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

The brothers looked around and found that the carriages here were not as expensive as they had imagined. They asked about the price, and the livestock shopkeeper quoted 35 taels of silver per carriage.

Moreover, these horses had glossy black coats and looked quite good. After some haggling, each carriage was bought for 28 taels of silver.

Zhao Lian and her group entered the clothing shop and inquired about the prices. Each set of finished clothing cost around 200 coins.

The adults' clothes were 20 copper coins more expensive because of the more materials used, while the children's clothes were cheaper. Zhao Lian asked Sun Shangxiang and the others to pick out two sets for each person, and in the end, it cost a little over five taels of silver.

After leaving the clothing store, they went to the grain and oil store and bought some daily necessities, such as rice and flour.

After buying their things, everyone returned to the restaurant to gather. It was already afternoon, so they didn't linger and prepared to continue their journey.

"Sister, should we wait for our eldest sister?" Zhao Di asked hesitantly.

During this period of travel, although everyone was separated, whether intentionally or unintentionally, He Mu initially walked ahead of them, but gradually fell behind, always following them at a distance.

But for some reason, she hadn't seen them all day, and Zhao Di was worried that they might be in danger.

Zhao Lian remained calm and composed: "It's alright, they're probably hiding somewhere right now."

Zhao Lian knew they had followed her into the county town as soon as they entered, but she didn't know why they hadn't been seen for so long.

Zhao Lian guessed that they must have encountered officials checking household registrations and had hidden themselves in advance.

"What should we do then? Should we go look for them? What if we leave in the carriage and they can't find us?"

Zhao Lian's lips curled into a half-smile: "Since Eldest Sister is determined to separate from us, she should have thought of this long ago. Besides, with Boss He around, don't worry! Let's go!"

"Little sister, I feel like you've changed a lot lately?" Zhao Di muttered softly, "You used to be so good to your older sister, but now you don't care at all?"

Zhao Lian's lips twitched slightly: "It's because I was too good to her that she hates me."

Why can't she understand what her sister is saying? Zhao Di scratched her head after hearing what Zhao Lian said.

"Second sister, let's go, it's getting late!" Before Zhao Di could say anything more, Zhao Lian had already gotten into the carriage.

……

Zhao Lian was right; Zhao Feng was indeed hiding from the officials' inspection at that moment.

No sooner had Zhao Lian and her group entered the county town than Zhao Feng and her group arrived.

Unexpectedly, they encountered government officials at that very moment. Hearing the clatter of hooves not far away, He Mu quickly turned around and saw a group of government officials riding towards them from afar.

He Mu reacted quickly and pulled the others into a nearby alley.

It was like a godsend; someone had piled up a few baskets in the alley, and He Shiba, quick-witted as ever, hid behind them.

Just as they went inside and hid, the officials arrived on the street outside. A dozen or so officials dismounted and drove the disaster victims to kneel down for a household registration check.

One of the officers was still cursing, basically saying that these were things that should have been done by the officers guarding the city, but now they were being made to do them.

One man took the lead, and the other officials followed suit, getting angrier and angrier as they spoke. They even used their horsewhips to whip the disaster victims, and screams of agony filled the air.

Many of the disaster victims were dressed in rags and had exposed skin. When the whip struck, their skin was torn open and they grimaced in pain.

Not far from the alley entrance, a disaster victim was being beaten, writhing in pain on the ground, his eyes meeting Qiao Dun's, staring intently at him.

"Ah~"

Qiao Dun gasped in fright and cried out. Li Chunhua, who was standing nearby, was terrified and quickly covered his mouth with her hand, whispering, "Shh~ Dun'er, don't speak."

Fortunately, the cries and curses outside drowned out Qiao Dun's voice, so it didn't attract the attention of the officials.

Zhao Feng and the others, hiding behind the basket, were terrified when they saw this scene. Luckily, they reacted in time and hid, otherwise they would have been the ones to be whipped.

Watching the officers and soldiers cursing and searching the household registrations, He Mu and his men didn't dare to breathe loudly, for fear of being discovered by the officials.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhao Feng felt her legs go numb from squatting, but she didn't dare to move at all.

Gradually, the noise outside subsided; the shouts of the officials ceased, and the distant sound of horses' hooves seemed to linger.

Sensing that the officials seemed to have left, Li Chunhua asked Zhao Feng to go out and check, her voice trembling.

"I'm not going!" Zhao Feng shook her head like a rattle drum: "You go if you want to."

"You all stay here and don't move. I'm going out to take a look." He Mu stood up.

"Father, you have to be careful!" Zhao Feng reminded him with concern.

Li Chunhua glanced at her sideways: "Stop pretending. If you were really worried about your father, you would have gone out to check on him yourself."

Zhao Feng was speechless for a moment: "You—"

He Mu frowned: "Alright, everyone keep quiet. You're all so eager for others to know we're here, aren't you!"

Upon hearing this, Li Chunhua shrank back in fear.

He Mu tiptoed to the alley entrance and cautiously peeked out. He found no trace of the officials on the street, and it was bustling with people again.

The difference is that many of the ragged disaster victims from earlier are gone, presumably having been driven away.

He Mu looked around at his subordinates, and only after confirming that the officials had indeed left did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Alright, everyone come out now!"

It was only then that Zhao Feng realized that her back was completely soaked.

Li Chunhua felt her legs were numb and she couldn't even walk when she stood up. She quickly grabbed the wall for support, grimaced, and stomped her feet: "Zhaofu's dad, my legs are numb, can you rub them for me?"

Ah!

Upon hearing this, Zhao Feng immediately became angry: "Pah! Li Chunhua, don't forget, you are no longer Madam Qiao, and besides, my father is no longer your servant."

Zhao Feng thought He Mu would refuse, but to her surprise, he turned around and squatted down in front of Li Chunhua without saying a word, rubbing her calves. Zhao Feng was so angry that she almost vomited blood.

Unexpectedly, it wasn't just Zhao Feng who was angry, but also Qiao Dun.

Seeing He Mu massaging his mother's legs, Qiao Dun became furious and shoved He Mu away, saying, "Get away from me, don't touch my mother."

Throughout the journey, Qiao Dun felt that He Mu harbored ill intentions towards his mother. Now that his father was gone, he had to protect his mother.

Ouch~

He Mu was not paying attention and was pushed by Qiao Dun, causing him to fall flat on his back.

"Hahahahaha..."

Seeing He Mu sprawled on the ground, Qiao Dun laughed so hard he almost fell over.

"Dad, are you okay?"

Seeing her father fall to the ground, Zhao Feng was shocked and quickly helped him up.