“Exhausted—”
The scorching sun blazed down on the earth. The blinding light made it hard to open one's eyes. Yet at this moment, they had to trudge forward in prisoner's uniforms with fetters on their feet.
“Sir officers, can we take a break?” The prisoners complained loudly.
The officers waved their long whips impatiently. The cracking sound of the whips on the ground made everyone huddle together in fear, afraid that the next lash would fall on them.
“Hurry up! Stop dawdling! What bad luck to be sent out on such a chore on such a hot day.”
“It's you corrupt officials who live a life of luxury while we ordinary folks have never had a good day. Damn it, just thinking about it makes me angry!”
As he was scolding, an officer lifted his right foot, about to kick someone.
“Don't you dare touch my father!” Ye Zhinan's fetters clanged as she stepped in front of Ye Shenyan and warned sternly, “My father was exiled by the imperial edict. If anything goes wrong before we reach the exile destination, see if you'll still have a life to live in the future!”
The officers were intimidated by her aura. They glanced at each other, picked their teeth, and then went aside to rest.
“Cough, cough.” Ye Shenyan's cheeks were flushed, and a look of guilt welled up in his cloudy eyes. “Child, I've made you suffer with me.”
Could it not be hard?
Rarely did she catch up with the trend of time - travel, and ended up in the body of the daughter of a grand tutor. She had just enjoyed a few years of a care - free life when everything went back to square one.
It wasn't so much that her father had committed a crime as that he had given too many remonstrances and offended some people.
Ye Zhinan remained silent. Her weak legs made her start to think about the problem of getting enough to eat.
But the officers' whips showed no sign of easing up. They roared fiercely, “Stop crying! Hurry up!”
Ye Zhinan's legs gave way, and she fell to the ground. The dust that rose up blinded her eyes. Everything in front of her was hazy. When she blinked again, she found herself in a small warehouse full of cobwebs and dust.
Wasn't this her modern - day supplies?!
She quickly got up, brushed off the dust, opened the box of biscuits inside, and smelled them. They were still edible.
Surprise flashed across Ye Zhinan's face. Before she could figure out why the supplies had suddenly appeared, she heard Ye Shenyan's hoarse voice calling for Ye's mother.
Ye's mother, Han Xiangmei, had fainted.
Ye Zhinan quickly left the warehouse and rushed to her mother's side. She felt her mother's pulse with her fingertips and frowned tightly. “Mother has been hungry for too long, and the sun is too hot. I need to use acupuncture to revive her.”
Fortunately, when she was taken into exile, she had brought her acupuncture kit with her. It came in handy at this moment.
The slender silver needles pierced into the skin. After a long while, Ye's mother slowly regained consciousness, her eyes still dazed.
“Mother, your body will break down if you go hungry for too long.”
Ye Zhinan looked serious. The three of them looked at each other. The food distributed each time was so little that the couple always left it for their child. Even if they starved to death, the officers wouldn't show any mercy.
Ye Zhinan pursed her lips. She entered the small warehouse with her consciousness, took a few items of food, and then pretended to take out some buns and steamed buns from her sleeve. She grinned and said, “Mother, eat more quickly.”
After having enough to eat, Ye's mother's complexion improved a lot, but Ye Shenyan looked rather grim.
His messy long beard made him look even more dejected. Ye Shenyan said gravely, “Child, where did you get this food?”
“I exchanged the jade hidden in my hair for it at a bun shop on the way.”
Ye Zhinan lied casually and forced a smile at Ye Shenyan with a stiff look in her eyes.
Ye Shenyan glanced at his wife's improved complexion, but put the bun back into Ye Zhinan's hand. “Zhinan, we can't bring things that the emperor didn't allow.”
Ye Zhinan knew very well that her father was an honest and upright man who would never go against the emperor's will. He was very rigid in his actions.
She squeezed the soft bun in her hand, her eyes full of reluctance. But she couldn't defy Ye Shenyan's gloomy expression. She said helplessly, “Daughter will go and throw it away right now.”
Seeing this, Ye Shenyan's expression softened a little.
To avoid being discovered by the officers, Ye Zhinan sneaked behind the woods and threw the bun under a big tree trunk.
Before the bun hit the ground, it landed directly in someone else's hand.
Wei Shishi waved the steamed bun in her hand proudly and provoked, “Let your father starve to death while clinging to his useless reputation. If you don't want to live, I'll just wait to watch your joke.”
The woman in front of her still had long, smooth hair like a waterfall, but her makeup had become plain, her face was pale, and her cheeks were slightly sunken. Even in the mess of exile, she still couldn't get rid of her obsession with appearance.
They were both daughters of official families in exile, but Wei Shishi still carried herself in a haughty manner.
“What? With more than a dozen concubines exiled together, is your father too lazy to feed you, so you have to scavenge for food everywhere?”
Ye Zhinan was angry and couldn't help but sneer. The two women clashed, and the conflict was about to break out.
The angry scolding of the officers came from not far away. “You two! What are you doing there!”
Wei Shishi quickly hid the food in her clothes. She glared at Ye Zhinan and then ran away in a hurry.
Seeing that the sun was about to set, the officers' scolding spurred their heavy steps. Ye Zhinan endured the discomfort on her ankle and followed the crowd.
Finally, they arrived at the exile destination. Ye Zhinan lifted her eyelids.
The fields were barren, the cottages were shabby, and the rivers were dry. It was really a good place to torture people.
The officers handed over the exiled prisoners to the guards and then left in a hurry. Before leaving, Ye Zhinan felt some unfriendly looks from them.
The next moment, the guarding soldiers tapped their fetters with their long swords. “You three, go and chop all the firewood. Otherwise, we can't start the stove.”
Ye Zhinan looked ugly. They were being deliberately made things difficult for right after they arrived.
“We've already reached the exile place. Shouldn't you unlock our fetters so that we can work?”
Ye Zhinan glanced at the others whose fetters were already gone.
“No. We can't afford to take the responsibility if you run away.”
The officers sneered maliciously, clearly intending to make things difficult for them.
Ye Zhinan wanted to argue further, but Ye Shenyan pressed her hand, so she had to swallow her words.
After the three of them finished chopping the firewood, they were already exhausted. They leaned against the dim and narrow cottage. Not long after, the guarding officers outside shouted for people to go and get their meals.
Ye Zhinan turned around and saw that Ye Shenyan and his wife had fallen asleep against the wall, with visible exhaustion between their eyebrows.
She patted the dust off her body and walked out. Although she had supplies, if she didn't use the food for a long time, it would surely arouse suspicion.
There was a shed two li away. There was a wooden basin on the table. The porridge in the basin was only half an inch deep, and there was a layer of ash floating on the surface. The steamed buns had been completely taken away. Fatigue and hunger made her angry. “Although we are prisoners, we should at least be allowed to have enough to eat, right?”
The officer put down the wooden spoon in his hand, with a grass root in his mouth. He raised his eyebrows and said, “Want food? Go and find it yourself in the back!”
He pointed to the tightly - closed firewood shed behind him.
Ye Zhinan glanced at him and strode inside. When she pushed open the door, there were several basins of meat - scented dishes on the stove. It was obvious that they were the officers' meals.
Bang.
Ye Zhinan's eyes darkened. When she turned around, the door had been tightly closed, and there were two officers in the room, rubbing their hands and leering obscenely.