Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Flowing Relaxation River City
Just now, the guards seemed to have thrown something in. Du went over to pick it up and found it was two sets of linen prison uniforms.
"An'an, wear the white one inside, a gray dress, and the prison uniform outside." Mrs. Du whispered to her daughter, "Don't be afraid of the heat."
Mrs. Du had no time to feel sad. After putting on her clothes, she quickly put on two dusty old clothes that she had packed last night on her little daughter.
There were no prison uniforms for young children, so Mrs. Du had no choice but to dress her little daughter in a sloppy manner so as to make her look inconspicuous.
"Hurry up, what are you dawdling for!"
The people outside urged her, so Mrs. Du went out with her bag in one hand and her little daughter in the other.
"An An, stay with your mother."
"Stop, what are you holding in your hand?" The mother, daughter and her two companions were stopped as soon as they stepped out of the door.
Mrs. Du said with an apologetic smile, "Sir, it's nothing. Just a change of old clothes. They're all old. I hope you can be lenient with me."
"Hmph, everything here will be confiscated and taken to the national treasury. Not even a grain of dirt or a brick can be taken away, let alone clothes!"
"Give me the bag!"
"They are just two worthless old clothes. Please let us take them away." Mrs. Du begged and secretly slipped a gold bracelet over.
"The court has ordered us to do so, and we dare not disobey!"
Although he spoke with great righteousness, he put the gold bracelet into his arms without hesitation.
This tug-of-war attracted a minor official in a green robe who said impatiently, "They're urging you to leave now. Why are you lingering here? Are you waiting to be beheaded?"
Mrs. Du lowered her head in fear.
The guard said with a joking smile, "Greetings, sir. This criminal woman wants to take the package away, which is against the rules. We are trying to stop her."
"What did you bring?"
"They said it was a few clothes, but who knows if there were other things hidden inside."
During the tug-of-war, the package had been half-ripped open, and two men's old clothes fell to the ground. In the package were two women's single clothes and a child's dress.
A Xuan carefully pulled Mrs. Du's clothes and called out "Mom" in a trembling voice.
The official glanced at the pitiful little girl, pulled the bundle over and shook it, then threw it roughly on the ground: "They are just two tattered clothes, what's the point of pulling them? Get out of here."
Mrs. Du quickly gathered up her clothes and nodded repeatedly, "Thank you, sir. I will leave now."
Gu Youan raised her head slightly to look at the young official, but was pulled away by her mother.
As she stepped out of the second door, Mrs. Du whispered to her daughter, "Don't look up, just follow me."
After walking for a while and going out the gate, I heard suppressed crying, cursing, and the cries of being beaten from the alley.
It was already dawn when a group of men, women, old and young, dressed in prison uniforms came out of Huazhi Lane, crying and shouting, and were whipped and driven away by the yamen runners like a herd of cattle and horses.
The people who lived in Huazhi Lane were all officials. Their former wealth and glory were gone, and they became prisoners overnight. Not everyone could put aside their pride and adapt as quickly as Mrs. Du.
Mrs. Du picked up her little daughter and walked into the crowd. Gu Youan quickly followed her mother's footsteps.
Walking into the middle of the crowd, Gu Youan still walked with her head down. A loose prison uniform hung on her thin body, and she walked unsteadily, like a wandering soul.
After walking out of Huazhi Lane, several groups of people were driven out from the nearby alleys, all of whom were to be exiled.
Behind Gu Youan on the right, a man suppressed his anger: "We haven't committed such a crime. Do you think you will kill us all just because of the change of emperor and ministers?"
The man was held down by someone beside him and his mouth was covered: "Liang Nan, if you want to die, that's fine, but do you want to kill your entire clan?"
"Let's think about our family. It's better to live a miserable life than to die. Once we get to the northwest, there will always be a chance to start over."
Gu Youan glanced to the right and back. Are these people going to the northwest?
This group of people were not exiled to the same place.
"Where's the chance? Even if we manage to make it to the northwest, it's already dangerous because of its location on the border. It's also dry and water-scarce, making it hard for grass to grow in the fields. We come from families of convicted officials, so we probably won't even be able to farm. We'll only be able to do hard labor and be bullied to death. How can we possibly survive?"
The elegant young man became a prisoner. Fearing that he would be whipped by the police, the man had tears in his eyes but did not dare to cry out loud.
Gu Youan blinked rapidly and his heart beat fast.
Although Songjiang City was cold in winter, there was no shortage of water. She felt that being exiled to Songjiang City was already a life-threatening and difficult situation. Compared with being exiled to the northwest, was it still considered better?
Everything is afraid of comparison, but no matter how much you compare, it is all exile.
Gu Youan felt the urge to escape!
Can you run? Where to run?
Gu Youan's right hand was suddenly grabbed by her mother: "An'an, follow your mother closely."
When they arrived at the city gate, it was already bright. Many people were queuing outside the gate to enter the city. When they saw this group of exiles, some cursed the corrupt officials, threw dirt and stones at them, and some shouted, "The emperor is wise."
Gu Youan quickly looked up at the crowd. It was estimated that there were four to five hundred officials and their families who were exiled this time.
"lady!"
"Miss!"
Besides the common people, there were also people coming to see them off at the city gate.
Mrs. Du saw a familiar face in the crowd on the street, and Gu Youan saw him too. In her memory, that person seemed to be a relative of the Du family. He had been doing business in the capital for many years and had been taken care of by the Gu family. Her mother had taught her to call him Uncle Du.
Uncle Du threw a linen package over, but before it could even reach him, it was intercepted midway. The person who intercepted the package immediately ducked down and hid among the prisoners, and he could not be found.
Other families were also throwing away packages, some of which were picked up by relatives and friends, but most were snatched by other prisoners.
Uncle Du threw the package twice more, and the last time he threw it, Gu Youan caught it. Suddenly, a man appeared next to her and tried to snatch it from her. Gu Youan refused to let go and kicked him.
Gu Youan glared at him fiercely, but the man seemed not to want to cause trouble and turned to squeeze to the side.
There was a commotion at the city gate. The prisoners were restless and some tried to escape, but were caught by the officers on both sides of the road. They were whipped and rolled on the ground, holding their heads and dodging left and right, shouting for mercy.
After leaving the city gate, the officers counted the heads of over a hundred prisoners and sent them south to be exiled to Qiongzhou. Gu Youan and her mother followed them north, heading to Songjiang City.
The prisoners who were exiled to Songjiang City and those who were exiled to the northwest walked together, and more than 300 people occupied half of the official road.
No matter how many people there were, Mrs. Du took her two daughters and walked among the prisoners, never showing her head and never speaking.
According to court regulations, the exiles had to travel fifty li a day. As they left the city gate, the guards cursed and urged them to hurry on.
Gu Youan was too weak. A fourteen-year-old girl looked like she was just over twelve or thirteen years old. She was weak but had to hurry on her way. In addition, she didn't move much at home before. After walking for the whole morning today, she was a little exhausted.
Mrs. Du was carrying her youngest daughter on her back. She was so tired that her face turned pale. She kept looking at her eldest daughter beside her: "An An, are you okay?"
Gu Youan gritted his teeth and nodded.
The weather was so good today that the sun made people dizzy. Several weak people fainted along the way. Some were carried and supported by their families as they walked forward.
There were also people who fainted on the ground and couldn't get up, and there was no one to help them, so the officers kicked them. The people who were whipped were covered with blood marks, but as long as they were not dead, they could be whipped awake.
Gu Youan had no time to care about others. She tried to control her breathing and walked forward with one deep step and one shallow step.
"Rest, we'll set off in half an hour!"
Before the official finished speaking, a group of people immediately sat down on the ground with weak legs. Many of them were so tired that they couldn't even cry.
I'm thirsty and lack water.
Mrs. Du could no longer walk, so she took her daughter out of the crowd and found a place to sit on the side of the road.
After settling her daughter down, Mrs. Du looked around and said, "An'an, did you see your father and your elder brother on the road?"
Gu Youan shook his head.
Yesterday, her father went to the palace with other officials to congratulate the emperor on the Mid-Autumn Festival, but was arrested and imprisoned. Her father should have been imprisoned with the other imprisoned officials.
As for her elder brother Gu Wenqing, he was studying at the Imperial College yesterday. His house was surrounded yesterday afternoon and he did not return home. He must have been arrested and imprisoned.
Just now, when calling the roll outside the city, Gu Youan heard the names of her father and elder brother. They should be walking together.
Mrs. Du said, "An'an, you stay here and look after your sister. I'll go find your father."
"Well, go ahead and don't worry."
Gu Youan watched her mother leave, then held Axuan in his arms, took off two pieces of her clothes, leaving only one piece of clothing on her, and she also took off two pieces of her own clothes.
At this time, a woman not far away looked at Gu Youan with a look of surprise. Is the fool from the Gu family actually healed?
At this time, the officer distributed food and threw two dry tortillas to them. This was their lunch.
Ah Xuan didn't mind. She took the tortilla and took a bite. She nibbled off a small piece and chewed it again and again. She stretched her neck like a goose and finally swallowed it.
"Sister, it tastes terrible."
Gu Youan nodded. Just by looking at her, she knew that the pancake tasted bad.
Gu Youan picked up the tortilla, tore a piece of it, and quickly threw it into his mouth, chewing it slowly. After it was chewed up, he found that there was a hint of sweetness in the corn tortilla, and he was actually able to eat it.
Ah Xuan couldn't eat, so she hid in her sister's arms: "Where are my parents?"
"Mom went to look for Dad and will be back soon."
Axuan was young and her mother protected her along the way, so she didn't suffer. She didn't know what fate her family was facing.
Gu Youan tore off a small piece of coarse bread and gave it to A Xuan: "Chew slowly."
Axuan is very well behaved. When you ask her to eat, she chews it slowly.
Mrs. Du returned, along with her father and brother. Her father, Gu Wen, was carried here on the back of her eldest brother.
"father!"
Gu Youan stood up suddenly.
Gu Wen's face turned frighteningly pale. He forced himself to take a deep breath, looking at his eldest daughter whose eyes were particularly bright, and said with a relieved smile: "Our An An is a blessed person. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise."
When Gu Youan saw that her father's face looked strange, she quickly reached out and touched him.
Oh no, her father has a fever.
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