A Scumbag Marrying A Second Wife? Then Let’s Empty Out His Family’s Estate!
A Scumbag Marrying A Second Wife? Then Let’s Empty Out His Family’s Estate! Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Great Calamity

To everyone’s surprise, aside from exchanging a bucket of sheep’s milk, the Feng family made no further moves.

In fact, after the milk was exchanged, Old Madam Feng boiled it and shared it among the children of the Feng family before they set off.

She even returned the bucket, not forgetting to take back her bamboo basket as well.

“Elder Sister, what do you think the Feng family is up to?” Wei Mingxuan approached Wei Yunlan, lowering his voice to ask.

He had initially thought the Feng family would give some herbs to the Liang family as well, but it turned out this “honor” was reserved only for them, leaving him puzzled.

“Is there really no issue with those herbs?”

“Not necessarily. Let’s wait and see.” Wei Yunlan stacked the herbs in a separate corner of her space, placing them in the furthest diagonal spot from the other stored supplies.

This way, even if those herbs were problematic, they wouldn’t affect the rest of the items in her space.

“Mingxuan, no matter what trouble the Feng and Liang families stir up, it’s none of our concern. In five days at most, we’ll be separated from them. Father marked the locations on the map; do you remember them?”

“I remember.” Wei Mingxuan nodded vigorously. “If we get separated, I’ll go to Suijiang City and wait for you.”

Noticing the tense look on Wei Yunlan’s face, he leaned closer to her. “Elder Sister, don’t worry, I won’t get lost like in your dream. If I do, it would be a disservice to our maternal grandfather, who specially sent a dream to warn us!”

He flashed a grin at Wei Yunlan.

Wei Yunlan shook her head, laughing lightly. “That’s true; our grandfather will surely protect us from above.”

If they got separated again, it would not only be a disservice to him but also a waste of the opportunity to live this life anew!

“……”

“Let’s set off!”

The military officers sent from Liangzhou were particularly stern, hardly speaking even during breaks. Xie Guan also took on a more authoritative demeanor, cursing far less than usual.

With a single command, the officials led the three adults ahead.

The Liang family’s carriages, which should have followed, remained stationary, as if deliberately letting others pass first.

“Then let’s go ahead.” Wei Yunlan nodded to Dong Da and Liu Quan, who were leading the mule. “Keep up.”

The Wei family’s position in the convoy shifted from last to the very front.

The order behind them remained unchanged, with the Feng family and the Bai family following in turn.

The last to follow became the three Liang family carriages instead of the Wei family’s mule cart.

This change suited Wei Yunlan perfectly. No matter how the order shifted, distancing themselves from the Liang family was all that mattered. Walking in front not only kept her closer to her father, but it would also make it easier to pull people onto the cart in case of trouble, preventing them from getting lost in the chaos.

The afternoon air was colder than in the morning, and with the sun setting, a chill settled in.

Wei Mingxuan rubbed his arms and sighed, “It’s amazing how different it feels just crossing a single Mount Yueheng!”

“It hasn’t been this cold in past years,” Suihe said, recalling her childhood memories. “I remember the weather usually only started to cool down after the autumn harvest. This year, it’s unusually early.”

Wei Mingxuan continued lamenting, “Ah, just a few days ago it was inexplicably hot, and now it’s inexplicably cold!”

“The weather is unpredictable, which often precedes a great calamity,” Madam Gao suddenly recalled. Seeing her children looking at her, she explained in a low voice, “This is something your maternal grandfather used to say.”

Upon hearing this, Wei Yunlan felt a jolt in her heart as if something had suddenly flashed through her mind.

Of course—a great calamity!

She realized what she had forgotten.

The influx of displaced refugees into Liangzhou was due to a sudden calamity occurring in the west!

In her previous life, at this time, she had still been alive—far from the ghost-like freedom she now possessed. The maids in her courtyard, like her, couldn’t easily leave Zhufeng Courtyard and were unaware of the outside situation, as the kitchen maids would come daily to deliver food.

Each delivery became more and more meager.

Wei Yunlan recalled a time when Tingxue had questioned a kitchen maid, who replied, “Half of Dayong has been struck by disaster. Grain prices have skyrocketed several times, and having anything to eat is already fortunate; what more is there to complain about?”

Of course, Wei Yunlan didn’t believe that the Marquis’s residence was so impoverished they could only afford coarse noodles for the young lady. However, the maid’s mention of disaster and soaring grain prices was likely true.

What kind of disaster could affect so much of Dayong?

While Suizhou might be understandable, Hanzhou—located to the southwest of Suizhou—was flat and open, known as the primary grain-producing region in the northern half of the Dayong dynasty.

What sort of calamity would cause the relatively prosperous people of Hanzhou to flee their homeland at such a critical time, right before the autumn harvest, and head toward the poorer Liangzhou?

If it were any other disaster, the people would certainly wait until after the harvest when they had food in hand before migrating.

Unless it was something sudden that caught them off guard, forcing them to flee for their lives immediately!

Hanzhou was far from the sea, flat in terrain, and had no major rivers running through it.

Thus, tsunamis, landslides, and floods could be ruled out…

The only possibilities left in Wei Yunlan’s mind were either an earthquake or a dragon’s tail sweep( A devastating Natural Disaster).

These two disasters could cause more destruction than others, and if either were to occur, their previously set plans would need to change!

“……”

The actual dangers they faced could be far more severe than displaced refugees.

The next few days were critical.

Wei Yunlan couldn’t afford to delay for even a moment. After exchanging glances with Jiayan, she settled into the mule cart and closed her eyes, sinking her consciousness into space.

She organized the existing supplies into sixteen portions, each portion contained in a bag.

Except for Little Jiarong’s portion, which was different, each of the other fifteen contained enough dried food for one person for seven days, a piece of hemp rope, a strip of silk for dressing wounds, medicine for wind-cold and external injuries, and a flint.

These items had all originally been stored in the two mule carts. When the convoy halted at the inn for the night, the items were moved inside. While organizing the supplies, Wei Yunlan took the prepared bags from her space and had Ningshuang and Tingxue distribute them to everyone.

“Tomorrow when we set off, each person should carry their own bag with them, keeping it close at all times, even while sleeping… try to keep it somewhere easily accessible.”

As for Little Jiarong’s portion, Wei Yunlan personally handed it to Cheng Yue’e. “Sister-in-law, take care of Jiarong’s bag as well. For safety, don’t leave the cart in the next few days.”

“Displaced refugees… will they come early?” Cheng Yue’e asked, a bit anxious and even more confused.

The greatest threat she could think of was the displaced refugees and bandits.

But even if they encountered bandits, there was no need to carry bags for their own survival.

Wei Yunlan’s expression grew grave as she revealed her suspicions. “Sister-in-law, we might encounter an earthquake or a dragon’s tail sweep.”

Cheng Yue’e’s face turned pale with fright, instinctively tightening her hold on her swaddled arms.

“……”

Wei Yunlan pushed open the window and placed a token inscribed with the characters “Tianshu” on the windowsill. Moments later, she heard a sound, and the window closed, revealing a shadowy figure in the room.

As expected of someone from the Tianshu Pavilion with a rank—they could indeed slip into the room without alarming the soldiers outside!

“Leader Yu, we plan to leave this convoy,” Wei Yunlan stated her family’s intentions.

“Leave?” Seventh Lady Yu replied succinctly, but a hint of surprise flickered in his eyes.

Why were so many of them suddenly considering leaving?

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