Chapter 11 She did it
"The imperial edict has arrived. All members of the Marquis of Anping's household shall receive it."
The gates of the Marquis's mansion were opened once again.
The shrill sound startled the sleeping people in the side hall.
Everyone instinctively turned to look.
A eunuch in a blue robe walked in carrying a bright yellow imperial edict, followed by dozens of yamen runners in black robes.
The yamen runners carried whips, and some even carried canes.
The second young mistress, Madam Sun, turned pale, panicked, and burst into tears.
"Oh no, oh no, it must be the decree of exile."
"Father-in-law, please find a way to contact my husband quickly, or our whole family will have to leave soon."
Marquis Anping's face darkened, his hands clenched into fists and placed on his knees as he glared angrily at Song Yi and Li Nanke.
"Look at the mess you've made! If you hadn't gone to Prince Xuan, how could the imperial decree of exile have arrived so quickly?"
And that unfilial son! His own misbehavior has brought ruin upon the whole family. If he's really to be exiled, I'll kill all three of you on the way."
Song Yi, her face pale, held her daughter tightly, her shoulders trembling, and she let out soft sobs.
Although Lady Anping had woken up, she was too weak to get out of bed.
She struggled to sit up and leaned against the couch, refuting her husband's words.
"Why are you scaring them, mother and daughter? If our property is confiscated and we are exiled, that's the fate of our whole family. We accept this calamity that is destined for us."
Marquis Anping flew into a rage.
"You still have the nerve to argue? That rebellious son was spoiled by you; he's a useless piece of trash."
"Cough cough cough!"
Lady Anping was so angry that she trembled all over. Her pale hand clutched a handkerchief to her mouth and nose, and she coughed a series of times.
"Grandmother, don't be angry."
Li Nanke struggled to jump out of her mother's arms and ran to the bedside.
The little girl gently patted Lady Anping's back, then turned to look at her grandfather, her round eyes flashing with anger.
She knew that her grandfather wasn't just saying things out of anger.
In the dream, when the decree of exile was issued, before the family even set off, the grandfather beat the father.
On the second day of exile, when her grandmother was beaten to death for trying to protect her, her grandfather stood by and watched coldly.
They didn't offer a single word of help, let alone protect anyone.
Even on the third day, Grandfather still...
Recalling the scene in her dream, Li Nanke sniffed, her voice choked with emotion.
"The eunuch hasn't even announced the decree yet, so how could Grandfather immediately conclude that it's an imperial edict of exile?"
Marquis Anping sneered.
"The morning court session hasn't ended yet. Apart from the decree of exile, any other imperial edicts will only be announced after the court session ends. Besides, the yamen runners responsible for escorting the prisoners have already arrived."
"Being afraid is useless. Blame your useless father. It's bad enough that you were exiled, but your second uncle's family has also suffered because of you."
"Grandfather keeps talking about exile. Does he really want the whole family to go into exile? Or does he only want our eldest son's branch of the family to go into exile?"
Marquis Anping's expression froze.
“Your father caused this trouble, so of course you should be exiled.”
He clasped his hands together and prayed incessantly, "I hope Your Majesty will have mercy and not let the second son's family suffer as well."
Li Nanke said, "What if it weren't for the exile? Perhaps Prince Xuan would have already found out that Father was innocent."
Marquis Anping sneered.
“If your father is innocent, it will snow in June. Let me tell you first, if you are really exiled, then you'd better take care of yourself.”
Whoever has the guts to do it lives. You'll have to deal with the mess your father made yourselves; don't come begging us.
Li Nanke huffed and puffed, tilting her head back and asking a question with her little neck stiff.
"If they aren't exiled, will they still have to fend for themselves from now on?"
Marquis Anping glanced at the eunuch who had already walked to the side hall and sized him up.
The ordinary blue robes clearly indicated that he had come to announce his exile.
He glared at Li Nanke with annoyance, "If you two really have that kind of luck, you'll be the one calling the shots in this family from now on!"
Li Nanke's eyes lit up.
"Marquis Anping, why haven't you accepted the imperial decree yet?"
A eunuch's shrill voice rang out from outside the hall.
Marquis Anping shoved aside Li Nanke, who was blocking his way, and walked out first.
Li Nanke was prepared, and although he stumbled, he didn't fall.
Song Yi, her face pale, helped her up.
"Ke'er, are you alright?"
Li Nanke shook his head.
Song Yi looked at her daughter with a hesitant expression, thinking to herself that this child was really bold, daring to talk back to her father-in-law.
She felt intimidated every time she saw her father-in-law.
She, as a mother, was even less capable than her daughter.
He lowered his voice again, asking anxiously, "Ke'er, could the imperial edict outside really be an exile order for us?"
As soon as she mentioned the word "exile," tears began to well up in her eyes.
Li Nanke was actually unsure and afraid, but he dared not show it.
"No, Mother, let's help Grandmother out to receive the imperial decree."
Song Yi looked at her daughter's round face, which remained calm and composed, with tears welling up in her eyes but not falling.
Her daughter was guided by a fairy godmother.
If Ke'er says it's okay, then it will definitely be okay.
Li Nanke and Song Yi helped Lady Anping, the wife of the Marquis of Anping, to kneel down outside to receive the imperial decree.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: It has been found that Li Mu, the heir apparent of the Marquis of Anping, has neglected his duties and failed to live up to the Emperor's expectations."
He is hereby dismissed from his post as Director of the Grain Storage Department of the Ministry of Revenue, given thirty strokes of the cane and fined five thousand taels of silver, and will be allowed to return home only after the case is closed.
Marquis Anping was punished for failing to properly educate his son; he was fined one year's salary and given twenty lashes.
Everyone in the Marquis of Anping's mansion was stunned after hearing this.
Wasn't it embezzlement? How did it become neglecting one's duties and dereliction of responsibility?
Li Nanke was the first to react. Her heart, which had been in her throat, immediately relaxed, and her round eyes were full of smiles.
"Mother, did you hear that? Father didn't embezzle any money, so we don't have to be exiled."
Song Yi nodded repeatedly, covering her mouth and sobbing uncontrollably.
After a day and a night of anxiety, she could finally relax and just wanted to cry.
Li Nanke held her mother's arm, her nose tingling, but her heart was truly filled with joy.
She did it!
The whole family doesn't have to go into exile!
Even though her aunt came to stop and persuade her, things still changed, which means that the plot in the book can be changed.
She doesn't have to experience those terrible things in her dreams.
Everyone else in the Marquis's household wept with joy.
Only Marquis Anping flew into a rage.
"You unfilial son, you've dragged me down with you!"
The eunuch delivering the imperial decree's face darkened. "Does Your Highness have a problem with His Majesty's decision? Such a decision is already made out of consideration for the merits of Your Majesty's ancestors; His Majesty has been extremely merciful."
Marquis Anping turned pale and immediately knelt on the ground.
"Your subject dares not."
"Then accept the imperial decree."
Marquis Anping gritted his teeth and accepted the imperial edict.
The eunuch delivering the imperial decree smiled broadly, “His Majesty said that the fines will be paid directly to the Ministry of Revenue, but the Marquis’s caning will be carried out on the spot outside the mansion gate, as a way to teach the Marquis a lesson.”
Marquis Anping's face stiffened.
If he's tortured in the street, where will he ever face the world again?
He was practically grinding his teeth to powder, yet he dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction.
"Yes, I will obey Your Majesty's will."
He gritted his teeth, got up, and walked outside the mansion gate to be tortured.
The raid on the Anping Marquis's residence caused quite a stir, and many people had already gathered outside the mansion to spy on the scene.
Marquis Anping was extremely concerned about his reputation, and being whipped in front of everyone was like having his face peeled off and rubbed on the ground.
After the twenty lashes were finished, Marquis Anping wished he could just collapse to the ground and faint.
But he knew that fainting now would be even more pathetic, so he could only grit his teeth, straighten his bloodied back, and shakily walk back to the front yard.
He was met by Li Nanke, who was looking up at him intently with her round face.
Marquis Anping gritted his teeth, about to tell him to get lost, when Li Nanke grinned, revealing a row of clean and neat little teeth.
"From now on, I'll be in charge of this family. Grandfather's word is law."
Marquis of Anping...
He gritted his teeth and held back his anger, which shot straight to the top of his head. He then fell face-first into the mud in a sorry state and fainted!
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