amaotonovel Chapter 326 The Prince's Mystery: The Cannon Fodder Bride Forced into a Substitute Marquis'
Chapter 326 The Prince's Mystery: The Cannon Fodder Bride Forced into a Substitute Marquis'
In the warm spring of March, a low-key carriage drove towards the north gate of the capital.
Upon arrival at their destination, the coachman stopped the carriage and stood respectfully to the side, watching over the horses to prevent the passengers from being jostled.
A simply dressed maidservant stepped out of the carriage first, and after setting down the stool, she respectfully invited her master to get out of the carriage.
"Miss, we've arrived."
Inside the carriage, a slender hand lifted the side of the curtain and rested on the maid's hand, before the owner of that hand slowly revealed herself.
Emerging from the carriage was a woman with her hair styled in a bun, dressed simply, yet the silk used to make her clothes exuded understated luxury, indicating that she was no ordinary person.
The master and servant alighted from the carriage. The woman moved with light, graceful steps, the jade pendant on her skirt remaining perfectly still.
Their destination was a group of people in the open space outside the city gate, consisting of a dozen or so constables and a group of criminals about to embark on their journey to exile.
A group of people were walking back and forth, raising dust. The woman walked to a distance of ten meters from the group and then stopped.
The maid Chuncao walked towards the head constable, said something, and then secretly took out some silver from her purse and handed it to him. The head constable glanced in the direction of the woman before nodding to the maid in front of him.
After that, the leader ordered one of his men to find a disheveled woman from among the exiles and bring her to the edge of the crowd.
Chuncao hurried back to the woman's side and reported to her mistress: "Miss, everything has been arranged, but the Second Miss can't come, and the guards won't let us through, so we have to go ourselves."
"Okay, let's go then." Su Jinyue covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, barely blocking out the dust.
"Chuncao, go to the car and get the things I prepared for my sister."
Chuncao obediently left, and Su Jinyue walked alone towards her younger sister, Su Jinlan.
Su Jinyue's timing for transmigrating this time was quite coincidental; she arrived right on her wedding sedan chair.
Fortunately, after confirming with Kongkong, it turned out that the person Su Jinyue was marrying was indeed her lover. So there was no need for any more trouble; she could just obediently wait for the wedding ceremony.
Su Jinyue's father in this life is Su Fanglin, a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Justice of the Great Xia Dynasty.
Su Fanglin came from a poor family. After passing the imperial examination, he married the daughter of a wealthy local merchant family, Lin. With the financial support of his wife's family, Su Fanglin's path to the imperial examination became much easier.
Three years later, Su Fanglin went to Beijing to take the imperial examination, while his pregnant wife, Lin, stayed in their hometown to give birth.
When the news of Su Fanglin's high school entrance exam came, Lin was so excited that she went into labor. After three days and three nights of hard work, she finally gave birth to her daughter, but then suddenly suffered a postpartum hemorrhage and died.
This daughter is Su Jinyue.
Passing the imperial examination should have been a joyous occasion, but his wife died giving birth to their daughter, turning what should have been a happy occasion into something else entirely.
But soon, well-informed families in the capital learned that Su Fanglin had lost his wife at a young age and become a widower.
Some people disliked it, while others were delighted.
Feng, the eldest daughter of a fallen earl's family in the capital, took a liking to Su Fanglin when the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) were parading through the streets.
Later, when she learned that he had lost his wife and only had a daughter, she urged her father to arrange this marriage for her.
What followed was a natural progression. This marriage was an unexpected joy for Su Fanglin. The Lin family were just merchants, and Su Fanglin had passed the imperial examination and entered officialdom. The Lin family had no way to stop it.
Then, Madam Feng entered the family and gave birth to Su Jinlan, the second daughter of the Su family, the following year.
The day Su Jinyue transmigrated was her wedding day, which was also the day Su Jinlan held her wedding.
Su Jinyue married Shen Huaizhi, the eldest son of a concubine in the Xuanping Marquis's household.
Su Jinlan married Ye Jiazhou, the second son of General Ye's family.
Unfortunately, on the very day Su Jinlan was to be married, General Ye's mansion was raided by order of the current emperor!
Just after the Chinese New Year this year, an urgent report came from the southern border region, a rebellion that had broken out.
After discussing the matter with the cabinet, the emperor ordered General Ye Jing'an to lead an army of 50,000 to the southern border to quell the rebellion.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the army arrived in the southern border, General Ye Jing'an was eager to make merits and did not take the rebels seriously. Due to his eagerness for quick success, he made a misjudgment and suffered a defeat on the battlefield, resulting in the annihilation of the entire army of 50,000!
Ye Jing'an's eldest son, Ye Yunzhou, also served as a junior general in his father's army, and eventually died in battle.
The latest military report reached the capital, and the emperor was furious. The 50,000-strong army was wiped out in a single battle, all due to the commander's mistake!
The emperor, the cabinet, and the ministers of various departments held an emergency meeting and selected another general to mobilize soldiers from various regions to rush to the southern border to quell the rebellion.
Then, he dispatched officials from the Ministry of Justice to escort Ye Jing'an back to the capital for questioning. After issuing the order, the emperor was still not satisfied and subsequently imprisoned the entire Ye family.
However, before the emperor's order reached the southern border, news came from the south the next day that the rebels had captured a city and their leader had declared himself king, openly provoking the Great Xia Dynasty.
Ye Jing'an made a mistake on the battlefield and had no soldiers under his command, which allowed the rebels to act recklessly and disrespect the royal family. Knowing that the emperor would not forgive him, he wrote a confession and then committed suicide!
When the emperor learned that Ye Jing'an had not only failed to atone for his crimes but had instead allowed the rebels to launch a large-scale attack, and that Ye Jing'an himself had committed suicide out of fear of punishment, the emperor was furious.
Ye Jing'an has caused such a huge disaster, and instead of trying to make amends, he chose to commit suicide to escape his responsibility. In the emperor's eyes, this is disloyalty!
Then the emperor ordered the Ye family's property to be confiscated and the entire clan to be exiled!
Therefore, on the third day of her marriage, which was also the day she returned to her parents' home, Su Jinlan was exiled.