Chapter 179: Exiled Together with the Zhao and Ye Families

The woman’s agonized scream not only startled the people in the east wing of the manor, but also immediately caused Qi Yanzhou to rush in.

Soon after, the Imperial Forest Guards, carrying lanterns, arrived.

The lantern light illuminated the east wing.

The women quickly wrapped themselves in blankets to avoid being seen by the men.

Qi Yanzhou arrived in the inner room and immediately smelled the faint scent of the narcotic incense in the air.

He raised his hand to cover his nose, held his breath, and opened the window.

Before the Imperial Forest Guards could enter, he closed the bed curtains, shielding Ye Chutang, who was wearing only her undergarments, inside.

Before the Imperial Forest Guards could enter the inner room, they could already smell the faint narcotic incense.

“What happened?” one of the guards asked.

Ye Chutang coldly replied, “This is a question for Qi Jingyao. Ask her why she used narcotic drugs on me and what her intentions were.”

When these words were spoken, the Imperial Forest Guards held their breath and entered the inner room.

Qi Jingyao, clutching her aching belly, rolled around on the floor, wailing in pain.

She was only wearing an undergarment, and her clothes had loosened as she rolled, exposing her snow-white skin and pink bellyband.

The Imperial Forest Guards, seeing this, were stirred, their eyes glued to her.

One man stepped forward and helped the pain-stricken Qi Jingyao to her feet.

Although Qi Jingyao was a concubine-born daughter, she had been raised delicately.

Her figure was slender, soft, as though without bones.

The Imperial Forest Guards felt that with just a little force, her arm would break, and they couldn’t help but touch her again and again.

“Miss Qi, what happened just now?”

Qi Jingyao, struggling to stand, had to lean against the Imperial Forest Guard.

Although she felt disgusted inside, she had no strength to push him away.

Noticing the lecherous gaze of the man, she endured the pain and closed the open collar of her garment.

“Sir, I heard movement from the inner room and smelled a faint narcotic incense. I was worried that my sister-in-law was in trouble, so I came to take a look. But as soon as I reached the bedside, I was kicked down.”

Hearing Qi Jingyao’s twisted version of events, Ye Chutang sneered.

“Are you saying that the officials are mere decorations? Even when someone broke into the Prince of Chen’s residence, they didn’t notice?”

Qi Jingyao had already grown accustomed to the pain in her belly. She pushed the Imperial Forest Guard away, her eyes reddened, a face full of grievance.

“Sister-in-law, I didn’t mean it like that. I was worried that the intruder was a ‘ghost thief.’”

Ye Chutang couldn’t have imagined that someone would use the term “ghost thief” to accuse her.

She was so angry that it made her laugh.

“Sir, if you want to know whether Qi Jingyao is lying, you only need to smell her breath.”

When I discovered someone blowing narcotic powder into the bed curtains through a bamboo tube, I immediately blocked the hole with my finger.”

When the narcotic smoke couldn’t escape, it would backflow, causing the person who first used the bamboo tube to inhale the scent.

Qi Jingyao had originally thought her excuse was flawless, but unexpectedly, Ye Chutang found the flaw.

Her mind worked quickly, and tears immediately began to fall.

“Sister-in-law, I was just worried about you. I came to the inner room, but you didn’t appreciate my concern. Why do you have to accuse me and humiliate me like this?”

“I am willing to die to prove my innocence!”

With a sorrowful cry, she slammed her head into the wall.

Ye Chutang immediately parted the bed curtains and stretched her head out.

She saw Qi Jingyao slide down the wall and fall to the floor.

The force of the impact was considerable.

Her forehead was split open, and fresh blood flowed down her cheek and into her mouth.

The scent of blood masked the faint narcotic scent.

The impact, however, was light.

It was just a head injury, no concussion, and no danger to her life.

The Imperial Forest Guards were startled and immediately took out their first aid supplies, applying medicine to Qi Jingyao’s wound.

The powder hurt as it was sprinkled on the wound.

Qi Jingyao trembled in pain, letting out a pitiful whimper that made others’ hearts soften.

At this moment, Su Yiniang, wearing an outer coat, entered the inner room.

She cradled the blood-soaked Qi Jingyao in her arms, crying loudly.

“My dear daughter, why are you so hopeless? How could you be so cruel, wanting to leave your mother behind!”

If one didn’t know better, they might think Qi Jingyao was already dead.

“Sir, you must stand up for Yao’er. You cannot let her suffer this unjust humiliation!”

The Imperial Forest Guards glanced at the “unconscious” Qi Jingyao and then at the sneering Ye Chutang.

Since there was no evidence to prove that Qi Jingyao’s words were true, nor any evidence to prove that Ye Chutang was lying,

They could only wash their hands of the matter.

“This is your Qi family’s business. Handle it yourselves.”

After saying this, the Imperial Forest Guards took their lanterns and left.

The oil lamps in the east wing had already been lit, brightening the room.

Qi Yanzhou coldly looked at Su Yiniang, who was crying pitifully, and asked Ye Chutang,

“Ah Tang, how do you plan to handle these two?”

Ye Chutang replied, “It’s a bit noisy, so I’ll knock them out and throw them out.”

“Well. Ah Tang, there’s still an hour before dawn. Go back to sleep for a while.”

Su Yiniang, seeing Qi Yanzhou getting closer, instinctively backed away.

“Madam, are you trying to force us mother and daughter to death?”

Ye Chutang’s gaze was sharp, “Hmm, go ahead and die quickly. You’re annoying everyone!”

After saying that, she closed the bed curtain.

Qi Yanzhou used the edge of his palm to knock out Su Yiniang and Qi Jingyao, throwing them into the courtyard.

The big door of the East Side Hall was closed.

Old Madam Qi said, “Put out the lights, rest.”

The lights were extinguished, but Aunt Xu and Aunt Gao had no intention of sleeping. They both looked in the direction of the inner room.

They had a new understanding of Ye Chutang, and fear began to grow in their hearts.

No wonder she was known for being ruthless, the one who caused the Ye family to fall apart—truly cold-blooded!

Ye Chutang didn’t care about what others thought of her, and quickly fell asleep.

An hour passed quickly, and the sky lightened.

The Imperial Guard called the Qi family members to wake up.

They were told to hurry and wash up, have breakfast, and pack up, as they would leave at Chen time (around 7 AM).

Su Yiniang and Qi Jingyao also woke up.

The two of them had been lying in the courtyard for an hour. Not only did their bodies ache, but they were also covered in mosquito bites.

Realizing no one would help or pity them, they dared not cause any more trouble and quickly got up to pack.

At Chen time.

The officials escorting the Qi family for exile arrived at Prince Chen’s Manor.

There were fifty of them.

From their footsteps, it was clear that they had strong martial skills and were no ordinary guards.

Qi Yanzhou had never seen them before but guessed they were from the Dragon Guard.

The Dragon Guard was even more mysterious than the emperor’s Shadow Guard. They specialized in handling matters beneficial to the state but couldn’t be revealed to the public.

For instance, eliminating the Qi family, who were suspected of treason!

However, before leaving the capital, the Dragon Guard wouldn’t act.

The ten members of the Qi family, under the escort of the officials, left the capital.

Qi Yanzhou drove the donkey cart, which was loaded with several beds and blankets, making it appear even fuller.

Su Yiniang and Aunt Gao also had quite a bit of luggage, pushing small carts behind.

Qi Jingyao, with a bandage on her forehead, blood faintly seeping through, appeared delicate and pitiful.

Many commoners stood by the streets, sending off Qi Yanzhou and Ye Chutang, offering them gifts.

The two of them refused all gifts, citing the inability of the cart to carry anything.

Leaving the imperial city.

The Zhao family and Ye Jingchuan’s family were also being escorted at the city gates, waiting for the Qi family to arrive before heading north together.

There were sixty people in total escorting the two families.

Fifty of them were from the Dragon Guard, and ten were regular exile officials.

The head of the escorting officers was called Wu Jiongang. After briefly explaining the situation, he arranged them into formation.

“The hour is late, let’s depart!”

The Zhao family was in the front.

Zhao Yixu was a man with many romantic entanglements. Apart from his main wife, he had two secondary wives, over ten concubines, and countless maids.

But his main wife, Zhu Rong, was a master of household management. Apart from his legitimate children, he only had three daughters from his concubines.

When the decree to imprison the family in Dingzhou was issued, all concubines who hadn’t borne children were dismissed.

Now, only ten people were heading to Dingzhou.

Zhao Simin hated Ye Chutang and occasionally looked back, her eyes burning with small flames.

Her face, scarred from a past fire, had not been treated properly after being imprisoned, making it look grotesque.

The Qi family was in the middle.

Ye Chutang met Zhao Simin’s gaze, smirking mockingly and laughing provocatively.

This journey of exile would certainly not be boring!

Ye Jingchuan’s family was at the rear.

The Ye family was small in numbers.

Only Ye Jingchuan, Old Madam Ye, Aunt Jiang, and Ye Siyan were present.

When Aunt Liu was surrounded by the Imperial Guard at the Ministry of Personnel, she knew something was amiss.

She spent a thousand taels to buy a letter of divorce.

Aunt Jiang had been slapped fifty times by Ye Chutang, leaving her face disfigured, still covered with scabs, making her look tragic.

Ye Siyan, like Zhao Simin, had been pardoned from the prison sentence by the emperor and was following her family into exile.

She had been frequently bullied in prison, losing a lot of weight, and her body was covered in bruises.

After a short time, she turned pale and looked weak, as if she couldn’t keep going.

But looking at Ye Chutang’s back, her hatred gave her strength, and she stubbornly kept up.

The three families, except for Ye Chutang and Qi Yanzhou, had never endured hardship and usually traveled in palanquins. Even on the road, they would stop every few steps to rest.

The heat made it even harder, and after traveling about two miles, their pace slowed.

Zhu Rong was panting like a cow. “Official, can we rest for a moment? I really can’t move anymore.”

Zhao Simin’s facial injuries hadn’t healed, and the sweat dripping down caused her excruciating pain.

“Official, let us stop and drink some water.”

Wu Jiongang sneered. “We’re already going slow enough. Stop? We need to travel fifty miles today. You want to travel day and night? I’m not willing!”

After speaking, he whipped the ground, sending dust flying.

“If you don’t want to be beaten, behave. You’ll rest when I say so.”

Zhu Rong and Zhao Simin dared not speak further, gritting their teeth and continuing to walk.

The most exhausted were the Ye family.

Because they wore shackles and iron chains, not only were they a burden, but their movement was also restricted.

Their necks and ankles had been chafed raw.

After about half an hour, Old Madam Ye could no longer bear it and fell to the ground.

“Aiyo, I’m dying!”

Wu Jiongang saw that most of the people’s faces were ashen and said, “Let’s rest here for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.”

He then said to the Ye family, “Hurry up and apply medicine. Wrap your necks and ankles with cloth, or the wounds will get worse.”

The weather was hot, and wounds could easily become infected, leading to illness. If not properly treated, it would be normal to die.

Ye Jingchuan had never suffered such hardship. His face pale, he nodded.

“Thank you for the reminder, official.”

After speaking, he helped Old Madam Ye up and asked Aunt Jiang to apply the medicine.

Old Madam Ye grabbed Ye Jingchuan’s hand and whispered, “Chuan’er, can you use some silver to bribe the officials and remove these shackles and chains? Otherwise, Mother won’t last two days.”

“Mother, don’t worry. Once we’re a hundred miles outside the capital, I’ll try.”

If they were still in the capital, the officials wouldn’t dare to take bribes.

The Ye family members bandaged each other with medicine, and as soon as they finished, they continued their journey.

It would take about an hour to walk from the Ten-Mile Pavilion at the outer city gates of the imperial city.

But for a group of people accustomed to luxury, it took them an hour and a half.

This delay also caused the relatives who came to see them off at the Ten-Mile Pavilion to wait for a long time.

“They’re here!”

Someone shouted, and everyone craned their necks, looking toward the direction of the imperial city.

Jun’er, who was short, couldn’t see anything.

He shook Song Jingning’s arm and asked, “Teacher, can you see my eldest sister?”

Song Jingning, tall with long legs, gazed at the slowly approaching procession and looked toward the middle of the group.

The distance was too far, and he couldn’t clearly make out who was who.

But he had a strange feeling that Ye Chutang was somewhere in that group.

As the procession drew nearer, he saw that his guess had been correct, and he couldn’t help but smile.

“I see her. She’s in the middle, wearing a straw hat, and hasn’t been sunburned.”

Jun’er stood on his tiptoes and tried to look in the direction Song Jingning pointed to.

But he could only see the guards at the outer edge of the procession.

The rest of the exile group quickly passed by.

Wu Chenggang spoke, “Rest for a quarter of an hour here.”

When he spoke, the relatives knew he was the leader and hurried to give him silver.

“Officer, for the sake of convenience, I would like to say my farewells to my daughter.”

Each relative said something similar when handing over the silver, but their farewells varied.

Wu Chenggang graciously accepted the silver and nodded.

“Alright, keep it short. Don’t delay our journey.”

“Thank you, officer.”

The relatives all moved forward to say their goodbyes to their loved ones.

Song Jingning led Jun’er to Ye Chutang.

“Mrs. Qi, I didn’t expect our next meeting to be here at the Ten-Mile Pavilion.”

Ye Chutang looked at the handsome Song Jingning and smiled. “Yes, life is so unpredictable.”

She then took off her straw hat, squatted down, and looked into Jun’er’s reddened eyes.

“Men shouldn’t shed tears easily. Hold them back.”

Jun’er nodded heavily, trying hard to hold back his tears, and wiped his eyes with his hand.

“Eldest sister, when I grow up, I’ll come find you in Tianshan County.”

“Good, eldest sister will be waiting. You must eat well, study hard, practice martial arts, and take care of yourself.”

Jun’er wanted to cry again. He looked up and fought to keep it in.

“I will remember what eldest sister said.”

After saying this, he gave Ye Chutang all his savings.

“Eldest sister, I can’t help you with anything, and I don’t have much silver, but you must take it all.”

Ye Chutang smiled and flicked Jun’er’s nose, stuffing the silver notes into his arms.

“This little bit of money is nothing to eldest sister. When you earn 100,000 taels, then give it to me.”

Song Jingning watched the interaction between them, feeling a strange twinge of jealousy in his heart.

His hand at his side clenched tightly as he suppressed the urge to ruffle Ye Chutang’s hair.

Jun’er understood that Ye Chutang wasn’t rejecting his silver notes but was concerned for him, afraid that he might not have enough to spend.

“Jun’er will work hard, grow up, and earn money to help eldest sister live a good life!”

“Alright, I’ll write to you when I have time.”

Ye Chutang said this and gave Jun’er a few more instructions.

She straightened up and looked at Song Jingning.

“Master Song, thank you for bringing Jun’er to see me off. I’ll trouble the Song family with him from now on.”

Song Jingning looked at Ye Chutang’s flushed face due to the hot weather, and his sword-like brows furrowed slightly.

“Jun’er is a student of the Huating Academy, so taking care of him is the right thing to do.”

After saying this, he handed over a bundle from his shoulder.

“Inside, there are some preserved fruits and nuts, as well as cooling and medicinal foods to help with the heat. It’s not worth much, but please take it.”

Jun’er hurried to add, “Eldest sister, Teacher picked only the best things, and even bought some snacks that are only available in the capital.”

He wanted to pay with silver, but his teacher wouldn’t allow it.

Song Jingning felt somewhat awkward after hearing Jun’er’s words and lightly coughed.

“Exile is hard, and everyone needs something to eat.”

After Ye Chutang accepted the bundle, Song Jingning took out two silver notes from his sleeve and handed them to her.

“This is a small token of respect from my father. It’s not much, but please don’t refuse, Mrs. Qi.”

Although the silver notes were only two, each was worth five thousand taels.

Ye Chutang had no intention of accepting silver from the Song family.

“Master Song, please keep the silver for yourself, to use when you build the academy in Tianshan County.”

“We have enough silver for the academy, but if Mrs. Qi doesn’t take it, I won’t be able to explain it to my father, and I might get a beating.”

Having said this, Ye Chutang reluctantly accepted the silver notes.

“Please pass on a message to the head of the Song family: I will make sure this 10,000 taels is worth more than its value.”

“Understood. I’ll make sure to deliver it.”

Song Jingning finished speaking and waved for Jun’er to follow him to the pavilion.

“Get to work!”

“Teacher, I’m here.”

Ye Chutang was confused as she looked toward the empty pavilion.

The pavilion was slightly elevated and surrounded by trees, so she couldn’t clearly see what Song Jingning and Jun’er were doing.

Before long, she saw Jun’er carrying a tray of cut watermelon slices and distributing them to the escorting soldiers.

Every time he handed one to someone, he would say, “My eldest sister is Ye Chutang. Please take good care of her.”

Ye Chutang smiled as she watched Jun’er moving back and forth, handing out watermelon.

This little brother was worth all the love!

She withdrew her gaze and looked at the other relatives who had come to see them off.

The most people had come to send Zhao Mingxu and his family.

After all, he was the emperor’s brother, and it was possible that one day he would be freed from confinement and return to the capital.

Plus, sending someone off didn’t cost much silver.

So, his wife and concubines, along with their families, had all come, making for a lively scene.

In contrast, the Qi family’s send-off was much quieter.

Everyone knew the emperor wanted to destroy the Qi family, so it was better not to get too close to them for fear of being implicated.

Apart from the Qi old madam’s maternal family, the only person left was Qin Muyun.

Qin Muyun’s injury hadn’t fully healed yet, his figure had grown thin, and his face was pale.

He knew that Qi Yanzhou lacked for nothing, so he didn’t bring any gifts but shoved some silver bills into his hands.

“Ziqian, I’m leaving the capital as well.”

Qi Yanzhou was a bit surprised. “Huai Xuan, what made you change your mind all of a sudden? Isn’t Qin Taifu still pushing you to marry?”

“I want to build my career before settling down. I knelt at the ancestral hall for two days and gained my grandfather’s approval.”

“That’s good. You’ve wasted over ten years for the Qin family, it’s about time you went out and tried your luck.”

Qin Muyun glanced at Ye Chutang, a smile appearing in his eyes.

“Someone once told me that family is important, but I shouldn’t be confined to one place, wasting away my years.”

Everyone else was moving forward, and he couldn’t stay stuck in place any longer.

The world was about to change for the worse, and he wanted to play his part.

Qi Yanzhou’s hand landed on Qin Muyun’s shoulder, his expression serious as he apologized.

“Huai Xuan, I’m sorry about Chutang.”

Qin Muyun lightly tapped Qi Yanzhou’s chest.

“Miss Ye has already clearly rejected me. You don’t need to apologize. She chose you, and I’m truly happy for you. Be good to her, don’t let her down.”

No matter how many people he would meet in the future, he would never meet someone like “Ye Chutang” again.

“Don’t worry, even if I betray the whole world, I won’t betray her!”

Hearing this, Qin Muyun remembered the letter his master had sent him yesterday.

He leaned closer to Qi Yanzhou and whispered in his ear, “My master used the Tui Bei Tu to calculate the fate of the nation yesterday.”

Qi Yanzhou’s expression grew serious, his sword-like brows furrowing.

“Is your master alright? What was the result?”

“From the handwriting, my master’s condition isn’t too good, but he didn’t want me to go find him. The result is that within ten years, the Northern Star Kingdom will fall, and the new emperor’s star has already taken shape.”

“Who is it?”

“My master gave me a secret letter, maybe because he feared being discovered, he didn’t write it clearly. Or maybe he couldn’t figure it out.

Ziqian, you know, calculating the fate of the nation goes against the Taoist traditions. If we want to know in detail, we might have to pay with our lives!”

If someone died, knowing more wouldn’t matter, and it would be pointless to speak of it.

Qi Yanzhou, who had had more dealings with Qin Muyun, was very familiar with divination.

“Huai Xuan, tell your master to take care of his health and wait for the nation to be at peace.”

“Alright, take care!”

“And you, protect yourself when traveling.”

Just as he finished speaking, Wu Chengang shouted loudly, “A quarter of an hour has passed, get ready to set off!”

Song Jingning saw that every escort officer had eaten some watermelon and gave the remaining two pieces to Ye Chutang.

“There’s no time, you can eat it on the road.”

“Alright, if we meet again, it will be fate.”

Ye Chutang put on her straw hat and set off with the convoy.

The relatives who came to see her off waved their hands with reluctant expressions.

Half of it was acting, and half was genuine sorrow.

The Ye family had no relatives in the capital, and the ones who came to send her off were those who had been dismissed by the concubine, Liu.

She didn’t care about the feelings of the second bed partner, but had come to take back the thousand taels of silver for the divorce certificate and the body-selling contract.

As the convoy moved further away, the relatives who had come to see her off gradually left.

Song Jingning and Jun’er were the last to leave.

As they departed, Qi Yanzhou had a feeling of loss, and his mood turned heavy.

Jun’er felt the same, hanging his head in silence and looking downhearted.

Ye Chutang, who didn’t know the mood of the two, leisurely walked ahead with the convoy.

Qi Yanzhou was concerned that she might get too tired and said gently, “Chutang, let me carry you.”

“No need, I’m not a fragile young lady. Walking won’t tire me out.”

“But your health…”

“If I can’t walk anymore, I’ll tell you.”

Although Ye Chutang said this, she wouldn’t ask Qi Yanzhou to carry her.

The land was right beneath her, and with her earth-based abilities, walking was easy.

Seeing that she wasn’t trying to be stubborn, Qi Yanzhou nodded. “Alright, don’t overdo it.”

By midday, everyone was starving and couldn’t walk any further.

Wu Chengang spoke, “We’ll walk another two miles, there’s a river where we can rest and have lunch for half an hour.”

If it had been ordinary exiles, he wouldn’t have spoken so kindly.

They would have been whipped into moving faster.

But today, the group was filled with “wealthy gods” who could still be exploited, so there was no need to hurry them too much.

As long as the daily route requirements were met, it was fine.

Hearing Wu Chengang’s words, the group, who were too tired to walk, suddenly found strength.

After another fifteen minutes, they reached the riverbank.

The area near the river was lush with trees.

The next stop felt refreshingly cool.

Ye Jingchuan immediately handed some silver to Wu Chengang.

“Sir, when we rest, could you unlock the shackles so we can catch our breath?”