Half an hour later.
At the foot of the mountain.
Jiang Jiang returned to the place where she had settled. As soon as she approached, a small cannonball rushed out from the withered tree trunk and slammed heavily into her.
She instinctively caught the child in her arms and staggered back several steps before steadying herself.
"Wahhh, Mother!" Xu Shengyan sobbed, breathless. "Are you abandoning us?!"
Xu Shengzhu followed behind, looking at Jiang Jiang with surprise in his eyes.
This woman had actually come back!
He had thought… she had abandoned them.
Jiang Jiang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She rubbed Xu Shengyan's little head. "Didn't I already tell you? I wouldn't leave you behind."
"Shengzhu, hurry up and take your sister back inside. Get yourselves something to eat, then go straight to sleep."
Xu Shengzhu nodded, took his little sister's hand, and was about to enter the tree trunk when he spotted Zhang Xiujun following behind. Alarm bells immediately went off in his head.
"Who is he?"
Could it be that she was going to find another man?
But if that were the case… she would have her own children and wouldn't possibly take care of him and his sister anymore!
Jiang Jiang's expression didn't change. She didn't even turn around to look. "He's just a stranger. He's injured and will be traveling with us for a while. Don't worry—once his wounds heal a bit, he'll be on his way."
Xu Shengzhu pressed his small lips tightly together, reluctant. "Then how long will he have to follow us? We don't have much food left."
"Don't worry about the food." To keep up appearances, Jiang Jiang had deliberately brought back a bundle filled with jerky and dried provisions that wouldn't spoil easily. "Alright, you two go to sleep now."
With that said, Xu Shengzhu didn't dare say anything more, afraid of angering Jiang Jiang. In the end, he could only glare at Zhang Xiujun before leading his sister into the tree trunk.
But he didn't rest. Instead, he kept his eyes wide open, secretly watching the two people outside and every move they made.
Zhang Xiujun hadn't expected that Jiang Jiang, who looked so young, would already have children this old.
Still, he was only surprised for a moment before quickly returning to his usual composure. "I'll be in your care from here on."
"It's no trouble. Just don't forget the thousand gold you promised me. Though, sometimes, a life-saving favor can't be repaid with money alone."
Zhang Xiujun's deep eyes looked at her with a hint of amusement. "Then what do you want?"
Jiang Jiang thought for a moment. "I don't really want anything. I just hope that if I ever find myself in trouble, you'll help me once. And if it's a small problem, then help me a few more times. How about it?"
"I see." Zhang Xiujun lowered his gaze. "I can promise you that. A life-saving grace deserves repayment in full."
Jiang Jiang was satisfied with his answer. "Good. Then go do whatever you need to do. If you feel unwell, just call for me."
Since he had given her his word, she would see this through to the end—help him fully and see him safely through!
"I'm feeling a bit unwell right now. I'd like to go inside and rest."
The tree trunk wasn't large, but squeezing one more person in wouldn't be a problem.
He didn't want to stay outside, where he could be discovered at any moment.
He wasn't completely out of danger yet—he needed to wait until his own people arrived.
Jiang Jiang looked him up and down, her delicate brows furrowing slightly. "No. You're too dirty."
Zhang Xiujun's breath caught. The tips of his ears flushed red involuntarily. He was mortified—no one had ever said such a thing to him before. "I…"
Jiang Jiang pretended to pull out a set of clothes from her bundle—these were ones she had scavenged from the bandits' den. "All I have here is coarse cloth and hemp garments, but I'd advise you not to dress too well."
"These are famine years, and the roads are full of people fleeing disaster. If anyone notices you're different, you're bound to run into trouble."
"Here's a towel, already dampened. Wipe yourself down with it, especially around your wounds—keep them clean."
"Thank you." Zhang Xiujun knew the situation was different now and he couldn't afford to be picky.
He took the clothes, leaned on his cane, and walked into the darkness deeper within.
Jiang Jiang, meanwhile, pulled out milk bread to settle her dinner, and popped another Tenfold Vitality Pill for good measure.
She had to admit, that thing really worked—at least she wasn't gasping for air every three steps like before. Give it a bit more time, and her body would recover considerably.
After about half an hour, Zhang Xiujun finally returned.
In his changed clothes, he looked far cleaner, and his face, once covered in blood, was now fully revealed.
Under the cold moonlight, his skin was pale as snow, his sword-like brows swept up toward his temples, his narrow eyes were dark as ink, and his lips were red without a touch of rouge.
Even in coarse hemp garments, he couldn't hide that kind of bewitching elegance.
His looks were truly like polished jade—pure and noble.
Even Jiang Jiang, who was used to handsome men, found her breath catching for a moment.
This man… he was genuinely gorgeous!
Zhang Xiujun was long accustomed to such reactions. Every noble lady in the capital who saw him wore the same expression, some even utterly entranced.
His voice came out hoarse, and paired with that face, it carried an inexplicable hint of allure. "I've cleaned myself as best I could. May I go inside to rest now?"
Jiang Jiang snapped back to reality, showing not the slightest embarrassment. "You're too good-looking. Even with a change of clothes, that face of yours stands out too much. No matter how you look at it, you don't pass for a refugee."
With that, she bent down, scooped up a handful of dirt from the ground, stepped up to Zhang Xiujun, and smeared it across his face. "Cover that up a bit, or if someone takes a liking to you on the road and snatches you away, I won't be able to help you."
"You—"
Before Zhang Xiujun could speak, Jiang Jiang had already turned and headed toward the hollow tree.
Zhang Xiujun felt the grit on his face. Though it was hard to bear, he knew it was for the best.
He simply left it alone, propped himself up with his cane, and entered the hollow tree.
The tree was open front and back. Jiang Jiang, holding Xu Shengyan, had deliberately left him the middle space.
Zhang Xiujun set down his cane and closed his eyes.
The night passed without a word.
Early the next morning.
After packing up, the two adults and two children set out together.
Jiang Jiang held a little bundle in each hand, with Zhang Xiujun following behind, as they made their way toward the main road.
They hadn't gone far when they spotted a group of people resting by the roadside ahead.
Judging by their numbers and luggage, it was most likely a village.
"Jiang Jiang?" A voice called out from the crowd.
Jiang Jiang instinctively looked over and realized that among the group were quite a few familiar faces—all villagers from Daliang Village.
Right, according to the progression of this book, they should indeed have fled by now.
She had left the city a day earlier, but finding the deed of sale had cost her time, and there was only one main road—running into them wasn't surprising.
The one who had spoken was an auntie from the village. "Jiang Jiang, it really is you! Didn't you marry into the Xu family as a concubine? Why are you alone… oh, and there are two little ones too!"
In the original owner's memory, this auntie was no good—a gossip who spent her days chattering away, always talking about one family's business or another's shortcomings.
Jiang Jiang mimicked the original owner's manner, offering only a faint smile, too lazy to answer her question. "We're also refugees fleeing the famine."
"Then shouldn't you be with the Xu family? That young master of the Xu family is from a wealthy household—how did you end up out here on your own?"
The other villagers also gathered around, all curious to see what life was like for someone who had married into a wealthy family as a concubine.
But all they saw was her wearing a very ordinary set of clothes, not even as fine as those worn by maidservants in rich households.
Bao Chunmei, who had been resting, heard the commotion and hurriedly pushed through the crowd, shouting loudly, "Jiang Jiang, you've been living the high life with the Xu family—you can't forget about us!"