The Princess of the Substitute Bride Strikes Back

They continued their journey the next day. The closer they got to the northern border, the more desolate the scenery became, and Zheng Chengyuan became more and more uneasy.

He walks this road every year, but this is the first time he has seen such a barren scene with no grass or trees growing on the hills.

He only wanted to reach the northern frontier as soon as possible to avoid any unnecessary complications, but it was hard for the exile team to travel non-stop all the way.

"Mom, we cook for ourselves now, why can't we eat meat?"

Mu Yifan asked Jin, wanting to continue living the carefree life of feasting and eating delicious food as before.

"Son! You don't understand. We have to plan for the future. Not to mention that we need money to settle down in the cold and bitter borderland, we also have to save money during these months of exile."

It wasn't that Cai didn't want to eat meat, she also felt sorry for her son, but she had less than 100 taels of silver to buy supplies. After only a few days of leaving, she had already used up one-fifth of the money, so she had to prepare for a rainy day.

"Grandma, when can we eat meat? Zhang'er wants to eat meat."

"Be good, Zhang'er. When we get to the next city to purchase supplies, grandma will buy you some meat."

When Cai saw that her grandson had lost weight, she couldn't bear it and had to agree.

However, how could she know that even if she had money in the future, she might not be able to buy meat.

The other families also ate light meals. The Chen, Ruan and Zhu families could only eat mainly vegetarian food with a few pieces of meat here and there.

The Wang family loved their granddaughter-in-law very much and specially stewed peanut and pork soup for Han, probably to nourish her body and increase her milk production.

Needless to say, the Mu family's main house also had a sumptuous meal. Taking into account Jiang's teeth, Lin's pregnancy, and Mu Yibai's leg injury, Fu Yunxi prepared a variety of nutritious meals.

"Everyone's physical fitness is still good. I want you to try to learn some kung fu to improve our family's combat effectiveness. In this way, even if we encounter special situations, we will have the ability to protect ourselves. Mother, what do you think?"

"Of course I can. The medicinal bath recipe Xier gave me before is amazing. I am full of energy every day now. If I can learn some Kung Fu, I can also share some of the burden with you."

"Yes! Second brother, I also want to learn some skills and protect everyone like you."

Mu Yibai was very satisfied with Mu Yiheng's performance. This half-brother was finally no longer timid and cowardly, and became enterprising.

"Okay, it's settled. Now that my grandmother is old, my eldest sister-in-law is pregnant, and my two younger sisters are still young, they don't need to learn martial arts. They can keep watch for us and pay attention to the surroundings while we discuss things. Yiheng will learn martial arts with me starting tomorrow."

"Mother, Aunt Jiang, and my brother and sister-in-law, I will give each of you a sword. Your task is to practice swinging the sword every day. You don't need to do anything else, just master the strength and accuracy of swinging the sword."

"No problem. We will listen to you. If Yiheng doesn't have a good talent, you don't have to be reluctant to punish him. Only a strict teacher can produce a good student."

Aunt Jiang agreed to Mu Yibai's offer. She also hoped that her son could learn good martial arts and protect everyone's safety.

"Don't worry, Auntie. Yiheng is his father's child after all. It's impossible that he doesn't have talent in martial arts."

"That's right, mother. Second brother is right. It's impossible for me to not have any talent, unless I'm not father's son."

"When did you become so smooth-talking, kid? Can the misfortune you encountered change your personality?"

And just like that, everyone reached a consensus.

Still camping outdoors at night, Zheng Chengyuan chose an open space with some trees, far away from the mountains.

The officials and the people from the eldest wife's house still set up tents. Since the Chen and Wang families had sons serving in the army, they followed Mu Yibai's example and bought curtains and set up temporary tents.

Needless to say, the people from the Zhu family, the Yuan family and the second branch, they don't know how to do these things and can only cover themselves with a thin quilt to sleep!

When they entered the tent at night, Mu Yibai gave each of Luo, Aunt Jiang and Liu a heavy iron knife. Since everyone was resting together, it was not convenient to swing the sword, so they could only practice their strength first, and then practice the accuracy of swinging the knife after their strength increased.

Mu Yiheng started practicing from the most basic horse stance.

"Husband, I want to see my whip first."

In order to reach a safer place and away from the deep mountains, Zheng Chengyuan traveled for an extra half hour today and stopped to set up camp after dark. Therefore, learning the whip technique could only be arranged until the next morning.

"Ok!"

The next morning, Mu Yibai and Fu Yunxi got up early and went far away to practice whip techniques.

Fu Yunxi started from the basics, first familiarizing herself with the whip and integrating it with her own body. Because she had a foundation in Taekwondo, she adapted quickly. In less than a quarter of an hour, she had mastered the basic whip techniques. Her petite figure danced in the wind, and the whip shadows flew.

"Okay, don't be greedy. You learn faster than most people, but you also have to take care of your health. Come here, I'll apply medicine to the wound on your arm first."

Mu Yibai did not ignore Fu Yunxi's wound. She was not used to whipping him at the beginning, and was whipped on the arm a few times. Although she just frowned slightly, Mu Yibai noticed it.

"Thank you, husband, but I want to practice for a while longer. I haven't felt so refreshed in a long time. Although practicing martial arts is tiring, it's really good!"

In her previous life, Fu Yunxi loved sports besides scientific research and was proficient in cycling, roller skating, and swimming.

In this way, the exile team marched for another half a month. The temperature at the beginning of May was as high as 38 degrees Celsius measured by Fu Yunxi using the thermometer in the space. The sun at noon was even hotter, as if it wanted to melt people.

During this period, the areas they passed through were either dry or barren. The counties far away from the capital were not rich to begin with, and some had suffered from drought for years, with almost no grain harvested.

However, the imperial court continued to increase taxes, causing many people to be displaced. Along the way, they basically had to buy supplies at high prices. They could not afford rice and flour, and there was no stock available. They only had coarse grains such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn.

"Everyone, hold on a little longer. We will reach Yuanbei County today. It is a famous and prosperous place with water and food. You can purchase them by yourselves then."

As they were about to reach Yuanbei County, Zheng Chengyuan encouraged everyone to cheer up.

Yuanbei County is the largest county on the way from the capital to the border. It was once a peaceful city with rivers crisscrossing and surrounded by fish and rice.

"Sir, we really can't walk any more. Can we rest for a quarter of an hour?"

The eldest son of the Chen family saw that the elders and children in the family were all as pale as frost-bitten eggplants, with chapped lips and unable to walk, so he bravely asked Zheng Chengyuan for rest.

"Okay, then let's stop and rest for a quarter of an hour, and then set off on time later."

Zheng Chengyuan looked back at the exile team and felt sad. Not only had everyone lost weight, but even the horses could hardly hold on. They ate and drank little every day, but walked a lot.

Zheng Chengyuan was also helpless. The towns and post stations along the way were short of water and food. Even if he had the court's exile document, it would be of no avail. In this famine year, there were simply no supplies for them to use.

"Thank you, sir."