Qin Yichen had once doubted whether she was the real Li Xinyue. But just now, when he saw her parents coming to see her off, he could ascertain that this was the genuine daughter of the Li family.
While Qin Yichen was lost in thought, Li Xinyue had already carefully begun searching in the bushes.
Although the banded krait was quite toxic, its body was full of treasures. It would be great if more banded kraits could be found.
She could then find an opportunity to extract the snake's venom and make it into a self-defence poison.
The people of the other families also saw Li Xinyue and the officers fighting the snake.
Suspecting there might be more snakes around, some women and children were already screaming in terror.
The bolder men had no choice but to follow Li Xinyue's example, find some sturdy branches nearby, and search the bushes at night to prevent being bitten by snakes while sleeping.
The officers did not object to the criminals' actions. After all, they would also spend the night here, and it was better to be safer.
However, the criminals could search but not leave their sight.
Li Xinyue searched the surroundings for more than one purpose.
When arguing with the officers, she discovered herbs in the bushes nearby.
On the road to exile, it was hard to guarantee her family would not suffer from some aches and pains. She could not keep taking modern medicines from her space for them.
She would have to rack her brains to explain if asked about it.
But wild herbs she gathered would arouse no suspicion as they were from this period.
Even if these herbs could not specifically treat their conditions, she would have a reasonable explanation for taking medicine from her space.
As Li Xinyue looked for herbs, her progress was naturally slower than the others.
Seeing Li Xinyue falling behind, several sisters-in-law and Qin Hanyue worried she might encounter danger alone.
The eldest sister-in-law could no longer sit still.
"I'll go see the Ninth younger sister."
"I'll go too."
"I'll go too."
The other sisters-in-law also stood up.
Qin Hanyue looked at Old Lady Qin and saw she did not object, so she joined them.
The group ran up to Li Xinyue and saw her using her clothes to hold a large pile of grass.
"Ninth sister-in-law, weren't you looking for snakes? Why did you pull up so much grass?" Qin Hanyue asked.
"These are all commonly used medicinal herbs. We might need them on the road, so I gathered some."
When Qin Hanyue heard these were medicinal herbs, her eyes lit up.
"Ninth sister-in-law, you said these are medicinal herbs?"
Li Xinyue nodded and randomly picked up a medicinal plant to patiently explain, "This is called ku di zi. It has the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying. This is Che Qian Cao. It can not only treat illnesses but can also be used for cooking..."
As Qin Hanyue listened to her ninth sister-in-law, she became increasingly interested.
"Ninth sister-in-law, I've remembered all the medicinal herbs you mentioned. I'll help you gather them, too."
Although the eight sisters-in-law did not ask as many questions as Qin Hanyue, they listened carefully to Li Xinyue's explanations.
"Ninth younger sister, we'll help too."
By the time the officers called for everyone to come back, no banded kraits were found, but the ten Qin women had gathered a lot of herbs to take back.
At this moment, Qin Hanyue had already cast off the gloom of not having mantou earlier. She went to Old Lady Qin to show off her spoils.
"Mother, look at all the medicinal herbs I gathered."
Old Lady Qin lovingly stroked her head.
"Your ninth sister-in-law is a wise one. You should learn from her in the future."
"I understand, Mother."
While it was still dark, the sisters-in-law and Qin Hanyue worked together to clean and categorize the medicinal herbs as Li Xinyue had instructed.
The people of the other families looked disdainfully at the actions of the Qin women.
"The Qin family has gone crazy from hunger, bringing back so much wild grass. Don't tell me they're planning to eat it?"
"Tsk tsk, they are bold. Aren't they afraid those plants are poisonous?"
"It would be even better if they were poisonous. If the Qin people were poisoned, it would avenge us."
Because of the distance, the Qin family did not hear the muted voices.
Li Xinyue had just finished laying out all the processed medicinal herbs on the open ground when shouts were heard from the officers' side.
"Boss, what's wrong with you?"
"Someone come quick, the boss can't breathe..."
Everyone looked in the direction of the officers.
They saw several officers surrounding Peng Wang.
"Don't tell me the snake that bit the boss just now was venomous?"
Hearing this suspicion, the officers instantly recalled Li Xinyue's warning.
Someone decisively made a decision.
"Quick, carry the boss to find that articulate Qin woman."
Life was at stake, so none of the officers dared to delay. They hurriedly carried Peng Wang toward the Qin family.
The Qin family heard the officers' words.
Their gazes uniformly fell on Li Xinyue.
"He, act within your capabilities," Old Lady Qin reminded.
From Li Xinyue leading the Qin women to gather herbs just now, it seemed she understood some medicine.
However, Peng Wang being bitten by a venomous snake was not something that could be handled with just some medicinal knowledge.
If Peng Wang died, these officers might push responsibility onto Li Xinyue to find someone to blame.
Of course, Li Xinyue understood the meaning behind her mother-in-law's reminder.
"Mother, don't worry, I won't casually intervene."
As she spoke, the officers had already carried Peng Wang to the Qin family's location.
"Lady He, repeat your snakebite treatment method."
Li Xinyue expressionlessly looked at the people, speaking slowly and deliberately.
"The method I described is only useful right after being bitten by the snake."
"Then what should be done now?" The officer was anxious.
Li Xinyue knew that a person would not die so quickly after being bitten by a banded krait.
Therefore, she deliberately slowed her movements, ambling toward Peng Wang at a snail's pace. Her goal was to make the officers anxious.
Sure enough, seeing her slow movements made the officer angry.
"Hurry up, what should be done?"
Even when urged, Li Xinyue was not annoyed. She simply stood in place and did not move.
"Now you are asking me for help. Is this how you ask people for favours?"
These officers were used to domineering and showing off before prisoners. Li Xinyue did not want to continue indulging them.
The road ahead was still long. She did not want to live watching their faces every day.
She had to take this opportunity to let these officers recognise that she, Li Xinyue, was not someone who could be casually intimidated into compromising.
Seeing this, Zhang Qing wanted to continue scolding and habitually reached for the whip coiled at his waist.
The Eighth Old Zhou promptly stopped him.
"The boss's life comes first."
Zhang Qing immediately halted his actions, glaring fiercely at Li Xinyue but not speaking again.
The Eighth Old Zhou stood up, "Name any conditions you want."
Li Xinyue was in no hurry to propose conditions. As a professional doctor, the first thing she had to do was understand the patient's condition.