Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Jin Bao stared at the scene before her. Her breathing gradually grew rapid, and her little hands clenched into fists without her realizing it.

“Mother, Baby knows where Big Brother is. Baby has to go find Big Brother.”

Pei Wanqing and Xiao Che immediately exchanged a look.

“Baby, is your big brother right now…”

Pei Wanqing was almost afraid to ask. Every vision Jin Bao saw was bound to be a premonition of fortune or disaster for the family.

From Jin Bao’s previous warnings, they had learned that if something had nothing to do with their family, or if no one in the family was in danger, Jin Bao usually would not see it. Now that Jin Bao had seen something, their son must have run into trouble.

Xiao Che also looked at Jin Bao, though he was not as tense as Pei Wanqing. He was much calmer.

“Mother, Baby saw Big Brother fall off a cliff. That bad man dragged Big Brother down with him.”

Pei Wanqing felt the world spin. Fortunately, she did not faint, and Nanny Chen quickly held her up.

“Madam, how are you?”

Jin Bao’s little face also turned pale at the sight. She should not have said it. She had made Mother worry. She should have secretly gone out to look for him herself. Jin Bao was filled with regret, and seeing how terrible her mother’s expression was, her guilt only deepened.

“Mother, I’m sorry. It’s Baby’s fault. Baby shouldn’t have…”

Before Jin Bao could finish, she was gathered into a warm embrace.

“It isn’t Baby’s fault. How could I blame my good girl? This is all your eldest brother’s fate.”

Pei Wanqing’s heart was filled with desolation. They were exiled convicts now, not lofty masters of the Marquis’s Mansion. If they wanted to send people below the cliff to search, they would still need the bailiffs’ permission.

“Mother, I’m back. Look what I brought back!”

Xiao Jingmo’s smiling voice came from outside the cave. A moment later, he entered with several wolf pelts slung over his shoulder and a large chunk of wild boar meat in each hand.

But when he saw that everyone inside the cave wore grief-stricken expressions, he immediately realized something must have happened.

His gaze swept around the cave. After setting down everything he was carrying, he asked softly, “Has Big Brother not come back yet?”

That single question made Pei Wanqing burst into loud sobs.

She had always been gentle by nature. She had never acted like this before.

If she had not been devastated to the extreme, she would never have lost control like this.

Pei Wanqing’s sobs affected Old Madam Xiao and Madam Liu as well.

Old Madam Xiao’s gray-streaked hair had now turned completely white. She looked haggard, her hair disheveled.

“Father, what happened to Big Brother?”

Xiao Jingmo realized Xiao Jingxing might have met with disaster, and he panicked too. That was the eldest brother he respected.

“Your little sister saw your big brother fall off a cliff and perish together with Li Duanjiang.”

Xiao Jingmo staggered back several steps, his face blank. He muttered, “Impossible. No. Big Brother won’t die.”

“Little Sister, did you see Big Brother die with your own eyes?”

Xiao Jingmo quickly turned to Jin Bao.

Jin Bao shook her head. “No. I only saw Big Brother falling. After that, there was nothing. I don’t know what’s below either. Big Brother definitely isn’t dead. Baby believes Big Brother is still alive.”

Xiao Jingmo nodded along with her. “That’s right. I don’t believe Big Brother is dead. I’ll go beg the officers right now. I’ll take Little Sister to look for Big Brother. Alive, we must see him; dead, we must see his body.”

Pei Wanqing abruptly lifted her head and rose excitedly from the ground. Because her movement was too forceful, it tugged at the shackles on her ankles, making them rattle loudly.

“Yes, Mo’er. Go find your big brother. Mother will go beg the officers too.”

“I’ll go too. Even if I have to smash my head open kowtowing, as long as the officers agree to our request, it’ll be worth it.”

Xiao Jinghao also stood, tears still glistening in his eyes.

Just then, Zhu Laosan and Li Si returned from outside.

“Officer, my big brother got separated from us last night and still hasn’t returned. Please let us go out and look for him.”

Xiao Jingmo did not dare say he had gone after Li Duanjiang, so he could only make up a random excuse.

Li Si frowned. “No. We’re about to continue on our way. We’ve already been delayed here for a whole day. How would we have time to let you search for someone? Hurry up and pack. We set off in half an hour.”

Li Si had just gathered together all the surviving exiles and taken a headcount. There were only eleven of them. Including the people from the Xiao Family Main Branch, more than half had died this time.

Now Cui Jin and Zou Yong’s whereabouts were still unknown, and the four bailiffs had become two. He was already depressed enough. He had been hoping to return to the capital before the New Year.

“Uncle, Baby isn’t an exiled convict. Can Baby go look for Big Brother?”

Jin Bao’s childish voice broke the heavy silence.

Li Si lowered his head and glanced at Jin Bao. He still remembered what his cousin had said: this child was no ordinary child and needed special attention.

“You can’t go either. You chose to be exiled with their family, so you’re an exiled convict too. No one is allowed to leave the cave. Otherwise, don’t blame the whip in my hand for showing no mercy.”

Li Si cracked the whip in his hand hard, and the fierce sound echoed through the cave.
Jin Bao shrank her neck in fright, and Pei Wanqing quickly scooped her up and took several steps back.

“My good girl, you can’t go by yourself. Mother has already lost your eldest brother. I can’t lose you too.”

Jin Bao looked at her mother crying so heartbrokenly, and she felt awful too. Her big eyes blinked, and tears fell.

“Mother, don’t cry. Baby won’t go. Baby will wipe your tears. Big Brother will be fine.”

At the cave entrance, two people were poking their heads around furtively when Zhu Laosan grabbed them and dragged them inside.

“Were you two trying to run?”

Zhu Laosan kicked Xiao Yan and his wife.

Last night, in the chaos, Madam Chen’s family had not run with the crowd. They had deliberately dawdled and fallen to the very back. When they saw Cui Jin and Zou Yong run toward the official road, the family had secretly followed after them.

In the end, Zou Yong discovered them. By daybreak, Zou Yong and the others did not dare come up themselves, so they sent Madam Chen and Xiao Yan to scout out the situation. They detained all of their children as hostages. If the two of them dared run, their children would be sacrificed to the blade.

“Officer, we convicts were sent by the other two officers to check the situation. We weren’t trying to run.”

Madam Chen immediately begged for mercy.

“Where are they?”

Li Si barked the question.

“At the foot of the mountain. My children are still in their hands. Where could we possibly run?”

Li Si and Zhu Laosan exchanged a look, both seeing the anger in each other’s eyes.

Li Si would definitely write those two men’s crimes into his report.

Li Si took out the roster. More than half the names on it had been crossed out, and for those whose bodies had not been found, a line had been drawn beneath their names.

Only twenty-eight names remained unmarked.

“Enough. We set off in half an hour.”

After throwing down those words, Li Si strode deeper into the cave, lit a fire, and began roasting meat.

Xiao Jinghao wanted to rush over, kowtow, and plead, but Xiao Che grabbed him and held him back.

“Hao’er, it’s no use. If your eldest brother is alive, he will definitely go to the Northern Frontier to find us. If something happened to him, then even if we go, all we’ll find is a corpse. Go take care of your mother.”

Xiao Jinghao’s eyes were filled with unwillingness. Even if his eldest brother was a corpse, he still wanted to give him a proper burial. Leaving him like this; wasn’t it leaving his body exposed in the wilderness to be torn apart by wild beasts?

The pain, grief, suffocation, and sorrow lingered heavily over the Xiao Family Main Branch. That atmosphere lasted until Zhu Laosan called for everyone to set out, and only then was it forcibly suppressed.

Everyone had gone hungry for an entire day. Now that roasted meat was in their hands, they still had not the slightest appetite.

Lu Shuangshuang did not know how Jin Bao had seen Xiao Jingxing fall off the cliff, but from the Main Branch’s reaction, they all believed Jin Bao’s words.

Lu Shuangshuang did not ask any questions. Some things were better left as if one did not know. Right now, all she wanted was to bring her mother-in-law and children safely to the Northern Frontier.

She lowered her head and wrapped the roasted meat in a bundle to carry with her. She understood the feeling of losing a loved one so suddenly, just like when her father had died without warning all those years ago.

Lu Shuangshuang said no words of comfort. In the face of immense suffering, words were especially pale and powerless. Only time was a true remedy. She silently helped everyone store dry rations and medicinal herbs.

The loose silver Xiao Jingmo had on him had already been used up. The journey ahead would likely become even more difficult. The pain of losing a family member, coupled with an empty purse, the double torment of spirit and material hardship made this gentle, jade-like young man grow even more silent.

After leaving the cave, Jin Bao looked toward the cliff from afar. Somehow, in her heart, she felt that Big Brother was still alive.

“Second Brother, Baby thinks Big Brother must still be alive. Baby didn’t see Big Brother die.”

Those words eased Xiao Jingmo’s tightly knitted brows slightly.

Judging from what had happened over the past few days, his little sister’s words were not without reason. Every time the family was about to encounter danger, she could see a certain person’s ending. This time, however, she had not seen their eldest brother’s ending. That meant their eldest brother might still be alive.

Xiao Jingmo did not announce it aloud, but his heart felt much lighter. If his eldest brother was still alive, he would definitely go to the Northern Frontier to find them.

The road was muddy, and Xiao Che’s legs were injured, so Xiao Jingmo carried him the whole way.

Because Xiao Jingmo and Jin Bao had saved Zhu Laosan’s life, Zhu Laosan exempted Xiao Jingmo from wearing leg shackles, which made the walk much easier for him.

Walking at the back, Zou Yong did not see Li Duanjiang among the group. He guessed that the man was most likely gone. It seemed the three people that person had sent had not been of much use after all.

Only when the moon hung high in the sky did the group finally arrive at the relay station.

As usual, Li Si blocked the door and collected money.

The price was much higher than before.

A spot in the communal bunk room had risen to three hundred wen per person. There were seven people in the Xiao Family Main Branch now, which came to more than two taels of silver. Xiao Jingmo felt around on himself. He only had that banknote left and did not dare take it out at all.

It seemed they would have to sleep in the shed outside tonight. Fortunately, it was June. Aside from more mosquitoes and bugs outside, they could make do.

Li Si cursed under his breath, “Paupers.”

Then he turned around, locked the room door, and drove the Xiao Family Main Branch to stay in the straw shed in the rear courtyard.