Chapter 187 Is it exile or a spring outing?
"There are corrupt officials in our exile team. They're probably all corrupt, so they all know each other! I overheard this, hehe~"
Yun Zhao smiled and took out a small porcelain bottle, sprinkling the powder onto the wound on her arm.
"You child, do you even know what a corrupt official is?"
The older sister chuckled and looked at her with a smile.
"I know, wasn't my father falsely accused of being a corrupt official and exiled?"
Yun Zhao said somewhat indifferently.
Seeing her nonchalant attitude, the two sisters assumed she didn't know what it was.
"We are the Zhuge family of the Northwest. People in the capital may not know this, but the Zhuge family was once very wealthy in the Northwest."
Since Marquis Ningqian took over the Northwest, the wealthy merchants there have all colluded with him. As long as they don't choose to join his corrupt practices,
They would be driven out of the Northwest by all means. Three years ago, Yuanzhou suffered a severe drought, and the imperial court requisitioned grain from the Northwest.
Marquis Ningqian intends to replace refined rice with aged broken rice. The Zhuge family is the largest rice merchant in the Northwest, and he demands our cooperation.
We refused and tried to report him to the prefect of Yuanzhou. Ah, it turns out they were in cahoots!
The Zhuge family was falsely accused of being unscrupulous merchants who profited at exorbitant prices and disregarded the lives of ordinary people, and was subsequently driven out of the Northwest!
"Sister, why are you talking so much to the child? She doesn't understand."
The younger sister smiled and shook her head.
"Sister, Zhaozhao understands! It's those people who colluded with businessmen to slander you, right?"
Yun Zhao looked at the two of them with a firm gaze.
"Sister, tell Lord Ding the truth! Let them know more about Marquis Ningqian."
It's easier to deal with him! Let these bad guys get what they deserve!
The two sisters were stunned when such a young child said such a thing.
Wei Jingchen, who was in the corner, heard these words and knocked on the door right on time.
"Zhaozhao, how are you? Are you badly injured?"
"Brother Jingchen, wait a minute!"
Yun Zhao called out, then turned to look at the two sisters.
"The man outside the door is the son of the former Minister of Revenue, who was falsely accused of being a corrupt official because he refused to compromise his principles."
"We're being exiled together to Lingnan, sisters, are you willing to believe them?"
"Okay, let them in!"
For some reason, the two of them actually believed what Yun Zhao said.
Yun Zhao excitedly opened the door and looked up at him.
"Brother Jingchen, please let my father and Uncle Ding come over quickly!"
By the time Ding Yan arrived with his men, Yun Zhao had already treated her wounds.
The two sisters knelt down and respectfully bowed to Ding Yan.
"This humble woman, Zhuge Yue/Zhuge Xin, greets Your Excellency!"
"Please rise quickly. I am already aware of what happened in the Northwest. Since you have suffered so much, why are you covering up the embezzlement by Marquis Ningqian?"
Ding Yan asked with some doubt.
Zhuge Yue's expression changed, and he retorted repeatedly.
“Your Excellency is wronging us! Marquis Ningqian caused the Zhuge family to be destroyed and forced to leave their homeland. How could we possibly help him?”
"Why did you stop me from retrieving the box from the river today?"
Wei Jingchen stepped forward and asked.
"I stopped you from salvaging it because I wanted to protect you."
Now it was Wei Jingchen and the others' turn to be confused.
"My lord, you are unaware of this, but before this, the Zhuge family had reported this matter to more than one official."
But each time, they were either hunted down, or officials suddenly changed their minds; even worse,
One censor has already died; there's no need to even think about it, everyone knows it was the Marquis of Ningqian who did it.
There must be an even greater force behind him, which is why many officials dare not touch him!
Zhuge Yue clutched her arm; that's how she got her injury.
"Imperial Censor?"
Yunxuan was so excited he almost sat up on his own.
Liu, who had just taken office last year, was killed by robbers on his way to the capital.
It turns out that it was Marquis Ningqian who did it!
"Your Highness Prince Jin must also know about this matter. It's not that Zhuge Yue is unwilling to say it, but rather that he dares not say it."
They dare to kill even the imperial censors; what wouldn't these people dare to do?
Zhuge Yue looked up at Ding Yan.
"So, Lord Ding, do you still dare to continue the investigation?"
Faced with the public's doubts, Ding Yan immediately felt guilty.
He clasped his hands together and raised them towards the direction of the capital.
"I am an official who receives the emperor's salary and bears the emperor's worries. Such wicked people should be thoroughly investigated and brought to justice."
If the Zhuge family is willing to testify, I will certainly find a way to guarantee your safety!
Since the safety of the Zhuge family was at stake, Ding Yan did not force the two sisters.
"We are not afraid of danger, we only wish that you, sir, can truly reveal the truth to the Zhuge family!"
Zhuge Yue answered without hesitation.
"I swear on my life that I will do everything in my power to restore justice to the world!"
"But Uncle Ding, my sister has been poisoned. Perhaps we could let her secretly go south with Zhaozhao?"
That way, Zhao Zhao can detoxify her while hiding in the exile group!
Upon hearing this, Yunxuan immediately agreed to his daughter's suggestion.
"Zhaozhao is right. Who would believe that the Zhuge family would follow the exiles?"
Going to such a harsh place, and in doing so, indirectly gaining the protection of government officials—it's killing two birds with one stone!
Ding Yan was just a civil official, and he didn't have any trustworthy military generals under his command.
On the contrary, among their group, Zhi Xia was skilled in martial arts, and the Lu family father and son were even more outstanding.
With General Xu joining, it's like adding wings to a tiger.
Not to mention Yun Zhao's tiger and Xu Yifei, whose strength is immense.
By that calculation, their exiled group seems to be safer than Ding Yan.
"What does Miss Zhuge think?"
“This is certainly a good idea, but my family is large, how can we hide them in the exile group?”
"That's easy! You just need to follow the caravan~ Sister Yue is hiding in Sister Lu's oxcart."
"Hmm...we'll buy an oxcart later; we'll need it for farming in Lingnan!"
Yun Zhao nodded emphatically, looking like a little adult.
"Exile? You can still buy an oxcart?"
Zhuge Xin was immediately speechless.
Was it exile or a spring outing?
"The oxcart isn't for us, it's for Sister Lu, Third Uncle, and Sister Cuizhu."
"Sister Yue is using it~ Sigh, there are more and more people, and not enough cars, so we have to buy more, right, Brother Jingchen?"
Yun Zhao looked at Wei Jingchen with an innocent expression, which made the latter both laugh and cry.
"Yes, there are more and more people..."
Who would dare to treat her like a child being picked up during her exile?
Take one away today, take two away tomorrow.
Now they've even taken the entire Zhuge family with them.
This team must grow stronger, right?
But only Yun Zhao himself knew.
Since the Zhuge family is involved in the case of Marquis Ningqian, Ding Yan will definitely keep in touch with them.
Only in this way could the cabinet maintain constant contact with them, forcing Ding Yan to guarantee their safety in Lingnan.
Judging by the time, Grand Tutor Yan should be returning to the capital by now.
Yun Zhao had his own plans.
Once it was confirmed that the Zhuge family would leave with them, Ding Yan had them write a letter of complaint.
Yun Zhao personally led the rest of the Zhuge family out of the city overnight to find the caravan stationed outside the city.
The team was led by Yang Biao's most capable assistant, Liang Yonghua, a veteran who had retired from the battlefield.
It is said that this person was skilled in reconnaissance and could foresee dangers within a radius of ten miles.
Yun Zhao arrived with his men, but they were stopped before they could get close.
"Miss Yun? What brings you here with your people in the middle of the night?"
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