"Old Marquis"
"master"
"father"
When the people of the Jiangning Marquis's residence saw the old Marquis and the eldest son of the main branch, they were so excited that they wanted to rush over.
At this moment, the old Marquis and the eldest son of the main branch were put in wooden shackles and handcuffs, their hair was messy, and they were dragged away by the Imperial Guards, their backs faintly showing blood.
This time, the emperor ordered the confiscation of property, and the execution was carried out by people close to the third prince, so the process was naturally extremely efficient, facilitating their exile sooner. Because the old marquis and the eldest son of the main branch were injured, a cart was arranged to transport them, so as not to delay their journey.
"Greetings, Aunt Mo. I am the steward of the Third Prince's residence. The Third Prince sent me to fetch you to the residence." A slightly plump middle-aged man dressed in a dark blue brocade robe and wearing a turban walked over and stopped beside the transmigrated woman. Several servants followed behind him.
"Who are you calling 'aunt'? His Highness promised me the position of Princess Consort. If I see His Highness, I'll punish you for disrespect. Come on, I'm going to see His Highness." The transmigrated woman frowned.
The situation is still unclear. With the Jiangning Marquis's mansion collapsing, how can anyone escape unscathed? Without the Marquis's mansion's support, how dare one dream of marrying into the royal family?
Even before the Jiangning Marquis's mansion fell, they didn't dare to reach for the position of princess consort. The transmigrated Jurchen thought she was the destined heroine and could defy the ironclad rule of matching social status passed down from ancient times.
Only daughters of officials of the first rank or above could become the principal wife of a prince; only daughters of officials of the third rank or above could become concubines.
Although the Jiangning Marquis's residence bears the title of a marquis's residence, there are hundreds of marquis's residences in the vast capital city, and the old marquis only holds a sinecure position in the Ministry of Revenue.
From the very beginning, the Third Prince realized that the time-traveling woman did not understand the tacit rules of mutual respect among aristocratic families, so he set a trap to lure her in. He never expected that the time-traveling woman would be so naive.
It's utterly ridiculous that people are now clamoring to become princes' wives.
The people from the Jiangning Marquis's residence nearby were astonished upon hearing this, almost forgetting to shed tears at the fact that they were to be exiled.
"Ran'er, what nonsense are you talking about? How dare our family dream of becoming a prince's consort?" The first wife really wanted to sew the transmigrated woman's mouth shut; she was truly terrified.
"Aunt Mo, I heard you clearly. His Highness told me to bring you to the manor as soon as possible. Please hurry, Aunt, the sedan chair is waiting." The steward frowned. Not far behind him, a pink sedan chair was parked.
"Betrothed as a wife, run away to become a concubine. My Jiangning Marquis's mansion has never had a carefully raised legitimate daughter run off to become someone's concubine. You are not allowed to do that." The old lady of the Marquis looked at the transmigrated woman sternly.
"No, no, His Highness wouldn't do this to me." The transmigrated woman looked utterly distraught, blocking out all other sounds.
"No, I have to find out the truth. I've done so much for him, how could he treat me like this!" The transmigrated woman stumbled away with the butler.
"What a tragedy! What a tragedy! From now on, consider her dead. There is no such person as Mo Ran in the Mo family." Old Madam Hou was so angry that she almost couldn't breathe. The eldest wife was sobbing uncontrollably and collapsed.
The others around did not dare to speak.
Mo Qian watched the transmigrated woman leave quietly, guessing that she would soon perish. At this time of exile, taking the transmigrated woman out and bringing her into the mansion seemed to avoid the suffering of exile, but who could say for sure that this was not a faster way to the underworld?
The Third Prince already had someone he admired, and bringing her into the mansion was merely a way to better guard her and uncover her secrets. Only someone without support is like duckweed, easier to control. Once she has no further use, it's common for him to take a concubine from the mansion.
"All of you stay put! Wait until all the other families whose property has been confiscated are gathered before you leave!" This time, in addition to the Jiangning Marquis's family being confiscated and exiled, the Zhang and Li families, who were vice ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, were also sentenced to exile for failing to supervise properly, resulting in the loss of silver for flood control. The Zhao family, who were censors, were also exiled for their sharp tongues.
As soon as they arrived at the city gate, the escort ordered everyone from the Jiangning Marquis's residence to squat down against the city wall.
"Mother, don't worry, I'm here." Mo Qian comforted Zhang Jinxin beside her. Seeing that no one was paying attention, she handed Zhang Jinxin a piece of pastry. The Imperial Guards had arrived in a hurry and hadn't eaten, and then a series of things happened, so she hadn't thought about it.
"Miss, you've suffered." After a while, Shi Hua, the original owner's head maid and the first person Mo Qian saw when she woke up, came from a distance and gave the escort a few taels of silver before letting him over. The escort also wanted them to have money so they could make ends meet on the road.
He was carrying a large bundle on his back, making it almost impossible to see his face.
"Miss, everything you asked me to do is ready and packed in the bundle, including a dagger," the maid Shihua whispered in Mo Qian's ear.
Mo Qian had made plans early on. On the first day of her arrival, she gave the contract to Shi Hua and asked her to cancel it at the government office. She also secretly gave Shi Hua money to buy supplies. Although she had a spatial ability, she still needed a reason to take things.
"Use the remaining silver to buy a house; it will make our time as master and servant worthwhile." Mo Qian refused the silver notes that Shi Hua handed over.
Before long, everyone could see that the other exiled families were being escorted from all directions and eventually joined the people from the Jiangning Marquis's residence.
As Mo Qian watched the exile procession grow larger and filled with wailing, she couldn't help but curse inwardly.
The group consisted of over three hundred people, ranging from elderly people in their eighties and nineties who could barely walk to unborn babies.
In addition, there were as many as one hundred escorts, bringing the total to more than four hundred people.
To prevent prisoners from escaping, the guards wouldn't be so kind as to put one shackle on each prisoner. Instead, they would put five female relatives or children on one shackle, chained together, with each person separated by three meters of iron chain.
They hinder and restrain each other; if one of them tries to run away, chaos will immediately ensue.
In addition to wooden shackles and handcuffs, the man also had shackles on his feet, with two iron rings around his ankles and an iron chain in the middle. This chain was made of fine iron and could not be cut by ordinary swords or knives; it could only be opened with a key.
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