Chapter 109 Waiting to see the eldest branch of the Xiao family go hungry
Yun Zhaoxue sighed softly, "I'm fair and impartial, and I offended her, so she slandered me. But I have no choice; I can't just watch everyone get deceived."
Upon hearing this, everyone became even more certain that Wu was not a good person. She had no money herself, so she slandered Yun Zhaoxue. They were so angry that they wanted to beat her up.
"You damn liar, you've fooled one person, and now you want to fool a second? Do you really think we'd be so stupid as to fall for it a second time?"
"Your skin is so thick you could use it to build a city wall. You did something wrong, why should anyone help you? That girl is a good person, it's right that she doesn't collude with you."
...
Wu was so anxious that bubbles were forming on her lips. She pointed at Yun Zhaoxue, her face full of resentment, and she twisted on the ground like a maggot. "She stole my money! She touched me and my money disappeared! I swear, I swear to God, if I'm lying, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death! If you don't believe me, search her body. Her family is so poor that they're eating wild vegetables. Where would they get the money to go to a restaurant and eat and drink extravagantly?"
The old woman said, "You said before that if oaths were useful, what would be the point of the government? Your oath is useless; you just don't have money and want to extort money from that girl."
Ms. Wu remembers pounding the ground, wondering why no one believed her.
Aaaaaah!!!
That bitch is such a good actress, why doesn't anyone believe her?
Old Liao spoke up again, saying to Wu, "It's only right to pay back debts, so hurry up and pay the medical bills."
Wu said matter-of-factly, "I have no money. She stole all the money I had on me and made Yun Zhaoxue pay for me."
Yun Zhaoxue stood with her hands on her hips, looking down at Yang Shi on the ground: "You say I stole from you, do you have any evidence? Don't think you can just slander me because I look easy to bully. Let me tell you, even a rabbit will bite when cornered."
The people thought her voice was soft and weak, as if she were bluffing, and it really sounded like a rabbit.
I spoke up for her again.
“Girl, don’t be afraid of her. It was you who stood up and exposed her, which prevented us from being deceived. You are our benefactor. We will testify for you that you did not steal her money; she is slandering you.”
"What kind of skill is it to bully the weak and fear the strong? You only bully young girls. Have some shame! If you have a problem, come at us."
"Thank you, thank you everyone." Yun Zhaoxue bowed to everyone with a grateful expression.
"You're welcome, you're welcome."
Wu was speechless, wondering who had bullied whom.
It was Yun Zhaoxue who bullied and beat her.
She retorted unwillingly, "You've all been fooled by her. She's the most wicked woman in the capital. She's the truly vicious one. You must believe me and help me get my money back."
The common people shook their heads, "We don't believe you. You're more like the most wicked woman in the capital."
The old woman said, "Young lady, you don't need to be so polite with us. We are the ones who should thank you. If it weren't for you, I would have been falsely accused of being a thief. We have no way to repay your great kindness. Please take this."
She handed a silver ingot to Yun Zhaoxue. Exile must be short of money, and a thousand words of thanks are not as meaningful as silver.
Yun Zhaoxue returned the silver to her, shaking her head slightly, "Thank you, ma'am, but I can't accept money from an old lady."
Old Liao said to Yun Zhaoxue, "Yun, she is the second wife of the Xiao family. You are family. Lend her two taels of silver first, and she can pay you back when you get back."
Yun Zhaoxue touched her flat sleeve in front of everyone and said, "Officer, you see, I've spent all my money. I'm broke and unable to help."
Wu pointed at her and shouted, "Officer, she must have money on her, she just won't hand it over. Search her, she must have money on her."
If her purse is found, it will prove that Yun Zhaoxue stole the money. Only by swindling several dozen more taels from the eldest son's family can she make up for the humiliation she suffered today.
At this time, the other exiles also returned one after another, carrying large and small bags of grain.
Old Liao cursed at Wu, "Shut up! It's not your place to order me around."
Asking a grown man to search a young girl? Are you crazy?!
He glanced at the line, then pointed at a woman and said, "Are you the daughter of the third branch of the Xiao family? Give her two taels of silver to cover her medical expenses, and she can pay you back when you get back."
Xiao Mingshu pointed to herself, "Me?"
"Yes! It's you. It's easy to settle accounts with your whole family. Go back and have her pay you back."
"Officer, I... I don't have any money either. I've spent all my money on buying things, and this is all I have left."
As he spoke, he rummaged through his sleeves and pulled out a folded piece of coarse cloth. Unfolding it, he found only seven or eight copper coins and two taels of silver, far short of the expected amount.
Old Liao: "Is that really all? If you have any, lend it to her first. I'll vouch for it, and she can pay you back when she gets back, how about that?"
They all say they have no money? They won't even help their own family pay it back, so why are they expecting others to help them?
Xiao Mingshu shook her head again, "Officer, there really aren't any left."
Her parents sent her out to shop, but didn't give her a penny. Instead, they specifically asked for a bunch of things, and the money for buying them all came from her own money.
Old Liao then asked the others, "Is there anyone willing to lend her two taels of silver to pay for her medical expenses, so that she can pay you back when we get back?"
No one said a word.
Yun Jiaoyue is making her presence felt again. She says, "Big sister, she's also a member of your Xiao family. Her failure to pay back her debts is damaging the reputation of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion. You should help her pay it back as soon as possible."
Yun Zhaoxue snorted coldly, "The second branch has severed ties with the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion, so it has nothing to do with the first branch. Besides, I really don't have any money to repay her. You're so kind, why don't you repay her?"
A commoner asked, "Young lady, are you from the eldest branch of the Xiao family? Are you the daughter of the Prince of Zhenbei?"
The three sons of the Xiao family are so famous that people have overlooked the later children.
"no."
"And who are you?"
Yun Zhaoxue replied, "My husband is the third son of the Xiao family."
"So it's the Third Young Madam. The Prince of Zhenbei is our benefactor. Please take these things back and share them with the Princess and the Prince. Our benefactor's relatives are passing through Weishi County, and we can't let them go hungry." Everyone handed all the things to Yun Zhaoxue.
She waved her hand in refusal, saying, "Thank you all for your kindness, but I cannot accept these things. Please rest assured, we have food and will not go hungry. Your lives are not easy either, so please take them back."
In the end, Yun Jiaoyue repaid the debt for Wu Shi, proving that two taels of silver were enough to win people's hearts.
Those two taels of silver were well spent; the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
The group left the city gate and returned along the same route.
Ten miles is neither far nor near. If you don't bring anything, walking is fine, but if you have to carry things like rice and flour, you'll suffer.
Apart from Yun Zhaoxue, the Third Prince who brought guards, and Yun Jiaoyue, everyone else took a lot of things.
Walking just one mile would exhaust a person. He kept stopping and starting, and after half an hour he was completely worn out, collapsing by the roadside, panting heavily, "Huff, huff, huff..."
The escort lashed out with his whip beside them, "Crack!"
"Get up, keep walking, we'll be there soon."
Shen Yichun, panting heavily, said, "Officer, let us rest a little longer. We're too tired to walk any further."
"You've rested long enough today. You've only walked twenty li. You should walk at least 100 li every day. If you don't want to sleep tonight, then rest."
Old Liao took the wine flask from his waist, took a big gulp of wine, and wiped the wine stains off his chin with his arm.
Managing these people every day is more tiring than going to the battlefield.
"No, no, no, officer, traveling all night without sleeping will kill you. Let's get up and go now."
Yun Zhaoxue was carrying a food box and looked very relaxed. If it weren't for her prison uniform, one would really suspect that she was there for a spring outing, which contrasted sharply with their exhausted appearance.
The crowd couldn't help but mock, "Some people don't buy anything, wasting their chance to go to town. The constable said that we can go to town to buy some things every three days. Those of us who bought grain will have no worries about food during these three days, but some people will go hungry."
“We used to watch them eat, but fortunes change.”
“We all have to hold on. If we suffer for a while, the whole family will be well for three days. Don’t be like her and let your whole family go hungry.”
The Third Prince walked to Yun Zhaoxue's side and said, "If Xue'er has no food, I have extra, and I can share some with you."
"Thank you, but it's not necessary. We don't lack food."
Before the Third Prince could say anything more, Yun Jiaoyue came over and took his arm, giving Yun Zhaoxue a warning glance, as if she were trying to seduce the Third Prince.
Yun Zhaoxue rolled her eyes at her and quickened her pace to walk ahead.
The Third Prince scolded, "I was trying to talk to her about something important, why did you provoke her again?"
Yun Jiaoyue thought he wanted to use Yun Zhaoxue to do something, so she said, "Your Highness, what my elder sister can do, I can do too."
She followed the Third Prince's instructions and wrote a letter to Qin Yurong, asking her to target Yun Zhaoxue. She did everything she was told. She would learn what she didn't know and would not be inferior to Yun Zhaoxue in her previous life.
"Shut up, you don't understand anything."
Yun Jiaoyue felt wronged, "..."
He doesn't tell her anything, so how can she understand?
In the group, Xiao Mingshu, who was walking numbly, hesitated for a moment. Finally, as if she had made up her mind, she slowly moved towards Yun Zhaoxue, walked to her side, and handed her the five catties of flour in her hand.
"Third, Third Sister-in-law, here you go."
"Food is precious, why are you giving it to me?"
“My aunt is a good person. When she was still at your house, she hired a tutor to teach Xiuning to read, write, play the zither, and learn calligraphy and painting. She also taught me to learn. My aunt has been kind to me, and I can’t bear to see her go hungry. This is just a small token of my appreciation. I hope you can accept it on my aunt’s behalf. Also, please don’t say that it’s from me.”
Her parents would beat her to death if they found out.
Yun Zhaoxue didn't want to owe her a favor, nor did she want to implicate her in being beaten, so she politely declined, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, I will tell my mother-in-law when I get back, but I can't accept it. So many people in the group know that I'm not carrying anything, it can't be hidden. You keep it for yourself, we won't go hungry."
Xiao Mingshu asked in confusion, "But you didn't buy anything."
Yun Zhaoxue lowered her voice and said, "I bought it."
Xiao Mingshu said because she was referring to the food in the food box: "But the food in one food box can only be eaten for one meal. After you finish this meal, there are still three days left."
Just then, the sound of horses' hooves hitting the ground came from behind.
Yun Zhaoxue: "They're here. Look behind them."
Those of you walking in the middle of the road, quickly move to the sides.
A horse-drawn cart carrying grain passed by them; it was loaded with two large sacks of grain, meat, fruits, and vegetables.
Xiao Mingshu's eyes widened in surprise. "Did you buy all of that grain?"
"Um."
Someone recognized one of the men on the carriage as the shop assistant from the grain store where they bought their grain. Carrying the rice, they chased after it, saying, "Hey, wait! That carriage in front, stop! We're heading that way too. Could you help me transport the grain along the way? I can't carry any more..."
"And mine too, stop, stop..."
"Stop! I need to put the food up there. Damn it, why is it getting faster and faster? Stop it!"
...
The waiter turned to look at them, about to call the driver to stop and see if he could give them a ride along the way.
Unexpectedly, the coachman lashed the horse's back with his whip, urging the carriage to go faster and faster, quickly leaving the exile caravan behind.
The man nearly fell off the carriage and quickly grabbed the edge, saying, "Hey, why are you going so fast? I'm about to be thrown off! Do you have a father or a mother in front of you?"
The owner said the customers are like the highest officials, we can't offend them. They're calling us, and you, the newcomer, don't know the rules.
The driver replied, "The owner said that the distinguished guest requested that we not stop along the way. If we lose the grain, we can't afford to compensate for it. They are convicts passing through our county and will only buy from us once. If we offend them, so be it, it's no big deal."
The waiter nodded in agreement. "That makes sense."
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