Xie Yuzhi stared at his father's expression, which was complex and indescribable; he didn't look like a five-year-old at all. Only the tears welling in his eyes proved that he truly was still a child.
After a while, his precious son finally reached out to take it. Xie Ming took the opportunity to forcefully shove it into his hand, and a splinter instantly pierced Xie Yuzhi's little hand, causing a large bead of blood to appear on his tender white finger.
"Father—" A voice filled with accusation and tears escaped his lips, and he thought to himself that his father was indeed a bad person.
"Yu-ge'er, what's wrong?"
Xie Ming turned to look at him in confusion, only to see his son's angry expression gradually crack, then turn into confusion, and finally leave only surprise.
"It's alright, Dad, you go to sleep! I'm going to sleep too."
After saying that, Xie Yuzhi wiggled his short legs and ran far away from Xie Ming, patted his bottom, sat down, closed his eyes, and pretended to be asleep.
Xie Ming was so angry he almost laughed. He took a deep breath! Sure enough, his son was a filial son who didn't want a father.
If he hadn't known that the space contained an ancient version of a "supermarket," he would have said that his son was well-behaved and sensible!
Hmph! If that kid doesn't give me any treats tomorrow, I'm ignoring him!
Having secured food and drink, all that remained was clothing; they couldn't take anything from the Xie family mansion.
Since it was ordered by the emperor to confiscate their property, it had to be done thoroughly, leaving nothing behind, not even the dowries of the women.
Before the exile, the officers and soldiers thoroughly searched the Xie family's home, inside and out, to ensure that they could not take away a single thread from the Xie family.
Xie Ming didn't have that kind of trouble; he could get whatever he wanted from anywhere by simply reaching out. Add to that his lifelong skills, and he was practically the most overpowered of all.
But he needs a legitimate reason to do this; he can't just conjure it up out of nowhere!
Therefore, he placed all his hopes on that wet nurse.
Sure enough, he waited for his wet nurse at the city gate before setting off. As expected of the good wet nurse who had taught Xie Yuzhi, she prepared food and clothes for him.
As for his son-in-law, he received a pair of thick shoes, presumably in the hope that he could wear them all the way from the capital to his place of exile.
Okay! He accepted it since he could wear it for a long time!
Fortunately, the bag contained a large amount of stuff, so no one knew whether the clothes inside belonged to the father or the son.
“Yu-ge’er, you must take good care of yourself. It’s better for you to be well-fed than for anyone else to be well-fed! Do you remember what your wet nurse said? Those things should not be taken out unless absolutely necessary, understand…” The wet nurse wiped away her tears and whispered in the little boy’s ear.
Xie Yuzhi nodded, hugged the wet nurse's neck, and sobbed uncontrollably, unable to utter a complete sentence. This was the only time in several days that he had shown his most vulnerable side.
Feeling uncomfortable, Xie Ming could only hold his things and turn his head away, no longer looking at the master and servant.
Everyone else in the family had people come to deliver supplies, but he stood there all alone, looking rather "miserable and wretched." As for his drinking buddies, they had all fled far away; who would dare approach a family that had been rejected by His Majesty unless they were close relatives?
Fortunately, the Yue family sent servants with several hundred taels of silver to save face for him, but none of the masters showed up.
After his wife left that year, her family severed ties with him. You have to understand, she was favored in her own family, otherwise Old Master Xie wouldn't have brought her to his home.
The fact that they're sending money now is only because they're my nephew.
After accepting the silver and thanking the visitor, Xie Ming also asked someone to tell the Yue family to rest assured that he would do his best to take good care of Xie Yuzhi.
After a lot of dawdling and procrastination, it was finally time for everyone to set off.
Also exiled this time was the Chen family, the maternal family of the old Marquis's wife, the General of Weiyuan, who was also the Empress's maternal family.
In addition, there were several other families closely associated with the Xie family, plus those who were already slated for exile, bringing the total number of people in the group to over 600.
There were also more than 50 officials escorting them, including ordinary yamen runners and a small squad of soldiers.
It was rare for so many people to set off together, and all men over the age of 15 had to wear shackles and leg irons.
Xie Ming also donned heavy shackles and carried his son's bundle on his back. His son, following the adults' instructions, clung tightly to his clothes and headed towards the city gate.
The wet nurse kept calling out from the side, her earnest expectations moving everyone present.
When Xie Ming finally saw the "gift package" in the "supermarket"—a package meant to prevent him from having any descendants—he felt a sudden urge to die. How afraid she was of mistreating the child! He blamed himself for neglecting him so much in his past life!
Fortunately, after his wife left, he lost interest in seducing other young girls; otherwise, he would certainly not have escaped the wet nurse's ruthless urging.
Thinking that many of the things he had in his previous life were ultimately used on the "Great Holy Mother," his mood improved considerably.
Once outside the capital, the exiled contingent moved further and further away from the imperial city. Everyone knew they might never return, and the atmosphere gradually shifted from noisy to quiet and oppressive.
After walking for half a day, everyone was busy on their way and gradually had no energy left to be sad, let alone chat with the people next to them.
Some couldn't keep up with the group, but they all got a beating.
Xie Ming kept a close eye on the "Great Holy Mother" in front of him and found that she was honest and didn't cause any trouble. He realized that she had been taking advantage of him in her past life!
He's such a sucker!
He couldn't physically assault someone in front of everyone, but others could.
As Xie Qiwei walked along, she noticed that the shackles on her body were extremely heavy, getting heavier with each step, until she could no longer lift her hands or feet.
"Sister Wei, hurry up!" Her mother, Madam Chen, came over and pulled her anxiously.
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