Chapter 3 The Tragedy of Greed

Before Chen Shiyi could react, too many people came up from the corridor bridge. In the chaos and panic, he lost his shoes and fell down...

The wrestler was trampled to death by those trying to escape.

Chen Shiyi came to his senses after someone hit his shoulder, and he quickly grabbed someone to question him.

"What happened?"

The man was out of breath.

"Officers, officers and soldiers, there are so many of them, hurry, run away, they are killing people..."

Chen Shiyi bit his lip tightly and quickly walked in the opposite direction of them.

There was her only old clothing and a bed stuffed with cotton, on which she had not slept for a single night.

Her face was pale, and with her head lowered, she ran quickly along the corner of the wall towards her residence. On the road at the corner of a room, there were some hairpins and rings scattered around, and in the grass, there were a few faint flashes of dim osmanthus color.

It can't be gold, right?

Chen Shiyi's heart was pounding, and a feeling of shame filled his mind.

To pick or not to pick?

There were people fleeing everywhere, and officers and soldiers in chaos everywhere.

In such a chaotic scene, no one would know what happened, right?

With money, her life will probably be better in the future.

In the end, the temptation of money overcame her reason, and her legs couldn't help but run there.

They were two gold balls, which must have fallen from some expensive jewelry.

She held it tightly in her hand, feeling extremely nervous and anxious.

He walked quickly to the corner, and suddenly, a shiny blade was placed on his neck.

Behind me, I felt trapped in a hard, warm chest. The scorching heat entangled with my rapid breathing and dripped onto my neck, making me feel like a trapped beast.

Chen Shiyi looked up in fear and saw dozens of shiny knives pointing at her.

She was just a little girl from a mountain village. She had never seen such a fight before. She was dizzy but couldn't get over it. Her legs and feet were weak, but she was pulled up by the people behind her, standing on tiptoe.

The leader on the opposite side was dressed in armor, with deep eyes and a look of disdain on his lips.

"Prince, stop resisting and surrender!"

Chen Shiyi only heard the gentle words coming from behind him.

"The emperor has not issued any order."

"This office has received an oral order from His Majesty that the Wensu Marquisate is suspected of embezzling funds for dike construction in Miaowu Town, Xiang County. The amount is huge and outrageous. The old marquis has been detained in the Imperial City Prison while in the palace, and his family members are detained in the government jail, awaiting their fate."

The person behind her stiffened, and the hand holding her shoulder trembled slightly.

The glittering sign was so dazzling in the midday sun that Chen Shiyi couldn't close his eyes.

She turned dizzy and when she regained consciousness, she was sitting in a corner of the cell, staring blankly at the rats running around on the floor.

Early in the morning she knelt on her knees and begged, and finally, she begged herself into the cell.

The sumptuous lunch at noon was actually her severed head rice.

It seems that I really can't bear this great wealth.

The cell was gloomy and the floor was covered with tangled straw, emitting an inexplicable foul stench. Even with the dim oil lamp on the cell wall, one could clearly see the blood stains on the cell wall!

Chen Shiyi was not afraid.

When Lu Erniang saw that she was not happy with herself, she locked herself out.

He had slept everywhere: in the woodshed, in the ravine, in the reed field, under the big tree.

However, the people on the opposite side were trembling so much!

There was an older woman, two girls of about seventeen or eighteen years old, and a boy about four years old.

The child stared at Chen Shiyi timidly.

They were all wearing white prison uniforms made of linen, with some hard edges that would rub against people's skin and cause pain.

In order to prevent the prisoners from carrying valuables, the officials made them untie their hair and change their shoes into ordinary cloth shoes.

Chen Shiyi said nothing. He looked down at his burned left hand, which had been wrapped in white cloth not long after medicine was applied.

They stayed in the cell for one night. The next day, the police took them out, put handcuffs and shackles on them, and hurriedly pushed them outside.

Chen Shiyi was very scared.

"Sir, you are not going to chop off my head, are you?"

Shililiangting, located in the western suburbs of the capital, is extremely desolate. The early spring wind is still freezing cold!

Wen Zhiheng sniffed through his frozen red nose. He had a heavy shackle around his neck and his feet were chained, but his eyes were fixed on the capital, full of worry!

"Why haven't mother and Zhirou come yet?"

Wen Zhiheng's half-brother Wen Zhiyuan said respectfully.

"Brother, they are women, so they must walk slower!"

Not long after, not far away, four big and one small figures were seen staggering towards them!

Wen Zhiheng hurried forward to greet him.

"Mother, are you okay?"

Mrs. Wen's eyes were sad and extremely sorrowful. She looked closely at the shackles on Wen Zhiheng, tears welling up in her eyes.

"What can I do? The Marquis is now in a state of uncertainty, and I don't know why he became like this overnight."

Wen Zhiheng hurriedly comforted him.

"Mother, don't worry. Father is not in danger of death for now. He has been exiled to the north by the emperor. We are separated from him and exiled only a thousand miles away!"

"Our family has never suffered any hardship before. We are so far away that we may die here!"

Wen Zhiheng said quickly.

"Wu Jinghui still remembers my life-saving grace, so I asked him to leave a maid behind to take care of you along the way. Don't be afraid!"

When everyone heard Wen Zhiheng say this, all eyes were focused on Chen Shiyi, who was standing silently at the side.

Chen Shiyi raised her eyes, and it seemed that she didn't notice everyone's expressions. Now, that voice kept repeating in her mind.

exile.

exile!

In the past, under the big banyan tree in Xiangyang Village, I would occasionally hear the men who had just returned from outside talking about interesting things that happened outside, such as which princes and nobles had offended the emperor, done bad things, and were exiled.

What she remembered most clearly was that they said exile was the second worst punishment after the death penalty.

Most people died on the way to exile, and the rest died in the place of exile.

To date, no one has ever returned to Kyoto alive.

She couldn't help but feel a little hopeless.

She just wanted to survive, why was it so hard?

She didn't understand why all the slaves were released but only she was kept.

From what the young man said, I realized that I was the one who could take care of them along the way!

She walked towards the officer next to her and said awkwardly.

"Sir, I don't know them, why did you send me to exile? I am really wronged, can you let me go?"

The officer was also confused.

"I have no say on this. You are already a prisoner!"

Wen Zhiheng was very impatient after hearing this. How dare a little maid ignore them!

"You, come here!"

Chen Shiyi dragged his heavy bracelets and anklets to the side of Wen Zhiheng.

Wen Zhiheng looked up and down at the thin and weak maid in front of him and said with disdain.

"You are now my Wen Zhiheng's maid, and your status has risen to a higher level. Along the way, just take good care of my family. You will be indispensable to the glory and wealth in the future!"

Chen Shiyi also looked this young man up and down. He was a handsome man with a noble temperament. Even though he was in a very poor state, it was difficult to conceal his elegance.

But what does this have to do with her?

"What is a maidservant?"

Chen Shiyi continued.

"You are still in chains, how can you promise others wealth and glory without any evidence? I am not a three-year-old child. I am past the age where others can deceive me. Go and tell the officer to release me."

Wen Zhiheng was very angry and amused when he heard this.

It's really like a tiger in the plains being bullied by a dog. A little maid actually dared to speak to me in such a tone.

"I'm telling you, you'll have to follow us into exile for the rest of your life, to a deserted place. You can die of illness or hunger, but I won't save you at all! Just listen to me if you know what's best for you. Do you understand?"

Chen Shiyi shook his head.

"I don't understand. There are so many servants, why did you choose me? Besides, I don't even know you. Why should I take care of you?"

"You have eaten at the Marquis's house before, and your indenture is still in the Marquis's hands."

"I only ate an egg and a piece of braised pork! I don't want to go into exile..."

In the desolate Shili Pavilion, the sound of Chen Shiyi's loud crying echoed on the empty road.

The family of the Marquis' Mansion looked at each other, wondering if this girl was a fool.