It rained.
A sudden downpour descended without warning, instantly startling everyone in the gorge.
“Hurry, stick close to the cliff wall and get out quickly.”
Realizing that rain was pouring through the cracks above, Grandma Mei immediately directed everyone to walk along the cliff wall, dodging the rain while continuing to move swiftly toward the gorge’s exit.
Being inside a gorge during rainfall was extremely dangerous. As the rain fell, it was like dropping into a pot of boiling oil, stirring up the emotions of everyone trapped within.
For a moment, tension filled the air as everyone rushed toward the exit.
“Watch your step! Hey, don’t push!”
The Lao Mei Family once again used long poles to “string” the family tightly together, with Mei Erhu and Mei Shitou still protecting the other women in the middle.
Grandma Mei pushed aside other families crowding in as she walked.
Since joining the Chen family’s group, this was the first time Mei Qian and her family had experienced such crowding again.
“Ah, it’s too crowded behind! Stop pushing!”
“Ouch, who stepped on my foot? What’s going on?!”
Amid the surging crowd, curses and complaints flew everywhere. Mei Qian instinctively glanced back and saw a sea of dark, bobbing heads, her heart pounding faster.
“Almost there, less than half a kilometer left.”
Mei Erhu led the way ahead, encouraging the family as he went. “I heard from those in front that they’ve found a cave to shelter from the rain. Once we’re out of the gorge, we can take cover!”
At that moment, aside from the frightening surge of people, another worry for Mei Qian and her family was the sudden, torrential rain.
“Mother, what about the grain? It can’t get damp.”
Just then, Han Shi brought up another critical issue caused by the heavy rain—the grain.
Mei Qian froze at this.
She turned to look at the grain sacks on Little Gray Donkey. Even though the family was walking close to the cliff wall, part of the grain sacks had already gotten damp.
Seeing this, Grandma Mei cursed the wretched heavens and quickly covered the grain sacks with a layer of straw clothing.
In their hurried escape, who had thought to bring umbrellas or raincoats?
This straw clothing was something Madam Jiang had woven a few days earlier while making straw sandals for the family.
It wasn’t as effective as a proper raincoat, but in this situation, the straw clothing could indeed save lives—at least for a short while.
Saving the grain meant saving themselves.
Mei Qian even hugged her small bag of provisions close to her chest. For the dried meat pouch wrapped on the very outside, she directly tossed the flour inside into her Space.
She couldn’t make her grandmother’s over two hundred pounds of grain disappear in front of everyone, but she could take advantage of the chaos to protect her own small ration bag.
Seeing Mei Qian’s actions, Grandma Mei initially wanted to scold her for making a fuss and tell her to just take care of herself. But when she saw Mei Qian tightly guarding that bag of grain, she closed her mouth.
By the time the family rushed out of the gorge, Mei Qian could already feel the heavy rain above beginning to weaken. By the time they were drenched like drowned rats and found the cave the Chen family had secured for shelter, the rain stopped as abruptly as it had started.
This early summer downpour had taught Mei Qian’s family a harsh lesson.
They had thought they could rest right after passing Yixian Gorge, but just as her father had heard, soldiers stationed in Mingcheng had come to meet them.
Their goal was clear—to take the Junzhu and leave without any delay. Seeing this, the other aristocratic families also quickly packed up their belongings and drove away.
If they wanted to continue following them, they couldn’t afford to stop now either.
“Shall we go?”
Mei Qian glanced at the sun overhead and then at her family, all soaked to the bone. Honestly, the best thing to do now would be to start a fire, dry their clothes, and, if possible, brew a pot of strong ginger tea for everyone to drink.
But at the moment, they had none of those conditions. As they watched more and more refugees pouring out of Yixian Gorge, drenched by the heavy rain, everyone looked even more wretched.
“Let’s go!”
Grandma Mei gritted her teeth and looked into the distance. Mei Qian followed her grandmother’s gaze, peering far ahead.
The terrain south of Yixian Gorge was noticeably higher. Looking southward now, Mei Qian could faintly make out Mingcheng in the distance.
It was precisely because they could see Mingcheng that many refugees had already decided to rest here for a while. But Grandma Mei insisted that everyone continue following the Chen family’s convoy.
If they had a chance to enter Mingcheng, they would take it. Even if they couldn’t get in, arriving early nearby would give them more time to plan their next steps.
Otherwise, with so many people around, nothing would work out later.
“Is everyone alright?”
Grandma Mei surveyed the whole family, her gaze finally settling on Madam Jiang, who was the weakest among them. Madam Jiang was breathing heavily, clearly exhausted, but she gritted her teeth and shook her head, indicating she could still hold on.
“Then let’s keep moving forward.”
Once the decision was made, the Mei family continued following the Chen family’s convoy.
Most of the families who had previously sought refuge under the protection of the aristocratic clans also managed to keep up and leave with them. However, many of the remaining refugees chose to stay where they were.
They had heard that it would be safer once they reached this point, and they could clearly see the walls of Mingcheng in the distance. Whether they arrived a day earlier or a day later, they would eventually get there.
After being drenched in the heavy rain, it was best for everyone to rest and recover properly.
Mei Qian and her family could understand these people’s thoughts—they themselves had once felt the same way.
But Grandma Mei was right. Having come this far, if their family were to disappear back into the crowd of refugees, that would be the most terrifying outcome.
As dusk fell, Mei Qian and her family’s group arrived outside Mingcheng.
At this late hour, the city gates were usually closed, just as they were now.
But earlier, they had heard that the Junzhu’s convoy had already entered the city.
Now, they could only follow the Chen family and set up camp outside the city walls. Mei Erhu borrowed a burning piece of firewood from a neighboring camp and used it to light their own fire. Only then did the family’s expressions soften slightly.
“It looks like the Chen family plans to enter the city tomorrow morning.”
As soon as Mei Erhu finished speaking, Grandma Mei said, “Do you think they don’t want to enter the city sooner? It’s just that they aren’t important enough. Those who are important enough have already gone in long ago.”
After saying this, Grandma Mei turned her gaze to the towering walls of Mingcheng across the moat and couldn’t help but sigh:
“The walls of Mingcheng are high and thick—nothing like the small county towns back home. No wonder people misunderstood.”
Under Grandma Mei’s guidance, the family had long understood what these wealthy families like the Chens were coming to Mingcheng for.
However, along the way, they had also heard many words from other families over the past two days. Many people simply assumed that these wealthy households had come to Mingcheng and would truly settle there.
Of course, among these people, there were also some who, like their family, pretended not to know while fully understanding the situation.
As they spoke, Grandma Mei instructed the family to sort out the grains that had gotten damp from the rain during the day. Without opening them up, no one had expected there to be so much.
“Ugh! It’s spoiled!”
The dampened sacks near the donkey, fermented by the high temperature and the animal’s body odor, had already begun to emit a faint sour smell in just one afternoon.
Han Shi was the first to notice it and the first to cry out.
Grandma Mei first shot a glare at Han Shi, then leaned in to sniff it herself, her face darkening with displeasure.
Mei Qian was boiling water at the time. Hearing Han Shi and the others behind her mention something about spoilage, she turned to ask, only to meet her grandmother’s gaze.
Her grandmother’s expression didn’t bode well.
Mei Qian felt a chill in her heart, and the next moment, she heard her grandmother ask kindly, “How about you cook all this flour tonight, Qian? After all, aside from being a bit spoiled, there’s nothing else wrong with it.”
Mei Qian: