Zhongzhou Prefecture City.
Countless refugees crowded outside the city gate, sitting in groups of threes and twos, their expressions ranging from numbness to hope to despair as they stared at the tightly shut gates.
At this moment, Daohua and several others were also among the refugees, looking quite troubled.
"We finally made it to the prefecture city, and yet we can't even enter through the gates," Daohua said with frustration.
Xiao Yeyang spoke up, "This situation is quite normal. There was a refugee riot not long ago. If they open the gates now and the refugees swarm into the city, who knows what chaos might ensue?"
Daohua said, "But with so many refugees gathered here, the government office can't just ignore us, can it?"
"Who said they're ignoring us?"
Someone nearby interjected.
Daohua immediately turned to the speaker, "Old man, do you know something?"
Seeing that the people around him were paying attention, the old man straightened up and coughed a few times before saying, "Yesterday as I lingered by the city gates, I heard the soldiers say that a high-ranking official from the capital had arrived a few days ago."
"A high-ranking official from the capital?"
"Exactly. I heard he brought many soldiers with him. Our north has been struck by a drought, so that official from the capital must be here for disaster relief."
Upon hearing this, everyone's faces lit up with hope, whereas Xiao Yeyang's eyes flickered and he looked down, seemingly lost in thought.
Around noon, soldiers from inside the city came out, carrying buckets full of steaming hot rice gruel.
The moment they appeared, the refugees surged forward.
In just a short while, a long, serpentine line formed outside the city gates.
Daohua told Sun Ma to watch over Grandma Yan, while she, along with Wentao, Uncle Sun, Xiao Yeyang, and Zhao Ergou, went to line up.
They had no choice; their belongings had been abandoned. Although they still had silver notes, they couldn't enter the city to exchange them and had to queue for porridge instead.
While waiting in line, Xiao Yeyang seemed to notice something and suddenly ran out of the queue. Zhao Ergou, after spinning his eyes around and taking a quick glance at Daohua lining up for the porridge, gritted his teeth and rapidly followed.
By the time Wentao informed Daohua, she turned around and only caught a fleeting glimpse of the two figures disappearing into the crowd of refugees.
Daohua furrowed her brow, "What are those two up to?"
Wentao shook his head, "I don't know, Yeyang seemed to have seen something."
Daohua's expression shifted, "Never mind them, we need to get the porridge. Grandmother has been hungry all night."
Wentao saw no objection to this.
In his eyes, Xiao Yeyang and Zhao Ergou were merely passersby, far less important than his own grandmother and sister.
After more than half an hour, Daohua, Wentao, and Uncle Sun got three bowls of thin porridge. They brought them back and shared the meal with Grandma Yan and Sun Ma.
Grandma Yan looked at her grandchildren with pity, "Having this experience is good in a way; it lets you taste life's difficulties beforehand." After speaking, she sighed and glanced around.
"Why haven't Yeyang and Ergouzi come back yet? I hope nothing has happened to them."
Daohua was also unsure, "They should be fine, right? Xiao Yeyang seems quite clever."
Grandma Yan shook her head, "No matter how clever he is, he is still just a young boy. Against adults, he could only be at a disadvantage."
Wentao suggested, "How about Uncle Sun and I go look for them?"
Grandma Yan pondered for a moment, "Don't go far, just look around nearby. If a person is truly lost... then perhaps it's their fate."
Wentao and Uncle Sun left, and Daohua sat back down beside Grandma Yan, muttering, "It can't be that unlucky."
But thinking of Xiao Yeyang's unfortunate knack for running into trouble like traffickers, she grew uncertain again.
Some time later, Wentao and Uncle Sun returned, dejected.
They shook their heads at Grandma Yan and Daohua.
Daohua forced a smile, "Didn't Xiao Yeyang see someone? Maybe it was his family, and he might have already gone home by now. With Zhao Ergou with him, he shouldn't run into trouble."
Grandma Yan sighed, "Let's hope so."
While they said that, everyone still hoped the two would come back.
No matter what, having spent so much time together, they would not feel reassured until they saw that both individuals were safe and sound.
Regrettably, that night, Xiao Yeyang and Zhao Ergou did not return.
The second day, still no sign of the two men.
Daohua looked at the still tightly closed city gates, then glanced at the considerably thinner Mrs. Yan: "Grandmother, who knows how long we'll have to wait for the city gates to open. Xiao Yeyang and Zhao Ergou probably won't come back. Why don't we just leave?"
After a moment of silence, Mrs. Yan finally nodded: "Let's go, leave slowly, even if we have to beg along the way, we must reach Linyi County."
Daohua smiled and whispered, "Of course, have you forgotten that your granddaughter still has a silver note?" They couldn't enter the prefecture city, but it was impossible that they couldn't enter any other city along the way, right?
Even if, retreating ten thousand steps, they couldn't enter those cities either, they should still encounter one or two wealthy families. When the time came, even if they had to suffer a loss, they could certainly exchange for silver.
Even if they took another step back and couldn't exchange for silver, Daohua could ensure their safe arrival to Linyi County. Don't forget, she had a space of her own after all. She could always sneak out some food to prevent everyone from starving.
On the third day, as the sky brightened slightly, Daohua and the group left the prefectural city, heading towards Linyi County.
Not long after they had left, a group of soldiers clad in armor suddenly arrived outside the city gates. They searched among the refugees for a while but eventually left without success.
------
Half a month later.
Looking like beggars, the five people with Daohua had tears brimming in their eyes as they looked at the stele inscribed with the words 'Linyi County'.
"Grandmother, once we pass this stele, we will have entered Linyi County."
"Good, good, good!"
Mrs. Yan choked up, saying the word "good" three times.
Daohua too felt a great relief in her heart.
Since arriving in ancient times, if she rode in a carriage, she would complain about the shaking and instability. But after walking on foot for almost half a month, she wouldn't complain about carriages again.
No matter how bumpy a carriage was, it was still better than walking on two legs.
"Let's go, you'll soon see your parents."
Daohua glanced at the clothes they were wearing and asked, "Grandmother, with us looking like this, when we meet Father, won't they..."
Mrs. Yan immediately glared: "Won't they what? Are you saying he dares to despise your grandmother?"
Daohua forced a smile.
He wouldn't despise Mrs. Yan, but he might despise her.
She hadn't been raised by her parents since she was young, and the affection between people required interaction. She didn't believe her parents were that affectionate towards her.
"Let's go, what's there to fear? With your grandmother here, no one can bully you."
Linyi County, at the County Governor's Office gate.
The government official at the gate was discussing where to go after work to have fun when a pungent smell suddenly hit him. Looking up, he noticed that five beggars had appeared in front of the Governor's Office.
"Officer, can you tell me if this is the Linyi County Governor's Office?" Uncle Sun asked with a smile as he approached.
"Go away, go away! Where did these beggars come from? Roll back to where you came from!" The official at the gate expressed his disgust as he tried to drive Uncle Sun away.
Uncle Sun wanted to ask again, but one of the officials, running out of patience, raised his sword at his waist and made as if to strike Uncle Sun.
"What are you doing?"
Yan Wentao, shocked, took two steps that turned into three and ran over quickly. He grabbed the official's arm and rescued Uncle Sun.
"How dare you, a scoundrel, come to make a scene at the Governor's Office? Are you tired of living?" The other officials came forward en masse, and with their numbers, they soon had Yan Wentao pinned to the ground.
Seeing them treating Yan Wentao like this, Mrs. Yan had trouble catching her breath in anger.
"Stop it, all of you!"
Daohua also became both angry and anxious, handed Mrs. Yan to Grandma Sun, and ran up quickly. Pointing at the official, she shouted, "My father is Yan Zhigao, the County Magistrate of Linyi County. If you dare harm my third brother, I'll make sure you regret it."
As soon as these words came out, the officials who were still smug with satisfaction froze on the spot.