Help! The cunning and treacherous minister and I were reborn together!

After the three judicial departments conducted their investigations, His Majesty quickly made a ruling:

Li Min, a magistrate of Xingning, embezzled disaster relief funds and colluded with Prefect Liu Fei to cover up his crimes. He also instructed Yuan Pu, an assistant secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, to murder the eldest son of the Marquis of Changping. This was unforgivable under the law, so he was stripped of his title and imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court.

Liu Fei and Yuan Pu will be executed in the autumn, and their families will be exiled to Lingzhou, not allowed to return to the capital without being summoned; the Princess of Pingyi County helped her mother steal the register, aiding and abetting the tyrant, and is hereby demoted to a commoner as a warning to others!

The Yuan family members were tied together with a hemp rope, heads bowed, as they walked down the long street amidst the scorn and curses of the people.

Despite the tattered and filthy prison clothes she wore, Yuan Zhi found them more comforting than fine clothes.

Her gaze swept across the crowd, but she didn't spot Xiao Zong.

He was probably just venting his anger that day. Lingzhou is a long way away, and even without him lifting a finger, she wouldn't be in much better shape.

As she passed through the city gate, she picked the vegetable leaves off her shoulder and breathed a long sigh of relief.

Farewell, Shengjing.

A tea stall about a mile away.

Luo Mei, Xu Muxin, and Jiang Bai looked around anxiously. When they saw the group approaching, they hurriedly went to greet them.

Jiang Bai slipped some silver to the officials, explained his purpose, and invited them inside for tea. Luo Mei walked up to Yuan Zhi, sobbing uncontrollably. Xu Muxin nudged her arm, reminding her to stop crying and that business was more important.

Luo Mei wiped away her tears and handed the bundle to Yuan Zhi.

"There are some loose silver coins inside, to bribe the officials, and three one-hundred-tael silver notes, which Miss can keep for herself."

She whispered in Yuan Zhi's ear, "In the lining of your blue cotton coat, I sewed five silver notes worth one thousand taels each. The journey is fraught with danger, so I'm just in case we encounter bandits."

Yuan Zhi nodded, "Sister Luo Mei, thank you for your hard work."

With tears blurring her vision, Luo Mei said, "What suffering is there for me? It is you, Miss, who has truly suffered!"

"Stop crying! Seeing you cry makes me want to cry too!"

"Yes, yes, don't cry anymore, Miss, please take good care of yourself!"

Yuan Zhi patted the back of her hand and looked at Xu Muxin.

"Are you getting used to not having the title of county magistrate?"

Xu Muxin opened her arms, "Aside from the rough clothes being a bit itchy and the food being a little unpalatable, everything else is fine. I'll just consider it... an early retreat to the countryside!"

"That's a good idea," Yuan Zhi smiled. "If you run out of money, why not work as a helper at Wei Yan Tower? At least you won't be treated badly!"

"No wages?"

"The county princess is completely unskilled in domestic duties; she probably can't do cooking or serving dishes. All she can do is greet guests at the door. And that's excluding acquaintances, otherwise, I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to bring yourself to do it. Considering all this, if we could provide you with three meals a day, Wei Yan Lou would be losing money!"

Xu Muxin smiled and pointed at her, "You wait, tomorrow I'll go to the restaurant entrance to solicit customers, let's see if I can swallow my pride!"

Yuan Zhi shrugged, "I can't see her, Luo Mei, you keep an eye on her for me!"

Upon hearing the first half of the sentence, Luo Mei's tears welled up again. Yuan Zhi and Xu Muxin were both at a loss, covering her mouth to stop her sobbing.

"Forget it, I'll take her away, so she won't be reminded of those memories!" Xu Muxin said helplessly.

Yuan Zhi let go of his hand and said, "That's fine."

Luo Mei cried out, clearly intending to resist. Xu Muxin shook her head, signaling her not to fight like a trapped beast.

"Jiang Bai, let's go!"

Xu Muxin called out to the teahouse, and Jiang Bai immediately rushed out, surprised that they were so fast.

"Why are you taking so long to deliver clothes?"

Jiang Bai nodded, bowed to Yuan Zhi, and followed his master.

Yuan Zhi watched them walk away. After a while, the official came out after finishing his tea and reminded them that it was time to continue their journey.

As Aunt Zhao walked, she gradually lost her strength, her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the side of the road. Yuan Zhi quickly helped her up, shielding her eyes from the sun with his sleeve, and helped her to sit down in the shade.

Yuan Jun rushed over, sweating profusely.

"Mom, how are you?"

Aunt Zhao's lips were pale. "My son! I can't walk anymore. Why don't you bury me here? That way, I'll be closer to your father!"

Yuan Jun's eyes reddened. "You're still thinking about him! If it weren't for him, how could our family have suffered such a disaster?"

"Cough cough cough!" Aunt Zhao said excitedly, "That's your father who gave you life and raised you. How can you blame him? If you have to blame someone, blame your mother for being incompetent and not having a family background like the First Madam's, which has caused you to suffer with me!"

Yuan Zhi and Yuan Jun seemed to be deep in thought. If it weren't for the Empress Dowager Wei's intercession, their stepmother would have been on the list of those to be exiled.

Seeing that the prisoner hadn't followed, the officer turned back with his whip, cursing under his breath:

"Take one step, rest two steps, when will we ever get to Lingzhou? Stop dawdling, all of you keep up!"

Yuan Jun knelt down and kowtowed to him, "Sir, my mother is sick. Please, have mercy and rest for half a day before you leave! I beg you, I beg you!"

The officer pointed a whip at his head and sneered, "Your house has been ransacked, and you still think you're some young master or miss! I'm the boss here. If you dare to make another request, I'll whip you to death right now!"

"You receive salaries from the imperial court, so you should share the burdens and solve the problems of the people. Why can't you be more lenient on such a small matter?"

"You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to drink the penalty shot!" The officer lashed out with his whip. "I'll show you what you're made of! You think you're the only one with a mouth?"

"Third Brother!"

Yuan Zhi shouted and leaped forward to shield Yuan Jun from a whip.

A bloodstain instantly seeped onto the prison uniform, mingling with cold sweat, causing a burning pain. Yuan Zhi choked on her breath, her damp eyelashes trembling slightly, and Yuan Jun helped her straighten up.

"Silly girl, why did you rush over here? Doesn't it hurt?"

Yuan Zhi smirked, "When we were little, Third Brother always protected me. Now, it's my turn to protect you. It's just a whip, it won't hurt at all."

"What a loving brother and sister!" the officer said sarcastically. "If one lash doesn't hurt, then try my second one!"

Yuan Jun stood in front of his sister, saying, "If you want to hit someone, hit me!"

Yuan Zhi pushed his arm away and held up the loose silver in her hand in front of the officer. "Sir, my brother is just quick-tempered and had absolutely no intention of offending you. Please consider this silver as an apology and forgive my brother!"

"This young lady knows how to handle things!" The official pocketed the money and said with a smile, "Alright, I'll give you an hour to rest. When the time is up, whether you're sick or lame, you'd better get up and keep going!"

"Thank you, sir!"

After thanking him, Yuan Zhi asked for the water pouch and asked his third brother to give it to Aunt Zhao.

She placed her right hand on her left shoulder blade and gently touched the wound.

In this heat, her wounds were prone to infection, and if she developed a high fever after dark, the officers might abandon her. The area was desolate and wild, and with her injuries, she would be easy prey for wolves and tigers who would be drawn to her blood.

Yuan Zhi sighed: At least don't die such a gruesome death!

What are you afraid of?

That night, she indeed developed a high fever, which made her delirious.

Yuan Jun touched her forehead; it was burning hot, like a furnace.

"This can't go on. I'll go and beg the officials to find some medicine."