The wicked sister-in-law is in charge; meals include fish and shrimp.

Chapter 41 He is not dead

"Your Majesty, the conditions in the Southern Wilderness have always been harsh, so I suppose Helian Yue shouldn't be able to survive either," Consort Qin said sweetly, nestled in Jun Shuyan's arms, her charming eyes flashing with resentment.

Her father had initially set his sights on Helian Yue, whose high position and power led him to personally visit the Duke's mansion to arrange a marriage. However, Helian Yue unexpectedly refused outright.

She was the daughter of the Right Chancellor, and for him to be a mere Protector General was already a huge mismatch for him! Some damned person had spread the word, leaving her with a reputation in the capital as someone desperate to get married.

Fortunately, she was quick-witted and, through a clever scheme at a palace banquet, she rose to the rank of Imperial Concubine, where she now enjoys endless wealth and honor.

"My beloved consort, you are mistaken. Helian Yue has fought for many years, protecting our Jing Dynasty. How many people love and respect him? His love and respect are in no way inferior to mine, the emperor."

"Even if he were to die, there would probably be a group of people secretly trying to keep him alive."

Jun Shuyan narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly. Although he had poisoned the farewell wine, no one could say for sure if there were any capable people around him who could cure him.

He gently tapped the jade thumb ring on his thumb, his mind filled with countless thoughts. Helian Yue's reputation was even higher than his own as the emperor. He had made great contributions in the war against the northern frontier, and the clamor in the capital made him wary of him.

That's why he implemented his plan ahead of time. He didn't confiscate the Duke's mansion, but only sentenced them to exile. Not only did he gain a good reputation as a benevolent ruler, but he could also send people to kill them without anyone knowing.

Then we can say that the person died on the way to the Southern Wilderness, which will shut up the ministers.

When he heard that Helian Yue had died of illness on the road to the Southern Wilderness, he was only briefly happy. He wanted to see Helian Yue's body before he could be at peace.

Qin Wanyue laughed heartily beside him, hooking her arm around Jun Shuyan's neck and whispering in his ear, "When the emperor commands a subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die. His Majesty is the king of this world, so what if we kill him?"

Jun Shuyan was delighted by her words. Yes! He was the master of this world. Killing him would not be too much, let alone digging up his grave.

If word gets out, we can simply say that we're sending Helian Yue back to the capital for burial, and that will earn us a good reputation.

……

On the road to the southern wilderness.

Helian Yu, panting heavily and dragging his heavy shackles, walked forward with great difficulty. He stopped and looked at the scorching sun, feeling deeply saddened.

His son fought on the battlefield and died on the battlefield, and his grandson joined the army at a young age to guard the beautiful land of Jing Dynasty.

Everything was going in a good direction, but despite all his precautions, he was still harmed by a villain.

Now that his grandson is gone, and his entire Zhenguo Duke's mansion has become a group of traitors, they will probably perish on the way before they even reach the Southern Wilderness.

He looked at the long queue, and his body seemed to have hunched over even more under the scorching sun.

Was he really just going to watch helplessly as his people died one by one on this road?

"Father? Are you thinking of Yue'er again?" Ye Nanqiao stepped forward to support him and comforted him, "If Yue'er were still alive, he wouldn't want to see you like this. We still need to live to reach the Southern Wilderness; only by living can we have hope."

Helian Yu nodded with tears in her eyes, letting her eldest daughter-in-law help her continue walking forward.

Ye Nanqiao wiped the sweat from her forehead, glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then pulled something out of her sleeve and quickly stuffed it into Helian Yu's mouth.

The slightly bitter-sweet taste at first sip stunned Helian Yu. His group hadn't had a decent meal in a long time; how could this be…?

Zhong Nanqiao gently wrote two words in his palm, and Helian Yu's dark and thin face finally showed a hint of a smile.

"Qiao'er, don't worry about this old man. You and your sister-in-law should take good care of that little girl, Yan'er."

"She probably won't be able to endure the hardships of traveling and sleeping outdoors."

Ye Nanqiao nodded. Now that only Helian Zhiyan is left in the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion, she, as the mistress, will definitely not let the Helian family line die out.

Lan Cai caught up with Zhi Yan in her arms and held up a tattered old oil-paper umbrella over their heads.

"Dad, sister-in-law, let me shade you a little so you don't get heatstroke."

This was given to me by an auntie in a village I passed through earlier, who saw that her daughter was pitifully sunburnt. It has been very helpful along the way.

Helian Yu quickly pushed the umbrella towards her, looking at her with a pained expression, and said, "Hold this umbrella for my dear granddaughter, don't let my Yan'er get sunburned."

Helian Zhiyan raised her little hand and touched his face sweetly, saying, "Give it to Grandpa, I'm not afraid of the sun! My mom says girls will grow taller if they get more sun."

"When I grow taller, I'll protect Grandpa and stop those bad guys from hitting him!" she said, her little face puffed up with anger.

Grandpa was whipped several times by someone because he was walking a little too slowly, and she was furious! If only my brother were here, he could beat that ugly monster to death!

But her brother is already dead; she saw him buried in the ground. So now she wants to grow taller to protect her grandfather.

The group was touched by the little girl, and Helian Yue raised his hand and lovingly touched her messy hair.

"What are you dawdling for! Hurry up and move on! Do you want to get sunburned to death?!"

A soldier stepped forward from behind, brandishing a whip at them. Ye Nanqiao frowned and quickly urged the old man and the young man beside her to quicken their pace.

Helian Yu was clearly exhausted and collapsed to the ground after only a few steps.

The two sisters-in-law hurriedly helped him up, and just as the whip was about to strike them, a withered hand tightly grabbed it. "Sir, it's hot, please do me a favor."

Helian Qiaosong handed him a money pouch, and the man opened it and immediately beamed, "Look at what you're saying, Second Master, why are you being so polite with me?"

"Listen up, everyone, rest here for the time it takes to burn half an incense stick," he shouted to the line behind him, hiding the silver in his pocket.

After he had walked away, Lan Cai went up to him, pulled him aside, and whispered, "How did it go, my husband, Yue'er..."

Ye Nanqiao covered her mouth and shook her head at her.

Pointing to the sun, he said to Helian Qiaosong, "Second brother, look, the sun is still covered by clouds right now, but it will definitely come out of the clouds soon, right?"

Helian Qiaosong nodded, and Helian Yu and Lan Cai, who were standing to the side, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

They knew that their grandson (Yue'er) was such a smart person, how could he be fooled? So he must still be alive!

A soldier not far away overheard a group of people huddled together. He strained his ears to hear what they were saying, hoping to glean some useful information and perhaps even get a reward! But all he heard was them talking about clouds and the sun in turns.

He curled his lip in disdain. "Tch! In this weather, they'd either die of heatstroke or starvation. They're practically on the verge of death, how can they have the leisure to discuss the sun and clouds?"

Half an incense stick's time passed quickly, and the group set off again under the sun.

Helian Qiaosong fanned his youngest daughter in his arms, comforting her, "I heard we'll be passing through a village in two days. Daddy will get some treats for Yan'er then."

Helian Zhiyan's eyes brightened, and she licked her dry lips. Lately, the food they had been eating had either gone bad or smelled bad. She really wanted to eat something delicious!

……