The officials banged the gong: "Rest in the dense forest, and eat."
Pei Shu'er gently placed Tang Peiyi on the ground and then took off his clothes to check the wound on his back.
Tang Peiyi's back was already festering, emitting an unpleasant smell of sweat and a rancid stench.
Taking advantage of the fact that the main group had not yet arrived, Pei Shu'er fed Tang Peiyi some anti-inflammatory and anti-infection medicine.
Then she took out a fish bone and began to scrape off the rotten flesh from his back bit by bit.
When Ma saw the wound on her husband's back, she gasped and fainted.
Mrs. Li frowned on the side: "Pei Shu'er, doing this will only make Fourth Brother's injury worse."
The others, reminded by Mrs. Li, also realized the situation.
The wound was already this severe, and what Pei Shu'er was doing seemed to make it worse.
The people from Fourth House hesitated, wanting to speak up and stop her.
Pei Shu'er smiled gently, but her words were extremely stinging.
"Aunt has been enjoying luxury in the mansion for so long; it's normal not to understand this. But if the rotten flesh isn't removed, how will new flesh grow?"
Mrs. Li was infuriated by this but couldn't find words to counter Pei Shu'er.
Tang Peilin said, "Get away; my Fourth Brother doesn't need your treatments."
Saying that, he charged towards Pei Shu'er.
Although Pei Shu'er was strong, she did not expect Tang Peilin to be so unruly, charging at her while talking.
She staggered from the collision and her temper flared up.
"The people from Fourth House haven't said anything, yet Aunt and Uncle, you jump so high. Do you not hope for the best for the people from Fourth House?"
Pei Shu'er remembered that in the original story, few people reached the place of exile, and the women from Fourth and Third Houses suffered the most.
Tang Peiyi died from this infection, after which Tang Peilin had no scruples and sent everyone who needed to be sent to the officials; it was just a matter of time.
Her words were truly cutting, making Tang Peilin's mind go blank.
But Pei Shu'er didn't relent, "Throwing Tang Zan out is one thing, but now, are you going to watch your own brother die?"
Tang Peilin looked at the younger generation from Fourth House and found that their eyes were no longer filled with admiration but with vigilance.
Usually indifferent to family feelings, Tang Peilin could indeed do such a thing in this harsh environment.
Some had even surrounded Tang Peiyi, blocking Tang Peilin.
They hadn't said anything, but their actions were clear as day.
Tang Peilin wanted to argue but Pei Shu'er raised her voice.
"Uncle, you don't want to save anyone, fine, but don't stop me from doing so. I don't wish for Fourth Uncle to have an accident."
As she finished speaking, Pei Shu'er squeezed past Tang Peilin, and because the effect of Pei Shu'er's Spiritual Spring Water hadn't worn off, Tang Peilin was pushed against a nearby tree, scraping the skin on his face.
Yet, Pei Shu'er was in the middle of scraping rotten flesh from Tang Peiyi.
Tang Peilin opened his mouth to say "you," but he saw Pei Shu'er turning to glare at him, along with several younger ones looking at him hostilely.
Pei Shu'er said, "Uncle, I was able to heal Tang Zan's serious injuries. Fourth Uncle's injury is nothing to me."
Tang Peiyi's eldest son, Tang Tuo, cried, "Uncle, my father is about to die! Please don't disturb Sister-in-law!"
Now, he couldn't even oppose Pei Shu'er anymore; opposing her was hindering her from treating Fourth Brother.
Pei Shu'er had scraped off most of the rotten flesh, washed Tang Peiyi's wound with water, applied a bit from her water pouch on it, and then wrapped the wound with herbs sprayed with Yunnan Baiyao.
Finally, she tore some cloth to wrap the wound tightly.
Since they would be on the move later, without bandaging, the herbal residues would surely fall off.
Liu Xu handed a bowl of thin congee to Pei Shu'er, as only she could feed it.
After feeding the congee, Pei Shu'er went to get her own meal.
The government officer glanced at her and served Pei Shu'er a bowl of thin congee and a vegetable bun.
This vegetable bun was much better than the black bread, and Pei Shu'er was really hungry now, so she picked up the bun and congee and started eating.
After eating, she noticed Tang Zan sitting across from her, with cold eyes staring at her.
Like a lion guarding its family, ready to pounce and tear her apart if she even slightly harmed his family.
Seeing her look up, he snorted coldly and turned his face away, the disgust and killing intent in his eyes unmistakable.
Pei Shu'er finished the last bite of the vegetable bun and took a sip of Spiritual Spring Water, after which the government officer sounded the gong.
Pei Shu'er handed her basket to Ma, then carried Tang Peiyi on her back.
Old Madam Tang frowned, "Shu'er, put him down. The men of the Tang Family aren't all dead. It shouldn't be you, a young girl, to carry him."
Pei Shu'er smiled, "Don't worry, Madam, there are many things I'm not good at, but I have a lot of strength."
"Also, the men have been whipped, and if they get infected again, it's troublesome."
As she spoke, Pei Shu'er easily carried Tang Peiyi and walked to the front.
Looking at Pei Shu'er's effortless manner, the others' mouths twitched.
They had trouble just walking, let alone carrying someone.
At this moment, Old Madam Tang had mixed feelings about Pei Shu'er.
The current Pei Shu'er was much better than before. It seemed she suddenly came to her senses.
She wanted to live a stable life.
But on this road, survival alone was challenging, and living a peaceful life was impossible.
With another strike of the gong from the officials, Pei Shu'er, drenched in sweat, set Tang Peiyi down.
During the journey, the effect of her Spiritual Spring Water faded, so she drank again, leaving her doubly exhausted.
After setting Tang Peiyi down, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
At night, Pei Shu'er was shaken awake by Ma.
"Shu'er, you need to check on your Fourth Uncle, he seems to have a fever again."
Pei Shu'er quickly got up.
After four hours of rest, she no longer felt tired.
She removed the cloth from Tang Peiyi, seeing that while the wound had improved a lot, it was still somewhat infected.
Now Pei Shu'er couldn't treat him openly, so she continued with the morning's method. Although slower, it was currently the best option.
Finally, Pei Shu'er took the opportunity to give Tang Peiyi Spiritual Spring Water and anti-inflammatory medicine.
Then, Pei Shu'er walked over and squatted beside Tang Zan.
She reached out and touched Tang Zan's forehead.
The touch was scorching hot.
Tang Zan only felt a cool sensation on his forehead, incredibly comforting.
When the hand was about to withdraw, he instinctively grabbed it.
Then he smelled that faint floral fragrance, mixed with the scent of herbs.
This scent, he had smelled many times on this journey.