Just as she was secretly shedding tears, she heard a loud crash coming from the direction of Fu'an Hall.
Startled, she immediately wiped away her tears and rushed into Fu'an Hall.
Then they heard Old Madam Yun angrily scolding, "Tell those girls to stop howling! What are they howling for?! I, this old hag, am not dead yet!"
Startled, Zhou immediately knelt down, crying, "My daughter-in-law deserves to die! Mother, please calm down!"
Then, lifting her skirt, she ran wildly to the outside of the hanging flower gate and whispered to her sisters-in-law and two girls who were still crying, "You must stop crying. If you keep crying, and someone with ulterior motives reports it to the Emperor, they will think we are dissatisfied, and then all the effort that person in the palace has put in will be for nothing!"
The group immediately stopped crying, forced themselves to their feet while supporting each other through their grief, and sobbed silently.
Madam Zhou breathed a sigh of relief. "Stop crying, everyone. We can talk about this another day. Go out and get into the carriage! Mother and I will be right there!"
The group didn't dare say anything more, and they helped each other walk out. Looking at the mess on the ground, they all suppressed their tears and dared not cry out.
Naturally, they had to be checked before leaving the house. The Ministry of Justice, which was searching the Marquis's residence, knew that these women were not to be touched, so they specially invited a matron from the palace to check them.
The old woman searched very thoroughly, taking each person to a small side room for a body search, not even sparing the soles of their shoes.
The second and fourth wives were alright; they came out clean and nothing was found.
The third branch looked rather pathetic. Madam Guo, the third wife, pulled out several silver notes from her belt, and her personal maid, Qingyu, also pulled out two silver notes from the sole of her shoe.
Just as the old woman with a grim expression threw the silver note into the hands of the Ministry of Justice official, Madam Zhou was helping Old Madam Yun out.
Upon seeing this, Old Madam Yun's face turned as black as charcoal.
She immediately reprimanded them in front of everyone, saying, "Although my Marquis's family is a military family, we have always held our heads high! How could we do such a petty theft?!"
Guo was so scolded that she was humiliated and wished she could bury her head in the ground.
But then her six-year-old son, the fourth young master Yun Tianyi, asked, "Mother, didn't we just say that we can't take even a single needle or thread with us?"
She was both ashamed and angry. She looked at Qingyu, the maid standing next to Yun Tianyi, and slapped her across the face. "You slut! Was it you who hid the silver notes in my belt?!"
Everyone: ...
You don't even know what's in your own belt?
Who would believe you if you said that?
However, one of the functions of a servant is to take the blame for his master. Everyone present knew this and could only look at Qingyu with sympathy.
Qingyu had no choice but to kneel down and beg for forgiveness, "It was my fault, please punish me, Madam."
Madam Yun naturally knew that this matter had nothing to do with Qingyu, so she could only wave her hand and say, "Alright, get up. Anyone who stays at this point is a person of integrity and loyalty."
Madam Zhou then looked at the old woman and said, "I'll continue to trouble you, old woman."
The old woman then respectfully gestured for them to enter. Both Madam Yun and the matriarch Zhou were renowned figures. Even though they had been demoted to commoners, they still had the right to serve in the palace.
A short while later, the inspection was completed. Zhou, supporting Old Madam Yun, looked at the two officials present and asked, "Lord Lu, Lord Yao, may we leave now?"
Lu and Yao exchanged a glance and nodded.
Madam Yun straightened her back, glanced around with aloofness, and took a firm step.
As soon as she stepped out of the Marquis's mansion, Zhou was overcome with grief.
Once she steps out of this threshold, she becomes a peasant woman, no longer the high and mighty lady of a marquis's mansion, nor the legitimate daughter of the once scholarly family of the Grand Tutor's mansion!
At this moment, a large crowd of people had gathered outside the Marquis's residence, all of whom had come to see what was happening after hearing about the incident at the Pingyuan Marquis's residence.
The imperial decree was announced so suddenly that the three men of the Yun family were taken away, but when they saw a group of elderly, weak, women and children coming out, they started to discuss it.
"Was the Marquis's mansion really raided?!"
"Have all the women been reduced to commoners?"
"I heard it was a crime of treason, yet not a single head was slashed?"
"Shh—don't say anything inappropriate, it's just a suspicion."
"Just because it's a suspicion, why the rush to confiscate property and exile them?"
"If we were to truly determine guilt, how could we avoid shedding a single drop of blood? Besides, who knows whether it was treason or not?"
"That's right. Marquis Pingyuan is wholeheartedly dedicated to resisting the enemy and defending the country's borders. I would believe anyone else who is colluding with the enemy and betraying the country, but I don't believe Marquis Pingyuan!"
"Then...where are they going, this whole family, the old and the young?"
The three-year-old Yun Tianjiao, the sixth young master of the Yun family, whom Madam Yu was holding in her arms, was innocent and unaware of what was happening. He asked the question that everyone was most concerned about in his clear voice, "Mother, where are we going?"
As Zhou listened to the people's discussions, his vision blurred.
Li, who was following closely behind, tugged at Zhou's sleeve in a low voice, "Sister-in-law, where are we going? We've been surrounded by people all the way here. It's fine for us, but it's not good for the young ladies."
Zhou came to her senses, glanced back at her eldest daughter who was following closely behind, and a string of girls and boys following behind, and sighed, "Let's go to my parents' house in the east of the city to stay first. It's a bit small, but it'll be okay if we squeeze in."
She had just thought about this matter carefully. Her father had originally said that the villa was to be part of her dowry that year, but her sister-in-law had some complaints, so she did not accept the land deed.
But her elder brother always felt guilty, saying that he would keep that villa for her.
So she thought, if this whole family comes out and loses all their assets, where will they stay tonight?
Originally, Granny Wang said that Madam Su was staying at the Xilai Inn. Although there were many rooms there, it was crowded and noisy. Madam Zhou quickly realized that she definitely couldn't stay there.
So after thinking it over, I decided to stay at that villa in the east of the city first.
It will take at least two more days to process the agricultural registration.
As for whether the girls were stared at along the way, they couldn't care less about that now.
At this moment, a voice called out, "Madam Yun! You are old and young, when are you going to get there?! We all deeply respect Marquis Yun for protecting our country on the border, and we do not believe that Marquis Yun is a traitor! Where are you going? I have a carriage to take you there!"
Guo's eyes lit up!
Someone squeezed in and said sincerely, "I have a carriage and would like to take Old Madam Yun away!"
Madam Yun's sharp gaze shot towards this person.
Guo hurried forward and said happily, "Mother, there's a carriage! You and your sons and daughters don't have to walk anymore!"
Before Zhou could speak, the man continued, "Back then, Marquis Yun defended the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun with 200,000 troops, resisting the 600,000-strong Northern Di army that pressed in, and almost lost his life. How could such a loyal and patriotic man possibly collude with the enemy and betray his country?! Don't you all agree?!"
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