There was not even a cushion inside the carriage. Looking at Jun Wan sitting on the hard wooden boards, Nanny Lin’s heart ached.
“Our Princess has truly suffered.”
Back in the Silver Wolf Kingdom, their princess had been showered with endless love and affection. Nanny Lin could never understand how the Empress had been willing to send her precious daughter away in a political marriage.
Had she never come for the marriage alliance, she would not have had to endure such hardship.
“Let this old servant hold the little prince. Your Highness, lean against me and get some rest.”
Nanny Lin stretched out her hands to take little Jingchen, but just then the baby woke up.
His round black eyes blinked open. He neither cried nor fussed.
“Nanny, don’t call him ‘Little Imperial Grandson’ anymore. We are all exiles now, and it isn’t appropriate.”
Jun Wan looked at the child with a gentle smile.
“You are my wet nurse, which makes you his grandmother as well. Just call him Jingchen.”
Tears of gratitude welled up in Nanny Lin’s eyes.
“Very well. This old servant will listen to the Princess in everything.”
Her own husband had spent his days either drinking or gambling. During her confinement after childbirth, he had once again lost heavily at the gambling table. Returning home in a rage, he had taken it out on her and accidentally beaten their newborn son to death.
After losing her child, she had lost all desire to live. Just as she was about to end her life, someone saved her and told her that the king was looking for a wet nurse for the princess.
She had gone to try her luck.
To her surprise, the Empress had chosen her, and she had remained by the princess’s side ever since.
Though her status was lowly, she truly cherished Jun Wan as if she were her own daughter.
Jun Wan handed little Jingchen over to Nanny Lin.
Although she had just said that Nanny Lin was also the child’s grandmother, Nanny Lin never dared think of herself that way.
After all, little Jingchen’s true maternal grandmother was the Empress of the Silver Wolf Kingdom.
“Our poor little Jingchen has to suffer along with us.”
Holding the baby, Nanny Lin’s face was full of heartache.
Meanwhile, Jun Wan quietly took a disposable diaper out of her storage space, one she had bought from the supermarket, preparing to change him whenever necessary. She also took out two packs of baby wet wipes.
After that, she brought out four quilts—two to spread over the carriage floor, one to lean against, and one to cover herself with.
She was still in her postpartum confinement period, and she had no intention of ruining her health and suffering from chronic ailments for the rest of her life.
“That’s much more comfortable.”
Leaning against the quilt, she smiled.
“Nanny, give Jingchen back to me. I’ll feed him some milk.”
Now that he was wearing a diaper, there was no longer any need to constantly change cloth pads.
After the baby had finished nursing and fallen asleep, Nanny Lin took him back into her arms.
Jun Wan had only given birth a few days earlier, and her body was still weak. Leaning against the soft bedding, she gradually drifted off to sleep.
Outside, Linglan carefully drove the carriage as smoothly as possible, doing her best not to wake the sleeping Jun Wan.
The imperial guards escorted them to an open area not far from the capital’s city gates.
Many exiles had already gathered there, along with the escort officers responsible for transporting them and several carts loaded with supplies.
One of the imperial guards who had escorted them walked over to a man who appeared to be the leader of the convoy and began handing over custody.
After Linglan reined in the horses, Jun Wan opened her eyes.
She lifted a corner of the carriage window curtain and looked outside.
Among the crowd, she unexpectedly saw Mo Yan’s mother and his younger sister.
They were standing together with Mo Yan’s maternal grandfather’s family, along with the families of Left Chancellor He Hong and Vice Minister of War Shi Wenqing, as well as a number of criminals whose faces bore tattooed marks and whose hair hung in disarray.
Every man wore both shackles and a wooden cangue around his neck.
The women and children fared somewhat better, wearing only leg irons.
At that moment, apart from the escort officers and the tattooed convicts, everyone else wore expressions of utter despair, their heads hanging low.
From her previous visit to the palace, Jun Wan already knew that Left Chancellor He Hong was an upright and loyal official who had remained faithful to the late emperor. He had simply obstructed Mo Cheng’s ambitions and had therefore been framed with a fabricated crime and sentenced to exile.
As for Vice Minister of War Shi Wenqing, she could not understand why he had been implicated as well.
While Jun Wan was observing them, the people outside also noticed her carriage.
Among the crowd, she sensed several venomous gazes directed toward her, though they quickly disappeared.
Everyone knew they were waiting here for the War Princess Consort before setting out.
What they had not expected was that she would actually be permitted to ride in a carriage during exile.
The men took it relatively calmly.
Among the women, however, some looked on with envy, while others were consumed by jealousy and resentment.
Consort Yi cared nothing for any of that.
The moment the carriage stopped and she recognized Linglan, she grabbed Princess Huai’an, Mo Lian, by the hand and tried to walk over.
But Mo Lian stood rooted to the spot, refusing to move.
Left with no choice, Consort Yi released her daughter’s hand and approached the carriage alone.
What worried her most was her grandson, little Jingchen.
She still did not know whether her son was dead or alive.
She could not bear the thought of anything happening to her grandson as well.
Seeing her mother walk toward Jun Wan’s carriage, Mo Lian was suddenly at a loss.
Her relationship with Jun Wan had never been good. In fact, that was precisely why she had not attended little Jingchen’s three-day celebration banquet.
When Consort Yi reached the carriage, Linglan quickly greeted her.
“Your Highness, Noble Consort.”
The three women following behind the carriage also called out pitifully,
“Your Highness, Noble Consort.”
Consort Yi looked at them and said,
“Do not call me Noble Consort anymore. The emperor has passed away, a new emperor has ascended the throne, and we are now exiles. Continuing to use that title may give others an excuse to criticize us. Just call me Madam.”
“Yes, this servant understands.”
“Yes, this concubine understands.”
“I came to see little Jingchen and Wan’er. Are they doing all right?”
Even she no longer addressed Jun Wan as the War Princess Consort, instead affectionately calling her “Wan’er.”
Jun Wan had heard Consort Yi’s voice long ago. After a brief thought, she spoke before Linglan could answer.
“Linglan, help Madam into the carriage.”
Linglan immediately lifted a corner of the curtain, revealing only Jun Wan leaning against the quilts and Nanny Lin holding little Jingchen.
“Mother, please come in.”
Jun Wan smiled warmly.
Regardless of the original owner’s reasons, Consort Yi had always treated her quite well, and Jun Wan was willing to return that kindness.
Consort Yi hesitated for a moment and glanced toward the other exiles.
In the end, she accepted Jun Wan’s invitation and climbed into the carriage, with Linglan quickly helping her up.
Seeing the quilts spread across the carriage, Consort Yi assumed they had been specially permitted by Mo Cheng and did not ask any questions.
After all, Jun Wan was a foreign princess. She believed Mo Cheng would not dare treat her too harshly.
She had originally wanted to invite Mo Lian aboard as well, but seeing that Jun Wan had said nothing—and remembering that Mo Lian had refused to come with her, as well as her usual cold attitude toward Jun Wan—she decided to remain silent.
The three women watched Consort Yi board the carriage and looked as though they wanted to say something.
But they all knew that Jun Wan would never allow them inside.
At that moment, a voice rose from the crowd of exiles.
“Grandfather! Grandmother! You should ride in my cousin-in-law’s carriage too!”
Everyone who heard the words turned toward Mo Yan’s grandfather, Lü An, and his second wife.
Their faces were full of envy.
None more so than Madam Deng, the elderly mother of Vice Minister Shi Wenqing.
She was already advanced in years. The short walk from the Vice Minister’s residence to this gathering place had left her gasping for breath and her legs trembling.
If she had to walk the entire journey into exile, would she even survive?
Originally, Lü An had harbored resentment toward Mo Yan, believing that the new emperor’s punishment of his grandson had dragged the entire family down with him.
But now, seeing the envious looks from all the other exiles—especially the former Left Chancellor, once second only to the emperor, who still had to travel on foot while his own family had a carriage—his sense of pride returned.
He looked toward Jun Wan’s carriage.
But by then, the curtain had already been lowered again.
Jun Wan had shown absolutely no intention of inviting him aboard.
Lü An’s face immediately darkened.
The people nearby quickly noticed what had happened.
Some of them even laughed.
Lü An’s expression became even uglier.