New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

Unfortunately, Zhao Yuanzhu's kneeling pleas did not earn her the mercy of the Jin soldier, but instead resulted in a heavy lash on her back.

"Who are you? Just a slave. Do you really think you're still royalty of the Song Dynasty, able to go wherever you want?"

Fortunately, the other side also knew that these were people the imperial court wanted, so they didn't dare to go too far. If this Jin soldier had really used his strength, Zhao Yuanzhu would have been torn to pieces.

Even so, the rather frail Princess Yifu was still whipped so hard she rolled on the ground and wailed repeatedly.

Her scream resonated with everyone present, but what could they do besides sob quietly? These once high and mighty nobles of the Song Dynasty no longer even had the courage to plead for her.

Unable to bear seeing her younger sister humiliated, Zhao Fujin disregarded her elder sister's attempts to pull her away and stepped forward from the line about to be sent to the Youzhou command post: "Sir, please have mercy. If possible, I am willing to switch places with my sister, and she can serve the commander in my place." Then, she took out a small piece of silver weighing only a few coins from her inner clothing, and presented it to the Jin soldier with both hands, "This is all the money I have. Please be lenient, sir."

Zhao Fujin naturally knew that the more she went into the heart of the Yuejin Kingdom, the more treacherous the road ahead would be. Staying in Youzhou might offer her a chance to survive, since it was still close to the Song Dynasty. Although she was also in the prime of her life, Zhao Yuanzhu was only seventeen. Zhao Fujin could not stand idly by and watch her sister be humiliated by those barbarians.

Faced with Zhao Fujin's pleas and Zhao Yuanzhu's expectations, the Jin soldier in charge of leading the men remained unmoved: "The commander specifically requested you to go there. How can there be any reason to switch you halfway? I am only responsible for bringing you back. If you have the ability to persuade the commander to switch you, then go to the command post and talk about it. Begging me is useless."

Urged on by the Jin soldiers, the ten selected princesses and Xing Bingyi first bowed to Emperor Zhao Huan. Seeing that he was like a lump of mud and had no reaction at all, the eldest princess Zhao Yupan could only lead the group to bid farewell to the other female relatives who were still imprisoned.

This parting must be a farewell forever.

Eleven people were escorted out of Ming'an Temple by a group of Jin soldiers. Three carriages were waiting outside the temple. Since there was no way to retreat, the eldest princess, as the backbone, had no choice but to bite the bullet and get on the carriage first. Zhao Fujin pulled the nineteenth princess and Zhao Yupan to ride in the same carriage. After everyone was on the carriage, the driver cracked his long whip, and a neighing sound rang out. The carriages filed out and slowly headed towards the inner city of Youzhou.

With only her two older sisters by her side and no more menacing Jin soldiers, the nineteenth princess, Zhao Saiyue, finally recovered some of her senses from the fear she had experienced along the way. After all, she was just an eight-year-old child, and apart from fear, she had no worries about the future.

Nestled in Zhao Fujin's arms, Zhao Saiyue asked a question that even her two elder sisters didn't know the answer to: "Fourth elder sister, where are we going?"

Zhao Fujin gently patted her younger sister's back, her words full of tenderness: "No matter where we go, your older sister will accompany you, Yue'er."

Zhao Yupan reached out and lifted the carriage curtain, discovering that the carriage they were riding in was traveling on the official road. Suddenly sensing something was wrong, she boldly stuck her head out of the window, then quickly pulled it back in, her face full of doubt: "Wasn't it said that the inner city of Youzhou was sealed off? Why are the city gates open today?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Fujin glanced out the window and indeed found that everything went dark for a moment before brightening up again. The three carriages easily passed through the city gate and arrived in the inner city of Youzhou.

Peeking back out, the city gate creaked shut again.

Was this opened specifically to bring them into the city?

It seems that this commander of Youzhou wields extraordinary power in the city, to the point that the princess's decrees are completely ignored.

After passing through the city gate, Zhao Yupan and Zhao Fujin clearly felt that the inner city of Youzhou was different from others.

Although the houses were still somewhat dilapidated, they had lost all traces of the desolation that followed the war. Instead, they exuded a sense of prosperity. The pedestrians on the street, though dressed as commoners, all walked with their heads held high and their spirits high. A sense of confidence swirled around them, a stark contrast to the decadence in other cities.

Although the sisters are still in danger, it wouldn't be a bad thing if they could live in such a city in the future. At least they can see that the city's governor in Youzhou loves his people like his own children. With such an official in charge, the people's lives won't be too bad.

It's unclear whether this was a tactic employed by the commander of the Youzhou army or a strategy devised by the Youzhou princess's residence.

As the two sisters were still guessing, the carriage slowly came to a stop with a shout from the driver. The Jin soldier in the lead called out again, and Zhao Yupan and Zhao Fujin, with young Zhao Saiyue in tow, lifted the curtain and jumped out of the carriage. Looking around, they found themselves in a quiet alley.

Apart from them, there was not a single other person on the entire street. The gates of several courtyards along the street were all closed, except for one door which was ajar, seemingly opened specifically to await their arrival.

Although she had already guessed that this might be the destination of her sisters, Zhao Yupan hesitated, not daring to take the final step. Because everyone could sense that this seemingly peaceful mansion was, to them, no different from hell itself.

"What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and go inside." Seeing that the women were all standing there and dared not move, the leading Jin soldier became impatient again. He first pushed open the half-closed courtyard gate, then glared at Zhao Yupan, "Don't delay my return and report."

What's meant to be will be. Seeing that the moment had arrived, Zhao Yupan could only grit her teeth and go inside first. As the others followed, a muffled thud came from behind them; the courtyard gate had been closed from the inside.

The sudden sound startled the eleven women, led by the eldest princess, who instinctively huddled together for warmth. Although they knew this tactic would be utterly useless against the cruel Jin army, it was their only way to protect themselves.

In their panic, the group of women saw two burly men approaching and suddenly knelt down on one knee with their hands clasped in front of them, saying, "Wang Jian, the commander of the guards, greets Your Highnesses."

"Wang Jian? Commander Wang?" This name struck Zhao Yupan like a thunderbolt, leaving him stunned. "You are Wang Jian, the guard commander who escorted Yingluo to the Jin Dynasty for the marriage alliance?"