Zhou Yu didn’t have much hope that his mother-in-law and her family would be alive. He thought so in his heart but couldn’t say it out loud. He tried his best not to let his wife think too much and replied with the safest words, “Good luck will come to you.”
Yang Xi stared at Zhou Yu. She knew Zhou Yu so well!
Zhou Yu turned away his eyes with a guilty look, “Don’t worry, my Xiǎojiùzi is already married, he will definitely be able to take on the responsibility.”
Yang Xi could only comfort herself in this way. They lost their father at a young age. In her memory, her younger brother had been very responsible over the years. Thinking of her younger brother who looked like her, Yang Xi’s brows softened.
Zhou Xiaomei said, “I don’t know how Butler Li and the others are doing.”
The old butler watched them grow up, and the Zhou family had feelings for him. Fortunately, the sister-in-law realized something was wrong and returned the indentured contract to the old butler, otherwise the old butler would have been sold and suffered the pain of separation from his family.
Yang Xi said: “The old housekeeper has a plan. As long as they live carefully, they will be safe.”
This was also thanks to the sudden house search. The Xu family thought that the Zhou family was not prepared, so the old housekeeper and his family escaped the disaster.
The carriage was moving very fast today, with a guard of fifty people going ahead to clear obstacles on the road, so the journey in one day was equivalent to two days in the past.
Yang Xi was uncomfortable with the bumpy ride, so she stopped the carriage to rest but didn’t get off. She drank the pregnancy-preserving medicine and closed her eyes to rest. She heard the cry of a baby in a daze, and when she opened her eyes, she saw Zhou Yu there, “Where is the noise of a crying baby coming from?”
The entire caravan only had Ziheng and the two children of the Wu family. The Wu family’s children had a lot of experience and never cried, so where was the child’s cry coming from?
Zhou Yu said, “I’ll go down and take a look.”
Inside the carriage, Ye Shi was still asleep. The medicine she drank had a calming effect, so the crying could not wake her up.
Ziheng was a little scared and leaned against his mother tightly, “Mom.”
Yang Xi hugged her son tightly, “Don’t be afraid, mom is here.”
Zhou Yu didn’t come back, but Zhou’s younger brother came back, “Sister-in-law, my elder brother stayed in the carriage of Qian Dongjia.”
Yang Xi asked, “How can there be a child?”
Zhou Xiaodi’s stomach couldn’t help but churn. “There are ten children in the village ahead. The oldest is only thirteen years old, and the youngest is eight years old. They escaped from the village.”
Yang Xi did not continue to ask. She had already guessed it. Cannibalism was really terrible. Once people lost their moral bottom line, they were demons walking in the world. “Should we continue on our journey?”
Along the way, Brother Zhou had deeply realized his sister-in-law’s intelligence, “Well, Qian Gongzi and my eldest brother are discussing the route, we can’t go on.”
According to the children who escaped, the five or six villages ahead had all united together, and all those who had the moral bottom line to resist had died. The village was planning a robbery and had already set their sights on the Cheng family, who was thirty miles away. The Cheng family was a famous gentry family in this area.
Yang Xi took a deep breath and said, “Go and inform the Wu family.”
Brother Zhou said, “Li Zheng has already gone.”
Yang Xi’s scalp felt numb. Crazy people were very scary. Once they discovered the caravan, they would be in trouble even if there were guards.
She was a little anxious. If ten children escaped together, they would attract too much attention. Sooner or later, the villagers would find out. If they didn’t hurry up, the caravan would be in trouble.
Zhou Yu came back quickly, “Let’s go now.”
No matter how careful the caravan was, the noise was still loud. The darkness didn’t conceal everything. Yang Xi looked outside with her heart pounding. “Do you think they have already caught up with us?”
Zhou Yu held the dagger in his hand, “We are too big a target.”
Yang Xi forced himself to remain calm, took a deep breath, and asked, “What about the ten children?”
Zhou Yu, “Qian Gongzi will guide them for a while.”
Yang Xi sighed. What kind of world was this? Only after experiencing troubled times would one cherish a peaceful life. She missed modern life very much.
The caravan had horse-drawn carriages, which had the advantage that it could run fast. However, the disadvantage was that the traces of the carriages could not be erased, and the caravan could be found by following the traces. The only thing to worry about was that more people would unite together.
After traveling all night and covering who knew how far they had traveled, at daybreak the caravan’s horses were all exhausted.
There was no way Qian Gongzi could continue on his journey. Without their horses, they would be in greater danger.
Yang Xi also saw the ten children. They huddled together like frightened little animals, shrinking their bodies as much as possible and not moving.
Qian Zhu’s servant brought a basin of coarse grain porridge and gave the children a few bowls. The ten children saved the caravan, and the caravan would feed them while they were with them. They would not be full but they could fill their stomachs.
Yang Xi turned her eyes away and didn’t look at the child who was eating voraciously. She was more determined to protect her child.
Zhou Yu came over and felt his wife’s emotions, “Our child will grow up safely.”
The horses were very tired last night, and there were beggars here today, so the journey was not fast.
Qian Gongzi was very anxious. He wished he could grow wings and fly away as long as he thought that they could find the caravan by asking the refugees.
They had to hurry or they would be found sooner or later.
They didn’t dare to rest at night and could only rest during the day. When they were resting, the carriages of the Wu and Zhou families were very close to each other. During these days, the Wu family only ate until they were 80% full.
Yang Xi secretly gave the Wu family some oily pancakes, so that they could have strength only if they had oil in their stomachs.
Another day passed, and the caravan was caught up again. Prince Jiang could not capture all the laborers in Bozhou, and many people surrounded the caravan.
Yang Xi had a very good memory. She saw people begging on the road because the caravan did not give them food. They hated the caravan and joined forces to encircle and attack it.
Zhou Yu and Zhou Xiaodi had already gotten off the carriage. Yang Xi was extremely worried. Through the gap in the carriage curtain, she saw that “the other party has bows and arrows.”
Although there were not many of them, they were quite lethal. The sturdy men among them were obviously good hunters, but now their prey had become humans.
Zhou Yu held the dagger tightly, “Don’t look at it.”
Yang Xi shook his head, “I’m fine, I’m just afraid of a sneak attack.”
She wanted to be the eyes of Zhou Yu and his younger brother, but it was useless at this time. She had to try her best to help Zhou Yu keep an eye on the danger.
After hearing this, Zhou Xiaomei mustered up her courage and carefully only showed her eyes, “Sister-in-law, I’ll help too.”
Ye Shi hugged Ziheng tightly and looked at her daughter-in-law and daughter with worry. Her daughter-in-law and daughter were beautiful women. After these days of care, the frostbite on their faces had healed a lot. She was a little afraid to think about it and prayed to her husband for blessing over and over again in her heart.
(End of this chapter)

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