Transmigrated into a seven-year-old child, my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens.

Zhao Lian and He Mu both witnessed what just happened, and they thought almost the same thing.

"Father, look how kind Zhao Lian is to a stranger." Zhao Feng said indignantly.

Seeing Zhao Lian playing the good guy again, Zhao Feng sneered, a hint of disgust flashing in her eyes. Zhao Lian could be so nice to strangers, but couldn't be nice to her father.

He Mu noticed Zhao Feng's subtle expression. It was a good thing that Zhao Feng was protecting him, but this was not the result he wanted.

The reason he went to great lengths to keep Zhao Feng by his side was that he wanted to gain more benefits from her.

But if Zhao Feng and Zhao Lian fall out, it won't do me any good, especially since we're currently fleeing famine and have nothing on us.

Thinking of this, He Mu said with a heart full of guilt, "Zhao Feng, don't blame Zhao Lian. It's all my fault. I'm the one who made the mistakes, and I have to bear the consequences. But it's you who have suffered because of me. Don't hold a grudge against Zhao Lian either; sisters shouldn't hold grudges overnight."

Unexpectedly, Zhao Feng became even angrier after hearing He Mu's words. Seeing a pebble on the ground, she kicked it away in anger.

He added angrily, "I just can't stand her arrogant attitude. She always acts like a nice guy in front of outsiders, but she treats you so badly."

“You raised her all these years, and this child is naughty and doesn’t know any better. Every father has to discipline her, and besides, you haven’t really hit her much.”

Seeing that his persuasion was useless and only made Zhao Feng angrier, He Mu quickly shut his mouth.

The imperial court issued notices in various places, providing routes for those fleeing the famine. In the past few days, more and more refugees have begun to leave their homes.

Hengnan Prefecture is thousands of miles away. Under the scorching sun every day, everyone is thirsty and exhausted, and they have only traveled less than a tenth of the distance.

The fear of the unknown future made everyone increasingly irritable. They were busy traveling during the day and then just found a place to rest at night.

The refugees we encountered on the road were all expressionless. Everyone's emotions were nearing a breaking point, and they would explode at the slightest thing.

That noon, everyone was walking and stopping frequently, and the carriage was moving slower and slower. Suddenly, a mournful cry came from ahead.

There was a man and a woman, who seemed to be a couple, along with several children kneeling on the ground. An old woman lay on the ground with her eyes closed.

The man shook the old woman, calling out anxiously, "Mother, wake up, Mother!"

No matter how much he shook her, the old woman remained motionless.

No one around stopped; they continued on their way with expressionless faces. Everyone was too busy taking care of themselves to care about others, especially since they were fleeing a disaster.

Zhao Lian squatted down and checked the old woman's breath, only to find that she was already dead.

"Stop crying, save your energy. Your mother is dead. Let's find a way to bury her!" Zhao Lian said, standing up.

Hearing her say that, the couple cried even harder, and the children threw themselves on the old woman.

"Grandma~"

It's clear that this old woman is usually very good to her children and grandchildren, which is why they are crying so sadly.

Without delay, Zhao Lian continued on her way with everyone.

Many refugees are now almost starving and thirsty. As they continue walking, many begin to collapse, and cries of despair fill the air.

At that moment, everyone smelled a foul odor and went over to find that a man had been left dead in the wilderness, lying by the roadside unattended.

It's so hot that maggots have already appeared. My face has been gnawed by the insects and is unrecognizable.

"yue~"

When Zhao Lian saw this, her stomach churned and she vomited, bringing up the pancakes she had just eaten.

"Zhao Lian, are you alright?"

Seeing Zhao Lian vomiting so badly, Qiao Feng immediately became anxious and patted her on the back with one hand.

"It's nothing!" Zhao Lian frowned and waved her hand. "I'm fine, it's just disgusting."

Sun Shangxiang and Zheng Xiuzhen exchanged a glance and raised their eyebrows.

During this time, they have come to realize that the second young master of the Qiao family cares a lot about Zhao Lian, and it seems that he probably likes Zhao Lian.

This young master Qiao comes from a good family, is upright, and most importantly, likes Zhao Lian. If Zhao Lian were to marry him, that would be quite nice.

However, everyone was currently fleeing for their lives, so they had no time to think about such things. Thinking of this, the two of them fell down again.

Seeing corpses lying in the wilderness has made many refugees even more panicked. They are already struggling to find food and water, and who knows if they will be next?

Zhao Lian still had food, but the water was running low. Everyone was starting to feel weak and didn't even want to talk much. They were trying to keep up with their strength and were taking turns counting heads to make sure no one got separated.

"Young Master, my horse can't go on anymore, we need to rest for a while," Liang Chong shouted.

"My horse can't move anymore either!" Butler Su also started to complain.

"Alright, everyone find a place to rest!" Jordan

They thought they could rest for a while and then continue their journey, but the worst thing happened: the last few horses died one after another.

"Third Miss, what should we do?" Chen Guang's eyes were lifeless, and his beard was unshaven. He had been traveling for days and his energy was completely depleted.

They were in a hurry to get somewhere every day, and they also had to be wary of other refugees stealing their belongings.

Zhao Lian looked exhausted: "No, we still need to find a way to kill these horses and make them into jerky. This is our last food supply."

During this period of travel, we have almost finished all the food we brought with us.

“Zhao Lian is right. Horse meat is top-quality feed, we can’t throw it away.” Qiao Feng’s eyes were sunken, and he looked extremely thin.

But now there are refugees everywhere, and it's impossible to avoid them making the horse into food.

Seeing that the horses were dead, many refugees began to eye them with predatory intent, their hungry eyes suggesting they wanted to devour the horses alive.

Liu Jinzhu began to worry: "Zhaolian, what are we going to do? Look at so many refugees, we simply can't control them."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the scene he feared most occurred.

At this point, someone started to jeer: "Their horse is dead, why don't we all kill it and share it?"

"Great idea!" Everyone immediately agreed.

"This horse is ours, don't even think about it, don't come any closer, or we'll make you regret it!" Teng Fu glared angrily at the refugees who were starting to surround him.

Ignoring the warnings, the refugees continued to surround us, saying, "You still have several horses, what's wrong with giving us one!"

There were hundreds of people at the scene, a dense, dark mass, and the situation looked like it was about to get out of control.

Jordan quickly spoke up: "Tengfu, don't provoke them!"

Now that everyone is out of food, they're just holding on by their last breath. He might really risk his life for food.

It's said that an empty fist can't beat four hands; even with skill, you can't withstand a crowd.