Lan Luoyun also heard the commotion outside.
Right now, she needed to hurry and move all of Lin Nancheng’s belongings into her space.
Otherwise, when the confiscation began, if their courtyard was the only place that still contained valuables, not only would the soldiers become suspicious, but the rest of the family would as well.
“Nancheng, take Dabao and leave first. I need to grab a few things. I’ll carry Erbao and follow right behind.”
Lan Luoyun was deliberately trying to send Lin Nancheng away. She still wasn’t ready to reveal her secret to him.
Lin Nancheng was admittedly a little curious.
But at this moment, he didn’t want to ask too many questions. His only concern was protecting the mother and her two children.
He nodded and left first.
The moment he was gone, Lan Luoyun immediately swept everything in the room into her space.
Not even the tables and chairs were spared.
She no longer had time to sort things carefully.
In her haste, she nearly stored Erbao in the space as well.
Fortunately, she reacted quickly enough to stop herself.
Otherwise, she might have frightened the little girl badly.
Just as Lan Luoyun picked up Erbao and prepared to leave, the soldiers carrying out the confiscation burst into the room.
They shoved and herded everyone toward the main courtyard.
The courtyard had become a scene of complete chaos.
Wailing filled the air.
The soldiers were already growing impatient.
Several officers shouted angrily for everyone to kneel.
“Men in front! Women in the back!”
Lan Luoyun knelt behind Lin Nancheng.
The leader of the confiscation force was Commander Xiao of the Imperial Guards.
He was one of Grand Tutor Xue’s lackeys—a man whose heart was blacker than charcoal.
“By imperial decree: Lin Yixiao has colluded with foreign enemies and plotted rebellion…”
After proudly reading the decree, Xiao Yan turned toward Lin Yixiao.
“Prime Minister Lin—oh, wait. You’re not Prime Minister anymore.”
He burst into laughter.
“Lin Yixiao, who would’ve thought you’d end up like this?”
“The Emperor has shown mercy because of your son Lin Nancheng’s contributions in the Northern Star Kingdom. Otherwise, your entire clan would have been executed.”
“You should hurry up and thank His Majesty for his generosity!”
Those words left much of the Lin family completely devastated.
Several of the women nearly fainted.
Just yesterday they had been living in luxury.
Today they were being stripped of everything and sent into exile.
Many still hadn’t recovered from discovering that all of their possessions had mysteriously vanished.
Now they were being banished to Gannan as well.
The double blow completely shattered Lin Yaru.
Like a madwoman, she rushed toward Lan Luoyun and grabbed her by the hair.
“It was you!”
“You knew the Third Prince and Father were enemies!”
“You colluded with the Third Prince and fabricated evidence of Father’s treason!”
“You’re the reason this entire family is being exiled!”
The accusation shocked everyone.
The entire family turned toward Lan Luoyun.
Even Lin Yixiao looked at her suspiciously.
“That’s right!”
added Lin Nanhao, Lin Yaru’s full-blooded brother.
“The Third Prince originally wanted to marry her.”
“Later, the Emperor arranged for her to marry Big Brother instead.”
In the original timeline, the former owner of this body had been helpless against these accusations.
Unable to defend herself, she was branded a traitor who had betrayed her own family.
As a result, both Lin Yixiao and Lin Nancheng came to despise her.
Eventually, she died miserably on the road to exile before even reaching Gannan.
But the current Lan Luoyun was not someone they could bully.
“Lin Yaru, stop slandering me!”
“You’re the one who’s in love with the Third Prince.”
“This very morning you were crying in the front hall about losing your dowry and worrying about how you’d become a prince’s consort.”
“Everyone knows there’s only one prince without an official wife—the Third Prince.”
“If anyone colluded with him to frame Father, it’s you!”
Lin Yaru’s face changed instantly.
How does this idiot know that?
Only her mother knew about her feelings for the Third Prince.
If her father found out, he would likely cast her out of the family.
Seeing the argument escalate, Madam Su quickly pulled Lin Yaru back to her side.
The confiscation was already unavoidable.
If Lin Yixiao learned about Lin Yaru’s involvement with the Third Prince as well, both mother and daughter would be finished.
Just as the commotion died down, another person exploded.
Lin Nanxuan could no longer contain himself.
“Xiao Yan, you ungrateful dog!”
“If our family hadn’t taken you in, you would’ve starved to death on the streets!”
Lin Nanxuan was the son of the Third Concubine and Lin Yixiao’s youngest child.
Being a late-born son, he had always been heavily favored.
His eyes were red with fury.
“And now you’re leading the confiscation of our home?”
“Kissing up to Grand Tutor Xue?”
“Disgusting!”
Xiao Yan felt publicly humiliated.
Without hesitation, he kicked Lin Nanxuan twice.
Seeing his younger brother being beaten, Lin Nancheng instinctively started forward.
In their previous life, this exact incident had occurred.
Lin Nancheng had struck Xiao Yan.
In response, Xiao Yan stabbed him with a sword.
The wound later became infected during exile.
Without medicine or treatment, Lin Nancheng died before reaching Gannan.
Although Lan Luoyun had stocked up on medicine this time around, she still didn’t want him getting injured at all.
She quickly grabbed the back of his clothes.
Lin Nancheng immediately stopped himself.
Meanwhile, Lin Nanxuan, consumed by rage, lunged at Xiao Yan.
Sure enough, Xiao Yan drew his sword and thrust it directly toward Lin Nanxuan’s abdomen.
Lan Luoyun immediately covered Dabao and Erbao’s eyes.
She refused to let such a bloody scene stain their innocent childhood.
At that moment, Lin Nancheng finally understood why she had stopped him.
He glanced back at Lan Luoyun.
The more he learned, the more mysterious she seemed.
Furious, Xiao Yan roared at the soldiers:
“What are you idiots standing around for?!”
“Search the place!”
“Don’t leave a single thing behind!”
“Everything goes to the imperial treasury!”
The soldiers hurriedly scattered throughout the residence.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yan continued mocking Lin Yixiao.
Although Lin Yixiao had spent years as Prime Minister and was known for speaking bluntly, he remained silent.
At this point, preserving his family’s safety was more important than pride.
Just as Xiao Yan was basking in his triumph, the soldiers began returning from their searches.
The first two came back completely empty-handed.
Xiao Yan immediately exploded.
“I told you to confiscate property!”
“Are you all slacking off?!”
“Where’s the loot?”
“Bring it here!”
The soldiers trembled.
“Reporting to Commander Xiao—the rooms have all been searched. There is nothing.”
Another soldier reported:
“Commander, the rear courtyard contained nothing.”
“The treasury contained nothing.”
“The front courtyard contained nothing.”
As report after report arrived, Xiao Yan’s face turned purple with rage.
“A bunch of useless fools!”
“Did everything just vanish into thin air?!”
That morning, they had received the imperial decree and rushed directly to the Lin residence.
No information had been leaked beforehand.
Even if the family had tried to move assets, there was no way they could have moved absolutely everything.
Xiao Yan had originally planned to pocket a share of the confiscated wealth for himself.
But now there was nothing.
Not only would he gain no benefits, he might not even be able to explain the situation to the Emperor.
Just as he was agonizing over what to do, a deputy commander beside him leaned in and whispered something into his ear.