Kong Shi had already been displeased that Nanny Lin, a mere servant, dared to share a carriage with her betters. Now, being scolded in front of Noble Consort Yi and Jun Wan only made her angrier.
In the past, she would never have dared to speak out, since Nanny Lin served the Princess Consort of the War Prince’s Manor. But now they were all exiles, nothing more than condemned criminals. Besides, they were all women. Surely they would have to rely on her husband and son for protection during the journey.
Glowering at Nanny Lin, Kong Shi snapped,
“A servant like you—who gave you the nerve to speak to me like that?!”
Nanny Lin was momentarily stunned by the sudden outburst. She immediately looked down at little Jingchen in her arms. The baby merely pouted for a moment before drifting back to sleep, and she let out a sigh of relief.
Only then did she turn toward Kong Shi, her expression darkening.
She had only been worried that the princess and the baby would catch a chill from the wind. She had meant nothing else by it.
“Get out.”
Jun Wan’s voice was icy.
“Did you hear that?” Kong Shi sneered triumphantly at Nanny Lin. “Your mistress told you to get out. You’re just a servant, yet you dare order me around.”
In her mind, Jun Wan would never risk offending her over a mere maid. Therefore, the one being told to leave had to be Nanny Lin.
“Heh.”
Jun Wan let out a cold laugh.
Noble Consort Yi had also been furious when Kong Shi had lifted the carriage curtain. Her little grandson was still so tiny and should not have been exposed to the wind. If she had not feared that the child would suffer on the road, she never would have allowed this foolish woman into the carriage.
This time, Nanny Lin showed Kong Shi no courtesy.
“My princess was telling you to get out.”
“You…”
Kong Shi was so furious that she nearly choked. She turned toward Jun Wan, intending to demand that she punish the insolent servant. But the instant she met Jun Wan’s frosty gaze, she realized that Jun Wan had indeed been speaking to her.
Humiliated, Kong Shi climbed down from the carriage and spat out,
“Just you wait. You’ll regret this.”
Hearing the commotion inside, Lü An couldn’t make out exactly what had happened. But when he saw his wife being driven from the carriage, he did not blame Jun Wan. Instead, he shouted at Noble Consort Yi inside,
“You actually drove your own mother out of the carriage! Such outrageous disrespect!”
A bitter smile crossed Noble Consort Yi’s face.
She had originally intended to let her father and Kong Shi ride with them, hoping they might lend them some support later on. But judging from the current situation, that hope was clearly gone.
She glanced at little Jingchen in Nanny Lin’s arms, wondering if she should simply swallow her pride and appease Kong Shi.
“Mother.”
Jun Wan called softly.
When Noble Consort Yi looked up, she met Jun Wan’s unwavering gaze.
“You don’t need to worry so much. Trust me. No matter what happens, everything will work itself out.
“You only need to follow your own heart. Don’t overthink the rest.”
For some reason, Jun Wan’s eyes filled Noble Consort Yi with confidence.
That was right.
She and Kong Shi had never gotten along. In the past, while she was still a noble consort, Kong Shi had at least restrained herself. Now that they were all exiles, why would Kong Shi ever ask her husband or son to take care of them?
It had all been nothing but wishful thinking.
With that thought, she called out to Lü An outside the carriage.
“She ignored Wan’er and Jingchen’s health and insisted on lifting the curtain herself. How can you say we deliberately drove her out?
“And besides, she isn’t my mother at all. My real mother died long ago. What ‘filial disrespect’ are you talking about?”
Jun Wan couldn’t help smiling as she listened to Noble Consort Yi’s retort.
They had food and supplies and did not need to depend on anyone else’s goodwill. Why should they force themselves to suffer such indignities?
“You…”
Lü An was rendered speechless by her sharp reply.
In the end, he only said,
“Don’t come crying to me later.”
Then he left with Kong Shi and joined the rest of her family.
Noble Consort Yi then asked Linglan to fetch Mo Lian.
However, when Mo Lian heard that it was Noble Consort Yi—not Jun Wan—who wanted to see her, she refused. She claimed that she wanted to walk with her grandmother instead and even complained that Noble Consort Yi should never have contradicted her grandmother, who was, after all, an elder of her mother’s family.
When Linglan returned and repeated Mo Lian’s words exactly as they had been spoken, Noble Consort Yi was so angry that she nearly fainted.
“How did I give birth to such a foolish daughter?”
Even Jun Wan could not help criticizing Mo Lian inwardly.
Did she really think that now that she had lost her status as a princess, that so-called grandmother would continue treating her well?
Seeing Noble Consort Yi’s heartbroken expression, Jun Wan comforted her.
“If she doesn’t want to come, then let her be. Once she’s suffered enough, she’ll understand who truly cares for her.”
The guards deliberately lingered at the pavilion for another half hour, hoping more relatives would come to see the prisoners off. The more visitors there were, the more opportunities they had to extort money.
Only when no one else arrived did the convoy finally set out again.
Along the way, Kong Shi’s little granddaughter, Lü Chunxuan, kept complaining to Mo Lian.
She grumbled that her grandparents were already so old, yet they had been driven out of the carriage. She also reminded Mo Lian that they were all women and would inevitably need the help and protection of her father and grandfather during the journey.
After hearing all this, Mo Lian became even more convinced that her mother had handled the matter terribly.
But in her opinion, Noble Consort Yi would never have acted that way on her own. It had to be Jun Wan who had been whispering in her ear and encouraging her, otherwise her mother would never have treated her maternal grandfather’s family like that.
Inside the carriage.
Little Jingchen had already awakened.
Noble Consort Yi put Mo Lian out of her mind and took the baby from Nanny Lin’s arms. Looking at his adorable little face, calm and free of tears, her heart nearly melted.
“My precious little grandson, you must grow up safe and healthy. Your father… who knows where he is now? I only pray that he is safe as well.”
After speaking to the child, she looked at Jun Wan.
“The older Jingchen gets, the more he resembles his father as a child. His father hardly ever cried either. He was just as adorable.”
Jun Wan smiled politely.
But inwardly she could only laugh bitterly.
Even she herself wasn’t certain that little Jingchen was truly Mo Yan’s son. Was Noble Consort Yi really so sure he looked like Mo Yan when he was little?
Just then, little Jingchen started squirming back and forth, his face scrunching up as if he were about to cry.
“Did he wet himself?” Noble Consort Yi asked Nanny Lin.
“He probably dirtied his diaper. Let this old servant handle it.”
Nanny Lin took the baby and laid him gently on the quilt spread across the carriage floor.
When she opened the little blanket and removed the disposable diaper, sure enough, he had pooped.
Jun Wan picked up a fresh diaper from the side, then pulled two wet wipes from a packet and handed them to Nanny Lin.
Noble Consort Yi stared at the strange items in astonishment. She had never seen anything like them before.
Jun Wan knew this would surprise her, but she had no choice.
Jingchen was still very young, and they were traveling on the road. First, they didn’t have enough cloth diapers to keep changing them. Second, washing and drying them during exile would be incredibly inconvenient.
Smiling, she casually explained,
“My master gave me these baby diapers when I was younger. I brought them with the rest of my dowry. They’re something from the barbarian lands.”