Chapter 46: Intentions

After about a quarter of an hour, Hong Xiaoduo opened her eyes.

"Mom, you felt better just from dozing for such a short while?" asked Tianxuan, who was sitting opposite Hong Xiaoduo. He felt that his mother was somewhat different from before, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what the difference was.

Hong Xiaoduo smiled and nodded. Looking at the children around her, despite having just linked up with that old man and still failing to unlock the password to the primitive system, she no longer felt all that depressed or annoyed.

Late is late; she could just as well use the time to focus on settling these children properly.

The world was vast; how could there possibly be no place for them to stay?

Some things were truly wondrous. She had only been getting along with them for a few short days, so why couldn't she let them go?

She loved watching the way they ate, their little faces full of anticipation, their gazes following the waiter until the food arrived right before their eyes. They would eat with utmost earnestness, finishing even the most ordinary white porridge completely, and would even pick up and eat any grains of rice that accidentally fell onto the table.

Therefore, she dared not imagine what it would be like for them to return to a life of begging and starvation.

She loved looking into their pure, big eyes and seeing the wonder with which they viewed everything around them.

Hong Xiaoduo knew that in this unnamed dynasty where she currently resided, and in other parts of this country, there were still many pitiful children just like them.

She was not ambitious enough to think about saving all of them, but these seven before her—she was determined to help them to the best of her ability. Not to mention ensuring they all lived the lives of wealthy families, but at the very least, she wanted to guarantee their most basic freedom from hunger and cold.

"Starting today, I will teach you how to read, alright?" Hong Xiaoduo asked.

Once they reached the next town, she would buy some paper and brushes. She didn't want to think about how much or for how long she could teach them; whatever they managed to learn would be a gain.

No matter the dynasty, people who could read and write always had more opportunities to make a living, right? After all, the one thing this dynasty lacked least was physical laborers. Yet by the same token, physical labor was the most menial work, and the compensation received for it was the lowest.

"Ah?" The six younger ones inside the carriage could hardly believe their ears when they heard her question.

"Mom, do you know a lot of characters?" Yaoguang was the first to react, asking with a face full of admiration.

The few older children, hearing this, looked at Hong Xiaoduo with some trepidation. Their little sister was too young to know better; how could she ask their mother such a thing?

Hong Xiaoduo raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Not too bad, but enough to teach you."

Yaoguang clapped her hands happily, "That's wonderful! We can learn to read without even going to school!"

The children, who had initially worried that Hong Xiaoduo might be displeased, saw that there was not the slightest trace of annoyance on her face and finally relaxed, joining in the joy.

"But Mom, I've heard people say many times that little girls don't need to read and write. They can't take the imperial examinations when they grow up anyway, and only very wealthy families hire female tutors to teach their daughters at home," Hengshuai mustered her courage to say.

Hong Xiaoduo reached out to put her arm around Hengshuai's shoulder and said softly, "Don't pay attention to what other families say or do; whatever you learn belongs to us alone."

The children were neither too big nor too small, so Hong Xiaoduo didn't say too much to her. Otherwise, should she start talking to her about gender equality and women holding up half the sky? It was better to just let her understand appropriately.

Hengshuai nodded. That was right; whatever she learned would belong to herself.

"Big brother, Mom says she's going to teach us how to read and write books in the future!" Kaiyang slapped the side of the carriage happily, sharing the good news with Tianshu, who was driving outside.

Tianshu had heard it long ago and responded with a smile, "Mm-hmm, then everyone must follow Mom and study hard."

Inside the carriage, after making this decision, Hong Xiaoduo thought that she wouldn't only teach them to read and write, but also arithmetic.

Although she wasn't an academic prodigy in modern times, she had been decent in all subjects.

Upon arriving here, even though her memory had some gaps, all that knowledge remained crystal clear.

She also needed to buy a donkey cart specifically for carrying belongings.

Big Brother Dong had given her some money, along with gold, so she could even afford to buy a horse-drawn carriage now. But she felt there was no need for the time being; silver should still be saved and spent prudently. Riding in the donkey cart with the children was quite stable.

Meanwhile, at Willow Town, Mu Zitao and his entourage had finished breakfast and were preparing to mount their horses and set off when someone came riding up in search of them.

"This subordinate greets the Young General. The Old General has been feeling unwell lately, and the Old Lady has sent this subordinate to find you and bring you back." The man dismounted, stepped forward, and delivered his report with a bow.

"What? Grandfather is sick? What did the doctor say? Has he been examined by the imperial physicians from the palace?" Mu Zitao asked anxiously.

"Imperial Physician Tan has already been and said that the Old General is advanced in years, and coupled with the old battle wounds on his body over the years, therefore..." The man didn't finish his sentence, but everyone present understood the implication.

Mu Zitao immediately leaped onto his horse, galloped out of town with his attendants, and headed toward the capital.

Sanjin and the others on horseback couldn't help turning their heads to glance in another direction. There was no sign of that donkey cart in sight. Their master finally didn't have to continue with that childish, funny, and awkward business, but why did it feel just a tiny bit regrettable?

On the highway, Tianshu turned to look toward the rear of the carriage several times, but never saw those horsemen appear.

At noon, the carriage came to a stop. Hong Xiaoduo led the two little girls to find a place to relieve themselves, while Tianshu led the several boys to another spot.

In just a few days, the children had already developed the good habit of washing their hands before meals and washing them again after using the latrine.

Looking at the atlas, Hong Xiaoduo saw that there were no villages or towns between their current location and the next destination, so after having breakfast in the morning, she had bought food for lunch.

At this moment, she chose a flat patch of grass by the roadside, and the children excitedly unloaded things from the donkey cart: the felt mat, water skins, flatbreads, dried meat, red date cakes, and more.

She and the children sat in a circle and began to eat their lunch.

Another group of travelers passed by on the road—a large carriage accompanied by more than twenty guards.

Inside the carriage, an elderly man in his sixties had been resting his eyes with them closed. Hearing the laughter drifting from outside, he lifted the window curtain to look out and saw that beneath the blue sky and white clouds, amidst the yellowish-green withered grass, a young woman sat surrounded by a group of children eating.

Hm? How long had it been since he had seen such a lovely scene?

"Stop the carriage, let's rest," the old man said.

"Mom, look, those people have stopped too," Kaiyang, sitting beside Hong Xiaoduo, told her somewhat nervously.

Hong Xiaoduo had actually already seen them: "They need to stop and rest too. Let's eat ours and pay them no mind." With that, she tore a large piece of dried meat and handed it to him.

Kaiyang murmured an assent as he took the meat, though his eyes still couldn't help drifting toward that side.

"Mom, they keep looking at us," Tianji said again.

Hearing this, Hong Xiaoduo looked over toward them, and indeed, it was just as the child said.

"They must be officials, I suppose," Tianshu analyzed...