Chapter 6: Family

Lunch was a piece of brown rice cake hard enough to break a tooth. Upon seeing this fare, the group couldn't help but break into another round of wailing and lamenting.

Xin Nian remained unmoved; the living conditions for exiles in ancient times were just like this.

According to ancient law, the food expenses for prisoners on the road were entirely covered by the imperial court. Since they had already reached the point of being exiled, what more could they expect?

The imperial court would never let the exiles eat their fill; they basically ensured a state where one wouldn't starve to death or escape on the road—that was close enough.

The daily food ration was only half that of an ordinary citizen, and they were only issued one set of clothes and shoes, with absolutely no spares for washing or changing.

If you could make it, you made it; if you couldn't, you died. The further they went, the more frequent the disasters and illnesses became. Anyone who could safely reach their destination would have to shed five layers of skin, if they didn't die first!

Xin Nian dug out the white flour cakes from her pack and handed three to her father, who was squeezed in beside her and her mother.

She took out some dried meat to wrap in the cakes, and the family of three, acting as if no one else was around, devoured their meal until they were full.

"Dad, put on these shoes; the soles are thick," Xin Nian said, taking a pair of thick-soled straw sandals from her pack for Xin Wenyuan.

"What about you and your mother?" After walking all morning, many of the pampered lords and ladies had worn their heels raw.

They had never worn straw sandals in their lives; they were prickly and abrasive, and most people already had blisters on their soles.

Exiles were only fit to wear straw sandals; even if they had extra cloth shoes, the guards wouldn't let them change into them.

And this was just the beginning; it would only get harder from here on out.

Xin Nian whispered to her father, "I'm fine. My ability has returned a little bit, just enough to heal our feet."

"Mom is right beside me, so I can treat her anytime. You stay at the front with the other men; I can't look after you there, so you have to protect yourself."

Xin Wenyuan nodded, put on the thick-soled straw sandals, and tucked the old ones into his shirt. "Give me another flour cake. I'll mix it with water and feed it to your brother later."

Even if the boy was unconscious, he had to get some food in him; they couldn't just let him starve.

The family of three muttered to each other as they ate, forming a strange little bubble. From start to finish, they hadn't thought of anyone else, until...

The sound of little Xin Mohan’s sobbing and intermittent crying reached their ears.

Xie Ninglan slapped her thigh and whispered, "Oh my, I forgot we had another son."

Xin Wenyuan looked toward the distance with a guilty conscience, meeting the angry glare of his third brother, Xin Wen'an.

Xin Nian rubbed her nose. This wasn't her parents' fault; it was understandable that they couldn't adapt to their new identities immediately after transmigrating.

Their family of four had been like this since the apocalypse—when there were good things, who would waste them on outsiders? They would always prioritize their own family being fed and satisfied first.

There were three sheepskin water skins, just enough for the three of them. As for the bag of white flour cakes, honestly, Xin Nian had never thought about sharing them.

Don't blame her for being cold-hearted; people who had walked through the apocalypse were just used to it.

In these harsh conditions, everything had to be prioritized for their own family. As for the others, that was a matter for later.

Xin Wenyuan hurried over and picked up his youngest son, whose face was streaked with tears, to comfort him.

Little Xin Mohan was truly heartbroken.

Just now, he had witnessed his parents and sister sitting together, intimate and happy, eating and chatting, completely leaving him behind!

He was a child picked up from the trash; he must have been picked up from his parents' trash can, waaaaah!

The little guy hiccuped as he cried, his stomach letting out a rumbling sound of hunger.

Xie Ninglan felt her face heat up. While comforting the child, she took the dried meat and white flour cake from her daughter's hand. "Don't cry, don't cry. Han... Han'er, right? Eat first. Auntie... oh, Mother has food here. The dried meat tastes alright."

Xin Mohan was inconsolable, his eyes brimming with tears as he looked at his mother in despair.

"Mother, am I a child you picked up?"

Xie Ninglan almost spat out her water. "Oh, no, how could you be picked up? You were born from your mother's own womb after ten months of pregnancy!"

"Then why? Dad hasn't said a single word to me this whole way!"

Xin Wenyuan twitched his mouth. He had been busy following his daughter's lead, burying his head in cultivating his ability, and besides... he had truly forgotten about his youngest son, *cough, cough, cough*.

What a sin. A man nearing sixty suddenly regressing twenty years, and his old wife giving him a young son—pfft, it really was a magical thing!

Xie Ninglan was flexible and admitted her mistake promptly. "It's Mother's fault, Mother was wrong. Ah, don't be angry. Fill your little tummy first; we have to keep moving later. Mother will definitely tell your father to take you with him this afternoon; he definitely won't ignore you again."

Xin Mohan sobbed, "Really?"

"Definitely true, truer than true." Xie Ninglan nodded repeatedly.

Little Xin Mohan was truly hungry, holding the white flour cake and dried meat, chewing in big mouthfuls.

"Slow down, have some water, no one is going to snatch it from you." Xie Ninglan looked at the child, a faint sense of bitterness rising in her heart.

What a sin, such a small child being exiled. The evil feudal system!

Xin Nian suddenly tugged at her parents. As they looked up, they saw the smiling old guard coming toward them.

"Fourth Madam, right? Come with me, someone wants to see you."

Xin Wenyuan became alert, raising his hand to block his wife and daughter. "Who is it?"

"It's not you they want to see, so why are you asking?" The guard pushed Xin Wenyuan, impatient. "Move."

Xin Nian quickly grabbed her father's arm and helped Xie Ninglan up. "I'll go with my mother."

The old guard raised an eyebrow, his gaze lingering on Xin Nian's face before he nodded. "That works."

Xin Mohan called out "Mother" nervously, his small body lunging forward, only to be firmly held by Xin Wenyuan.

"What are you panicking about? It's a good thing!" The old guard smiled until his eyes disappeared.

Xin Wenyuan and Xie Ninglan exchanged a look, nodded secretly, and watched as the mother and daughter followed the guard away.

The crowd stirred, everyone craning their necks to look behind the dirt slope, where they could vaguely see a carriage parked there.

Before Xie Ninglan and her daughter reached the carriage, they saw an old lady in plain clothes being helped down by a maid.

As their eyes met, Xie Ninglan suddenly opened her mouth, staring at the lady's face in complete shock.

"Lan'er." The old lady’s eyes streamed with tears as she ran forward, grabbing Xie Ninglan in a hug and sobbing uncontrollably.

"My poor girl, why are you so stubborn? I told you to divorce and come home, and you could have brought my Nian'er back with you, so why didn't you listen? You've truly ruined yourself and my granddaughter."

"Mother?" Xie Ninglan felt dazed, calling out tremulously.

Since transmigrating, she hadn't received any information about the original owner or this era, but seeing the original owner's mother now, she felt an inexplicable tremor in her heart.

This mother looked so much like her own mother who had passed away early! For some reason, she felt as if she could instantly empathize with the original owner's feelings.

"My poor daughter, why were you so unable to let go?"

(End of chapter)