It was no wonder the Emperor thought this way. Originally, aside from Xie Zhizhi, there were no other masters in the General’s Mansion; the rest were all servants. Even if they were given a hundred times the courage, they wouldn’t dare to move so much property.
So, who else in the General’s Mansion could have moved so many things right under the eyes of the imperial guards?
Only the imperial guards themselves!
The more the Emperor thought about it, the more it made sense. He even wondered if the remaining followers of Xie Zongyi had infiltrated the imperial guards, pulling off a grand deception to take everything from the General’s Mansion.
Were they planning to seek revenge against him in the future?
Damn it, the Five Nations Map still hadn’t been found.
That day, the Emperor was in a foul temper in the palace. He ignored the memorials and went straight to the rear palace to amuse himself with beauties.
Before leaving, the Emperor looked up at the sky. It was only noon, yet the sky was already gloomy. Thinking it was about to rain, his mood soured even more, his brows deeply furrowed. “Someone, fetch me an umbrella! I’m going to Noble Consort Shu’s place.”
“Yes!” The eunuch quickly found someone to bring an umbrella.
The weather was indeed unusual.
The wind was stifling and hot, making one feel uneasy.
…
Meanwhile, Xie Zhizhi encountered Jing Er on her way to the palace.
Jing Er couldn’t see her. Still dressed as a woman, she carried a vegetable basket with over a dozen eggs, blending perfectly into the common folk. She stood by the roadside with the people, watching as the Xie family’s collateral relatives were shackled and handcuffed by the guards.
The long exile procession seemed endless.
Was Jing Er looking for her?
She overheard the commoners whispering among themselves, shaking their heads and clicking their tongues.
“How pitiful! Exiled eight thousand kilometers to the wastelands!”
“They won’t even make it halfway. Walking a thousand kilometers would exhaust or starve them to death! If they fall ill, they’re done for.”
“Exhaustion is even more torturous than a swift beheading!”
“That’s not necessarily true. Death means losing everything.”
“This is truly satisfying! Xie Yuwen, relying on his father being the Censor-in-Chief, how many common women did he seize!”
“How could the General have done something so foolish! Alas, a renowned general has fallen just like that!”
Some of the commoners harbored deep hatred for the eldest son of the Censor-in-Chief’s family, who was also a cousin of the General’s Mansion. They threw rotten vegetables and eggs at their heads to vent their anger.
“Enjoy it while you can! You won’t see eggs again in the future! Lick them a few more times!”
“Pah! Rotten vegetables are too good for you!”
Xie Yuwen’s face was covered in the foul-smelling egg liquid and shells. Never having suffered such humiliation before, his eyes burned with resentment. He turned to look at his father, Xie Xiaohu, who remained silent. The father and son exchanged a glance, swallowing their humiliation.
Xie Zongyi’s cousin, Xie Mengcun, was the Vice Minister of War, a third-rank official in his forties. He oversaw the selection of military officers and military records, enjoying boundless glory. Never had he imagined he would be exiled in such a manner. His face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot, and he gritted his teeth in the face of the insults.
Both Xie Xiaohu and Xie Mengcun were waiting for the Right Chancellor and others to rescue them, so they remained silent for now.
Little did they know that the hundreds of people in the Xie family were also suffering. They had received no warning and had been unable to gather any belongings. From then on, they would embark on a journey of exile, drinking river water and eating coarse buns.
The women, unable to contain their emotions, wailed and cried.
“We’ve been wronged!”
“It wasn’t our fault!”
“Silence! If you keep making noise, you’ll be sent straight to the military camp as camp followers! If you want to live, behave yourselves!” The guard glared fiercely at them.
The women feared nothing more than becoming camp followers and immediately fell silent.
The Xie family’s nine clans, along with their servants, walked dazedly, their faces pale, along the gravel-paved road, leaving the imperial city for the wastelands.No matter how much they protested their innocence, the matter was already settled.
The common people expressed their utter disgust toward them, and the number of escort officers was twice that of the prisoners, menacingly brandishing black batons to hurry them along.
Xie Zhizhi saw that at the very end of the long procession were the General’s Mansion’s servants and guards, along with the elderly Butler Uncle.
Within three days, if they had the chance to awaken their Divine Power, they would likely have the ability to resist. There would be no need for her to rescue them herself. For now, things were still relatively calm, and it wasn’t suitable to save everyone at once—doing so might only harm them instead.
Inside her Space, she used the brush and ink she had just collected to write a message on a piece of paper, then controlled the Space to approach Jing Er.
While Jing Er was looking ahead, she seized the opportunity to slip the note into the collar of her clothes before moving the Space away from the scene.
Jing Er, with the sharp instincts of a Hidden Guard, immediately sensed something unusual in her collar. Her vigilance prompted her to naturally touch her neck, where she discovered a slip of paper. She coughed twice to cover her actions, quickly distanced herself from the crowd, and only then took it down. In a secluded alley corner, she slowly unfolded it.
[“Second Sister, meet at the small hut at Xu hour.”]
It was the young miss!