Chapter 884 On the Road to Exile 12

Logically speaking, the couple in the third wife's family have always had a good relationship, so the third wife should at least come to see the children off, or at least pack some warm winter clothes for them.

But no, it didn't.

The two children are truly pitiful.

Old Madam Chu wiped away Yan'er's tears, "Alright, don't cry anymore. These difficulties will pass, and things will be better once we reach the North."

Ning Yan neither confirmed nor denied this statement. In her previous two lives, the Chu family had stayed in the North for three years before being brought back to the capital.

At least on the way to exile, the officials would provide food. But in the north, even a piece of firewood had to be bought with silver.

For the elderly, weak, women and children of the Chu family, it's easy to imagine the enormous price they would have to pay to live a good life.

Song Ge was fed by Ning Yan, and after being fed, he lingered in Ning Yan's arms and refused to leave.

Chu Yu glanced at the clueless Lin Ge, who wasn't even worried about his mother being taken away. "Boys and girls shouldn't sit together after the age of seven. You're seven years old, don't you understand this basic principle? Get down here right now, or you won't have any food tomorrow."

Song Ge reluctantly left Ning Yan's arms. "Auntie, will you come and have dinner with us again tomorrow?"

.

Ning Yan: ...I think I'll pass.

"How about I go to find you with Lin-ge'er?"

Chu Yu couldn't hold back any longer. He picked up Song Ge'er and walked outside. Soon, Song Ge'er was thrown into Chu Laosan's arms.

When he returned, Ning Yan had already led Lin Ge'er back to her room.

"Lin-ge'er, aren't you afraid that Song-ge'er will try to steal your mother away from you?"

“He has his own mother, what am I afraid of?” He was still afraid, clutching his mother’s hand tightly.

"If Mom hugs him, she can't hug you anymore. Aren't you angry?"

"He'll only hold her for a little while; from now on, Mom will be mine."

Ning Yan: ...As expected, children have their own logic, which she can't understand.

In the following days, Song Ge indeed clung to Ning Yan, but Chu Yu would always pull her away.

A month had passed in the blink of an eye, and tomorrow was New Year's Eve. It was snowing heavily every day. Thinking of his family in the capital who could not reunite with him because of these exiles, he became irritable and urged the prisoners to hurry on their way. He even whipped one of them.

These people were already dressed rather thinly, and many had died from illness along the way. Now they were being beaten by the constables, and if they developed a fever, they would die.

The prisoners erupted!

Someone snatched the whip from Jin Daofei's hand: "You corrupt official, you've bullied us all the way here, and now you want to kill me? Since that's how it is, then let's all die!"

"Let's all kill this corrupt official together! We've already exhausted all our options, so let's kill them all and then go to Northern Liang to seek refuge!"

These words resonated with many, and Jin Daofei was somewhat intimidated by the group's imposing manner. When his whip was snatched away, he tried to draw his sword.

But the prisoner wouldn't give him a chance to draw his knife, and the two sides quickly engaged in hand-to-hand combat, with dozens of constables and a large number of convicts fighting each other.

Ning Yan immediately ordered her guards to bring the Chu family members to her side for protection.

The convict was in a killing frenzy and might even kill her people.

Chu Yu leaned closer to Ning Yan, "Aunt Ning, what should we do? Maybe we should just..."

Ning Yan stopped him from saying anything more, "Zhang Qing, take half of the brothers and go help Lord Jin."

Zhang Qing accepted the order, withdrew half of his men, and headed towards the battle.

After she left, Ning Yan whispered to Chu Yu, "Those people following behind us were sent by the Emperor; they are all experts."

Chu Yu became honest. He had always thought those people were just ordinary merchants. He never expected that they were people sent by that damned old emperor to keep an eye on them.

Why are they watching us?

Ning Yan didn't hide it from him, mainly to let him know what was going on. In case his father sent someone to contact him, he should be careful not to let anyone find out. "The State Treasury in the capital was robbed. They thought it was done by people from our Duke's Mansion, so they sent people to monitor us. If someone contacts us, they can follow the clues and find the missing items."

She has good hearing; she can hear people whispering when they are resting at night.

"How could this have anything to do with us? Has the Emperor gone senile? If we could steal from the national treasury, would we be obediently exiled? We would have already raised an army and become mountain bandits!"

Ning Yan looked at the boy in front of her, who was half a head taller than her, with a very surprised expression.

Chu Yu: ...What do you mean? Did he guess right?

What kind of cosmetics is Aunt Ning using? Why does it smell so good?

Chu Yu didn't know that the person who stole from the national treasury was right in front of him. The person hadn't obediently accepted exile, but was also following the path of exile.

Meanwhile, his good father was leading the Chu family army to change their appearance, seize the mountain, and recruit soldiers!

The two huddled together whispering, which Chu Jingxuan found extremely displeasing. He snorted heavily. Chu Yu noticed that he was getting too close to Aunt Ning, so he quickly took a step back and looked towards the battlefield.

With the addition of Zhang Qing and others, the criminals were quickly brought under control. Of course, injuries were inevitable, since Jin Daofei had indeed used his knife.

Those who had just made the move have all been put in shackles.

After Zhang Qing and his men quelled the minor riot, they returned to the area around the carriage.

Jin Daofei then picked up his whip again and started lashing people while cursing!

He really suffered a great loss, being beaten by the prisoners. If Zhang Qing hadn't intervened, he would have lost his life here.

That night, he beat two people to death.

Chu Yu reminded Ning Yan, "Aunt Ning, be careful, those people are looking at you strangely."

If it weren't for Ning Yan's people taking action, those prisoners could have easily overpowered all the constables, robbed them of their belongings, and escaped. If everyone fled to the authorities, they would be too numerous to catch.

However, Ning Yan ruined all of this. They were injured, bled, and some even died. Naturally, they hated Ning Yan.

But, since she's already in shackles, what can you do to her?

Even if you have hatred, you can only suppress it.

Jin Daofei also came to express his gratitude to Ning Yan. He had previously thought she was a nuisance, but he never expected that she would save him when he was in real trouble. "Miss Ning, please don't hesitate to ask if you need anything in the future. You saved my life, Jin Daofei, and I dare not disobey your orders."

Saying it was a life-saving grace is an exaggeration. In that situation, the exiled criminal might not have dared to actually kill the officials. However, even if he had escaped after the rebellion, Jin Daofei would have been imprisoned upon returning to the capital.

Sometimes, death is a relief. At least if he dies, his family won't be implicated. But if he goes back alive, or doesn't go back alive, his family might all die. So, it's fair to say he saved someone's life.

"Lord Jin, you are too kind. You have taken great care of our family along the way. You have sown good seeds in the past, and you have reaped good results today. Please do not mention the life-saving grace."

Jin Daofei thought that this Miss Ning would take the opportunity to make some demands, but he didn't expect her to have this kind of attitude.