Occasionally, the Emperor would talk to Lian Hua about affairs of the court.
"Nannan, I know that no matter how strict the punishment, it cannot eliminate all the corrupt people. The purpose of weakening the aristocratic clans has been achieved. I originally did not want to implicate too many people, but now I’ve changed my mind. The minions under these people dare to be arrogant and oppressive, causing so many innocent commoners to be wronged. Even if their entire clans are executed, what does it matter!"
If the Guo family hadn’t taken advantage of the Xue family’s influence to do whatever they pleased, his Little Concubine’s family wouldn’t have suffered such unjust disaster, his Little Concubine wouldn’t now...
"Nannan, the traitor who harmed your family has been captured and imprisoned. Do not worry, when those dealing with your family’s case are escorted to the Capital City, your family’s grievances will be cleared. I will definitely give you an explanation and let your family stand upright in the world. By then, I will also eradicate the Guo family in the Capital City. If just beheading Guo Neng and his servants is not enough to quench my heart’s fire, let me think..."
"Nannan, are you worried about your elder brother’s impersonation in the imperial examination? Don’t worry, your elder brother will be fine."
Every day, the Emperor would talk to her about trivial daily matters, mentioning having meals, he would always bitterly smile and reflect, finally saying: "Nannan, without your reminders, I often forget to eat and the food is tasteless. I know it’s not good, but without you, I always forget. When you wake up, will you punish me?"
Every day, he would also take some time to talk to the child in her belly, telling stories to both mother and child before sleep like in the past. Everything was the same as before, except that his Little Concubine, who used to fall asleep gradually, was now in a constant slumber no matter how much he spoke.
"Nannan, do you remember you still owe me nine tasks? You are the most trustworthy with your words. I’ll use these nine tasks in exchange for you to wake up and take a look at me, how about it?"
"Nannan, I miss you so much..."
A long sigh fell, carrying endless emotions within it.
The eyelids of the person in the dream trembled slightly.
Inside the Sky Prison, Guo Neng, who was chained, grew increasingly panicked. From the first day he was captured and brought back, he constantly sought to meet the master of the fat man who captured him. He naively believed that with the wealth of the Guo family, he could surely get a meeting.
But so many days had passed, and no one cared about him. Apart from the regular checks to see if he was still alive at meal times, everyone here treated him like he was invisible.
His heart was in turmoil, he lowered his expectations to meeting the fat man, but still, no one paid attention to him.
He kept offering bait, hoping to attract attention and enter negotiations, willing to confess anything if it would spare his life. He even offered the entire Guo family fortune to the uninterested jailers bringing him food.
Until he saw his mother, wife, and several sons captured and brought back, passing in front of him, Guo Neng completely lost his composure, shouting that he was willing to trade a secretly kept list for a slim chance of survival, as it contained Xue Ping’s biggest secret. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novel[f]ire.net
But when he heard that the Xue family was executed by the order of exterminating nine clans, his hope was utterly shattered, and the list lost its value. A decree dispersed the rebellious soldiers, breaking them into households spread across various places, unable to stir trouble again...
Even if he was foolish, he now guessed that the master behind the fat man, was the current Son of Heaven...
He was finished... The Guo family was finished...
"Don’t ruin them any further. By the time we reach Yangzhou City, there won’t be enough goods left."
"It’s a business without capital anyway..."
"Damn you, didn’t I feed and water them all this way? Aren’t these expenses?"
"Alright, alright, I’m just handling one now, it’s just that this one looks like it’s about to die, there’s no point..."
"That’s your issue, but the new one is off-limits!"
"Didn’t you say in Xuanzhou you couldn’t stand the sight and wanted to vent your anger? How come..."
"I was mistaken and thought it was a boy! Second Master Liu, bear with it this time, such quality goods are hard to come by. You can mess with any of the others, but not that one."
Second Master Liu heard this but remained silent, yet he snapped the whip in his hand loudly, clearly still unwilling.
Cui Sanniang coaxed sincerely: "Second Master Liu, you saw it too, this is a lady raised by a big family, still a beauty in the making, well-versed in poetry, songs, musical instruments, chess, calligraphy and painting, and at just the right age. Give her a few years of training, and I dare bet she’ll outshine the celebrated Miss Yu Lan from the Pavilion of Numerous Fragrances. When we make a fortune in the future, can’t you have as many as you want?..."
These two were none other than Second Master Liu and Cui Sanniang.
At this time, the carriage clattered along the road, the two people in front of the carriage were whispering arguments, more precisely, Cui Sanniang was persuading Second Master Liu to drop his idea.
Inside the carriage, Xiao Lian Hua blinked her eyes open in a daze, as she seemed to have heard a sigh that tugged at her heart tightly.
She sat up straight and looked around, in the carriage were four little girls like her. In one corner were three older sisters huddled together like warming each other, sleeping curled up together, and when awake, their faces showed weak, fearful helplessness, cautious and ingratiating towards the two bad people outside, while with her and the other little girl, there was hidden exclusion and hostility.
Next to her was a little girl about the same size, looking around ten years old, her complexion pale, seemingly ill, trembling in her sleep even uneasily, not well when awake, whenever approached, this little girl would continuously shrink back in avoidance, looking extremely pitiable, and was called "Xiao Hua Mei" by the lecherous man.
The few girls changed into uniform similar dresses, Xiao Lian Hua was no exception, persuaded to change by the shaded eyes woman, saying she was too dirty, after much consideration, she changed and hid her belongings well.
After knowing she was a daughter, the shaded eyes woman was very kind to her, seemingly satisfied with whatever she wanted. She was unwilling to discard her clothes, the woman frowned but ultimately "kindly" said it was up to her.
Xiao Lian Hua was newly arrived, sitting at the outermost spot near the carriage curtain.
The carriage had long since driven out of Xuanzhou Prefecture City, they would head north to cross the Yangtze River, so said the shaded eyes woman.
Outside came the endless mutterings again, Xiao Lian Hua glanced around and could not detect the source of the sigh, inexplicably feeling that sigh was so important, desperately wanting to find the person who sighed.
Thinking so led to action, she pulled the curtain wide open and peeked her little head out, startling Cui Sanniang, who was fervently persuading Second Master Liu.
She hastily paused her speech and asked: "Xiao Hehe, why are you awake? When did you wake up?"
The drug she mixed in the food should keep these little girls mostly dozing off, so they wouldn’t cause trouble or think of escaping, saving on rations too.
But unexpectedly, she woke just when they were speaking, how much did she hear?