That afternoon, snow began falling again, accompanied by fierce northern winds.
Everyone was freezing miserably.
Several people couldn’t keep up with the convoy and were whipped by the guards.
Bai Zhi jumped down from the prison cart and let Xiao Yu climb aboard instead.
The two of them took turns resting their feet.
Near evening, the convoy finally arrived at a relay station.
The stationed guards came out to call roll.
Everyone stood in the snowstorm waiting for their names to be checked.
Liu Huai and Hu Kai maintained order while Wang Zheng and the other four guards went to collect cornbread and horse feed.
It took nearly half an hour before the guards finally completed the inspection.
By then, it was completely dark and still snowing heavily.
Wang Zheng gave the order to stay overnight at the relay station.
The prisoners, whose hands and feet had long since gone numb from the cold, quietly cheered.
This was the first time they had ever been allowed to stay at a relay station.
Previously, they always left immediately after roll call.
Naturally, there were no rooms for prisoners.
But there were two long open sheds.
Why call them sheds instead of stables?
Because these structures were originally meant to house both prisoners and horses together, so they weren’t strictly horse stables.
Though the sheds only had roofs, they were spacious.
Each row could fit two lines of people lying down, and both sheds together could easily hold over a hundred people.
By the time Bai Zhi helped Xiao Zelan down from the cart, everyone else had already claimed the good spots.
The only place left was the northernmost corner where wind poured directly in.
The only others stuck with equally terrible positions were Xiao Zeyan’s family.
Bai Zhi couldn’t help sighing.
What suffering companions they were.
The sheds ran north to south, and the wind also blew from north to south.
Their little patch sat directly at the northern end, already covered by a thin layer of snow.
Bai Zhi sighed again and stretched out the oilcloth, tying it across the four pillars on the north side of the shed.
It perfectly blocked the wind and snow.
Xiao Zeyan and Xiao Yu went together to gather firewood.
Chen Wanning and Bai Zhi cleaned snow from the ground while Xiao Siqi, Xiao Jingyu, and Xiao Zelan sat together chatting quietly.
Xiao Yu returned first carrying a bundle of branches.
Xiao Jingyu asked weakly:
“Ninth Uncle… cough cough… where’s Father?”
“Big Brother said since it’s snowing, we should gather more firewood. He told me to bring this bundle back first.”
Then Xiao Yu hurried off again.
There was a well at the relay station, but too many people were lined up waiting for water.
Bai Zhi didn’t bother joining the crowd.
They still had two full water pouches, so there was no rush.
Bai Zhi started boiling water and preparing dinner.
Chen Wanning’s group also had a small clay pot, but they had no water left.
They would have to wait until later.
Thinking of the roast chicken Li Danqing had given them, Bai Zhi handed two heated buns to Xiao Jingyu and Xiao Siqi.
The two children stared at her helplessly.
“Take them. When you get good food later, you can repay me.”
Chen Wanning also encouraged them.
“If your aunt gives them to you, then take them.”
Only then did the two children reach out and accept them.
The pot could only heat three buns at once.
Bai Zhi handed the last bun to Xiao Zelan.
“You eat first. I’m not hungry yet.”
But Bai Zhi actually was hungry.
She bit into a bun herself as she spoke.
By the time the second batch of buns finished heating, Xiao Yu had returned.
After dropping the firewood, he grabbed a bun in his mouth and immediately ran back out again.
Bai Zhi gave the remaining two buns to Xiao Zelan and Chen Wanning.
The third batch finished heating as well.
Seeing that Xiao Yu and Xiao Zeyan still hadn’t returned, Bai Zhi let the three people surnamed Xiao eat first.
Afterward, all five of them each drank a bowl of hot water.
The line at the well had shortened somewhat, so Bai Zhi and Chen Wanning finally went to fetch water.
Once they had water again, they continued heating buns while also filling the water pouches and hot-water bottles.
By the time everything was filled and several more buns had been heated, Xiao Zeyan and Xiao Yu finally returned together.
Each carried a huge bundle of firewood.
Xiao Zeyan even dragged an entire log behind him.
Only after they dropped the wood into the corner did everyone notice the enormous swollen lump on Xiao Zeyan’s forehead.
It was red and swollen.
“Father, what happened to your head?”
Xiao Zeyan waved it off casually.
“It’s nothing. I accidentally bumped into something.”
Xiao Yu exploded angrily:
“What accidental? They obviously did it on purpose!”
Xiao Zelan hurriedly asked:
“What happened?”
“We spotted the big log first! We already picked it up, but the Zhu family insisted it belonged to them!”
Bai Zhi frowned.
“They stole it?”
“No. We took it back. But Big Brother got knocked down by them.”
Bai Zhi secretly relaxed.
Good.
Taking it back was the important thing.
Otherwise, they’d just keep getting bullied next time too.
Chen Wanning looked painfully at her husband.
“Eat something first. Later I’ll use hot water to compress the swelling.”
Bai Zhi corrected her immediately:
“You should use cold compresses first. Only switch to hot compresses after twelve hours.”
Chen Wanning froze.
“This…”
Bai Zhi shrugged.
“Believe it or not.”
In the end, Chen Wanning still wet a towel with snow and applied a cold compress to Xiao Zeyan’s forehead.
There was just something about this younger sister-in-law that made people instinctively trust her.
While Xiao Zeyan’s family ate buns, Bai Zhi cooked a pot of dough-drop soup.
She didn’t even bother frying aromatics first.
She simply scooped in a spoonful of mushroom meat sauce, mixed up some little dough lumps, and made a fairly thick soup.
Bai Zhi cautiously took a sip.
Unexpectedly, it tasted pretty good.
She took another sip.
“Mother, this dough-drop soup is delicious.”
“Mhm. Qi’er, drink more.”
Suddenly Xiao Siqi looked down sadly.
“If only Auntie could drink some too…”
The air abruptly fell silent.
Then a sneering laugh came from the neighboring shed.
“Your auntie doesn’t care about your little soup. She’s hooked herself a wild man now. For all you know, she’s off eating delicacies.”
Xiao Zeyan’s expression darkened.
He was just about to speak when Chen Wanning beat him to it.
“Madam Wei, why say such things to a child?”
“I’m only speaking facts. Li Danqing behaved shamelessly—why shouldn’t people talk about it?”
“Madam Wei!”
Chen Wanning’s voice sharpened.
“You too once studied the teachings of sages. Back then you were known throughout the capital as a talented lady. Don’t you understand how helpless women can be?”
“The teachings of sages tell me that when a woman loses her chastity and stains her reputation, she should die.”
Chen Wanning trembled with rage.
“Then why didn’t you tell your eldest daughter to die when she insisted on marrying the Crown Prince as a secondary consort and caused scandal throughout the capital before being forced to marry elsewhere?”
“You! You little bitch, still pretending you’re the Crown—”
“Who are you calling a little bitch?”
Through the wind and snow, Li Danqing appeared wearing a white cloak and carrying an oil-paper package.
“Who are you calling a little bitch?”
She repeated the question.
Someone beside Madam Wei tugged her arm, and she finally fell silent.
“Auntie, you came!”
Xiao Siqi hurried out to greet her.
“Qi’er.”
Li Danqing looked as though she wanted to hug Xiao Siqi, yet hesitated.
“Qi’er, don’t call me Auntie anymore. Call me Aunt-Mother instead.”
Chen Wanning had calmed down somewhat, though her voice still trembled.
“Aunt-Mother?”
“Yes.”
Li Danqing smiled softly and finally pulled the girl into her arms.
“Aunt… Aunt-Mother, why are you crying?”
“Aunt-Mother is happy.”
The snow outside grew heavier and heavier.
Xiao Siqi tried to pull Li Danqing into the shed, but Li Danqing remained where she stood.
“It’s too late. Aunt-Mother won’t come in. Take these to your mother.”
She stuffed both the oil-paper package and a cloth bundle into Xiao Siqi’s arms before turning away immediately.
“Aunt-Mother…”