Chapter 32 Shameless
Lu Yao knew nothing about the situation on her brother's side.
A family of four and other people embarked on the difficult journey of exile under the escort of officers and soldiers.
They took the official road.
Official roads are generally slightly wider and smoother than other roads. Roads near the capital are generally paved with bluestone slabs, while roads further afield are paved with gravel or simply smoothed.
If there are stones, it won't be too difficult to walk on rainy days. But if there are no stones, the road will be bumpy and easily flooded, and it will be muddy as soon as you step on it, which is extremely difficult.
Fortunately, the weather is fine today and we are not far from Beijing, so we haven't encountered such a situation yet. However, dragging heavy shackles is not an easy task in itself.
Exile on foot is a punishment for prisoners. There are so many hardships along the way that they cannot even endure them.
but,
It's not that there are no loopholes to exploit.
For example, they could spend money to ask officers and soldiers to be more flexible with their meals, prepare better food, and replace the shackles with hemp ropes. Although they still couldn't get rid of the restraints, at least they didn't have to drag heavy iron shackles, and they felt a lot more relaxed.
This kind of thing is not an isolated case. The authorities have chosen to turn a blind eye to this situation. They do not encourage it, but they have not explicitly banned it either.
After all, they all understand the hardships of escorting, and they always want to give people some benefits.
Therefore, when the group was resting on the way, someone immediately asked the officers and soldiers next to him about the situation.
Leading the escorting officers and soldiers was the general on horseback, wearing a crimson military uniform embroidered with tigers. His surname was Lin, and he was not originally in charge of this area, but took on this task for other reasons.
Although it was the first time for Lin Hongyang to escort prisoners, he was aware of the twists and turns behind it. Therefore, when the people below came to ask questions, he did not stop them, but just asked them to be careful and not to be too high-profile.
The officers and soldiers thought that they could not make extra money this time as they did in the past, but they never expected that the general was so easy to talk to. He immediately gave instructions that they should collect what they should collect and not touch what they should not collect. If they collected money, they had to follow the regulations. Those who did not have money should not be treated too harshly, so as not to let General Lin think that they were greedy and did not do their job.
As the saying goes, a gentleman loves money but gets it in a proper way. They are serious people with bottom lines and principles that they stick to.
When people in the crowd heard that they could suffer less by speaking their minds, they were immediately overjoyed. As long as they had some money, they were willing to make their lives easier.
It's only been half a day and I've lost half my life. Things will only get harder in the future. Even if I keep the money, I'm afraid I won't be able to enjoy it in my life.
After hearing the specific amount, everyone in the Shen family looked at the old lady and Wang Yalan with anticipation.
Old Mrs. Wang felt sorry for her son and grandson, so she immediately asked Wang Yalan to pay the money.
Wang Yalan was a little hesitant. It was okay for her husband and son, but why did those people from the second house want her to go out?
Besides, the banknotes that Jiaojiao brought over were all kept by the old lady, and any money she gave to her came from the old lady. What Jiaojiao gave to her privately were all her own private money, and she would definitely not touch it unless it was absolutely necessary.
She didn't know what she would encounter along the way, and there were many places where she would need to spend money, so she had to make plans for herself and her children.
Mrs. Wang was a little dissatisfied when she saw this, but she also understood her niece's little thoughts, so she took out a banknote and said, "You go and make the arrangements."
The old lady gave limited money, and Wang Yalan didn't plan to spend money on everyone. In the end, the only people who were uncuffed were the couple and Shen Yaoming, as well as the second wife Shen Shifu and his two legitimate sons. As for Liu Wan and her two daughters, she could only say sorry. There was nothing she could do because this was all the old lady gave her.
Liu Wan didn't expect Wang Yalan to be so single. She and her two daughters immediately went to find the old lady. The old lady glanced at them indifferently and said coldly: "These are all the silver given by Jiaojiao."
The implication is that if you want to be comfortable, you have to pay for it yourself. She won't pay a penny more anyway.
The mother, daughter and her two children did not expect the old lady to be so heartless, and their faces turned pale immediately.
Sisters Shen Lili and Shen Juanjuan glared at Wang Yalan hatefully. This woman must have done it on purpose.
Wang Yalan spread her hands, saying that she hadn't taken a single cent of the money. Facing the questioning, she acted innocently: "We only spent enough for the three of us."
Didn't you see that the first wife's family still had several illegitimate children and concubines in shackles? Why should the second wife be treated specially? How could they have children if they were incapable?
Thinking about how her sister-in-law had bullied her over the years for only giving birth to a son and a daughter, she felt even happier.
Finally, I got rid of my anger.
The illegitimate sons and daughters and several concubines who were sitting on the ground panting lowered their heads in disappointment when they heard their decision. Not only could they not remove the shackles, they also had to push carts on the way. They didn't know when their master/father would be able to walk again.
Shen Yulian looked at her aunt, whose complexion was getting worse and worse. She gritted her teeth and mustered up the courage to say to Old Lady Wang, "Grandma, we still have to push the cart..."
"What's wrong with pushing a cart?!" Old Lady Wang was already irritated by Liu Wan, her mother, and her daughter. Before she could finish, she interrupted angrily, "Yao Ming and the other legitimate children pushed a cart too. Did they say anything?"
"..." Shen Yulian lowered her eyes to hide the emotions in her eyes, and her hands hidden in her sleeves were clenched tightly. She wanted to refute, but years of oppression made her dare not say a word.
Thirteen-year-old Shen Zhao was the son of Shen Shifu's favorite concubine. Because of this relationship, his temper was no worse than that of the legitimate children. He immediately refused to do anything: "But they didn't even try!"
He glared at Wang Yalan and the others, "We are all members of the Shen family, why are we treated differently?"
This sentence can be said to have expressed the thoughts of everyone.
"You're such a rebel!" Old Lady Wang glared at her youngest son. "You've spoiled him all along. How dare a bastard point his finger at your mother and bring her to justice!"
After saying that, he looked at Chen Zhao again and said, "You are just a bastard who is not presentable. How dare you be compared with the legitimate son? Who gave you the face!"
Shen Zhao's eyes were red, and he wanted to say something, but was directly scolded by Shen Shifu.
While the group was arguing, they didn't notice that the unconscious person on the cart next to them opened his eyes and looked in their direction, then closed his eyes again, as if the scene just now had never happened.
Unfortunately, Lu Yao, who had been paying attention to this place, discovered it.
The corners of her mouth curled up, and she asked Old Lady Wang in a friendly manner, "Grandma, do you mean that neither illegitimate children nor female relatives can be born?"
"Of course!" Old Lady Wang didn't understand what Lu Yao meant at first, but it didn't affect her firm decision.
"In that case, please don't forget me and Brother Rong."
After she finished speaking, she seemed to have just remembered and explained in a low voice: "There are only two of us in our original family."
???
!!!
"Why?"
“Why?”
Not only Old Lady Wang and Wang Yalan, but even Liu Wan was furious.
She was not even a legitimate daughter-in-law of the Shen family, so why was this little bitch kicked out of the Shen family!
"This silver was given by my daughter. It has nothing to do with you."
"If you want to be comfortable, you have to pay for it yourself. If you don't have money, you deserve to suffer!"
"People who were kicked out a long time ago really think that they are still members of the Shen family just because they have the surname Shen?"
"Some people are like flies, they flock to wherever there's meat."
“…”
Several people were talking to each other, some were indignant, some were angry and resentful.
Lu Yao listened with a smile, without any sign of anger. In the eyes of the Shen family, this attitude was seen as a shameless and thick-skinned act of seeking benefits.
Bah, too shameless!
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