Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Farewell at the City Gate

Ten days slipped by in a blink.

A notice finally came down: the sentenced exile convicts were to assemble outside the city tomorrow and depart at noon.

Locked inside the imperial prison, Xie Yu Chuan was the last to hear. When he stood, his chains clinked loud enough to announce him, and every step felt like dragging iron through mud.

The escort officer stood off to the side, impatience practically steaming off him. “Prisoner Xie Yu Chuan, His Majesty has shown mercy and let you out of the imperial prison. Don’t bite the hand that doesn’t even like you. Move! I swear, you must have the luck of a mountain—walking out of the imperial prison alive.”

Xie Yu Chuan’s mouth twitched. “My luck is, apparently, remarkable.”

Mercy? Xia Hou Jie didn’t deserve the word.

And Emperor Long Qing’s treatment of the Xie family—Xie Yu Chuan would collect for it, sooner or later.

A cangue was locked around his neck. He was shoved onto the prison cart. The grim walls of the imperial prison receded behind him until they vanished into winter haze, but Xie Yu Chuan sat straight-backed, eyes lowered and steady, the pride of a century-old house held tight in his spine.

On both sides of the imperial avenue, crowds packed in to watch. Nobles, officials, and merchants blended into a sea of faces, all pretending they were just ordinary spectators.

“What a waste. The Xie family was loyal for generations.”

“Watch your mouth. The imperial court convicted the Xie family. They lost the war—if His Majesty didn’t wipe out nine clans, that’s already mercy.”

“Tch. Like the Xie family wanted to lose? And the imperial court carries no blame at all?”

“Shut up! All of you—do you want to die?”

“I heard this time they dragged in a lot of households that spoke up for the Xie family.”

“Right, right. I heard the same. The Marquis of Dong Bo and Official Zhang from the Han Lin Academy also angered His Majesty. Seems they’re on the exile list too.”

“That’s not the whole story. The Marquis of Dong Bo didn’t just say one nice thing for Duke Xie. I heard His Majesty wanted a son-in-law for Princess Shao Yang and had his eye on the heir apparent of the Dong Bo Marquis Manor. But the marquis married him off first. Tell me—would the emperor smile about that?”

“Fair. No one wants to be Princess Shao Yang’s consort. What about Official Zhang?”

“That one… hard to say. Word is the imperial court wanted him to write some made-up ‘Xie family deity’ nonsense into the history books. Official Zhang pulled out Grand Progenitor’s Annals and argued it on principle. The emperor got angry and kicked him to the North of the Desert.”

A hush followed.

Then someone muttered, “What kind of world is this.”

Outside North City Gate, the wind cut sharp.

The gate guards cleared a side lane for relatives coming to see off the exiled prisoners. A few people quietly slipped silver to inch closer; the guards who took it squinted one eye shut and pretended they’d suddenly gone half-blind.

Left Vice Minister of Personnel Ruan Xing Zhi had been waiting with Madam Sun and their son, Ruan Pei Ning, for a long time.

Father and son had rushed straight from court. They hadn’t even gone home to change—Ruan Xing Zhi stripped off his court robe in the carriage. The moment he stepped down, he leaned toward his wife. “Everything for A Nan and Rui Ge Er—did you bring it? The road to the northern frontier is bitterly cold. Warm clothes, medicine—don’t miss a single thing.”

Madam Sun nodded quickly. “All of it. I even made mung bean cakes—A Nan loved them when she was little. It’s already noon. Why aren’t they here yet?”

She craned her neck toward the gate. Other exiles were already meeting family, taking hurried bundles and hurried words, but the Xie family still hadn’t appeared.

Her heart clenched. She turned to her husband and son. “The imperial court won’t change its mind and sentence the Xie family to death at the last minute, will it?”

Ruan Pei Ning squeezed her hand. “Mother, don’t panic. Elder sister and the others will be here.”

“Good. Good…”

Madam Sun hugged the prepared bundle to her chest. Her eyes were swollen and red, like she’d been crying since dawn.

At last, the Xie family convoy emerged. More than twenty people came out in shackles, faces set and dark, clothes and hair in disarray. Yet not one of them looked truly defeated.

From afar, Ruan Xing Zhi couldn’t help a tight, bitter sigh. Even in a prison pen, the Xie family still carried themselves like the Xie family.

Then his gaze landed on his own daughter—Madam Ruan—and the small boy at her side, Rui Ge Er. Tears burned up fast and spilled anyway.

“A Nan!” Madam Sun covered her face and sobbed.

Madam Ruan heard the familiar voice and went rigid for a heartbeat. The dullness in her eyes lit so suddenly it was almost painful.

She looked over—father, mother, younger brother. In an instant, she was crying hard, fingers trembling around her son’s hand.

“Mother…”

Old Madam Xie saw the Ruan family too. She turned slightly, voice steady. “A Nan, take Rui Ge over.”

First Madam Zhou nodded toward her daughter-in-law. “Go.”

Madam Ruan led Xie Jia Rui toward her natal family. Around them, other exiles watched with naked envy, searching the crowd for anyone who might be theirs.

One by one, hopeful stares dimmed.

Not everyone was as lucky as Madam Ruan.

Ruan Xing Zhi and Madam Sun pulled their daughter and grandson close as if sheer force could keep them warm. Madam Sun’s hands shook as she stroked her daughter’s cracked fingers. “A Nan… you’ve suffered. What are we going to do?”

“Mother, don’t cry.” Madam Ruan swallowed hard. “A Nan is all right.”

“What do you mean, all right?” Madam Sun’s voice broke. “Can you and Rui Ge Er… can’t you not go to the northern frontier?”

“Madam!” Ruan Xing Zhi cut in quickly, alarmed, as if her words might be overheard and sharpened into a blade.

Madam Sun wiped at her face, furious with herself and helpless anyway. “I know. I know. I shouldn’t say it. But I can’t bear it.”

Ruan Xing Zhi sighed and patted his daughter’s shoulder, then bent toward his grandson. “Jia Rui, stay with your mother and talk with your maternal grandmother.”

Xie Jia Rui nodded solemnly. “Yes, maternal grandfather. Jia Rui understands.”

Ruan Xing Zhi ruffled the boy’s hair, then stepped to Old Madam Xie and cupped his hands. “Old Madam Xie, I am useless. I couldn’t shelter the Xie family from wind and rain. The road ahead is long—please take care of yourself.”

Old Madam Xie returned the salute. “Official Ruan, you give us too much. You truly shouldn’t have come today. It does no good for the Ruan family.”

Ruan Xing Zhi gave a faint, wry smile. “It’s fine. The Ministry of Personnel is a nest of petty trouble. Teaching at an academy may be quieter.”

Old Madam Xie’s brow tightened. In the back of her mind, she knew what it meant: the Xie family’s fall had splashed mud onto everyone nearby.

Ruan Xing Zhi lowered his voice. “When a great building collapses, one beam can’t hold it up. A gentleman doesn’t stand under a dangerous wall. I’m only going with the tide—don’t take it to heart. I only worry A Nan was pampered since childhood. My wife prepared extra clothes and medicine. Please don’t refuse.”

“It’s easy to add flowers to brocade,” Old Madam Xie said softly, “and hard to send charcoal in the snow. Madam Sun has taken trouble.”

“Rest assured,” Ruan Xing Zhi said, voice roughening. “A Nan and Rui Ge Er…”

Old Madam Xie nodded. “The Xie family stands together in hardship. We will take care of them.”

Ruan Xing Zhi’s eyes went red. He could only nod.

Parents never ask for much. Just for their children to live.

When Ruan Xing Zhi and Ruan Pei Ning stepped away, Madam Sun finally broke, whispering close to her daughter’s ear. “A Nan… what if you bring Rui Ge Er home?”

Madam Ruan lifted her head and shook it, tears clinging to her lashes. Her gaze was steady. “Mother, I won’t leave the Xie family. Husband and the others are gone, but Rui Ge Er is still here. He’s small, but he’s Xie blood. Xie men would rather die on the battlefield than flee. Since I married in, they never treated me poorly. Husband cherished me. Now the Xie family is in trouble, so I’m in trouble. Wind, waves—I’m not afraid. Besides… Rui Ge Er’s sixth uncle is still here. Don’t worry.”

Madam Sun stared at her daughter for a long moment, then exhaled shakily and stopped fighting what couldn’t be changed. She shoved the bundle into Madam Ruan’s arms. “The north is freezing. Protect yourselves. I put in some silver too. There are many exiles, and the Xie family has mostly old and weak. If you need to smooth things over, don’t be stingy. As long as you’re alive, everything else can be counted later.”

Ruan Pei Ning came over and scooped up his nephew. “Rui Ge Er, how about coming with your uncle to the assistant minister’s residence?”

It was a question for a child—but also a lifeline offered to his sister.

Xie Jia Rui looked at his mother first. He didn’t fully understand the currents beneath adult words, but he understood one thing: without his mother’s nod, he wouldn’t go.

Madam Ruan only said quietly, “Take good care of Father and Mother.”

Ruan Pei Ning nodded at once. “I will.”

He hesitated, then lowered his voice. “Sister… I heard the Xie family deity showed a divine manifestation. Is it true?”

Madam Ruan glanced around, then lowered her eyes.

Mother and son traded a look. Ruan Pei Ning’s shoulders eased just a little, while Madam Sun clasped her hands together and prayed—silent, fierce, and desperate—for her daughter.

Then the crowd suddenly surged.

Someone shouted, loud enough to crack the cold air, “He’s here! He’s here! It’s Xie Yu Chuan! Heaven—he’s still alive!”