The constable was quite pleased when he came to collect the rope.
“Not bad, not bad…”
After saying that, he took out the key at his waist and prepared to unlock the chains around Chen Shiyi.
Unexpectedly, a clear voice beside him stopped him.
“My lord, this woman is a servant of my family. Everything she did was on behalf of her masters. If anyone’s chains are to be removed, they should be removed from the head of the household.”
Chen Shiyi’s heart jolted. She raised her head and looked toward the source of the voice.
The young lady of the Marquis’s Residence held her chin slightly aloft, her contemptuous eyes fixed on Chen Shiyi as though she were looking at an object that refused to obey.
Chen Shiyi was frantic. She could only hope that the constable would not listen to Miss Wen; otherwise, all the suffering she had endured the previous night would have been for nothing.
The constable looked left and right, the corners of his mouth revealing a faintly mocking smile.
“You’re saying I should remove them from whom?”
Miss Wen arrogantly turned her head to the side.
“From the head of the household, of course—from my mother.”
The constable pondered for a moment, then began walking toward the others.
Chen Shiyi hurriedly caught hold of his sleeve.
“My lord, I did all that work. You promised me last night.”
“Aren’t you her servant?”
When Chen Shiyi heard this, an overwhelming sense of helplessness rose in her heart.
She had clearly done the work herself, so why did the benefits always have to go to someone else?
But here, did she even have the right to speak?
All she could do was watch helplessly as the constable strode toward the Wen family.
She turned around, clenched her teeth, and forcefully swallowed down her anger.
Suddenly, the constable came back. His expression was extremely unpleasant as he unlocked Chen Shiyi’s chains.
The Marquis’s Heir followed behind him. Though his face looked weary, he gave Chen Shiyi an apologetic smile.
“I’m sorry. Zhirou was being thoughtless and spoke without considering the consequences. Please don’t take it to heart.”
Chen Shiyi no longer felt the delight she had felt before. In its place was only wave after wave of grievance and bitterness.
“That was something I deserved…”
“Yes, Zhirou was being unreasonable and tried to take credit for your work. She was in the wrong. I’ll discipline her properly from now on.”
Chen Shiyi said nothing more. She turned away, feeling that the relief in her heart was now greater than the relief in her body.
She had never imagined that the man who had spoken so harshly before could also quietly apologize to her.
She did not know why the Marquis’s Heir had taken her side at such a crucial moment. He truly had not been very friendly toward her before, and he had been just like that young lady of the Marquis’s Residence. Why would they lower their noble heads for a mere servant?
At this moment, however, she did not want to speculate too much.
“Big Brother, what are you doing? Mother’s legs are already red and swollen. We finally got this opportunity, and you just gave it away?”
Wen Zhirou could not understand why her elder brother had done such a thing.
Madam Wen tugged at Wen Zhirou’s sleeve.
“Zhirou, your elder brother has his own considerations. I’m fine.”
Wen Zhiheng sighed helplessly and explained to everyone.
“Zhiyuan and I have shackles around our shoulders, so we can’t do anything. None of you have ever suffered hardship, either. On this journey, we’ll still have to rely on that servant girl to help us from time to time. If we completely offend her, then once we reach the place of exile, it won’t matter if we suffer a little—but what will happen to Ruier? He’s still only a child.”
Everyone sighed and fell silent.
Wen Zhirou felt deeply distressed. Tears streamed endlessly down her face.
“Big Brother, what are we going to do now? You were about to marry Mo Xunyan of the Chancellor’s Residence, and then this happened. She probably won’t wait for you anymore, will she?”
Wen Zhiheng’s head stiffened slightly.
“If she won’t wait, then so be it. Her marriage to me has been delayed again and again, with one complication after another. Five years ago, her grandfather passed away, and she had to observe mourning for three years. Once those three years were over, her mother passed away, and she had to observe mourning for another three years. Now I didn’t even have the chance to wait for her mourning period to end before my entire family was sentenced to exile. Perhaps a woman blessed with good fortune should not enter a family without it.”
“But you two grew up together…”
Wen Zhiheng gave a bitter laugh.
“Grew up together? We were merely betrothed since childhood. Now that we are criminals, not even commoners, we have no business entertaining such hopes.”
“Will we ever be able to return?”
Who could know what the future held?
This matter had come far too suddenly. There had not been the slightest warning beforehand. He had been involved in everything concerning his father, and the crime stated in the imperial edict was embezzling funds intended for repairing the embankments. How could that possibly be true? The letters exchanged back and forth, along with the confident testimony of those who had been tortured, all seemed to have been fabricated out of thin air, then suddenly placed before everyone’s eyes—as though preparations had been made long ago.
They had certainly been framed.
Who could possess such tremendous influence?
After all, the Marquis’s Residence had formidable power throughout Daye.
Forget it. The past was already like passing smoke and clouds.
However, if he ever found an opportunity, he would overturn the charges imposed upon the Marquis’s Residence, no matter what it took.
With the chains no longer restraining her, Chen Shiyi felt much lighter. Walking that short distance every day was no longer a problem.
There was no longer Lu Erniang’s urging ringing in her ears, no endless firewood to chop, no endless clothes to wash, and no endless meals to prepare. Now she merely had to walk and admire the scenery on either side of the road. Chen Shiyi felt that these days of exile were far more carefree than her life in Xiangyang Village.
The spring air was still slightly cold. Some of the winter grass had already sensed the change of seasons and was slowly producing tender, crisp new shoots. The bleak winter was gradually drawing to an end.
Up ahead, they happened to pass a large tree covered in elm seeds.
Chen Shiyi remembered that, in the past, there had been just such an elm-seed tree growing beside the open fields at the end of the village. Every spring, its elm seeds appeared alongside its fresh green leaves, hanging in strings like copper coins covering the tree.
She had always been the best at climbing trees. No one in Xiangyang Village could compare with her.
Every year, the tree’s most tender leaves and seeds had belonged to her.
This elm-seed tree was even taller and larger than the one in the village.
It had been a long time since she had climbed a tree. Surely she had not grown rusty?
As luck would have it, the place where they stopped to rest was directly beneath that very tree.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Chen Shiyi used both her hands and feet and swiftly climbed upward.
Ruier tilted his head high.
“Sister, be careful. Don’t fall!”
Hearing Ruier’s childish voice, Chen Shiyi broke off several branches and quickly slid down from the tree.
She handed one of the green branches to Ruier.
“Sister, what is this?”
“These are elm seeds. They’re delicious and sweet.”
Ruier’s chubby little hands imitated Chen Shiyi’s as he picked off several leaves and put them into his mouth. His eyes immediately lit up.
He hurriedly asked, “Sister, can I…”
Before Ruier could finish, Chen Shiyi quickly stuffed several more branches into his hands and patted his head.
“Take them.”
Ruier happily carried the elm seeds back to the Wen family. He gave one branch to each person, and though he had barely eaten a few leaves himself, he kept feeding Wen Zhiheng.
“Uncle, are they good? Are they sweet?”
Wen Zhiheng’s hands were shackled together. Leaning against the tree trunk, he ate the elm seeds Ruier offered him, unable to hide the delight on his face.
“They’re very good. Ruier, be a good boy and eat them yourself. If your uncle eats them all, you won’t have any left.”
Wen Zhirou held the green branch and examined it from one side and then the other, looking somewhat uneasy.
“What is this? Can it really be eaten?”
Wen Zhiyuan smiled and said, “These are elm seeds. Ancient texts record that they can not only be eaten but also clear heat, calm the mind, aid digestion, and eliminate food accumulation.”
The Second Young Madam plucked off several elm seeds and fed them to Wen Zhiyuan before speaking softly.
“Little Sister Zhirou, eat them. Though that servant girl is a stranger to us, she has a kind heart. It’s already very good of her to share food with us.”
Madam Wen nodded.
“We’re in difficult circumstances now, so don’t be so particular…”
Wen Zhirou curled her lips.
“I’ve simply never seen them before. I was only asking…”