Chapter 3: Severing Ties at the Pavilion

“Yuan’er, my son!”

At that moment, Madam Song finally regained consciousness. Seeing Song Jiuyuan’s miserable state, tears streamed down her face.

When a son is hurt, the pain pierces the mother’s heart. Madam Song hurriedly told her personal maid to fetch some medicine, but there wasn’t any medicine left in the residence.

Even if there had been, those arrogant Imperial Guards wouldn’t have allowed them to use it.

The scene turned chaotic for a while. The Imperial Guards showed no mercy. At this point, Jiang Wan was thankful that Song Jiuyuan had merely been stripped of his noble title and demoted to a commoner.

If he had become a convicted criminal marked with the label of a guilty slave, she would have fled on the spot. She could always repay this favor another time!

“Quick, change into coarse linen robes!”

The incoming officers barked orders as they threw each of them a set of coarse linen clothes. The people of the royal residence usually wore luxurious silks and brocades, which were worth some silver.

Now, they weren’t allowed to leave with any of it. No matter how reluctant they were, everyone had no choice but to obediently change into the rough, plain clothing.

Song Jiuyuan was an exception. His clothes were already soaked in blood and beyond recognition. At this point, it didn’t matter whether he changed or not.

After everyone changed into the coarse robes, they were rudely shoved out of the royal residence. What awaited them was a city full of citizens throwing rotten vegetables and eggs at them.

“Serves them right! Did they really think winning a battle meant they could become the emperor?”

“This is karma! Officials like him treat lives like grass—let’s throw harder!”

“I curse them all to die miserable deaths!”

…

Those harsh words pierced everyone’s ears. Jiang Wan had just arrived in this world, so the emotional impact wasn’t too strong. But the people of the royal residence were like eggplants hit by frost, completely wilted.

Especially Song Jiuyuan. He had devoted himself to protecting the people, only to be cursed and hated by them now. The rage overwhelmed him, and he fainted again.

“Big Brother!”

Carrying Song Jiuyuan on his back, Song Jiuchi panicked. Jiang Wan hurried to shield them from the flying rotten vegetables, but not a single person from the residence showed her a kind face.

Everyone was fending for themselves. Their pampered bodies simply couldn’t handle this kind of torment, and soon they were all sobbing uncontrollably.

The journey out of the city became exceedingly difficult. By the time they reached the city gates, the group had been pelted into a pitiful mess.

The officers escorting them weren’t from the Imperial Guard. Along with their royal family, many other families being exiled for various crimes were grouped together.

Hundreds of people left the city in a grand procession, and soon they arrived outside the pavilion gate, where loved ones came to bid farewell. It was their only hope.

The officers didn’t stop them. After all, they would end up pocketing the silver gifts brought by the families, so they even deliberately delayed their departure.

Everyone waited eagerly for their relatives. Gradually, families of the female members came to deliver travel money.

This time, it was the Shen family. They still cared about Shen Qian. Her mother had sent someone with a large bundle.

The old madam’s expression finally softened. Shen Qianqian, who had been looking wretched, regained some sense of self-worth and deliberately cast a glance at Jiang Wan.

“Looks like my mother still cares about me. Unlike some people—almost time to leave, and not a single trace of her family.”

This was clearly aimed at mocking Jiang Wan. Jiang Wan remained unfazed, carefully wiping the face of the unconscious Song Jiuyuan.

“It’s someone from the Ministry of Rites.”

No one knew who spoke first, but in the distance, they saw a carriage from the Ministry of Rites. Everyone stirred, gazing at it expectantly.

Even the old madam forced a bitter smile. Who would’ve thought they’d fall so low as to rely on charity from others?

The carriage stopped before them, but only a young maid got down. She looked unfamiliar—Jiang Wan didn’t recognize her at all.

She wasn’t carrying anything. Instead, she pulled out a plain white piece of paper from her sleeve.

“Miss, when you insisted on marrying into the royal family, the master couldn’t stop you. Now that disaster has struck, though he finds it hard in his heart, for the sake of the other sons and daughters in the household, he must sever ties with you.

This is a severance letter. From now on, you have no connection whatsoever with the Ministry of Rites.”

This was a blatant act of kicking someone when they were down. If the original Jiang Wan were still alive, she would have been driven mad with rage. No wonder she went crazy in the original book.

Even the others from the royal residence looked at the arrogant little maid in disbelief, feeling chills run down their spines. Minister Jiang was truly the most heartless of them all!

Compared to the others’ shocked expressions, Jiang Wan calmly accepted the severance letter and looked at the maid coldly as she spoke:

“Tell Minister Jiang that whether I live or die, whether I am rich or poor, it will have nothing to do with the Ministry of Rites ever again.”

Jiang Wan didn’t believe for a second that she, a proud modern heir of traditional Chinese medicine, would always live in such misery. One day, the people from the Ministry of Rites would come begging on their knees!

“It better stay that way!”

The arrogant little maid climbed back into the carriage, which clattered away, disappearing from sight. The stunned crowd finally came back to their senses.

Shen Qian sneered at Jiang Wan and tried to stir up the others. “I thought our sister-in-law’s family was here to send something. Turns out it was a severance letter instead.”

Her words were like a drop of water in hot oil—instant uproar.

The old madam, who had been barely holding back, now looked at Jiang Wan with complete disgust.

The people of the second and third branches looked down on her even more. Lady Wang from the second branch couldn’t help but echo her daughter-in-law’s insult.

“Looks like my daughter-in-law was right—you’re a jinx. Ever since you entered this house, we were doomed to be raided.

Now even your family wants nothing to do with you. If you’re not a walking disaster, who is?”

“I think it’s not just Jiang Wan. The entire first branch has dragged down the second and third branches. You all need to take responsibility.”

Lady Xu of the third branch looked coldly at the unconscious Song Jiuyuan. If not for him, their family wouldn’t have been implicated.

“My mother is right. If it weren’t for Big Brother, we wouldn’t be exiled.”

“I don’t want to be exiled. It’s all Big Brother and Sister-in-law’s fault! It’s your fault!”

…

The children from the second and third branches all began to accuse the people from the first branch. The old madam stood by without a word, her bias blatant.

Already emotionally unstable, Madam Song almost fainted again from the outrage. If not for carrying Song Jiuyuan on his back, young Song Jiuchi would’ve exploded like a wild leopard.

Jiang Wan coldly swept her gaze across their vile faces. “When my husband was made a prince, how come none of you said a word blaming our first branch?

Now that misfortune has come, oh, suddenly it’s all our fault? Trying to extort us? Dream on!”

Her crude words happened to reach the ears of Song Jiuyuan, who had just groggily regained consciousness. His eyelids twitched. He hadn’t expected his cunning wife to have such a sharp tongue.

But—well said!

He painfully opened his eyes. The pain in his lower body was excruciating, yet none of the people who had once prospered thanks to him showed the slightest concern.

The ugliness of human nature—so terrifying.

“Yuan’er!”

Madam Song, dragging her frail body, quickly came to his side, tears falling like rain.

She was a beautiful mother who only knew how to cry. Jiang Wan found it a bit of a headache. Meanwhile, Shen Qian was fuming with rage from Jiang Wan’s earlier words.

Just as she opened her mouth to retort, the amused officer suddenly barked:

“All of you, shut up and keep moving!”