“Sister-in-law, I just overheard Grandmother and Mother talking.”
“They’re planning to deal with you tonight.”
“You need to be careful. Mother has always been ruthless.”
Lin Yaxin whispered the warning to Lan Luoyun.
In truth, Lan Luoyun had already guessed what the old matriarch was planning.
The same old tricks.
Let them try.
She smiled reassuringly.
“Yaxin, don’t worry.”
“They can’t do anything to me.”
“You just focus on staying by my side.”
After hearing that, Lin Yaxin immediately promised that she would always be loyal to her sister-in-law.
Lan Luoyun didn’t say anything more.
The poor girl had spent years being bullied by Madam Su.
Habits like that couldn’t be changed overnight.
At that moment, the lead officer decided the rest break had lasted long enough.
It was time to continue the journey.
Everyone reorganized into their previous formation and set off once again.
Lan Luoyun’s group had eaten exceptionally well at noon.
As a result, they were full of energy throughout the afternoon.
Dabao and Erbao, however, quickly became bored sitting inside their baskets.
Lan Luoyun secretly took several toy cars from her space and handed them to Dabao.
For Erbao, she produced two Barbie dolls.
The children’s eyes immediately lit up.
They were overjoyed with their new toys.
As the group marched onward, a tall, skinny man from one of the collateral branches suddenly cried out that he desperately needed to relieve himself.
The lead officer immediately strode over, annoyed.
“Hurry up and keep moving!”
“Stop making excuses!”
Without another word, he lashed the man twice with his whip.
The blows were so painful that the poor man immediately lost control of his bladder.
Several people nearby laughed at his embarrassment.
The officer turned and whipped them as well.
“What are you laughing at?”
“Mind your own business and keep walking!”
After receiving a few lashes themselves, nobody dared speak again.
The officer continued shouting.
“We must reach the next stop before nightfall!”
“Anyone who slows us down will taste my whip!”
He was clearly in a terrible mood.
A moment later, he struck two more prisoners who happened to be walking a little slower than the others.
This caused everyone to silently resent the tall, skinny man.
Things had been going smoothly before he spoke up.
Now everyone was suffering because of him.
Among the collateral family members, an elderly woman quietly muttered that the man was always causing trouble.
Unfortunately, a nearby guard overheard her.
Crack!
Another whip lashed through the air.
“Old hag!”
“You’re the one talking too much!”
The whip struck her leg.
She immediately fell to the ground.
The people chained in front of and behind her were pulled down as well.
The entire line came to a halt.
The lead officer became even angrier.
He was just about to start whipping people again when several soldiers hurried over from the front.
One of them spoke up.
“Boss, we need to keep moving.”
“If we don’t reach the next stop before dark, the road will become dangerous.”
The speaker was the same soldier Lan Luoyun had noticed earlier at lunchtime.
The others called him Meng Laosan.
It seemed he was one of the few kind-hearted people among the guards.
The lead officer snorted.
“I don’t need you to remind me.”
“I know perfectly well.”
He tossed the whip to another soldier and rode back toward the front of the column.
After that incident, no one dared cause trouble.
The rest of the journey passed quietly.
At last, everyone safely reached their destination.
The “rest stop” turned out to be nothing more than a dilapidated old residence.
Judging by its appearance, no one had lived there for years.
For exiles, however, even a broken-down house was preferable to sleeping outdoors.
If delays occurred along the route, they might have to spend the night in the wilderness.
The soldiers didn’t want that any more than the prisoners did.
Because they frequently escorted exiles, they knew the route well and were familiar with places where travelers could shelter.
That was one reason they hated delays.
The abandoned residence contained three buildings.
The guards occupied the middle building.
The Lin family was assigned one side building.
The collateral branches were placed in the other.
Naturally, the members of the main Lin family all crowded into the same room.
Not long afterward, Old Madam Lin entered.
This time, instead of rushing to steal Lan Luoyun’s spot by the wall like Madam Su would have done, she calmly seated herself in the center of the large communal bed platform.
Madam Su and her two children immediately sat beside her.
Soon the members of the Second and Third Branches arrived as well.
Once nearly everyone had gathered, Old Madam Lin cleared her throat.
“As the head of the Lin family, I hope that during this difficult time we can all work together.”
Lan Luoyun nearly laughed.
The old woman certainly knew how to make herself sound noble.
Still, she remained silent.
She wanted to hear where this was going.
Old Madam Lin continued:
“We are all members of the same family.”
“As long as I have food to eat, none of you will go hungry.”
Get to the point already, Lan Luoyun thought.
Then the old woman finally revealed her true purpose.
“This morning, all of you received food and money from your relatives.”
“To ensure our resources last as long as possible, I ask everyone to hand everything over to me for safekeeping.”
Lan Luoyun smiled inwardly.
There it is.
The fox has finally shown its tail.
Old Madam Lin continued speaking.
“After everything is entrusted to me, I will distribute supplies fairly.”
“No one will go hungry or suffer from the cold.”
Exactly as Lan Luoyun had expected.
The old woman was still trying to run things like she did back in the Prime Minister’s residence.
Back then, every member of the family could only withdraw a fixed monthly allowance from the household accounts.
The moment everyone heard that she wanted control of their belongings, dissatisfaction spread through the room.
Voices immediately erupted.
No one wanted to hand over their supplies.
Seeing the resistance, Old Madam Lin shot Madam Su a meaningful look.
Madam Su immediately stepped forward.
She produced the silver her father and brothers had given her.
“Family members, I, Su Yuping, will be the first to entrust my money to Grandmother.”
With great fanfare, she handed over the silver.
She clearly thought her little performance would inspire everyone else.
Instead, nobody was impressed.
Everyone knew how heavily Old Madam Lin favored Madam Su.
Even if Madam Su handed over all her silver, it was practically the same as keeping it in her own pocket.
The rest of them weren’t so fortunate.
If they surrendered their money and later needed it, what would happen if Old Madam Lin refused to give it back?
Keeping it themselves was obviously safer.
The room erupted into debate.
Nobody wanted to surrender their belongings.
Realizing her authority was failing, Old Madam Lin’s expression darkened.
She finally resorted to threats.
“Anyone who refuses to hand over their possessions will be removed from the Lin family genealogy!”
“You will no longer be recognized as members of the family!”
“After death, you will never be buried in the Lin ancestral cemetery!”
“You will wander forever as lonely ghosts!”
The room immediately fell silent.
Many people looked shaken.
A few were already beginning to waver.