But the snow was falling so heavily, and they were exposed to the ice and snow all night. They had neither clothing to keep out the cold, nor a fire to keep them warm. They were afraid that they would freeze into corpses before dawn.
Mr. Lu Er couldn't care about so much anymore. He didn't want to die at all. "Go and ask, we will give you any amount of money... as long as we stay here for one night!"
Mrs. Zhu was beside her. Before dark, she found a pile of hay and laid it on the ground. Lu Peisheng, who was covered in wounds and dying, was still blue and purple from the cold even though he was covered with hay.
Perhaps she heard Master Lu Er's words, or perhaps she didn't. Mrs. Zhu knelt down motionless in front of her son, who had little breath left. Her figure was trapped in the darkness, and her face could not be seen clearly.
The people around him thought that the dying person was unlucky, so they stayed away. They looked at the cave, hoping that the people who asked questions would bring back good news.
Mr. Lu Er waited anxiously despite the severe cold, and soon the person who ran in to ask came back, "They said you can go in, but you have to pay two taels of silver per person. If you don't have any silver, you can use other valuable things to pay."
In the past, no one would have thought of spending money to live in a cave one day, but now they have no choice.
No matter how reluctant you are, you can only give it.
Mr. Lu Er took the lead in taking out the money and giving it to the official, and let his family enter the cave.
Others who had money hidden on their bodies also started to take money out. Those who had some scraps of silver were given twenty taels of silver to let themselves in. Those who did not have any scraps of silver gathered into a group and pledged their belongings worth ten or twenty taels to the officer who was watching the night. .
In less than half a quarter of an hour, there were very few people left outside.
The snow is getting heavier and heavier, with no intention of stopping.
The few people who originally wanted to grit their teeth and hold on were stiff from the cold. Seeing this situation, they trembled and reluctantly took out the few coins and entered the cave.
In the end, only Mrs. Zhu and her son, who had more air coming out than taking in air, were left in the snow.
The mother and son didn't have a penny on them, and no one wanted to deal with them as a burden.
"Hehehe..."
Mrs. Zhu laughed quite crazily. This laughter was particularly cold and ghostly in the silent snowy night.
If Mrs. Zhu was still grateful to Mr. Lu Er and the others at first, then when she saw with her own eyes that these same people who kept saying that they had no money to save her son took out money, she was left with only overwhelming hatred in her heart.
None of the Lu family is good at hypocrisy!
She hates it so much!
"Son, mother will definitely avenge you. No matter whether it is the person who harmed you or the person who stood by and watched, mother will not let anyone go!"
"Mom will definitely kill them to comfort my son's soul in heaven!" Zhu's eyes were red, and every word was filled with bone-gnawing hatred.
She glanced at her son with nostalgia for the last time, slowly stretched out her hands that were red, swollen and stiff from the cold, and tightly covered Lu Peisheng's mouth and nose, ending his remaining life bit by bit.
Looking at the people who had lost their last bit of life, Mrs. Zhu burst into tears and almost gritted her teeth with hatred.
She must pay for the Lu family and the officials who killed her son with their blood!
If I don’t take revenge for this, I swear I won’t be a human being!
Mrs. Zhu was brought into the cave by the steward who went out to relieve herself. She lowered her head and looked resigned, but the deep-seated hatred in her eyes could not escape Song Mingyuan's eyes.
You don't even have to think about it to know what kind of mental journey she is going through at this moment.
Selfish and hypocritical people like Mr. Lu Er will definitely not help the worthless mother and son. It will be a matter of time before they are abandoned.
Although I don't know how Zhu persuaded the official to bring her in, at this time, Song Mingyuan would not add insult to injury.
But if Zhu wants her and the people around her to pay for her hatred, don't blame her for attacking first.
Withdrawing her gaze, Song Mingyuan began to practice with her eyes closed without any distractions.
The group of people rested in the cave for a night. When they woke up the next morning, thick snow covered the entrance of the cave.
Looking at the vast white field outside, even Wu Da, who was experienced in escorting, couldn't help but curse: "Damn it! With this damn weather, we won't even be able to reach Yongzhou next autumn!"
If the prisoner cannot be delivered within the stipulated time, the escort officials will be judged as derelict in their duties and will also be punished.
"What a damn bad luck!"
Someone in the team cautiously asked: "Master, the snow is up to the knees, can we wait until the snow melts before leaving?"
Wu Da was in a irritable mood and had a bad look on his face: "What are you waiting for? Even if it's hailing outside, you still have to crawl to Yongzhou for me!"
"But Master, here...many people in the team were infected with the wind and cold yesterday. They are all feverish and can't even walk!"
Wu Da looked back with a sullen face, and sure enough, almost half of the people in the team were sick, especially children.
They are all pampered and have never experienced any hardship. Yesterday, we drove all day in the wind and snow, and encountered such extreme weather at night. Even adults, let alone children, could not bear it.
With such a physical condition, it is simply not enough to support him to Yongzhou.
Wu Da frowned and said impatiently: "There is a post station five miles ahead. You can replenish the goods yourself there."
Xu Shi was oppressed for a whole day, and everyone was stunned by this sudden surprise.
Ms. Liu immediately picked up her dizzy son and said excitedly: "That's great, great, let's go quickly!"
She has a lot of money hidden on her. If she can buy something, the journey will be much easier! At least you don’t have to go hungry and cold anymore!
Others also looked happy.
The ladies of the Lu family got up early and boiled eggs for the children. At this moment, they were pouring hot water into the water bags they carried in response to the orders of the officials.
Seeing this, everyone was urged to leave and quickly sped up their movements.
Compared with other children in the team, Lu Pei'an, who ate Song Mingyuan jelly beans, was full of energy when he woke up, not to mention the cold, and did not feel tired at all.
Only the other three that were not eaten were as wilted as frosted shallots.
Seeing this, Song Mingyuan gave each of them a "jelly bean", and then gave one to Mrs. Lu and several other ladies.
"What are you eating? Can I take it?" An officer came over and looked at the pills in Song Mingyuan's hand curiously.
He just seemed to hear them saying these were jelly beans. Why did they look so much like pills? Really jelly beans?
There was a clear stupidity in his eyes, so Song Mingyuan took out a jelly bean and gave it to him: "Do you want it?"
Lin Dong took it over, looked at Song Mingyuan hesitantly, then stuck out his tongue and licked it, his eyes lit up.
"Sweet! Do you have any more?"
Before the wrinkled expressions on the faces of the people who suffered so much could be revealed, they turned into smiling faces.
"Yeah, it's so sweet!"
Lu Sining swallowed the jelly beans in a few seconds: "Ning Ning has never eaten such sweet jelly beans before, they are so delicious!"
Song Mingyuan saw each of them saying something against their will, and smiled and gave them a sweet pill to suppress the bitter taste in their mouths.
After all the water bags of the officials were filled, the Lu family packed up their things and set off behind the team.
It was extremely difficult to walk on the road blocked by heavy snow. The Wulidi group walked for nearly half an hour before they saw the shadow of the inn.
I don’t know if it was a friendship from a jelly bean, but as soon as they arrived at the inn, Lin Dong led them to replenish supplies, "You can follow me, it will be cheaper."
Song Mingyuan didn't understand how much cheaper it was until she saw Ms. Liu holding a cotton-padded coat and asking the price.
