Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 9 Life and Death
The spring chill lingered, and the faint cawing of crows could be heard in the night wind.

This inn, located thirty miles from the capital, was a place where people came and went, and it was mostly frequented by high-ranking officials and nobles.

As Captain Sun led his men into the post station, the post station manager looked down on a mere eighth-rank military officer and was even less willing to let the family members of exiled officials into the post station. He immediately said, "You can rest in the post station, but the family members of exiled officials can only stay outside the post station."

After Sun, the military officer, pleaded with him and invoked the banner of the Crown Prince, the postmaster reluctantly agreed to let the Pei family women stay at the post station for one night.

After eating dry biscuits and drinking their fill of cold water, the frail elderly and young children squeezed onto the bed, while the rest of the people pulled up some straw to spread on the ground and slept fully clothed.

The women of the Pei family were used to a life of luxury, never imagining that they would fall to such a state one day.

The intermittent crying never stopped. The only one who could actually fall asleep was probably the puppy that was being held tightly in Madam Mao's arms.

Pei Qinghe closed her eyes to rest for an hour. After midnight, she opened her eyes and turned her head to see that the puppy was in Feng's arms at some point, while Mao was nowhere to be seen.

Pei Qinghe sighed inwardly, quietly got up, walked around, and found Madam Mao under a tree in the northwest corner of the post station.

The dim moonlight illuminated Mao's pale face.

Mao's clothes were loose and flowing, and she clutched a long belt in her hand, her eyes filled with pain and despair.

When Pei Qinghe appeared, Madam Mao trembled all over and bit her lip tightly.

"Is he really not going to make it?" Pei Qinghe didn't get angry, she just asked calmly.

Tears welled up in Mao's eyes; she wanted to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.

“If you don’t want to live, no one can save you.” Pei Qinghe said calmly, her voice steady: “If you’re determined to die, take the puppy with you on your journey, so the three of you can be together in the underworld.”

Madam Mao closed her eyes in anguish, tears streaming down her face.

Feng, who came out carrying the puppy, stood not far behind Pei Qinghe, her face full of worry.

The inn was only so big. The commotion here woke up many of the Pei family members who were already sleeping restlessly. Several young Pei family wives, their eyes red, stepped forward and snatched the belt from Madam Mao's hand.

"The Pei family suffered a great calamity. How many of them managed to reach Youzhou and survive?" Pei Qinghe said coldly, "Whoever wants to live, I, Pei Qinghe, will do everything in my power to help her live."

"Those who don't want to live, die early and be reincarnated sooner, so as to save food from being wasted."

Several young wives felt a shiver run through them and instinctively turned to look.

Under the cool moonlight, Pei Qinghe's expression was cold, her calmness bordering on callous cruelty.

Yes!

Life and death are one's own business.

If you don't want to live, who will reach out and pull you back again and again?
To die quickly with eyes closed, or to live by opening them?
Pei Qinghe left after saying this, without looking at Madam Mao again. As she passed Madam Feng, she tossed out a sentence: "Give her the puppy. Whether she lives or dies, she can take the puppy with her."

After hesitating for a moment, Madam Feng stuffed the puppy into Madam Mao's arms and hurriedly followed her daughter.

“Qinghe, you just now…” Madam Feng paused, then said in a low voice, “You could have spoken more gently and tactfully.”

Pei Qinghe said calmly, "A mental illness requires strong medicine! Whether it will work or not is hard to say now. Of the more than three hundred members of the Pei family, it would be quite good if eighty percent of them made it to Youzhou alive."

Feng was speechless.

Captain Sun stood by the window, taking in the entire scene.

Several trusted confidants gathered around and watched the spectacle together.

The square-faced soldier clicked his tongue in amazement: "This Miss Pei is truly remarkable." The title "that girl from the Pei family" naturally came to mean "Miss Pei the Sixth."

The others nodded in agreement: "He does have a ruthless streak that makes people shudder."

“Pei Zhongde is the best among the twelve Imperial Guards Generals.” Captain Sun suddenly said, “His three thousand cavalrymen are also the elite of the Imperial Guards. In terms of official rank, Pei Zhongde is only a fourth-rank military officer, but the Wei King’s faction is particularly wary of him.”

Pei Boren, who served as a tutor in the Eastern Palace, was also a man of both wisdom and courage. However, he was still not as good as Pei Zhongde.

Captain Sun turned around, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "A few years ago, during a military exercise, I drew lots and unfortunately drew General Pei. On my ninth move, I was swept down by General Pei's spear."

The soldier with the mole suddenly realized, "No wonder you were so polite to Miss Pei, boss. There's another reason behind it."

"Like father, like daughter. Miss Pei must be exceptionally skilled."

"Hey, isn't that obvious! She said she wanted to be the clan leader, and no one in the Pei family objected. That shows she's a formidable person."

The square-faced soldier muttered, "He couldn't even last ten moves, he's too weak... Ouch!"

Captain Sun pulled his leg back and ordered expressionlessly, "We need to get up early tomorrow, everyone go to sleep."

……

On the way to exile, the escorting officer, Commander Sun, ate dry biscuits, which he could eat until he was full.

Each member of the Pei family, regardless of age, received one yuan.

The dry biscuits were about the size of a palm, dark in color, and mixed with bran. Taking a big bite would break your teeth. You could only take a small bite and chew it slowly.

There were about twenty more clean water bags today. Fill them with water, drink sparingly, and it'll last us all day.

In retrospect, although Commandant Sun was harsh and difficult in his previous life, he did not abuse the women. The dozens of soldiers only used foul language to vent their frustrations along the way and did not do anything outrageous. In the already corrupt Da Jing army, he was a rare good soldier.

The dry biscuits were too coarse to swallow.

Madam Feng took a bite and silently turned to look at her daughter. She saw Pei Qinghe eating with relish, one bite after another, as if she were savoring some exquisite delicacy.

Feng felt a bitter taste in her mouth and a stinging sensation in her nose. She turned her head to the side and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

Pei Qinghe pretended not to see it and continued chewing, fighting to the very end with the dry biscuit.

Only those who have truly experienced hunger can understand its taste.

During her exile, she was starving every day. Even after arriving in Youzhou, she was still eating irregularly, sometimes hungry and sometimes full. The wild game they hunted, after removing the fur, bones, and internal organs, was barely enough for the entire Pei family to have a meal of meat soup.

Later, she plundered mountain bandits, killed wealthy households, and stole grain, attracting more and more followers. Then, with the court and the country in chaos, large numbers of refugees flocked to Pei's army. The number of people she needed to support grew exponentially, and at her most difficult time as the leader of the uprising, she couldn't even bear to eat a whole steamed bun.

Other rebel armies, lacking sufficient food, resorted to using human flesh as rations. The Pei family army strictly forbade the consumption of human flesh, so their rations were never plentiful. She and her soldiers shared weal and woe, scrambling to drink soup from the same pot, rarely having enough to eat.

The dry biscuits didn't taste good, but they were filling.

You need to be well-fed to have the energy to move forward.

Pei Yan, Pei Feng, and the other children followed suit and took a big bite.

With a soft cry of "Ouch!", Pei Feng frowned and spat out a baby tooth that was already on the verge of falling out.

Pei Qinghe reached out and ruffled her cousin's hair, smiling slightly.

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(End of this chapter)