“Given this, Jiuye and I will not talk about this matter anymore. The most important thing now is that we have to make preparations in advance.”
“Mother, if it really is a massacre of the entire household, we can only accept our fate. If it is exile, we must have money on hand if we don't want to starve to death on the road.”
“Mother, I have three hundred taels in my private funds. As long as we are frugal on the road, it should be enough.” Sixth Sister-in-law said first.
When it came to private funds, Eighth Sister-in-law was somewhat lacking in confidence.
“Mother, you also know that I am the kind of person who likes to eat well, so I used all the monthly silver to buy snacks. However, I still have some decent jewelry that should be able to be exchanged for some silver.”
“I also have some valuable items that I will convert entirely into banknotes to take with me.”
Listening to the sisters-in-law saying something in turn, actively reporting their own property.
Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran couldn't help but glance at each other.
Both of them knew very well that although the sisters-in-law had some private funds, these things were different from banknotes. How could the emperor possibly let them take them away openly?
If so, wouldn't the family be ransacked in vain when they were confiscated?
"Dear sisters-in-law, I know you are all well-intentioned. It's already reached this point, and there’s no time left to exchange those things for banknotes."
Mo Jiuye's words were like a basin of cold water poured over the eight sisters-in-law.
The women were at a loss all of a sudden.
"Ninth younger brother, then what should we do? The things in our hands may not be worth much money, but we certainly don't want to give them away cheaply to those bastards." In her anxiety, Sixth Sister-in-law actually swore.
Regarding this point, Mo Jiuye had also considered it, but he had not been able to come up with a good solution either.
Just when everyone didn't know what to do, He Zhiran spoke up.
"Mother, dear sisters-in-law, I suggest that everyone sew a pocket close to the body and pad some cotton to wrap up the banknotes and put them in it.
Cotton is relatively soft. Even if someone searches you, they may not be able to feel it. As for other items, everyone can slowly think of ways during the remaining time."
Old Lady Mo agreed: "Well, He’s suggestion makes sense. Let's do as she said. Everyone should go back and prepare now."
In principle, after the mother-in-law had spoken, they should immediately go back and do things. However, the imperial physician had not yet come to see Mo Jiuye's injuries, and they were still worried about Mo Jiuye's condition and didn't want to go back.
In normal times, Old Lady Mo felt pity for these daughters-in-law who had no husbands, and would not easily put on the posture of a mother-in-law to them.
Now that the situation was urgent, it was not the time to indulge them.
So Old Lady Mo said coldly, "Don't just stand there stunned, hurry back and get ready."
Seeing this, the eight sisters-in-law could only leave one after another.
After seeing these people leave, Old Lady Mo's gaze fell back to Mo Jiuye again.
"How long has it been since someone went out to invite the imperial physician? My daughters-in-law and I have been here for almost an hour, yet the imperial physician still hasn't arrived."
As soon as she finished speaking, the little servants who had gone out to invite the imperial physician came back one after another to report.
The news they brought back was the excuses those imperial physicians gave for not being able to come and treat Mo Jiuye's injuries.
Counting on her fingers, He Zhiran could figure out the intricacies. It was nothing more than the emperor deliberately instructing the imperial physicians to do so, not wanting Mo Jiuye to recover, or even to let him leave the capital alive.
Facing such things, Mo Jiuye seemed to have predicted it already. He did not show any abnormality.
However, in order to reassure his mother, he still said, "Mother, my injury is not serious. You don't need to worry."
Old Lady Mo was not a person without foresight either. Things had reached this point, even if she was worried about her son's injury, there was nothing she could do.
Moreover, looking at Mo Jiuye's current state, there should be no major issues.
"Since this is the case, I will go back and prepare as well."
In any case, Mo Jiuye had after all suffered fifty heavy blows. It was still somewhat difficult for him to walk on the ground.
He Zhiran took the initiative to send Old Lady Mo out of the courtyard.
After returning to the room, taking advantage of her sleeve to cover her actions, she took out two slave contracts from her space.
One was Qiao Yu's, and the other was another accompanying maid's.
"The emperor ordered the Marquis’s mansion to be exiled. They certainly won't be allowed to bring their servants with them on the road. I plan to return the slave contracts and set them free."
Mo Jiuye did not object to this, because he had thought of doing the same.
"Well, it's fine if you think it's appropriate."
Just as Mo Jiuye wanted to say something more, a guard ran in to report in a fluster.
"Reporting to Marquis, the mansion's warehouse has been robbed, and it was completely cleaned out, leaving only empty shelves."
As soon as the guard finished speaking, Eldest Sister-in-law and Second Sister-in-law also rushed over in a panic.
"Ninth younger brother, eldest sister-in-law and I went to the kitchen to prepare some dry rations, but unexpectedly, everything in the kitchen was gone."
"Ninth younger brother, our mansion must have been burglarized."
Hearing Eldest Sister-in-law say that thieves had broken into the mansion, He Zhiran felt a little guilty. After all, she was the "thief" they were talking about.
However, she soon let it go. She didn't really want to steal anything. She did this entirely for everyone's benefit.
Hearing this, Mo Jiuye was also confused.
Although the Marquis’s mansion was about to fall into the plight of being ransacked and exiled, it hadn't happened yet.
The guards were patrolling normally. Not to mention stealing the warehouse clean, even if they casually stole some small items, there would not have been no movement at all.
His intuition told him that this matter must be related to He Zhiran.
After all, this woman's actions were too puzzling.
He waved his hand at the guard: "You can go down first. I will personally investigate this matter."
"Ninth younger brother, what about the theft in the kitchen?" Eldest Sister-in-law asked again.
Mo Jiuye helplessly answered, "Eldest sister-in-law, it's fine whether the things are lost or not. We can't take them anyway, it's better to give them to the little thief than to fill the coffers of our enemy."
Eldest Sister-in-law seemed to agree very much with Mo Jiuye's words. She solemnly nodded, "What ninth younger brother said also makes sense. Since this is the case, second sister-in-law and I will get busy."
After seeing the two sisters-in-law off, only Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran remained in the room.
Mo Jiuye's deep gaze remained fixed on He Zhiran.
Facing his sharp eyes, He Zhiran did not show a trace of timidity.
After a long time, Mo Jiuye asked in a deep voice, "Are you related to all these things?"
On the surface, this was a question, but it contained an affirmative meaning.
Even with her experience cultivating an unmoved attitude toward favor and disgrace in her previous life, He Zhiran still felt somewhat at a loss being asked this way.
Not for anything else, from Mo Jiuye's tone, she could completely determine that the other party had already concluded it was her doing.
When encountering this kind of thing, how should she break it?
He Zhiran really didn't know how to explain for a moment.
Although historical records described Mo Jiuye as upright, after all, they were not even familiar with each other. How could she tell the other person that she had a space!
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