Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 149: The Stopover

Chapter 149: Chapter 149: The Stopover

November 2nd

Due to a prolonged period without adequate fodder, the mule had become thinner. Even though they had consumed most of the grain in the cart, making it significantly lighter than before, pulling the cart was still a tremendous burden for the mule.

Fearing any delay in their journey, Shen Miaomiao and Xiaohe no longer rode in the cart but chose to walk alongside it every day on their way toward Yan City.

Three days ago, they emerged from the mountains and forests, and once again mixed in with the refugees on the official road.

Those refugees that had made it this far either had some skills or brought their possessions with them. Seeing everyone in a rush made the journey a bit more secure.

"Sister Miaomiao, can you keep up?"

Xiaohe noticed Shen Miaomiao’s steps faltering and asked with a slight crease of his eyebrows.

In his opinion, there was no need to hurry so much; it would be better to slow down, otherwise, the three of them might not be able to endure the exhaustion.

"I’m fine. Let’s keep going."

The young girl bit her lip to endure the pain in her lower-abdominal area.

Yesterday, she had asked an older woman and found out that at their current pace, it would take another twenty days to reach Yan City.

Now that the mule’s pace was slowing down, and if she were to get on the cart and further slow it down, whether they could reach Yan City before next month became a question.

Nanzhi, who was in the cart holding Shen Zhiyu, wasn’t feeling any better.

Zhiyu had lost a significant amount of weight over the past month, holding him now felt almost painful to her.

Having recovered from a severe illness herself, she now looked as thin as a bamboo pole.

"Zhiyu, sleep for a bit."

The little guy nodded and dozed off.

Nanzhi sighed quietly and looking at the bean sprouts growing in the wooden basin beside them, she gathered her energy again.

Having been deprived of fresh vegetables for a long time, she had developed indigestion. The bean sprouts would be ready in two days.

Who would have thought that the soybeans given to them by the young boy at the grain shop would come in handy now?

The refugees kept to themselves, uninterested in interacting with others.

Lin Yicheng and Lin Ercheng glanced at each other as they observed the refugees rushing along the official road. They then nodded and turned back to their ridge.

"Father, mother, we have reached the official road. There doesn’t seem to be any issue."

"So, shall we take the official road now?"

As Father Lin spoke, he looked towards the Shen family.

Aunt Guihua, who had also lost a significant amount of weight, just grunted in agreement: "Let’s go."

With a decision made, both families picked up their pace.

It had been over twenty days... they wondered how they were faring now....

The thought of Nanzhi and the others made Lin’s mother’s heart ache. There hadn’t been any news for such a long time, could something have happened to them?

Noticing that his mother was worried about her sister, Lin Ercheng reassured her: "Mother, don’t worry. They will be fine. They might even be ahead of us. As long as we follow the official road, we are bound to catch up."

"Yes, Mother. Stop worrying."

Lin Yicheng supported his brother’s statement.

Mother Lin forced a smile and nodded, continuing their journey.

Despite everyone comforting each other, they all well knew the actual situation.

With the current state of affairs, the chances of them surviving with Zhiyu were slim...

Once they reached the official road, their three carts moved in a line. The refugees made way for them without a second glance. This eased the tension for both families.

After some time, Lin Yicheng approached a family of four with friendly faces.

Seeing Lin Yicheng approaching, the male of the family was inclined to steer his cart away.

"Brother, I just want to ask a question." Lin Yicheng quickly raised his hand to indicate his intentions.

"What do you want to know?"

Seeing that he was empty-handed, the man’s face eased up a bit, but he kept his focus on the road as he spoke.

"Are we on the right road to Yan City?" Lin Yicheng replied, pointing ahead.

"Yes, did you head this way without even knowing the way?"

The man frowned at Lin Yicheng, confused.

Arriving on this road with their entire family without even knowing the way, could they be bandits in disguise?

Realizing this, the man immediately shut his mouth and hurried on with the family without bothering with him any further.

Lin Yicheng was stunned, taken aback.

He had just asked for directions, was there need for such caution?

Seeing her son’s confused expression, Mother Lin, with her sharp eyes, noticed a woman around her age and approached her, saying: "Little sister, it’s a surprise to run into you here."

Before the woman could react, Mother Lin had already placed a sweet potato into her hand.

Feeling something being pushed into her hands, the woman reacted accordingly, exclaiming: "Sister, what a coincidence."

Mother Lin retracted her hand and lowered her voice: "Little sister, I need to ask you something."

The woman secretly hid the sweet potato and said with a smile: "Just say what you have to say, Sister."

"Did you happen to see a mule cart, with the same tent cover as ours, being driven by a thin young man?"

Upon hearing Mother Lin’s description, the woman pondered and said with excitement: "Yes, I have seen it. But the mule cart was traveling fast. The young man looked handsome, but he only seemed to be around fourteen or fifteen. However, he handled the cart quite smoothly."

Listening to her, Mother Lin hesitated, then made eye contact with Aunt Guihua who had just arrived. Finally, they both just thanked the woman and returned to their caravan.

"Could it be Miaomiao she was talking about?" asked Mother Lin, as the first to speak. After all, Shen Miaomiao was only sixteen. If she dressed as a boy, she could probably pull it off.

"Unlikely. Miaomiao and Nanzhi are clever. They would certainly have disguised their faces without us there."

If they had both disguised their faces, who was the handsome young man?

Could it be that something happened to Nanzhi and Miaomiao, and the mule cart was stolen?

The possibility raised by this thought had both the Lin and Shen families unsettled, hastening their pace.

It was no problem for the men to walk, and although it was a bit strenuous for the women, Nanzhi had bought new shoes for the family which made the journey more comfortable. As for the Shen family, they weren’t as well-prepared, but they kept up without complaint, following the Lin family.

During the night when they stopped for dinner, Nanzhi noticed that something was wrong with Shen Miaomiao.

The young girl’s lips were pale, and she looked weak, with her hand constantly held to her stomach. Nanzhi had a hunch.

It seemed that the young girl was having her period...

Nanzhi felt sorry for Miaomiao who had walked all day. She quietly boiled some hot water for her to drink.

It was already problematic enough for a woman to have her period in ancient times, let alone during a refugee situation. For a moment, neither of them knew what to do. Finally, they decided to rest there for a day, and once the first two days of her period passed, they would allow Shen Miaomiao to rest in the cart, while Nanzhi would walk alongside it.