Chapter 14 A Great Gift!
The cornbread my daughter brought was clearly made with wheat flour, and it was freshly made, with a wonderfully fragrant aroma of grain. We've already come to this point, why bother worrying about gains and losses?
After Shen Congwen had figured things out, his stomach swelled up like thunder. Just as he was about to put the cornbread into his mouth, he heard a commotion coming from his brother's room not far away.
"How can this be enough? Yuanjing, we're family. You can't just eat your fill and then leave us to fend for ourselves, can you?"
“Yuanjing, this is where you went wrong. Why didn’t you offer the food to your grandparents first? This is extremely unfilial of you…”
...
Shen Lanxi returned to the carriage and had lunch. It was early spring, and the weather wasn't too hot, but even so, the food they brought couldn't be kept for more than three days. They could relax for the next three days, but after that, they would have to start a fire and cook, and then they would have to wait an hour or two to have a meal.
She took a precious bite of the sweet steamed bun, enjoying it with some pickled vegetables and fermented bean curd, and gazed in the direction of the capital.
The big gift she left for Zhou Ruyuan should have been unpacked and inspected by now!
Thinking of Zhou Ruyuan and Bai Qingling's funny expressions, she ate another large steamed bun.
~
When Zhou Ruyuan and Bai Qingling returned to the manor, it was almost dawn.
With so many guards injured at once, and now many people eyeing the Zhennan Prince's Mansion, immediately summoning the palace physician is too much of a fuss. It's hard to guarantee that there aren't spies planted in the mansion.
Zhou Ruyuan endured the pain until dawn, his body covered in a thin layer of sweat. As soon as the servants in the mansion began to move around, he immediately ordered someone to take the injured guard to the training ground.
Zhou Ruyuan, using the excuse of being injured in a fight with a guard, summoned the imperial physician to treat him.
"Your Highness has only strained a muscle and bone; there's nothing seriously wrong with your bones. Just avoid putting any strain on your right arm for half a month, and it will fully recover!"
Bai Qingling felt a surge of anger at the thought of Shen Lanxi. She carefully wiped the thin layer of sweat from Zhou Ruyuan's forehead, tears of heartache streaming down her face.
"Your Highness, how dare Shen Lanxi injure you so badly? What a vicious heart she has."
"The prince saw that she was a weak woman and deliberately let her have her way, but he never expected that she would take advantage of this and ruthlessly try to kill the prince!"
Zhou Ruyuan stared intently at his still trembling fingers. Only he knew that he had truly exerted all his strength. When Shen Lanxi's staff came crashing down, it was like a boulder weighing a thousand pounds. The reason his arm hadn't broken like the guard's was because he had dodged quickly!
Shen Lanxi has always been hiding her true abilities!
Thinking of the humiliating words she said to him when she left, Zhou Ruyuan's face turned red, and he clenched his hands tightly. Even the pain in his right arm could not stop the sudden surge of resentment in his heart.
When did she become so capable? Why didn't you tell him?
"Your Highness, Your Highness, let go quickly! The physician said you can't use your right hand!" Bai Qingling saw Zhou Ruyuan so angry that she thought he hated Shen Lanxi to the bone.
On one hand, I felt sorry for the prince, but on the other hand, I felt incredibly happy!
The prince has given up on Shen Lanxi. Her best fate is to die on the road to exile, and it would be best if her family could watch her die!
"It's terrible, Your Highness..." A servant from the Prince's mansion rushed in to report.
Zhou Ruyuan snapped out of his daze and gritted his teeth, shouting angrily, "What is it?"
The servant trembled with fright, his head almost touching his chest, and muttered under his breath, "Rumors about the Prince's mansion are circulating all over the streets."
The servant dared not say anything more.
Zhou Ruyuan had a bad feeling and immediately shouted angrily at the card table: "If you keep stammering, I'll give you twenty whacks before you answer!"
The servant hurriedly prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowing as he said, "They all say that the prince spent his wedding night in the outer chamber and called for water three times..."
Zhou Ruyuan stood up angrily, overturned the table, and the tea set crashed to the ground and shattered. The servants in the room trembled with fear.
Bai Qingling was initially angry, then her face turned pale.
This is a royal scandal. If it blows up, His Majesty won't do anything to his own son, but he will definitely punish her!
Bai Qingling glanced down at her flat stomach, her eyes immediately hardening.
"Your Highness, I have an idea..."
On that day, Zhou Ruyuan requested permission to personally lead troops to conquer the Northwest, but unfortunately he was a step too late. During the morning court session, His Majesty had already appointed the commander-in-chief for the expedition. If Zhou Ruyuan wanted to go, he could only assume the role of commander-in-chief under the title of deputy general.
Zhou Ruyuan stood at the palace gate for a full hour before stepping back into the palace. When he came out again, he was holding the letter of appointment as deputy general. He immediately mustered his troops and set off to conquer the Northwest three days later!
As the city gates were about to close, a group of people mingled among the civilians and quietly set off towards Dongchuan!
~
Among the group of exiled people, apart from the Shen family, all the other men over the age of fifteen were wearing shackles and chains, so their pace was not fast.
The constables knew the Shen family's identity and didn't dare to make things difficult for them openly, but they might not be so sure about the other prisoners.
"Officer, please have mercy! My grandmother is thirsty and would like to ask for a bowl of water..."
Before the prisoner could finish speaking, he was kicked and whipped.
"Drink water? You're prisoners, do you think you're some kind of big shots? You want water? We don't have water, but we have urine. Do you want some or not?"
The sounds of cursing and crying blended together.
"Cry, cry, cry! Wait until someone dies before you cry. If I hear any of you crying, you'll get whipped..." The whip lashed several prisoners again, and finally no one dared to cry out.
Even if you cry, swallow your tears!
On the first day of exile, the prisoners were still physically able to keep up, and except for a few who were beaten for not yet understanding their situation, they all persevered.
Each person gets a small, fist-sized steamed bun made from miscellaneous flour for dinner.
The prisoners were all herded to sleep in the stables, while the constables slept in the lower-class communal sleeping area. These were standard provisions and cost nothing.
After the constables were settled, Shen Lanxi arrived late, calculating the time.
Several constables were eating in the hall.
Shen Lanxi walked over unhurriedly: "The constables are working so hard. If they don't eat well, they won't have the energy to travel tomorrow. Bring up the best food and wine!"
The burly constables, seeing that Shen Lanxi was on the road and looked weak and frail, and that the people she brought were all old and young, thought she couldn't cause any trouble, so they lowered their guard considerably.
"Young man, what a coincidence, we meet again!"
They were following the exile caravan so closely that even a blind man could see them. And what a coincidence, it wasn't just a casual remark!
Shen Lanxi smiled and clasped her hands in a fist salute: "We are destined to meet. In the end, I'm actually benefiting from this."
The burly constable raised a thick eyebrow: "What do you mean by that?"
Shen Lanxi immediately said ingratiatingly, "To be honest, I transported a batch of goods from the capital. I was afraid of encountering bad guys on the way. The fact that you officials are wearing official robes can deter thieves and prevent them from daring to steal my goods! Aren't I just benefiting from your presence?"
The constables felt comfortable and at ease after being flattered by Shen Lanxi.
Shen Lanxi then called out to the innkeeper, "Arrange the best rooms for all the constables, all single rooms, and I'll cover the cost!"
Normally, the constables would have thought that the weasel was up to no good by offering New Year's greetings to the chicken, but after being flattered by Shen Lanxi, they felt that such an arrangement was perfectly reasonable.
(End of this chapter)
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