Just as Old Madam Song was about to continue arguing, a man came hurrying over.
Like everyone else, he wore clothes patched upon patches. As he rushed toward them, he shouted anxiously,
“Mother! This is bad! The barbarians are attacking! The village chief told everyone to flee immediately. Why are you still here?”
The moment Old Madam Song saw that it was her eldest son, Song Hongshuo, her face lit up with delight. Not having heard him clearly, she exclaimed,
“Hongshuo! Did the slave traders arrive? Hurry and tie up these little brats. We can exchange them for two taels of silver and buy a few jin of grain in town!”
Song Hongshuo grabbed her arm and said urgently,
“Mother, what slave traders? Where would slave traders come from? The barbarians are attacking! The village chief has ordered everyone to gather at the village entrance and head south as refugees. If we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late!”
Only then did Old Madam Song fully understand his words.
Still standing there with only one shoe on, she shoved Song Hongshuo aside and sprinted away from the shack with astonishing agility.
Picking up her missing shoe, Song Hongshuo chased after her while shouting,
“Mother! Your shoe! Put your shoe on!”
But Old Madam Song was too panicked to listen.
Her tiny feet moved with incredible speed. The more he called after her, the faster she ran, leaving him dozens of meters behind.
After she left, Lu Yao turned to look at the three little children behind her.
The children stared at her warily.
Every time Lu Yao took a step forward, they retreated several steps.
She had heard Song Hongshuo say that the barbarians were about to arrive. If they delayed any longer, none of them would survive.
Raising her hand, Lu Yao tried to pick up the youngest girl.
However, the eldest brother saw her reaching out. Terror filled his eyes, and he immediately picked up his sister and turned to run.
Lu Yao sighed helplessly.
The original owner must have done far too many terrible things for the children to reject her this strongly.
Still, she couldn’t help worrying. If she couldn’t persuade them to come with her, they would likely be captured.
Seeing how resistant they were, Lu Yao remained where she stood and spoke as gently as possible.
“I promise I won’t hurt you anymore. Can you give me one chance? Let’s get to know each other again. You saw what happened just now—I even saved your little sister. The barbarians are coming, and we have to gather with the villagers immediately. Otherwise, we’ll all die here.”
The eldest child, Song Zixuan, thought about it for a moment before looking up at her.
The rejection in his eyes remained.
“We’ll go with you, but only because we want to survive. You don’t have to take care of us. Just don’t hit us.”
Lu Yao knew this was already the greatest concession they could make.
She didn’t dare hope they would forgive her overnight.
Nodding lightly, she said,
“All right. Then let’s go now.”
Without waiting for a response, she turned and started walking.
They had never owned much to begin with.
Moreover, the original Lu Yao had carried all their belongings with her the previous night and had been robbed of everything.
Now the four of them were setting out empty-handed.
Perhaps they were both the lightest-equipped and the most miserable refugees on the road.
Behind her, seven-year-old Song Zixuan carried his one-and-a-half-year-old sister Song Ziyu while four-year-old Song Ziyang followed close behind.
The children kept a cautious distance from Lu Yao, their bright eyes never lowering their guard.
Whenever Lu Yao glanced back at them, they froze in place with fear.
After walking for more than ten minutes without reaching the village entrance, Lu Yao grew increasingly anxious.
She knew that in times like these, traveling alone with three small children would attract dangerous attention.
Turning around, she strode toward Song Zixuan and took little Song Ziyu into her arms.
The sudden action startled Song Zixuan.
His small fists clenched tightly.
So she really was pretending. She couldn’t even keep up the act for a single meal’s time.
Fear in his eyes quickly transformed into anger.
Like an enraged little beast, he charged straight at Lu Yao.
Holding Song Ziyu with one arm, Lu Yao used her free hand to stop him.
At the same time, Song Ziyang ran over, wrapped himself around her leg, and bit down hard.
Meanwhile, little Song Ziyu scratched at Lu Yao’s face and eyes with her tiny hands.
Lu Yao couldn’t help laughing inwardly despite the pain.
Patiently, she explained,
“Song Zixuan, I won’t hurt your sister. I just want you to walk faster. At this pace we’ll lose the villagers’ group. Can you really bear to see your younger brother and sister carried off by the barbarians?”
Only then did Song Zixuan relax.
He examined Lu Yao suspiciously while Song Ziyang looked up at his older brother.
Seeing that both brothers had stopped struggling, Song Ziyu quietly settled down in Lu Yao’s arms as well.
In a childish voice that lacked any real intimidation, Song Zixuan warned,
“I’ll keep watching you. If you hurt my sister, I’ll drag you down with me even if it means getting captured by the barbarians!”
Lu Yao nodded immediately.
“Okay. Now let’s hurry.”
Without looking back, she carried Song Ziyu and headed quickly toward the village entrance.
Although Song Ziyu was already a year and a half old, she weighed almost nothing.
She was skin and bones, with only a pair of large, sparkling eyes remaining prominent on her tiny face.
She looked like a doll, making people want to cherish her even more.
Now that he no longer had to carry his sister, Song Zixuan grabbed Song Ziyang’s hand, and their pace increased considerably.
The group of four barely managed to catch up with the villagers.
Village Chief Song Lihuai stood near the crowd explaining the route they would take during their flight.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Lu Yao arriving with the children.
Since Lu Yao quietly took her place at the rear of the group and didn’t approach him, the village chief chose not to interfere.
After all, this was a matter involving Song Lizhong’s family, and it wasn’t his place to meddle.
Village Chief Song Lihuai and Song Hongyi’s father, Song Lizhong, were cousins from the same clan.
Once everyone had arrived, the chief gave the order to depart.
They planned to travel through the forest.
The terrain would be difficult, but it was still better than being caught by the invading barbarians.
Holding Song Ziyu, Lu Yao surveyed the refugees ahead.
Everyone else was carrying large bundles and bags.
Only her little family had nothing at all.
They looked less like refugees and more like people out for a casual stroll.
Lu Yao had been married into the Song family for less than a month.
She wasn’t familiar with most of the villagers and didn’t recognize many of them.
Keeping a modest distance behind the group, she led the three children forward.
Their presence soon attracted the attention of several men at the rear of the procession.
These men formed a temporary patrol organized by the village chief.
They surrounded the women, children, and elderly so they could defend them if danger arose.
Among them was the village chief’s eldest son, Song Hongsheng.
Song Hongsheng knew Lu Yao.
He and Song Hongyi had been close friends since childhood.
When Song Hongyi brought home a wife, Song Hongsheng had naturally gone to congratulate him.
As a result, he was one of the few villagers familiar with Lu Yao.
Slowing his pace, he waited for them to catch up and looked at the children with sympathy.
“Sister-in-law, don’t you have any luggage?”
Lu Yao recognized him and knew he was the village chief’s eldest son.
With a bitter smile she replied,
“Brother Hongsheng, we were driven out by Mother-in-law. We weren’t given anything. How could we possibly have luggage? We’re lucky just to be alive.”
After speaking, she sighed and looked at the children beside her.
Watching the young children, Song Hongsheng couldn’t help feeling resentment toward Old Madam Song.
Those are still Hongyi’s children. How can Second Aunt Song be so heartless? She kept all of Hongyi’s compensation money and still threw both the children and his wife out of the house.
Although angry, he couldn’t openly criticize an elder.
Instead, he reached into his clothes and took out a flatbread.
“Sister-in-law, I have a cake here. Divide it among the children. Once we reach a place to settle down, I’ll ask my father to speak with Second Aunt Song. She should at least give you some grain. Otherwise, I’m afraid the four of you won’t survive the journey.”
Lu Yao hesitated before accepting it.
A grateful smile appeared on her face.
“Thank you so much, Brother Hongsheng. If Hongyi can see this from heaven, he’ll surely be comforted. He didn’t choose the wrong brother.”
Embarrassed, Song Hongsheng replied,
“Please don’t say that. I still have patrol duties. Just make sure you stay close to the group.”
After thanking him again, Lu Yao watched him walk away.
Only then did she put away the flatbread and secretly replace it with a steamed white-flour bun from her space.