Five days had passed since the incident involving Xiao Liu and Liu Jinyao.
In those five days, everyone had come to witness just how “perverted” Xiao Liu truly was.
Every night during rest stops, Xiao Liu would take Liu Jinyao into a small grove. Soon after, miserable cries would echo from outside the camp—so tragic and piercing that it made everyone who heard them feel a chill of fear.
Because of this, whenever people saw Xiao Liu, they would instinctively shield their female relatives behind them, afraid that he might set his eyes on them.
Perhaps noticing that Xiao Liu was getting more and more out of control—even though it was technically a private matter—Magistrate Lü Youguang still called him in for a talk. After that discussion, Xiao Liu seemed to restrain himself somewhat on the surface.
But Liu Jinyao’s life was still miserable, because there were simply too many ways in this world to torment someone.
Aside from this, another important change had also occurred.
In the days as the group continued westward, everyone noticed that the temperature was rising day by day. At first, they could still attribute it to the so-called “autumn tiger” heat, but by the fifth day, the temperature had clearly exceeded even summer levels.
Mornings, which should have been cool with a gentle breeze, were now already hot enough to make people sweat.
“Is Heaven trying to stop us from living? If it keeps going like this, how are we supposed to travel?” a woman complained while sipping mint water from her water pouch to Aunt Zhang beside her.
Aunt Zhang nodded and sighed. “If it weren’t for listening to that girl Xiaoyu, storing water in all our containers, we’d have to risk the scorching sun just to fetch water now.
I just walked a few steps out of the shade earlier—my shoes almost felt like they were burning from the ground heat.”
“Exactly,” the woman replied with lingering fear. “Back then I even laughed at how troublesome it was. Good thing I stored some water too, even if I didn’t fully understand why.”
At that moment, Liu Qingyu stood nearby, looking at the blazing sun outside with a serious expression. The rising temperature was far beyond what she had expected.
Luckily, during the past few days of rest, she had already stored a large amount of water. At least her family wouldn’t be short on it.
“Brother Lü!”
This time, Lü Youguang did not send someone to call Liu Hongyi over. Instead, he came personally, looking somewhat anxious.
Liu Hongyi already knew what he was coming for.
“So, Brother Lü, you’re here because of the drought?” he asked first.
Lü Youguang nodded solemnly. “Brother Liu, with your insight, do you have any way to deal with it?”
“I only know a little,” Liu Hongyi replied, shaking his head. “Natural disasters sent by Heaven are not so easily resolved. All we can do is store more water and food.”
Lü Youguang was disappointed. He had hoped Liu Hongyi might have some idea to mitigate the situation.
Seeing his expression, Liu Hongyi continued, “Brother Lü, it’s not that I don’t want to help. I only recognized the signs because they matched records in ancient texts.
If I were truly all-knowing, why would I have been exiled by the emperor?”
Those words struck Lü Youguang like a blow to the head. His previously overheated mind cooled instantly.
Yes… if Liu Hongyi were truly some reclusive master, why would he have been exiled?
“Brother Liu, no matter what, I thank you for telling me this,” Lü Youguang said seriously. “As long as I am in charge of this journey, I will ensure your family’s safety.”
With that, he turned and left.
“She… she’s right, you…” Tian Chunzhu looked at her husband in shock, clearly unable to believe it. Was this really her usually mild-mannered husband?
Liu Hongyi looked at his wife and daughter’s surprised expressions and chuckled, patting both of their heads.
“I’m not actually foolish. I’ve already pointed Lü Youguang in the right direction. The rest depends on them. For common folk like us, it’s better to protect our own family first.”
Liu Qingyu smiled and slapped his hand away. “Father, don’t pat my head—it’ll make me short!”
Tian Chunzhu also grabbed his hand away in disgust. This man really couldn’t be praised without getting carried away.
While the family was chatting, commotion suddenly broke out in the otherwise quiet convoy of exiles.
It turned out that Lü Youguang had given each family a single opportunity: one man per household could have his shackles removed and go with the constables to fetch water.
Some families were modest, pushing and yielding, and eventually chose their strongest man, since hauling water required strength.
But other families were not nearly so harmonious.
“I don’t care! My husband must go first! Remove his shackles first!” a sharp female voice rang out.
Then came another familiar voice—Aunt Zhang.
“I spit on you! Third branch’s wife, do you still have any shame? Your husband is so weak he can barely stand—what, is he going to carry water or is the water going to carry him? If he goes, we’ll end up sending someone to rescue him instead!”
Hearing the commotion, Liu Qingyu stood up curiously and looked over. The one being scolded by Aunt Zhang was the same woman who had once tried to provoke her into speaking up. Behind her stood a thin, frail-looking man who clearly didn’t look well.
“Enough!” the old madam of the Zhang family, who had been resting with her eyes closed, finally spoke. “Third branch is weak by nature. Give him the chance this time. Next time, it will be Eldest’s turn.”
Aunt Zhang, however, instead of getting angry, laughed coldly.
“Next time? I’ve heard that line my whole life. Tell me, have you ever actually kept that promise?”
“I’ve had enough of this life. Today—we split the family!”
“The mother is still alive! How can you talk about dividing the family?” the third son of the Zhang family stepped forward. He sounded reasonable, but his words were full of fake concern.
Aunt Zhang looked at her children, who had barely eaten since the exile began, then at her silent husband.
“Zhang Shiyao, are you coming with me or not?” she asked.
Zhang Shiyao opened his mouth—but no words came out.
Seeing this, Aunt Zhang already understood everything.
She pulled her two children behind her. “Fine. Then the three of us will leave. I want the grain that belongs to me.”
“You can leave, but you’re not taking any grain!” the old madam said sharply.
Aunt Zhang was not so easily fooled.
“No grain? Then what have you been eating all this time—air? Those sacks of grain my brother sent must come with me.
Try stopping me, and I’ll go ask Magistrate Lü to judge this!”
Things were different now from their life in the manor. Back then, the old madam’s word was law. But now they were exiles under Lü Youguang’s authority.
At the mention of Lü Youguang, the Zhang family could only grudgingly agree.
“Yuecui, don’t be impulsive…” Zhang Shiyao finally spoke, only realizing now that she was serious as she shouldered the grain and prepared to leave.
Aunt Zhang swung the grain sack straight at him.
“Impulsive my ass! I’ve been holding back for years! If you could say even one useful word, would I have suffered like this all this time?”