My spirit appeared on the road to exile, and I was treated as an ancestor.

Chapter 18 The Death of Caihe
Because his crutch was lost, Lu Qing was being supported by Lu Xingyao. He looked at the scene before him, wanting to help but powerless to do so.

Those people tonight were clearly after the little princess. It must have been the will of the one in the capital. By killing Shunyu, the prisoners and officials in the same exile group would also die. When the local government reported it to the capital, it would only be a story of bandits killing her.

This has always been the style of that person in the capital: to nip problems in the bud.

Caihe took the knife for Shunyu, and the knife went in so deep that even the ancestors said she couldn't be saved, meaning there was really no way to save her.

Lu Qing sighed, "Your Highness... this old minister is powerless to help."

Gu Xingzhao also wanted to save him; no one could stand by and watch a living person die before their eyes. However, the system scan had just revealed that the knife had penetrated three-tenths of the heart, causing damage and massive bleeding to the heart's major blood vessels. Even in modern times, sending him to a hospital would be futile, let alone here.

Shunyu cried so hard she could barely breathe, "It's my fault...it's all my fault!"

"But how could you be so foolish..."

Lying in a pool of blood, Caihe wanted to comfort her mistress, but she had no strength left. She couldn't even lift her hand, and was on the verge of death. "Your Highness... the Emperor is heartless..."

She was afraid, afraid that His Highness was too kind-hearted and would still trust that person in the capital. She was even more regretful, regretting that she had been too soft-hearted to tell His Highness everything sooner, to expose that person's true colors. But she had no time left, no more...

Caihe died with tears in her eyes, her eyes wide open, filled with regret and resentment.

"Colorful Lotus? Colorful Lotus!"

The air was thick with the lingering stench of blood. Shunyu cried uncontrollably and then fainted.

Gu Xingzhao turned her back, unable to bear watching any longer. She couldn't stand seeing life and death, otherwise she wouldn't have run back to her hometown as soon as she got her graduation certificate.

Caihe's passing was undoubtedly a huge blow to Shunyu, and now the little princess was truly all alone.

...

Due to the large number of wounded in the team, Du Hangwu decided the next morning to rest for a day in a village or town they would pass through, so that doctors could examine the injuries of his colleagues. Otherwise, so many wounded would only hinder the journey ahead.

When the exile procession arrived at the village entrance, the villagers saw that there were officials and prisoners being escorted behind them, so they quickly told their wives to take their children and hide inside the house.

The village chief came out to negotiate, seemingly in a difficult position. In the end, he accepted some money and agreed to let the group stay in the village for one day, but required all the prisoners to wear shackles on their hands and feet, regardless of age, in order to ensure the safety of the villagers.

The exiles were restless. Some were unhappy about having their shackles put back on after only a short time. Before they could even voice their complaints, Du Hangwu silenced them with a fierce glare.

The group entered the village and stayed overnight in an ancestral hall that was far from the villagers' homes.

The villagers chattered amongst themselves, "How could the village chief let these criminals move in? What if they hurt us?"

"He's carrying a knife, it's terrifying to look at!"

"I don't even know what crime he committed..."

The ancestral hall is not particularly large, but it can still accommodate over a hundred people, with a central hall and two side rooms.

The prisoners were divided into three groups. Du Hangwu and his entourage of officials guarded one group each, while the seriously injured were taken to a side room, since the wind would be strong at night.

Du Hangwu personally oversaw the more than thirty people, including the Lu family, in the main hall. If it weren't for the lightning strike last night, he wouldn't have cared about the Lu family at all. But now that this had happened, he had no choice but to keep a close watch on the Lu family to prevent them from having any other ideas or causing any trouble.

The doctor we invited was not very skilled; he only gave us some herbs to bandage the wound. The patient, whose wound had worsened and caused a fever, could only have some herbal decoction prepared to help him get through the pain.

Along with the Lu family, Shunyu and the family of the deceased Imperial Censor Liu were also imprisoned in the central hall.

Since Shunyu fainted last night and woke up to find out that Caihe had been buried, she has remained silent, probably because of the shock. She stayed alone in the carriage, looking very pale. The officials didn't have time to attend to her, since she no longer had the status of a princess and was now just an exiled criminal.

Two of Liu's guards died, and the rest were injured, especially Liu Xiangbai, the young master of the Liu family. His body was already exhausted from traveling for several days, and last night he was shocked and injured. He developed a high fever in the middle of the night and is now delirious and unconscious.

Compared to the Liu family, the Lu family, blessed by their ancestors, also had wounded, but it was nothing serious. With timely medical treatment, their condition was still acceptable.

Because they stayed overnight in the village, the prisoners were given a few sips of hot soup and some soft, fragrant steamed buns. Many of them were reluctant to eat them and hid them, intending to save them for their children when they got hungry.

The Lu family had no shortage of food. Gu Xingzhao would occasionally feed them hot water and compressed biscuits in the bamboo basket, so they ate all the hot soup and steamed buns they were given.

Gu Xingzhao had been there for a while. He had originally planned to secretly send some warm clothes to the Lu family so they could wear them under their prison uniforms since it was getting cold. However, he found that Du Hangwu, who was guarding the Lu family, was keeping a close eye on them and he couldn't find an opportunity. So he had to put it aside for now and see if there would be an opportunity later in the night.

She took a piece of bread and sat down next to Lu Qing to eat. Looking around, she recognized most of the Lu family members. Then she looked at Shunyu and the Liu family members who were also in the main hall.

Shunyu remained seated in the corner, neither speaking nor eating. It took Song Shi a moment to persuade her before the little princess reluctantly drank two sips of soup.

Because the Liu family had asked for more medicine, they had less food. They were given two steamed buns, but no hot soup.

At Lu Qing's instruction, the Lu family sent two bowls of hot soup that had been shared with the Liu family.

Seeing Liu Xiangbai's condition, the Liu family went to Du Hangwu, hoping that he could send another doctor to examine their son.

But Du Hangwu had already spent money once, so why would he hire another one? Besides, a doctor had already examined him, and he had been given medicine. Whether Liu Xiangbai could pull through tonight depended entirely on his own fate.

To put it bluntly, whether these people live or die has no impact on him. It would be better if they died, saving him trouble.

"Is the one who's unconscious the son of that censor who was flogged by the dog emperor?" Gu Xingzhao asked Lu Qing, who was standing next to him.

She had some recollection of the day she was exiled from the city gate, but she wasn't sure if she remembered correctly, since almost half a month had passed.

Upon hearing his ancestor ask, Lu Qing responded in his heart, "To answer my question, it is him."

One of the reasons for Liu Yushi's troubles was that he spoke out for the Lu family, which implicated the Liu family. Seeing his old friend's son in this state, he couldn't help but feel bad.

Why is that old man so stubborn? No one else dared to say a word, but he insisted on being so defiant... Is justice more important than the lives of his family members?!
Gu Xingzhao remembered that this man had a wife and daughters. On the day of the incident at the city gate, the people were talking about how he happened to divorce his wife and drive his wife and daughters out of the house on the day the incident occurred. It sounded like a very strange, heartless and ungrateful man.

She listened briefly and then left, since such things are common even in modern times.

But looking at it today, it seems that's not the case at all.

(Bear Two puts his hands on his hips and wiggles his butt) Hey hey hey, I'm so proud of myself, hey hey hey~ If you're so capable, throw your recommendation votes and monthly tickets at me, hehehe!

(End of this chapter)