Chapter 9 Exile
"Sir Li, the Prime Minister invites you."
Li frowned, his face displeased: "I haven't finished my work yet, you..."
"I can do the job for you. Does Lord Li want to keep the Prime Minister waiting any longer?"
Seeing this, Mr. Li had no choice but to let them go for the time being.
Before he could leave, the man who had been sent later issued an order. "Wu Heng has a long journey ahead. His Majesty, in consideration of Lord Ruan's service, permits you all to pack your bags and depart without your shackles or prison uniforms."
When Mr. Li heard this, his face suddenly changed!
"When did His Majesty issue the order? The imperial edict doesn't mention it! Even the eunuchs..."
"Do you suspect me of falsely conveying the imperial edict? Or do you suspect the Prime Minister of favoritism towards a criminal? Or perhaps... you suspect your Majesty's cherishment of his subjects?"
Now the man surnamed Li didn't dare to say anything anymore.
Ruan Mian looked at the man gratefully, and understood in his heart that it must be the Prime Minister who was behind it.
I guess it was because I provided him with the evidence that he was allowed to close the case early.
Although it is still impossible to completely clear my brother's name, this is also the intention of Lord Xie.
"Sir, please tell Mr. Xie that I am deeply grateful for your kindness today."
The man smiled faintly: "My Lord, it's just a small favor. Now, Madam Ruan, you should pack your bags and leave as soon as possible."
Ruan Mian bowed, turned around, held Zhang and Ruan Qing's hands and comforted them.
"Don't worry, let's go pack our bags first."
Taking this opportunity, she threw the dagger she had bought for self-defense, and asked everyone to take some dry food and water bags that she had prepared.
Each person was also given a small vest made of animal skin.
It's snowing heavily in Kyoto now, and it's bound to get colder as we head north. Traveling without prison clothes is already better than being an ordinary exile.
How could that thin prison uniform protect against the cold of midwinter? No wonder most of the people died soon after being exiled in the original book.
After everything was tidied up, everyone in the mansion stood in a line.
There was even an ox cart outside the palace.
The man said, "The Prime Minister has instructed that Master Ruan is not feeling well, so this is a convenience."
This was something that could save her life. Zhang's eyes welled with tears of gratitude: "Thank you, sir! Thank you, Prime Minister, for your mercy!"
But it was exile after all. For the rest of them, it was just a hurdle on the road to the underworld.
How many people can endure the suffering of exile?
So the group of people behind him all had miserable expressions and took heavy steps.
When they left the city, they saw Ruan Qingsong kneeling in the deep snow, kowtowed towards the city gate, with blood even flowing from his forehead.
Zhang was shocked: "Song'er!"
"It's me who has implicated everyone. I deserve death! It's me..."
He choked out sobs, his guilt was too much to express in just a few words.
She helped Ruan Qingsong up and spoke firmly to the rest of the people in the Ruan Mansion.
"Exile is a foregone conclusion. It's useless to regret it, brother. Besides, it's not your fault. It's all those villains trying to make you a scapegoat! You're innocent to begin with!
Since we can't change the outcome, then we should just go along with life. Isn't it just a journey of exile? The Prime Minister has been extra lenient with us. Can it be that with so many of us, we will be stumped by a single path?"
At this moment, they need a few words to encourage morale rather than complaints and regrets.
"We have our bags, our hands and feet, and the officials aren't trying to make things difficult for us. How could we possibly starve to death? Roads are made by people, and we will definitely reach Wuheng safely. Then, with the help of nature and nature, we'll be able to survive no matter what."
As soon as he finished speaking, a very sarcastic voice came from behind him.
"Rely on heaven? What else can you rely on when you're dying? You're a daughter of a legitimate wife who's never been involved in domestic marital affairs, and you really don't know how high the heavens are and how deep the earth is!"
Following the voice, she saw that the person who said this was Ruan Jiao, who had mocked her for being exiled, but her own property had been confiscated earlier!
Behind her was a group of women from the Bo family, and at the end of the team, there were even a few familiar faces from the Qi family!
Aren’t those Ruan Mian’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law?
Well, enemies often meet on a narrow road, and they finally got their retribution!
There were not many men in the entire team. It must be that the superiors integrated the female relatives of the two mansions into one team, and as a result, they happened to bump into people from the Ruan Mansion.
Ruan Mian couldn't help but think that his time travel had already changed the plot of the original book.
At this moment, Liu and Qi Lin no longer had Qi Nanfeng to rely on, and the two women did not dare to act wildly in front of this group of officers and soldiers. Even now, when they saw Ruan Mian, they held back and did not say a word, wishing they could be invisible.
After all, they are in a mess now, how can it compare with their previous glamorous image?
Ruan Mian shifted his gaze away from them and then looked at Ruan Jiao.
Suddenly, the corners of his lips curled up into a faint smile, but there was no warmth in his eyes.
She retaliated without hesitation: "I was wondering who was barking here, it turns out to be the humble concubine of the Bo Mansion, Aunt Ruan."
"You..." "How did Concubine Ruan end up like this? You're already married, and you shouldn't be a member of our Ruan family. Oh, I remember now. The prince of the Bo Mansion spread the nursery rhyme that destroyed the country, harbored thoughts of rebellion, and colluded with the secret party..."
"Ruan Mian, shut up! How can a divorced bitch like you say anything about my prince?"
Ruan Jiao rushed over in a rage, but Ruan Mian swung his arm and threw her aside.
"You keep calling me a bitch, no wonder you'll be a lowly concubine who can't hold your head up high for the rest of your life! You're already dying, and you still want to fight for your dignity? With you?"
Ruan Mian repeated her words back to her exactly as they were, making Ruan Jiao so angry that her face turned red.
But when the officer's eyes darkened, Ruan Jiao didn't dare to act rashly.
He held his breath in frustration and was kicked back to his original team by the officers.
Ruan Jiao couldn't swallow her humiliation after being ridiculed by her!
Especially when he saw that Ruan Mian and the others were also a group of exiles, yet they were wearing their usual thick clothes and carrying bags, and the women didn't even take off their accessories.
But these weak women could only wear thin prison uniforms and endure the cold weather!
She could no longer bear it and dared to ask the officer.
"Sir! The people from the Ruan Mansion are clearly a group of exiled criminals. Why didn't they confiscate our money? They even packed our bags and didn't even give us a change of clothes! They didn't even put shackles on us! Why are they so cruel only to us weak women?
Not only are they wearing thin clothes, but they also have to wear shackles, and even their money and belongings are confiscated! This is so unreasonable..."
Before he could finish his angry words, the officer swung his whip!
A "bang" sound hit Ruan Jiao in front of her, scaring her so much that she turned pale.
"Don't you think about what your crime is? How can you have the right to dictate the decisions of the higher-ups? You don't want to live anymore, do you?"
Ruan Jiao was so frightened that she trembled all over. She quickly knelt down and kowtowed to admit her fault: "Sir, sir, please calm down. I was wrong. I won't say it again."
Her attitude changed so quickly that the officer lost his temper.
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