Chapter 18: Intent to Befriend

"Stop joking around and hurry up and feed your dear son some water," Xie Ninglan urged, prompting Xin Wenyuan to go take care of Xin Mochen, who remained unconscious.

"Father, go ahead. I’ll grind some medicinal powder for a while; I’ll brew a pot for Brother tonight."

Xin Nian had already infused Xin Wenyuan with a significant amount of healing energy, so he was currently full of vigor.

With the order given by his wife and daughter, he immediately carried out the "imperial decree."

Xie Ninglan cast a glance toward the first branch of the family. "Daughter, the bearded guard has gone over there."

"That’s to be expected. When someone suddenly appears in the group, the guards are bound to ask questions." Xin Nian used her basket as cover and took a mortar and pestle out of her Ningzhu space.

Her mother’s maternal family was truly reliable; most of the herbs they provided had already had their roots and stems processed, making them much easier to grind.

Xie Ninglan deliberately sat opposite her daughter, using her back to block many of the prying eyes.

"Who are those people? Why do they keep looking over here?"

"Old Xin said they are from the Yongkang Earl’s Mansion and the Enyi Marquis’s Mansion. The two houses are related by marriage." Xin Nian continued grinding the herbs, unbothered.

Since yesterday, she had sensed that people from those two houses had been observing them.

It didn't matter; let them look. They were all just unlucky souls in exile anyway; looking wouldn't cost them a pound of flesh.

"Daughter, do you know why our Duke’s Mansion was exiled?" Xie Ninglan leaned in close to Xin Nian, looking mysterious. "Could it be that someone in the Xin family committed treason?"

Xin Nian rolled her eyes. "Treason is a capital offense. You’d be dragged out and beheaded in a heartbeat, with the entire clan executed. How could they just exile you?"

"The entire clan?"

"From top to bottom—your grandfather, father, brothers, sisters, sons, grandsons, daughters, sons-in-law, nephews, nieces, and so on, including a dog passing by the gate—they’d kill them all."

"That ruthless?" Xie Ninglan’s mouth fell open. "They wouldn't even spare the dog?"

"Exactly." Xin Nian nodded solemnly. "The rulers of this dynasty all have psychopathic tendencies. We’re just common folk; we must never get entangled with these powerful elites."

"Then tell me, why were we exiled?"

"I heard it was a military defeat." Xin Nian rubbed the mortar, answering nonchalantly. "Great Xia, the dynasty we’re living in now, is constantly fighting with the Yan Kingdom over the border."

"My grandfather, the old Duke, took my eldest uncle and my two older brothers to the front lines to fight the Yan dogs. They ended up losing the battle, and all four of them mysteriously disappeared."

"Rumors spread in the court that the old Duke had taken his sons and grandsons to defect to the enemy, and that they were now living in luxury as honored guests in the Yan Kingdom. They even said my eldest uncle had become a consort to a Yan princess."

"I’m thinking, my eldest uncle is nearly forty. Why would a Yan princess choose him over my older brothers? Unless she’s blind, she’d definitely pick them! Why would she choose a weathered, middle-aged man?"

Xie Ninglan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Daughter, this is a very serious matter, but the way you put it makes it sound quite comical."

Xin Nian bared her teeth at her mother. "This really is an unprovoked disaster. The old Duke and his sons and grandsons sacrificed their lives for the country on the front lines, and the dog emperor wiped out our entire Duke’s Mansion!"

"What are your thoughts now, daughter?"

"When a great building is about to collapse, monsters are bound to appear. I’m starting to believe in that 'fire from the heavens' disaster predicted by the Imperial Observatory." Xin Nian stroked her chin. "With such a muddle-headed emperor, the Imperial Observatory surely can't handle it."

"We need to prepare in advance. Who knows, a major disaster might strike on the road, and there won't be anywhere to run."

Xie Ninglan nodded with a serious expression.

"Daughter, look at that old man. Could he be the Director of the Imperial Observatory who was exiled by the dog emperor?"

Xin Nian ground the herbs, taking a moment to glance to the side.

Everyone else was gathered in groups of three or five, but that old man was alone, leaning against a tree with his legs crossed, rubbing his back against the bark as if he had lice. There was nothing about him that suggested he was a master; he just looked like a sleazy little old man.

Not far away stood two young men, likely the old man’s disciples.

One of them offered the old man half a coarse millet cake, but the old man waved his hand in disgust, shooing him away.

The two disciples were quite filial; they actually ran over to Xin Wanqing’s side and took out silver to buy sesame flatbreads for their master.

Xin Wanqing hesitated for a second, glanced at the old man, and then took out a small package to sell to them.

A while later, one of the disciples suddenly ran up to them and bowed respectfully to Xin Nian.

Xin Nian looked bewildered, glancing at her equally confused mother, then back at the disciple.

"What do you want?"

"Greetings, Miss. My master says that you have a very auspicious face and are destined for great nobility. He believes you will be of great help on the road ahead, so he specifically instructed me to gift this package of food to you as a gesture of friendship."

Xin Nian didn't take the package, staring at him with a questioning look.

The disciple wasn't embarrassed; he shoved the items into the hands of the stunned Xie Ninglan and bowed before leaving.

"Daughter, isn't this the food they just bought from Xin Wanqing? Why did they turn around and give it to you?"

Xin Nian narrowed her eyes and glanced at the old man. The latter seemed very happy to have met her; he cupped his hands, grinned, and shook the sesame cake in his hand at her.

"What’s up with this old man? Does he want to befriend you?" Xie Ninglan felt a bit nervous. "Could he have seen through something?"

"He couldn't see through a thing." Xin Nian took the small package from Xie Ninglan and opened it. Inside were five sesame cakes and half a roasted chicken.

She raised an eyebrow and, using the basket as cover, threw the items into her Ningzhu storage.

If the old man was willing to give, she was willing to take. Every little bit helped; it would be a waste not to take it. Even a mosquito's leg was still meat.

She had already used the basket to hide and store quite a bit of the perishable food from the cart earlier.

Xin Nian had secretly calculated that, excluding her unconscious brother, their current food supply was barely enough for their family to eat their fill for seven days.

If a natural disaster really struck, this amount of food would definitely not be enough.

She still couldn't open her previous storage space, so she felt a sense of urgency; she needed to collect a batch of food as soon as possible to prepare for emergencies.

Over on Xin Wenyuan’s side, after he finished helping his eldest son drink water, the guards began shackling everyone and shouting for them to move out.

Many people had fallen asleep on the ground under the scorching sun and were kicked awake by the guards, all of them complaining and sighing.

"Move, move! There are no post stations to rest at for the next few days. We need to hurry and reach the nearest water source before sunset."

"Don't say I didn't warn you—if you don't make it to the water, you'll be thirsty."

"Buck up! You've rested long enough; don't look like a bunch of weaklings."

The crowd shuffled along in their worn-out straw sandals. Since the sandals were prone to falling apart, those who weren't careful wore through the soles in two days, making walking barefoot even more difficult.

Xie Ninglan was now used to their wailing; it was as if they were singing a dirge every time they started moving.

She didn't know how the first branch had dealt with the guards, but as soon as they hit the road, Xie Ninglan and Xin Nian noticed that the horse Xin Wanqing had ridden was now under the control of Liang Tou.

Half of the two baskets of supplies they had brought were also confiscated by the guards.