Two soldiers guarded each end of the long line. These men were all heading to the northern frontier, and given their equally negative moods, they naturally wouldn't be polite to the prisoners.
Jin Shu walked at the very back of the group. The shackles on her feet looked intimidating, but they were actually hollow and light, with little weight.
Beside her were the merchant couple, Liang Qingzhou and Liang Liushi, and a pair of seven- or eight-year-old twins.
The two little ones don't yet understand what exile means, but they've already suffered quite a bit.
The older brother, Liang Zhaozhao, and the younger sister, Liang Mumu, clung nervously and fearfully to their mother, their slender ankles also bound by heavy shackles.
Jin Shu saw this and, during a short rest, she secretly slipped a white jade hairpin to the leading soldier.
The leader glanced at Jin Shu, then gave his men a signal. The Liang family members were led behind the bushes and brought out after a while. They walked much more easily then.
Liang Liu looked at Jin Shu with gratitude, then asked in a low voice.
“Mother…Mother knows you have some valuables on you, but it’s best to be careful not to make a fuss. There will be plenty of places to spend money in the Northern Frontier, so there’s no need to waste money on us.”
They can just bear with it. It's good to save this money for when they get to the Northern Frontier. After all, Jin Shu has been pampered in the Southern boudoir for the past eighteen years. If she were to suddenly go to such an extremely cold place as the Northern Frontier, her body might not be able to withstand it.
As for them, they were merchants who traveled all over the country, so this little hardship was nothing to them.
Jin Shu comforted her.
"It's okay, we can deal with the future later. Let's get through this first."
The journey to northern Xinjiang is thousands of miles long, and if you travel at this speed on foot, it will take at least half a year.
If one suffers hardship and torment along the way, even if one is fortunate enough to survive to reach the northern frontier, the rest of one's life will be filled with pain and suffering.
Because of this incident, the family's impression of Jin Shu changed a lot. They originally thought she would look down on merchant families and deliberately keep her distance from them, but they never expected her to be so considerate and generous. Even when she was implicated, she was still able to remain calm and composed.
Green Screen secretly took out the pastries she had hidden in her bag, broke them into small pieces, and handed them to Jin Shu.
"Miss, sneak a bite. It's hard, but it's still better than that tooth-grinding pancake."
The entire team ate the dry rations brought by the officers and soldiers. The coarse flour cakes, which had been stored for who knows how long, were hard and bitter. To make matters worse, each person only received a small piece the size of their palm, along with a bowl of cold, dirty water.
Clearly, these officers and soldiers had received orders to make these people suffer more on the road, to torture them to death, and preferably to make them die on the way. Even if they were lucky enough to reach the frontier, they wouldn't last long.
This shows how cold-blooded and ruthless Huangfu Rong was.
These former civil and military officials had risked their lives for the Huangfu family's empire. Now that the late emperor had passed away, they were eager to clear away any obstacles, but they were worried about being criticized by the people. So they came up with the idea of exiling them to the northern frontier, which would not only avoid the infamy but also ensure that these people would not live long.
Thinking of this, Jin Shu silently took a bite of the pastry.
Just then, a cry came from not far away. Everyone looked over and saw a soldier kicking an old man with white hair on the ground.
He was still muttering curses under his breath.
"You're lucky I'm feeding you! And you're still being picky! You corrupt officials and incompetent ministers think you're so high and mighty? Believe me, I could kick you to death right here!"
The elderly man, who had been kicked and beaten, was curled up in a ball, covered in dirt.
His wife was crying and pleading for mercy, clinging to the soldiers' legs.
Some people tried to stop them, but they were all suppressed by swords.
Hearing the painful groans and desperate cries, Jin Shu silently got up and walked forward despite Lü Ping's obstruction.
"Sir, he is too old to take this kind of treatment. Take this money and go have some drinks. Just let him go."
Jin Shu took out a golden peanut, and the soldiers who were originally furious immediately calmed down. They took the golden peanut and examined it carefully, and then looked Jin Shu up and down.
"You're the imposter from the Marquis's family, aren't you? Where did you get all this money?"
"It's what I've been saving up."
"Save it? I bet you stole it! According to our laws, thieves should have their hands and feet cut off and be thrown into a water dungeon! If you obediently hand over everything you have now, I might consider sparing you one hand and one foot."
Those around him were furious at the sight, but they held back and dared not lash out.
Upon seeing this, Liang's father immediately ran forward, smiling obsequiously.
"My daughter is dressed so lightly, there's nowhere for her to hide. Sir, please have mercy and let her go."
"And where did you come from, you old codger?!"
As they were speaking, the soldier raised his stick to swing at them, but Liang's father immediately shielded Jin Shu behind him and reached out to block it.
The imagined pain of being beaten with sticks did not come. He opened his eyes in alarm and suddenly saw that the soldiers who had been arrogantly waving sticks were lying on the ground, clutching their stomachs in pain, pointing at Jin Shu and squeezing out their voices through clenched teeth.
"You actually...you actually dared to ambush the soldiers!"
The next second, the remaining three soldiers drew their swords and surrounded Jin Shu.
They were strong and armed, but Jin Shu looked like she could be blown away by the wind. No one present saw what she did to knock such a burly man to the ground.
Green Screen and Liang Liu's wife knelt down and begged for mercy, but Jin Shu only said calmly.
“We’re all heading to the northern frontier together. At first, I respected you as an official and gave you benefits and face. But you’ve taken the benefits and become shameless. So I’ll have to consider a different way to talk to you.”
The leading officer sneered.
"You believe I'll tear your arm off and use it to pick my teeth?!"
Jin Shu looked at him, her expression unchanged.
"Come on, give it a try."
The leader swung his knife directly at her. Jin Shu stood still and didn't even try to dodge. Just as the knife was about to hit her neck, she suddenly bent over and kicked the other person's ankle hard.
As the other person fell to his knees in pain, Jin Shu grabbed his wrist and twisted it forcefully.
The next second, the lead soldier's wrist was twisted 180 degrees, and the knife in his hand fell to the ground with his scream. Jin Shu caught the hilt with lightning speed, turned around smoothly, and gave the soldier who was attacking from behind no chance. She then pressed the blade against his neck.
"Even if a god came, he wouldn't notice if two soldiers died in the middle of nowhere. Now I'm giving you two choices."
First: Remove everyone's shackles.
Second: I'll put shackles around your neck.
Swords have no eyes, and the leading officer was trembling with fear, kneeling on the ground and nodding repeatedly.
"Okay, okay, I'll untie it, I'll untie it."
But don't blame me for not warning you, His Majesty has already arranged an army in the northern frontier. If you don't go on time, His Majesty will definitely find out, and that will be a capital offense.
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