The next day, when Tang Qingluo and the others were being escorted out of the prison, everyone—except for the three youngest children, Xie Wenhan, Xie Wanxuan, and Xie Wannian—had shackles on their hands.
The men, in addition to handcuffs, also wore yokes on their shoulders.
Of course, there was one exception: Xie Lanyi.
Since his legs were crippled, the guards didn’t worry about him trying to escape during the journey. So he neither wore shackles nor a yoke. Instead, he sat on a handcart, ropes attached to Xie Bozhi pulling him along.
As for the handcart, it wasn’t provided by the guards—it had cost Tang Qingluo a hundred taels of silver to acquire.
She hadn’t wanted to spend that much, but considering that her “convenient husband” could help her gain combat points, Tang Qingluo thought it was worth it.
Besides, Xie Lanyi was a handsome man. With looks on his side, spending a bit of silver was nothing.
Beauty has always deserved special treatment, after all.
When they reached the city gate and arrived at Farewell Slope, the lead guard suddenly called a halt.
“You have half an hour to say goodbye to your relatives.”
The amount of profit an escort could make often depended on how much the exiles’ families were willing to pay.
The relatives who had arrived early to see off their loved ones now surged forward as the escort paused.
The eldest daughter, Xie Wanqing, helped her eldest aunt Xie Shuxian come forward.
They hurriedly said their goodbyes to Xie Bozhi, Wang Shi, and the others.
Seeing Xie Lanyi’s condition, Xie Wanqing’s eyes reddened. “Lan-di…” Words caught in her throat, but tears kept streaming down.
“Elder sister, I’m fine. Once we reach Yanzhou, I’ll write to let you know we’re safe. Without us there, you must take care of yourself. If Han Fang treats you badly, be sure to write to us.”
Now that the Xie Mansion had fallen from grace, Xie Lanyi worried about Han Fang mistreating Xie Wanqing.
As for their eldest aunt, he didn’t worry.
Her eldest uncle was a devoted man. Back when the second wife’s daughter, Xie Wanfei, became a concubine and oppressed him, he stayed loyal to her no matter the cost.
So Xie Lanyi had no reason to worry about her now.
Xie Shuxian understood his concern immediately and patted Xie Lanyi on the shoulder.
“Lan-ge, don’t worry. With me around, I’ll make sure Wanqing’s future is safe. If Han Fang ever wrongs her, I promise I’ll take her away myself. I won’t let the Han family bully her.”
“With my aunt saying that, I’m at ease,” Xie Lanyi replied.
Currently, their eldest uncle had been transferred to the capital and promoted to Minister of War. Han Fang was smart—he wouldn’t offend the eldest uncle lightly.
Xie Wanqing hadn’t expected that even now, Xie Lanyi still thought of her.
Tears fell harder.
But she quickly realized that crying like this would only make them worry more.
Thinking so, she hastily wiped her tears, steadied herself, and said, “Don’t worry about me. I’ll take care of myself and Tong-ge. You, however, are the ones who’ll suffer on this journey. Your elder sister and aunt have prepared clothes, food, silver notes, and loose coins for you. Keep them safe.”
Xie Wanqing called two maids to place six large bundles beside Xie Lanyi, then turned to Xie Wanying.
“Sixth sister, I know you’re strong-willed. On the road, you must hold back your temper. Unless it’s life or death, don’t start fights with anyone.”
She held Xie Wanying for a long moment before looking at Tang Qingluo.
“Qingluo, I leave Lan-di in your care on this journey.”
Her tone was polite but perfunctory—just a courteous statement.
Tang Qingluo nodded with a smile but said nothing.
Having taken on this identity, she knew she had to bear everything from the original’s past, good and bad. She understood this clearly.
Seeing that Xie Wanqing treated her coldly, Tang Qingluo considered it already polite. After all, the original hadn’t exactly behaved honorably in the past.
Xie Lanyi had sisters and an aunt seeing him off.
Tang Qingluo? Not a single relative came.
The Tang family had sent a maid to deliver two bundles and then left without a word. That showed just how much the original had failed at life.
Of course, she wasn’t the worst off.
Da Yun and Xiao Yun were far worse. Since the Yun family was being exiled too, not even a maid came to hand over their bundles.
Xie Laotou had hoped that after saying goodbye to Xie Lanyi’s family, Xie Shuxian would come see him off too.
But that hope was dashed.
Xie Shuxian didn’t even look their way.
After saying goodbye to Xie Lanyi’s family, she also bid farewell to Xie Shuzhi’s and Xie Jizhi’s families. Once done, she left with Xie Wanqing.
“Ungrateful girl! Ungrateful girl!” Xie Laotou scolded. Seeing the eldest, third, and fourth families all with relatives coming to bid farewell—even Xie Wenzheng’s wife had family there—yet he and Da Yun were left in emptiness, he raged.
But his words meant nothing; Xie Shuxian didn’t care.
Their father-daughter bond had ended the day Xie Laotou chose Xie Wanfei over her.