Chapter 27: Xu Shi’s Tranquilizing Pills

The vegetable and lean meat porridge was cooked until thick, and Yan Huan secretly added some milk powder to it, giving off a faint milky aroma. The egg pancakes were first moistened, lubricate the pan with chicken oil, so they not only had the fragrance of eggs but also a special aroma of chicken oil. Not to mention the several kinds of red and green fruits laid out before them.

These things, let alone on the road to exile, were rare delicacies even in the homes of ordinary people in normal times.

The old lady was also filled with emotion. Her health was considered robust, but even she was somewhat worn out after this journey.

Fortunately, her children and grandchildren were filial, so she hadn’t suffered too much, unlike that old woman from the Song family next to them. Her son had died, she had cried her eyes blind, and her daughter-in-law was leading several granddaughters around like butterflies, causing a disgrace. The old woman Song had said to her several times that she wished she were dead, having no face to live in this world.

Yan Huan first served the old lady a bowl of porridge, then the other children, each getting a large, full bowl. Everyone also got several egg pancakes, and they could freely take whatever fruits they liked to eat.

The little ones were overjoyed, their mouths grinning from ear to ear as they ate.

When Zhao Song came over, he happened to witness this scene and secretly praised Yan Huan’s righteousness in his heart.

He had also heard about the issues between Yan Huan and the fourth branch of the Yan family, but at this moment, that little chubby boy from the fourth branch was also sitting here. Such magnanimity was rare.

Zhao Song came to find Yan Qingyi, wanting to borrow people from the Yan family.

In the entire team, only the Yan family had brought servants, and they were all young and strong.

These people were all registered, and he remembered that a few of them knew how to drive carriages.

Seeing him come to her father with a serious expression, Yan Huan also followed to listen. Then she heard Zhao Song say he wanted to borrow a few people to drive carriages.

The officials had several carriages, loaded with some of their personal belongings and the day’s food rations. There wasn’t much, and they usually drove them themselves. Why did they need to borrow people today?

Before they could ask, Zhao Song continued, “After we leave this forest and follow the official road, we will reach the boundary of Laozhou tomorrow.”

“Laozhou is now plagued by rampant bandits. The people at the Laozhou official post have all retreated. The official post here said to prepare more food for us, enough to at least last us until the boundary of Ganzhou. We’ll probably have over a dozen extra carts of things, so we need to borrow people from you.”

Among these aristocratic families, very few could drive carriages themselves. Every family raised coachmen; why would they do it themselves?

Yan Huan was greatly alarmed. The route they had been taking was very remote, and they hadn’t encountered any rebellious people. Had it become that chaotic?

Moreover, since the officials had already retreated from Laozhou, could their safety be guaranteed when they passed through?

The majority of the team were old, weak, sick, and disabled. The only martial family was the Jiang family. The rest were all scholars and intellectuals, people who couldn’t even truss a chicken. If they really encountered danger, they wouldn’t have a chance of winning.

Seeing that everyone’s expressions were not good, Zhao Song quickly said, “Everyone doesn’t need to worry too much. We’ve already planned the route in advance, and it’s relatively safe.”

Zhao Song himself didn’t believe these words. After saying them, he awkwardly chuckled twice.

Yan Huan didn’t want to talk nonsense with him and quickly said, “Can’t the team stop here for a while? Can’t we leave after the situation gets better?”

Zhao Song shook his head. “We’ve been traveling slowly these past few days to wait for the official documents from above, but we haven’t received them. We can’t keep wasting time like this.”

Yan Huan originally wanted to say, wasn’t this treating their lives like a game?

But then she thought, they were criminals. Who would care about their lives and deaths? The emperor had said that anyone who interceded for them would be punished with the same crime. Who would risk their life to intercede for them at this time?

It was useless to discuss these things now. They could only take it one step at a time and act according to the situation.

Although these people were all prisoners, their lives weren’t bad. They wore good clothes, and with over a dozen carts of food, weren’t they just walking little fat sheep?
If they were targeted by bandits, this small team of officials would probably have difficulty protecting themselves, let alone protecting them.

It was useless to talk about these things with Zhao Song. Zhao Song was just someone who followed orders. He also cherished his life and didn’t want to take risks, but he had no choice.

Before leaving, Zhao Song asked Yan Huan, “Last time I saw your maternal grandfather’s family gave you a package of medicine? Does it contain your Xu family’s Tranquilizing Pills for children?”

Yan Huan nodded, not understanding why he suddenly asked about this.

“Laozhou Prefecture is the fiefdom of the Fourth Prince. The Fourth Prince’s young son recently had a relapse of his heart ailment and also encountered widespread banditry in the fiefdom, so he moved here. He’s staying in a villa not far from here. If you have Xu Shi’s Tranquilizing Pills, you might have a chance.”

The Fourth Prince? A dignified prince, his fiefdom in such chaos, instead of thinking about suppressing the bandits, he fled to another prefecture. As a local official, he could hide, but what about the ordinary people in the prefecture? Without even meeting him, Yan Huan already disliked this prince.

But since Zhao Song said it was an opportunity, Yan Huan naturally didn’t want to miss it.

“The Fourth Prince’s young son was born with congenital deficiency. Your maternal grandfather is skilled in treating this ailment. The young son has been taking Xu Shi’s Tranquilizing Pills, and his condition improved. But recently, they can’t buy the medicine. The Xu family said they are missing one ingredient, and your maternal grandfather has gone out to find that ingredient. It will take some time before they have more, but the young son’s health is deteriorating and can’t wait.”

Hearing this, Yan Huan was secretly shocked.

She knew very well what her eldest uncle had gone out to do. He had clearly gone to Ganzhou to pave the way for them, but the Xu family publicly claimed they were looking for medicine.

It was said that parents’ love for their children involves deep planning for their future. The Xu family was truly paying too much for their family. This was clearly paving the way and finding connections for them.

Earlier, when she was sorting out the package her maternal grandfather gave her, she was surprised why there were Tranquilizing Pills inside. Tranquilizing Pills mainly treated heart disease. She had thought it was a mistake, but she hadn’t expected…

Zhao Song said with a smile, “The Xu family said that although they don’t have the medicine on hand, the eldest granddaughter of your Yan family’s first branch also suffers from this ailment. When they came to see you before, they sent all of it over. So, the last few bottles are in your hands. If the Fourth Prince urgently needs it, he might come to discuss it with you.”

“But don’t worry, the Fourth Prince is benevolent and wouldn’t do such a thing as forcibly seize it, so he asked me to come and discuss it with you.” After all, the young son’s illness still needed the Xu family’s follow-up care, so naturally, they wouldn’t do anything that would kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Yan Huan only knew that Xiyao’s health was not good before, but she didn’t know that she actually had congenital heart disease.

When they first met, her complexion was still very pale, but her complexion had become increasingly rosy during this time. Especially after she fed her milk and honey water, the little girl looked even healthier, completely no different from other children.

It was impossible for a few sips of milk and honey water to cure heart disease, right? That would be too mysterious.