After assassins had broken into the capital’s prison and slaughtered so many constables, the local governor, Zhuge Heng, naturally needed to investigate the incident and give his subordinates a proper explanation.
However, the case quickly reached a dead end. The assassin wasn’t ordinary—he was the personal bodyguard captain of the Third Prince, Zhou Chengtai.
Once the matter involved a prince, Governor Zhuge Heng dared not act on his own. He reported it to the emperor, Zhou Yongbo, in the middle of the night.
When the emperor read the memorial, he slammed a cup to the ground in anger.
“Outrageous! Tai’er has truly gone too far!”
The father-and-son duo, Xie Zhongzhi and Xie Wenting, had been entangled in the palace coup. Even if their line were entirely executed, the emperor would have been happy to let Zhou Chengtai vent his anger.
After all, the boy had lost a leg in the palace incident. He could no longer walk normally like other people, and it was understandable for him to kill a few people to release his fury.
But Tai’er could not cross the line. The Xie Bozhi branch had always been at odds with Xie Zhongzhi’s line, and they had earned merit in the palace coup.
In truth, if Xie Bozhi and Xie Lanyi hadn’t risked their lives to protect the emperor, this ruler would have already been undone by the traitorous son who murdered his own father.
Originally, Xie Bozhi’s branch could have simply offset the merits and faults caused by Xie Zhongzhi’s branch.
Yet because of Tai’er, the emperor not only imprisoned Xie Bozhi’s line but also allowed the prince to act secretly. He hadn’t punished Tai’er for crippling Xie Lanyi and Xie Jizhi.
Unexpectedly, the emperor’s leniency only emboldened the boy further!
Such reckless behavior was deeply disappointing.
“Su Sheng, issue my edict: King Qi, place the Qi Wang Mansion under strict confinement. No one may leave without my order!”
Finally, the emperor made a decision: “Also, send an edict to Zhuge Heng—Xie, Song, Yun, and Wei families are to be exiled to Yazhou immediately. Daughters already married are exempt from exile.”
“Yes, Your Majesty, this old servant will obey.”
When the edict reached the Qi Wang Mansion, Zhou Chengtai immediately overturned the table.
His father had finally begun to lose patience with him.
The so-called most beloved prince, it turned out, was only tested to this extent.
Of course, his leg had been crippled—he would forever be a lame man, with no chance to ascend to the throne. Naturally, the emperor no longer valued him. A prince should have understood this long ago.
He laughed—a hollow, tragic laugh.
..
Meanwhile, in the Kunning Palace, Empress Feng Ruoxin smashed her little finger’s armor in frustration.
“Fool! Useless! And yet you still can’t kill anyone! Completely hopeless.”
She shouldn’t have expected much from the crippled prince. If she had known, she would have acted herself. Now the opportunity was lost, and the emperor would surely be watching. She could only wait for the next chance.
But waiting was unbearable.
She seethed with hatred. Her excellent son, the honored Crown Prince—the future emperor—had died in the palace coup.
She couldn’t accept it. She wanted the entire Xie family to die with him.
“Granny, help me! Only you can help me now.” She couldn’t let any Xie survive to reach Yazhou.
Zhuge Heng, upon receiving the imperial decree, finally exhaled in relief.
Once the Xie family was sent into exile tomorrow, he, as governor, could finally sleep soundly.
Ever since the assassins’ night attack on the capital prison—and knowing that the murder involved the Third Prince—he had barely eaten, barely slept, his hair falling out in clumps, living on eggshells in constant fear of losing his position.
Now, with the emperor’s orders regarding the Third Prince and the Xie family, he only needed to follow the edict. A weight lifted off his shoulders.
But the Xie family, upon hearing they would be exiled to Yazhou tomorrow, were filled with anxiety.
Yazhou—isolated overseas, a remote, wild frontier—is the ultimate place of permanent exile for disgraced ministers.
No one ever returned from Yazhou.
Xie Bozhi had thought that, given the merits he and Lanyi had earned, the emperor might show some consideration. At worst, they might be exiled to Fengzhou.
But he had overestimated the emperor. Seeing the outcome, Xie Bozhi felt disheartened, thinking that despite his service to the country, his twilight years would end like this.
Xie Lanyi wasn’t surprised by the Yazhou exile—given the involvement of Zhou Chengtai, he had already anticipated it.
Only Tang Qingluo remained unbothered. To her, as long as she lived, exile wasn’t the worst outcome.
Besides, Yazhou wasn’t that bad.
She had studied geography during her leisure time in the manor. Reading was her favorite pastime aside from cooking.
In one of the atlases she had read, she learned exactly what kind of place Yazhou was.
Yazhou was rich in yams, lotuses, rice, and flowers.
As a poem went: “Tomorrow I buy yams from the hills, early spring cuts lotuses from the pond.”
Imagine the scenery: yams growing on the hills, lotus blossoms drifting across ponds, rice fields stretching across the plains—a true peach blossom paradise.
Moreover, Yazhou was known for the rouge fruit.
The fruit, sweet with a hint of tartness, had the effect of coloring the cheeks. When a young lady ate it, her face would naturally flush red, enhancing her beauty.
As an ancient poet wrote: “Blush blooms on both cheeks, who would know it is the rouge fruit’s doing?”
Thinking of this, Tang Qingluo didn’t consider exile to Yazhou to be suffering at all.