Chapter 185 The pregnancy is not at the right stage, is he going to be a father unexpectedly?
Before dawn, Lao Liao had the escorts beat a gong to urge them to continue their journey.
Someone was grumbling about needing a rest because their wounds from being stepped on hurt, so Lao Liao lashed them with his whip.
Ask them if the pain from their wounds or from being whipped hurts.
The original wound was already painful, and the whip made the pain even worse.
Who would dare say they wouldn't leave? They silently packed their things and continued on their way.
They walked thirty miles in one go, taking a half-hour break to eat breakfast.
After another morning of travel, we finally arrived at Caizhou City.
After a day of rest, everyone who wasn't injured was full of energy and moved ahead, leaving a small group of people far behind.
Old Liao nodded at the group ahead, then noticed some people still behind, panting and bent over, practically crawling on all fours. He waved and shouted, "Keep up! Hurry up, Caizhou is just ahead! Hurry, if we miss the appointed time, none of us will be able to enter the city. Keep going!"
Upon hearing this, the people behind gritted their teeth and quickened their pace to continue walking forward.
Having a wooden stick as a crutch makes things much easier. Some of the elderly and injured lie on the cart and are pushed along without much of a burden. The younger ones can quicken their pace, and it's impossible to catch up; they can only gradually close the distance.
The group at the front waited for about 15 minutes at the gate of Xuzhou before queuing up to enter the city.
Many people in the group were injured, so Lao Liao wanted everyone to enter the city, but restricted their movements to the clinics and restaurants on that street. After seeing a doctor and having a meal, they had to leave the city immediately and were not allowed to linger.
After a series of incidents in Xuzhou delayed his journey, Lao Liao realized a truth.
They absolutely must not be allowed to stay in the city. Even if the sky falls, they can only stay at the post station or in the wilderness.
It was also stipulated that exiles had to report to the guards responsible for watching over the household they were guarding, and the guards had to keep an eye on them.
Yang was feeling unwell, so Xie Wanyun suggested taking her to a clinic for treatment.
Xiao Xuance had Zhuiying and Xiaowu follow along, as did Xiao Mingshu.
He and Yun Zhaoxue went to the restaurant first to reserve seats and order food.
It's lunchtime now, and there are many locals eating here, plus the convicts, so the restaurants on this street are almost all packed. If you don't grab a seat in advance, you won't be able to eat lunch.
Xiao Xuance had difficulty walking, so he didn't book a private room upstairs and went directly to the lobby on the first floor.
Yang's family also needs to wait in line for treatment; they have mild headaches.
The doctor suggested that she lie down and receive a few acupuncture treatments to relieve the symptoms.
Xiao Xuanwu stayed with her while the others went to the restaurant across the street for lunch.
Yang knew that Yun Zhaoxue was skilled in medicine and was no less skilled than the imperial physicians.
She wasn't feeling well but didn't tell her. One of them didn't say anything, and the other didn't take the initiative, so it's been dragging on until now.
When Yang could no longer hold on, she suggested going to the clinic for treatment.
Xiao Xuanwu wanted to use the restroom, but someone locked him inside. It took a quarter of an hour for someone to come and open the door for him.
When she returned to Yang's side, she saw Ye Hongying sitting at the head of her bed, feeding her water.
He rushed forward and pushed her aside, looking at her warily. "What do you want to do to my mother?"
This sound drew everyone's attention.
Ye Hongying looked embarrassed and awkward, biting her lip as she looked at him and said, "Fifth Young Master, I saw that the Princess was thirsty, so I gave her some water to drink. I didn't mean to do anything wrong. Have you misunderstood something?"
“No need, I’ll feed my mother myself.”
"This is our water bag, give it back to me."
Xiao Xuanwu stepped forward and snatched back the water bag.
He was still young and didn't know how to hide his thoughts; everything was written on his face, and he was full of hostility towards Ye Hongying.
Although his third brother didn't tell him anything, he guessed that Xiao Xiuning's escape and poisoning of them were related to her.
Lying on the bed, Yang was still unable to move because of the silver needles inserted into her body. Seeing her son's hatred towards Ye Hongying, she spoke up to explain, "Xiaowu, Hongying didn't do anything to me. You shouldn't treat her like this. Apologize to her."
Xiao Xuanwu turned around and carefully observed her expression, asking with concern, "Mother, are you feeling alright?"
"I'm really fine, you've misunderstood Hongying."
Xiao Xuanwu was relieved and apologized, saying, "I'm sorry, I misunderstood. However, please don't do such a thing again in the future."
Ye Hongying replied, sounding aggrieved, "I understand."
"Your Highness, I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."
"Okay, take care."
Ye Hongying went to the counter and asked the shopkeeper for two bottles of wound medicine and some other medicines before leaving the clinic.
Xiao Xuanwu sensed that Yang was in low spirits, as if she had something on her mind. He asked her what Ye Hongying had said to her, but she wouldn't say.
They had no choice but to give up. After seeing the doctor and having a meal, they had to rush to line up and prepare to leave. Some people who went to buy things had not returned, or they wanted to buy things but were stopped by the guards.
In the alley not far away.
Zhu Feng reported to Xiao Xuance what had happened in Xuzhou and the capital.
Prefect Xu was silenced. Based on the wounds on his body, Lord He judged that the perpetrator was someone he knew and trusted, and that he was killed by the perpetrator with a single blow when he was caught off guard.
Meanwhile, in the capital...
Qin Xiang was imprisoned for colluding with bandits, but the Crown Prince's faction protected him.
The emperor, mindful of his years of observation and hard work (even if he hadn't made any significant contributions), dismissed him from his post and placed him under house arrest at the prime minister's residence.
Just then, the Great Zhou and the Great Jing were about to sign a ceasefire agreement.
None of the court officials were capable of the task, except for Prime Minister Qin, who was imprisoned. He wrote a memorial in blood, every word of which was filled with tears, expressing his desire to share the emperor's burdens.
The Prime Minister of Qin was reinstated, and it was announced to the world that the Prime Minister had not colluded with bandits and had been framed.
Several ministers who were part of the Second Prince's faction and presented evidence of collusion between the Prime Minister and bandits were demoted three ranks.
Zhu Feng analyzed, "Your Highness, that night I threatened him with the lives of the Qin clan, and he was clearly nervous and scared, but he still denied that he had killed the prince. Who do you think is the murderer of the prince?"
"Send more men to keep an eye on the Second Prince. Whoever it is, better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free!"
Xiao Xuance then asked, "What's happening at the border?"
"According to reports from spies planted in Dajing, Wanyan Zonglie has been secretly recruiting soldiers and strengthening their training."
After finishing his business, Zhu Feng recalled the failure of yesterday's mission. He had originally planned to stab Madam Duan and Madam Wang, but unfortunately, Lao Liao and the others woke up too early, so he had to stop in advance and let them escape.
"My subordinate has failed in his duty; please punish him, Your Highness."
"This will not be allowed to happen again!"
Xiao Xuance waved his hand, and Zhuiying pushed him out of the alley.
In the afternoon, they continued their journey and traveled another fifty miles.
Old Liao then told them to rest where they were. It was 20 li from the post station and 50 li from the next city.
So we'll be camping out in the wild again tonight.
Everyone was traumatized by their previous encounter with wolves while camping in the wild, so this time they specifically chose a place to rest near the Xiao family's house.
The Xiao family was surrounded by several layers of people.
The Third Prince and the Yun family were both present.
The Yun family has dozens of members, and they spend money like water; each person pays several tens of coins for a single white flour steamed bun.
When the Qin family got into trouble, the Wang family, being related by marriage, was also implicated. The Wang family didn't have enough money to help the Yun family, so they had to be careful with their spending. The Wang family had a fixed amount for their daily expenses. If they went to a restaurant for lunch and overspent, they wouldn't have time to buy food, so they would eat white flour buns for dinner.
The Third Prince and the Xiao family had both set up their pots and pans to cook.
The Third Prince set up a chessboard in the pavilion by the lake and invited Xiao Xuance to come over and play a game.
Xiao Xuance told Yun Zhaoxue that he had accepted the invitation and was going, as he also had important matters to discuss with the Third Prince.
Yun Zhaoxue sat down to rest under the tree.
The Third Prince's two concubines, Liu Yiyi and Su Wan'er, came over.
Su Wan'er took out a box. "Princess, this is for you. It's pearl powder that's recently become popular in Jiangnan. I'm giving it to you."
"Thanks to you for reminding us last time that there was something wrong with the rouge, otherwise we would have been disfigured and made ugly, disliked by His Highness, and allowed certain people to succeed."
The Third Prince intended to form an alliance with the Xiao family, so they all got together to play chess.
She's so capable, and she doesn't get along with Yun Jiaoyue, so befriending her is definitely the right thing to do.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Liu Yiyi took out two paper packets. "These are dried fruit and dried meat that my relatives asked me to give you. I specially brought some for you to try."
Yun Zhaoxue returned the things the two had handed her, saying, "It was just a small favor. These things are too valuable; I can't accept them. Please take them back."
“Princess, we sincerely want to thank you. I swear we did not add anything bad.”
"I'll apply it to you."
"I'll eat it for you to see."
As they spoke, one of them poured some powder onto her face, while the other picked up some dried fruit and jerky and put them in her mouth to chew, trying every means to get her to accept them. In their view, if Yun Zhaoxue accepted their gifts, it meant that she was on good terms with them.
Yun Zhaoxue understood their thoughts. She had a lot of supplies in her space that she couldn't use up, so she didn't need these things. "Look how good my skin is, I don't need pearl powder. I got tired of dried fruit and dried meat a few days ago. I had morning sickness from eating too much, so I really can't have them."
"Alright, since the princess says so, we won't press the matter. We'd also like to ask how the princess takes care of her skin?"
"Yes, I've been wanting to ask that for a long time. Our faces, including the other women's, are all red and dark from the sun, but the princess's snow-white skin is even better than when she was raised in her boudoir. What kind of rouge did you use?"
"Perhaps it's because I'm pregnant that I can't get a tan naturally."
Su Wan'er was somewhat skeptical, "Can pregnancy really make your skin supple and smooth?"
She had only ever heard of women getting fat and losing their figure during pregnancy.
"It seems to vary from person to person. I have seen some people who are indeed like this, but most pregnant women are obese and bloated, they are as round as balls. It is rare to see someone like the princess."
"Princess, let me tell you secretly that someone in your group is spreading rumors that your belly is abnormally large and suspects that the child you are carrying is not the heir. Otherwise, they wouldn't be so shameless as to consummate the marriage in prison, trying to make the child a legitimate member of the Xiao family."
Yun Zhaoxue narrowed her eyes slightly. "Who said that?"
"Princess, please don't be angry. We didn't spread this rumor; we heard it from someone else." As she spoke, she glanced in Yun Jiaoyue's direction, the identity of whom was self-evident.
Some people speculate that the child is Shen Yan's.
That's why Xiao Xuance got so angry and embarrassed that he killed him.
...
By the river, everyone was filling their containers with water for drinking or cooking.
Xiao Mingshu carried four water bags and a bucket of water by herself; it was quite heavy, and she swayed as she walked.
Mrs. Duan accidentally bumped into her, and her pants and shoes got wet from the water.
"Ah! My clothes! I just changed into new clothes and you've gotten them wet! You blind little brat!" Madam Duan was furious and raised her hand to slap her.
Xiao Mingshu stepped back to avoid the slap. "I was walking along just fine. You suddenly turned around and bumped into me. Besides, your clothes are wet, not broken. Why don't you take them off, wring them out, and dry them in the sun?"
"Where do you expect me to change in this desolate wilderness? Do you think everyone is as shameless as your Xiao family, getting pregnant with another man's child and deliberately going to the prison to consummate the marriage, letting people watch and confusing the bloodline of your husband's family?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? I don't understand."
At this moment, Ye Hongying appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of Xiao Mingshu. "Madam Duan, don't be angry. Shuer didn't mean it. I have a new dress made of the finest Shu brocade. I'll get it for you to change into later."
"That's more like it. Since you're sensible, I won't hold it against her."
Xiao Mingshu understood the meaning behind her words, dropped the bucket, strode forward, and grabbed Madam Duan, who was about to leave. "Stop! Explain yourself! What did you mean by that? What makes you say that? Do you have any evidence? You're just spouting nonsense with your mouth full of crap! A gossipy woman's tongue will break sooner or later!"
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