“I understand. This time I really was at fault—I didn’t think things through properly. There won’t be a next time,” Liu Hongyi muttered.
The Liu family had a habit: whenever anyone—adult or child—made a mistake, they had to apologize in front of the whole family.
“Father, Mother, I originally thought we should follow the exile convoy all the way to the northwest as described in the book.
But after observing these past few days, I think we can break out of that framework. We don’t have to stay with the exile group—we can head to the northwest on our own, or even go somewhere else,” Liu Qingyu said in a lowered voice.
Tian Chunchu and Liu Hongyi both fell into thought.
She was right. They had all fallen into a mental trap. Since a drought was coming, why did they still need to stay with the exile convoy?
Wouldn’t it be better for the three of them to travel together?
With her spatial ability, there’d be no need to hide it; and with their food supplies, they wouldn’t have to scrimp and save so much.
If they wanted to travel faster, they could even buy a carriage. The family sitting together leisurely… the more they imagined it, the more appealing it became. Even Liu Hongyi’s mood lifted slightly.
“I think we should leave when the drought becomes severe,” Tian Chunchu said after thinking it over. “By then, everyone will be unable to find food, and chaos will definitely break out. That would be the best time for us to slip away.”
Liu Hongyi nodded. “That does make sense. And if we meet Lord Lu again later, we’ll have an explanation—we got separated during the chaos. He won’t be able to say anything.”
“Alright, then it’s settled,” Liu Qingyu said. “For the next few days, we’ll continue as usual. We can occasionally mention storing water—especially my father. Ever since you started distributing supplies and gathering herbs, your words carry a lot of weight among the exiles. That’s all we can realistically do.”
Ever since their exile began, Liu Qingyu had grown increasingly capable and now even had the authority to make decisions.
Liu Hongyi knew his daughter was only suggesting this to ease his guilt. His eyes reddened slightly.
But in front of his daughter, he still insisted on his “tough soldier who never cries” image. He quickly raised his sleeve to wipe away the tears discreetly.
Unfortunately for him, that “image” had already shattered completely when she was three years old.
He still remembered that year: she was playing in the courtyard when Tian Chunchu rushed over in a panic and carried her onto a train heading south.
It turned out Liu Hongyi had been injured on a mission and sent to the hospital.
Three-year-old Liu Qingyu had seen her father, who had just been joking with his teammates, suddenly crying to his wife about how painful his wounds were the moment they left.
Her mother scolded him for crying in front of the child, but he just laughed and said the child was too young to remember.
That smug expression still stayed in her memory.
So now, seeing her father tear up again, she sensibly chose to leave.
“Mother, I’ll go check if there’s a water source nearby. If we delay any longer, we’ll have to set off soon,” she said.
After walking for a while, she saw someone approaching from a distance. It was Aunt Zhang, holding several water skins.
“Liu girl, going to fetch water?” Aunt Zhang asked warmly.
“Yes, Auntie. It’s too hot now—we need to store more water,” Liu Qingyu replied.
“Exactly. This weather is getting stranger and hotter by the day. There’s a small river nearby—just follow this path,” Aunt Zhang said kindly.
After a few more polite words, they parted ways.
At the riverside, she saw people upstream drawing water, while children downstream splashed and played, occasionally splashing their families who were washing clothes.
Because it was so hot, the women didn’t even mind the occasional splashes anymore.
“Here comes ‘Bu You Tian’!” someone shouted.
“Really? Show me where!”
It turned out that Liu Qingyu’s earlier phrase—“My fate is mine, not heaven’s”—had fascinated a group of teenagers going through their rebellious “chuunibyou” phase. Most of her small reputation came from them.
They recognized her at the riverbank and got excited, but she had no time to deal with the children; she still needed to store water.
Seeing her head upstream, they understood she was working and didn’t disturb her.
She found a quiet spot and placed her water skins into the river.
Soon, the sun reached its strongest point and people gradually left the area.
She yawned, retrieved the water skins, and was about to leave when she heard her name.
She looked around and spotted a bush nearby, quickly hiding inside.
Not long after, she saw a man and a woman walking intimately out of the woods toward the river.
“Brother Liu, I’m yours now—you have to treat me well,” Liu Jinyao said sweetly.
The man holding her waist was a yamen officer, though he hadn’t turned around yet, so she couldn’t see his face clearly.
Liu Qingyu’s thoughts turned cold and mocking. In the novel, the old madam had originally planned to sell a concubine to improve their situation, but now—without the concubine—it was her own granddaughter who was being handed over instead.
And it had only been two days since they set out.
But she only guessed half of it correctly.
When dividing supplies, Liu Qingyu had refused to let Lord Lu allocate extra food to the Liu family. As a result, the Liu family—already proud and dismissive of others—had no strong connections left.
The only support they received was a small amount of grain from the old madam’s maternal relatives.
So when food became insufficient, the old madam turned to other means and targeted Jiang Shi.
Unexpectedly, the officer wasn’t interested in the older woman, but instead took a liking to Liu Jinyao.
At first Liu Jinyao refused—but later, for reasons unknown, she agreed.
And that led to the scene Liu Qingyu was now witnessing.
“You’ve got such smooth skin,” the officer said, his hands roaming.
Liu Jinyao replied coyly, “You haven’t seen my cousin Liu Qingyu. Her skin is like fine jade, her face like carved beauty—she’s truly stunning.”
“Is she really that pretty? I don’t believe it,” the officer laughed.
As they flirted, the officer finally turned his face—he was the same troublesome yamen officer Xiao Liu.
So it was these two scheming together. Liu Qingyu felt as if she had swallowed something disgusting.
Even as things escalated, the officer soon finished what he was doing.
“We agreed—you must teach that cousin of mine a lesson she won’t forget.”
Liu Jinyao glanced at him, dissatisfied but still pretending sweetness.
“Don’t worry,” Xiao Liu said smugly, “I’ve long disliked her. I’ll deal with her.”
Heh. Thinking about the future?
Let’s see how you get through today.
A few embroidery needles appeared in Liu Qingyu’s hand.