“How is that okay?!”
Xiao Yu looked so shocked that he seemed ready to jump to his feet.
“A sister-in-law and her younger brother-in-law can’t share the same blanket!”
Bai Zhi rolled her eyes.
“It’s not like you and I are sleeping next to each other.”
“Isn’t your brother a whole living person between us?”
“That’s still the same blanket!”
Bai Zhi was speechless.
She was starting to think she’d fed Xiao Yu too well.
“Then go sleep in the snow by yourself.”
“Stop disturbing me and your brother.”
“You—!”
Xiao Yu’s face instantly turned bright red.
“How can you say something like that?!”
Bai Zhi: “…”
Beside them, Xiao Zelan rubbed his forehead.
Even he hadn’t expected Xiao Yu to be more obsessed with propriety than he was.
At a time like this…
“Enough, Xiao Yu.”
“We’ll sleep like this.”
“You can cover yourself with that fur pelt, can’t you?”
“…Fine.”
At last, they could rest.
Wearing so many layers all day was exhausting.
The three removed their outer cotton robes and used them as blankets.
Their actual quilt was spread on top.
Their luggage bundles served as pillows.
The bedding had been laid crosswise.
It fit Xiao Yu perfectly.
Bai Zhi could manage as well.
Only Xiao Zelan was too tall.
His lower legs stuck out from beneath the covers.
Bai Zhi fetched his spare cotton robe and draped it over his legs.
At least it would keep him warmer.
The ground still retained some heat from the earlier fire.
Each of them hugged a hot-water bottle.
So despite the freezing weather, they weren’t terribly cold.
Having someone on either side of him made Xiao Zelan feel slightly awkward.
But after an entire day of tension, combined with a rare moment of warmth, exhaustion quickly overtook him.
He soon fell asleep.
Before sleeping, Bai Zhi had already transformed the silver hidden in her shoes into a belt around her waist.
The iron hidden in the other shoe had been placed inside the basket.
The first half of the night passed peacefully.
The second half was another matter.
The warmth beneath them disappeared.
The hot-water bottles cooled.
Seeking heat instinctively, both Bai Zhi and Xiao Yu gradually migrated toward Xiao Zelan.
It seemed they would have happily climbed on top of him if possible.
Ironically, being pinned between the two of them kept Xiao Zelan warm.
The next morning, Bai Zhi woke because she needed to relieve herself.
Only then did she realize she had somehow ended up sleeping in Xiao Zelan’s arms.
She wasn’t embarrassed in the slightest.
He’s my husband.
What’s wrong with a hug?
Even if we’re divorcing in the future, we’re still legally married now.
If I don’t take advantage of that, wouldn’t I be losing out?
With that perfectly reasonable logic, Bai Zhi untangled herself and headed off to find a private place.
The moment she left, Xiao Zelan released a long breath.
Then he pushed away the arm currently wrapped around him.
“Ah Yu.”
“Wake up.”
“It’s time to get moving.”
Yesterday had been too dark to see much.
This morning, Bai Zhi finally noticed that someone had actually brought a tent.
And not just any tent.
A luxurious one.
How much bribery had that required?
After returning, she found that Xiao Yu and Xiao Zelan had also gone to take care of their morning needs.
Bai Zhi rolled up the bedding and stuffed it back into the mattress cover.
The oilcloth was folded and packed away.
Then she started preparing breakfast.
Breakfast was simple.
She reheated yesterday’s scallion pancakes in the iron pan.
Then boiled a pot of water.
Each person received two pancakes and a bowl of hot water.
Done.
The remaining hot water was poured into the water skins.
The water from the hot-water bottles was used for washing hands.
Xiao Zelan changed his medicinal patch.
Bai Zhi lit the moxa sticks inside the wooden box and placed it beneath his knee.
The fur pelt from yesterday was draped over his legs.
Then the prison cart was locked.
The procession moved out once more.
The wind had picked up.
Today felt even colder than yesterday.
Bai Zhi and Xiao Yu stayed close beside the prison cart.
The cart blocked much of the wind for them.
Occasionally, they would secretly sit on the back for a few minutes.
Li Yang pretended not to notice.
Today’s pace was noticeably slower.
Partly because of the weather.
Mostly because yesterday everyone had still been driven by adrenaline.
That determination had already begun to fade.
Soon the guards started using their whips.
Any prisoner who lagged behind was struck.
Bai Zhi and Xiao Yu had to jog constantly just to avoid being hit.
At one point, Bai Zhi noticed a man in his thirties being carried by different people in rotation.
Around him clustered a large group of concubines.
So those twenty-something women belong to him?
She couldn’t understand it.
Hadn’t divorced concubines been exempt from exile?
Why bring so many along?
Wouldn’t they just be an extra burden?
That evening, she finally learned the answer.
The procession stopped beside an empty stretch of official road.
This time there wasn’t even a forest nearby.
Only a tiny earth-god shrine too small for anyone to enter.
There was no fire.
No hot water.
The ground was frozen solid.
Wrapped tightly in her blanket, Bai Zhi lay curled up.
Then she heard it.
Women’s cries.
Men’s lewd laughter.
The sounds drifted from somewhere behind the shrine.
Maybe close.
Maybe farther away.
The wind carried everything clearly.
Bai Zhi stiffened.
Keeping her eyes shut, she pretended to sleep.
Around her, whispers spread through the camp.
Only then did she understand.
The concubines weren’t there for companionship.
They were bribes.
People around her discussed it openly.
Some even joked crudely.
Apparently, a beautiful concubine was more useful than silver.
“Brother…”
Xiao Yu’s voice trembled.
“It’s all right.”
“It’s all right.”
“Go to sleep.”
Xiao Zelan pulled his younger brother closer.
Then, after a brief pause, he pulled Bai Zhi closer as well.
Bai Zhi didn’t resist.
Resting her cheek against his arm, she drifted off to sleep.
The moxa box hidden beneath the blanket continued burning for nearly half an hour.
It produced a small amount of warmth.
Xiao Zelan hadn’t expected the moxibustion box to double as a hot-water bottle.
The physician had warned that prolonged exposure to moxa smoke wasn’t healthy.
Fifteen minutes was the recommended limit.
So Xiao Zelan only used it during the coldest part of the night.
The next morning, everyone looked exhausted.
Bai Zhi and the others packed quickly.
Soon the procession was moving again.
The wealthy merchant was still being carried.
But now two of the concubines were gone.
They had been transferred to the horses of Hu Kai and Liu Huai.
Bai Zhi lowered her voice.
“Who is that man?”
“Was he in your dream?”
Xiao Yu shook his head.
“No.”
“The people in my dream were all connected to the Crown Prince’s case.”
“He wasn’t there.”
A man walking nearby overheard them and moved closer.
“That’s the young master of the capital’s Tianxiang Brothel.”
“He killed a cousin.”
“That’s why he was exiled.”
“Those concubines and strong men?”
“He bought them only a few days before sentencing.”
“The women are for bribing guards.”
“The strong men carry him during the day.”
“And warm his bed at night.”
“Warm his bed?!”
Xiao Yu’s eyes nearly popped out.
The man laughed.
“Not that kind of warming.”
“Their bodies are warm.”
“They heat up the bedding.”
“That way he doesn’t freeze.”
Xiao Yu looked utterly astonished.
“People actually do that?”
The man nodded mysteriously.
“It’s expensive, though.”
“Whether concubine or hired strongman, each one costs fifty taels.”
“You still have to feed and clothe them.”
“Most people can’t afford it.”
Fifty taels.
For a human being.
Bai Zhi felt chills crawl down her spine.
She had survived the apocalypse.
She had witnessed cruelty.
She had seen humanity at its worst.
But hearing people discuss human lives with fixed prices attached to them still unsettled her deeply.
Unable to stop herself, she asked:
“Did their families know they were being bought for exile?”
“Of course.”
“Otherwise they wouldn’t be worth fifty taels.”
Bai Zhi’s face darkened.
Sensing the mood, the man quietly retreated.
Thinking she disliked the man, Xiao Yu explained:
“That’s Wei Zhihang.”
“The son of an Assistant Minister of Revenue.”
“He’s famous for being a playboy.”
“But he’s not actually a bad person.”
Bai Zhi suddenly asked:
“These people are all healthy.”
“They seem capable enough.”
“If they worked honestly, couldn’t they earn fifty taels eventually?”
“Why wouldn’t their families let them earn it themselves?”
Xiao Yu blinked.
He had never thought about it.
Xiao Zelan sighed softly.
“If they earned the money themselves…”
“They might not hand all of it over to their families.”
“But by selling them, the family receives fifty taels immediately.”
Seeing Bai Zhi’s expression, he added:
“Perhaps their parents had urgent difficulties.”
“Perhaps they desperately needed money.”
“And not all of them were sold by their parents.”
“Some may have been sold by their masters.”
Bai Zhi’s gaze remained fixed ahead.
“But if their parents hadn’t sold them to those masters in the first place…”
“How would the masters ever have gotten the chance to sell them?”
For a moment, Xiao Zelan had no answer.
Silence fell.
Bai Zhi rarely spoke after that.
In her previous life, family ties had never been strong.
Her parents divorced.
Her mother remarried.
Her father drank constantly and beat people.
She and her brother had grown up like weeds, surviving on their own.
Sometimes her brother would say their mother had her reasons.
That living with their father had been impossible.
That she had no choice but to leave.
Bai Zhi understood that.
She truly did.
But understanding didn’t stop the hurt.
And even now, thinking about it still made her chest ache.