Chapter 20.2: You’re Being Exiled, and You’re Taking the Whole Family for a Picnic?!

As soon as this was said, a chorus of complaints erupted, and the exiled prisoners all wore expressions of despair.

They all knew that the journey wouldn’t be easy, but they didn’t expect the officers to be so heartless.

A shabby dormitory was more expensive than a room in the capital.

Money had been flowing out like water on this journey, and they didn’t even know if they would make it to their destination in one piece.

At this time, the Xiao family members also gathered together for a family meeting.

Though the raid had been sudden, there was still some soft cash left on them.

Grandmother Liu Qing glanced at everyone and rolled up her sleeves, tearing off a layer of fake skin from her arm to reveal a silver note hidden inside, which she handed to Su Qingning.

“Our family’s money is now mostly in Ningning’s hands. Everyone, take out what little you have hidden and let her manage it.”

Then, Su Qingning saw…

Her mother, Zhang Qinxue, pulled out a hundred-tael silver note from under Xiao Qingya’s shoe sole;

Her elder sister-in-law, Li Xuanyi, pulled a large gold ingot out from her thick hair bundle;

Her second sister-in-law, Jiang Xinyue, blushed and turned away, taking out three hundred taels in silver notes from the secret pocket of her inner garment;

Xiao Huaijin, from the crevice of Xiao Huaishuo’s wheelchair cushion, pulled out several large silver notes and a pile of small silver coins.

Su Qingning: …

So much for the Xiao family being a bunch of honest folk?!

Author, you lied!

However, Su Qingning, at this moment, wasn’t short of silver. She quickly pushed the money back toward them.

“Grandmother, mother, sisters-in-law, I have plenty of money here. You keep yours, and if I run out, I’ll come to you.”

The others knew she had special abilities, so they didn’t argue and put the money back.

Now that they were exiled, there wasn’t much to be picky about; everyone, young and old, mixed together to sleep.

The Xiao family, now consisting of eight people, took up one of the ten-person dormitories. Su Qingning also paid extra for a bath tub and the kitchen rights for the night.

As a seasoned foodie, Su Qingning knew she would never settle for the food the officers provided.

Looking around, the kitchen had very few ingredients, so she asked the officers if she could go to the woods to find some food.

The officer, who had already taken quite a bit of silver from her, didn’t make things difficult and just told her to hurry up and come back.

Seeing Su Qingning stride out, Xiao Huaishuo guessed what she intended to do and said calmly:

“Let Fourth Brother go with you.”

Su Qingning teased with a playful grin: “What? Are you afraid I’ll run away?”

“No… it’s not that. This place is remote, and there may be wild animals around.”

Xiao Huaishuo, who wasn’t used to talking to women, noticed how Su Qingning was staring at him so intently and suddenly felt uncomfortable, stuttering as he spoke.

Su Qingning couldn’t help but smile inwardly, but she was too lazy to tease him further. She snapped her fingers at Xiao Huaijin behind him.

“Let’s go.”

Xiao Huaijin scratched his head, looking around awkwardly. He always felt out of place when he was with his third brother and sister-in-law.

Then, he was glared at by Xiao Huaishuo, so he followed Su Qingning, feeling wronged.

Watching the two of them walk off together, Xiao Huaishuo’s eyes darkened with a trace of gloom.

For the first time, he wished his leg would heal quickly, so he wouldn’t need constant care. He could also… be by her side all the time.

The rest station was surrounded by the continuous Qiyun Mountain range. Strangely, this area had few people, and the vegetation on the mountain grew lush and dense.

The two walked along, picking wild vegetables, and before long, they had filled a large basket.

As they walked, Su Qingning’s eyes suddenly lit up, and she pointed at a cliff nearby.

“Fourth Brother, that’s Half-Leaf Grass. It’s great for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. Go pick it, and we can make some tea for your brother later.”

Xiao Huaijin looked up and, sure enough, saw a light purple herb growing on the cliff. Without thinking much, he used his lightness skill and leapt over to collect it.

The Xiao family, being a family of martial generals, had young Xiao Huaijin, just fourteen or fifteen years old, showing exceptional lightness skills. He used a few swift movements to pluck the Half-Leaf Grass.

Before he could even feel pleased about it, a piercing scream came from below the cliff!