However, although they might not have witnessed He Jingheng's martial arts firsthand, he was the renowned God of War General of Tian Shun. How could they, a motley crew, compare with him?
Moreover, Shang Ruoyi's martial arts skills didn't seem like those of an amateur.
Neither of this couple was easy to deal with. Even if there was more gold, they couldn't even dream of getting their hands on it.
Watching Li Shen and her son, as well as Li Wenyuan, having enough to eat and drink in the He family, they were filled with envy.
The three men who had tried to snatch her water bag before stepped forward. "We also want to be your guards."
Shang Ruoyi glanced at them and said indifferently, "I don't need guards anymore."
"Anything else will do, as long as you can provide us with enough food and clothing."
Shang Ruoyi sneered at their servile looks.
They clearly regarded her as a fool. Seeing that she had food, drink, and new shoes, they wanted to come here to live comfortably.
"My He family doesn't need servants now. You can go back."
The three were rebuffed but dared not show their anger. After all, they had been kicked flying by Shang Ruoyi before, and just thinking about it made their abdomens ache faintly.
They returned to their places and looked towards the He family reluctantly.
"I had a good look just now. There are quite a few delicious things in Shang Ruoyi's bamboo basket."
"I seemed to smell the aroma of roast chicken."
"And meat buns."
In fact, the only meat in Shang Ruoyi's bamboo basket with food was some raw pork, which she planned to make into a plate of stir - fried meat. In her previous life, she seldom ate pork, thinking it was too greasy.
In this life, since the original owner seemed to have suffered from hunger, she found pork quite delicious.
Leaving the town, everyone entered the mountains. The air in the mountains was very humid, and from time to time, the chirping of birds could be heard. Shang Ruoyi walked at the back, occasionally squatting on the ground to dig something.
He Yunyi noticed and came over, asking softly, "Sister - in - law, what are you digging?"
"These are all herbs." Shang Ruoyi took out what she had dug and showed them to her. "This is Indian Kalimeris Herb, which can clear heat and detoxify. This is Common Cnidium Fruit, this is Chinese Thorowax Root, and this is Fleeceflower Root."
"Sister - in - law, you know so many herbs. Can you teach me?"
Shang Ruoyi nodded. "Of course."
Shang Ruoyi led her, digging and explaining along the way. She clearly described the names of the herbs, their functions, and how to combine them for medicine. At first, only He Yunyi was listening, then it became He Yunyi and Cong Fangzhi, and later, many female prisoners followed her.
Zhang saw a group of people around her and cast several disdainful glances. A woman, always showing herself in public, was really shameless.
But she just thought this in her heart. After the previous lesson, she didn't dare to voice these thoughts.
After following her for a few days, He Yunyi and Cong Fangzhi had a new understanding of Shang Ruoyi.
It seemed there was nothing she didn't know. For a while, He Yunyi admired her even more than her own brother.
Summer gradually passed, and the weather became cooler day by day.
The temperature in the mountains was even lower than outside, especially in the morning and evening, when a chill could always be felt. Shang Ruoyi dried some of the herbs she had collected and put them in the bamboo basket. She also planted some in the space. The place of exile was the most barren and desolate area in Tian Shun. Not to mention herbs, even crops might not grow there. So these herbs might come in handy in the place of exile.
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One day, when they reached an open space, the guards ordered to set up camp. Everyone went to collect some dry firewood nearby to make a fire and cook porridge.
The vegetables and meat in the bamboo basket had already been eaten up.
He Jingheng's leg had recovered a lot. Now he no longer needed to be supported, but the leg with the severed tendon was still a bit lame.
"I'll go with you," He Jingheng walked up to her and said in a low voice.
"No need. The mountain path is difficult to walk. I can manage on my own." Shang Ruoyi smiled. "Your leg isn't fully recovered yet. You'd better walk less on the mountain path."
"Alright," He Jingheng nodded and turned to leave.
Shang Ruoyi didn't think much of it. She informed the guards and then carried the bamboo basket up the mountain.
He Jingheng watched her back, feeling as if a ball of cotton was stuffed in his chest, making it a bit difficult to breathe. This woman really didn't understand his feelings.
The two spies of He Lingsheng saw this and got together to whisper. "Did you see that? It seems like that woman is arguing with He Jingheng."
"He Jingheng's expression changed."
"Tsk tsk tsk. A man who only knows how to lead troops in battle surely doesn't know how to please a woman. I've noticed that they haven't had much communication along the way. Instead, He Jingheng looks at her from time to time. Tsk tsk tsk."
The two had completely forgotten what He Lingsheng had sent them here for.
Shang Ruoyi walked up the mountain. After making sure there was no one around, she skillfully took out some vegetables and eggs from the space. She also picked some wild fruits.
The wild fruits here tasted a bit sour, but they were better than nothing. When there was really no food, wild fruits could also satisfy hunger. Although she had a lot of food in the space, many things were not suitable to be taken out on the way of exile.
Now the grains in her space had matured, and the vegetables she had planted before had also grown. The cabbages and radishes were many times larger than those grown outside, looking extremely fresh and appealing.
There were also dozens of chickens and ducks. Every day, dozens of chicken and duck eggs were laid, and new chicks and ducklings were constantly hatching.
The white tiger was very bored in the space every day. Shang Ruoyi would let it out every time she came to find food.
Sometimes the white tiger could help her catch some hares and pheasants. Today, the white tiger caught a hare and wagged it around her legs. Shang Ruoyi stroked its big head and smiled. "Why don't you eat the game you caught?"
The white tiger shook its big head and threw the hare into the bamboo basket. Since drinking the spiritual spring water in the space, it had lost interest in outside food. But the little things in the space smelled so fragrant that it really wanted to take a bite.
Every day, it couldn't help but want to gnaw on those chickens, ducks, and rabbits. But Shang Ruoyi had warned it that if it ate these little things, it would never get to drink the sweet spring water again.
Just as she was about to go back, she suddenly noticed a red dot in the bushes. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly walked over. It was a ginseng!
She took out the medicine - digging shovel from the space and carefully dug away the soil beside it, digging down extremely cautiously, for fear of damaging its roots.
After a while, when she dug out the whole ginseng, she almost exclaimed. This ginseng was at least fifty years old, and it was a wild mountain ginseng. If it were in her previous life, it would have fetched an astronomical price.
In fact, in Tian Shun, such ginseng was very rare. Even if there was any, it would have ended up in the palace or the mansions of the high - ranking officials and nobles.