Lady Xu’s eyes widened in shock as she repeatedly shook her head, her expression full of disapproval toward her parents. Yet, after a moment, she seemed to be persuaded and fell into a brief silence.

Gu Xingzhao overheard their conversation clearly. The Xu family, being merchants, had spent a large sum of money to pull some strings, intending to secretly remove their daughter’s name from the exile list. With a substantial bribe, and given that she was just a woman with no significant status, the matter was indeed handled discreetly and without a trace.Once they left the city and night fell, someone would come to take Lady Xu away from the exile procession and quietly send her off.

Lady Xu was, after all, the only daughter of the family, raised in luxury with six maids attending to her daily. She even needed a carriage just to travel short distances. How could her parents bear to see her suffer along with the Lu family, especially since she had always disliked her husband, Lu Yang, finding him gluttonous and portly?

Gu Xingzhao couldn’t help but marvel that, no matter the era, money was always the most effective tool.

After saying her goodbyes to her family, Lady Xu returned to the group, keeping this plan from the Lu family. Gu Xingzhao thought that this might actually be a good thing—one less person exiled meant one less person suffering.

Unlike the gentle and weak Lady Song, Lady Xu was strong-willed and had always managed the Lu family’s household. Now, faced with the prospect of abandoning her family to escape on her own, she didn’t know how to bring it up, likely needing time to figure out how best to say it.

Lady Song, wiping away her tears, noticed that her usually talkative sister-in-law, Lady Xu, was silent. She assumed Lady Xu was heartbroken over parting with her parents and tried to comfort her, saying, “At least we’re all together, the whole family intact.”

Seeing his wife distressed, Lu Yang also attempted to comfort her, but as soon as he reached out, she subtly avoided his hand. He felt a bit awkward but didn’t take it to heart.Lady Xu, however, felt guilty and didn’t dare to look at them, only nodding in response.

Soon, after verifying the names of the prisoners, the officials began urging them to start the journey, no longer allowing the townspeople to interact with the prisoners.

Over a hundred people were present, and aside from the elderly over sixty-five and children under nine, everyone else was shackled at the hands and feet. Taking heavy steps, they passed through the city gates, likely never to see their loved ones again in this lifetime.Tears filled their eyes, a sight that tugged at the heartstrings.

At that moment, a carriage slowly followed the exile procession out of the city.

Someone wondered aloud, “Why is there a carriage following behind?”

“It looks like it came from the palace!”

Whispers spread, and inside the carriage, a young palace maid looked anxiously at her young mistress, blaming herself… If she had known things would come to this, she wouldn’t have told her mistress about Elder Lu.

The Emperor was truly ruthless.

Someone lowered their voice, “Haven’t you heard? Princess Shunyue angered the Emperor by visiting the Lu family in prison, so she was demoted to commoner status and ordered to be exiled to the northern regions…”

Princess Shunyue’s face was ashen, her eyes red. She never expected that just visiting Elder Lu would lead her brother to issue an order, not even giving her a chance to explain.All these years, she had never met her other siblings, though there were rumors in the palace about her brother harming them. She hadn’t believed them, since in their childhood, when their father was still alive, her brother had doted on her, even sharing his sweets with her.

The townspeople continued to murmur, “Heavens… that’s the Emperor’s own sister! Will she even survive up there?”

Princess Shunyue nearly tore her sleeve apart in frustration. Even now, she couldn’t believe that the brother who had treated her so kindly as a child could be so cruel.

Gu Xingzhao followed their gazes and saw the carriage trailing behind the exile procession, recognizing that it was likely a eunuch driving it. A breeze lifted the curtain slightly, but it was quickly pulled tightly shut from within by a hand.

She thought to herself that if the old man knew the little princess had been demoted to commoner status and exiled just because she visited him, he would likely be deeply troubled.

The crowd, unable to catch a glimpse of the princess inside the carriage, felt disappointed, having hoped to see what a real palace princess looked like.

Gu Xingzhao didn’t linger on this and instead prepared to head downstairs to open up her shop for business.

As she passed by the sofa, she had a fleeting sensation that she had brushed against something. When she turned back, she saw Lu Xingyao, the eldest grandson of the Lu family, walking alongside Lu Xingyan, the frail youngest son. One had a cold, indifferent expression, while the other, sickly, coughed occasionally.

Gu Xingzhao muttered to herself, “The old man’s genes are pretty good.”

She hurried downstairs.Lu Xingyan paused slightly. Who was that speaking?

He looked around but only saw disgruntled prisoners and officers wielding whips to hurry them along. He didn’t see any young women speaking, yet he was sure he had just heard something about the old man’s genes…Lu Xingyao supported him. “Third Uncle, what are you looking at?”Lu Xingyan shook his head, thinking it must have been his imagination.

.…

The exile procession left the city and began the long journey north to their place of exile—Huai Bei.

Some family members of the prisoners followed along, while the officers wielded long whips and carried large knives, urging the prisoners to keep moving. With limited time to reach their destination, delays couldn’t be afforded.

Anyone who stopped or caused trouble was met with swift punishment from the whips, leaving their backs torn and bloody. The screams of pain were constant, and those who were punished quickly fell in line.

The Lu family’s twenty-odd members stayed close together, with the women in the middle, looking after each other.The younger generation, led by Lu Xingyao, walked at the back, occasionally checking on Lu Xingyan. Lu Zhou and Lu Yang, the two brothers, supported Lu Qing on either side.It wasn’t until sunset that the officials finally called a halt.

Some prisoners eagerly volunteered to gather firewood and water, while others quietly handed over valuable items they had hidden to bribe the officers.These gestures were clearly aimed at making the journey more bearable.Seeing how cooperative the prisoners were, the officials softened their attitudes, allowing them to build fires for warmth.

As night fell, the wind grew stronger, causing many to sneeze repeatedly.Those who had managed to bribe the officers were even allowed to catch a few fish from the icy river—some they handed over as a tribute to the officers, and the rest they roasted for themselves.

The less fortunate ones had to make do with the cold, hard flatbread they had been issued, barely enough to stave off their hunger.

Many of the elderly and weak prisoners had their coarse bread snatched by stronger prisoners. Fearing further beatings, they didn’t dare to speak up, choosing instead to go hungry.

The others around them also dared not intervene; in such dire circumstances, everyone could only fend for themselves.

The officers in charge turned a blind eye to these incidents, not bothering to intervene. After all, on the road to exile, it wasn’t uncommon for prisoners to die from hunger or exposure. The fewer people left, the easier their job became.The Lu family members huddled in groups around the fire for warmth.

When they learned that Princess Shunyu was also among the exiles, sitting in the carriage at the back, Lu Qing, who had always been a loyal official, couldn’t contain his anger any longer. His old face turned red as he spat out a curse.

“Damn emperor!”