I Marry a Wife for my Big Brother, Starting Out With Exile - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Sister-in-Law, Should We Kneel?

The night breeze was cool, occasionally interrupted by snoring, mixed with a few vague, pained groans. Between the two of them, however, there was complete silence.

“What, you can’t do it?” Jiang Jinyue frowned as she looked the young girl up and down.

Li Chenghuan shook her head. “I think it’s pretty unlikely.”

Up to now, the rewards given by the golden finger had all been physical items. How on earth was something like returning to the capital supposed to be granted? If that were possible, the golden finger would be too heaven-defying.

Jiang Jinyue fell silent for a moment. “Give it a try.” With an ability as bizarre as this, who knew, maybe it was possible.

If she wanted to try, she would try. Li Chenghuan steadied her mind. “Sister-in-law, are you still thirsty? I still have plenty of water that can make you fully quenched.”

Jiang Jinyue shook her head, then nodded. “A little thirsty.” Playing along with it should increase the probability of success, right.

Resorting to her previous trick, Li Chenghuan produced another half cup of coconut water. With the same considerate movement, she cradled Jiang Jinyue’s cheek with one hand, carefully tilted the cup with the other, and fed it to her sip by sip.

Jiang Jinyue cooperated tacitly, enjoying her attentiveness the whole time, and then stared at her quietly, with anticipation brimming in her delicate brows and eyes.

Li Chenghuan spread both her hands. “No reaction.” It was well within expectations. If the golden finger could handle even this, it wouldn’t be a golden finger anymore; it would just turn into a wish-granting tree that yielded to every request.

Jiang Jinyue frowned slightly. “Try again.” She wasn’t the type to give up easily.

A trace of wishful thinking also remained in Li Chenghuan’s heart. What if it actually worked?

She gently pulled the other person into her arms and said dryly, “Sister-in-law, are you cold? Do you want me to hold you tighter?”

Jiang Jinyue hesitated for a moment. “Mn.”

Her embrace tightened, their breaths mingling, but the golden finger still didn’t show any reaction.

Li Chenghuan closed her eyes and said in a stiff tone, “Sister-in-law, I can die for you.”

“Mn.”

“Really, as long as you can live well, I can do anything.”

“Mn.”

The golden finger still didn’t make a single peep. Li Chenghuan felt numb. “This probably won’t work.”

“What do you mean?” Jiang Jinyue rested her head on the other’s arm, her gaze fixed on her clean-shaven chin, her tone light and casual.

Only afterward did Li Chenghuan feel a wave of regret. She shouldn’t have made things so transparent. Just think: would someone who knew the other person was trying to win her over still be touched so easily?

She seemed to have acted too hastily and, by a twist of fate, raised the difficulty level for herself.

Seeing her expression grow complicated, Jiang Jinyue thought for a moment and realized where the problem lay. “I shouldn’t have asked so much. Let’s leave it at that for tonight. There’s no need to say much more to me in the future; just follow your heart.”

Things having reached this point, regret was useless; the only choice was to maintain a calm mind.

Li Chenghuan let out an “mn”—she supposed that was all she could do.

The chat concluded. The two of them tacitly separated, each turning onto her side with her back to the other, as if the intimacy of just a moment ago had never happened at all.

As the night grew deeper, Li Chenghuan shrank her body slightly. She looked back at Jiang Jinyue, who was lying motionless, then silently turned around and pulled the person into a hug.

“Sister-in-law, let me hold you. It’ll be warmer.” She wasn’t doing it to get a reward; it was mainly because it was too cold, and everyone else was packed tightly together. For the two of them to stand out and purposely seek hardship—weren’t they just being idiots?

The person in her arms made no sound, merely gently hooking her fingers around the hand wrapped tightly about her waist.

Clearly, Jiang Jinyue wasn’t an idiot either.

【The female lead’s blackened value decreases by 1, rewarded with a pack of fruit drops.】

The surprise came so suddenly that Li Chenghuan smiled silently. Candies were good things; they could replenish physical strength. Still, it was strange—she had tried so many times just now, and the cold beauty hadn’t batted an eye. Yet now, simply by hugging each other, she got a reward.

So, was the female lead moved this time?

This difficulty truly fluctuated up and down, making it impossible to figure out… Thinking about this, the two of them successively drifted off to sleep.

At the break of dawn the next day, the bailiffs cracked their rattan whips in the air.

“Everyone get up! One steamed corn bun per person, no shoving or fighting, eat up quickly and hit the road!”

Accompanied by the shouts, Old Gu tossed a bundle of coarse-flour steamed corn buns onto the ground.

The prisoners numbly stepped forward, each picking up a bun. A few people quietly glanced at Wang Yue and didn’t rush to take their share, instead silently falling into line behind Wang Yue.

There were plenty of smart people in the lineup, and once they came to their senses, they understood there was still hope—and whom they should rely on.

On the Li family’s side, Old Madam Li took the lead as usual. Without waiting for her two granddaughters to react, she hurried over. “Officer, I’ll take four portions for our family.”

The old lady offered a hasty explanation before grabbing the buns, terrified that if she didn’t explain in time, she’d catch a whip. Living for the better part of a century, how could she not see clearly? Aside from Zhou Yuan, who had stayed behind yesterday and was somewhat amiable, the remaining five escorting bailiffs were nothing to trifle with.

Returning to her spot, Old Madam Li ignored the hand reached out by her younger granddaughter, Li Chengle, and looked affectionately at Jiang Jinyue. “My good Yue’er, you eat first. Grandma has squeezed them all, and this one is the softest.”

That jinx had an expert following and protecting her from behind. In order to keep eating good things along the way, she was willing to give away not just one corn bun, but all four if she had to.

This account, she knew how to calculate.

“Thank you, Grandmother.” Jiang Jinyue reached out and took it.

“There’s no need to be so polite with family! We’re all one family here, nothing to thank each other for.” Old Madam Li smiled even more affectionately. From now on, when she ate good things from the jinx, she wouldn’t even need to say thanks; they were family, and it was only right for a granddaughter-in-law to be filial to her grandmother.

Jiang Jinyue glanced seamlessly at Li Chenghuan. It looked like the old lady had been completely misled by this person…

Only then did Old Madam Li hand out buns to her two granddaughters. “You young folks have strong teeth, just make do.” The one in her hand was the softest one, hehe.

Li Chenghuan took hers and took a bite, almost chipping her tooth. The corn bun was as hard as a rock and impossible to bite through.

“Chengle, you eat it. I’m not hungry.” If she really got hungry, she’d just eat two candies; she didn’t want to make things difficult for her teeth.

The Li family members had water to drink yesterday, plus meatball soup, and were eating their corn buns in peace, but the rest of the prisoners weren’t having such an easy time.

“Officer, is there no water today?” A prisoner suddenly stood up, his expression looking as if he were about to march to a heroic martyrdom, though his voice trembled timidly as he spoke.

Seeing this, the crowd all gazed with eager eyes at the bailiffs. The water skin from yesterday had been given to Wang Yue, and they hadn’t bothered to ask for it. Having gone two days and two nights without water, eating these dry, hard buns on top of that made them feel like they were dying of thirst.

Old Gu let out a cold snort, casting a glance at the water skin hanging at Wang Yue’s waist. “Didn’t we give you water yesterday? That was a two-day supply. Anything more—wait until tomorrow.”

These people had been high-ranking officials before their downfall, and even in this state, they still didn’t forget to cozy up to royalty. If they died of thirst, they deserved it.

At those words, the crowd naturally turned their gaze to Wang Yue.

Wang Yue instantly felt the water skin at her waist burn like fire. Subconsciously, she looked toward Grand Tutor Yu.

Grand Tutor Yu sighed inwardly while putting on a smiling face. “Forgive me, I forgot to distribute it yesterday. Whoever is thirsty, come over and drink.”

As soon as these words fell, people rushed forward to take the lead.

“I’m thirsty!”

“I’m dying of thirst!”

“I want some too…”

Wang Yue was surrounded in the middle, looking helpless. The moment she untied the water skin, someone reached out and snatched it away.

“I’m dying of thirst, I’ll drink first!”

“I grabbed it first, I drink first…”

The scene fell into total chaos. Nearly half of the prisoners were fighting over the water skin, and someone accidentally knocked the wooden stopper loose, spilling a puddle of water onto the ground.

“Stop fighting, or none of you will get any!” Grand Tutor Yu shouted in a deep voice, which finally made the prisoners stop their mad scramble and look at the puddle of water spilled on the ground.

“Cursed heavens, wasting so much water for nothing!” cried the man who had been holding the water skin. He anxiously brought it to his mouth, knowing if he didn’t drink now, he really wouldn’t get the chance. “Ah!”

The man finally got a drink of water, but he spat out even more than he swallowed. Fresh blood gushed from his mouth, and with wide-open eyes, he fell straight to the ground, twitching twice before going completely still.

The atmosphere instantly froze. Everyone held their breath, and several children had their eyes covered by their parents. “Be good, don’t look.” Watching would give you nightmares.

Old Gu wiped his blade against the dead man’s clothes, picked up the water skin, and poured the remaining water to wash the blade. The meager amount of water left was emptied out in an instant.

“Go on, fight over it. Let one of you try grabbing it from me again.” He gave the dead man on the ground a disgusted kick and swept his gaze over the crowd. “Whoever dares to stir up trouble again will end up just like this.”

He had long wanted to make an example of someone to terrify the rest. Seeing these former high-ranking officials show fear and tremble made him feel truly damn euphoric.

Seeing that the prisoners had been cowed, Old Gu put away his saber with satisfaction and tossed aside the empty water skin. “A bunch of blind fools, move out and get on the road.”

If they all behaved obediently, it would be much easier for him to lead the troop.

Wang Yue was just about to speak when Grand Tutor Yu—quick as lightning—covered her mouth and advised her in a deep voice, “Your Highness, say no more.”

Wang Yue nodded with reddened eyes, and only then did Grand Tutor Yu release his hand.

“Grand Tutor, he’s taking human lives like grass. Are we just going to do nothing?”

Grand Tutor Yu shook his head, his gaze hidden, pained, and heavy. “Your Highness, times are different now. Let’s go.”

Wang Yue clenched her fists in gritted frustration, finally burying her head in her hands in utter powerlessness. She hated it so much. Had she known it would come to this, the day she understood things, she should have voluntarily renounced the crown prince’s position, and then so many people wouldn’t have died because of her.

Grand Tutor Yu let out a helpless sigh. His Highness was ultimately still too young, and having been overly protected by the empress all these years, he didn’t understand human nature or the hardships of the mortal world.

On this journey, his burden was heavy and the road ahead was long!

The prisoners mechanically moved their feet forward, their complexions looking worse than the other, clearly all thoroughly terrified.

At the rear of the procession, Old Madam Li clutched her chest. As she passed the fallen man, she hurriedly averted her gaze, only to see her two granddaughters holding hands with Jiang Jinyue.

Jiang Jinyue’s expression was as cold and aloof as ever, her eyes completely blank and indifferent, as if she were well-used to such scenes.

Her younger granddaughter, Li Chengle, was gripping Jiang Jinyue’s left hand, her little face as pale as paper. Though her feet kept moving forward, her legs were trembling.

Her second granddaughter, Li Chenghuan, was holding Jiang Jinyue’s right hand, her complexion pale as snow, following along step by step while pressing her body closely against the other person.

Old Madam Li’s mouth twitched. Why were these two good-for-nothings so cowardly? No matter what happened, they always crowded around the jinx. They were truly bringing shame on the Li family.

If the two sisters had heard the old lady’s inner thoughts, they would have certainly cried foul: it wasn’t them crowding around Jiang Jinyue; Jiang Jinyue was the one who had actively grabbed their hands.

When the man holding the water skin collapsed and they were terrified out of their wits, Jiang Jinyue had tightly grasped both their hands.

“Don’t be afraid, it’s already passed,” Jiang Jinyue said, her voice hoarse yet gentle.

Li Chenghuan snapped back to reality, exhaling a lingering breath of relief. Seeing that the cold beauty looked as normal as ever, she couldn’t help asking, “Sister-in-law, aren’t you scared?”

She had lived this long, and it was her first time seeing a dead person—and witnessing someone get killed right before her eyes. Hadn’t she been scared nearly to death?

In fact, she even felt that having a Type 56 assault rifle didn’t provide much sense of security. If a situation ever arose where she actually had to shoot, would she dare pull the trigger? Would she dare kill someone?

She didn’t know.

Jiang Jinyue’s gaze paused, a flash of complexity crossing her face. She was scared too—so scared that she couldn’t help tightening her grip on the hands of the people beside her, holding both their hands while her heart still pounded wildly.

“What use is being scared?” Being scared was useless, which was why she wanted the ability to protect herself.

Hearing the helplessness in Jiang Jinyue’s tone, Li Chenghuan unconsciously tightened her fingers. “Sister-in-law, I will protect you.”

The moment the words left her mouth, she rubbed her nose in embarrassment. She had just been scared to death herself; these words didn’t seem very convincing.

Hearing this, Jiang Jinyue thought of something else. This person had said last night that she possessed the ability to protect herself, and had also said she would protect her and not let anyone hurt her…

Were those words backed by some real reliance, or were they just random nonsense spoken to win her over?

“Sister-in-law, I will protect you too.” Li Chengle had recovered her wits by now, and seeing that Jiang Jinyue hadn’t reacted to her second sister’s words, she chimed in with her own promise.

Nearby, Old Madam Li—who had deliberately slowed her pace to walk side-by-side with them—clutched her chest again. It’s over, it’s completely over!

Both granddaughters had their minds bewitched by this jinx. Was it really necessary, just for a mouthful of food and drink?

“My good Yue’er, don’t be scared. Grandma will protect you too. If anyone tries to hack you down, they can cut off my head first.” Old Madam Li yanked her younger granddaughter aside and affectionately grabbed Jiang Jinyue’s hand.

These two ill-fated kids didn’t even bring her along when trying to butter up this jinx; they had no sense of strategy at all.

Jiang Jinyue’s face stiffened, and she managed a forced smile. “Grandmother is joking, I’m not afraid.”

Though this grandmother and granddaughter pair didn’t know the inside story, they were also trying hard to win her favor. Sometimes, human hearts really were very simple…

The sun climbed higher and higher, making the chill of the night feel like nothing more than a false alarm. As they walked, everyone began to sweat, growing hot and restless. Those who had gone two days without water found it increasingly unbearable, feeling as though their throats were about to smoke.

Old Madam Li wiped away her sweat and couldn’t help glancing at Jiang Jinyue. Wasn’t the jinx thirsty? Why hasn’t she made a move yet? Hurry up and let the people following in secret send some water over!

Noticing the old lady’s gaze, Jiang Jinyue lowered her eyelids. She knew that Li Chenghuan could produce water; the young girl had said just last night that she had plenty of water and could let her drink her fill.

But now wasn’t the right time yet; they needed to find an opportunity away from the crowd.

As noon approached, someone in the procession suddenly collapsed. Before the bailiffs could even walk over, another person fell.

“Officer, I beg you to give us a sip of water! My husband has passed out from thirst.”

“Officer, my mother is also suffering from thirst, please show some mercy and give her a sip!”

The families of the two people who had collapsed knelt one after another, kowtowing ceaselessly toward the bailiffs with loud thuds against the ground.

The crowd came to a halt, unwilling to move forward anymore. If they endured like this much longer, they would all collapse sooner or later. Some people hardened their hearts and knelt down alongside them. “We beg the officers to show mercy and give us some water to drink!”

Being hacked to death by a blade was frightening, indeed, but how much better was dying of thirst? Rather than just waiting to die here like this, it was better to twist themselves into a single rope and lock horns with these bailiffs.

Grand Tutor Yu pondered for a moment, pulling Wang Yue down to kneel with him. He said nothing, nor did he let Wang Yue speak; he simply knelt there like a silent form of defiance.

The law cannot punish the masses. Even if this Old Gu dared to kill one person, he certainly wouldn’t dare launch a massive slaughter.

Seeing this, Li Chenghuan couldn’t help looking at Jiang Jinyue. “Sister-in-law, should we kneel?”

Jiang Jinyue slowly shook her head. “There’s no need.”

Old Madam Li’s legs, which had been bent halfway down, immediately straightened right back up. The jinx had people protecting her, so she would just listen to the jinx.

Behind them, Xu Xiao placed his still-unconscious father onto the ground and also stood straight as a ramrod.

In the end, only the Li family stood remaining, looking remarkably conspicuous.

Old Gu’s anger had been flaring up anyway. It turned out his display of making an example of someone this morning had been completely in vain; these people truly had a lot of nerve. Seeing that the Li family members hadn’t knelt, he couldn’t help looking over.

“None of you are thirsty?”

The three generations of the Li family involuntarily looked toward Jiang Jinyue. They were thirsty, but they were managing. The only reason they hadn’t knelt was because of Jiang Jinyue.

Seeing them all looking at Jiang Jinyue, Old Gu let out a sneer, pointing his finger right at her. “Old man’s talking to you. You, answer.”

Goodnight everyone, see you tomorrow night.