After everyone had finished saying goodbye to their families, the soldiers once again bound the prisoners together as before.
Now that Lan Luoyun had received the two carrying baskets from her family, she placed Dabao and Erbao inside them.
She and Lin Nancheng each carried one child on their backs.
The baskets were far more comfortable than the cloth slings they had been using before.
More importantly, the baskets made it easier for the children to secretly snack along the way.
Lin Nancheng walked in front, with Lan Luoyun behind him.
Following them were Concubine Chu, Third Concubine, and Lin Nanxuan.
Because Old Madam Lin was advanced in age and unable to walk for long, Lin Yixiao and Lin Nanhao took turns carrying her.
Lin Nancheng had originally intended to help.
But Lan Luoyun stopped him.
“Nancheng, Old Madam Lin has never liked you.”
“When good things happen, you’re never included.”
“At a time like this, don’t go out of your way to help.”
After thinking about it, Lin Nancheng felt that his wife had a point.
So he left the matter alone.
Once everyone was secured, the group continued their difficult journey.
The soldiers rode alongside on horseback, frequently complaining that the prisoners were moving too slowly.
“Hurry up!”
“If anyone drags their feet, my whip won’t be so forgiving!”
The guards cursed and shouted constantly.
Since everyone’s hands and feet were restrained, they could only speed up a little.
After struggling onward for several hours, they finally reached a dilapidated thatched hut around noon.
“We’ll rest here for now!”
“Eat lunch and then continue the journey!”
The soldiers shouted as they unlocked the prisoners’ handcuffs and leg irons.
More than a dozen guards remained nearby to watch them.
Since many people had received food from their families earlier, they wouldn’t have to survive solely on prison rations for the next few days.
Lan Luoyun found a quiet spot and sat down.
She motioned for Lin Nancheng to join her.
Concubine Chu, Third Concubine, and Lin Nanxuan sat a short distance away.
None of them wanted to interrupt the husband and wife.
After all, they finally had some time together.
Lan Luoyun reached into her bundle and took out several steamed buns.
These had been packed by her younger sister earlier that morning.
She handed them to Lin Nancheng, Dabao, and Erbao.
The children ate enthusiastically.
“Mother, the buns Auntie and Uncle sent are so delicious!”
“They smell amazing!”
The two little ones praised them sweetly.
Lan Luoyun smiled.
“Then when you see Auntie and Uncle again someday, make sure to thank them properly.”
“We know, Mother!”
“Now hurry and eat.”
Lin Nancheng hesitated.
He worried that if he ate too much now, they would run out of food later.
Reluctantly, he ate only one bun before returning the rest to Lan Luoyun.
“Luoyun, I’m not very hungry.”
“Save these for later.”
Lan Luoyun knew perfectly well that he wasn’t full.
He simply couldn’t bear to waste food.
“Eat them all.”
“Afterward, I’ll give you something even better.”
Lin Nancheng had no idea what she meant.
Still, over the past few days, his wife had proven remarkably capable.
“Since my wife insists, I’ll obey.”
He joked lightly.
Then he quickly devoured the remaining buns.
Truthfully, he had been starving for quite some time.
He had only been enduring it.
Seeing how ravenously he ate, Lan Luoyun quickly handed him a waterskin.
Lin Nancheng accepted it but looked puzzled.
“Where did this come from?”
“And how do you still have water?”
“I don’t remember seeing you carry a waterskin before.”
In his memory, she hadn’t taken out a waterskin at any point over the past day.
Lan Luoyun simply smiled mysteriously.
“Take a sip and find out.”
Lin Nancheng drank cautiously.
Immediately, his expression changed.
This wasn’t water.
It tasted remarkably similar to chicken soup.
Seeing his surprise, Lan Luoyun grinned.
“Well?”
“Pretty good, right?”
Lin Nancheng nodded.
But after a single sip, he stopped drinking.
“We should save it for Dabao and Erbao.”
“They’re still growing.”
He assumed the soup had been packed by her grandmother and younger sister.
Naturally, he couldn’t bear to drink too much.
After all, how could he possibly imagine that his wife possessed a magical space filled with enough supplies to last a lifetime?
At that moment, Dabao and Erbao poked their heads over.
“Father, we already drank chicken soup this morning!”
“You should drink it!”
“Mother has lots of yummy things!”
The children’s innocent words immediately exposed the secret.
Lin Nancheng stared at Lan Luoyun in disbelief.
Originally, she hadn’t intended to tell him so soon.
She worried that he might not be able to accept the existence of her space.
But now that the children had already blurted it out, there wasn’t much point in hiding it anymore.
Sooner or later, he would have to know.
She might as well tell him now.
“Dabao, Erbao.”
“Do you want something even tastier?”
The children’s eyes immediately lit up.
“Mother, we want milk!”
Lan Luoyun had secretly given them milk earlier during the journey.
Now they wanted more.
“Alright.”
“Mother will take you somewhere special to get some.”
She discreetly glanced around.
No one seemed to be paying attention.
In the next instant, she brought Lin Nancheng and the children into her space.
Inside the supermarket, Lan Luoyun walked to a shelf and grabbed two bottles of milk.
She poured them into waterskins and handed them to Dabao and Erbao.
The children happily drank away.
Meanwhile, Lin Nancheng stood frozen.
Everything around him was beyond imagination.
Row after row of shelves stretched into the distance.
Countless strange items filled them.
The writing on the packages seemed vaguely familiar yet completely unfamiliar at the same time.
“Luoyun…”
“Where did all of this come from?”
Lan Luoyun knew he must have a thousand questions.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t explain everything in a few words.
“Nancheng.”
“I’ll explain it all slowly in the future.”
“For now, you only need to know one thing.”
“We’ll never lack food or clothing on this journey.”
“If you’re hungry, eat.”
“Eat as much as you want.”
“Just don’t starve yourself.”
Her words warmed his heart.
She was always thinking about him.
Thinking about their children.
At that moment, Lin Nancheng suddenly felt that the origin of these miraculous supplies no longer mattered.
As long as their family of four could remain together, everything else was secondary.
Thinking this, he smiled.
“Luoyun, I trust you.”
“You can tell me whenever you’re ready.”
“Right now, we’d better go back.”
“If the guards notice we’re gone, they’ll think we’ve escaped.”
Only then did Lan Luoyun realize they had already spent several minutes inside the space.
“We should hurry.”
She immediately brought Lin Nancheng and the children back to where they had been resting.
The moment they sat down, she noticed a soldier staring in their direction.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Oh no…
How am I supposed to explain where we disappeared to just now?