Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 6 Clan Chief (Part Two)

Madam Li coughed heavily: "It's settled then. From now on, Qinghe will be the head of the Pei family, and she will make all the decisions regarding the Pei family."

“Mrs. Lu, don’t take advantage of your seniority to cause trouble for Qinghe. You have to listen to her in everything, big or small.”

Everyone stared at Madam Lu.

Under the gaze of everyone, Madam Lu reluctantly replied, "Qinghe is my own granddaughter, and I dote on her the most. Everyone agrees, so how could I, as her grandmother, object?"

"That's hard to say." It was Chen again, who immediately hit Lu's sore spot: "Everyone knows you're biased, and you always favor Feng-ge'er and Yue-ge'er the most."

"You're unhappy that Qinghe is the clan leader because you're afraid that Qinghe won't be willing to give up the position to Feng Ge'er or Yue Ge'er in the future."

"The Pei family is already in such a state, who knows how many will survive. Let's not think about these useless things."

Mrs. Lu was furious, but she didn't want to argue with the shrewish Mrs. Chen... mainly because she felt guilty and in the wrong, and she couldn't win the argument, so she simply turned her head to the side.

Pei Qinghe became the patriarch of the Pei clan without much effort.

Homeless, jobless, penniless, and without food.

There are only three hundred or so elderly, weak, women and children waiting to be fed.

Otherwise, why wouldn't anyone jump out and fight for it?

It was only then that Madam Feng realized what was happening. A pang of panic shot through her, and she quietly tugged at her daughter's sleeve: "Qinghe, you...can you handle this? You're only thirteen; I'm afraid you can't shoulder such a heavy responsibility. Perhaps we should ask an elder to become the clan leader..."

“Mother!” Pei Qinghe looked at Madam Feng, her eyes bright, her voice steady: “I can do it.”

Feng's anxious and uneasy heart suddenly calmed down.

She nodded and said softly, "Mother believes you."

On the road to exile, his family was destroyed and his people died. The so-called election of a clan chief was like child's play, decided hastily.

The women of the Pei family were still immersed in the immense grief of losing their father, husband, and son. They didn't even have time to cry about their impending tragic fate, and no one cared who would become the clan leader.

Sun Cheng, the escorting officer who had been waiting impatiently, walked over and gave the newly appointed head of the Pei clan a mocking and contemptuous look: "Can you set off now?"

Sun Cheng came from an ordinary background and held a low-ranking official position, merely an eighth-rank military officer. Escorting the families of convicted officials was a difficult task that others were unwilling to undertake, so it fell to him.

He only waited for half a day because Prince Zhangwu had come to see him off. Normally, they would never have been so polite to the families of disgraced officials. Insults, bullying, and beatings were commonplace. Even if someone was beaten to death, no one would care. Deaths during exile were commonplace.

Pei Qinghe raised her eyes: "We can set off now. Thank you for your help along the way, Captain Sun."

Those cold, black eyes were like unsheathed swords, their sharpness fully revealed.

It possessed the intense killing intent of a veteran who had waded through mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

This Miss Pei is no ordinary person.

Lieutenant Sun felt a chill run down his spine. He swallowed the vulgarities that were about to come out of his mouth and became much more polite: "I am under orders to escort the Pei family to Yan County in Youzhou. Grand Tutor Pang specifically instructed me to do so, and I will take care of them. If Miss Pei has any requests, please just say so."

Pei Qinghe was not polite at all and said, "Our group includes both the old and the young, and the journey is difficult and slow. I would like them to take turns riding in the prison cart."

The prison cart is just sitting empty anyway, so why not let the women of the Pei family use it and do them a favor?

Lieutenant Sun readily nodded in agreement.

This is the benefit of waving the banner of the Crown Prince. In his previous life, during his exile, this Commandant Sun had often been harsh and difficult towards the women of the Pei family.

These two prison wagons have transported countless criminals and high-ranking officials. They bear mottled, old bloodstains and reek of decay.

Sitting in the prison cart was not a pleasant experience. However, it was still better than walking step by step to Youzhou.

There were nine elderly women over seventy years old and more than ten children under three years old. Among them was a two-month-old boy whose formal name had not yet been chosen and whose nickname was "Little Dog".

Gou'er's biological mother, Madam Mao, was only twenty-one years old. Her face was deathly pale, devoid of color, and her eyes were vacant and dazed. Most of the Pei family men joined the army at a young age and didn't marry until after twenty. Of Pei Qinghe's five older brothers, only the eldest and second eldest were married. Madam Mao was Pei Qinghe's second sister-in-law, and Gou'er was her nephew.

In her past life, Madam Mao strangled herself to death in the middle of the night with a belt around her neck. The puppy, without its mother's care, died a few days later.

After Madam Mao's death, the women of the Pei family committed suicide one after another. Of the more than one hundred people who died during their exile, most of them died by suicide.

Pei Qinghe said, "Second sister-in-law, take the puppy upstairs."

Madam Mao, her face pale, shook her head blankly: "I can still walk." She was already contemplating suicide.

Pei Qinghe glanced at Mao Shi and suddenly reached out.

Madam Mao reflexively hugged the child in her arms. However, Pei Qinghe's move was swift and incredibly strong. In the blink of an eye, the child was already in Pei Qinghe's hands.

Pei Qinghe had never given birth in her previous life, let alone held such a small baby, so her strength in her hands was inevitably a bit too great.

The puppy cried out in its tender voice, its shrill cries piercing the eardrums.

Madam Mao was both anxious and flustered: "Sixth Sister, give me the child quickly."

Pei Qinghe looked over, her gaze sharp as an arrow, piercing into Mao's eyes: "Second sister-in-law, if you still care about Xiaogou'er, then live well. If anything happens to you, Xiaogou'er won't survive either."

Mao felt as if her heart was being torn apart; large tears streamed down her face, but she couldn't utter a sound.

She married into the Pei family at sixteen and was deeply in love with her husband. Four years after entering the family, she became pregnant and gave birth earlier this year. The beautiful future she had been looking forward to came to an abrupt end yesterday.

The husband was beheaded.

She lost her husband.

The child has lost his father.

Her world had collapsed.

She couldn't go on living.

“Look up, the sky hasn’t collapsed.” Pei Qinghe’s voice clearly reached her ears: “Even if it does collapse, I, the head of the Pei clan, will hold it up.”

"No matter how bitter or difficult it is, we can get through it."

"You have to live. Live on with the puppy."

"Only by living can we have hope and a future."

Pei Qinghe pulled Mao Shi, pushed her onto the prison cart, and then stuffed the child into Mao Shi's arms.

The innocent and unaware child gradually stopped crying in his mother's familiar embrace. Madam Mao dared not let the crying disturb the child; tears streamed down her face as she wept silently, like a fish out of water.

This scene was so moving that it brought tears to the eyes of all who heard and saw it, and the young wives all had tears in their eyes.

"Let's go!"

Obeying the order.

Captain Sun almost blurted it out, but thankfully he reacted in time. He shouted to the soldiers, "Attention, everyone! Set off immediately!"

Fifty soldiers, ten leading the way, ten bringing up the rear, and about thirty on horseback, carrying gleaming weapons, patrolled back and forth on guard.

More than three hundred members of the Pei family embarked on their journey of exile.

……

(End of this chapter)