The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 963: Chapter 940: Honor Amidst Chaos 8

Anning and Xiao Yuan are in sync.

Xiao Yuan started to stir the fourth branch while in prison.

Of course, Anning would also create some trouble.

She stayed with the five children in prison for an unknown length of time. Anyway, it was dark and time could not be discerned here; it felt as if they had been there for quite a while when they saw several old women carrying large buckets of food for distribution.

The buckets were large wooden buckets, and no one knew what the food inside was made from; a foul smell could be detected from afar.

When it reached outside Anning’s cell, an old woman shouted, ”Come and get the food.”

An old woman counted them and threw over six bowls.

The bowls were also wooden, no idea if they had been washed, but they looked particularly dirty.

Anning hurried over, Xiao Ying also went to help.

An old woman filled almost all of the bowls with veggie soup and divided up six pieces of bread.

This bread was cold and hard, looked black too, and felt almost like a stone.

After the old women left, Anning asked Xiao Ying and the others to bring the food over.

Although Xiao Ying and the others were not that spoiled, they were still boys and girls raised in the Duke Mansion. While not as affluent as the first or second branches, they were much better off than ordinary families outside.

They had never faced much hardship, and now smelling the sourness from the bowls, the veggie soup that even the cats and dogs at the Duke Mansion wouldn’t eat, holding the dry and hard bread, they truly couldn’t eat it.

Anning took the five children to the corner and patted their heads: ”Not eating won’t do. We don’t know how long we’ll be in prison, these days we must stay strong, otherwise, even if we’re released, we might not have the strength to walk to the place of exile.”

She said softly, ”You are no longer the boys and girls of the Duke Mansion; from now on, you are commoners and many of the former privileges must be relinquished.”

”Hmm.”

Xiao Ying tearfully bit into a piece of bread, stretching his neck to swallow it.

Yet the bread was just too dry, too hard, too coarse, likely made with some kind of bran, and really scrapped his throat.

Unable to swallow, he quickly drank a mouthful of soup, and the sour odor in his mouth made him unable to hold it back any longer, running aside to start retching.

Xiao Rong and Xiao Yun were younger, seeing the eldest brother couldn’t eat it, their faces turned pale with fright, even more scared to eat the bread.

Anning sighed: ”Forget it, if you can’t endure it, then you can’t.”

She took the six pieces of bread before her, and pulled out some pastries from her sleeve, to give to the six children.

When the children finished the pastries, Anning handed each a piece of jerky: ”Take it, eat slowly.”

”Mother, you eat.”

Xiao Rong handed his jerky to Anning.

Anning shook her head with a smile: ”Mother won’t eat, you eat.”

She watched the children biting into the jerky while keeping a straight face, eating one hard bread after another.

The few children cried seeing her this way.

”What are you crying about.”

Anning poured a mouthful of soup with a smile: ”Mother can eat it, don’t worry, if you can’t eat, mother does, mother went to the kitchen before the household raid, mother is the best at hiding things, hid quite a few good eats...”

”Mother, I can eat it.”

Xiao Ying cried as he fiercely bit into another piece of bread, feeling dry, then took a gulp of soup.

He felt nauseous but still forced it down.

Xiao Yin hid the jerky, broke a piece of bread and slowly swallowed: ”Mother, I can eat too, we can all eat.”

”Mother, eat the jerky.”

Xiao Fu offered the jerky to Anning.

Anning patted her on the head: ”Fufu eat, eat more, you must grow strong and absolutely avoid getting sick.”

Anning didn’t let the children eat too much of the bread, she ate most of it herself, giving the children soft sweet cakes and delicious jerky, not sparing a bite for herself, using the bread to satiate her hunger instead.

In the other cell, the Old Madam and others couldn’t eat this, all outright refusing food; even Mrs. Zhao directly poured out the soup.

Such prison food was unpalatable for the women of Duke Ping Mansion, and the second, fourth, and fifth branches fought over a few pieces of Hui Family’s pastries, ultimately Xiao Zhong protected the Hui Family by force, grabbing the last bit of pastry for the three of them to eat.

It was probably already late into the night, Anning embraced Xiao Yin against the wall to sleep, Xiao Fu and others also dozed off around Anning.

In the middle of the night, Xiao Yin woke up.

She constantly felt Anning beneath her was burning hot, making her quite uncomfortable.

She reached out and touched Anning’s forehead, instantly exclaimed.

”Brother, eldest brother, big sister, wake up.”

Xiao Yin patted Xiao Ying and Xiao Fu vigorously.

In no time, everyone was awake.

Xiao Ying looked at Xiao Yin, who pointed at Anning: ”Mother is ill, she’s burning hot.”

Xiao Ying went over to feel Anning’s forehead, indeed it was very hot to the touch.

Xiao Fu shook Anning: ”Mother, mother, wake up.”

Anning didn’t move, Xiao Fu almost cried: ”Brother, what do we do, what should we do?”

Xiao Yin guessed a possibility: ”Could it be the soup we drank tonight was spoiled, mother drank a lot and got sick?”

Xiao Ying also thought of this possibility.

After all, they ate well in the Duke Mansion and had never consumed anything unclean; tonight Anning had so much soup, how could her stomach and intestines handle it?

”We shouldn’t have let mother eat so much bad stuff.”

Xiao Ying regretted it immensely.

”What should we do now?”

Xiao Fu asked Xiao Ying: ”Should I shout for the old women in the prison to help and get a doctor?”

Xiao Ying shook his head: ”It’s impossible, who would care about us now? If we shout and make a fuss, not only will no one help us, but we might also invite a round of scolding.”

”Then what to do?” Xiao Rong was anxious, he went to cling to Anning, looking up asking Xiao Ying: ”Can’t we just ignore mother being sick?”

Xiao Yin took out a small golden hairpin, she went to the prison door, looked outside through the wooden bars.

Right at that moment, two old women walked by, Xiao Yin whispered: ”Senior women, senior women, could you do us a favor?”

The two old women heard Xiao Yin’s voice and came over.

Xiao Yin handed out the golden hairpin: ”Please, ma’ams, have mercy, my mother is sick, I dare not ask you to find a doctor, only implore you to do us a favor by finding some strong liquor and clean water, I beg of you.”

Xiao Yin was young and fair-looking, her disheveled hair during this time, the little white face full of tear stains, big eyes still brimming with tears, she pleaded at the two old women, softening their hearts.

Xiao Yun hurriedly ran over, pleading through the bars: ”Please, ma’ams, if you do us a favor, we siblings will be deeply grateful.”

The two old women saw just Anning with five children in the prison, the children were small, if the mother was truly gravely ill, the children would be terribly pitiful.

They had children themselves, seeing them begging so desperately would inevitably stir some compassion, not to mention there was a golden hairpin in play.

That golden hairpin wasn’t light, and it was set with gemstones, clearly an expensive item, with it, not only strong liquor and clean water could be exchanged but ten or eight barrels would be possible.

The two old women took the golden hairpin, smiled at Xiao Yin: ”Alright, seeing your young age so pitiful, we’ll do this kindness.”

They took the golden hairpin and left, after a little more than a moment, returned with a small jar of liquor and a small jar of clean water.

Because of the wooden bars, jars that were too big couldn’t pass through, so these jars were really small, but in prison, being able to trade for things was already quite good.

Xiao Ying took the two jars and thanked the old women.

They surrounded Anning with the jars, but didn’t know what to do.

Xiao Yin said: ”Big sister, loosen mother’s garments, are there any handkerchiefs? Use a handkerchief, soaked in liquor, to wipe mother’s body.”

As she spoke, she started to act.

She had no handkerchief, so Xiao Ying tore a piece of cloth for her, soaking it in liquor to wipe Anning’s underarms and behind the ears and other places.