Chapter 109 The whole family leaves
"Mother, it's not what you think," Yun Zhao held his mother's hand, his voice hoarse with fatigue, "He... took the initiative to let me out of the palace. It's just..."
Zhao Yuanying didn't care about that. He quickly pulled his daughter to sit on the warm couch and looked her over carefully, as if to make sure she was intact. "Never mind, never mind! It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back! This time, we shouldn't have to go back to that cannibalistic place, right?"
Yun Chongshan followed out with his wife's thick cotton cloak, his tone calm but with concern: "You too, you forget everything when you are anxious. It's freezing cold today, Zhao'er's return is a great joy, but you can't run out in just your underwear." As he spoke, he carefully draped the cloak over his wife's shoulders and tied the straps.
"Come here," he turned to the servants waiting by the side and ordered, "Make the young lady a bowl of hot ginger and jujube soup, and some easy-to-digest snacks."
"Yes, Duke." The servant took the order and left in a hurry.
Yun Chongshan personally poured his daughter a cup of hot tea and handed it to her cold hands. He looked at his daughter's red eyes, suppressed the pity in his heart, and asked in a deep voice, "Your Majesty...besides asking you to leave the palace, do you have any other instructions?"
Yun Zhao held the warm teacup, but her fingertips still couldn't feel much warmth. She whispered helplessly, "He said... that we should move out of the capital within three days and return to our hometown in Jinzhou... to farm."
"What?!" Zhao Yuanying was immediately furious when he heard this and stood up abruptly. "What right does he have?! First he took away your father's military power, then he drove you out of the palace, and now he wants to expel our entire family from the capital! He, he is so mean and ungrateful, so cold and heartless!"
Yun Zhao did not stop his mother. There was no one else in the hall at the moment, so it was better for her to vent.
Yun Chongshan's expression was solemn, but he was much calmer than his wife. "It's a blessing that Afeng is safe in the northern border. As long as we're all still alive, that's better than anything else. Since His Majesty has told us to go, then let's go. We'll start packing tomorrow morning and try to get our whole family out of the capital before the city gates close the day after tomorrow."
Zhao Yuanying was so angry that he wiped his tears and said without thinking: "I've followed you for so many years, and I haven't enjoyed a single day of happiness. I've been worried and frightened all the time! Now that I'm middle-aged, you want to go back to the countryside to farm! Mr. Yun, our family is not without soldiers and generals. Why don't we just march into the palace and kill that ungrateful little emperor? Then you can sit on the throne yourself!"
"Nonsense! Shut up!" Yun Chongshan's face suddenly changed, and he shouted sternly, "You're getting more and more outrageous! How can you say something like that that could kill all nine generations of your family?!"
Yun Zhao also hurriedly grabbed his mother's hand, tears in his eyes, and shook his head gently, signaling her to be careful with her words.
Zhao Yuanying also knew that he had spoken out of turn. He sighed heavily, slumped back onto the couch, and said angrily, "Forget it! Zhao'er's yard has been uninhabited for a long time. It must be as cold as an ice cellar! Sleep with me tonight, and you can make do in the study!"
Yun Zhao quickly refused: "Mother, how can this be? How can you and Father be separated? I'll just go back to my own yard and add a few more charcoal braziers."
Yun Chongshan said firmly, "Be obedient. The charcoal fire in the study has never been extinguished, so it's very warm. Your yard has been unoccupied for a long time, so it's very damp. It won't be warmed up soon, and you'll easily catch a cold."
Zhao Yuanying thought his daughter must be feeling down tonight and in need of comfort, so he gave up and wiped away his tears. Seeing his parents like this, Yun Zhao had no choice but to agree.
The family of three had a simple midnight snack and talked for a while. Yun Chongshan mainly gave instructions on the precautions for leaving Beijing. The atmosphere was heavy.
Afterwards, they each went to rest.
Lying on her mother's warm and soft bed, Zhao Yuanying turned sideways to look at her daughter and asked softly, "He kicked you out like this, are you... unhappy? Didn't you always look forward to leaving the palace? Zhao'er, tell me, are you..."
Yun Zhao immediately interrupted his mother, speaking in a somewhat anxious tone, "Mother, it's nothing. I'm just... just worried that something strange might have happened in the capital. I've been feeling uneasy these past few days, always feeling like something big is about to happen. Yunxiang Tower... collapsed, Mother."
Zhao Yuanying stood up in shock. "What?! Yunxiang Tower collapsed? When did it happen?"
Yun Zhao whispered, "It happened tonight, not long after I left the palace. I suspected someone had tampered with it, but I didn't have time... or the chance to investigate further..."
"That's something the imperial court should worry about, not ours." Zhao Yuanying lay back down, hugged his daughter, and patted her back gently. "My daughter, you're just used to worrying. Now that you're free all of a sudden, you feel empty inside, right? Don't think about it. Go to sleep. You still have to pack tomorrow, and you'll be tired."
Yun Zhao, however, was filled with worry. "Mother, since we're leaving so quickly, we need to pack light. We should take away the servants in the mansion who can, and we should also properly arrange for the rest of the family to leave. I'm sure Father won't be able to sleep well tonight, and he's making all these plans."
"Yes, your father looks like a rough man, but he has always thought carefully about these trivial matters." Zhao Yuanying sighed.
Yun Zhao smiled slightly: "It is true that my father is a military commander, but he has always been brave, resourceful and meticulous."
"You just know how to say nice things about him. He is just a cunning old man..." Zhao Yuanying spoke in a reproachful tone, but with a hint of barely perceptible pride and dependence.
…
Everything went just as Yun Chongshan had planned.
The next afternoon, as the sun was setting and there was still an hour before the city gates were to close, the three branches of the Yun family, together with the servants who were willing to follow, a total of sixty-five people, and more than a dozen carriages drove out of the towering city gates of the capital quietly but in an orderly manner, heading towards Jinzhou.
Sixty to seventy percent of the servants in the mansion were dismissed, leaving only a few loyal old servants to guard and care for the huge Duke's Mansion.
On the morning of the third day, Xiao Yan received the news and hurriedly brought people to the Yunguo Mansion, only to find that the door was wide open, but the house was empty. Only a few old servants were left sweeping the courtyard, and it was a deserted place!
…
Inside Yanying Hall, Xiao Yan faced the emperor, whose figure was blurred on the throne. He suppressed his surprise and dissatisfaction and asked, "Brother Emperor, why did you suddenly order the Yun family to leave? The case of the refugees from Jingxiang has not yet been fully investigated and concluded. Duke Yun was, after all, a loyal minister who had made great military achievements in the country! Wouldn't this move chill the hearts of all the soldiers?"
Xiao Jin, sitting on the throne, seemed to have spent a lot of effort to identify the person below him. His voice was filled with deliberate impatience and annoyance, even a little arrogant:
"I just don't like him! When I think of what he did in the past, it's like a lump in my throat, and I can't swallow it! Now that you are in the court, and I don't have Yun Chongshan, is the sky of Daye going to fall?! Letting him go back to his hometown to farm is already a special favor from me, the greatest mercy!"
He leaned forward slightly, his unfocused eyes fixed on Xiao Yan. His tone suddenly turned cold, carrying the pressure and suspicion of an emperor: "Why? Fifth brother... have you come here today specifically to plead for him?"
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