Chapter 13: A Beating

A peaceful night.

After taking the medicine and going to bed, Cheng Yue’e broke out in a sweat and no longer had a fever.

During the night, Wei Yunlan got up and reached out several times, then used a handkerchief to wipe the sweat off her sister-in-law’s body.

The most dangerous night had passed. By morning, Cheng Yue’e’s condition had improved significantly compared to the previous day.

“That old gentleman’s medical skills are remarkable. I had previously judged him too harshly based on his appearance,” Madam Gao couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. At first, she had thought that the barefoot doctor from the countryside wouldn’t be reliable.

“It’s nothing. Although Mother didn’t trust him, she still treated him respectfully and never neglected him.” That old gentleman seemed to have a carefree personality, so he probably didn’t mind others’ opinions.

Wei Yunlan, holding Little Jiarong, gently dipped a spoon into the rice porridge and fed it to her. Yesterday, she had also fed some goat’s milk, but that was hard to store. Right now, she could still claim that it was brought from the capital, but in a couple of days, it would be difficult to explain where it came from. It would be best if she could find a way to buy fresh cow or goat milk to cover up the source.

If that wasn’t possible, she would have to avoid others’ sight and quietly feed Little Jiarong in private.

“Yunlan, let me hold her for a while. You should eat your breakfast soon.” Cheng Yue’e took Little Jiarong in her arms. Today, she had a little more strength. Although she couldn’t help with much else, holding the child for a while was not a problem.

Moreover, having not seen her child for an entire day, as a mother, she really missed her little one dearly.

Wei Yunlan’s arms were empty. She casually took the bowl of rice porridge that Ningshuang had brought.

Just as she was about to scoop a spoonful and bring it to her mouth, a loud “clang” sounded from outside.

It sounded like the crashing of bowls and plates.

“Miss, please eat first. I’ll go see what’s happening.” Tingxue dashed out of the room, and the shouting from downstairs immediately followed.

There was no need to investigate further. The voices could be heard clearly from inside the room.

“Who are you calling a thief?”

“How dare a servant curse their master! Oh my heavens, this is outrageous!”

The shouting sounded particularly familiar—wasn’t it Madam Feng again?

The other person yelling, Wei Yunlan didn’t recognize, but thinking of the Bai family who shared the large dormitory with Madam Feng, she couldn’t help but feel a little concerned.

Having quickly finished her porridge in a few bites, she was about to step out to check when she ran into Tingxue, who had just returned from her investigation.

“Miss, can you guess what’s going on?”

Several pairs of eyes in the room all turned to Tingxue at once.

Wei Yunlan could tell from Tingxue’s tone that the incident wasn’t related to Madam Feng and the others. “I won’t guess. Just tell me.”

“Miss, how come you won’t play along with me for once?” Tingxue shot Wei Yunlan a teasing glance, then didn’t keep her guessing any longer. “It’s Madam Feng who’s scolding a maidservant from Madam Liang’s side!”

Wei Yunlan raised an eyebrow. “Did the children from the Liang family steal something from Madam Liang?”

“Miss, you really are uncanny!”

It wasn’t that uncanny, considering that Madam Feng had already mentioned the word “thief” herself, and with the Liang family’s children being notorious for their poor behavior, it wasn’t hard to guess…

“Go on, tell me. What did they steal?” Wei Yunlan wasn’t particularly interested in Madam Feng’s family but did care about the Liang family.

“They stole two bowls of chicken noodle soup and a bowl of bird’s nest!”

“Bird’s nest?”

The chicken noodle soup wasn’t too surprising, but to be eating bird’s nest on the road to exile? The Liang family really didn’t care if people suspected them of foul play.

Suddenly, Wei Yunlan’s expression froze.

Of course, why didn’t the Liang family care?

In her past life, how had the families on the exile road interacted with each other?

Whether the Feng family and Bai family could detect something off about the Liang family, Wei Yunlan didn’t know. But given her mother’s intuition and her father’s keen insight, honed over years serving in the Censorate—the empire’s watchdog over officials—they would surely notice something suspicious.

If that were the case, then the “accidents” that had repeatedly occurred on the exile road in her past life—were they truly accidents?

Wei Yunlan didn’t dare to think too deeply. She felt that the reality she faced now was far more terrifying than what she had heard in the Marquis’s residence in her past life.

She had originally thought that stockpiling more supplies and hiring a team of guards from the Tianshu Pavilion would make her situation foolproof.

Now, it seems that might not be the case. This vast, unwieldy group of exiles was a huge potential danger in itself!

The shouting and cursing outside grew louder. At first, it was just Madam Feng’s voice, but as she got angrier, the voice of a maid from the Liang family joined in.

“You old witch, what are you shouting about? Do you think that by throwing a tantrum, you can cover up the fact that your grandsons are thieves?”

“Who’s a thief?” Madam Feng wasn’t backing down. “You little bitch, watch your mouth!”

“Your grandsons are thieves!”

The maid huffed angrily. “The chicken noodle soup and bird’s nest I just cooked—those were stolen by them! If you don’t believe me, look at their mouths! They still have oil stains on them!”

The Feng family and Bai family might not be able to detect the Liang family’s suspicious behavior, but with her mother’s sharp intuition and her father’s years of experience in the Censorate, they would certainly notice something was off.

It was indeed as expected.

In front of everyone, Madam Feng didn’t even have time to wipe her grandsons’ mouths or cover up the evidence.

After all, it wasn’t just one grandson with oil stains at the corners of his mouth. All eight of her grandsons had some traces of it.

Being exposed on the spot, the Feng family was too embarrassed to face anyone.

The usually invisible Mr. Feng also stepped out at this moment.

“It’s all my fault for not managing them properly!”

He personally apologized to the Liang family’s maid, then went upstairs to apologize to Lord Liang and Madam Liang.

His demeanor was gentle and polite, making it difficult for the maid to continue holding onto the earlier incident. However, behind his back, the maid couldn’t help but shake her head and sigh, “How could someone as dignified as Mr. Feng have such crude and disgraceful relatives?”

The farce came quickly and went just as swiftly.

No one heard exactly what Mr. Feng said to Lord Liang, but when they continued their journey, the Liang family still led the way, leaving the other three families behind.

Meanwhile, Mr. Feng’s three younger brothers kept their boys tightly in tow, making sure they didn’t approach the Liang family’s group.

Those mischievous boys, usually like little monkeys, obediently stayed behind the adults, finally allowing the others to get a clearer view.

“His family truly is full of children,” Granny Wang, standing beside Madam Gao, couldn’t help but remark.

In the other families in this group, half the people were masters, and the other half were servants. In fact, there were even more servants than masters.

Only the Feng family stood out, coldly watching as it was all their own people, with no servants following them. Even so, their numbers were still significantly greater than those of the Bai and Wei families!

“What’s the use of a large family? It’s good upbringing that matters,” Madam Gao whispered, shaking her head.

The eldest grandson of the Feng family, who was around the same age as Mingxuan, had a far worse demeanor and manners. It wasn’t just Madam Gao’s opinion; anyone with a discerning eye could see it clearly in this group.

Sure enough, the Feng family’s eldest grandson, seeing his elders holding him back, turned around and glanced behind him, his eyes darting as he likely plotted some mischievous idea.

Not long after, a loud burst of crying came from ahead.

Wei Yunlan stood on tiptoe to look ahead, and to her surprise, it was the Bai family’s young girl, who was even younger than Jiayan, who was crying.

The scene unfolded so suddenly that before the adults could react, a small figure shot out from beside the Bai family’s eldest lady. With a wooden stick in hand, the child gave the Feng family’s eldest grandson a hard smack on the leg.

“Let you bully Tongtong! You deserve a beating!”

“How dare you bully Tongtong! You deserve a beating!”