Zhao Kuo watched the spreading flames. Despite the many officers and soldiers he had brought beginning to fight the fire, it could not be extinguished completely in a short time. He could only glare fiercely at the group before heading to the palace to report to the Emperor.
Jie Chaitou, his face fierce with anger, shouted, "Move it, now!"
Liu Guanshi and his son Liu Shan lifted the unconscious Prince Qin and began following the convoy escort.
Jun Moye struggled to get up and walk.
Given his blood-soaked state, it would be a miracle if he could walk. Since he was, after all, her husband in name, Su Hanchu stepped forward and draped her cloak over him.
"Don't move. Even if you manage to crawl out now, you won't be able to walk."
She then turned to Cui Mama, Liu Guanshi's wife, and Liu Ling, Liu Guanshi's daughter.
"Cui Mama, you and Ling'er come here. Help Ping'er and me carry Jun Moye."
Upon hearing this, Cui Mama and Liu Ling quickly came over to help lift Jun Moye.
Jun Moye looked at Su Hanchu, who handled the situation without panic, and couldn't help but feel surprised. She was actually this composed.
Chen Siyu supported Princess Qin Chen Wenqiao as they walked, both weeping and sniffling along the way. Sui'er, Chen Wenqiao's personal maid, followed closely by her side.
Behind them, Prince Qin's two concubines walked with their own children, silently shedding tears.
In cases of family confiscation and exile, close attendants and important figures were exiled along with the family, while less significant servants were sold off.
Outside the Qin Prince's Mansion, a crowd of commoners had already gathered. Both the confiscation and exile of the Qin Prince's household and the spreading fire were enough to draw attention.
The convoy escorts cleared the way ahead.
But the commoners began to curse and shout.
"To think Prince Qin was such a person—colluding with the enemy and betraying the nation! He's a traitor to Tianyuan. We used to respect him so much, but the entire Qin Prince's Mansion is unworthy of our people's respect!"
"That's right! As a prince, he already held high status and power. How could he commit such disloyal and unjust acts? Exile is too light a punishment!"
"Exactly! Someone like this deserves no pity even in death…"
"Traitor! He deserves to die without remorse…"
Someone started it—a clod of dirt was thrown, hitting Jun Moye.
Soon, rotten vegetables, mud, and eggs followed…
Su Hanchu wanted to dodge but couldn't because she was carrying the stretcher.
Chen Wenqiao and Chen Siyu didn't fare much better either, with stains and marks on their clothes.
Chen Siyu even cried out indignantly, "You ruffians…"
When a clod of dirt struck her forehead, Su Hanchu decided she had had enough. She glanced at Sui'er.
"Sui'er, come take my place carrying Jun Moye."
Sui'er looked at Chen Wenqiao, who nodded, before stepping forward to take over Su Hanchu's end of the stretcher.
Seeing this, Chen Siyu sneered.
"Su Hanchu, you're not thinking of abandoning Cousin and running away, are you? As expected, you're a vicious woman—only interested in clinging to the Qin Prince's Mansion for comfort, completely incapable of sharing hardship."
Su Hanchu picked up the clods of dirt and rotten vegetables thrown by the crowd, narrowing her eyes slightly. She spotted two men in coarse clothing among the people who had been inciting the crowd to cause trouble. As a trained assassin, she could tell at a glance that those two were not ordinary.
She hurled the dirt and rotten vegetables in her hands at the two men.
"You people don't even know the truth of the matter! You let yourselves be stirred up with a few words and attack without distinguishing right from wrong. Don't you have any brains of your own?"
I'm telling you, the affairs of the Qin Prince's Mansion are for the Emperor to decide punishment. Now that the family has been confiscated and exiled, if anyone dares to lay a hand, don't blame me for being impolite.
Anyway, I'm practically barefoot now and not afraid of those wearing shoes. Who knows how long I'll survive on this exile journey? If I die, dragging a couple of people down with me would still be a gain."
The children of the Qin Prince's Mansion also started learning from Su Hanchu, picking up things to throw back in retaliation.
Seeing Su Hanchu and the others continuously picking up objects to throw back, the escort guards drew their swords.
"No one is allowed to cause trouble. My blade has no eyes."
The commoners, seeing this, cursed and grumbled but stopped, as the swords in the escorts' hands were quite intimidating.
Su Hanchu noticed that the two men who had initially stirred up trouble had quietly slipped away. It seemed this journey would not be peaceful—some people would not let the Qin Prince's Mansion off easily.
Jun Moye hadn't expected Su Hanchu to stand by his side and argue with the commoners. Indeed, the daughter of a general's household had a temperament quite different from those refined young ladies.
Su Hanchu looked at Chen Siyu with a hint of coldness in her eyes.
"Chen Siyu, this journey is long and arduous. You'd better behave yourself and save some energy for the road. This time, out of respect for Mother, I'll let it slide. But if you say something I don't like again, I won't be so polite."
Chen Siyu, hearing this, retorted defiantly.
"What are you being so fierce for? Let me tell you, Auntie has already told me that she will have Cousin marry me as his principal wife—a wife of higher status than you. As a secondary wife, you should bow and serve me in my presence."
Su Hanchu responded sarcastically.
"Hah! Is this the upbringing of a young lady from the Chen Family? An unmarried girl learning the tricks of brothels, eagerly offering herself to serve a man, and even daring to provoke the principal wife? Are the daughters of the Chen Family so ugly they can't marry, or are they born cheap, fond of stealing other women's men?"
Chen Siyu hadn't expected Su Hanchu to speak so harshly in public and immediately burst into tears.
"Auntie, look at her—she's simply too much!"
Chen Wenqiao, hearing Su Hanchu repeatedly refer to "the daughters of the Chen Family," felt somewhat displeased.
"Hanchu, Siyu is just young and made an unintentional mistake. Why must you be so aggressive?"
Indeed, the relationship between a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was always fraught with tension. Su Hanchu glanced at Chen Wenqiao.
"Mother, you are Jun Moye's mother, so I respect you and call you Mother. If you dote on your niece and want to keep her by your side to care for you, that is a matter between you and the Chen Family. As your daughter-in-law, I will not interfere.
But please also restrain Chen Siyu's words and actions. I, Su Hanchu, come from a military family and was pampered by my parents since childhood. I cannot tolerate even the slightest grievance from others.
If you are dissatisfied with me as your daughter-in-law, you can have Jun Moye write a letter of divorce. From then on, we go our separate ways, with no further ties between us."
Chen Wenqiao hadn't expected Su Hanchu to speak to her like this.
"What kind of upbringing does the Su Family have? Can't a mother-in-law even say a word…"
Jun Moye, seeing the argument escalate to the point of divorce being mentioned, promptly intervened to stop it.
"Enough, everyone speak less and save some energy for the journey. Mother, Siyu's words were indeed inappropriate. Hanchu is my wife, and Siyu should respectfully address her as sister-in-law."