“…The collateral branch of the Li family is to be exiled to Heishan Island, never to be pardoned. All family assets are confiscated into the treasury, and the escorts shall take them away on the same day without delay.
Thus it is decreed—”
The shrill voice came to an abrupt halt, and wails erupted all around.
Shi Yin buried her head beneath her arms, prostrating on the ground as grief and frustration overwhelmed her.
She had arrived carrying the memories of over thirty years from her past life, and had already spent another thirty years drifting in this otherworldly realm.
For the first sixteen years, she walked on thin ice within the Shi family, living out the proper image of a legitimate daughter from a noble clan of the Great Jin dynasty.
Later, she resigned herself to her parents’ arrangement and married Li Bi, the legitimate eldest son of the Li family. She guarded her heart at all times and protected herself, only securing her foothold within the Li family after giving birth to her eldest son at the age of twenty-three.
Later on, Shi Yin even took the initiative to take in a concubine for Li Bi, figuring that she could peacefully spend her days guarding her son.
Little did she expect that the year before, because her eldest son had entered the private school and the courtyard was lonely, she drank a few cups too many and ended up rolling into bed with Li Bi once more, resulting in her little daughter.
Shi Yin was actually quite pleased with this. With a son and a daughter, and a husband who was often away on official business most of the year, it could be considered a decent life.
Who would have thought that today, the script would completely change!
“There must be some mistake! I beg Your Majesty to examine this with clear vision! The Marquis of Weiyuan has been loyal for generations, and it is utterly impossible for him to commit such treason and rebellion!”
The voice belonged to her father-in-law. At this moment, her mother-in-law had already collapsed limply to the ground, hurriedly supported by several maidservants while weeping uncontrollably.
As the eldest daughter-in-law, she should have naturally stepped forward to support her, but upon hearing that imperial edict, she didn’t even want to move a single finger.
Her mind was completely filled with the phrase “exiled to Heishan Island.”
Come to think of it, Li Bi’s family was actually quite unfortunate. The current title of the Marquis of Weiyuan was inherited from the main lineage of her father-in-law’s great-grandfather’s branch, while their collateral branch was far removed indeed.
Furthermore, the current Marquis of Weiyuan was upright and honest, and they resided in Wei County, a subordinate county a hundred miles away from Chang’an, meaning they had not enjoyed even a shred of glory. Yet now, they were being implicated together in a major crime of treason.
Based on the understanding Shi Yin gained from reading political strategy novels in her past life, she would refuse to believe even if beaten to death that there wasn’t something fishy behind this charge of treason against the Marquis of Weiyuan.
However, right now she had no time to care about the Marquis’s charges. Exile to Heishan Island was no laughing matter!
Shi Yin closed her eyes and pondered:
If we follow this pacing, wouldn’t it be completely unreasonable not to hand over a golden finger or a system?!
Heavens, you aren’t trying to toy with me to death, are you?!
…
However, there was only a mess of tangled thoughts in her mind; there was no legendary “Ding” sound!
Until the bailiffs finished rummaging through everything, Shi Yin still did not wait for the system or spatial dimension found in novels.
“You really want to play me to death…” Despair washed over Shi Yin’s heart, leaving her spirit completely desolate. The self that had been suppressed and aggrieved for thirty years finally cracked, spilling over with a trace of despair at this very moment.
“M-Ma—ma——”
Her young daughter Rong’er’s terrified, babyish voice pulled Shi Yin’s desperate thoughts back.
Her unfocused eyes refocused—Rong’er, who had just turned two years old, was still ignorant and innocent, while her seven-year-old eldest son, Chengzhou, had only just begun his elementary enlightenment and education!
As a mother, she could no longer afford to seek temporary comfort blindly.
“Mother is here, don’t be afraid.” Shi Yin reached out and pulled both children tightly into her arms.
At this moment, the courtyard was already in complete chaos. Officials scurried through every corner of the Li family estate. Her mother-in-law’s savings accumulated over many years were completely dug out, and the private funds and personal wealth of herself and her sisters-in-law were also searched out one by one, piled up in the middle of the courtyard.
Shi Yin gave a cold, self-deprecating laugh inside:
“Heh! What kind of fictional Great Jin dynasty! Noble clan’s legitimate daughter! Household matriarch! None of this turns out to be my script! Dammit! A time-traveling heroine without a golden finger is my true plot! Go screw yourself!”
She gritted her teeth in bitter hatred, filled with a deep sense of powerlessness and reluctance.
Just as the bailiffs were about to escort the group off to prison, Shi Father suddenly appeared, blocking the front entrance of the Li family.
Shi Mother was already covered in tear stains, looking at her anxiously from across the bailiffs’ cold, gleaming sabers.
They saw Shi Father step forward, whisper a few words to the leading escort officer, and quietly slip over a bulging money pouch.
The lead officer weighed the pouch in his hand, then turned around to signal his subordinates. Only then did Shi Father hurriedly pull Shi Mother along, walking quickly toward Shi Yin.
“Daughter, my good daughter…”
Shi Mother grabbed her in a tight embrace and burst into loud sobs.
Although Shi Father’s eyes were also red-rimmed, he remained relatively calm and went straight to the point: “Yin’er, do not be afraid. Your father will go right now and beg your eldest uncle to step forward and mediate, find a way to sever your marriage ties with the Li family, and bring you back to the Shi family!”
Shi Yin looked at the parents standing before her.
She had arrived carrying memories of over thirty years from her past life, and toward the parents of this lifetime, she had never been able to produce that kind of sticky, clinging filial affection. Coupled with their rigid and conservative mindset, there always seemed to be an invisible barrier between them.
Yet at this moment, facing extreme danger, the ones running about and sparing no effort for her sake were none other than them.
“Father, Mother!”
For thirty years, this was the first time she had called out these two titles from the bottom of her heart, with genuine and heartfelt emotion.
“Do not fear, your father and mother are both here,” Shi Father and Shi Mother replied in unison.
Shi Yin knew clearly in her heart that the mediation they spoke of relied upon the cousin sister from her Shi family’s second grandfather’s household—who currently held a concubine-consort rank in the imperial palace and had recently been enjoying great imperial favor.
However, this shelter of grace could naturally only benefit her, a daughter of the Shi family, and had nothing to do with the Li family.
Shi Yin lowered her head to look at the daughter in her arms, who was currently sucking on her finger while resting against her shoulder.
Chengzhou was also gripping her hand tightly, pressing close to her side.
These two children were the ones she could least bear to part with in this world.
“Father, Mother, your daughter is unfilial, but I only beg you to help mediate so that I and my two children can independently be exiled to Heishan Island! I ask for no pardon!”
As soon as Shi Mother heard this, tears poured down like rain. How could she not know that her daughter could not bear to part with her children, but she was also her daughter—how could she bear it?
Shi Father remained silent for a moment, silently wiping away a tear from the corner of his eye: “Yin’er, do you know how perilous Heishan Island is?”
Shi Yin raised her gaze, her eyes resolute: “Your daughter knows. The young children are tender in age, and your daughter truly cannot let them go. I beg Father to grant this.”
Hearing this, Shi Father said no more, only giving Shi Yin’s shoulder a heavy pat.
His eldest daughter had been intelligent and mature from a young age; though she looked gentle and compliant, she harbored a stubborn and rebellious streak deep within her bones, and he had always doted on her immensely.
Back when choosing a husband for her, he had seen that Li Bi was upright and honest, and Li’s two elderly parents were considered kind-hearted. Although not top-tier nobility, it was a stable household, which is why he felt at ease marrying her into the Li family.
Who could have imagined that overnight the winds and clouds would change, leading to such a plight.
“Yin’er, rest assured, your father will do his utmost!”
Shi Father’s single sentence acted like a reassuring pill.
Shi Yin looked at this father, who was usually devoid of smiles, and her panicked heart finally steadied somewhat.
Who said she didn’t have a golden finger?
The parents right before her were the most solid “golden finger” she possessed in this otherworldly realm.
Shi’s parents did not delay. Even though they were worried, they understood the urgency of the matter and immediately turned away to make arrangements.
Shi Yin returned to the Li family’s group, and Li Bi stepped forward anxiously to ask: “What did your father say to you?”
Surrounding them, her father-in-law, mother-in-law, and several sisters-in-law gathered close, all looking at her with expectant expressions.
The Li family was not a prominent noble clan, yet they still had five sons and two daughters.
Li Bi was the eldest son; the other younger brothers were already all married, and the two daughters had long since been married off to ordinary households, rendering them unable to offer any significant help.
Although Shi Yin had taken in two concubines for Li Bi, she had bore no children from concubines.
In contrast, his two younger brothers each had wives and concubines galore, along with numerous offspring.
Shi Yin understood in her heart that what they were hoping for was something the Shi family could never manage to accomplish.
To cut off their expectations, Shi Yin simply shook her head and said: “The Marquis of Weiyuan’s charges are too severe, and the Emperor’s determination to root out the remnants is resolute. I cannot save you; the most that can be done is allow me to leave the Li family!”
Hearing this, several sisters-in-law flashed looks of envy in their eyes.
“Husband and wife are like birds of the same forest, flying separate ways when disaster strikes. Eldest Sister-in-law truly has a fine way out.”
The speaker was the second daughter-in-law, Lady Xie. Her father was merely a licentiate scholar, and marrying into the Li family had taken quite a bit of calculated effort on her part.
Not long after entering the household, she took charge of the Li family’s domestic affairs and had never looked down upon this high-born eldest sister-in-law.
Yet only when a catastrophic disaster struck did she realize that the deep heritage of a noble clan could actually provide Shi Yin with a path to survival in times of crisis. How could she not feel jealous?
Hearing this, Shi Yin didn’t even raise her eyelids, completely too lazy to bother with her.
Lady Xie hit a soft nail, which only made her hate her with an itchy resentment.
At this moment, Li Bi beside her also lowered his gaze. He understood that this wife, who had always been indifferent toward him in the past, would certainly not accompany him to suffer on Heishan Island. Yet looking at his pair of young children, a surge of reluctance still rose within his heart.
“Could you ask your father to mediate once more, so that the two children can follow you and be spared the bitterness of exile?”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone around instantly stared fixedly at Shi Yin, and even her mother-in-law was about to open her mouth to plead.
Shi Yin’s expression suddenly darkened as she looked at Li Bi, acting as if she hadn’t noticed her mother-in-law’s posture, and directly changed the subject:
“Do you know that the main branch of the Li family, the Marquis of Weiyuan, has a hundred and forty-nine members in their entire household, and that even the newborn infants and the Li family’s servants are all to be decapitated and displayed to the public in seven days?”