“Heaven has eyes!
My Prince, even Heaven knows you’ve been wronged!
Heaven has shown its divine will!”
Steward Mo was old and slept little.
Worried that oversleeping would give Wang Jingkang and his men an excuse to make trouble, he had barely slept at all. So when the commotion came from Nangu Ying, he woke immediately.
The open-air warehouse let him see at a glance the sky filled with writing and patterns. Overcome with excitement, he rushed straight into the house without caring whether he might disturb Xie Ciyuan’s rest.
Xuan Lie and Xuan Qing, guarding the door, were so startled they nearly tackled him as an assassin.
Recognizing him just in time as Steward Mo, Xuan Lie awkwardly withdrew the long leg that had nearly swept him off his feet, and tried to cover it up: “Uncle Mo, what’s gotten into you, so happy—did you find silver?”
“Do I look like a man of such shallow eyes?
Look at the sky.”
Uncle Mo said, raising both their chins as he too looked up at the sky.
The next moment, all three froze in that odd pose. Xuan Lie’s mouth fell open in astonishment. “My Prince, Heaven truly has opened its eyes. The whole sky is filled with what we told the brothers at Nangu Ying yesterday, and words left in your name for the brothers at Nangu Ying and the people of Chu Jing, and for the civil and military officials at court—and they’re glowing!”
“Yes, yes—multicolored, more dazzling than fireworks!”
…
Xie Ciyuan could not see, but his hearing was extraordinary.
In fact, he had heard the commotion from neighboring Nangu Ying even earlier than Steward Mo. He simply didn’t know the specifics, so he’d decided to wait and see.
He’d expected a fierce battle, not such a bizarre spectacle.
Instinctively he turned his head; the breathing beside him was still soft, but intermittent, uneven.
A faint smile curved Xie Ciyuan’s lips as he slowly sat up. “It seems we can leave Chu Jing safely. Let’s find something to eat—time to go.”
Before the words died out, the sound of bailiffs cursing came from outside the door. “Move it, move it! Stop sleeping, all of you get up! Everyone departs immediately—no delays!”
It was unmistakably Wang Jingkang’s voice. Yun Qiqing had just climbed out of bed when she found herself face to face with Wang Jingkang, who kicked the door open.
Her sharp gaze shot over, and Wang Jingkang instinctively avoided her eyes, though his attitude didn’t improve. He kept urging in a harsh tone, “Everyone leaves now! Anyone who dawdles, I’ll give them a taste of my stick!”
His fierce words, paired with kicking and shoving, showed nothing but urgency and impatience.
Third Madame Ning was startled awake by the deliberate noise and commotion Wang Jingkang and the bailiffs made, and complained in displeasure, “Weren’t we supposed to leave at mao hour? The moon is still so high—how can it possibly be mao hour already…”
“Exactly!”
Ning Ruobing chimed in angrily, “Don’t think we don’t know—even exiles get two meals a day to survive. You gave us nothing yesterday, and today you’re not only making us leave the post station early without permission, but also skimping on our rations. If someone collapses from exhaustion on the road, you’ll bear the blame!”
Yun Qiqing had just swung off the bed when she heard this naive enough to make her vision go dark. She instinctively looked at Wang Jingkang and saw him rush forward in three quick strides, raising his whip.
Ning Ruobing, accustomed to throwing her weight around Chu Jing as the only adult, unmarried young lady of the Ning family, had mistaken others’ deference for fear of her. So when she saw Wang Jingkang’s whip lash unceremoniously toward her face, she stood frozen, forgetting to dodge.
“Third Sister, watch out!”
That fool Ning Ruoyu threw himself forward without hesitation, shielding her in his arms.
Crack—the whip struck Ning Ruoyu’s back.
Wang Jingkang had been stewing in pent-up fury since yesterday, and with all the strange happenings this morning, he was already at his wit’s end. He’d put no restraint into that lash; though it looked light, Ning Ruoyu staggered from the blow, stumbling as he fell to his knees with Ning Ruobing in his arms. For a moment, their posture looked rather ambiguous.
The watching bailiffs burst into jeering laughter. “Truly worthy of a young lady from Cheng En Gong Fu—so practiced at receiving a man’s embrace! But seducing your own cousin-brother of the same clan? A bit too wanton, hahaha…”
Life in exile was oppressive and dull, and making crude jokes about female convicts, or even occasionally using them for relief, was routine for these bailiffs.
But to Ning Ruobing, the mockery was deafening. So much so that she forgot Ning Ruoyu had fallen saving her. Flushed with humiliation and rage, she shoved him away.
“Get off me!”
She screamed, throwing him off with all her strength, as if the more violently she pushed him, the cleaner and more innocent she appeared.
After pushing him away, she didn’t forget to immediately search for Xie Ciyuan’s figure, and only let out a heavy sigh of relief when she confirmed he hadn’t heard the bailiffs’ crude talk.
She scrambled to her feet and hid behind Second Madam Ning.
Third Master Ning and Third Madame hurried over to support Ning Ruoyu. Third Madame helped him up while cursing him, “You idiot! You might as well just die! You already learned your lesson yesterday, and you still haven’t grown a brain! If Ning Ruobing wants to challenge those officers, let her do it herself. Why are you sticking your neck out? Haven’t I told you not to rush in like a fool and take the blame for others? When will you ever…”
In the past, whenever Third Madame subtly or openly insinuated that Ning Ruobing and her mother were cunning, Ning Ruoyu would always defend them, sometimes even arguing with Third Madame on their behalf. But this time, he let Third Madame complain about Ning Ruobing without saying a word.
As Third Madame kept scolding, she sensed something was wrong. When she helped him up, she discovered that Ning Ruoyu’s back had already been beaten to a bloody pulp. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to speak—he was in too much pain to utter a single word.
Third Madame, who was always sharp-tongued and had never shed a single tear even when the family was stripped of their property and exiled, only cursing and grumbling, suddenly burst into tears. “How… how could they be so cruel? They’re literally trying to kill A’Yu!”
Third Master Ning was also terrified. “A’Yu, can you still walk?”
…
“All of you, move it now! If you reach Baisha Zhen before the hour, each of you gets a steamed bun. Anyone who dares to delay the journey, ask my whip if it agrees!”
Wang Jingkang’s whip lashed out again, striking the ground, but Ning Ruoyu flinched in fear.
Third Master Ning and Third Madame were right beside him and naturally felt Ning Ruoyu’s terror. The couple’s hearts ached, but they dared not defy Wang Jingkang again, fearing that angering him would bring more trouble upon Ning Ruoyu.
The couple helped Ning Ruoyu follow the officers out of the warehouse, not daring to say another word.
Little did they know that all the commotion Wang Jingkang made outside was meant for the ears of those inside the building.
Meanwhile, Xuan Lie was stepping on Xuan Qing’s shoulders, peering over the wall at the movements of Nangu Ying on the other side.
The military camp’s wall was unusually tall. Even the two burly guards were wobbling as they clung to it. Xuan Lie, swaying unsteadily, made a hand signal, then steadied himself against the wall and jumped down.
His face, usually looking foolish, was now grim. “Prince, Princess, the main gate of Nangu Ying is indeed locked.”