Su Nuan turned to look and recognized this person from her previous life—a cousin from her husband’s family named Ling Juan.
Ling Juan had average looks and came from the poorest household in the Ling Clan, which was why her father and brother both wore Jia Suo.
At this moment, Ling Juan was still screaming: “Someone come quickly! There’s an escaped convict!”
Su Nuan calmly watched her. This person was selfish and self-serving. Her father and brother had been dragged down to their deaths by her, yet she didn’t feel any remorse.
Such people were the black sheep of the family—it would be best if they could be eliminated.
Hearing Ling Juan’s shouts, the soldiers immediately rushed over, their dark faces filled with murderous intent.
However, when they saw it was Su Nuan who had left the procession, they paused briefly before turning back.
Ling Juan stubbornly grabbed a soldier’s sleeve and urgently asked, “Why aren’t you killing her? She’s trying to escape!”
The soldier glanced at Ling Juan and sneered, “Do you have a grudge against her? Why else would you wish for her death?”
After saying this, the soldier forcefully shook off Ling Juan, sending her tumbling to the ground.
Su Nuan stepped closer to Ling Juan, her gaze cold and menacing. “Ling Juan, I advise you not to meddle in others’ affairs. You’d be better off using that energy to care for your father and brother.”
“You have money to remove your own Jiao Liao, yet you’re unwilling to remove your father and brother’s Jia Suo. Do you want to watch them work themselves to death?”
After a pause, she continued, “Even a goose feather weighs a thousand jin after traveling a thousand li. In these chaotic times, how can a woman survive without the protection of her father and brother?”
Ling Juan stubbornly retorted, “They said they weren’t tired and didn’t want to waste money. What does that have to do with me?”
Su Nuan sighed and said with feigned concern, “Oh my, if they were my father and brother, I couldn’t bear to see them suffer. I really envy you—they’d rather endure hardship themselves to save money for you to spend. I hope you live long enough to enjoy that money.”
After speaking, Su Nuan turned and walked away without giving her another glance.
The official road was flanked by fields with few weeds but abundant medicinal herbs like dandelion, plantain, and motherwort. Su Nuan didn’t overthink it—she dug up any medicinal plants she found and put them in her sack.
By noon, everyone had fallen silent, with only occasional sobs and groans of pain breaking the quiet.
Su Nuan wasn’t feeling lighthearted either. Although her physical condition had suddenly improved after her rebirth, the intense pace of the journey was still exhausting.
The massive procession moved forward numbly under the soldiers’ constant urging, without pause.
Then someone shouted: “Rest here for half a shichen! See the archers? Even if you run two hundred chi, we’ll still take your worthless life!”
After the incident at the town gate, who would dare think of escaping? Their faces showed various emotions—pain and resentment—but not a trace of thought about running away.
Su Nuan quickly took out the carbon furnace and brewed a pot of anti-inflammatory and fever-reducing herbal medicine. She added some sugar and Xiao Er Bao An Pills to Tuan Tuan’s bowl.
Xiao Er Bao An Pills were essential items in every wealthy household, so there was no shortage of this medicine.
Fortunately, Tuan Tuan began to sweat and his fever subsided after drinking the medicine. Su Nuan went to the chest behind the carriage and took out a large piece of cotton cloth, handing it into the carriage.
“Mother, wrap up little sister. Her clothes are all wet—hang them to dry.”
Washing clothes was a luxury at this time. Unless they were torn, clothes had to be worn continuously.
Xue Shi took out some steamed buns and handed them to Su Nuan. “Eat something. You must be exhausted after walking outside for so long.”
Su Nuan shook her head, “Mother, you all eat. I’ll go outside to look around. If there’s water, I’ll fetch more.”
With that, she got off the carriage, picked up two bamboo tubes placed at the back, and left.
The current area no longer had any farmland in sight. On both sides of the road were thickets of shrubs, dense enough to make it difficult to find someone who had slipped inside. Yet, despite such favorable terrain, no one dared to run away.
Su Nuan pushed through the shrubs, her clothes torn in several places. Fortunately, there were plenty of wild berries, as well as spices like Sichuan peppercorns, cinnamon, and star anise.
After gathering some spices, she filled the bamboo tubes with water from her Space. Thinking that Ling Cang, who was unconscious, couldn’t eat, she took out a century-old ginseng before starting her way back.
Her clothes could be tattered and dirty, but the food and drink had to be clean—otherwise, she couldn’t get past her own conscience.
On her way back, Su Nuan spotted a rabbit entangled by a snake. The rabbit was too plump, and the snake, greedy, refused to let go but couldn’t swallow it, leaving them in a stalemate.
Overjoyed, Su Nuan picked up a stone, approached, and smashed the snake’s head. Luckily, it was a non-venomous snake and edible.
She coiled the snake around her neck twice and returned to the main road carrying the bamboo tubes and the wild rabbit.
Li Shitou laughed when he saw her like this, “Oh my, you even dare to catch snakes. Impressive.”
Su Nuan smiled back, “The snake had trapped the rabbit, and I just got lucky. Take the rabbit to the captain and say it’s my tribute to Brother Cheng.”
“I’ll keep the snake for myself. At least I can make some hot soup. It’s early autumn, and the nights are chilly.”
Li Shitou initially wanted to refuse, but since it was a gift for Cheng Feng, he accepted it. “Alright, I’ll deliver it right away.”
Su Nuan glanced around, receiving countless envious and jealous looks. But what could they do? If they had the skill, they could go find a rabbit themselves.
Ling Yun ran up to Su Nuan, pointing at the snake around her neck and giggling, “Meat… eat meat…”
Su Nuan waved him off disdainfully, “Go, go, go play somewhere else.”
She was genuinely afraid this fool might grab the snake and try to eat it raw. What if he got sick?
Ling Yun wasn’t angry and chuckled, “I’ll go pee.”
Su Nuan wasn’t worried about him wandering too far, so she didn’t pay much attention. Because of this, she didn’t see the flicker of cunning in Ling Yun’s eyes.
Ling Yun slipped into the shrubs, relieved himself, but didn’t leave. Instead, he said in a low voice, “Come out.”
A slender figure appeared, about the height of a six-year-old child, wrapped from head to toe, revealing only a pair of dark eyes.
“Master.”
Ling Yun asked, “How is Jingcheng?”
The person replied, “The foolish emperor burned down the General’s Mansion.”
Ling Yun pressed his lips together, his eyes flashing with hatred. “One day, I will return for revenge.”
After a pause, he continued, “Order all covert units to relocate to our place of exile. Start reclaiming wasteland and stockpiling grain. That place is too impoverished.”
“Yes!” the black-clad figure responded.
Ling Yun said nothing more. His stern face broke into a foolish grin as he stepped back onto the main road.
Su Nuan was still worried about Ling Yun and felt relieved only when she saw him return. “Don’t run off for no reason. What if you encounter a venomous snake?”
A warmth stirred in Ling Yun’s heart. Despite his sister-in-law’s fierce demeanor, she genuinely cared for the Ling family.
“I… I’ll listen to sister-in-law.”
Su Nuan nodded and took out some wild fruits. “Good, go eat the fruits. Save some for Tuan Tuan.”
Ling Yun took the cloth bag of fruits, squatted to the side, and ate while scanning the faces of those around him, committing their expressions to memory.
When his gaze finally landed on Su Nuan, he couldn’t help but curl his lips into a smile. This sister-in-law held many secrets, and he looked forward to seeing how she would act in the days to come.
Su Nuan sensed someone watching her and turned to meet Ling Yun’s gaze. She found his eyes clear and composed—nothing like the vacant stare of a fool. Could he be pretending to be simple-minded?