Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Sharing Roasted Meat
The pair of scheming twins only calculated about Ye Lanxi, but this time they forgot that Shen Jingyi also slept in the carriage.
At this time, Shen Jingyi’s penetrating and stern eyes stared at her children, especially Ye Lingrui... as though she was lecturing through her eyes that he had been a bad influence to his sister!
Ye Lingrui touched his nose and coughed. Even without looking at her, he knew Ye Lingyue had an innocent expression plastered all over her face right now.
"Mother..."
Shen Jingyi hummed in response, not impressed. She glanced at the item packaged in leaves that he was currently holding.
All of a sudden, Ye Shaoyin woke up, and her eyes lit up when she saw the leaf familiar package. She shook her twin awake and blinked at the two similar faces in front of her expectantly. "Older Sister Yue, Older Brother Rui, is that for us?"
"Second Aunt," she sweetly greeted Shen Jingyi when she noticed she was also awake.
"Mother, I can explain..." Ye Lingrui said helplessly. "I... brought Yue’er out because she wants some fresh air. And... we end up hunting some games to satiate our hunger."
Ye Lingyue nudged him slightly. She smiled at Shen Jingyi, took her arm, and told her in a spoiled tone. "Mother, I am hungry."
She also rubbed her fluffy hair against her mother then stopped to blink innocently at her mother again.
It didn’t take long before Shen Jingyi’s defense crumbled. She touched forehead, sighing deeply. "It’s our fault for letting you all starve."
"You two even needed to sneak out during the night in a dangerous place just to find food..."
Ye Lingyue pursed her lips. It wasn’t actually that dangerous with Ye Lingrui around; it was incredibly fun!
"Mother, don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault at all. Now that we are going to live in a new place, we should focus on our new life. With all family members gathered, it shouldn’t be too bad," Ye Lingrui spoke softly.
Ye Lingyue nodded, agreeing with her brother’s words. She opened the leaf package and handed it over to Shen Jingyi. "Mother, eat."
Shen Jingyi shook her head. "You two eat it with Shaoyin and Shaoqin."
She patted her daughter’s head, sighing softly. "Rui’er is right. At least we still have all the family members. If our family isn’t in the wrong, may the heavens finally reveal the truth."
Ye Lingyue insisted, taking two chicken legs and giving it to Shen Jingyi. Then, she divided the rest to the twins, then herself and Ye Lingrui. Shen Jingyi didn’t even have a chance to refuse.
"Alright, Mother will try it." Seeing Ye Lingyue’s urging, she finally took a bite and was surprised by the seasoning.
The roasted wild chicken also tasted delicious, a luxury for those who had been eating coarse steamed buns and thin porridge for so long.
She took another bite and couldn’t help but ask. "How did you catch the prey in such darkness? Did you set a trap for them?"
Ye Lingyue continued to eat without worry, as it was her twin brother’s job in answering their mother’s investigation. Unexpectedly, Ye Lingrui’s meat roasting skill was pretty good.
She took another bite and sighed in contentment, already thinking what kind of animal she should catch tomorrow.
"Yue’er caught them."
As soon as she heard that, she choked. Her eyes widened and the word ’traitor’ was written all over her expression.
Shen Jingyi was taken aback. She glanced at her daughter who had stopped munching on her piece of meat. "Yue’er?"
He nodded. "We found a bow and hid it somewhere in the ox cart. Mother, Yue’er must have inherited your skills. I just taught her how to use the bow, and she could already shoot a lot of games with that."
"Rui’er, is what you say true?" Shen Jingyi’s voice trembled slightly, and now, she was filled with utter shock.
She grabbed Ye Lingrui’s hand and waited for his explanation. "You are not joking in order to evade responsibility, right?"
They still hadn’t talked about the consequences of their actions; if the imperial guards were to catch them red-handed, they would be punished with military law.
The small twins even turned to Shen Jingyi, attracted by her emotional voice.
"Mother, when did I ever lie to you?" Ye Lingrui muttered. "You can ask Yue’er to showcase her archery skill if the occasion permits it."
"Just think about it. You have tried to teach me archery when I was still a child. The result... you already know about it," Ye Lingrui even brought up his past failure just to convince their mother.
Shen Jingyi started to believe it a bit. After all, if one were to use their logic, it was just too unbelievable.
Her daughter, who had been a fool since she was a child, suddenly gained a significant archery ability where she could hunt in the night time.
Shen Jingyi turned to Ye Lingyue, asking her softly. "Yue’er, is what your third brother said true?"
Ye Lingyue really wanted to use the hallucinogen powder right now, but... she ultimately held back. Perhaps, showing her ability right now would let her move easily in the future.
"Mother, yes!" She smiled Shen Jingyi. "I can shoot an arrow!"
Shen Jingyi immediately praised her daughter. "Yue’er is really amazing!"
Even so, the real fact remained unverified.
"But, it’s dangerous for you two to sneak out and hunt in the woods like that." Shen Jingyi pursed her lips. "It’s better you two don’t do that again."
However, on the next day, their portions were even more pitiful compared to the past two days. They needed to divide one steamed bun for three people.
Ye Lanxi was angry, gritting his teeth. "If this continues, do they really want to starve us?"
They weren’t even allowed to leave the exile party for long to hunt things.
Before long, many people had already passed out. They didn’t have the energy but were still forced to keep walking.
Some imperial guards were truly ruthless. They cracked their whips at the people who had passed out. "Keep moving, what are you pretending for?!"
The imperial guard lashed his whip against the few members of the Ye family.
