After being rejected, he emptied the mansion and went into exile

The eunuch who delivered the imperial edict was the eunuch Gao who came to deliver rewards to the Marquis' Mansion last year.

When Eunuch Gao walked to the front yard, he opened the imperial edict and began to read it aloud.

With the blessing of heaven, Emperor Zhao said:

I have personally read the memorials of all the ministers and am unable to make a decision on the issue of appointing a crown prince. I have carefully examined the public opinion and found that the guilty minister Shen Maoshan, although a marquis, has no intention of serving the country.

He engaged in treacherous and corrupt activities, disrupted government affairs, participated in factional disputes, colluded with foreign invaders, and undermined discipline.

This has caused great shock to the government and the public, and has caused me great pain both physically and mentally. Therefore, I have decided to punish them severely to serve as a warning to others.

I hereby issue this decree to announce to the world: The guilty minister Shen Maoshan shall be stripped of his title and his property confiscated immediately. He shall be exiled to Quzhou and shall never be allowed to return to Shangjing.

All male members of the Shen family who are over ten years old must go there immediately with shackles, and the rest of the women and children must arrive in Quzhou before the winter solstice this year.

Officials along the way must keep a strict watch on them, prevent them from escaping, and refrain from abusing them.

Anyone who disobeys the order or fails to arrive in Quzhou on time will be executed immediately.

This is it.

Although Eunuch Gao's voice was not loud enough, every member of the Shen family present could hear it clearly.

It turns out that the Marquis has not shown up and is now in custody!

Eunuch Gao glanced at the kneeling Shen family members and said, "Old Madam, please accept the order."

At this time, Mrs. Shen did not expect to be exiled.

She felt as if her body weighed a thousand pounds, but even so she had to stand up and receive the order.

Madam Shen: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Eunuch Gao: "Come here, put shackles and chains on Shen Congshan and Shen Mingshan, and take them away."

Shen Congshan cried out, "Mom, Mom, what's going on?"

Shen Mingshan was calmer. He quickly instructed his wife, "Meng'er, be careful on the road and take good care of your mother. We'll see you in Quzhou."

Eunuch Gao did not stop him. After all, it was a time for relatives to say goodbye, and it was somewhat sad.

If something happens during the exile, then the farewell may be permanent.

He turned to Pan Ye and said, "Commander Pan, how is the house search going?"

Pan Ye smiled evilly, "Haha, there's no home to rob."

Eunuch Gao was puzzled, "What do you mean by 'no home to rob'?"

Pan Ye replied: "Take your own people to see it, I have other things to do."

After saying that, Pan Ye took his men away.

Only Eunuch Gao and the Minister of Justice were left staring at each other.

Eunuch Gao took a deep breath. Pan Ye was becoming more and more rampant.

"Sir Shangshu, please have your men search the house."

The Shangshu wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Eunuch Gao, it's not that we didn't do anything. It's because the Shen family was robbed yesterday and everything was stolen."

Eunuch Gao couldn't believe it and felt that there must be a conspiracy.

He ordered a search.

Then he looked at the Shen family who were already dismissing their servants.

The yamen runners beside him kept urging: "There is an order from above. You must leave Shangjing City in one hour."

Madam Shen dismissed all the servants and gave out all the indentures she could.

"Madam, Qiuyan and I have been raised together with the young lady since we were young. If you let us go now, we don't know where to go. Please promise us to follow you."

Dongmei held Qiuyan's hand and kowtowed to Mrs. Shen while crying.

Also left behind were Mrs. Shen's maids Chunyu and Xiahe, as well as the maids who came with the first and third wives' dowry.

In addition, there is Nanny Li who serves the old lady, as well as Nanny Li’s husband and son.

At this time, Shen Jinyao said to the servants: "The Shen family has been exiled. I don't know what will happen to them."

"Even if we're exiled, you'll definitely have a hard time. I'm not sure I can protect you then. Have you thought this through?"

Matron Li: "Miss, we've made up our minds."

Butler Sun: "Don't worry, Miss, we know what's going on."

Qiuyan: "Miss, if we leave here, we don't know what the next family will do. Instead of that, I'd rather follow you and suffer."

……

Shen Jinyao: "If you arrive at the exile place alive on the way and want to leave, you can leave at any time."

The servants nodded one after another. They didn't expect that the eldest lady would still be so clear-headed at the critical moment.

Shen Jinyao was counting the number of people, and the third wife of the Shen family was helping.

"Madam, you can't take anything from the Marquis' Mansion away."

Eunuch Gao stopped Aunt Yun who wanted to go back to the yard to get something.

Madam Shen glanced at Eunuch Gao and said, "We can't just leave wearing only one piece of clothing, right? Please, Eunuch Gao, please be kind."

Eunuch Gao was about to speak when he heard the report from the people who were searching the house.

"Eunuch, the Marquis's storehouse, kitchen, study, and armory are all empty."

Eunuch Gao frowned and said, "Madam Shen, you can't take anything with you. How can I explain this to the Emperor?"

No wonder Pan Ye runs so fast!

We searched the house but found nothing, and we couldn't explain this to the Emperor.

Old Madam Shen had no choice but to give up. She looked at Shen Jinyao who was counting the number of people.

Among the three branches of the Shen family, only the third son, Shen Mingshan, did not take a concubine.

The first and second wives each have a concubine.

The first lady has two sons, one of whom is the eldest son Shen Zhizheng who used to study in the academy.

Because Shen Zhizheng was over ten years old, he was not in the exile team. He would be escorted together with the three masters of the Shen family.

The other one is the second son among the four men, Shen Zhiyong, who is just ten years old.

Aunt Liu has a son, the youngest of the four sons, the Fifth Master, Shen Zhiye.

Mrs. Shen from the second house has a son and a daughter, namely the eldest daughter Shen Jinyao and the fourth son Shen Zhixin.

Concubine Yun from the second house also has a son and a daughter.

They are the second young lady Shen Tingyao and the third young master Shen Zhixue.

The third wife has only one daughter, Shen Leyao, who is also the youngest of the eight children in the Shen family.

Madam Shen asked, "Jin'er, have you counted everything?"

"Grandmother, I understand. There are ten servants with us, eight ladies and four men. Twenty-two people in total."

The third lady added, "That's not right. There should be nine ladies."

One old lady, three wives, two concubines, and three young ladies, a total of nine people.

Old Man Shen asked in a deep voice, "Who's missing?"

Nanny Li took a look and said, "Madam, Concubine Liu from the first house is missing."

Concubines are not in the family tree and are almost like servants. If they don't want to go, they don't have to follow.

The eldest lady glanced at the fifth young master and asked, "Zhiye, have you seen Concubine Liu?"

Shen Zhiye said truthfully: "Madam, my aunt just left."

Although he was born to Concubine Liu, Concubine Liu never paid attention to him.

Madam Shen looked at the daughters-in-law and said, "Those of you who are included in the family tree cannot leave. However, I can give you a letter of release. Do you still want to leave?"

The three daughters-in-law shook their heads, saying that going back to their parents' home might not be easy.

Although her husband is in danger, she still has hope by taking care of her children.

Madam Shen looked at Aunt Yun who was standing beside her, "Aunt Yun, you..."

"Madam, please don't talk nonsense. I am your man in life and your ghost in death!"

The tense atmosphere was eased by Aunt Yun's words, and Mrs. Shen had no way to deal with Aunt Yun.

Aunt Yun is a sarcastic person who speaks without thinking.

But he is also a sincere person with no ambition.

Shen Tingyao inherited this from her.

Madam Shen looked at Old Madam Shen and said, "In that case, mother, shall we set off?"

Under the supervision of the yamen runners, the group of people from the Marquis' Mansion walked out of the Marquis' Mansion where they had lived for a long time.