On the road to exile, fighting was strictly forbidden. Anyone caught would be punished with the whip.
Hearing the commotion, Li Dashan hurried over and roared,
“Who was fighting?”
“Anyone involved, step forward and take your whipping voluntarily. Otherwise, don’t blame me for showing no mercy!”
The moment they heard the word whipping, everyone from the Lin family’s eldest branch instinctively stepped in front of Jiang Wanyue to shield her.
“I did it… It was me!”
“No, Big Brother, it was me!”
“Father, stand back! This has nothing to do with you!”
Jiang Wanyue had always been used to solving her own problems.
Being protected by others like this warmed her heart.
But she wasn’t afraid in the slightest.
She pointed directly at Liu Shuying.
“Officer, I know you’re a fair and just man.”
“You’d never let a guilty person go free, nor would you wrongly punish an innocent one. Isn’t that right?”
With a single sentence, she had skillfully flattered Li Dashan.
Originally, he had been furious upon hearing prisoners were fighting and intended to whip everyone involved.
Instead, this delicate-looking young woman had calmly started talking about justice.
And she wasn’t the least bit intimidated by him.
His interest was piqued.
This girl is rather interesting.
“Oh?”
“Then tell me.”
“Who was fighting?”
“It was her, Officer.”
“She tried to hit me.”
“We never provoked her. She only missed and struck my mother instead.”
“You have to uphold justice for us.”
“People like her deserve a whipping.”
Ever since marrying into the Lin family, Liu Shuying had never been spoken to like this.
Not only had she been slapped twice, but now this little brat was pushing all the blame onto her.
Her anger exploded.
Shrieking, she lunged toward Jiang Wanyue.
“You little bastard!”
“I’ll beat you to death!”
But just as she was about to reach Jiang Wanyue—
Crack!
A whip lashed viciously across her arm.
“Ahhh!”
Liu Shuying screamed.
A bright red welt instantly rose on her pampered skin.
Before she could recover—
Crack!
Crack!
Several more merciless lashes followed.
Li Dashan shouted angrily,
“I’m standing right here!”
“Do you think I’m blind?”
“You still dare fight?”
“I don’t care if you’re some official’s wife.”
“Everyone is equal before me.”
“Are you tired of living?”
Liu Shuying cried out repeatedly.
“Officer!”
“Officer, I was wrong!”
“I won’t do it again!”
“Then get back in line!”
“If you delay the convoy, you’ll answer to me.”
“Y-Yes! Right away!”
This time Liu Shuying didn’t dare make another scene.
Enduring the pain, she wiped away her tears and limped back to the second branch.
Jiang Wanyue cupped her fists respectfully.
“Officer, you’re truly an upright and righteous official.”
“Heh.”
Li Dashan chuckled.
He knew perfectly well that the girl had deliberately provoked Liu Shuying into attacking.
She had cleverly maneuvered the situation so Liu Shuying would earn the whipping herself.
A sharp mind.
“Don’t play clever little tricks in front of me.”
As though she hadn’t understood his meaning, Jiang Wanyue simply smiled.
“Thank you, Officer.”
Li Dashan had struck especially hard.
Hearing Liu Shuying’s miserable screams, everyone else in the convoy fell silent.
No one dared utter another word.
After restoring order, Li Dashan tucked the bloodstained whip back into his belt and shouted loudly,
“I know you were once high-ranking officials.”
“But now you’re criminals.”
“Put away your noble airs when you’re in front of me.”
“My whip speaks louder than your titles.”
“If anyone wants another taste of it…”
“I’ll gladly oblige.”
Everyone understood.
Liu Shuying’s punishment had been a warning to the entire convoy.
For the rest of the afternoon, the prisoners behaved themselves.
No one dared stir up trouble again.
The women had already rubbed their feet raw, yet not a single person dared complain.
At last, the guards announced a rest stop.
Everyone collapsed onto the ground like exhausted dogs.
Gone were the dignified officials and elegant noble ladies they once had been.
Each person simply found an empty patch of ground and sat down.
Most of the women had worn through both their shoes and stockings.
Fortunately, Shen Wanjin had packed thick-soled walking shoes for Shen Qingru.
Even so, Shen Qingru had spent her life as a noblewoman who rarely left the inner quarters.
She had never walked such a great distance before.
The moment she sat down, her feet throbbed painfully.
On top of that, Liu Shuying’s slap earlier had left one side of her face badly swollen.
Seeing the angry swelling on her mother’s cheek, Jiang Wanyue frowned.
“Mother, your face…”
“Let’s apply more ointment.”
“The medicine from earlier has probably worn off.”
Shen Qingru forced a smile.
“I…”
“Hiss…”
She accidentally pulled at the wound on the corner of her mouth and winced.
“I’m fine, Yueyue.”
“I’m sorry for making you worry.”
“It’s all because your mother is useless.”
“I’ve only become a burden to you.”
“Please don’t say that.”
Beside them, Lin Jingyuan looked heartbroken.
“Qingru…”
“You’ve suffered because of us.”
Shen Qingru shook her head gently.
“I’m really alright.”
“Don’t worry about me.”
Just after Jiang Wanyue finished applying fresh ointment to Shen Qingru’s face, Lin Shutong—the granddaughter of the second branch—stormed over.
She glared viciously at Jiang Wanyue.
It’s all this bitch’s fault.
Mother got whipped because of her.
Earlier, she had seen Shen Wanjin deliver a huge pile of supplies to the eldest branch.
They even had meat buns.
From the time they had set out that morning until now, she had been starving…
By now, Lin Shutong was so hungry that her stomach was practically glued to her back. The thought of taking just one bite of a juicy meat bun made her mouth water.
Once the second branch got their hands on those supplies and the meat buns, they definitely wouldn’t share a single one with the eldest branch.
She impatiently urged Shen Qingru,
“Shen, Grandmother said she’s still the head of the family. Anything valuable you have should be handed over to her so she can distribute it fairly.”
As Lin Shutong continued making trouble, Jiang Wanyue frowned and deliberately clutched her stomach dramatically.
“Mother… I’m so hungry.”
Seeing her daughter looking so pitiful, Shen Qingru’s heart ached.
She felt she owed Jiang Wanyue far too much.
“Yueyue, don’t worry. Mother will get you a meat bun right away.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
Soon, two large meat buns were placed into Jiang Wanyue’s hands.
She held them without eating, lowering her eyes while secretly glancing toward the large bundle from which Shen Qingru had taken them.
“Mother…”
“If I eat these two buns now, does that mean there won’t be any left afterward?”
“Maybe… I should save them for tomorrow.”
“I’m not really hungry right now.”
She lowered her head as she spoke, looking as though she couldn’t bear to eat such precious food.
Her words made everyone in the eldest branch’s hearts ache.
They had heard that she had been picked up and raised by a butcher.
She must never have enjoyed a comfortable life.
Now she was even reluctant to eat a simple meat bun.
Without another word, Shen Qingru handed the entire bundle of buns to Jiang Wanyue.
“Yueyue, these are all yours.”
“You can eat as many as you like.”
“That’s right, Little Sister.”
“Hurry and eat.”
“When these are gone, we’ll buy you more.”
The entire family comforted Jiang Wanyue, completely ignoring Lin Shutong, who had come demanding their belongings.
Stamping her foot in anger, Lin Shutong shouted,
“Shen! Are you even listening to me?”
Jiang Wanyue calmly took another bite of her fragrant meat bun.
As she ate, she sighed happily.
“Mmm… These meat buns are delicious.”
Then she looked at Lin Shutong.
“What do you mean ‘Shen, Shen’?”
“My mother is your eldest aunt.”
“You don’t even know how to address your elders properly.”
“Could it be that you were also born to a mother who never bothered to raise you?”
Her words immediately reminded everyone in the eldest branch of the cruel insult Liu Shuying had hurled at Jiang Wanyue earlier that day.
Their expressions darkened.
Lin Shutong’s face instantly turned crimson.
“W-What nonsense are you talking about?”
“I… I wasn’t…”
The words caught in her throat.
Seeing several people nearby staring at her, she burst into tears from humiliation.
Sobbing loudly, she ran back toward the second branch’s resting place.
Jiang Wanyue glanced after her.
That’s all you’ve got?
Complete victory.
Once Lin Shutong was gone, Jiang Wanyue took more meat buns out of the bundle.
“Father, Mother.”
“Eldest Brother, Eldest Sister-in-law.”
“Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law.”
“Third Brother.”
“You should all eat too.”
The guards had distributed dinner earlier that evening.
But the official ration consisted only of hard black steamed buns.
They were so hard they could practically kill someone if thrown, and they carried an unpleasant sour smell.
That was what everyone else in the Lin family was eating.
As Jiang Wanyue offered them the meat buns, they all waved their hands.
“Little Sister, you’re still weak.”
“You should eat more.”
“That’s right.”
“We’re grown men. We’re not hungry.”
“I’m actually finding these black buns quite… unique.”
Had Jiang Wanyue not seen how painfully they struggled to swallow each bite, she might have believed them.
“But if you don’t eat them…”
“I won’t be able to enjoy mine either.”
“Besides…”
“If those black buns are so delicious, then I’ll eat those instead.”
“And it’s so hot outside.”
“If we don’t finish these meat buns today, they’ll spoil.”
She wasn’t lying.
It was the middle of July—the hottest time of the year.
Leave the buns overnight, and they’d almost certainly go bad.
Besides…
Who knew what schemes the second and third branches would come up with next?
The safest place for the food was inside their stomachs.
After taking only half a bun, Jiang Wanyue deliberately set the rest down.
The others exchanged helpless glances.
Lin Jingyuan, however, immediately understood what she was doing.
His eyes became moist.
This child… is far too considerate.
When Lin Yurou had lived with them, they had always given her the very best of everything.
Yet she had never once thought of sharing with them.
Now…
It was only a few meat buns…
He turned to his sons.
“Since Yueyue insists…”
“Go ahead and eat them.”
He knew perfectly well that the second branch had already come several times, trying to seize their supplies.
His own mother had indeed treated the eldest branch unfairly for many years.
Now that Jiang Wanyue had finally returned…
The rest of the family felt their hearts soften completely.
Their eyes glistened with tears.
Because the men still wore heavy wooden cangues around their necks, eating was difficult.
The women had no choice but to feed their husbands by hand.
Watching the cumbersome restraints pressing down on the men’s shoulders, Jiang Wanyue sighed quietly.
I need to find a way to remove those cangues first.
If they have to wear something this heavy for thousands of miles… they’ll be crippled before they reach their destination.
The cangue wasn’t merely symbolic punishment.
It was one of the harshest parts of exile itself.
They couldn’t eat properly.
They couldn’t even remove it while sleeping.
For the members of the Lin family—people who had once dined on every delicacy imaginable—
They had never realized before…
That a simple meat bun could taste this wonderful.
The members of the eldest branch silently made up their minds to treat Jiang Wanyue even better from now on.
Meanwhile, Lin Shutong ran back to the Old Madam, sobbing all the way.