good season

Life in Baihe Mountain was simple and happy. This was Zhao Shiqing's own territory, and together with her newly acquired Fanghe Mountain, everything belonged to her.

In the blink of an eye, the first month of the year is over.

A piece of official document was delivered to Zhao Tinghan.

Through reports from prefects and governors, as well as impeachment by censors, the case of Cui Rong was investigated at the fastest speed.

Cui Rong accepted bribes, embezzled and perverted the law, caused a bloodbath, had no way to manage his family, had a bad personal morality, favored his concubine and killed his wife, disregarded human ethics, and aroused public anger. He was punished for multiple crimes, dismissed from his official position, all the family property of the Cui family was confiscated, and all males over 13 years old were exiled 3,000 miles away.
In the end, Cui Rong and the Cui family took all the responsibility, and Deng Qian disappeared perfectly.

The people sent from above, led by the prefect, came to the small courtyard in Erliying. When they saw Cui Rong lying on the bed, they almost thought that the real Cui Rong had escaped, and the man in front of them was a beggar who was found from nowhere.

Cui Rong became as thin as a skeleton. In just over a month, all his teeth fell out and his hair turned completely white, with only sparse and dirty hair showing.

When the smelly and foul quilt was lifted, the scene in front of them made everyone present vomit uncontrollably.

Cui Rong's body was covered with bedsores, and the scabby feces mixed with pus from the ulcers were crawling with white maggots.

Aunt Wang, who once enjoyed great glory in Fuyun County, was now dishevelled, with unhealed whip marks on her face and body. The Fourth Young Master Cui curled up in a corner, shivering, and his two younger sisters cried and begged for mercy from the visitor, saying that they were women and asked if they could avoid exile.

The women of the Cui family did not have to be exiled, but if they left Cui Rong, they would have to return to the Cui family. The decline of the Cui family was caused by Cui Rong, so it is conceivable that their lives would not be much better if they returned to the Cui family than now.

The only normal person in this family is Wang Honghong.

After experiencing life and death, this young woman showed vigorous vitality. Her eyes were bright and sparkling with excitement.

The yamen runners despised Cui Rong for being disgusting, and forced Aunt Wang and the fourth young master Cui to carry Cui Rong out. Cui Rong howled like a wild beast, and Wang Honghong laughed loudly: "You deserve it, this is retribution! You two bastards, this is your retribution!"

She said to the leader who came to do the work: "I am not Cui Gouzei's aunt, he didn't marry me, I am still a daughter of the Wang family, and besides, I am also a victim."

The officer nodded. One of Cui Rong's crimes was disregarding human ethics, which was about this incident. He had an affair with his concubine's niece and gave birth to a son.

However, Wang Honghong and Cui Rong had neither a marriage certificate, nor a concubine certificate, nor a contract to sell her body. Not only was she an unmarried girl, she was also from a good family.

She can leave on her own and take her belongings with her.

The dowries of female relatives should not be included in the scope of the house search, but when the house search really came, the yamen runners and soldiers who came to do their job would not follow the rules at all. They took whatever they saw, confiscating what was on the account books and pocketing what was not on the account books.

Wang Honghong left, but she did not take the baby with her.

Cui Rong and the fourth young master Cui were both taken away. They would be exiled together with the Cui family in Luzhou City.

Aunt Wang was heartbroken. These days, she had been tortured like a mad woman. What destroyed her were Wang Honghong's whip, the beatings and scoldings from Young Master Cui, and Cui Rong's feces and urine.

All the people who had confiscated the house had left, leaving only her and her four children in the stinking house.

Aunt Wang was stunned for a moment, her eyes fell on the face of her eldest daughter who was almost as tall as her.

It turned out that my daughter had grown up. Although she was dirty, she was obviously a beauty.

She suddenly perked up, like a hungry wild dog seeing a delicious bone.

She grabbed her eldest daughter's arm and said anxiously, "Come, let me wash your face and comb your hair. I'll look around to see if there are any decent clothes."

The eldest daughter was stunned at first, but soon understood what was going on.

She grew up with Aunt Wang and she knew very well what kind of person her biological mother was.

"What are you going to do? What are you going to do?" She struggled hard from Aunt Wang's hands and turned to run.

Aunt Wang fell to her knees with a plop, but she hugged her legs tightly: "My dear daughter, my dear daughter, now only you can help me, I beg you, for your brothers and sisters, for me, you..."

Before she finished speaking, the eldest daughter shook off her restraints with all her strength: "You sold my cousin, and now you want to sell me. If you want to sell me, do it yourself, don't think about me. I am a daughter of the Cui family. Even if the Cui family is confiscated, it is still a clean and scholarly family!"

"Incorruptible? From a scholarly family? Hahaha!" Aunt Wang laughed so hard that tears came out.

When she had laughed enough, she found that both of her daughters were gone.

Not only did the eldest daughter run away by herself, she also took the second daughter with her.

The two daughters ran out of the yard and ran towards the village entrance. Now there was no one watching them and they were free.

"Sister, where are we going?" asked the younger sister.

"Go back to Luzhou, to your Hui tribe, even if you go back to the countryside to farm, it's better than being sold to a brothel," said my sister.

The two ran to the entrance of the village and saw Shen Wangxing standing there.

They had never seen Shen Wangxing, let alone knew that he was their brother.

But they knew Mrs. Li who was standing next to Shen Wangxing.

The two were shocked. Mrs. Li was a staff member of the yamen. Their family was imprisoned here, and Mrs. Li had come to deliver food to them.

"Mother Li, are you here to arrest us?" The elder sister subconsciously shielded her younger sister behind her and mustered up the courage to face Mother Li.

Mrs. Li grinned, forced herself not to speak, and stole a glance at Shen Wangxing standing beside her.

This person is one of her financial backers. She dare not say anything in front of him.

Shen Wangxing asked: "Are they Cui Rong's daughters?"

Mrs. Li: "Yes, these are two girls."

Shen Wangxing said: "Take them to the carriage."

The two girls wanted to escape, but they were no match for Li Po, who was used to doing rough work. In just a few moves, they were pulled into the carriage one by one by Li Po.

They were taken to Banshan Village not far away, where they washed their faces, combed their hair, changed into clean coarse cloth clothes, and had a full meal.

Mrs. Li asked, "The official asked me to ask you, do you want to follow your father and brother into exile, or return to the Cui family? However, I guess the Cui family has also been confiscated by now."

Although female family members do not have to be exiled, if you want to go with your family, that is fine. It is your own choice, and no one can stop you if you want to die.

When they escaped from that yard, the two sisters wanted to escape back to Cui's house, but now that they have calmed down, they don't want to go back.

What are they going back for? The current situation of the Cui family is all because of Cui Rong. They are Cui Rong's daughters. If they go back, they will bear all the resentment and complaints for Cui Rong. Cui Rong cares most about the fourth young master Cui. Even though they grew up with their parents, they are still ignored.

And Aunt Wang, just now, wanted to exchange her own daughter for favors.

They have never been loved by their parents, so why should they bear the blame for their parents?
Why?
My sister asked, "Mother Li, do we have a third option?"

Mrs. Li was stunned. She was just the messenger, what did she know?
"What do you want to do?" A voice came from behind. It was Shen Wangxing.

"Sir!" The two sisters stood up and knelt down to salute.

Mrs. Li was from the yamen and took orders from Shen Wangxing, so the two sisters thought that Shen Wangxing was sent from above. Although he was a little younger, they did not think about it too much.

Shen Wangxing stood far away from them, his voice cold: "I'm asking you, what do you want to do?"

The elder sister looked at the younger sister, who nodded. The elder sister said boldly, "We can embroider and do some helpers. We can support ourselves."

Shen Wangxing was a little surprised. He thought that Fourth Master Cui’s sister was just like Fourth Master Cui, someone who wanted to get something for nothing.

"Don't you want to go back to Luzhou?" he asked.

The two sisters nodded and said, "We will not return to Luzhou, nor will we stay in Fuyun. We only ask the official to give us a pass so that we can find a place in Liangdi to fend for ourselves."

Although Cui Rong had been exiled for many years, his family was still registered in Luzhou. The two sisters did not need to show up in public and did not need a travel permit before, but now they have to support themselves. There are many occupations for women in Liang, such as embroiderers, and female waiters who specialize in receiving female guests in jewelry shops and rouge shops. Even in teahouses, restaurants and inns, there will be one or two female waiters and maids, which makes it more convenient when female guests come.

But if you don’t have a travel permit and your registered residence is not local, you will not be able to stay anywhere.

Shen Wangxing didn't expect that there would be people in the Cui family who wanted to support themselves with their own hands, and they were two little girls.

He suddenly felt a little more sympathy for these two sisters who had no feelings for him.

"Okay, I'll ask my superiors and give you an answer."

The two sisters were surprised and happy, and thanked him repeatedly.

Two hours later, the reply from "Shangguan" came, along with two travel passes.

With these two passes, they can leave Fuyun.

The next day, the two sisters were sent on a passing mule cart to Qian Ping Mansion.

When they arrived at Qian Ping Mansion, the mule cart stopped in front of an embroidery workshop with a sign recruiting apprentices hung in front of the door.

My elder sister was overjoyed and went in to try out the job. After she embroidered a peony on the spot, she was kept as an apprentice. An apprentice like her who had a solid foundation in embroidery could become a master in three months. Of course, she could only embroider small pieces when she first started out, but she would still be paid.

Although the younger sister was younger and her embroidery skills were not as good as her older sister, she was kept as a maid to serve tea and water to the female guests. Maids in the embroidery workshop also had the opportunity to become apprentices if they worked hard.

The embroidery workshop provided them with food and lodging. Although they lived in a large dormitory with more than a dozen people squeezed together and had simple meals, the people here took good care of them. No one knew that they were the daughters of criminals, and no one knew that they had such despicable parents.

They live a very contented life here, and their goal now is to become the best embroiderers, like the masters in the embroidery workshop. Not only will they have high salaries, but they can also take in apprentices, be respected, and not have to please others.

At Baihe Mountain, Zhao Shiqing saw Shen Wangxing who had returned from Fuyun and asked, "Do you want to go back to Luzhou to take a look? Or bring your mother over?"

The women of the Cui family were not punished together with them. They did not have to be exiled or sold into slavery or prostitution, and their movements were not restricted. Shen Wangxing could take Mrs. Cui away.

Shen Wangxing shook his head: "I know her, she won't go with me. Even if that beast has done all kinds of evil, she will think he is innocent."

Zhao Shiqing didn't say anything. She had seen people like this before.

But what’s interesting is that just when Zhao Shiqing was about to leave Baihe Mountain, her guards finally came back after going through untold hardships!

The moment they saw Miss Zhao Er, the twenty guards cried like fools.

It wasn’t easy, it was so difficult, they finally met the second young lady in their lifetime.

In order to fulfill their duties as guards, they chased from Liang to Wu, and then from Wu to Liang. They were just one step away, just one step away, and they would miss the second young lady again.

Zhao Shiqing: "Yes, if you are one day later, you won't be able to see me again."

Without having time to talk about what they saw and heard along the way, the twenty guards immediately packed their luggage (actually there was no need to pack). This time, they must stay by the Second Young Lady's side. Twenty people have forty eyes, and they must not lose the Second Young Lady this time. No, they must not let the Second Young Lady lose them.

Although Shen Guanyue strongly requested to go to the capital together, Zhao Shiqing gritted his teeth and refused to take him with him no matter what.

What a joke! She was entrusted by Xiao Zhen to take Shen Guanyue out of the capital, but now she wants to take Shen Guanyue back. Isn't this breaking her promise?

Is Miss Zhao Er that kind of person?
Although Shen Guanyue was helpless, he was still left in Baihe Mountain.

February 14th is a good day to travel far.

Zhao Shiqing and Zhen Wuduo set foot on the official road to the capital.

After walking a long way, I looked back and saw Shen Guanyue standing at the entrance of the village, waving a handkerchief. The scene was cold, deserted, and miserable.

However, a small incident occurred on the way.

Not long after leaving Liangdi, Shen Wangxing decided to go back to Luzhou. Blood is thicker than water. Although he said harsh words, he still couldn't let go of his mother.

Zhao Shiqing agreed and sent two guards to go with him. If Madam Cui agreed, he could return to her parents' home or settle down in Baihe Village with Shen Wangxing.

Zhao Shiqing and Shen Wangxing agreed that after he finished his own business, he would go to Su's Teahouse in the capital to find her.

I just don’t know if the Su Ji Teahouse is still open. It’s a haunted house and should be difficult to sell.

The weather gradually warmed up. There was no conversation along the way. In the season of lush grass and flying birds, Zhao Shiqing once again stepped into the imperial capital of Dayong.

The identity of the second lady of Prince Liang's Mansion cannot be known to outsiders. Therefore, before leaving Liangdi, they all changed their travel passes. Now they are still Liangdi people, but their household registration is not in Baihe Village, but in Fanghe Village.

Well, Fanghe Village at the foot of Fanghe Mountain now also belongs to Miss Zhao Er, but not many people know about it.

There is no headman in either Baihe Village or Fanghe Village. Miss Zhao Er is the village chief, the head of both villages.

Now, Village Chief Zhao has brought her villagers to the capital.

Haha, Xiao Zhen, you didn't expect that I'm back! (End of this chapter)