Her storage space!
The moment she thought about it, she imagined waving her hand and filling an enormous dimensional space with countless supplies. The thought alone made the corners of her lips curl upward.
She was going to empty the entire estate before heading into exile!
But dreams were beautiful.
Reality was brutal.
She had imagined a vast space with endless acres of farmland, a spiritual spring, mountains of gold and silver…
There was nothing.
Nothing at all!
Instead, there was only a tiny storage space about one square meter in size…
And a gleaming golden hoe.
A golden hoe?
What was she supposed to do with that?
Sell it for gold?
Judging from the current situation, even getting a mouthful of water or half a steamed bun required asking the Old Madam. Everyone had obviously been searched before the family’s property was confiscated. The members of the eldest branch certainly had no money left, and the little they had managed to hide had already been handed over to the Old Madam.
Selling the golden hoe wouldn’t be easy.
Besides, it was still daytime. She couldn’t just take it out of her storage space in front of everyone.
She would have to wait until nightfall to figure out what the golden hoe was actually for.
While she was deep in thought, another group approached from behind.
She didn’t recognize them, but she heard Lin Xiuran, the eldest son of the Lin family, say,
“Father, isn’t that Prince Zhan, Xiao Hengchuan? Why is he being carried on a wooden door as well? He looks seriously injured.”
Lin Jingyuan frowned with concern and lowered his voice.
“Prince Zhan has just defeated the enemy at the border. His achievements were probably too great, and His Majesty could no longer tolerate him. Could it be that his family was also confiscated, and he’s being exiled with us?”
“Then… what about his engagement to Little Sister?”
Lin Jingyuan sighed.
Before Lin Yurou and Xiao Hengchuan’s family fell from grace, they had been celebrated throughout the capital as the perfect golden couple.
Now…
Even the bride had changed.
What engagement was left to discuss?
Xiao Hengchuan lay face down on the wooden plank, his clothing stained with blood around his backside. He appeared to be unconscious.
Jiang Wanyue had exceptionally sharp hearing and caught every word.
So…
The man being carried on the wooden plank, just like she had been, was the original owner’s fiancé.
She remembered that Xiao Hengchuan had been summoned into the palace, falsely accused of treason, and sentenced to exile just like her.
His fate, however, was far worse.
After receiving one hundred strokes of the heavy paddle, he died on the road to exile.
Of course, the charge of treason was completely fabricated.
The Xiao family had served the country loyally for generations. Every male member had died in battle, leaving Xiao Hengchuan as the family’s sole surviving heir.
Now even he had been beaten into a cripple.
With all the men gone, only the women of the Xiao household remained.
Four women struggled to carry the heavy wooden plank on which he lay.
Leading them was an elderly woman with snow-white hair, leaning heavily on a walking stick. Behind her followed the women of the Xiao family, all wearing sorrowful expressions as they trailed behind the prison guards.
Before long, their group merged with the Lin family’s convoy.
It seemed they would all be exiled together.
The Lin family’s group already numbered several dozen people. With the Xiao family and the other exiled households joining them, there were now well over a hundred prisoners.
Nearly twenty armed guards escorted the procession.
A burly man with a broadsword hanging at his waist looked particularly fierce. He was the leader of the escorting officers, Li Dashan.
Everyone respectfully addressed him as “Boss Li.”
After the escort teams regrouped, they continued waiting where they stood.
Soon, more carriages arrived one after another.
Various people stepped down from them.
Judging by their appearance, Jiang Wanyue guessed they weren’t prisoners but family members and friends who had come to see the exiles off.
The visitors carried bundles of supplies and hurriedly stuffed them into the prisoners’ hands.
Meanwhile, the Old Madam was being supported by her favorite granddaughter from the second branch, Lin Shutong.
“Grandmother, Aunt will come to see us off, won’t she?”
The Old Madam lifted her chin proudly, unable to hide the smugness in her voice.
“My daughter married into the Duke’s household. She’s the Duchess now.”
“She’ll definitely come.”
“She’ll surely bring at least ten thousand taels in banknotes and arrange everything with the guards for us.”
“That would be wonderful!”
But after waiting for a long time, the Old Madam had twisted the hem of her clothes nearly to shreds, yet her daughter never appeared.
An uneasy feeling slowly crept into her heart.
Not only Lin Shutong, but everyone from the second and third branches became increasingly anxious.
They had all been counting on the Old Madam’s married daughter to bribe the guards so their journey into exile would be easier.
Ideally, with the Duke’s influence, she could even secure a few carriages for them and perhaps arrange for servants to accompany them.
After all, they had all grown up as pampered young masters and young ladies.
How could they possibly endure such hardship?
When Lin Zhaohua had been married off years earlier, the Old Madam had emptied the family’s fortune to prepare a lavish dowry stretching for miles.
She had even taken part of Shen Qingru’s dowry to make it happen.
Now that disaster had struck, the Old Madam had been proudly boasting before the entire family that her daughter would come to their rescue.
But Lin Zhaohua never came.
Instead…
The Shen family arrived first.
Shen Qingru’s family were wealthy merchants.
Her father, Shen Wanjin, brought thick quilts, food, fresh clothing, and an enormous bundle.
Inside were handkerchiefs, medicinal ointments, sewing needles and thread…
He had even prepared several sets of wooden bowls and chopsticks, which were less likely to break during the journey.
The supplies weren’t extravagant, nor were they excessive in quantity.
But every item had clearly been chosen with great care.
Prisoners were forbidden to ride in carriages during exile.
However, Shen Wanjin had managed to prepare a donkey pulling a simple wooden cart.
After accepting a generous bribe, the guards simply turned a blind eye.
The moment Shen Qingru saw her father, her eyes instantly filled with tears.
Shen Qingru knelt before her father and kowtowed.
“Father, your daughter has been unfilial and caused you so much worry.”
Seeing his beloved daughter—whom he had cherished like a precious jewel—about to be sent into exile, Shen Wanjin’s heart ached. Tears streamed down the face of the normally stoic businessman.
“My poor daughter… You’ve suffered so much. Promise me you’ll take good care of yourself.”
“By the way… where’s my precious granddaughter?”
He looked around in confusion but couldn’t find Lin Yurou, the granddaughter he had adored as much as the apple of his eye.
Shen Qingru explained everything that had happened during the confiscation of the Lin estate.
Shen Wanjin froze in shock, then pointed toward Jiang Wanyue, who was lying on a wooden plank nearby.
“You’re saying… she’s my real granddaughter?”
“Yes, Father.”
“And Lin Yurou was truly that heartless?”
“After all, we raised her for fifteen years. This child has suffered through no fault of her own.”
“We’re the ones who failed her.”
Looking at Jiang Wanyue’s face, which resembled his daughter’s so closely, Shen Wanjin’s eyes reddened even further.
He beckoned to her and handed her a small embroidered pouch.
“May I call you Yueyue?”
“This is a little gift for our first meeting.”
“Yueyue, call me Grandpa.”
Jiang Wanyue accepted the pouch. Feeling several smooth, round objects inside, she guessed they were pearls.
Smiling, she thanked him warmly.
“Thank you, Grandpa.”
Shen Wanjin let out a long sigh.
“Good girl… You’ve been dragged into this hardship.”
“I’ve learned that you’re being exiled to the Northwest. It’s a bitterly cold and desolate place.”
“I’ll do everything I can to help you along the way.”
In the distance, the Old Madam watched the warm reunion of the eldest branch with clenched teeth, resentment burning in her heart.
Meanwhile, the second and third branches looked at all the supplies Shen Wanjin had brought with undisguised envy.
Still, they comforted themselves with the thought that those belongings would eventually end up in their own hands anyway.
The lead escort suddenly cracked his whip through the air and shouted,
“Move out!”
The convoy was about to depart.
Lin Shutong, still supporting the Old Madam, grew anxious.
“Grandmother… Aunt isn’t really not coming, is she?”
The Old Madam gritted her teeth.
“She’ll come.”
A prison guard strode over and barked,
“What are you all standing around for? Get moving now, unless you want to taste my whip!”
The Old Madam thought bitterly that in the past, men like this hadn’t even been qualified to stand before her.
Now they dared bark orders in her face.
Even so, she had no choice but to lower herself.
“Officer, please wait a little longer. My daughter hasn’t arrived yet.”
“I don’t care whether your daughter comes or not. Move!”
“Officer, please…”
Just as the guard was about to bring his whip down, a luxurious carriage came racing toward them.
“Mother!”
“My daughter’s here!”
“She’s the Duchess of the Duke’s household! Watch your head!”
Seeing the lavish carriage, the guard paused and lowered his whip, giving the Old Madam a measure of respect.
She let out a cold snort and straightened her back proudly.
Her most accomplished daughter had arrived.
Surely she had come with silver and arrangements to bribe the guards.
A triumphant smile spread across her face.
The carriage stopped before her, revealing Lin Zhaohua’s pale, flustered expression.
“Zhaohua!”
“Mother! Your daughter is late.”
“No, no, you’re not.”
Looking somewhat embarrassed, Lin Zhaohua handed over a small bundle.
“Mother, I prepared some dried food for you, along with a one-hundred-tael banknote and ten taels of loose silver. Please keep them safe.”
One hundred taels?
Ten taels of silver?
The Old Madam’s delighted smile froze instantly.
Such a tiny amount…
She had spent more than that simply rewarding servants in the past.
All the grand boasts she had made only moments ago now felt like a series of loud slaps across her face.
Her pride was completely shattered.