Chapter 20: You Have Chilled Mother and Your Brothers’ Hearts

Lady Song stood in disbelief, staring at her daughter. She never imagined that she could be so foolish.

That was her own elder brother! She actually wanted to distribute Song Jiuyuan’s medicine for others?

Even Song Jiuchi’s eyes showed a mix of disappointment, while only Jiang Wan seemed like an outsider, coldly watching Song Jiuli.

At that moment, Song Jiuli realized that the way everyone was looking at her was strange. She nervously clenched her fists.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“Please, next time you plan something, don’t involve me. We’re not close,” Jiang Wan said calmly as she packed her things. Today, again, Song Jiuli wouldn’t get anything from her.

By now, if she still hadn’t reflected on her actions, Jiang Wan couldn’t be bothered to look at her.

Jiang Wan’s words seemed to choke Song Jiuli, leaving her speechless, stuck between a rock and a hard place.

She stood there, at a loss, not knowing how to explain herself.

Lady Song shook her head in disappointment. “Li’er, you can’t tell the difference between kin and outsiders. You’ve chilled your mother and your brothers’ hearts.”

Jiang Wan, no matter her faults, was still the wife of Yuan’er, who was closer than even Song Chen and the others.

Hearing her biological mother’s words was like a heavy blow to Song Jiuli. It made her hands and feet go cold. Yes, her mother and brothers were her true family.

Even though her grandmother had treated her well in the past, it was only because her brothers had supported their whole family. Now…

Thinking of her previous thoughts, Song Jiuli felt deeply ashamed. She wanted to apologize to Jiang Wan, but Jiang Wan had already packed her things, ready to depart.

Her demeanor clearly showed that she didn’t want to deal with her, and Song Jiuchi, with Song Jiuyuan on his back, didn’t even spare her a glance as he angrily left.

Even Lady Song, at this moment, didn’t want her help, choosing to follow them on her own with determination.

Song Jiuli hastily grabbed her own luggage, ready to catch up, but was stopped by Shen Qian.

“Li’er.”

“Second sister-in-law, is there something you need?”

Song Jiuli’s face turned cold, clearly irritated, fearing that her mother and brothers might never speak to her again.

Shen Qian lowered her eyes in dejection. “Li’er, father and husband are badly injured. They need medicine, and I know your eldest brother has some.

We won’t be greedy, just a little bit would be fine. You wouldn’t want to see them suffer, would you?

Please, ask Auntie, she will listen to you.”

Song Jiuli bit her lip in hesitation, but after recalling what her mother and brothers had said, she spoke firmly.

“My eldest brother doesn’t have enough medicine to spare. You’ll have to figure it out on your own.”

She quickened her pace, stepping around Shen Qian. Refusing her was hard, but Song Jiuli felt that not refusing her would make her feel even worse.

Seeing their family walk off in the distance, Shen Qian clenched her fists, her eyes burning with resentment.

“How did it go?”

Song Erniang was so anxious that bubbles seemed to form in her mouth. She almost wanted to take action herself, but they were too scared. Not to mention, the officials were on Jiang Wan’s side.

They weren’t sure they could even take the medicine. If they failed, they’d just get another beating.

“She didn’t agree!”

Shen Qian’s face contorted. In just a few short days, Song Jiuli had already sided with Jiang Wan!

“Forget it, let’s keep going.”

Song La’er sighed, his heart heavy. The official who beat him was experienced, leaving him sore all over, though only skin-deep injuries. His bones were untouched.

It looked terrifying but didn’t kill. It just made him weak and unable to run—pure madness!

For now, there was nothing more to be done. They didn’t want another beating, so they had no choice but to support each other and continue on their way.

Fortunately, there were many elderly and sick in their group, so their pace was slow. Since exiled criminals weren’t allowed on the official roads, they were forced to take small paths, climbing mountains and crossing ravines.

The path was hard to walk, but Song Jiuchi still gritted his teeth and pressed on. Since switching to insoles, Jiang Wan felt much more comfortable and was even considering reinforcing the shoes for the eldest lady.

And for Song Jiuchi, if he performed well, she might reinforce his shoes as well, in consideration of Song Jiuyuan.

As Jiang Wan thought, she casually picked a handful of wild vegetables from the ground. Song Jiuli also followed and picked some, timidly approaching Jiang Wan.

“Big sister-in-law, I’m sorry. Everything earlier was my fault.”

This was the first time Song Jiuli sincerely called Jiang Wan “big sister-in-law” and genuinely apologized.

But Jiang Wan was cautious and didn’t fully believe her, purposely teasing her, “I wouldn’t say you’re wrong.”

At first, she thought Song Jiuli would argue back, but to her surprise, she kept quiet and obediently followed Jiang Wan.

“Big sister-in-law, if you need anything, just tell me.”

Her mother was right. They were family. Though she hadn’t liked Jiang Wan before, now she had changed a lot, and she could accept her.

Jiang Wan was slightly surprised but then confidently gave her instructions: “Fine, pick more of these.”

As for whether Song Jiuli had truly changed or was pretending, Jiang Wan would soon be able to tell.

But if she wanted to have something from her, she had to work for it!

“Okay.”

Song Jiuli agreed with a sycophantic tone, clumsily pulling at the wild vegetables. Though she wasn’t very good at it, she was earnest.

Lady Song couldn’t help but nod slightly. It seemed her daughter wasn’t entirely foolish, and there was still hope for her.

Behind them, Shen Qian watched their warm interaction, feeling anger bubble up. She, too, tried to follow Jiang Wan’s example and pick some things.

Thinking back to how Jiang Wan had gathered herbs earlier, she instinctively thought Jiang Wan was collecting herbs again. In a hurry, she ran over to grab a handful.

Song Jiuli didn’t expect her to snatch them and immediately became upset. “Second sister-in-law, what are you doing?”

“These herbs are wild, and there’s no rule saying they’re just for you. Why can’t we pick them too?” Shen Qian said smugly, clutching the herbs she had taken. She was happy as long as she could irritate Jiang Wan!

Jiang Wan gave Shen Qian’s “herbs” a meaningful glance. Someone who couldn’t even tell the difference between wild vegetables and herbs…

Heh~

“Pick them if you want,” Jiang Wan said, turning away, barely holding back a laugh. From then on, she didn’t pick any more herbs, only gathering wild vegetables.

Yet, Shen Qian still proudly followed, and with a smirk, said to Song Erniang:

“Mother, I’ll pick whatever Jiang Wan picks. You can use this to treat father and husband.”

They had all seen Jiang Wan apply herbs to Little Deng earlier, so they assumed that’s how these should be applied.

Song Erniang nodded seriously and lowered her voice. “Okay, thank you, Qianqian.

Let’s keep going. We’ll soon reach Jiaojiao’s house. She’ll know we’ve been exiled and will surely find a way to help us.”

Jiaojiao, Song Erniang’s eldest daughter, was a year older than Song Jiuli. She had only been married for two months and had good luck. Had she not married, she likely would have been exiled as well.

Hearing this, Shen Qian’s eyes gleamed with light. “Mother, don’t worry. I’ll keep trying.

No matter how tough Jiang Wan is, she can’t stop me from picking things. This mountain isn’t hers. Just make sure to apply the herbs to father and husband. We’ll make it until we see little sister!”

Once she saw Song Jiaojiao, she was determined to take back her secret stash of money!