Chapter 23 is utterly heartless, making things even more difficult.

Chapter 23 is utterly heartless, making things even more difficult.

"You fell down?"

Jiang Yutang was instantly wide awake. Seeing that Jiang Jiuze had already rushed out, the others followed behind and ran towards the bushes.

She immediately got up, ignoring her dizziness, tripped and fell, then hurriedly followed. When she arrived, everyone was gathered around.

Jiang Jiuzhe's face was expressionless, but he was terrified and his hands were trembling. He didn't know how to support Zhu Shi, and only dared to gently touch her face.

Zhu's face was pale, her expression contorted in pain, her white fingers gripping the hem of her clothes tightly.

Yun paced anxiously in circles, her tone filled with worry and self-reproach: "It's all my fault. I knew the grass and mud would be slippery after the rain, but I still didn't keep a close eye on her!"

The group was at a loss for what to do. Jiang Yutang, panting heavily, pushed the people who were gathered together apart.

"Don't be afraid, I'll take a look."

She carefully observed Zhu's condition and comforted her in a gentle tone: "Second sister-in-law, does your stomach hurt?"

Zhu nodded slightly, her lips trembling, as if she couldn't even muster the strength to speak.

"The man should step aside first; I need to check if my sister-in-law is bleeding."

The group retreated a few meters away, leaving only Yun Shi and Jiang Jiuzhe behind.

Jiang Yutang handed the tinderbox to Jiang Jiuzhe: "Second brother, hold it up to light the way, otherwise I can't see clearly. Be careful not to burn her."

Zhu pressed her lips together and leaned against Jiang Jiuzhe's chest. Her chest heaved, and even her breaths were painful. Her eyelashes trembled with nervousness.

"Don't be nervous, relax your body, and tell me if you feel any discomfort."

Jiang Yutang comforted Zhu Shi as if she were a child, her movements extremely gentle. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw no bloodstains in the dim light.

"She's fine. She was probably just frightened after falling. Second brother, carry your sister-in-law back first, and I'll go find some medicine."

"Um."

Jiang Jiuzhe carefully lifted Zhu Shi to avoid compressing her belly. Zhu Shi leaned weakly against him, muttering something, and all that could be seen was Jiang Jiuzhe's clenched back teeth.

"Third Brother!" Jiang Yutang ran up to her brothers. "Could you please take the bamboo tube and collect some dew from the bushes? We need to give Second Sister-in-law her medicine."

"Okay." Jiang Yuhuai immediately went to do as instructed.

He took out the medicine he had brought this time, but Jiang Huaiyu, who had gone to fetch water, was nowhere to be seen. He couldn't even make a cup of milk for Zhu.

Just as Jiang Songzhi was about to go looking for someone, Jiang Huaiyu arrived steadily and quickly, gliding in front of them as if she were on a skateboard.

Jiang Huaiyu's trouser legs were covered in mud and weeds: "I've gathered two bamboo tubes, is that enough? If not, I'll go get more."

"That's enough. Heat up the water. Second sister-in-law can't drink cold water right now."

The group then placed the bamboo tube on the fire. After the water boiled, Jiang Yutang first fed Zhu a dydrogesterone tablet, then made her a cup of milk, and handed her two pieces of beef jerky.

Zhu only accepted the milk: "Thank you, little sister. I'm much better now. Keep the dried meat for Father and Xiaoxiao."

Even though she was worried about others, Jiang Yutang couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

"Second sister-in-law, don't worry, there's still some dried meat."

Others tried to persuade her, but Zhu shook her head.

“I saw you give some to the yamen runners the other day. I suppose there’s not much dried meat left now. I don’t know when that merchant will appear again. You should save it.” Madam Zhu spoke very slowly, pausing to catch her breath after each sentence.

Jiang Yutang was taken aback, then feigned indifference.

"What are you saying, Second Sister-in-law? I've always been in charge of the food. Do you think I don't know whether there's enough or not? You need nutrition right now. Even if you don't care about yourself, you have to take care of the baby in your belly."

Mentioning the child, Zhu's eyes lit up with expectation. She looked up at Jiang Jiuzhe before slowly taking the dried meat.

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble. It's just that my body is not cooperating," Zhu said, her eyes reddening.

“How can I blame you? It’s my fault for not taking good care of you. I knew you had difficulty moving around, but I didn’t stay by your side,” Yun Shi said, wiping away her tears.

Jiang Yutang, caught in the middle, shrank back obsequiously, staring at her toes.

The culprit is the original owner of this body! What are you all arguing about?

"It's getting late, everyone should go and rest. We still have a long journey ahead tomorrow." Jiang Jiuzhe finally spoke, just to send the crowd away so that his wife could get some rest.

After everyone went back to rest, Zhu Shi, with tears in her eyes, ate the beef jerky that Jiang Jiuze had torn into pieces bit by bit.

As for Zhu's fall at night, Jiang Shengan only learned about it the next morning.

"Why didn't you wake me up when something so serious happened?"

No one dared to speak. Jiang Yutang observed Jiang Shengan's gloomy face, then approached with a grin: "Oh, Dad, you were snoring so loudly last night. I was so annoyed with you, humph."

Jiang Shengan blushed and rubbed her dimples with his hand: "You little rascal, you've got some nerve to make fun of your father."

Jiang Yutang easily defused the matter. If he had directly said that he was worried about Jiang Shengan's health and that's why he hadn't woken him up, the other party might have felt guilty and overthink it.

The yamen runners impatiently urged the exiles to set off, but most of them were in poor condition today. After a night's rest, their condition had not improved but had become worse.

The Jiang family also noticed this and asked Jiang Yutang, "Have those people caught a cold?"

Coughs could be heard from the crowd, thick with nasal sounds, and their clothes, not yet dried, smelled of sweat and sourness, as Jiang Yutang put it.

—It's really addictive.

“Colds are contagious, so try to avoid contact with them, especially your second sister-in-law,” Jiang Yutang said. “You are the weakest right now, so you absolutely must not have contact with them.”

Zhu nodded in agreement.

The team set off at a leisurely pace, but seemed more lifeless than usual.

They had only walked a short distance when someone collapsed to the ground, panting, and pleaded with the constable, "Sir, could you please rest for a while? I really can't walk any further."

"Cough cough cough... Sir, many people have fallen ill after being caught in the rain yesterday. Please, have mercy and let us rest for a while."

A woman, holding her weak child, pleaded, "My child ate that pancake yesterday and vomited twice last night."

The voices in the crowd grew louder, but the constables ignored them and, without saying a word, raised their whips and lashed the man.

"ah--"

As the whip fell, the man let out a wail and rolled on the ground in agony.

But the constable was still angry and said viciously, "If I don't teach you a lesson today, you'll really not know your place."

Then he lashed the man three times in succession. The poor exile could only crawl backward on his hands and feet, and finally hugged his head tightly and stopped moving.

Jiang Yutang's heart clenched in her throat, and she covered her mouth with both hands, staring at the person.

The four yamen runners used all their strength, beating the man until his skin was torn and bleeding. The man, who was already feeling dizzy from a cold, completely passed out, and could only be seen to be breathing from the slight rise and fall of his chest.

Seeing that the people around him had become docile with fear, the constable put away his whip with satisfaction and waved his hand: "Continue on your way."

They didn't care whether the person who was beaten lived or died.

The crowd that had been cheering and shouting just moments before didn't offer to help him up, leaving him lying alone on the ground.

"Is that person going to die here?" Yun's face was full of fear; she had never seen such a scene before.