Chapter 26 Exiled
The Shen family members were imprisoned in the Sky Prison for five days.
During these five days, no one came to visit them, let alone bring them food, quilts, etc.
Under pressure from Old Lady Wang's lewd power, the women in the household did not dare to let her suffer from cold and hunger.
The cell was damp and cold, so the concubines took off their coats and gave them to her, and took turns sharing their share of the meal with her.
Even though I was cold and hungry, I had no choice but to endure it.
Although Old Lady Wang was disgusted, she knew that now was not the time to be picky, so she enjoyed the service of everyone with peace of mind, cursing and pointing fingers from time to time.
What a demeanor of an old lady from a wealthy family!
As the detention time grew longer, everyone's arrogance was completely shattered.
At first, they were picky about the food, but later on, they even asked for more, saying that the bland soup was not enough to satisfy their hunger.
Unfortunately, they can’t do whatever they want here.
Apart from eating, going to the toilet is even more frustrating.
There is only one toilet in a cell, and someone comes to empty it every day. You can imagine the smell.
Ever since Shen Shiren rose to prominence, he had requested an imperial decree for his widowed mother. With the imperial decree and her capable son with a promising future, Old Lady Wang had never suffered any hardship. Now that she had been imprisoned, she felt like she had lost half her life.
As for the other female members of the Shen family, except for the four legitimate masters Wang Yalan, Liu Wan, Shen Juanjuan and Shen Lili, who were in slightly better condition, the other concubines and their daughters were already in a very miserable and haggard state.
Not only the women of the Shen family, but also Lu Yao and Shen Yanrong were a little overwhelmed. Even though they tried to find ways to provide everyone with delicious food to supplement nutrition every day and take the children to do activities together, the two children still looked listless.
During these five days, they were also taken out for questioning, including Lu Yao and Shen Yanrong.
Because they had all been taken away individually, the women of the Shen family still held on to hope, but they were more afraid.
Especially when they heard the heart-wrenching cries of the people in the Earl's Mansion being exiled to the border, filled with despair, grief and helplessness, the people in the Shen family who cried every day became much quieter.
[I don’t know how long it will be closed.]
On this point, the Shen family and Lu Yao and others rarely had a common language.
On this day, the prison door was finally opened again, and they were urged to go outside to receive orders.
"Are we finally going out?"
Some were excited, while others were naturally apprehensive, especially considering how the people in the Earl's Mansion had been so excited to receive the decree...
The thought is chilling, and some people even want to stay locked up here and not go out.
Of course, it is impossible not to go out.
At the urging of the prison boss, the group came to the hall outside the prison.
In the hall, the men of the Shen family were already waiting there. They were very excited to see the women coming out, and so were the women. Both sides went towards each other, wanting to know the other's situation and get comfort.
The guard on the side quickly stopped the man.
"Don't move!"
“Stand still!”
Several days of imprisonment had frayed everyone's nerves, and they had lost their initial arrogance and pride. Upon hearing the guard's rebuke, everyone immediately stopped and dared not say a word except for eye contact.
Seeing this scene, Lu Yao and Shen Yanrong moved towards each other at the same time, and their gratitude towards Xie Zheng became even greater.
Speak of Cao Cao and he will appear.
Xie Zheng did not wear armor today, but a purple official uniform embroidered with a Qilin. His facial features were three-dimensional and his expression was cold. With this official uniform, the aura he exuded was no less than when he was wearing armor.
Standing one step closer to him was a white-faced, beardless man wearing a python robe, holding a bright yellow scroll in his hand.
Lu Yao's mind flickered. This person should be the eunuch beside the emperor. The thing in his hand should be the imperial edict that determines their fate.
Chen Yanrong also guessed what was about to happen. The two of them calmly put the child on the ground and took the opportunity to move closer to each other.
Once everything was ready, the eunuch stood in front of everyone and asked the Shen family to receive the order.
Everyone in the Shen family knelt down together, their hearts tightly gripped together.
They have been suffering these days, and now it is finally time for the verdict.
The eunuch did not delay and waited until everyone knelt down, then he unfolded the imperial edict, boiled water and began to read it out.
"The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, proclaims: Shen Shiren, the Minister of Personnel, has disregarded the Emperor's grace, accepted bribes, framed his colleagues, and allowed his servants to oppress the people... Based on irrefutable evidence, he is to be punished with thirty strokes of the cane, his property confiscated, and his entire family exiled to Ganzhou as a warning to others. Any servants in his household who have committed offenses will be punished according to the law; those who have not committed offenses will be sold. This is my decree!"
The hearts of the Shen family members fell into the abyss little by little as the imperial edict was read out, and some people even collapsed on the ground.
"People of the Shen family, please accept the decree." After reading it, the eunuch who announced the decree took the imperial edict and urged the Shen family to accept it.
He did not pursue their misconduct and rudeness. Every time such an imperial edict was read out, such a scene would be played out once. It was human nature to suddenly fall from the clouds into the quagmire and be deeply shocked.
The Shen family finally came to their senses. Shen Shiren was not there. At present, only Old Lady Shen was the most prestigious person in the Shen family. With the support of Wang Yalan, she stood up tremblingly and stepped forward to take the imperial edict: "Long live the emperor."
The voice seemed at least ten years older.
The eunuch who announced the decree was not moved at all by the sorrow of the Shen family members. He didn't even glance at them. He had a brief exchange with Xie Zheng and then said goodbye and left.
Xie Zheng did not delay either. He waved his hand and someone immediately went to get the torture instruments to put them on the Shen family.
Everyone in the Shen family was at a loss, hugging each other and crying bitterly.
"Mom, we can't go back to the capital anymore, right?"
"What should I do next?"
"Ganzhou, that's a wild and desolate place with high mountains and long rivers. Can I make it there alive? Wuwuwu!"
"We don't have anything, can we still go back to the Shen family to get it?"
“…”
Everyone was in panic and despair, and their remaining dignity was gone because of the uncertainty about the future.
Shen Yaoming felt very depressed listening to the crying and wailing of the crowd. Is this the end of his life?
No, his life shouldn't be like this.
But with the emperor's order in hand, no matter how unwilling they were, it was of no avail. They could only let the officers and soldiers put shackles on their hands and feet.
At this time, they finally saw Shen Shiren.
Shen Shiren had just been executed with thirty strokes of the cane. After all, he was old and had probably suffered a lot in the past few days. He was now unconscious and was dragged in front of the Shen family by the guards like a dead dog.
When Old Lady Wang saw her son lying there in a bloody mess, she immediately rushed over and cried out, "My son, how are you?"
"Cousin, wake up."
"father……"
A group of people also gathered around. Seeing the miserable condition of the boss, the already frightened people became even more confused. What should they do in the days to come?
"Mom, is uncle going to die?"
"Can we survive?"
Shen Lili and Shen Juanjuan asked in a low voice. They were used to being spoiled and had been frightened out of their temper. They could only hold their mother's hands tightly for comfort.
"Don't worry, it won't happen!" Liu Wan said unconfidently.
Her voice was very soft, and it was unclear whether she was comforting herself or the two children.
"What are you talking about!" Shen Shifu, the second son of the Shen family, waited for the mother and daughter and said, "Be careful that the old lady will punish you."
The three of them shrank their necks and fell silent.
"What are you doing!" Seeing that they were still gathered here and not leaving, and seeing the gloomy face of the general next to them, the guards were worried about being scolded, so they hurriedly urged the escorting officers and soldiers to set off quickly.
only……
Shen Shiren is now unconscious and the group of people are unable to take him away.
Shen Yaoming looked at Shen Yanrong who was standing beside him, and the latter slapped him on the back of his head. Shen Yaoming had no choice but to ask for help from Xie Zheng who had a cold face and asked him to be flexible.
Xie Zheng did not make things difficult for him, but he did not say a word either. He just glanced at him lightly and then looked away.
Shen Yaoming's heart sank to the bottom. They were a group of people, young and old, and he was just a weak scholar. What should he do?
Fortunately, Wang Yalan was calm enough. She had been paying attention to her son's situation. She walked to the prison boss, took off the bracelet and handed it to him, asking him if he could help find a car. It didn't have to be a very good one, as long as he could take the person away.
Worried that the other party would be reluctant, she apologized, "We also hope to be on the road as soon as possible and not miss the time."
The jailer took the bracelet, looked at its quality, said "wait" and left.
But after a cup of tea, the jailer appeared again, followed by a jailer pushing a cart.
The jailer placed the cart in front of them and left. The prison boss pointed at the cart, indicating that it was prepared for them.
Wang Yalan was so angry that she exchanged a fine jade bracelet for such a cart, but she couldn't say anything and had to express her gratitude to the prison boss.
With the cart, things became much more convenient. With the joint efforts of the Shen family, they finally moved the people up.
As for who pushes the cart?
Of course, it was the concubines and illegitimate sons.
Shen Yaoming was very satisfied with his grandmother's arrangement, but he had not left the capital yet and did not want to be gossiped about.
Therefore, when his half-brothers pushed the cart, he also put his hands on the handlebars.
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