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Shen Daya’s second aunt continued unhappily, “Just now, Auntie Wu told me that they found food in the city last night and filled a whole cart with it.”
“That food was already found in the city, and we all contributed to getting it. Why should their family monopolize so much food?”
“Besides, their family filled a whole cart with food, so how could they be lacking in food? They should give some of the food to us.”
“They have food but didn’t even give us a share. They still have the nerve to say that Shen Rong did us a favor? Hmph, they are all deceitful and untrustworthy people.”
As Shen Daya spoke, her third aunt also chimed in, her face filled with anger upon hearing these words.
She said, “We are the ones who are honest. Dad insisted on sharing with our second uncle’s family, and we even left them two catties of rice. If we had known they found so much food, we shouldn’t have given them a single grain of rice.”
The more they talked, the more indignant they became, as if Shen Yu’an and his family had committed some unforgivable crime.
In the end, even Shen Xingwang’s three sons were persuaded by their words.
They felt that their father must have known that Shen Yuan’s family had found a lot of food and still chose to follow them.
How could he keep such good news from his own sons?
The resentment in their hearts grew, and they felt even more innocent.
They thought to themselves with hatred: when Shen Yuan’s family wants to return to the group, they will demand more food from them.
Apart from them, there were many others who saw Shen’s family following behind the group.
Everyone had their own thoughts – some wanted to ask for food from Shen’s family, some took pleasure in seeing their misfortune, and some waited eagerly for Shen’s family to beg for forgiveness.
Even those who believed that Shen’s family was innocent dared not speak up for them now. They were afraid that if they did, they might also be kicked out of the group, and then they would have nowhere to go.
After resting for a while, Lizheng stood up and glanced coldly in the direction of Shen’s family. He snorted disdainfully.
He couldn’t believe that a little girl like Shen Yu’an dared to repeatedly challenge his authority. He was waiting for them to come begging for mercy with tears in their eyes.
But by then, it wouldn’t be so easy for them to come back.
Shen Yu’an and the others were unaware of what the others were thinking.
They were discussing the next route they should take.
Originally, they had planned to head east with the people of Shen’s village, and then detour southeast before reaching the Third Prince’s territory.
But now that this incident had happened, they were considering changing their route so that they wouldn’t have to travel with Shen’s family.
Fortunately, they had prepared in advance. Shen Rong had made a simple map of the terrain of the Great Wei Dynasty at the town school early on.
Although it was not very detailed in many places, it was enough for them.
Shen Rong spread the map on the ground, and Shen Yu’an knelt down, looking at the route on the map, trying to choose a more suitable one.
Other people finished their meals and came over to join in the discussion.
“We are not far from the county now. If we continue east for about 100 kilometers along this road, we will reach the boundary of Mizhou City. After passing through Mizhou City, we will head southeast,” said someone.
“We will have reached Mizhou City by then. Why not just stay there? They are the prince’s people, and they should be able to take us in,” asked grandpa Shen Xingwang.
Shen Yu’an didn’t consider settling in the vicinity of Mizhou from the beginning, and there were two main reasons for this.
Firstly, there were disasters like locust plagues and earthquakes in the surrounding counties of Mizhou. Although she remembered Mizhou as a peaceful place, the affected people from the surrounding areas would definitely flock there. If too many people gathered, it could easily lead to unrest.
Even if the officials were willing to accept so many people, there might not be enough places to accommodate them.
Secondly, and most importantly, Mizhou was adjacent to the territory of the Fourth Prince. The Fourth Prince was the male lead in the book, and he certainly had ambitions. With the emperor already seriously ill, if he were to pass away, the Fourth Prince would certainly be the first to make a move against the Third Prince, who had no maternal family support.
If they went to Mizhou City, wouldn’t they be entering the wolf’s den?
In times of war and chaos, there’s nowhere to hide even if you want to.
However, Shen Yu’an still explained: “Grandpa, now there are multiple disasters happening in and around Mizhou. Everyone is flocking to Mizhou city, but the city can only accommodate a limited number of refugees.”
“So we should plan ahead and not compete with others for that possibility. Let’s head south towards the beautiful mountains and clear waters, where the generals guard the borders well. There is no better place than there.”
Other people had no objection to what Shen Yu’an said, but Shen Xingwang looked hesitant.
According to what he had heard recently, they were planning to go to the Fourth Prince’s territory or the outskirts of the Imperial City. If they went south, he would never see those young troublemakers again.
He was very angry when they first left, but now he was very hesitant.
Although they are not very capable, they are his own flesh and blood after all, and he feels a little reluctant to leave them behind.
Thinking of what happened in the morning, the old man felt extremely sad.
Those daughters-in-law were all singing the same tune, trying to leave him behind, and even the second daughter-in-law, he knew what she was up to, trying to take advantage of the situation to push him down.
The two catties of grain that they gave were already slightly moldy old rice from last year.
He sighed and said, “Please think carefully.”
Shen Yu’an nodded in agreement, knowing that this matter could not be rushed.
After the matter was discussed, they looked up again, but the team ahead had already left without knowing when.
They also started packing up and preparing to leave, otherwise it would be dark soon.
It’s unclear whether they were moving too fast or the group ahead was moving too slow.
By evening, they caught up with the group ahead of them.
However, this time, Shen Yu’an let them drive the carriage closer, and there were a few scattered rocks where they rested.
Thinking of overtaking them the next morning and walking ahead of them.
They parked their carriage closer, and the people of Shen Village noticed them right away.
But no one dared to come over, even when Wu Cuihua saw Song Shi and she wanted to come over and chat, she was stopped by her daughter.
From afar, they saw them arguing for a few moments, but in the end, they sat down.
Aunt Wu gave a sidelong glance in their direction and went to sit next to the wife of Lizheng.
“I told you so, if this person doesn’t know how to submit, she’s no good. And now look, they followed us all the way here,” she said.
Lizheng’s wife took his words and sneered, “Exactly, a young person who doesn’t understand the rules, bringing trouble to the whole family.”
Both of them dislike the Shen family. They take turns to make sarcastic remarks without lowering their voices at all. In fact, to humiliate Shen Yu’an, they deliberately raise their voices a bit.
Hearing this from behind, Grandma Shen couldn’t even finish her meal. She immediately wanted to grab a spatula and hit those two old women.
Those two useless women dare to insult her precious granddaughter.