Wei Yan might still have been trapped inside the collapsed world he had built around himself.
“Big Brother, are you all right?”
Wei Ning looked at Wei Yan sympathetically.
Breathing slightly heavily, Wei Yan replied,
“I can keep going. But Wei Zhao, you’re so thin. How are you still so heavy?”
Wei Zhao, sitting on Wei Yan’s back, opened his big eyes and answered in a grown-up tone,
“Big Brother, you’re just too weak! If Second Brother were carrying me, he wouldn’t complain that Zhao’er is heavy.”
Wei Ning couldn’t help laughing softly.
Wei Yan patted Wei Zhao lightly on the buttocks with the hand supporting him.
“You little ungrateful brat.”
“You’re riding a donkey and still complaining that it isn’t as fast as a horse.”
…
Their occasional teasing and bickering made the journey a little easier to endure.
Wei Ning kept an eye on the wild plants along the roadside.
Whenever the escort officers weren’t paying attention, she quickly pulled up or picked some of the plants and stuffed them into the cloth bag hanging diagonally at her side.
She had noticed the bag earlier when taking the carrying strap from her mother, Yang.
She had taken it and slung it across her body.
Wei Yan and Wei Xiao noticed what Wei Ning was doing.
Whenever the escort officers looked in their direction, they would silently move closer together, blocking the officers’ view of Wei Ning.