strictlysupreme Chapter 316 It's Time for You to Set Off
Chapter 316 It's Time for You to Set Off
Lu Yangyang felt Zong Que put away the needles and her eyelids twitched.
The moment she opened her eyes, she was met with Zong Que's warm gaze.
Lu Yangyang was momentarily dazed, and her heart skipped a beat.
She scrambled to her feet in a panic and said nervously, "Do you have a bronze mirror? Let me see if it looks good?"
Zong Que smiled and pointed to a mirror on the display shelf: "There."
Lu Yangyang strode over, took a closer look, and was almost startled: "Your Highness, this mirror is so clear! How come I've never seen one like it before?"
“It’s a glass mirror made by the former Lady of Huaguo. Not many remain. This one was a gift from her to the Empress Dowager. After the Empress Dowager passed away, I left some of her things in the Eastern Palace,” Zong Que replied.
Lu Yangyang was staring blankly at herself in the mirror. The mirror seemed to reflect the texture of her skin and even the fine hairs clearly. The scar under her eye had now turned into two feather-like or grass-like shapes, perfectly covering the scar that was originally like a birthmark. Every strand of it was clearly visible, like two light feathers that had landed on her face.
Although there was some natural redness and swelling from the recent tattoo, it did not damage her face at all. Instead, it looked like a specially painted decoration, just right.
Lu Yangyang blinked, then turned her bright eyes to Zong Que: "Your Highness, thank you!"
Zong Que stared at her, somewhat lost in thought. As her appearance matured, she changed a lot from before, but it seemed that no matter when, what was most attractive about her was still her bright eyes, which always carried a vigorous vitality, like a strong grass in a strong wind, unyielding and tenacious.
"Your Highness, is this a feather or...?" Lu Yangyang asked Zong Que with great interest.
But before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a knock on the door.
Commander He's voice came: "Your Highness, it's time for you to set off."
Lu Yangyang looked at Zong Que.
Zong Que, however, seemed to have been prepared for this moment and responded calmly.
Then he handed the mask he had taken off to Lu Yangyang: "Cover yourself up for now, remember to apply the medicine promptly, and take it off once the redness and swelling have subsided."
Lu Yangyang obediently put the mask back on.
Soon, the door was pushed open, and following Commander He was Feng Su, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, the father of Feng Qingyao, the girl who died at the Su family's birthday banquet at the Duke of Cheng'en's mansion.
The Feng family does not participate in factional struggles, and Commander He is His Majesty's man. If the two of them are sent to Yuzhou to oversee Zong Que, no one in the court will object.
The matter of deposing the crown prince has been making headlines for some time, but from the time the imperial edict was issued to the time the deposed crown prince was escorted out of the palace, less than two hours had passed.
Just as news of the deposed crown prince spread throughout the capital, the deposed crown prince and his wife were secretly sent away. By evening, when the news reached the capital, everyone knew that the deposed crown prince had left the capital and gone to Yuzhou, his place of exile.
The Great Zhao was famous for having four places of exile: the Northwest, the North, the Southwest, and Yuzhou in the South.
The north is bitterly cold, while the south is a damp and malaria-ridden undeveloped land.
Among the several places of exile, Yuzhou was the most difficult to survive in. Nearly half of the land was uncultivated wilderness, sparsely populated and even worse than the southwest.
Therefore, as soon as the news spread, the students of the capital were immediately filled with righteous indignation and jointly submitted a memorial to the emperor, asking him to withdraw the decree to exile the deposed crown prince. They argued that the deposed crown prince's merits outweighed his faults and that even if he was deposed, he should not be subjected to such humiliation.
Even ordinary people and merchants spontaneously stood up to speak on behalf of the deposed crown prince, pointing out the various inappropriate aspects of exiling him to Yuzhou and pleading with the emperor to rescind the decree.
When the news reached the palace, even though the emperor learned that Zong Que and Lu Yangyang had been escorted away from the capital, he was still so angry that he overturned the table.
Frightened, Supervisor Feng hurriedly knelt on the ground, not daring to utter a sound.
The emperor stared intently at the mess on the ground. After an unknown amount of time, he turned to Eunuch Feng and said, "Find someone over there. No matter what, pry his mouth open."
Supervisor Feng responded repeatedly, "Yes."
……
When the news of the deposed crown prince leaving the capital reached the Lan family, Lan Yin, who had just returned to visit her father, coughed up blood again upon hearing the news.
"Madam, Madam, please take good care of yourself. If the young lady knew that you were hurting yourself because of this, she would be very worried," said Granny Hui, her eyes filled with tears.
The Lan family was in complete chaos. The most direct impact of the deposed crown prince was on the Lan family, because Grand Tutor Lan was the crown prince's teacher. Since ancient times, the first person implicated when a crown prince was deposed was always the Grand Tutor. Now, with Grand Tutor Lan's death remonstrance and the deposed crown prince's strong opposition, the Lan family was barely saved. But from this moment on, the Lan family could no longer stay in the capital.
Lan Yin's sister-in-law, Madam Wei, was already instructing the servants to pack the trunks.
Upon entering and seeing Lan Yin's weak and exhausted state, he sighed and walked over to her, saying, "Sister, things have come to this point. It's already a stroke of luck that we've managed to save the lives of our entire family. Although His Majesty hasn't explicitly ordered the Lan family to be implicated, we can't stay in the capital any longer. Think about it. If you're willing, come back to our hometown in Jiangnan with us. Delay could lead to unforeseen changes. I won't say anything more. Make your decision quickly."
Madam Wei was extremely busy. Her husband had been transferred to another post last year. The Lan family did not have many children, but they had already separated from the family long ago. Today, her father-in-law was brought back with his head covered in blood, and her mother-in-law also fainted. Fortunately, Doctor Wen arrived in time.
She grasped Lan Yin's hand. "I understand how you feel as a mother, and I know you're worried about Yangyang going to Yuzhou with His Highness. The journey will be arduous, and the future will be difficult. But it's fortunate that she's alive now. Yangyang is a strong girl. No matter what the circumstances, she can live well. You must believe in her and take care of yourself so you can see her again."
Lan Yin was filled with sorrow, but she knew that if she continued to grieve, she would only be adding to her sister-in-law's troubles. She forced herself to cheer up and said to Madam Wei, "Thank you for your comfort, sister-in-law. I'll go back and pack my things first, and send you a letter later."
Knowing that she was worried about Lu Yangyang, Madam Wei didn't press her further, nodded, and got up to leave.
Lan Yin got up to check on the still unconscious Grand Tutor Lan, then had a carriage prepared and left the Lan residence.
Sitting in the carriage, Lan Yin couldn't help but burst into tears. She grabbed Hui Mama's hand and said, "Huixin, I thought that Yangyang could leave the capital and live a free life as she wished, so that I could return to Jiangnan with peace of mind. But now that she has gone to Yuzhou, how can I put my mind at ease? But there is nothing I can do. What should I do?"
Granny Hui was at a loss for what to do. "Why don't we go back to Jiangnan with the First Madam first? If there is any news about the young lady in the future, the master will definitely know."
Lan Yin was torn between two options when suddenly the carriage was stopped. Granny Hui lifted the curtain and saw Sheng Yunzhu, disheveled and utterly disarrayed, kneeling before the carriage.
"Mother, Mother, please save me—"