Half an hour later, in the floral hall of the Luo Family residence, Chancellor Luo Jingran and his three sons had all been called home by a servant. The two daughters-in-law were also seated properly in the hall, looking at Luo Xueyao with worried expressions, assuming she was about to insist on "marrying no one other than the Fourth Prince."
Uncomfortably avoiding her sisters-in-law's gazes, Luo Xueyao cleared her throat and said in a clear voice, "First of all, I need to clarify something to everyone: when I previously said I would 'marry no one other than the Fourth Prince,' it wasn't because I fell in mind and soul at first sight with him at the Spring Banquet. It was a trap he deliberately set—at the banquet, he grabbed my arm and tore my spring gown."
In the original book, Luo Xueyao was a sheltered young lady who never stepped outside the inner chambers. Having been casually compromised by a man and witnessed by outsiders, she had believed there were only two paths left in this life.
Either hang herself with a single rope—yet she feared grieving her parents.
Or simply swallow her humiliation and submit to marrying the Fourth Prince.
The Luo Xueyao in the book had been a mute with no voice, only weeping blindly and insisting on marrying the Fourth Prince, never explaining the actual ins and outs to her family.
Right now was the most critical juncture in the struggle for the throne, with all four princes fighting tooth and nail.
The First Prince was dead, the Third Prince was crippled, and the Second Prince had earned himself the title of Prince Pingxi through his exploits on the battlefield.
As a veteran official who had served three reigns, Chancellor Luo adhered to a steadfast principle: he never took a side; he would only pledge allegiance to whoever finally sat upon the dragon throne.
Although the current emperor on the dragon throne was on his deathbed, as long as a crown prince had not been officially named day by day, he firmly refused to take a stand.
It was precisely for this reason that the Fourth Prince had targeted Luo Xueyao, forcing Luo Jingran to stand on his side.
Hearing today that the Fourth Prince had actually ruined a maiden's reputation merely to seize the throne, Luo Qingyu couldn't help slamming the table and springing to his feet, veins bulging on his forehead.
"What? You mean it wasn't mutual affection between Little Sister and the Fourth Prince at all—that scoundrel deliberately violated her! Damn it all, just watch me go beat him up!"
Luo Qingshan raised a hand to gently press down on his younger brother's shoulder, saying indifferently, "He is a prince, and you are merely a deputy general. There is a distinction between ruler and subject."
Pausing for a moment, he added softly, "If we are going to beat him up, we'll wait until the Second Prince ascends the throne."
Luo Qingyu's expression turned somewhat peculiar.
Before he could speak, he heard Luo Xueyao say, "This brings me to the second thing I want to tell you—the goddess appeared to me in a dream last night. The Second Prince will not be able to ascend the throne."
...
An incense stick of time later, Luo Xueyao's mouth was parched from talking, and she lifted her teacup to drain it in one gulp.
While everyone was still immersed in the unbelievable story of Luo Xueyao's "goddess appearing in a dream," the heavy toll of the mourning bell for the emperor suddenly rang out across the imperial city.
Shocked, Luo Jingran rushed out into the courtyard, the others following closely behind as they silently counted in their hearts: "Seven... eight... nine..."
Luo Jingran cried out in alarm, "The mourning bell has rung nine times! His Majesty has passed away!"
Luo Xueyao had just said that His Majesty would pass away today. An hour from now, the Directorate of Ceremonial would discover an "imperial edict" hidden behind the plaque in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, proclaiming that the late emperor was passing the throne to the Fourth Prince.
Luo Xueyao's "goddess in a dream" had come true!
But this was no time to dwell on that.
Regardless of which prince was named in the imperial edict, the most important thing now was to enter the palace to wail in mourning and ensure the smooth ascension of the new sovereign.With the exception of the commoner Luo Qingchuan, the men of the Luo Family hurriedly changed into their court robes and headed straight for the imperial palace.
Before leaving, Luo Jingran instructed his wife, "Do not panic! Handle everything exactly as Xueyao says!"
Struggling to suppress the panic in her heart, Lin Yue instructed the steward to keep the main gates tightly shut. Then she pulled Luo Xueyao's hand and asked with a trembling voice, "Xueyao, what should we do now?"
Since the "goddess appearing in a dream" had come true, Luo Xueyao had now become the backbone of the household.
She pacified her, saying, "Mother, don't worry. According to the goddess's guidance, we still have three days to prepare. First, everyone, go find the property deeds for our farms and shops. If these assets remain registered under our family's name, they will all be confiscated in the future."
She turned to Luo Qingchuan and said, "Third Brother, leave this matter to you. Take these property deeds and convert them to cash as quickly as possible—even if we take a loss on the silver, selling them at a discount is fine.
As for your shops, transfer them all to the Third Young Master of the Ministry of Works—don't be surprised, I know you two are business partners.
Li Zhixin is a reliable man. If you transfer the shops to him, he won't cheat you."
Luo Qingchuan's teeth ached with regret. "Tsk tsk, why couldn't this goddess have come to warn us a bit earlier? My new shop opened just the day before yesterday..."
Seeing the women all staring at him, Luo Qingchuan hurriedly puffed out his chest and reined in his overwhelming sorrow. "While there's life, there's hope; don't worry! As long as you give me a patch of sky, no matter where we go, I can reopen my shops!"
Xia Lan frowned worriedly. "Even if we convert all our properties into silver, we still won't escape confiscation..."
"Don't worry, Second Sister-in-law," Luo Xueyao pointed to the two green-glazed melon-ribbed porcelain vases in the floral hall, gave a wave of her hand, and the vases vanished.
With another wave of her hand, the vases reappeared before everyone's eyes.
"Not only did the goddess warn me in my dream, she also gave me a Spatial Dimension. We can temporarily store the furniture and antiques we don't have time to sell inside my space."
"Oh my, that is simply wonderful!"
Gu Fang immediately hurried over to take Luo Xueyao's hand, rattling off like a string of firecrackers: "Little Sister, come back to my courtyard with me right now! We'll go to my private treasury and store everything away!
It would truly be a shame to sell those fine things off cheaply. My huanghuali high-waisted incense table, Changhan wood-carved flower-rimmed armchairs, blue-and-white porcelain-inlaid tea table, zitan wood-carved dressing table, intricately carved hardwood canopy bed..."
Liao-bei was rich in timber, and well over half of Gu Fang's dowry consisted of various kinds of precious furniture.
While these items could fetch a good price if sold slowly, they had less than three days left, and selling them off for a pittance would be a terrible waste.
Having been tempered through several lifetimes, Luo Xueyao's spatial dimension had already grown infinitely large, more than enough to store all these items.
However, her space couldn't be used solely for these things.
"Alright, I'll store them all. But as for everything else that can be converted into cash, we should still try our best to exchange it for silver. On the road of exile, we will need silver!"
"And food!" Xia Lan said softly. "The most scarce thing on the road of exile is food. We must prepare these things in advance."
Gratefully, Luo Xueyao patted her second sister-in-law's hand. In both past and present lives, her second sister-in-law was always so gentle and considerate.
"Second Sister-in-law is right. Mother, First Sister-in-law, from now on, have people purchase as much food as possible. I will store them all in the space, so we won't go hungry on the road!"
"Mother, today you must dismiss all the servants in the household, return their indenture contracts to them, and let them find their own way out."
She pulled a piece of paper out from her sleeve pocket and handed it to Lin Yue. "These individuals are all spies planted in our estate by the Fourth Prince; Mother must sell them off as soon as possible."
Then she pulled out another sheet of paper. "Those on this list are loyal servants we can trust. The procurement of supplies can be entrusted to them."
Luo Xueyao tightly grasped Lin Yue's hand and said, "Mother, I'm afraid our estate is already being watched. You must give these people enough silver to leave the city and purchase massive amounts of medicinal herbs, fabrics, cotton, and charcoal—especially charcoal! The place of exile for our family is Ningguta."
Hearing this, the color drained from Lin Yue's face. "Ningguta?"
Ningguta was covered in snow for half the year, and firewood was severely scarce there. How were they supposed to survive the winter?