Chapter 6: Clan Leader
Madam Li coughed heavily once: “This matter is settled just like this. From now on, Qinghe Yatou is the Pei Clan Leader, and all Pei Clan affairs will be decided by her.”
“Madam Lu, don’t rely on your seniority to cause trouble for Qinghe Yatou. Big matters or small, all must heed her.”
Everyone stared at Madam Lu.
Under everyone’s gazes, Madam Lu lost the battle, and unwillingly responded: “Qinghe is my own granddaughter, I dote on her the most usually. Everyone agrees, and as her grandmother, how could I object.”
“That’s hard to say.” It was Madam Chen again, who stabbed at Madam Lu’s heart: “Who doesn’t know you’re biased, usually favoring Feng Ge’er and Yue Ge’er the most.”
“You’re unwilling for Qinghe to be clan leader because you’re afraid that in the future Qinghe won’t yield the clan leader position to Feng Ge’er and Yue Ge’er.”
“The Pei Clan has come to this point, and it’s unknown how many will survive. Don’t think about these useless things.”
Madam Lu was quite angry, but unwilling to argue with the shrewish Madam Chen… mainly because she was guilty and in the wrong, couldn’t win an argument, so she simply turned her head to the side.
Pei Qinghe didn’t expend much effort to become the Pei Clan Leader.
No home, no property, no money, no grain.
Only over three hundred elderly, weak, women, and children waiting to be fed.
Otherwise, how could no one jump out to fight for it?
Only now did Madam Feng react, feeling some panic in her heart, and quietly tugged her daughter’s sleeve: “Qinghe, you… can you manage? You’re only thirteen years old, afraid you can’t shoulder the heavy responsibility. Otherwise, better to have an elder be clan leader…”
“Mother!” Pei Qinghe looked at Madam Feng, her gaze bright, her voice steady: “I can manage.”
Madam Feng’s flustered and uneasy heart suddenly stabilized.
She nodded, softly saying: “Mother believes you.”
On the road to exile, family ruined, nation destroyed, so-called selecting a clan leader was like child’s play, hastily decided.
The Pei Family Womenfolk were still immersed in the immense grief of losing fathers, husbands, and sons, not even having time to cry for the miserable fate about to come, so no one cared who became clan leader.
The escort officer Captain Sun, who had long been impatient from waiting, walked over, mockingly and disdainfully glancing at the newly appointed Pei Clan Leader: “Can we set off now!”
Captain Sun came from ordinary origins, his official position not high, just an eighth-rank captain. Escorting the family of a convicted official was a bitter errand, others unwilling to come, so this bitter errand fell on him.
For the sake of Prince Zhangwu coming to see them off, he had waited half a day. Normally, they wouldn’t be so polite to the family of a convicted official. Cursing, bullying, beating were all routine. Even if someone was beaten to death, no one would inquire. People dying on the road to exile was commonplace.
Pei Qinghe raised her eyes: “We can set off. This journey will trouble Captain Sun.”
That pair of cold black eyes was like a sharp sword unsheathed, its edge fully revealed.
It surprisingly had the intense killing intent of an old general who had waded through mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the battlefield.
This Sixth Sister Pei was absolutely no ordinary person.
Captain Sun’s heart chilled, suddenly feeling a chill at the back of his neck. The filthy language at the tip of his tongue very consciously went back, and he became much more polite: “I am ordered to escort the Pei Family Members to Yan Prefecture in Youzhou. Grand Tutor Pang specially instructed, I will naturally take care, Sixth Sister Pei can make any requests.”
Pei Qinghe was not the least bit polite, immediately saying: “Our group has old and young, traveling is slow and difficult. I want to let them take turns sitting in the prison cart.”
The prison cart was empty anyway, better to let the Pei Family Womenfolk use it, earning a convenient favor.
Captain Sun readily nodded in agreement.
This was the benefit of waving the Eastern Palace’s banner. In her previous life on the road to exile, this Captain Sun hadn’t skimped on tormenting the Pei Family Womenfolk.
These two prison carts, who knew how many convicted officials and criminals they had escorted, with mottled old bloodstains on the cart, emitting a rotten stench.
Sitting in the prison cart was not pleasant. However, it was still better than walking step by step to Youzhou.
There were nine elderly women over seventy, and over ten young children under three. Among them was a male infant just two months old, great name not yet taken, milk name Little Doggy.
Little Doggy’s own mother Madam Mao was only twenty-one this year, her face deathly pale without any color, gaze dull, muddled and dazed.
Pei Clan men entered the barracks young, most marrying after twenty. Of Pei Qinghe’s five brothers, only Eldest Brother and Second Brother had married. Madam Mao was precisely Pei Qinghe’s Second Sister-in-law, and Little Doggy was her consanguineous nephew.
In her previous life, Madam Mao strangled herself to death with her belt in the middle of the night. Little Doggy without his mother to care for him died young after a few days.
After Madam Mao died, the Pei Family Womenfolk one after another took their own lives. Of the over one hundred who died on the road to exile, most were suicides.
Pei Qinghe said: “Second Sister-in-law, you hold Little Doggy and get on.”
Madam Mao’s face pale, woodenly shook her head: “I can still walk.” This was already having thoughts of seeking death.
Pei Qinghe glanced at Madam Mao, suddenly reaching out.
Madam Mao reflexively hugged the child in her arms tightly. But Pei Qinghe struck swiftly with astonishing strength, Madam Mao’s eyes blurred, and the child was already in Pei Qinghe’s hands.
Pei Qinghe in her previous life had not borne children, much less held such a small infant, so her strength was unavoidably too much.
Little Doggy cried out with his tender throat, the shrill cry piercing one’s eardrums.
Madam Mao anxiously and panicked: “Sixth Sister, give me the child quickly.”
Pei Qinghe looked over, her gaze sharp as arrows piercing into Madam Mao’s eyes: “If Second Sister-in-law still cares about Little Doggy, then live well. If you have any mishap, Little Doggy won’t survive either.”
Madam Mao’s heart was like being cut by knives, tears surging out in large drops, yet she couldn’t squeeze out a sound from her mouth.
She married into the Pei Clan at sixteen, and was deeply in love with her husband. In the four years after marriage she became pregnant, giving birth at the beginning of this year. The beautiful future she had full of anticipation ended abruptly yesterday.
Her husband had his head chopped off.
She had no husband.
The child had no father.
Her sky had already collapsed.
She couldn’t live on.
“Raise your head and look, the sky hasn’t collapsed.” Pei Qinghe’s voice clearly entered her ears: “Even if it collapses, there’s me this Pei Clan Leader holding it up.”
“No matter how bitter or difficult, we can endure it.”
“You must live on. Live on together with Little Doggy.”
“Only living has hope, has a future.”
Pei Qinghe pulled Madam Mao, pushing her onto the prison cart, then stuffed the child back into Madam Mao’s arms.
The ignorant young child reached his own mother’s familiar embrace, gradually stopping his crying. Madam Mao didn’t dare let the crying disturb the child, tears flowing like a spring, silently sobbing, just like a fish out of water.
This scene truly made listeners heartbroken and viewers tearful, the young wives all had red eyes.
“Set off!”
Under orders.
Captain Sun nearly blurted it out, but fortunately reacted in time. He shouted to the soldiers: “Everyone listen, set off immediately!”
Fifty soldiers, ten leading the way, ten bringing up the rear, another thirty on horseback left and right, holding gleaming weapons, patrolling and guarding back and forth.
The over three hundred Pei Clan members set off on the road to exile.
……
