Jiang Wanyue helped Shen Qingru onto the donkey cart to sit down, then crouched and reached for her shoes.
Shen Qingru cried out in surprise.
“Wanyue, what are you doing?”
“I’m going to check the injuries on your feet.”
Shen Qingru looked embarrassed.
“Th-that’s not appropriate. How can a woman’s feet be…”
Jiang Wanyue let out a sigh.
She had forgotten this was ancient times—a society so strict toward women that losing one’s reputation could mean losing one’s life.
“But if I don’t examine your feet, I’m afraid you won’t be able to keep walking.”
Shen Qingru hesitated.
“How about this? I’ll have Sister-in-law and Second Sister-in-law stand in front of us to block the view while I examine your feet. That spot over there is fairly secluded. Let’s go there.”
Shen Qingru could barely endure the pain any longer. The soles of her feet throbbed unbearably.
“All right. We’ll just take a quick look.”
With Qin Mingshu and Wen Lingyue shielding them from view, Jiang Wanyue reached to remove Shen Qingru’s shoes, but Shen Qingru stopped her.
“Wanyue, I’ll do it myself.”
“All right.”
Once the shoes came off, Jiang Wanyue saw two blisters about the size of fingernails on Shen Qingru’s heels, along with several more on the sides of her toes.
The sight was shocking.
Shen Qingru had endured all that pain without saying a word.
“Mother, you’ve got blisters. Your feet are hurt this badly—why didn’t you tell us sooner?”
“Blisters?”
Shen Qingru looked completely confused, obviously having no idea what they were.
“What are those?”
“It’s because you’ve never walked such long distances before. Suddenly walking for so long causes blisters, and that’s why your feet hurt.”
“What should I do?”
Shen Qingru’s eyes immediately filled with tears again.
She already felt useless. If she became a burden on the family, what would they do?
Jiang Wanyue quickly reassured her,
“Don’t worry. I know how to treat them.”
Although Shen Qingru had lived a pampered life, she had endured so many blisters without complaining.
She might seem delicate, but she possessed remarkable resilience.
Jiang Wanyue retrieved an embroidery needle, wound ointment, some linen cloth, and a little spiritual spring water from the large bundle Shen Wanjin had given them.
Once everything was prepared, she explained,
“I’ll puncture the blisters first, apply medicine, and then wrap your feet with linen.”
“All right.”
Jiang Wanyue worked swiftly.
She cleaned the blisters, drained them, applied the medicine, and wrapped Shen Qingru’s feet before the latter had even realized it was over.
“Done.”
Shen Qingru gently moved her ankle.
“That’s it? It’s already finished? I didn’t even feel any pain. It actually feels cool and soothing.”
“Mother, draining blisters doesn’t really hurt.”
“Wanyue, you’re amazing. You seem to know everything.”
“It’s nothing special. Just practical life experience.”
Afterward, Jiang Wanyue examined her eldest and second sisters-in-law as well.
Both had developed a few blisters and some minor injuries on their feet.
Fortunately, theirs weren’t nearly as severe as Shen Qingru’s.
After treating them, she dampened strips of linen with a little spiritual spring water and wrapped their feet as well.
She believed they would recover after a night’s rest.
The men were in much better condition, since they were accustomed to traveling.
As Jiang Wanyue thought about the thousand-mile journey to the northwest, she decided that once they reached the town, she’d buy more linen.
She wanted to teach everyone how to wrap their legs.
The leg wraps were somewhat similar to modern compression stockings.
Compression socks didn’t exist in this era, but leg wraps had been used by soldiers during the famous Long March and had proven highly effective.
They not only protected the legs and reduced swelling and pain, but also provided some protection against snakes and insects.
The night passed peacefully.
In the blink of an eye, it was the next morning.
Since they needed to hurry in order to reach town, everyone simply ate dry flatbread for lunch.
After walking for several more hours, it was around two or three o’clock in the afternoon.
Li Dashan pointed toward the town ahead.
“That’s Shimo Town. We’ll rest there for a day before continuing our journey.”
When the exiles heard they would finally be entering a town and wouldn’t have to sleep out in the wilderness again, many were so relieved they nearly cried.
At last, they would have a roof over their heads.
Li Dashan, clearly familiar with the place, led everyone straight into town and headed directly to a mule inn.
Mule inns were inexpensive, making them ideal for groups of exiles. They charged low rates and could accommodate many people.
Once they arrived at the courtyard, Li Dashan announced,
“A private room costs ten taels of silver for one night. A place on the communal sleeping platform costs one tael per person.”
Everyone gasped.
Many of those who had been excited about sleeping indoors immediately looked dejected again.
It was far too expensive.
Who could afford that?
Jiang Wanyue had no intention of skimping on lodging. Just as she was about to pay, Shen Qingru beat her to it.
“Wanyue, let me.”
Turning to the guard, she said,
“Officer, we’d like a room.”
As Shen Qingru reached for the money, she realized she wasn’t sure how many rooms they needed.
“Wanyue, would you like a private room of your own?”
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Wanyue nodded.
She was planning to slip out at night if the opportunity arose, and having her own room would make it much more convenient.
“Then we’ll take one private room, and everyone else can stay in the communal sleeping quarters.”
Jiang Wanyue immediately disagreed.
“Mother, think about it. We’ve been traveling for days now, and we’re filthy. We all need a proper bath. If you stay in the communal dormitory, I doubt you’ll even be able to get hot water.”
“Then…”
“How about we rent three private rooms instead? I’ll take one, Mother can share one with Eldest Sister-in-law and Second Sister-in-law, and everyone else can stay in the third. This isn’t something we should try to save money on.”
Lin Jingyuan nodded in agreement.
“Let’s do as Wanyue says. I think that’s a good arrangement. The men and women can stay separately, and everyone will get a better rest.”
After spending several days exposed to the wind and sleeping outdoors, they were all utterly miserable.
They practically smelled sour.
It was definitely time for a proper wash.
“All right, then. We’ll take three superior rooms.”
Shen Qingru handed Li Dashan a banknote.
Li Dashan accepted it. It was worth one hundred taels.
The Shen family really was wealthy.
Handing over such a large sum without hesitation…
After putting away the banknote, he asked,
“Anyone else want a superior room or a spot in the communal dormitory?”
No one answered.
Old Madam Xiao wanted better accommodations, but she had no money left.
Behind her, her eldest daughter-in-law, Xu Yao, quietly walked over to Jiang Wanyue and slipped an earring into her hand.
“Could I exchange this for twenty taels of silver?”
The earring was of exceptional quality.
It was worth far more than twenty taels—possibly even a hundred.
But Jiang Wanyue knew that if she refused to accept it, the Xiao family probably wouldn’t be able to afford a room at all.
She handed the earring to Shen Qingru.
“Mother, what do you think?”
Shen Qingru had a good eye for valuables and immediately recognized that it was a fine piece.
Jiang Wanyue leaned over and whispered,
“Mother, accept it for now.”
“All right.”
Thinking of the banknote Shen Qingru had just paid, Jiang Wanyue turned to Li Dashan.
“Officer, please arrange lodging for the Xiao family as well.”
“No problem. What kind of rooms do they want?”
Seeing Shen Qingru accept the earring, Xu Yao was overjoyed.
If she had offered it directly to the guards, it would likely have been taken without getting her even a single room in return.
Giving it to Jiang Wanyue was much better.
This girl was truly kind-hearted.
She hadn’t disappointed her.
“We’ll just take the communal dormitory.”
Thinking of Xiao Hengchuan, Jiang Wanyue added,
“Please include one superior room as well.”
“Done.”
Now that he’d received payment, Li Dashan worked efficiently.
He asked once more,
“Anyone else need lodging? If not, I won’t be making any more arrangements. And don’t come bothering me later, or don’t blame me if I’m not polite.”
After hearing that, several other exiled families decided to pay for places in the communal dormitory.
They had a feeling that whatever free accommodations the guards mentioned probably wouldn’t be very pleasant.
One of the prisoners who didn’t want to spend any money asked,
“What about those of us who don’t have any silver? Where do we stay?”
Li Dashan smiled amiably.
“Oh, you’ll have a place to stay. The conditions just won’t be as good.”
Hearing that there would at least be somewhere to sleep, many people breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, they’d already spent several nights sleeping outdoors.
The lodging was simply too expensive.
They’d rather save the money to buy food—they hadn’t had a single hot meal in days.
Old Madam Lin thought the same.
After all, they had once been the families of government officials.
Surely the guards wouldn’t actually throw them out onto the streets.
They wouldn’t dare.
Lin Jingzhou chimed in,
“Mother, let’s not waste money. As long as we have somewhere to sleep, it’s fine. I’m hungry—I want meat.”
Lin Jingxing agreed.
“Exactly. Those people are fools. Why pay when there’s already a place to stay? They’re just wasting money.”
Old Madam Lin secretly agreed.
Those who spent money on lodging really were fools.
However…
When they were finally led to the place where they would be staying, every one of them stood there in stunned disbelief.