As Yang Xi had speculated, a conclusion was reached in three days. The general who blocked the way subtly hinted at medicinal herbs. Though Qian Zhu was inwardly reluctant, he still had to wear a smile on his face, leaving behind ten carts of medicinal herbs in exchange for a token to pass through Pingzhou.

The meaning was clearly expressed. With this token, the Bozhou soldiers would not make things difficult for the caravan.

Zhou Yu accompanied him throughout the whole process and carefully observed the soldiers of Pingzhou, which made him more certain of Prince Jiang’s intentions.

At the end of the dynasty, corrupt officials had been in power for nearly a hundred years, and eunuchs held power. The court had sufficient military force, but there were many problems.

The soldiers seen today stood tall and straight, and it was obvious that they had never stopped training. Although their armor was still old, the soldiers’ aura could not be restrained, as if they had all seen blood.

The caravan successfully left Pingzhou but did not notice the reluctance of the soldiers behind them.

The general’s guard said, “General, are we going to let the caravan off so easily?”

The general was also reluctant, but the Qian family was not something that could slip away. Once the Prince succeeded, the Qian family would inevitably be theirs sooner or later. “Stay vigilant; I’ll go report to the Prince.”

The atmosphere was very depressing as soon as the caravan entered Bozhou. There was no one on the official road. They found a village to stay overnight, but the villagers gathered at the entrance and wouldn’t let them in. Even money wasn’t enough, so they asked them to leave quickly.
In the eyes of the villagers, the caravans brought danger.

The village head’s eyes turned red. “We are adjacent to Pingzhou, so it is relatively safe. Please do not disturb our peace. Please leave and give us a way to live.”

He didn’t dare to take the risk that if the soldiers and bandits discovered the caravan, they would be killed if they really came to kill them.

Some excited men raised their axes and shouted, “Leave quickly, our village does not welcome outsiders.”

Qian Zhu was silent, then heaved a long sigh and said, “Okay, let’s go.”

The village head heaved a sigh of relief. Seeing that no one resented him, he thought for a moment and said, “There is a dilapidated temple ten miles ahead where we can rest.”

Qian Zhu, “Thank you.”

The caravan set off again, and the atmosphere became even worse. Although there was no blackmail, the mood became more and more depressing. The team of more than 400 people moved forward in silence. It was already dark, and it was quite scary to see the long team from a distance.

The convoy stopped at the dilapidated temple that had fallen into disrepair. The temple could not accommodate so many people, and it was freezing cold outside.

The dilapidated temple was not big. Qian Zhu valued Zhou Yu and knew that his mother was in poor health and Yang Xi was pregnant. So he sent people to pick up the women of the Zhou family and take them to the dilapidated temple to rest.

Yang Xi also brought the two children of the Wu family into the ruined temple.

A space in the dilapidated temple was allocated to the women of the Zhou family, while Zhou Xiaodi and Third Yang rested outside with the Wu family.

Yang Xi sat on the hay, feeling quite emotional. She had lived in a dilapidated temple before. In her previous life, they had no money and to survive, they found a dilapidated temple to rest and were happy for a long time. Comparing the two ancient lives, Yang Xi felt the warmth brought by the fire and thought that their fate had changed and things would get better and better in the future.

Zhou Yu talked to Qian Zhu, “The border with Pingzhou is relatively peaceful now. Once we pass this border, we must be careful even with the token.”

Qian Zhu frowned, “It will become increasingly difficult to do business in the future.”

Zhou Yu sympathized with the people of Bozhou. The chaos in Bozhou must have been caused intentionally by Prince Jiang. Only if Bozhou continued to be in chaos would Prince Jiang have the opportunity to train his troops openly. It would only be a pity for the people of Bozhou who could not leave.

A quarter of an hour later, Zhou Yu came back to rest. Yang Xi saw Zhou Yu was silent, “What’s wrong?”

Zhou Yu lowered his voice and said, “People have been suffering since the beginning of the rebellion, and there will be no way out in the future.”

Yang Xi felt heavy in his heart, “In troubled times, human life is worth less than a dog’s.”

She clearly remembered the pain of losing her son.

Zhou Yu held his wife’s hand and said, “Sleep with me.”

Yang Xi was indeed sleepy. If he followed the caravan, they wouldn’t have to keep watch at night, and Zhou Yu could have a good rest.

At night, there was only the sound of burning firewood. The Zhou family slept soundly, but Qian Zhu couldn’t sleep.

In the morning, Yang Xi noticed Qian Zhu’s slightly pale face and understood his concerns. No matter the time, without absolute strength, fame could be a double-edged sword—people fear notoriety just as pigs fear growing too fat. The Qian family’s caravan was quite well-known, and Qian Zhu was clearly afraid!

After two days of traveling, the caravan left the peaceful land. The official road in the cold winter was filled with beggars, and soldiers escorting people could be seen from time to time.

The caravan had a token, and the soldiers did not ask for anything more, only food and hot water.

Yang Xi stared at the people being escorted, all of them men between the ages of sixteen and forty. Their hands were tied and all of them had numb expressions, and it was obvious that they had lost hope for the future.

Ziheng also poked his little head out to look. From the fear at the beginning to the constant staring now, his little face looked particularly serious.

Ye Shi wanted to say stop looking, but she opened her mouth but nothing came out. She knew that her daughter-in-law had changed. She was happy that she had become strong and responsible, but she also felt sorry for her daughter-in-law who had been raised as her own daughter. She understood that she could only face the world bravely.

Yang Xi watched helplessly as a young man with a severe cough and a red face was pulled out of the team. The soldiers kicked him a few times in anger. The young man lay motionless in the snow beside the official road. Her pupils constricted and she couldn’t help but clutch the carriage window.

Yang Xi once again clearly realized that they could do nothing in this world, and it was even difficult for them to protect themselves. If they hadn’t boarded the caravan, they wouldn’t even be able to leave Pingzhou. As a result of being trapped in Pingzhou, the adult laborers would be taken away for various reasons.

Ziheng didn’t dare to look and retracted his head, “Mom.”

Yang Xi touched his son’s head to comfort him. The soldiers captured these people as laborers because they were the remnants of King Jing. They didn’t tell them where they were being escorted, but Yang Xi could guess that King Jiang had something on his mind and needed troops.

Even if manpower was needed, the soldiers did not take human lives seriously. If they survived the cold winter, it was luck. If they did not, they should consider themselves unlucky.

From the perspective of the soldiers and their leaders, in the heart of the high and mighty King Jiang, the lives of the people were worthless.

The soldiers pushed the people away, and the caravan was exceptionally silent. Even the righteous guards did not say a word.

The coldness of human nature in troubled times, people were like grass, and every scene was vivid!

Yang Xi looked at the boy again. She thought he was dead, but he moved and slowly sat up. She saw Zhou Xiaodi jump off the carriage and said, “Bring the water bag over.”

Brother Zhou went back and got the water bag with warm water, then ran over quickly.

This moment showed the difference between Third Yang and Zhou Xiaodi. Third Yang had seen many lives and deaths but had never been moved.

At this time, Zhou Yu came over from the carriage in front and said to Zhou Xiaomei, “Find the herbs and boil the medicine.”

The typhoid medicine he prepared for his son was now useful.

Yang Xi and Zhou Yu looked at each other. They had the same idea. They would try their best to protect their families in troubled times and help the boy but they could not take him away. They did not have the boy’s household registration and could not deal with the search.

Li Zheng, whom Third Yang bought, had a household registration. To go to the government to apply for a body sale contract, Third Yang asked for Li’s household registration and left some money for the Li family to apply for a new household registration.

Younger brother Zhou came back quickly and saw his elder brother stopped. He knew he shouldn’t go over there as their whole family was in danger. “Brother.”

Zhou Yu had been through so much that his heart had long been hardened, but he didn’t want his younger brother to become like him. “How is he doing?”

Seeing that his elder brother was not angry, Zhou Xiaodi was relieved, “He was just pretending to cough, it’s not serious as he just caught a cold.”

Zhou Yu raised an eyebrow, “Yeah.”

Younger Zhou asked, “Brother, is the caravan still on the way?”

Zhou Yu sighed, “Stay here and rest tonight.”

Too much time had been spent preparing meals for the soldiers, so they could only stay here tonight to rest.

(End of this chapter)

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