Chapter 12: Farewell at the City Gate, the Xiao Family’s Illegitimate Line

At this moment, an officer stepped forward respectfully, though his tone held a hint of helplessness. He said, “Marchioness, forgive us. We’re only carrying out orders and hope for your understanding. You must depart immediately, and nothing from the household may be taken with you.”

Madam Zhao remained calm. She nodded slightly and replied softly, “Understood. We’ll leave right away.”

Though the entire Wu’an Marquis Manor had been targeted by looters, those responsible for confiscating the property found nothing of value.

The commanding officer, despite his fierce appearance, now wore an expression full of respect, without a trace of schadenfreude.

Yun Ruoxi and Mu Ruxue exchanged a quick glance, both surprised — this scene was completely different from what was described in the novel.

In their previous life, when the Wu’an Marquis Manor was raided, not only was the treasury from the former dynasty discovered, but the household was also sent to Zhaoyu Prison because of it.

But this time, they were spared from imprisonment and even the humiliation of being shackled.

Everything was quietly shifting — perhaps this marked a new and better beginning.

Their group totaled only four people, so there wasn’t much burden.

Yun Ruoxi and Mu Ruxue stepped forward together, gently supporting the elderly Madam Xiao as they slowly made their way out of the residence.

Once outside the manor gates, all four couldn’t help but look back at the residence where they had lived for just one week, their gazes lingering briefly before they resolutely turned and walked away.

On the road leading from the Wu’an Marquis Manor to the city gate, Yun Ruoxi could clearly hear the murmurs and discussions of the townspeople around them.

People were talking about all sorts of things, but neither she nor Mu Ruxue paid them any mind — after all, they were about to leave this place behind and begin a new chapter of their lives.

When they arrived at the city gate, they saw two government officers already waiting there to escort them.

In the Great Ye Kingdom, there were typically two types of prisoner escorts: “long escorts”, for high-ranking officials being sent from the capital, and “short escorts”, where prisoners were handed off from city to city during transport.

In this case, the situation with the Wu’an Marquis Manor was relatively simple. The household consisted of only seven people — three men and four women.

Moreover, they weren’t being demoted to a low-caste status but merely exiled from the capital and forbidden to return. Their destination was to settle in Lingnan.

So, only two officers were assigned to escort them.

Had the group been larger, naturally, more escorts would have been dispatched.

As they reached the city gates, they were met by people from the Duke Ying’s Manor, along with four carriages in tow.

Her eldest uncle, Yun Qingfeng, let out a sigh of relief upon seeing Yun Ruoxi safe and sound. “These carriages were specially prepared for you. The house raid happened so suddenly, you must not have had time to gather any supplies.”

As he spoke, he pulled out a stack of silver notes from his robe and handed them to Yun Ruoxi. “Take this money. Don’t scrimp on travel expenses. Once you arrive in Lingnan, live well and start fresh.”

Yun Ruoxi knew well that her uncle’s words were mostly for the ears of others. In truth, the carriages and silver notes had been meticulously prepared for them.

Even the two escort officers had been arranged by the Duke Ying’s Manor — trusted men from their own household.

“Thank you, Uncle. But this is far too much silver — we won’t need so much,” Yun Ruoxi said politely, trying to decline.

Yun Qingfeng feigned annoyance and said sternly, “Take it! Don’t make your grandparents worry. Your older cousins will be traveling with you as well. If you need anything along the way, just ask them to get it.”

In the original book, the members of the Wu’an Marquis Manor received no such treatment. But now, with Yun Ruoxi and Mu Ruxue involved, everything had changed drastically.

“Alright, I’ll accept it then. Uncle, please take good care of Grandfather and Grandmother. Once we’ve settled down in Lingnan, we’ll find a way to come back and visit,” Yun Ruoxi said gratefully.

Although she knew this was already the best possible outcome, Yun Qingfeng couldn’t help but feel his eyes well up with tears.

Yun Ruoxi looked down at the silver notes — each one was worth a thousand taels, and there were twenty in total.

With this amount of money, life in Lingnan would be more than comfortable.

“Your parents have been very worried about you,” Yun Qingfeng added. “But to avoid suspicion, they couldn’t come to see you off. They asked me to give you this bundle.”

He handed her a cloth bundle.

Yun Ruoxi took it without opening it and slung it over her shoulder.

Looking past her uncle, she saw her older cousins seated in two of the carriages.

She had a good idea why they were accompanying them — to protect the exiled group during the journey, and to go ahead and prepare for settling in Lingnan.

Since they had chosen to fully withdraw from the political power struggle, they had to plan carefully.

Just then, another group of officers arrived, escorting a second group — the male members of the Wu’an Marquis family, along with the concubine-born branch of the household.

Unlike the dwindling numbers of their legitimate branch, the illegitimate side of the Xiao family was quite the opposite — between official wives and concubines, they numbered a full thirty people.

Due to the special nature of this exile, the male members of the Wu’an Marquis Manor were not shackled, nor had they suffered any punishments in prison. Though physically they were still in decent health, several days without food or water had left them visibly weak — but nothing life-threatening.

Seeing their condition, Yun Ruoxi and Mu Ruxue quickly stepped forward to support Xiao Jingrui and Xiao Jingxuan, respectively.

Their mother-in-law, Madam Zhao, also hurried to help her husband, Xiao Jing.

Their family of four was just right for the two carriages — along with the five older cousins occupying the other two. The four carriages had been perfectly distributed.

As for how the illegitimate branch would make their way, it was none of their concern.

In the original novel, the illegitimate branch had always been restless. In order to survive, they ultimately aligned themselves with the female lead and became her pawns.

Though they didn’t perish during the exile, when the scandal of the Wu’an Marquis Manor was later exposed, they were sacrificed as scapegoats by the heroine.

Because of that, Yun Ruoxi and Mu Ruxue had absolutely no fondness for these people. They simply pretended not to see them — out of sight, out of mind.

Unfortunately, while they wanted to avoid trouble, someone else was eager to stir it up.

Second Aunt Wang exploded with rage when she saw that the main branch completely ignored them. She stormed over to Madam Zhao, pointed at her nose, and started shouting, “It’s all your fault! If it weren’t for you and your household, we wouldn’t have ended up being raided and exiled!”

Madam Zhao steadily supported Xiao Jing, her expression unchanged, as if she hadn’t heard anything. She simply continued walking forward at a calm pace.

But Wang refused to let it go. She rushed ahead and blocked their path, shouting louder, “You’re nothing but a bunch of jinxes! You ruined the entire Xiao family! You’re criminals!”

Madam Zhao slowly lifted her head, her gaze turning icy cold as she stared Wang down and snapped, “Since when does the illegitimate branch have the right to meddle in the Xiao family’s affairs? We’ve shown you some courtesy, and now you actually believe you’re masters of the house? In truth, you’re no better than servants. Get out of the way — just looking at you is disgusting.”

Wang hadn’t expected Madam Zhao to remain so proud, even in their fallen state. Jealousy burned through her chest, but she still insisted, “You’re all cursed! One day, the world will see that we are the rightful heirs of the Xiao family!”

Yun Ruoxi and Mu Ruxue stood nearby, listening. They understood immediately — the second branch clearly resented the main branch for inheriting the Wu’an Marquis title.

But Madam Zhao was never one to take insults lying down. She retorted coldly, “Your husband? The one whose mother came from a brothel? And you want to talk about legitimacy? What a joke. Whether your husband is even a true Xiao by blood is still up for debate. Just because he was given the Xiao surname and added to the family registry doesn’t make him one of us.”

She paused slightly, her cold gaze cutting through the crowd to land directly on Second Uncle Xiao Bin. “As for whether you carry the Xiao bloodline — you know the truth better than anyone.”

Yun Ruoxi and Mu Ruxue were both shocked. They hadn’t expected to hear such explosive gossip.

Madam Zhao’s words were like knives, and her combativeness was unmatched. Wang turned ghostly pale.

Though she had been married into the Xiao family for many years, she had only known that the main household looked down on the illegitimate branch — she had never heard of any of these hidden truths.

One glance at Wang’s expression and Madam Zhao knew instantly — Xiao Bin had never told her the full truth.

“You should go home and ask your husband how he got added to the family registry,” Madam Zhao continued. “While you’re at it, ask why your branch was never allowed to live in the Wu’an Marquis Manor.”

With that, she lifted her chin proudly, supporting Xiao Jing as she walked away without another glance.

Yun Ruoxi and Mu Ruxue didn’t dare linger to watch the drama unfold. They hurried to catch up with their mother-in-law and climbed into the carriage.

Inside, both women were burning with curiosity, their minds ablaze with gossip — they were dying to know what had really happened all those years ago.

Seeing Yun Ruoxi’s eager expression, Xiao Jingrui leaned closer, and whispered softly into her ear…