There were over two hundred people being exiled this time.
The Chu Prince’s Manor alone accounted for nearly half of them.
The commotion within the Chu family naturally attracted the attention of the other exiles, who wandered over to watch the spectacle.
Chu Shen curled up on the ground, too ashamed to face anyone.
He was the dignified Third Master of the Chu Prince’s Manor, yet he had been stripped naked and displayed before everyone.
How could he ever show his face again?
Many mocked the Chu family, saying they had completely lost all sense of decency.
Others laughed that although Chu Shen looked tall and sturdy, that part of him was smaller than a child’s.
The humiliation made Chu Shen wish he were dead.
Some even pitied Lady Li, wondering how she had survived all these years with such an “endowment.”
A few of the guards even teased her.
“If you want to know what a real man feels like, come find me tonight. I’ll show you a good time.”
Lady Li covered her ears and buried her face in her sister-in-law’s arms, wishing the earth would swallow her whole.
Too much!
This was absolutely outrageous!
How dare these people be so brazen!
The noble ladies of the Chu Prince’s Manor had never suffered such humiliation before. They were all furious.
One hot-tempered woman confronted the guards.
“We are still members of the Chu Prince’s Manor! Aren’t you afraid of showing such disrespect—”
“Ah!”
Before she could finish, Chen Dali lashed his whip across her face.
The crack echoed loudly.
The whip tore across Chu Huaiyu’s beautiful face, leaving a bloody mark.
Watching her lovely features ruined filled him with excitement.
“If you don’t want to die, behave yourselves! You’re already exiles, yet you’re still putting on noble airs. Who the hell do you think you are?”
“The Chu clan has repeatedly disrupted the exile procession without showing any remorse. Their dinner rations are canceled tonight.”
Chen Dali was now the officer in charge of escorting the Chu family into exile.
With Hua Zhiyun’s approval, he could do as he pleased.
The only condition was that he treated her with respect.
Earlier, Chen Dali had searched Chu Shen’s clothing and found quite a few hidden valuables.
Taking advantage of the chaos during the confiscation, Chu Shen had secretly hidden silver notes and gold leaves. Even after changing into prison clothes, he had managed to transfer them elsewhere.
Unfortunately for him, Hua Zhiyun’s “fiery eyes” missed nothing.
Every last bit of his private stash had been confiscated.
Unable to dare embezzle any of it, Chen Dali quietly brought everything to Hua Zhiyun and presented it with both hands.
The gold leaves were beautifully crafted despite their light weight.
She accepted those.
There were also three hundred and twenty taels in banknotes.
She pocketed the three hundred taels, then handed the remaining twenty taels back.
“Take it. Buy yourselves some drinks.”
Chen Dali had expected her to keep every last coin.
When she left twenty taels for them to divide, he was genuinely touched.
Had they not been poisoned and forced to obey Hua Zhiyun, all of this money and those gold leaves would have belonged to them.
And now…
They were actually grateful.
Chen Dali: “…”
The more he thought about it, the sadder he became.
Hua Zhiyun suddenly asked,
“Are you sure you’ve searched him thoroughly?”
Her eyes drifted toward Chu Shen, who kept touching his hair.
She had already noticed him do it three times.
Chen Dali nodded confidently.
“We stripped him completely. There’s nowhere else he could hide anything.”
“How do you know there isn’t something hidden in his hair?”
Hua Zhiyun smiled meaningfully.
Realization dawned on Chen Dali.
His expression changed instantly.
“I deserve death.”
One glance from Hua Zhiyun sent him hurrying away.
After several steps, however, he straightened his back and swaggered over like a bully.
He kicked Chu Shen hard.
“You little bastard. Trying to play tricks with me?”
Drawing his saber, he chopped straight into Chu Shen’s topknot.
The severed hair fell to the ground.
Wrapped inside it with layers of greaseproof cloth was…
…a one-thousand-tael banknote.
Chu Shen had thought he was about to lose his head and had nearly fainted from fright.
When Lady Li saw their largest banknote confiscated, her heart bled.
She had planned to use it to bribe the guards along the way so their branch of the family would receive better treatment.
Now it was gone.
“So you claimed you weren’t hiding anything.”
“And yet you were secretly carrying a thousand taels.”
“The Third Branch really knows how to put on an act.”
“You kept talking about sharing blessings and hardships together. If this hadn’t been discovered, we’d never have known.”
“You people have some nerve!”
Faced with everyone’s mockery, Lady Li suppressed her anger and lowered her head.
“We were wrong before. But look at Third Master now. He’s been humiliated, and now even the silver is gone. We’ll have to rely on everyone else from now on.”
“Get lost!”
“We don’t have the ability to support you!”
The others immediately distanced themselves.
Who couldn’t see what she was trying to do?
Watching the selfish Chu family split into factions, each looking out only for themselves, Chu Linzhang curled his lips into a faint smile.
None of them deserved sympathy.
There would surely be plenty more infighting along the road.
It was a pity the late Prince Chu wasn’t alive to witness the once-glorious family fall apart and become enemies with one another.
They had already abandoned Chu Linzhang.
He had enough problems of his own and had no intention of caring about them.
Nor did they deserve his concern.
The one-thousand-tael banknote soon ended up in Hua Zhiyun’s hands.
She casually pulled out fifty taels and tossed them to Chen Dali.
“Go buy some wine.”
“Thank you, Granny!”
Chen Dali beamed with gratitude.
“We’re having flatbread tonight. I’ll go get some meat too, so Granny can have a proper meal.”
“Fine.”
If someone insisted on showing filial respect, Hua Zhiyun wouldn’t refuse.
Even if she didn’t eat it herself, she wouldn’t waste food.
That afternoon, the exiles walked for less than four hours before reaching an open clearing with a small stream.
Chen Dali ordered everyone to stop.
“We’ll camp here tonight.”
The Chu family immediately began complaining.
“How are we supposed to sleep here?”
“There could be wolves in the wilderness.”
“If not an inn, at least give us a roof over our heads!”
“It’s all that traitor’s fault!”
“If it weren’t for him, we’d never be sleeping out in the open.”
As they spoke, everyone glared hatefully toward the prison cart.
If looks could kill, Chu Linzhang would already have been cut into pieces several times over.
Listening to their complaints, Chu Linzhang sneered inwardly.
Marching with an army had been far harsher than this.
He had endured it for years.
His body was covered in scars.
Had he ever complained once?
Hua Zhiyun hadn’t walked all afternoon.
She simply sat atop the supply wagon.
The exiles had to carry their own food and water, while the guards had an entire cart loaded with provisions.
She sat comfortably on top of it…
…and still complained that it was too cramped.
Chen Dali forced a smile.
If his life weren’t in Hua Zhiyun’s hands, he’d have slapped this spoiled woman without hesitation and taught her what exile was really like.
Did she think this was some sightseeing trip?
The stream’s water was crystal clear.
Hua Zhiyun went to wash her hands.
With her back turned, someone quietly approached.
Just as the person was about to shove her into the river and drown her—
A vine suddenly wrapped around Lady Li’s legs.
She crashed heavily onto the ground.
Groaning, she looked up—
—and met Hua Zhiyun’s smiling gaze.
She instantly lost her nerve.
“Y-you’ve got it all wrong. I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”
“I only wanted to ask you to speak to the guards for us.”
“Even if they just give us a few steamed buns tonight…”
Hua Zhiyun glanced at the vine that had only just withdrawn before smiling.
“And what do I get in return?”
“This…”
Lady Li hurriedly produced a five-tael banknote.
“It’s all I’ve hidden.”
“I’ll give it all to you.”
“Please… get some medicine. Your Third Uncle’s limbs have been crippled. If he isn’t treated, he’ll die.”
Hua Zhiyun accepted the banknote and smiled.
“Speaking of which…”
“The man in the prison cart has far worse injuries and crippled limbs too.”
“If you have money, why didn’t you buy medicine for him instead?”
Then she activated her map.
Instantly, several red markers appeared over Lady Li’s body.
Each marker indicated a hidden stash of banknotes.
Hua Zhiyun raised an eyebrow.
Lady Li was ruthless.
She had even hidden banknotes inside her menstrual cloth.
Anyone conducting a body search would naturally avoid checking something like that.
“Very well.”
“Hand over the banknotes hidden in your undergarments, your hair, your waistband…”
“…and your menstrual cloth.”
Lady Li froze.
How…
How did she know there were banknotes hidden in the menstrual cloth instead of… actual menstrual rags?
Her monthly cycle had already ended.
She was only wearing it to hide money.
Did this woman have x-ray vision?