Shen Jia rubbed his eyes sleepily, looked at Su Yue who was standing in the backlight at the door, sighed deeply, and said:

"Is the water for washing today ready?"

If I don’t wash my face now, I don’t know when the next chance will be.

"Well?"

Su Yue was also choked by Shen Jia's calm temperament, but her inner anxiety and fear made her unable to think about anything else. She thought that Shen Jia didn't hear clearly and repeated it again.

"Miss, the people from the Dali Temple should have already broken into the mansion, you'd better prepare to escape quickly!

I'll give you this dress. There's a hole in the backyard that's just big enough for one person to enter and exit. As long as you return to Changle Marquis Mansion, all this will have nothing to do with you."

After saying that, he took off his clothes.

Shen Jia was not moved at all after hearing this. He blinked his eyes and said:

"No matter what, I can't show my face to others without washing it, right?

Besides, how could I abandon my family and go away alone when such a disaster strikes? The fact that I am the daughter of the Shen family will not change, so you don’t need to persuade me.

Looking at the serious expression on Shen Jia's face, Su Yue suddenly felt ashamed for having such a thought just now.

How could I doubt the character of the eldest lady?

My heart is like rolling in a frying pan, and I say with tears in my eyes:

"I have already prepared the water for you to wash up. It is just outside the door. Please wait for me and I will bring it to you right away."

Then he hurried to fetch the water outside the house.

The master and servant seemed to be unaware of what was happening outside and were dressing up slowly. It was a pity that they probably had no chance to wash during the exile, but their faces were still beautiful even without makeup.

The lotus emerges from clear water, naturally without any decoration*, nothing more than this.

Before Shen Jia could continue to indulge in his own beauty, a series of clanging sounds came from a distance, and it seemed that the search was about to reach his yard.

"Everyone inside, come out!"

The fierce roar broke through the sky. When Su Yue heard it, her legs suddenly went weak and she fell directly on Shen Jia.

Her body couldn't stop shaking, and her trembling voice rang in Shen Jia's ears: "Miss...Miss, this servant...this servant is a little scared."

Shen Jia patted her shoulder and said, "If it's a blessing, it won't cause trouble. If it's a disaster, it can't be avoided.

Don't worry, we were only sentenced to exile. Our lives are safe now. They just spoke a little too loudly, just trying to bully others."

Hearing Shen Jia's comfort, Su Yue felt even more sad. Why did she feel like her identity had been swapped with that of the young lady?

I am just a maid and I still need the young lady's comfort.

Then Shen Jia helped the trembling Su Yue out of the room. All the maids and servants serving in Linyuan Pavilion stood in front of the courtyard, with their heads hung, their eyes moving back and forth between the yamen runners and Shen Jia.

The moment Shen Jia walked out of the door, the imposing Dali Temple officials felt that such a beautiful person was about to die, and they couldn't help but feel a little sorry.

But not everyone was kind to women. A yamen runner with a long beard and thick eyebrows shouted:

"You still think you're some rich girl! Didn't you hear what our boss said just now?

Everyone, gather at Songhe Hall now, and get out of Shengjing at dawn tomorrow."

Some people even started fighting and pushed the maids and old women towards Songhe Hall.

Su Yue was so scared that she couldn't stop shaking in Shen Jia's arms.

It would be bad if someone pushed me to the ground and got hurt. Even though I have been exercising this body, the results haven't appeared in just three days.

Shen Jia took Su Yue and walked slowly at the front of the team.

Her behavior attracted the attention of the surrounding yamen runners. How could a young lady who never left the house not feel scared at all when she saw a group of rough people like us and encountered such a big change?

But people were still dissatisfied with her speed and ignored her urging to speed up. Only after experiencing this kind of thing many times would she understand that these people had nothing to do with her.

This time, the Shen family is destined not to escape this disaster.

"Everyone, get in!"

The gate closed with a bang.

When they arrived at Songhe Hall, the maids and old women were all standing in the corridors and courtyards outside. Shen Jia pulled Su Yue into the living room, which used to be filled with only laughter and joy.

Shen Jia only then realized that she was the last one to arrive. When Mother Shen saw her, she immediately came forward and asked:

"Why didn't you listen to what I asked Su Yue to tell you? What are you doing here?"

As she spoke, the light in her eyes disappeared and turned into tears. She also hit Shen Jia's shoulder several times, which was rare.

Shen Jia quickly held Shen's mother's hand and said aggrievedly:

"Mother, who do you think I am? Am I not the daughter of the Shen family? If you all go, how will I survive alone in this world?"

Everyone in the hall was also shocked by her righteous look. Is there really such family affection in the face of life and death?

But now Shen Jia has also been arrested, which proves that there is still true love in the world.

Even Old Madam Shen, who had always doubted Shen Jia's intentions, completely accepted Shen Jia at this moment. No matter why she came back here, she was still her granddaughter.

"Okay, okay! The spirit of our Shen family is still there. Jia Niang is truly a young lady who cannot be underestimated!

Even if three generations have passed, our Shen family can still create a new world in the North."

Grandfather spoke directly to Shen Jia with words of praise, and it was obvious that his mood had changed from depression this morning to joy.

Because the decree only said that three generations of the Shen family were not allowed to enter officialdom, as long as they did not give up raising their descendants, why would the Shen family worry about not being able to make a comeback?

Moreover, anyone with a clear eye and a clear mind can see that the emperor's decree this time is much better than that of other exiled people. They are just returning to the status of commoners. As long as they can hold on to the northern border, they may make a comeback!

In fact, my grandfather was also caught in an unexpected disaster this time. However, he had just taken office as the Minister of Works for more than a month, and floods in the Jiangnan region had been a long-standing problem.

This time he was not responsible, but the Third Prince and the Crown Prince rushed to Jiangnan for an on-site inspection, which resulted in the disaster not being resolved for a long time.

But whoever has his own son will feel sorry for him. The prince accidentally stepped into a trap and was framed by other princes. He could not take this responsibility, so he could only divert attention.

All the officials of the Ministry of Works who were responsible for building the river embankment were given fifty lashes each. Because Mr. Shen had no power and his official position in the Ministry of Works was relatively important, he was used as a scapegoat and was directly sentenced to exile.

But doesn’t His Majesty know all this?

What use could a Minister of Works who had only been in office for a month be? He had the least responsibility among them, but in order to control the court, this insignificant pawn was decisively abandoned.

He even felt that he had left a way out for the Shen family.

But after hearing her grandfather's praise, Mrs. Shen's face suddenly lost its color.

Why did she, the legitimate daughter of a third-rank official, marry the second legitimate son of the Shen family, who was not of good standing? Wasn't it just to escape the fate of being exiled to Lingnan?

Is it going to happen again today?

She told herself in her heart: No, no, no, this is not my destiny. Why should I, a young lady from a noble family, experience this kind of thing twice?

"Bang!"

The sound of knees hitting the carpet shattered everyone's beautiful imagination. Not everyone is willing to endure this hardship.

Facing everyone's gazes that seemed to pierce through her, Mrs. Shen Er said word by word:

"My wife wants to leave home. I'm still young and don't want to die in exile. Please, father, agree to my request!"

Then he kowtowed to the ground repeatedly.

Everyone was frightened by the hysterical voice, especially Shen Yue, who had always believed that her mother loved her the most and could not accept this fact at all.

He knelt down beside his mother, holding her hand and crying, "Mom, can't we go to the North together? Daddy and I will protect you on the way, and we can be together as a family forever!"

But when Second Aunt heard this, she immediately pushed Shen Yue away and said, "Who wants to be with your father forever? If it weren't for your grandfather's urging, how could a person who has no ambition at all marry me now?

I act rudely and have no aristocratic manners at all. I don't belong to your Shen family in the first place!"

As soon as these words came out, my grandfather's face changed immediately, and he shouted with suppressed anger:

"Stupid thing, why don't you help your wife up quickly?

I have no objection to your wish to divorce. After all, this journey is dangerous, so it's not surprising that you're afraid.

After the divorce, you will have nothing to do with our Shen family. Show the divorce letter to the yamen runner outside the door, and you can leave.

Everyone can express their thoughts. We in the Shen family don't necessarily need you to accompany us to try to gain that little bit of hope."

This meant that she agreed. Second Aunt's mood suddenly improved and she looked at Second Uncle longingly.

As for the last sentence, it was said to Shen's mother at the time, because she was the only one present who could get rid of the burden of the Shen family.

Mother Shen wiped away the tears she had just shed for Shen Jia and said steadily: "A daughter-in-law is a member of the Shen family once she marries into the Shen family. No matter what happens, she will never leave."

This is obviously in stark contrast to Mrs. Shen's fear of death.

The second uncle didn't want to continue to keep someone who didn't care about him, so he took out the paper and pen from Songhetang, ground the ink, and picked up the pen.

After a while, a freshly written divorce letter appeared in front of everyone.

Mrs. Shen didn't wait for the ink to dry before she snatched the divorce letter from the table. No, it should be Miss Wang now. She carefully looked at it in front of her eyes, reading every word clearly.

The divorce papers in her hand swayed with her shaking hands, making a rustling sound.

After confirming the content, he bowed to everyone in the room for the last time and hurried out the door.

I could vaguely hear her communicating with the yamen runners.

The atmosphere in the room was gloomy, especially for Shen Yue, who felt abandoned by her mother. She lay on the ground and cried inconsolably.

After a while, the sound outside the door gradually faded away, and it seemed that the divorce letter was effective.

Mother Shen couldn't bear it any longer, so she let go of Shen Jia's hand, hugged Shen Yue on the ground, and said, "Don't be too sad, Yue Niang. From now on, your aunt will treat you as her own daughter, and you can also treat me as your mother."

I don't know how Shen Yue felt after hearing this, but the second uncle, who always believed that men don't shed tears easily, had tears in his eyes after hearing this.

Father Shen also patted his shoulder for silent comfort.

The author has something to say:

*Indicates a mark. Today's poem is from the great poet Li Bai.