CMWKSD -Chapter 85 On the Road

Jiu Yue thought Hu Chunhua would be completely beaten down by now, drained of all spirit.

The Li family had brought more than a dozen men and women.

But unexpectedly, Hu Chunhua was all alone. With just her words, she managed to silence the entire Li family.

For the first time, Jiu Yue witnessed the combativeness of rural women—it was truly formidable.

The Ji family, being kind-hearted, also allowed Li Xiaocao to pack up her things.

Hu Chunhua followed closely behind her into Li Xiaocao’s room, watching as she packed.

Several of Ji Xiaoya’s aunts saw her few new dresses and immediately tried to shove them into their bundles.

But Hu Chunhua scolded them so harshly that they couldn’t even lift their heads.

As for Li Xiaocao’s new clothes, they hadn’t even made it into her bundle before her sisters-in-law and younger wives schemed over them right in front of her.

Jiu Yue shook her head, really not understanding the point—they were better off as widows in the Ji household than going back to be women of the Li family.

Back when Jiu Yue was preparing to deal with Ji Dajiang, Li Xiaocao’s words had seemed to echo in her ears.

But looking at Li Xiaocao now, Jiu Yue had already forgotten what she had said kneeling at her feet.

Her short life had all been spent in complaints and hatred of Ji Dajiang.

Li Xiaocao looked at Jiu Yue standing at the back of the crowd with tears in her eyes, hoping she would help her or do something—but Jiu Yue only looked on coldly.

If a person cannot stand on their own, no one else can help them.

Ji Weizhou had cried out a couple of times, but when he met his mother’s eyes—watching her cry—something inside him seemed to vanish.

It shouldn’t have been this way. His eldest and second aunts, even his sister Ji Youqin, weren’t like this.

Ji Weizhou had never compared his mother to Jiu Yue, knowing she could never match up. But now, even his eldest aunt was beyond comparison.

His eldest aunt had once been weak, but now she was no longer a weak person.

Ji Xiaoya’s cries grew hoarse.

In the end, Li Xiaocao left with a formal letter of severance from the family, carrying the fine clothes the Ji family had bought for her, and even the three or five taels of silver she had secretly saved over the past year.

She left awkwardly and timidly.

Ji Weizhou shed no tears as she departed, just watching coldly.

As soon as they left the Ji household, the Li family opened her bundle and began fighting over her possessions.

In that instant, it seemed Li Xiaocao understood something and tried to run back, but the Li family caught her.

Jiu Yue stood at the courtyard gate—this was the reality for many women in this era.

Ji Weizhou looked at Jiu Yue. “Second Sister-in-law, why didn’t my mother resist? Even as a widow in the Ji household, she had food and shelter. As long as she didn’t want to go, my maternal grandmother and the others couldn’t have taken her. Why didn’t she say no?”

Jiu Yue looked at him coldly. “What do you think?”

Ji Weizhou glanced at Shen Mei and Su Ruo. They had been the same before, yet only his mother was left behind.

He knew his father treated his mother poorly, unlike his eldest and second uncles.

There were also women like this in the village, but none were as weak and submissive as his mother.

Ji Xiaoya was taken to a room by Su Ruo. From then on, Ji Weizhou and Ji Xiaoya were children without parents.

But they would be taken by Jiu Yue and Ji Yiqing to a wider world, never stuck in this backward little village for life.

Li Xiaocao, however, stayed—she had chosen to stay voluntarily.

Ji Weizhou seemed to mature in an instant.

They would leave early the next morning. Ji Weizhou took Ji Xiaoya to his room, and the siblings talked all night.

What they talked about is unknown, but Ji Xiaoya had become much more efficient, watching Ji Youqin look over the prescriptions and medical books left by Jiu Yue.

She and the other sisters gathered unknown characters to copy them down, then would ask Master Zhuang at the pharmacy when delivering the pills.

Ji Weizhou spent the whole day lying in the carriage, and none of his brothers called him.

Jiu Yue didn’t even bother with him.

The carriage swayed slowly toward the capital, opening a new chapter.

…

Jiu Yue spent most of the journey either eating or sleeping. The specially made luxurious carriage frame allowed her to lie flat comfortably.

Ji Chaomin, Ji Yiqing, and Jiu Yue shared one carriage, while the other three shared another, avoiding overcrowding.

At first, Jiu Yue was quite interested. She would chat with Ji Yiqing, occasionally lifting the carriage curtain to enjoy the scenery.

But by the fifteenth time, the scenery outside had barely changed. And her rear end was numb from the jolts.

Jiu Yue sat stubbornly and refused to move.

From Qingshui County to the capital, if there was no rain, snow, or wind, it would take about twenty-two days.

Any unforeseen event would extend that time.

And now, they had only been traveling for three days!

Jiu Yue felt like she was going crazy, missing airplanes, high-speed trains—even a regular train would do.

No wonder travel was so slow in ancient times—it really was painfully slow!

At the start, they could still enter cities to stay overnight, but after leaving the prefectural city, for two consecutive nights they camped outdoors.

Ten days later, they had passed three prefectural cities.

Jiu Yue and the others set up camp in a dilapidated temple.

At night, a cold wind woke Jiu Yue, and she snuggled into Ji Yiqing’s arms. Ji Yiqing instinctively held her tighter.

He gently got up and opened the tent, only to see snow beginning to fall.

Ji Yiqing was a little worried. Fortunately, they had left early. If they had traveled during or after the New Year, thick snow would have made the roads even harder to traverse.

He got up to bring some warmth, while Jiu Yue clung tightly to his coat. “What are you doing?”

Ji Yiqing hurried back into the tent, tucked her in, and held her close. “It’s snowing.”

Jiu Yue mumbled half-asleep, turned her head, and fell back asleep.

Ji Yiqing smiled, while Ji Chaomin from the other tent stoked the fire, checking each of the younger brothers’ tents to block the cold wind.

The temple door was practically useless, but better than nothing.

Heavy snow fell relentlessly.

When morning came, Jiu Yue saw the mountains blanketed in white, and her face fell.

It was snowing!

They had barely completed half the journey. With the snow, the ten-day journey ahead could easily take fifteen days.

Jiu Yue stayed cold-faced the entire way. Ji Yiqing set up a charcoal stove in the carriage and no longer let her sit on the carriage frame—it was too cold.

Because of the snow, the carriage slowed considerably.

Traveling in the open countryside, they couldn’t find a suitable place to stay.

Ji Chaomin leaned out of the carriage, speaking to Ji Yiqing: “Let’s go a bit further. If we still can’t find a village to camp or lodge, we’ll rest on the carriage tonight in a sheltered spot.”

Ji Yiqing cupped his hands, wrapped like a ball, each person dressed thicker than the last.

“Alright, another five li to go.”