The commotion was deafening, and the old Marquis and the eldest son of the main branch woke up one after the other. After learning what had happened, they, who already disliked the illegitimate son, frowned even more.
"Master, it's not that I don't want to spend the money, but there are so many people in the family, and we don't know what will happen in the future. We need to keep some money for ourselves," the old lady sighed.
“Now that Zhong’er and Er’er have even started fighting, brothers are at odds. I think it’s better to separate the family. Distance makes things better, and close proximity makes things worse. This way, there will still be some brotherly affection between us.” Once the family is separated, don’t even think about taking my money.
"Father, I don't want to separate from the family. It's only right that the family funds come from the common money. You can't separate me now," Mo Zhong said anxiously.
"If you don't want to separate the family, hand over the bundles that the maid sent over before," the second wife said enviously.
The old woman remained silent. When they saw them off, she saw that the maids from the third branch of the household had brought over a huge bundle, but because her own household was afraid of getting involved with the Marquis of Jiangning's mansion, not a single person came to see them off.
Even worse was the eldest son's family. Fearing the influence of the time-traveling woman, their maternal family sent them a letter severing ties. It's estimated that the events at the Jiangning Marquis's residence reached their own household before they finally made up their minds.
"No, this is for my daughter."
"Let's divide the family property. Now that the Jiangning Marquis's mansion has collapsed, there's nothing left to divide, and the public funds are also insufficient," the old lady said resolutely.
"Third brother, times have changed. Even though we've separated the family, we're still brothers," the second master said sarcastically, touching his swollen lip.
It was as if one could already see the third son, shackled and burdened, being led forward by the escorts who were whipping him.
Given the sudden confiscation of their property, the mother probably didn't have much wealth hidden on her person. As a mere illegitimate son from the third branch of the family, who didn't even share the same womb, he was dreaming of getting a share.
"Let's divide the family property. There's nothing left to divide. It's settled then. We'll borrow paper and pen from the constable later." Ignoring Mo Zhong's objections, the old Marquis made the final decision.
"This disaster is also related to the eldest son's maid. The eldest son's wife should hand over half of it to the public treasury." The old Marquis thought of this unexpected calamity and felt extreme disgust for Mo Ran. A century of glory had vanished overnight, and he was filled with indignation.
The first wife, seeing the old marquis's disgusted expression, dared not utter a sound.
Mo Qian watched the farce unfold before her, which was even more entertaining than a traditional opera. If the setting weren't so inappropriate, she would have liked to lie on a deck chair and eat sunflower seeds.
Mo Zhong looked distraught and deeply shaken, his body trembling as if he were about to faint, and walked back.
“Brother Zhong, don’t be sad. I hid some money when they raided our house, so don’t worry.” Zhang Jinxin looked at Mo Zhong, who was hanging his head and trembling, worried that he would be too heartbroken to bear the thought of being separated from his family.
"It's so great to be splitting up the family, haha!" Mo Zhong couldn't help but laugh, but he knew to be mindful of the occasion and only dared to laugh softly, his eyebrows even raising slightly. His body was trembling earlier because he couldn't hold back his laughter.
“I don’t want the money we’ve hidden to end up on the first and second wives’ side when the house is raided. I don’t know how much they’ve hidden, but if we react quickly, we probably won’t be able to keep the money we’ve hidden if we don’t separate the family by then. After all, we’ll be restricted by our status and won’t be able to do as we please.” Mo Zhong said smugly, a blade of grass sticking out of the corner of his mouth.
“Brother Zhong, that makes sense. I don’t want to be taken advantage of by the first and second wives either. Every time we met before, they would tease me and make fun of my merchant background. It’s ridiculous. They laugh at my low social status, but every time they see the new jewelry from Jade Pavilion that I wear, they always have to replace the teapots in the house.”
"Jinniang, your merchant family background suits me perfectly. In truth, those so-called scholarly families are just a name; they're all a bunch of hypocrites." Mo Zhong flattered Zhang Jinxin with honeyed words.
Mo Qian watched as pink bubbles rose around the original owner's parents, feeling like she had been force-fed a mouthful of dog food. Goosebumps were rising on her skin. So she simply closed her eyes, probed her mind into the space, and gossiped and complained with Xiao Bai.
Half a month later
During their journey, apart from Mo Qian and the other two who had their shackles removed, as expected, the members of the first and second branches of the family also had their shackles removed, and the other exiled families also had their shackles removed one after another.
After half a month of walking, everyone had adapted and their physical strength had improved. Due to the family division, Mo Qian and her two companions didn't join the Jiangning Marquis's household, falling far behind.
Mo Qian adds spiritual spring water to the bamboo slips every day, so the original owner's parents can now travel sixty miles a day with ease. In exchange for three straw hats to shield them from the sun, and with Mo Qian occasionally adding meat to their diet, it can be said that among the more than three hundred convicts, no one is more carefree.
Mo Qian certainly wouldn't neglect herself. She would take every opportunity to nourish herself. During her rest, she would immerse herself in the space, watching movies with Xiao Bai, which she had downloaded in her previous life, to pass the time.
Of course, during this time, there were also people from the Jiangning Marquis's mansion who watched Mo Qian and her two companions cause trouble, but they were all driven away by Mo Zhong. "They've already separated their families, why would we still tolerate you!" He was a well-known figure in the capital's playboy circles, so his tongue was definitely slick.
"Hurry up, everyone hurry up, the rain is getting heavier!" the escort shouted, cracking his whip loudly.
As I walked, the weather suddenly changed. What had been a clear, scorching sky was suddenly swept by a cold wind, and the rain poured down in increasing amounts, as if the sky had been ripped open.
Despite the heavy rain, the guards urged them on, whipping those who lagged behind to move forward. The convicts also quickened their pace.
Those who had rain shelter took it out to block the rain, and those who didn't used their clothes to cover their faces. Mo Qian took out oil paper from her bundle, which was actually from her spatial storage, and the three of them used it to support themselves as they moved forward.
"Boss, there's a cave ahead where we can take shelter from the rain." One of the escorts, familiar with the terrain, led the way.
"Follow me, all of you. Don't try anything funny. Anyone who tries to escape will be killed on sight." The escort commander drew his waist knife and roared.
Because of the rain, the more than 300 convicts scattered like headless flies, creating chaos. Some even tried to escape during the confusion, but the guards drew their knives and shouted at them.
Those who refused to listen to advice were stabbed by the guards, blood splattering everywhere. The timid ones who had just peeked out were scared back down, but some who were not afraid of death scattered and ran in all directions.
Seeing this, the escort commander stopped leading the group to seek shelter from the rain. "Stop! Leave half of the men here to guard the area. The rest of you go after them, kill them on the spot, and bring their heads back. Anyone who dares to run away must be prepared to lose their life."
Seeing the chaos, some of the people from the Jiangning Marquis's residence, hoping to escape, were terrified when they saw the guards act so swiftly, killing people right before their eyes. They huddled together in fear.
Looking at the scene before her, Mo Qian was speechless. After so many days of exile, the convicts hadn't had enough to eat, and on top of that, they had to walk so far, leaving them physically exhausted. How could they possibly keep up with the well-fed and healthy escorts?
Not to mention the guards were armed with broadswords, giving these convicts even less of a chance. Even if they escaped, would that be a good thing?
Not necessarily. Without a household registration, one cannot even enter the city and can only be a vagrant, homeless and worse off than a beggar in the city, who at least can beg for food in the city.
The escorts weren't worried about people escaping. Nine out of ten people died or were injured on the way to exile, so it was normal to have fewer people. It would be good to reduce the number of people and not provide as much food, thus reducing costs. The escorts would probably be happier with fewer people.
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