Confiscated the property and exiled? I emptied the warehouse and fled the famine.

Chen Qingran watched the interaction between the two and lowered his eyes, not wanting anyone to notice the emotions in his eyes.

Lu Zhizhou was very satisfied with Ruan Yunsheng's address and wanted her to call him again. Ruan Yunsheng saw his thoughts and interrupted him immediately, "Don't think about it."

Lu Zhizhou chuckled. It’s okay. He will still find a way to make Ruan Yunsheng call him Qilang next time.

It was late at night and sleepiness filled her eyes. Ruan Yunsheng fell asleep in Lu Zhizhou's arms. The fire in the shed was competing with the temperature outside. Lu Zhizhou was staring at the fire in a daze, unable to sleep. He had encountered so many things on his way to exile in southern Xinjiang, and he didn't know what he would encounter in the other half of the journey.

Xuan Che's men are still trying to assassinate him, and the road ahead will only become more difficult. Lu Zhizhou looks at the person in his arms, as if he is deciding something important that will concern the world.

As he was thinking, he felt sleepy and fell asleep holding Ruan Yunsheng. The fire in the shed burned endlessly all night long and was not extinguished until the next morning.

"Ahhhhh, someone come quickly."

Everyone was awakened by a burst of fear. Ruan Yunsheng woke up in Lu Zhizhou's arms, rubbing his eyes and frowning. His face did not look very good, and he seemed unhappy about being woken up.

"what happened?"

When Pei Yan heard the voice, he rushed out to ask. Ye was holding her son in Ye Yong's arms and sobbing. Hearing Pei Yan's words, Ye raised her hand and pointed to the opposite side. Pei Yan looked over and saw that the Li couple were hugging each other with their eyes closed, with no sign of opening their eyes at all.

Pei Yan had a rough idea in his mind. He put his hand under the breath of the Li couple and quickly pulled his hand back. The Li couple were dead. Judging from their appearance, they must have frozen to death. They were old and had suffered a lot along the way, and their bodies could not bear it.

Lu Zhizhou followed and asked, "What happened to Brother Pei?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Li are dead. If nothing unexpected happens, they froze to death last night."

Lu Zhizhou looked at the Li couple. Their lips were purple and there was frost on their eyelashes. It seemed that they had indeed frozen to death last night. Pei Yan sent people to find a place to bury the Li couple on the spot.

When Lu Zhizhou returned, Ruan Yunsheng had completely sobered up, "What happened?"

"The Li couple froze to death last night."

Old Madam Lu was stunned. "What, dead? Frozen to death?" Seven people had died before they had even walked halfway through Southern Xinjiang.

"Zhizhou, Yunsheng, do you think we can still reach Southern Xinjiang alive?"

Lu Zhizhou and Ruan Yunsheng looked at each other and saw the worry in Madam Lu's heart. Ruan Yunsheng comforted her, "Mom, don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you. I will make sure you get to southern Xinjiang safely. I'm still waiting for you to take care of my grandson." Ruan Yunsheng smiled and whispered the last sentence in Madam Lu's ear. She also wanted to give Madam Lu some hope so that she wouldn't be worried every day.

Sure enough, Mrs. Lu's eyes lit up after hearing this. Her worries and fears were swept away, and she was excited and happy. "Okay, okay, mother will wait. Mother will definitely take care of herself and take care of Yun Sheng's child."

The smile on Ruan Yunsheng's face froze instantly. A big hand suddenly stopped Ruan Yunsheng's shoulder and chuckled, "Then mother has to be happy every day and not think about those things. I will try to give mother something to do when we arrive in Southern Xinjiang."

Ruan Yunsheng's face turned red all the way to his ears. His sisters-in-law and the Chen family were here, so why was he not ashamed at all?

Lu Zhizhou deliberately let everyone know. He glanced at Chen Qingran and raised his eyebrows at him proudly.

"What, Sister Qi, you are pregnant?"

Ruan Yunsheng finally understood why some words became more and more outrageous. They clearly said "try your best to go to southern Xinjiang so that mother can have something to do", but how come she became pregnant?

Ruan Yunsheng gritted her teeth and said, "I'm not pregnant."

Lu Zhizhou's smile was so strong that it almost reached his ears. "Your seventh sister-in-law is not pregnant yet. Your seventh brother will try hard when we get to southern Xinjiang."

Ruan Yunsheng glared at Lu Zhizhou. There were so many people around. She wondered if he did it on purpose. With these topics, the originally tense atmosphere became cheerful.

It was already daybreak. It looked like they would continue on their journey as soon as Pei Yan buried the bodies of the Li couple. This time they needed to take a detour to southern Xinjiang, which would mean a long time difference from the time they reported to the court before departure, so they didn't have much time left.

Sure enough, Pei Yan arranged for everyone to set off soon. Looking at the decreasing number of people, Ruan Yunsheng couldn't help feeling a little emotional. She had only seen this kind of exile in TV dramas or novels before, and it was just a few strokes and she didn't feel anything. But when she really embarked on this journey, she realized that it was far more difficult than what was shown in novels and TV dramas.

Lu Zhizhou saw what Ruan Yunsheng was thinking and gently pinched her palm to comfort her. Ruan Yunsheng smiled at him and told them that before setting off, everyone should fill their water bags with water, as water would be a very precious source on the road ahead and should not only be filled but also hidden well.

They were extremely fortunate that the water bags on them were not taken away in the mountain village. Of the original five families, only the Ye family was left without a water bag. Ruan Yunsheng sighed and took out a water bag and gave it to the Ye family. The Ye family happily took the water bag, "Thank you, thank you." Having water means having a way to survive.

When fetching water just now, Ruan Yunsheng deliberately took away everyone's water bags. She had already replaced the water in all the water bags with musk water. The musk water would also reduce the possibility of heatstroke on the rest of the journey.

"Pack up and get going quickly. We've taken a long detour and if we don't leave now we'll miss the time."

The arrival time of the prisoners is within a controllable range. If they have not arrived yet after the reported time, they will be held responsible. Pei Yan frowned and looked a little annoyed. There are many more variables along the way than before. If he doesn't hurry up, he will be doomed.

Everyone packed up and continued on their way. The temperature rose higher as they walked forward. Having just walked a few dozen miles, everyone kept wiping their sweat and licking their dry lips. If it weren't for the women, the men would have even wanted to take off their clothes. Ruan Yunsheng felt like they were reaching the Flaming Mountain. It was already so hot even though they had taken a detour. She wondered what those truly dry places would be like. At this moment, she felt that if there was a thermometer, the temperature would definitely be off the charts.

Ruan Yunsheng watched as a group of people came towards them. They looked pale and thin, their clothes were tattered, and their lips were so dry that the skin was visible. She guessed that these people were fleeing famine.

Pei Yan grabbed a younger-looking man and asked, "Where are you going?"

The young man supported his mother and sighed, "It has been dry for three months. It has been hot during the day and very cold at night. The river in the village has dried up. The nearest water source is a hundred miles away. The court has not cared for such a long time. We have no choice but to leave home and go to other places."