“Sir, someone gave my family an entire cart of grain. We can’t possibly finish it all, and it would be troublesome to haul it with us on such a long journey. So I thought perhaps you could help distribute it now. It can count as an act of charity and bring us some blessings.”
As she said it, Liu Qingyu almost believed her own words. She felt like a saint with a holy glow shining behind her.
Lu Youguang had never expected to hear something like this. For a moment, he thought he had misheard.
He had been a bailiff for ten years and had escorted all kinds of exiles, but he had never met a family like this.
Everyone else knew how harsh exile was and tried their best to hoard as many supplies as possible. Yet this family was actually giving things away. He seriously doubted that people like them could really have been corrupt officials.
Still, it was a good thing. If food was distributed, fewer people would starve to death on the journey. He had seen far too many who never survived exile.
The Liu family had it hard enough already. He decided that he should look after them more in the future. At this moment, Lu Youguang genuinely wanted to take care of Liu Qingyu’s family.
“Where is this cart of grain?” he asked.
Liu Qingyu pointed lightly.
“Over there, sir. Please come with me.”
She then led him toward her parents.
The other exiles were startled to see her return with a bailiff, wondering if something had happened.
“Sir, these are my parents. It was their idea to donate the grain.”
Liu Qingyu introduced them first, making sure they left an impression on Lu Youguang.
Lu Youguang smiled and clasped his hands in salute.
“I, Lu Youguang, will remember your family’s righteousness.”
A noblewoman who had come to see someone off asked in confusion,
“What is going on? Why did that bailiff suddenly salute Madam Liu?”
Her maid replied,
“Madam, I heard them mention grain. Could it be that the Liu family is donating the grain from their cart?”
The noblewoman immediately shook her head.
“How is that possible? How could their family allow them to do something so foolish?”
Before they could continue discussing it, the bailiff suddenly shouted:
“Heads of every family, listen up! Gather your people together—we’re distributing grain! And remember to thank Liu Hongyi’s family!”
The entire exile convoy instantly became noisy. People moved about while chatting excitedly.
“Is the Liu family stupid? That whole cart of grain would have lasted them until the end of exile. And they’re just giving it away?”
“Why do you care? As long as we benefit from it, that’s enough. Personally, I hope they keep being this stupid every day.”
“No matter what, after what Liu Hongyi has done, I’ll think much more highly of him from now on.”
Meanwhile, the people from the Liu household were heartbroken, as though the grain being handed out belonged to them.
No—that grain had originally belonged to them!
Old Madam Liu, supported by Madam Jiang, walked over to Liu Hongyi’s family and put on an expression of concern.
“Eldest Son, how can you do this? Even if you don’t lack food, your brothers and nephews don’t have any to eat!
When you die someday, they’ll be the ones smashing the mourning basin for you. Go ask the bailiffs to return the grain at once!”
Liu Hongyi replied without hesitation,
“Old Madam, just stop already. I’m not going to ask for the grain back.
And even if I die, I still have my daughter. As for those nephews of mine who only know how to eat, drink, gamble, and visit brothels, you’d better save them for my second and third brothers.”
“Y-you’re trying to anger me to death!”
She immediately acted as though she was about to faint from rage, waiting for the people around her to condemn Liu Hongyi for being unfilial.
But everyone was waiting for the grain distribution. Who had time to care about this trivial family drama? Besides, Old Madam Liu wanted the grain returned, and nobody was willing to support her.
Seeing that no one spoke up, Old Madam Liu viciously pinched Madam Jiang beside her, signaling her to say something.
But just as Madam Jiang was about to open her mouth, she saw Liu Qingyu flexing her fingers.
Her pupils shrank.
Terrified, she shoved Old Madam Liu to the ground and scrambled away.
“Aiyo! My poor back!”
Caught completely off guard, Old Madam Liu was thrown down hard and lay on the ground groaning in pain.
Liu Hongyi’s family of three didn’t even spare her a glance and simply walked away.
The crowd immediately began gossiping.
“The Liu family is so kind, yet they’re completely indifferent toward Old Madam Liu. They must have suffered a lot of abuse before, right?”
“I think so too. Liu Hongyi isn’t her biological son, yet he’s the eldest son. He definitely didn’t have an easy life.”
While everyone was talking, each family had already formed their groups.
They watched as the bailiffs pushed the cart to the front of the crowd.
Then they spread a huge piece of cloth on the ground and began taking sacks of grain from beneath the cart.
Each sack was opened and poured onto the cloth to be redistributed.
This idea had been proposed by Liu Qingyu.
According to her, she was worried that if whole sacks were distributed to each family, some biased households would refuse to give grain to their concubines’ sons and daughters.
After hearing about Liu Hongyi’s family from Zhang Jingping, Lu Youguang understood and ordered the bailiffs to do it this way.
One of the bailiffs had objected at the time, but he held little authority, and his opinion carried no weight.
Liu Qingyu merely glanced at that bailiff and thought to herself:
Found you.
At this moment, everyone’s attention was fixed on the sacks of grain as the bailiffs emptied them one after another onto the cloth.
At first, everyone thought that Madam Ning was quite generous, giving them fresh grain with plump kernels.
But the more they poured, the colder everyone’s hearts became.
At first, the grain merely had some husks mixed in.
Then it became husks mixed with grain.
By the end, there was almost nothing left but husks.
“This Madam Ning…”
“I even prayed to the Bodhisattva just now, hoping she’d live to a hundred years. Bah! That rotten-hearted woman—what vicious intentions she has!”
People were like this.
When something didn’t concern them, they stayed aloof. Only when their own interests were harmed would they rise up in anger.
Some people had already noticed Madam Ning’s little scheme, but since it didn’t affect them personally, they hadn’t cared.
No one had expected Liu Hongyi’s family to open the sacks and distribute the grain—and that the grain was mixed with so much husk!
The women from each family immediately grabbed their relatives who had not yet left and indignantly began cursing Madam Ning.
For a while, the words “Madam Ning” appeared in nearly every conversation throughout the convoy.
Liu Qingyu wickedly thought that Madam Ning probably wouldn’t dare go out in public for quite some time.
Did she really think our family was so easy to bully?
Even Lu Youguang was surprised by the amount of husks, but having seen much in his life, he remained calm and ordered the bailiffs to separate the rice husks into one pile before distributing the food.
The bailiffs worked quickly.
Once the husks had been sorted, they distributed the grain according to the number of people in each family. Every family received one portion of grain and one portion of rice husks, and Liu Qingyu’s family was no exception.
After receiving their food, everyone smiled and thanked the bailiffs.
Then they turned around and resumed cursing Madam Ning, since she was the culprit who had shattered their hopes.
“Alright, tell everyone to finish packing up. We’re setting out.” Lu Youguang instructed the bailiffs.
The bailiffs nodded and quickly dispersed, organizing the exile convoy.
During his entire career, Lu Youguang had only escorted groups of more than a hundred exiles a few times, so he remained especially cautious, worried that something might go wrong.
And so, the group of more than one hundred people began their journey toward the northwest.