The next morning, just as dawn began to brighten the sky, the Lin family shared some of the dry rations Pei Guang had brought back the previous day before setting off once more.
As the carriage rounded a bend in the road, the faint sound of a little girl crying drifted over.
Once they passed the curve, the crying became much clearer.
By the roadside lay a woman, motionless.
Beside her knelt a little girl around five or six years old, clinging to the woman and sobbing.
“Waaah… Mom, wake up… wake up…”
Occasionally, refugees passed by, but most only shook their heads and sighed before lowering their gaze and continuing onward.
A few who looked tempted to help were immediately dragged away by family members.
“We’re starving and thirsty ourselves—stop pretending to be some big hero,” someone cursed as they walked past.
Pei Guang slowed the carriage and stopped beside the woman.
“I’ll go take a look.”
He climbed down, checked the woman briefly, then glanced at the child.
Neither appeared injured.
“She probably fainted from hunger.”
Inside the carriage, Lin Zhiyue looked out through the window toward the road.
There were not many refugees nearby at the moment, and no large groups of dozens or hundreds either.
Only then did she relax slightly.
She poured a little water into a bowl.
“I’ll do it.”
Madam Li accepted the bowl and pressed Lin Zhiyue back down before she could stand.
It was inconvenient for the men to touch the unconscious woman, so Madam Li climbed down from the carriage and carefully fed her some water.
“Little sister, come here.”
The little girl stopped crying the moment she saw someone giving water to her mother.
Turning around, she saw a beautiful older sister inside the carriage smiling at her.
Lin Zhiyue sat at the carriage entrance holding the bowl of water while Lin Yan sat behind her, partially blocking the view.
The little girl realized they were good people.
Her mother had been saved.
After wiping away her tears, she looked at the smiling older sister and slowly lowered her guard.
“Pretty sister, thank you.”
The little girl walked over obediently.
“What’s your name? How old are you?” Lin Zhiyue asked while handing her the bowl.
“My name is Er Ya. I’m almost seven.”
Er Ya took a small sip before immediately returning the bowl.
As the questions continued, the little girl visibly relaxed more and more.
But Lin Zhiyue froze slightly upon seeing how little water she drank.
The child was being considerate.
Was she afraid of finishing it?
Looking at the tiny, frail body before her, it was hard to believe the girl was nearly seven years old.
“Drink a little more.”
Lin Zhiyue pushed the bowl forward again.
“I’m not thirsty anymore. Can I save it for my mother?”
Er Ya asked carefully.
“Do you have a water pouch?”
“No…” The little girl’s eyes reddened again.
“Grandma took it away. She didn’t leave us anything. Then she abandoned me and Mom here.”
As she spoke about the painful memory, Er Ya began quietly sobbing again.
At that moment, the unconscious woman slowly regained consciousness.
“Er Ya… Er Ya…”
Her weak muttering gradually became stronger.
“Mom! I’m here!”
Hearing her mother’s voice, Er Ya immediately ran back.
“Miss, are you feeling better now?”
Madam Li supported the woman gently.
The woman slowly came back to herself.
Suddenly, she grabbed Er Ya and knelt heavily onto the ground, bowing repeatedly.
“Thank you! Thank you, benefactors, for saving us!”
“Aiyo, stop bowing already. Please get up before you hurt yourself,” Madam Li hurriedly tried to pull her up.
But the woman only continued crying desperately.
“Please, kind benefactors, save us mother and daughter! Please take us with you!”
“My husband died, and my in-laws despise me for giving birth to a daughter. They abandoned us on the road!”
Like someone grasping at the last straw of hope, she begged frantically.
Every time Madam Li pulled her up, she knelt again.
Watching her aunt struggle helplessly, Lin Zhiyue frowned.
This was exactly the sort of situation she feared most.
More refugees had gradually stopped nearby to watch from a distance.
Er Ya looked at her mother, then at Lin Zhiyue, completely uncertain whether she should kneel and beg too or help her mother up instead.
Since childhood, Er Ya had never been favored at home and had become extremely sensitive to people’s expressions.
Seeing the pretty older sister frown, she instinctively tugged at her mother’s sleeve.
“Mom… get up. Don’t do this.”
For some reason, she just felt that the older sister disliked seeing her mother act this way.
“Stop begging. We cannot take you with us.”
Old Madam Lin climbed down from the carriage and spoke coldly.
“Our family has many men traveling with us. Bringing along a widow and child would be inconvenient.”
The woman looked up at the stern elderly lady before her and was immediately reminded of her own mother-in-law.
She froze in fear and finally stopped knocking her head against the ground.
Lin Zhiyue looked at the stunned woman, then toward little Er Ya.
After a moment, she sighed softly.
The mother’s behavior truly was unpleasant.
But Er Ya was heartbreakingly pitiful.
Such a tiny child, yet already so sensible.
Returning to the carriage, Lin Zhiyue rummaged through the bundle of supplies Pei Guang had brought back.
There were still some dry rations remaining.
She also found an old water pouch and filled it with purified water before packing everything together.
Long ago, she had already prepared for situations like this.
The water her family drank was mixed with spiritual spring water, but she had also stored ordinary purified water separately.
Wrapping the bundle carefully, Lin Zhiyue climbed back out of the carriage.
“Er Ya, come here.”
She beckoned gently.
Er Ya walked back over and stared at the bundle being offered to her without reaching out.
“Take it. This is all we can help you with.”
“Thank you, Sister.”
Only after bowing deeply did Er Ya finally accept the bundle.
“Grandma, get back on the carriage. Don’t tire yourself out. Pei Guang, let’s go.”
Madam Li helped Old Madam Lin back aboard.
Seeing the family preparing to leave, the nearby refugees who had paused to observe also lowered their heads and resumed walking.
This family possessed both a carriage and a mule cart.
At first glance, they clearly did not lack food or water.
Yet they did not seem easy to bully either.
The young man driving the carriage was obviously a martial artist.
And aside from him, though the family included elderly people, women, and children, none of them appeared weak or sickly.
Even the elderly looked healthy.
The children looked alert and spirited.
Though they seemed like ordinary civilians, not one among them appeared to be dragging the group down.
Old Madam Lin, having drunk water mixed with spiritual spring water these past two days, had already quietly recovered.
Previously, she had merely weakened herself by refusing to drink while thirsty.
“Grandma is amazing. One sentence from you scared that woman speechless.”
Lin Zhiyue hugged Old Madam Lin’s arm and praised her sweetly.
“Yueyue handled things even more wisely,” Old Madam Lin replied.
“What you did was just right. You followed your conscience.”
“That little girl truly was pitiful. But her mother… not so much. She has no backbone.”
Old Madam Lin clicked her tongue dismissively.
She had always judged women accurately.
That woman was clearly the type constantly bullied by her mother-in-law at home.
The moment trouble came, all she knew was how to beg.
She could not stand on her own.
And if she still could not toughen up after being abandoned, then no amount of begging would save her.
Besides, if they truly took the pair in, who knew what trouble might arise later?
What if they encountered the woman’s in-laws again?
A few manipulative words from her mother-in-law might bring endless problems to the Lin family.
The possibility was far from small.
Meanwhile, on the mule cart behind them, Lin Zhishu had witnessed the entire situation.
He felt deeply impressed by how his little cousin handled matters.
She had shown both kindness and restraint.
She had not foolishly let compassion cloud her judgment and taken strangers in recklessly.
In these times, who was not pitiful?
Which road had not already seen countless deaths?
If they stopped to save every suffering person they met, then the Lin family would never safely reach Jiangzhou.
The fact that she had helped the mother and daughter escape immediate danger at all—
Already proved his little cousin was far too kind-hearted.