Chapter 5: Beijing, she will come back!
The next morning, Lin Xiaoyue was awakened by the sound of footsteps in the prison. Perhaps she felt very insecure in this strange world, so she even had a light sleep.
She sat up and looked outside. It turned out to be the prison boss carrying a wooden barrel. So she walked over to greet him, "Thank you for bringing me food so early."
The jailer glanced at her, put down the barrel, and said, "The higher-ups have given the order. You should eat early so you can get going."
Lin Xiaoyue didn't expect the dog emperor to be so eager to exile her. She asked in surprise, "Didn't they say something happened in the palace? Is everything okay now? Has the Empress been rescued?"
The jailer had taken some silver from Lin Xiaoyue yesterday, so he was quite relaxed. He nodded and said, "The Empress left the palace with the Duke of Zhenguo yesterday. Oh, no, she can't be called the Duke of Zhenguo anymore! The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion has been raided, and they are now temporarily living in the eldest prince's villa."
"Is that so? Thank you, big brother, for taking care of me these two days. It is all thanks to you that I can live in such a clean cell and eat such white steamed buns." Lin Xiaoyue smiled and nodded, but she was thinking in her heart that the imperial family has always been ruthless, but almost everyone wants to sit on the dragon throne!
The reason why the dog emperor did not take the lives of the Duke of Zhenguo's family was probably because he took the face of the eldest prince and the royal family into consideration.
But a poor and powerless maternal family is nothing but trash to the eldest prince, and he will probably find a reason to drive them away before they can stay there for long.
In short, the eldest prince's chances of succeeding in his bid for the throne are slim, but the dog emperor now wants to marry a new queen, so the second prince has little hope of being appointed crown prince. After all, this is the dog emperor's biggest bargaining chip to catch a bigger fish.
As long as the position of Crown Prince remains vacant, all factions will be eager to make a move, so that the dog emperor can reap the benefits! However, the instability of the court is not good for the Dongsui Kingdom!
Because Lin Xiaoyue was thinking about something, she ate very slowly. However, the jailer was very happy because of Lin Xiaoyue's flattery, so he waited patiently.
He waited until Lin Xiaoyue finished eating before collecting the bowl and chopsticks. Before leaving, he reminded her, "Sister, you call me Big Brother, so I'll call you Sister too. The North is a place where people are eaten. I think you are smart, so you must be smart in everything you do."
Lin Xiaoyue didn't expect the jailer to be so kind. She quickly stuffed another ingot of silver into his pocket and asked, "Brother, can you tell me what the Northern Territory is like?"
The jailer glanced outside and whispered, "The capital is about ten days' journey from the northern border. Of ten people going there, nearly half will die on the way. Even if they get to the northern border, someone as beautiful as you might be lucky enough to be drafted into the general's service. If the general doesn't want you, he'll be drafted into warming someone else's bed."
"Besides, it's already snowing in the North. It's freezing cold and there's nothing to eat. You can't escape even if you want to! So when you get there, you either submit or die quickly. Otherwise, you'll be tortured to a point where you'll be worse than death."
Lin Xiaoyue was shocked by the words of the jailer. It turned out that she had oversimplified it. She thought that exile was just doing some hard labor, but she didn't expect that the dog emperor actually wanted to torture her to death. It was so vicious!
She took a deep breath and smiled gratefully, "Thank you for the reminder, big brother. I will definitely keep it in mind!"
At this time, the yamen runners who had been escorting him came in with iron chains and said to the jailer, "Open the door, we are here to take someone away."
"Okay, okay, I'll open the door." The prison boss took out the key and walked over to open the cell door.
Lin Xiaoyue felt scared when she saw the iron chains in the hands of the yamen runners. Her hands and feet were sore from walking that distance yesterday. If she walked to the northern border, she was afraid that her hands and feet would be broken!
She frowned and said, "Big Brothers, can you please not put the chains on me? I promise I won't run away!"
The yamen runner cursed fiercely, "Do you think you're still the Empress in the palace? Do I have to get you a sedan chair?"
Lin Xiaoyue knew that a barking dog might bite. She stretched out her wrist, which had been rubbed raw by the chain, and said, "Look! The Emperor wants me to be exiled to the northern border. If I'm dragged to death by this chain, how will you report back?"
"You should all know that I used to be the most favored concubine in the palace. If the Empress hadn't framed me, the Emperor wouldn't have exiled me! But now the Empress has also been demoted. What do you think? If the Emperor changes his mind halfway through, do you plan to hand over a living person or a dead person?"
The yamen runners were speechless for a moment because of Lin Xiaoyue's self-righteous momentum. It was the first time for them to exile the empress from the palace, and their superiors did not tell them how to do it. But what this woman said seemed to make sense. What if the emperor thought this woman was better? Wouldn't they send her back?
The emperor's woman must not be underestimated. If she whispers something in his ear, her whole family might be wiped out!
But who would be exiled without chains? If the higher-ups found out, they would be scolded at best, and they might even lose their jobs!
Just as the two yamen runners were hesitating, Lin Xiaoyue took out two bags of silver and stuffed them into their hands, saying with a smile, "Don't you understand? The emperor didn't let me go into exile empty-handed!"
The two yamen runners suddenly had an idea and secretly opened the purse a little, revealing a golden light inside. They might never be able to earn that much money in their entire lives!
Can they really?
But Lin Xiaoyue's next words did not give them any chance to retreat. She leaned in front of them and whispered, "If I can make it to the North alive, each of you can get another bag!"
The two yamen runners no longer hesitated and cheerfully stuffed the purse into their arms, saying politely, "Please, young lady! If you have any instructions on the way, please let us know and we will take good care of you."
Lin Xiaoyue snorted coldly, it really is true that money makes the world go round!
She carried her bag and strode out of the prison. When the other exiles saw that Lin Xiaoyue came out clean and not yet chained, they all looked envious and jealous.
Seeing them so dusty and grimy, Lin Xiaoyue sighed inwardly. She wondered who these people had offended again. But she had only just intimidated the two yamen runners by pretending to be powerful. What if they came to their senses and wanted to put her in chains again?
Alas, let’s just mind our own business!
"Everyone, stay still! Anyone who dares to run away will be killed on the spot! Follow me!"
A fat yamen runner waved the whip in his hand and gave a warning in a domineering manner, then walked out with a ruthless step.
When walking out of the city gate of the capital, Lin Xiaoyue turned around and looked at the tall and majestic city gate. This place where every inch of land is valuable and there is a lot of money, she was really reluctant to leave.
She scratched her head and made a very important decision.
Beijing, I will come back again - when I have no money!
The rest of the journey went smoothly. The two yamen runners did not make things difficult for Lin Xiaoyue because of the two bulging bags of silver in their arms. They could even chat occasionally on the way. It was really too boring to just walk all the way.
During the conversation, Lin Xiaoyue learned that the fat yamen runner who had just spoken was called Jiang Bai, and the thin yamen runner was called He Yuan. This was their last exile this year, and they had to return immediately to report after reaching the northern border, because the roads would be difficult to travel on after the snow in winter.
They had to cross the mountain next to Yangming Town before dark today, as it was haunted at night and rarely visited during the day. However, they had to pass this mountain to reach the northern border, otherwise they would have to take a longer detour.
Lin Xiaoyue couldn't help but narrow her eyes. Is it haunted? That would be interesting...
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