Chapter 15: Paying a Certain Amount of Compensation

Seeing Yan Ning being so arrogant, Du Liang was at a loss for a moment.

He wanted to shackle them and escort them to Lingnan, but they weren't exactly being exiled in the proper sense, and the Emperor was turning a blind eye to it; he was worried that the Crown Prince he followed was a fool, and if the Emperor ever stopped being blind and brought the First Prince back to the Capital...

A flurry of thoughts flashed through Du Liang's mind.

He finally reached a conclusion: he could not take action against them, in case they returned to the Capital one day...

Du Liang even abandoned his pride and bowed to Yan Ning: "Princess, what are you saying? Please, do as you please. Just now, this official was merely asking; I had no intention of escorting you."

After speaking, Du Liang prepared to leave.

Yan Ning called him to a halt: "Wait."

Du Liang turned back and put on a smiling face again, "Does the Princess have any other instructions?"

Yan Ning was overbearing: "You scared us, so you need to pay a certain amount of compensation for emotional distress."

Du Liang opened his mouth, but the words that reached his lips were forced back down.

After a good while, Du Liang finally recovered and asked: "What does the Princess need? This official will do his utmost to find it for you."

Yan Ning nodded with satisfaction: "Alright then, you wait; I will write a list."

Du Liang's eyelid twitched.

What did she say?

A list?

How much stuff was he going to have to prepare for her?

Du Liang watched her write rapidly, filling a long sheet of paper, and she still wasn't finished.

Du Liang was starting to regret it now.

Why did he have to be a busybody and look for trouble for himself? If he had just sat still and pretended not to see them, wouldn't there be none of this trouble?

Du Liang looked at that dense list, and his heart was bleeding.

After writing two sheets of paper, Yan Ning folded them and handed them to him, "Go prepare these things. Try to send them over as soon as possible, oh; don't delay our progress on the road to exile."

Du Liang almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.

What was Yan Ning saying? Was it considered delaying their journey if he didn't find the items?

Du Liang was almost angered to the point of distortion.

But at this moment, he could only respectfully say: "Yes, Princess, this official will certainly find them for you."

Yan Ning was satisfied: "Alright, you may go."

When Yan Ning was tangling with Du Liang just now, Yan Ze and Ji Lan hadn't said a word, just worried that Yan Ning would flip the cart.

Who knew Yan Ning was so steady.

Ji Lan's eyes went round: "Can it even be done like this?"

Yan Ning said with a smile: "Yes, we want compensation for emotional distress; we can't let him come here for nothing. Sigh, it's a pity I didn't think of extorting a sum last time; we still lost out."

Ji Lan and Yan Ze burst into laughter.

Yan Ze touched her head, "My daughter is still the smart one; she takes after me."

Ji Lan glared at him: "Clearly she takes after me."

Three days later, Du Liang had his subordinates move several chests to Yan Ning's residence and managed to squeeze out a smile: "Princess, please check if anything is missing?"

Yan Ning took the list and compared them one by one; these five chests were filled with nothing but silks and satins, and there were also small chests inside containing all kinds of jewelry, as well as others filled with pearls and various gemstones...

In short, everything she wanted had been arranged.

Du Liang was still making a final struggle, "Princess, you can't fit so many things in your carriage; how about..."

Yan Ning immediately took over: "How about you prepare another carriage for us, specifically to pull these chests? It needs to be a better carriage; don't let it fall apart on the road."

Du Liang's face stiffened immediately, but he still had to maintain a smile.

Otherwise, everything he had done before would be wasted.

Du Liang had already cursed Yan Ning's ancestors for eighteen generations in his heart, but the words that came out were: "It is this official's lack of consideration; I will prepare it for you right away."

After Yan Ning's family left, Du Liang's expression immediately turned gloomy.

He wrote a note, tied it to a pigeon's leg, and sent a message to the Crown Prince.

When Yan Yu received the message by carrier pigeon, he was furious; it was enough to make him die of anger!

How could there be such a shameless person?

And Du Liang was a fool too, actually being led by the nose by Yan Ning and the others; was that man's brain filled with water?

The Crown Princess heard the commotion, entered the study, and asked: "What is wrong, Your Highness?"

Yan Yu handed the note to the Crown Princess, "Look at this, this bunch of idiots; it's one thing that they can't pinpoint Yan Ze's location, but they are actually sending money to Yan Ning in huge amounts!"

And it wasn't over yet.

Before long, Yan Yu received another letter delivered by a fast horse.

This was another letter sent from Yangzhou City, the entire thing detailing how Yan Ning's family was spending money like water along the way.

The Crown Prince slammed his fist onto the sandalwood table, and then actually spat out a mouthful of blood.

The Crown Princess was terrified and hurriedly summoned an Imperial Physician to treat him.

Even the Emperor was alarmed and immediately rushed over to ask: "What is the situation at the front?"

The Imperial Physician hurriedly took the Crown Prince's pulse and said with some hesitation: "His Highness has been overly worried during this period, and his body was already in poor health; just now, his anger attacked his heart, which is why he spat out a mouthful of blood."

The Emperor frowned: "What is wrong with you?"

As he spoke, he picked up the letters and notes on the table, thinking about how Yan Ze could still spend money like dirt on the road to exile, and then thinking about how difficult things had been in the palace during this recent period.

The Emperor slammed his palm onto the table.

There was one more angry person.

Yan Yu gritted his teeth: "The First Prince must have brought a lot of gold and jewelry with him before he was exiled."

The Emperor was also somewhat displeased.

But thinking of his eldest son being exiled without having committed any fault, the Emperor still felt a bit guilty; he thought it was fine for them to bring a bit more silver for protection.

On the other side, Yan Ning, who had just left Yangzhou City, departed with a carriage full of silk, satin, and jewelry.

If not for the fear of others becoming suspicious, Yan Ning would have wanted to store everything from the carriage into her space; only then would it be foolproof.

Yan Ning and her party traveled at a leisurely pace, but as this was Li Shun's first time here and the map was not drawn in enough detail, they seemed to have taken the wrong road.

However, it was not a big problem; once they reached Yangzhou, the location of Lingnan would be much closer.

As they walked, the sky began to darken, and seeing a dilapidated temple, Yan Ning and the others prepared to sleep there for the night.

With the experience from last time, several guards drew their swords and walked in the very front to clear the path for Yan Ning and the others; to their surprise, there was only a mother and daughter inside.

Yan Ning got off the carriage and asked, "Is anyone inside?"

As she spoke, she walked to the doorway.

Inside there was only a mother and daughter, both wearing coarse linen clothes with patches; seeing the group at the door, the woman held her daughter, her eyes full of vigilance.

Yan Ning only felt that the incense in this dilapidated temple smelled quite pleasant; Yan Ning looked at the mother and daughter and explained, "Rest assured, we are just here to stay for the night, we will not..."

As she spoke, Yan Ning's head felt dizzy, and she collapsed onto the ground.