Chapter 231 - 165: Not Knowing What’s Good for You
At that moment, just as they stepped out of the tea house, an old nanny beside Madam Bai immediately spoke up. "Madam, is a mere Martial Scholar worth you calling in such a significant favor?"
She was thinking about what it meant to take more people with them, especially all the way to Yujing City.
It was no easy task. Leaving aside all else, the journey spanning tens of thousands of miles would take ages.
What’s more, the roads were not necessarily safe. Just hiring guards—Martial Artists and Martial Masters—would cost a huge sum of silver.
In fact, in the current situation, you might not be able to hire enough protection even if you had the silver.
The Government Office had already placed strict limits on the size of each family’s Guard Team.
Furthermore, Martial Artists holding official positions were forbidden to leave.
It was only because the Bai Family had pulled so many strings that the master of the house was transferred to a neighboring Prefecture Mansion. And even then, he was ordered to guard the main road between the two prefectures, responsible for fending off any Rebel Army incursions.
Even the master of the Bai Family was in this predicament, yet now the madam wanted to take the family of a mere Martial Scholar with them.
In that family, only the Martial Scholar—the young master’s friend—had any real value.
But now he couldn’t leave; he had to stay behind to fight the Rebel Army and would most likely not survive.
For the madam to do this, using up one of their already scarce slots for departure, wasn’t it a complete waste?
"Nanny Wu, he is Xingqiu’s friend, not some ’mere Martial Scholar.’ Don’t say such things again. If I hear it from you one more time, you’ll face the family discipline."
Madam Bai snorted coldly and continued, "Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. You just want your nephew’s family to come with us."
After she finished speaking, Bai Xingqiu’s mother boarded the carriage directly.
Nanny Wu was left standing there alone, her face flushing with shame and anger.
~~~~~~
「The next day.」
Fang Yue conferred with his brother, Fang Cheng, asking him to continue buying supplies for their journey. Meanwhile, he headed to the Observatory to see if Hui Hengli actually had a solution.
After all, the man had promised to arrange for him and his family to leave together.
Bai Xingqiu’s mother had also promised to take his family, but in these chaotic times, he couldn’t entrust his family to others. ’If I’m not with them and something goes wrong on the road, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.’
「At the same time.」
Somewhere in Shanyang Prefecture City, inside a manor that spanned several acres.
"Shicheng, what about my father? Are we just going to leave him here and abandon him?" Zhang Shu asked, her face etched with worry.
At that moment, a man and a woman stood in the main hall of the manor.
The man and woman were none other than Zhang Shu and her husband, Chen Shicheng.
"Sigh... what can I do? My family can only leave because my father pulled a lot of strings. Your father is a Martial Scholar, so he’s subject to the Government Office’s conscription order. He can’t get away," Chen Shicheng said with a sigh.
Right now, in Shanyang Prefecture, only the common folk were still in the dark.
Even if they did know, there was nothing they could do but remain in the city.
Those from Noble Families like them, or those with relatives serving in the Government Office, had already received word: the imperial court was preparing to seal off Shanyang Prefecture and the two other prefectures plagued by the Rebel Army.
If they didn’t leave soon, they wouldn’t be able to get out once the borders were sealed in a few days.
’To seal the borders... the Rebel Army must be incredibly strong.’ ’Otherwise, such drastic measures wouldn’t be necessary.’
"Then... is there really no other way? What if I ask my father to renounce his title?" Zhang Shu asked with a frown.
"I can’t do anything either. Our family only has so many slots. Even if your father renounces his title, it won’t make a difference."
Chen Shicheng said, shaking his head.
’Truth be told, while his family was well-off in Shanyang Prefecture, they were still a far cry from the top noble houses.’
’To secure this many slots, they had not only spent more than half of their family fortune but had also promised the Government Office to ’leave behind’ some Martial Artists.’
’And as it happened, his father-in-law was a Martial Scholar, so of course, Chen Shicheng had already sold him out to the Government Office.’
’Of course, he couldn’t tell Zhang Shu any of this.’
’For his own family’s safety, he wouldn’t hesitate to sell out a useless, aging father-in-law. He would even abandon his own wife if he had to.’
"Alright, don’t worry about it. We’ll leave this courtyard for your father. I’ll pull some strings to get him transferred to a supply unit in the rear. It will be much safer that way."
"While you have time, go out and see what else our family needs. We don’t want to be short on money and grain once we’re on the road." Chen Shicheng patted the back of his wife’s hand and said with a smile.
His smile was so radiant that it put Zhang Shu’s heart at ease.
~~~~~
Shanyang Prefecture was now overflowing with refugees from all over. The streets were so packed with people that it was difficult to move.
Squads of government constables could be seen constantly patrolling, posting notices at every intersection.
The content of the notices was simple, demanding that all Martial Artists in the city report to the Government Office to register.
’Are they conscripting all Martial Artists into the army?’
Fang Yue passed an intersection and stopped to read. He quickly finished the notice.
It was straightforward: within three days, all Martial Artists who had entered the city, regardless of their level of power, had to register at the Government Office and submit to its command.
Those who failed to report by the deadline would be charged with treason!
Not only would they have their power crippled and be forced into military service, but their families would also be arrested!
’Isn’t this order a bit too harsh?’
After reading it, Fang Yue’s expression changed.
’Sure enough, the situation is getting more and more tense. The news I heard before probably didn’t capture the true state of affairs.’