Jiang Chengyu immediately stopped the group and told them to wait while he went ahead to investigate whether the soldiers at the gate were searching for them.
Jiang Qingshu tightened her grip on Lin Bao and Jiang Luoyou, watching nervously as her third brother slowly approached the city gate.
She was already preparing to flee at any moment when Jiang Chengyu quickly turned and came back.
“Third Brother…” Jiang Luoyou had just started to speak when he gave them a reassuring look.
The wanted portraits were for someone else.
They had nothing to do with the Jiang family.
It seemed their risky decision to continue northward had been the correct one.
Qianzhou City was the only route leading toward the Northern Frontier. If they chose to go around it, the journey would take at least another half month.
To stay cautious, the family still entered the city separately in two groups.
By the time they entered, night had already fallen.
What surprised Jiang Qingshu was how run-down the small city looked.
Despite being less than two hundred li from the capital, it appeared old and broken, like an aging man nearing the end of his life.
“M-Madam… you dropped something…”
A trembling child’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
Looking down, she saw a little beggar girl dressed in thin, filthy clothing. With cracked and frostbitten hands, the girl carefully picked up the silk handkerchief Jiang Qingshu had dropped.
For a moment, Jiang Qingshu stared silently at the skinny child.
“Thank you.”
“Niuniu, why did you run off again?”
A slightly older boy suddenly rushed over and pulled the girl away.
Judging from their appearance, the two siblings were no older than seven or eight.
They returned to a cold, dark corner and curled up together, cautiously watching passing strangers while trembling uncontrollably from the cold.
“Mother,” Lin Bao tugged softly at Jiang Qingshu’s sleeve, “do they not have a home either?”
Jiang Qingshu suddenly stopped walking and crouched down to look at the soft little boy before her.
She knew what he truly longed for at that moment—
a stable home.
“Lin Bao,” she said gently, “remember this: as long as our family stays together, then wherever we are… that place is home.”
Hearing this, Lin Bao suddenly buried himself in her arms and acted spoiled.
“Mother, I love you so much. Promise you’ll never leave Lin Bao, okay?”
Jiang Qingshu’s eyes unexpectedly grew moist.
How could she ever allow such a warm-hearted child to grow into a bandit?
Now that she had become Jiang Qingshu in this world, she had to do something for him.
Looking at the desolate city streets, Jiang Kun sighed deeply.
Years of war had crushed the common people beneath unbearable taxes.
The nobles and royals grew fat and prosperous while ordinary citizens starved.
“I wonder when Yan Kingdom will finally know peace again.”
The moment Sun Yuluo heard this, she exploded with rage.
“Peace my ass! I just hope Emperor Yan dies sooner rather than later! As long as that bastard lives, this country will never know peace!”
“You fierce woman, lower your voice!” Jiang Kun hurriedly warned her. “We’re still out on the streets!”
“To hell with being calm! I’d rather dig up that dog emperor’s ancestral graves!”
After cursing furiously, Sun Yuluo stormed toward a nearby inn.
Now that Jiang Kun’s injuries had improved, she no longer felt the need to constantly indulge him.
There happened to be two inns facing one another across the street.
To avoid leaving suspicious traces for pursuers, the family split up and stayed separately at both inns.
Not only that, Jiang Kun ordered his sons to sneak the children into the rooms through rear windows instead of entering openly through the main entrance.
Jiang Qingshu, Lin Bao, and Jiang Luoyou shared one room.
Across from them stayed Second Brother’s family of four, while Third Brother and Sixth Brother stayed diagonally opposite.
The eldest brother’s family remained at the other inn alongside Jiang Kun and Sun Yuluo.
After several days without sleeping on proper beds, Jiang Luoyou quickly fell asleep while hugging Lin Bao.
Watching the aunt and nephew sleeping peacefully, Jiang Qingshu couldn’t help feeling envious.
Carefree children truly were fortunate.
Outside, cold winds howled like wolves crying in the night.
Just as she pushed open the wooden window while holding an oil lamp, a freezing gust extinguished the flame instantly.
Suddenly, the faces of the little beggar siblings she had seen earlier surfaced in her mind.
Did they even have family?
In weather like this, without winter clothes or blankets, they would likely freeze to death overnight.
Since she couldn’t sleep anyway, she decided to check on them.
After several rapid flashes of movement, she appeared once more at the place where she had seen the siblings earlier.
As expected, they were still curled together beneath the eaves on a straw mat.
But now there was also a woman with them.
The night was so cold that falling asleep could mean never waking again, so the mother and children were desperately trying to stay awake.
Quietly approaching them, Jiang Qingshu took out quilts, padded winter clothing, and food from her space and placed them nearby.
Then she tossed a stone to create some noise before retreating into the shadows.
The two children quickly noticed the blankets and clothes.
“Mother!” the little girl cried excitedly. “We won’t freeze to death now!”
The boy hurriedly helped his mother and sister put on the padded coats.
When he lifted the quilt, he discovered a large bundle of dried food hidden inside.
Only after seeing them fully wrapped in warm winter clothing did Jiang Qingshu finally feel relieved enough to leave.
But just as she turned around, loud commotion suddenly echoed through the streets.
Her expression changed instantly.
Moving closer, she saw a large group of constables searching house by house along the street for escaped fugitives.
“Listen carefully!” one of the officers shouted. “There are fifteen of them in total—five men, five women, and five children! Anyone who hides information will be executed immediately!”
The moment Jiang Qingshu heard this, her nerves tightened sharply.
These people were searching for them.
From the looks of it, the authorities still hadn’t found their exact whereabouts yet and were conducting a massive sweep across the city.
The situation was urgent.
She had to hurry back and warn her family to hide.
Fortunately, she had gone out tonight to bring blankets to the beggar siblings.
Otherwise, the entire family might have been captured in their sleep.
Second Brother Jiang Yifeng had just fallen asleep when someone knocked on the door.
He instantly flipped out of bed and approached cautiously.
“Who is it?”
“Second Brother—it’s me. The pursuers are almost here…”
“What?!”
Although Jiang Yifeng didn’t understand how Jiang Qingshu knew this, he reacted immediately without hesitation.
The family quickly informed everyone staying at the opposite inn, including Jiang Kun and Sun Yuluo.
Once the entire family safely retreated onto the rooftops, they still saw no unusual movement below.
Just as they began wondering whether Jiang Qingshu had imagined things in a sleepy daze, a group carrying lanterns suddenly appeared in the street below.
“Search every room thoroughly!”
The constables stormed into the inns and searched every guest room from top to bottom.
Afterward, they gathered outside to report to the lead officer.
They discovered that several rooms still had warm bedding, yet the occupants had vanished.
The trembling innkeeper was dragged out for questioning.
After desperately thinking it through, he swore that none of those guests had children or injured people with them.
The lead officer considered this briefly and concluded that the missing occupants were probably shady people hiding from the authorities for unrelated reasons.
“The higher-ups gave direct orders,” he barked. “The Jiang family fugitives must be captured at all costs! Spread out and continue searching! Don’t overlook a single corner!”
“Yes, sir!”
Soon, the officers moved on toward other streets.
“Second Brother, follow them and investigate,” Jiang Kun ordered quietly.
“Understood.”
Using his extraordinary lightness skill—so graceful it was said to leave no trace upon snow—Jiang Yifeng leapt across the rooftops in a single bound.
Jiang Qingshu stared in stunned amazement.
Compared to this martial arts skill, even her teleportation cheat ability suddenly didn’t seem all that impressive.
The rest of the family quietly returned to their rooms to await news.
The adults no longer dared sleep, but the children drifted off the moment they touched the beds again.
Half an hour later, Jiang Yifeng pushed open the window and slipped back inside.
“After learning we escaped,” he said grimly, “Emperor Yan assigned Xiao Lijing personally to lead the hunt for us.”
At this point, Jiang Yifeng paused and glanced at Jiang Qingshu.
She immediately understood why.
After all, that man had once been her “husband.”
“Second Brother, just say what you want to say,” Jiang Qingshu replied coldly. “Between me and that bastard, there’s nothing left except hatred.”
Her tone made it abundantly clear:
Either she lived, or he did.
Jiang Kun frowned deeply.
“That Prince Li is definitely not as simple as he appears.”
“Exactly,” Jiang Chengyu agreed. “The fact that he guessed we’d continue heading north already proves how meticulous and calculating he is.”
“I misjudged him before,” Jiang Kun said regretfully. “I thought he was honest and dependable. I believed Shu’er would live peacefully by his side. I never expected him to hide such deep schemes behind a false mask.”
“Let’s just hope,” Jiang Fengyu muttered heavily, “that tomorrow we can leave the city safely…”