RWNEFE -Chapter 25 The Optimal Route!

No one dared to eat the drugged food, and the constables, part disappointed, part cautious, took it outside to dump it.

The recent clash between officials and criminals had actually improved the constables’ attitude toward the exiled prisoners considerably.

The woman who had previously stripped the bandits’ underwear, seeing the constables throwing away the food, looked genuinely pained and approached.

“Sir, why throw away such good food? It’s such a waste!”

The constable, having witnessed this woman stripping bandits before, instinctively stepped back.

“This food is laced with sedatives. Who would dare eat it?”

The woman asked, “Would it kill someone?”

The constable replied, “No, at most it will make someone sleep!”

Hearing that it wouldn’t kill and could even help them sleep, the woman quickly grabbed a cloth and wrapped all the food in it.

The cloth looked more and more like underwear, and the constable, looking at her like she had some vile object, hurriedly kept his distance.

Once the thirty-five rescued exiles were awake, they immediately cried bitterly. From their wailing, it became clear that some had lost sons or husbands who were executed immediately after being captured. The remaining victims—mostly women—had been abused, and the elderly or children were kept as spare food. Their crimes were so outrageous that they provoked pure rage!

Liu Laohu’s blood boiled, but as an official, some things he could not handle personally.

“Master Lan, what should we do with these bandits? We’re just escorting officials and can only move forward, not back. Escorting these people while keeping things under control is really inconvenient!”

Shen Lanxi smoothly replied: “If Brother Liu trusts me, leave it to me. I’ll have them sent to the Yongcheng government offices.”

Liu Laohu quickly agreed. After the exiles had walked a short distance, he secretly returned and saw Shen Lanxi distributing travel funds to the previously victimized people.

For those she couldn’t help, she at least shared some food so they could escape.

Then Liu Laohu saw Shen Lanxi draw two knives. Two of the victims immediately took them and stabbed at the tightly bound bandits.

They stabbed repeatedly before stopping. Once two had acted, the others joined in, venting their anger—each bandit was stabbed seven or eight times before the victims felt some satisfaction.

Liu Laohu quietly retreated, and soon Shen Lanxi followed.

After this, Liu Laohu even suggested rotating the Shen family members on the cart.

Shen Lanxi flatly refused: “Keep it low-profile. That’s the only way the Shen family survives! Treat them the same way you’ve always treated them, and that’s enough.”

Liu Laohu left respectfully.

In the past, they might have rested at the relay station longer, but now it was an obvious target. After dealing with the bandits, Liu Laohu immediately led everyone on the road, even eating on the move.

The exiles’ morale was not dampened after the inn incident. Instead, they were in a strangely high-spirited and unified state.

This unity showed itself when Nanny Li delivered meals to the Shen family—no one snatched, and no one argued.

That night, there were a few muffled thuds. Shen Yuantang, who had been listening attentively since morning, could no longer restrain herself and ran a short distance.

Others were stunned to see her do this.

They realized only when she approached the woman who had stripped people earlier, fumbled, and then slapped the child next to the woman once—then it clicked!

This little girl remembered grudges well. That woman had tried to grab a bun from her and had her son push Shen Yuantang to the ground. She had silently stored that memory—and now she was acting!

Shen Yuantang, clever as she was, picked up a few silver pieces, took only one, and ran to her father to hand it over.

Other women, seeing that the constables weren’t intervening, pounced like starving wolves.

They were all women—they could act decisively! Even some men, annoyed at their slow wives, kicked them to grab the husbands’ pockets.

The faster they grabbed, the faster it ended.

Even Grandmother Shen felt impressed, quietly lecturing her three sons: “Look at your children versus your eldest son’s. They can’t even grab properly. You always say the eldest is lucky, yet here it is, right in front of you, and you don’t snatch. What can you do…”

Everything happening here was meticulously reported to Shen Lanxi by Nu Bai.

“Master, that woman’s unlucky, but she brought it on herself by being greedy!”

“Your little sister remembers grudges and is bold!”

“The Shen matriarch is biased, encouraging your uncles to steal!”

Shen Lanxi listened with mild amusement while studying a map.

The map was modern, with different place names, but the terrain and rivers roughly the same. She wanted a map of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but making one secretly was a capital crime. Only provincial defense troops had maps, and those showed only local military deployments, useless to her.

To reach Dongchuan as quickly as possible, the fastest route was to take a boat at the Jinmen ferry, following the current straight to Xiguan, then head to Dongchuan. Following this route would save at least half the travel time.

The difficulty now was that Jinmen was southeast, and they had been heading north. To get there, they had to return to Yongcheng and then move southeast.

Was Liu Laohu capable?

Shen Lanxi put away the map. She decided it wasn’t yet the right time to negotiate with Liu Laohu—better to give him one more “strong incentive.”

Unexpectedly, the incentive came sooner than anticipated—and was chosen by Liu Laohu himself!

A morning scream woke everyone, followed immediately by a woman’s shrill cursing.

No matter how foul her words, no one responded. Her only fate was a whip warning from the constables.

Liu Laohu decided to take a side path and informed Shen Lanxi.

Shen Lanxi asked: “Can the cart pass?”

Liu Laohu: “Yes!” He now had a strange trust in her, feeling more assured with her presence.

Soon, the whip cracked, and the constables began urging the prisoners forward.

The two children who had a fever were fully recovered, and Shen Lanxi had Chunxue take them back.

Chunxue returned angrily: “Master, the matriarch wants other young masters to pretend to be sick to ride the cart.”

Shen Lanxi: “Did you agree?”

Chunxue smirked: “The eldest master blocked it. He even scolded the matriarch!”

Shen Lanxi smiled faintly, saying nothing. Soon, Chunxue took a water pouch to moisten the eldest master’s throat—only a few sips, gone instantly.

Grandfather and Grandmother Shen sat there calmly, but when Chunxue walked away empty-handed, they thumped their chests in frustration.

Liu Laohu led them along an abandoned official road. Previously, landslides had left deep holes in the path, making it difficult for carts, so it had fallen out of use.

After some time, they entered a mountain pass when suddenly an arrow whistled through the air, striking the foremost constable in the chest. The arrow pierced completely—he died on the spot!