Chapter 159: Just Wait and See

Liangzhou, An Ding County, Pengyang County

After a day’s journey, everyone in the Qin family’s second branch was too tired to move.

“Father—Father—” The whimpering of a sick child rang out in the dilapidated thatched hut.

Cai Shi touched her daughter Qin Yun’s burning forehead and said to her husband, “Erlang, hold the child.” The child was uncomfortable and kept calling for her father.

Qin Yan wiped his face, then grabbed a handful of snow from the broken window and rubbed his hands, then warmed his hands on his body before reaching out to take his daughter.

He patted his daughter’s small back, comforting her, “Yun’er, be good, Father is here.”

He knew that he had been less attentive to his daughter these days, but he couldn’t help it.

Qin Yan held his daughter’s small body, burying his face in it. His father had died only two days ago, and the imperial decree of punishment arrived, and their family was immediately escorted to Pingzhou for exile. Even his father Qin Yue’s remains could not be sent back to Chang’an. They could only choose a place with a wide view in the north and bury him there, waiting for their Qin family… to ask for a pardon in the future.

Now, he, his wife, his mother, and his fourth brother’s wife, four adults, were traveling with five children, the oldest being only seven years old.

It was freezing cold, and he was the only man. The safety of three women and five children rested on his shoulders, and he had to keep his nerves tight.

Besides, his fourth brother’s wife was alone with two children, and he couldn’t help but pay attention to those two children. They were not only his nephews, but also the only bloodline left by his two younger brothers. He couldn’t let them suffer any misfortune. As for his own three children, he could only rely on his wife and mother to take care of them.

This change came too suddenly. They didn’t have time to prepare.

Fortunately, his elder brother had made preparations and arrangements. Now, Ma Jin had brought twenty or thirty brothers to protect them, either openly or secretly.

But the help that Ma Jin and his men could provide was limited. They could only provide some help secretly, such as sneaking them some food or warm clothes, and guarding their safety. However, the main dangers they faced were the harsh weather and the environment, and they could do little to help with those.

Every day, these adults had to carry their own luggage and at least one child on their backs, or drag one along in the snow. It was really hard work.

From the north to Pingzhou, there were over four thousand miles. He really didn’t know if they, especially the children, could reach Pingzhou safely and soundly. He was under great pressure and felt very tormented.

At the beginning of the escort, they had also bribed the constables and guards with a lot of money, and in the end, they only got the convenience of not wearing shackles. This convenience was practically nonexistent. They had so many children, women, and elderly people, the other party was not afraid of them running away. And he wouldn’t run away.

In fact, the constables, Wu, knew something about Ma Jin’s secret protection. He respected the Qin family’s contributions to defending against foreign enemies in the north for many years, and their efforts for the north. Also, Ma Jin and his men were not overstepping their bounds, so he turned a blind eye.

Now that the child was sick and there was no medicine, Qin Yan asked Constable Wu for help. He knew that asking for a doctor was impossible, so he could only ask them for some herbs to try. Ma Jin and his men couldn’t help either.

In this part of the northwest, doctors were already scarce, and now they were in the middle of nowhere. It was unlikely they could find a doctor within a hundred miles.

Cai Shi broke the herbs Wu gave them and put them in a broken earthenware pot to boil. She added fire while asking her husband, “Are we really going to give Yun’er this decoction?” This herb was unknown whether it was suitable or not.

Qin Yan didn’t say anything. If he could, he really wanted to find a doctor to prescribe and dispense medicine for his daughter, instead of just using random herbs.

Ma Jin was also very depressed at this moment. He knew that the second master’s little daughter was in critical condition, but he had also sent people out to search. There was really no doctor within thirty or forty miles.

Just then, two people quietly approached him. Sensing the movement, Ma Jin quickly turned his head and saw that it was Zhou Da and a brother he had brought. He was very surprised, “How come it’s just you two? Where are the others?”

“It’s me. The others are in other places. How is the situation on the second master’s side?”

“The situation is not good. Right now, Second Master’s daughter has a fever. By the way, why are you here? What about the Eldest Young Master’s side? What are you doing going north?”

Zhou Da replied, “The Eldest Young Master has other arrangements. We weren’t very useful there, so he sent us north to assist you. Now it seems that the Eldest Young Master’s concerns were justified. You really can’t take care of people.”

“Zhou Da, what do you mean by that?” They were very worried about the child being sick, okay?

“Literally. Don’t say anything. Just quietly deliver the medicine to Second Master.” As he spoke, Zhou Da pulled out the wooden hairpin from his hair. This was secretly given to him by Sixth Master before they left. Sixth Madam told him that there were medicine pills inside that could treat children’s colds and fevers. He could use them if necessary.

After taking off the hairpin, Zhou Da identified the scratch marks on it. He used a dagger to cut it along the scratch marks, revealing a pill the size of a peanut.

“Wow, hiding medicine like this. Zhou Da, when did you get so smart?”

Zhou Da arrogantly said, “I’ve always been smarter than you.”

“Don’t fool me!” Ma Jin snorted in annoyance, then said, “Wait for me. I’ll go deliver the medicine to Second Master.”

After Ma Jin left, Zhou Da called his deputy, “Tell me, how have you been taking care of Second Master and the others?”

Qin Yan received the medicine that Ma Jin had secretly delivered. He was surprised to learn that Zhou Da had gone north and that the medicine was prepared by his unseen Sixth Sister-in-law.

After Ma Jin left, he secretly scraped some of the powder off the medicine with his fingernail and put it in his mouth. After a quarter of an hour, there was no sign of poison. He then fed the pill to his daughter. The couple took care of their daughter for half the night, and finally, her fever subsided. The two of them let out a sigh of relief, feeling deeply grateful and curious about their Sixth Sister-in-law.

Speaking of Zhou Da, when Ma Jin returned after delivering the medicine, he received a contemptuous look from Zhou Da.

Ma Jin was baffled. He looked at his deputy, who was hanging his head in shame.

Zhou Da: “Is this how you take care of people?”

What else could they do? They knew they hadn’t taken good care of them. They were very worried, but the key was that Second Master and the others were under the supervision of the clerks and constables. They couldn’t overstep their boundaries.

Ma Jin explained their difficulties, “The clerks and constables are okay, except for one named Lin. He was under Fourth Master’s command before. He was punished by Fourth Master for violating military regulations. He has held a grudge ever since and loves to find fault. He’s not easy to deal with.”

“If we help too much, he will deliberately make things difficult for Second Master and the others. He even whipped the young master with a whip.” This was also one of the reasons why they were so restrained.

Zhou Da sneered, “Find fault? He loves to make things difficult for people? He must not want to live long.”

Zhou Da’s deputy naturally understood what their leader was sneering about.

They had heard that before the Eldest Young Master and his group met up with them, there was a constable named Zhao Long who was also very difficult to deal with. He hadn’t even met them yet before he died. He died quietly, and they couldn’t even find out the cause of death.

How could it be that during the transport of convicts to their exile location, only convicts could die, but not the constables? Constables couldn’t die?

“You stupid pigs. You just watched the young master being whipped?”

Ma Jin widened his eyes, “Who are you calling a pig? You’re so smart, why don’t you go do it yourself?”

“Okay, I’ll do it myself! Just wait and see.” Zhou Da boasted.

“What are you going to do?” Ma Jin asked.

“You’ll find out later,” Zhou Da said, keeping it a mystery.