Chapter 1: Exiled and Family Confiscated by My Fiancé

“By order of His Majesty, the Song family is convicted of treason, the evidence is irrefutable—confiscate their property and exile them!”

The imperial decree was announced by the most favored and brazenly arrogant Princess Anning.

The entire Song family knelt together in the main hall. Upon hearing the decree, they were incredulous.

Song Shiwei raised her head, the events unfolding so suddenly it felt like a dream. She forced herself to suppress her panic as she met the poisonous, smug smile of Princess Anning. “May I ask, Princess Anning, what evidence do you speak of?”

Princess Anning's smile grew more malicious, “You want evidence? I’ll grant your wish.”

She clapped her hands, looking down at Song Shiwei with disdainful superiority.

Song Shiwei guessed she was about to produce so-called witnesses, and straightened her kneeling posture to watch.

When she saw the witness approaching, her pupils contracted violently, her pale face filled with disbelief.

Brother Jing?!

How could it be her fiancé, the man she was about to marry?

Her reaction delighted Princess Anning.

Princess Anning arched her brow, glanced at Cui Jing, and uttered words that broke Song Shiwei’s heart, “You wanted evidence? Cui Jing found it in your father’s study.”

Song Shiwei’s eyes widened in disbelief, her body trembling uncontrollably.

“Brother Jing, we are to be wed in just half a month. Why did you fabricate evidence of my family’s treason?”

Pain was etched deeply on Cui Jing’s face. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but when his gaze flicked to Princess Anning beside him, he said not a single word.

To Song Shiwei, his silence was tantamount to confession.

Her heart felt as though it were being carved apart with a blunt knife, the agony unbearable.

The man who once vowed to cherish her for a lifetime, to bring her happiness, now conspired with Princess Anning to destroy her family.

“Cui Jing, my family has treated you well, and I have never harmed you. Yet you poisonously destroy us all!”

Her voice was hoarse, trembling with both tears and rage.

Cui Jing’s hands were clenched so tightly that his nails pierced his palms, yet he seemed not to notice.

He did not even dare utter an apology.

---

Princess Anning laughed, immensely satisfied by Song Shiwei’s reaction.

She strode up to Song Shiwei, grasping her face with one hand, forcing her to look up. “Song Shiwei, Cui Jing never liked you. He merely used you and your family as stepping stones.”

Her mockery was merciless. “Now that Cui Jing has climbed to favor with a princess such as myself, to prevent you and your family from jeopardizing his prospects, he must send you all to the underworld.”

Each word was like a blade, stabbing into Song Shiwei’s heart, leaving it bleeding.

She hated them so much she wished she could strangle these two wretches with her own hands, but she knew she could not.

“Princess Anning, you shouldn’t be so quick to delight.”

She gritted her teeth, suppressing her hatred. “Today, Cui Jing betrays me for riches. Tomorrow, he may betray you for the same.”

Princess Anning snorted, as if she’d heard the most ridiculous joke. “Do you take me for a fool like you?”

“I am the most favored among the royal children. Cui Jing will only ever curry favor with me—he’d never dare plot against me.”

Song Shiwei’s eyes reddened, but she met Anning’s gaze without flinching. “Princess Anning, you shouldn’t boast so loudly.”

“When Cui Jing attains high rank and wins the emperor’s trust, do you think he’ll abandon you? Then, will His Majesty protect you, or will he shield Cui Jing?”

Princess Anning’s smile vanished, and she shoved Song Shiwei away forcefully.

Her eyes were as cold as a venomous snake. “Cui Jing will never have a chance to rise so high.”

“I am not so foolish as you and your family, blindly sacrificing for outsiders, helping them only to see your family ruined—and losing your lives in the process.”

Song Shiwei let out a dry laugh. “Princess Anning, are you truly naive, or merely pretending?”

“The Cui family has been a powerful clan for a century, full of talented men. If Cui Jing fails to reach high office, does that mean the entire Cui family will fail? Will His Majesty suppress the whole Cui clan for the sake of his daughter?”

Princess Anning’s face twisted as if she’d swallowed a fly, her gaze venomous.

She knew well that no matter how much her father favored her, he would never repeatedly suppress a great family for her sake, nor would he truly risk the balance of the court and the empire for her.

“Guards, immediately escort Song Shiwei and her family into exile!”

With a flick of her sleeve, she dragged Cui Jing away.

Cui Jing looked back at Song Shiwei, his eyes filled with affection, guilt, and remorse.

Song Shiwei turned her head, refusing to glance at him.

She took a deep breath, raised her chin, and walked forward as the imperial guards led her away.

The rest of the Song family were likewise escorted by the guards.

---

Only Song Shilan’s eyes darted about, glancing here and there, as if plotting something.

…

At the old pavilion outside Mingdu City.

This pavilion, ancient and worn, was the customary place for farewells and for sending exiles on their way.

“Let’s go, everyone. The sooner you set out, the sooner you’ll reach your destination,” squad leader Zhang Huai said, his face stern and unkind.

“If you dawdle, or cause trouble, my whip won’t care who you are.”

With that, he lashed the ground fiercely.

A sharp crack, and dust billowed up.

Among those present, only Song Shiwei, Song Father, and the two Song brothers remained steady; the others trembled ceaselessly, some even covering their mouths and weeping softly.

“Let’s go.” Song Shiwei glanced at the sun hanging high in the sky, her brows tightly furrowed.

On the road to exile, their family would face hunger, cold, illness, the torment and humiliation of the officials, perhaps even losing their purity or their lives.

Song Shiwei touched the black scar, the size of a fingernail, in the palm of her right hand, calculating how to use the various supplies stored in her spatial medicine garden to safeguard her family.

This medicine garden space she had accidentally obtained as a child from an old jade in her home, and had never told anyone about it.

Within the space, besides the items she’d placed there over the years, there were also medicinal herbs, fruits, vegetables, and other things native to the garden.

Using these resources required a plausible explanation, and could not be discovered by anyone.

She dared not risk it.

“I’ll stay here and wait for my family!” Aunt Qin, disregarding her dignity, plopped herself down on the ground. “My family will not abandon me!”

Song Shiwei’s gaze stopped her parents from reacting. She glanced coolly at Aunt Qin, then called her family to hurry onward.

Before disaster struck, Aunt Qin and Song Shilan had schemed against her and her mother, both openly and secretly.

Now Aunt Qin dreamed of relying on her family for salvation—a fool’s hope.

“Move it!” Zhang Huai lashed Aunt Qin directly.

He snarled, “If you keep stalling or try to play tricks, I’ll give you a few more lashes.”