Chapter 3: Exiled to Lingnan

Yan Ze did not stop his daughter, and even kicked that Eunuch.

Xiao Lizi fell flat on his face.

After Ji Lan, who was to the side, woke up and learned the full story, she pinched Yan Ze hard: "Our family is about to be exiled, yet you still let Ningning act recklessly."

Yan Ze hurriedly said: "Ouch, ouch, ouch... Wife, don't pinch me."

Ji Lan was furious: "You know it hurts now? I had the maid remind you, how did you still fall for their trap?"

Yan Ze scratched his head, "Their plan failed, so I knocked them down and claimed they were hiding a Dragon Robe. They were all confidants of the Crown Prince, and they are already in Tianlao now. I thought the matter was over, but someone bumped into me, and I accidentally broke a teacup. Who knew the Gou Huangdi would insist that the teacup I broke was left behind by the late Emperor, and demoted me to a commoner to be exiled."

"But fortunately, it's not as miserable as in the book; we weren't exiled to the North. The generals in the North are all subordinates of the Imperial Concubine's father. The army stationed in Lingnan is small, and it's desolate, so even if the Crown Prince wants to stir up trouble, it will be difficult."

"We can still take a carriage to Lingnan. I even wailed and bargained until my voice went hoarse, and only then did this Gou Huangdi agree to let me take some of the Wangfu guards with us."

Both mother and daughter breathed a sigh of relief.

If they had to walk to Lingnan, it would take a year or more to get there; having a carriage is much more convenient.

At this moment, Yan Ze lowered his voice: "Wait a moment, I'll show you something."

As he spoke, he pulled a Tablet out from his sleeve, and both Ji Lan and Yan Ning were shocked.

Yan Ning asked in disbelief: "Dad, where did you get this?"

The strength in Ji Lan's hand also loosened. She looked closely; this iPad could still turn on, and it had super large storage.

Aside from not being able to connect to the internet, it wasn't bad at all.

Yan Ze said quite proudly: "This is my Golden Finger."

As he spoke, he continued to pull things out of his pockets.

A charging cable, over a dozen Power Banks, and he even pulled out two pairs of earphones—wireless Bluetooth ones at that.

Yan Ze closed the door properly before saying mysteriously: "After I got drunk today, a segment of the plot suddenly appeared in my mind—our family is actually going to be raided and exiled!"

"It was also at this time that a voice suddenly appeared in my head. It said it was the 'Wanxiang Trading System', which can trade with people from different worlds. Look at this Tablet; I traded a coarse porcelain bowl for it. I told him to help me download some things and give him one more, and then he downloaded quite a few good things for me."

Yan Ze even showed them the things downloaded on the Tablet: a set of videos made by netizens on how to travel through time and get rich, wilderness survival guides, and quite a few essential manuals for time-travelers.

Yan Ze opened another folder as if presenting a treasure: "Ningning, look, the show you hadn't finished watching before you traveled here, I got it for you too."

Ji Lan glared at him, "Stop talking about these useless things. What's the use of trading for a Tablet? Can it save your life at a critical moment? Right now, the most important thing for our family is how to avoid the Crown Prince's pursuit."

Yan Ze continued: "This Golden Finger of mine can trade for thermal weapons with them, but the person I traded with today has restrictions on their end and couldn't get any. I'll have to wait a while until the plane shifts to consider it."

Speaking of the fate of their cannon-fodder family, Yan Ze added: "Later, I'll follow a tutorial to make a few Explosive Packages; their power isn't small either."

The family felt slightly more at ease.

Moreover, they now had two heaven-defying Golden Fingers in their hands; there was no need to worry about life after exile at all.

Ji Lan suddenly remembered something and started pinching Yan Ze lightly again, "You say you have such a heaven-defying Golden Finger, why not keep a low profile and wait until you can trade for a Cannon to usurp the throne directly?!"

Yan Ze begged for mercy while being pinched: "Wife, take it easy. Let me tell you, I have no interest in this throne. If I give it to you, would you take it?"

Ji Lan continued to pinch: "You just want to be a salted fish; you're just lazy."

Yan Ze hurriedly appeased his wife: "How could that be? Wife, think about it, the Emperor and Empress must live together. If I get up at four or five every day to attend court and disturb you, would you be comfortable? Usually, when we go to pay respects to the Empress Dowager during holidays, you can't even get up. If you become Empress, you'd have to pay respects every single day. And those Princesses and Consorts would all come to the palace to bicker with you over trivial matters. Are you willing to deal with that?"

"Not to mention all that, if our family had the throne, we'd have to have a son to inherit it, right? Don't tell me a daughter can be an Empress Regnant. Ningning is late for school even at eight; we have to act to fool her teacher. Could she crawl out of bed at three to attend court? She gets dizzy whenever she sees a book with too many words; could she face piles of memorials every day and listen to those ministers talk nonsense?"

Yan Ning nodded in agreement: "Right, Mom, we don't need this throne. It's too miserable, truly too miserable."

Ji Lan was persuaded by the father and daughter, then asked: "Then what about this Eunuch who was beaten half to death?"

Yan Ning thought for a moment, "Tomorrow I will go into the palace to see the Empress Dowager."

Ji Lan's worry was completely unnecessary.

At this time, the palace was already in chaos; the national treasury was stolen, the Eastern Palace was stolen, and even the Imperial Kitchen, the clothing workshop, and the Imperial Hospital had been stolen.

The Crown Prince and the Emperor were so anxious they were burning up; even the Jin Wang Fu, which was about to be raided, had been robbed!

In just two short hours, who could possibly have such great ability?!

The Hundred Flower Banquet, which had been going well, left the ministers of various families feeling uneasy, fearing that they would say the wrong thing at court tomorrow and incur the Emperor's wrath.

The General's Mansion next door, which was also the Crown Prince's uncle's home, had also been stolen; lying down, Yan Ning could still hear the cursing from the backyard next door.

She felt exceptionally refreshed and fell asleep comfortably.

The Capital was in a state of turmoil.

The next day, when Yan Ning entered the palace to request an audience with the Empress Dowager, the guards at the gate ran all the way to Cining Palace, then ran all the way back, and invited their family in.

It was just that the Eastern Palace and Yangxin Dian were in such a mess that no one was paying attention to her; otherwise, with the petty nature of the Crown Prince and the Imperial Concubine, they certainly wouldn't have let Yan Ning see the Empress Dowager.

The guards saw that they were still dragging someone, beaten until they were a bloody mess; it was none other than the Crown Prince's favorite, Xiao Lizi.

Usually, when they saw him, they would have to tuck their tails and serve him respectfully, but at this moment, Xiao Lizi was being dragged off the carriage by the Wangfu guards. Yan Ze led the Princess and his daughter toward Cining Palace, and Xiao Lizi was dragged along behind them.

The guards dared not speak, and even more so, dared not anger the Jin Wang Fu family at this critical juncture.

Yan Ze brought his wife and child to the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace. Xiao Lizi was covered in blood, and fearing he would offend the Empress Dowager, they did not bring him inside.

As soon as she entered, Yan Ning threw herself into the Empress Dowager's arms and cried: "Wuwu, Great-Grandmother, I will never see you again."

The Empress Dowager was unhappy to hear this, "You child, what nonsense are you saying? Just go with peace of mind; the bailiffs have already been taken care of for you. When October comes, it will be my eightieth birthday, and I will have your Grandfather Emperor issue an order to bring you back to the Capital."

As the Empress Dowager spoke, she handed a box she had prepared long ago to Yan Ning, "I heard the Wangfu was also stolen from? Keep this box of gold and silver well; it can save your life at a critical moment."

Yan Ning had just emptied the treasury; how could she have the nerve to take the Empress Dowager's things?

She had to leave some emergency money for the old lady.

She refused to take the box, tears coming as soon as she wanted them to. She threw herself into the Empress Dowager's arms and cried until she was a tear-stained mess, "Wuwu, Great-Grandmother, the Crown Prince wants to move against our family, wuwu, I don't want this money; even if I have it, I won't have the life to spend it."

The Empress Dowager was furious and slapped the table: "He dares?!"