Chapter 169: You Are Not In Exile You Are Clearly Traveling!
Chapter 169: A New Identity (Final Chapter)
Chen Xue stood in the space, letting out a breath of relief. After entering, she quickly exchanged an antidote and neutralized the drug in her system.
"Are you all right?" Madam Chen anxiously looked at Chen Xue.
"I'm fine."
"So when are we leaving?" Madam Chen asked. "Others have likely noticed what’s happened to us. If we don’t time it properly, our sudden reappearance might..." She trailed off, worried that their secret space might be exposed.
"And what about them?" Madam Chen gestured towards the two guards in the small dark room.
This brought a frown to Chen Xue and her father, as these were two big issues to resolve.
"Father, perhaps this is our chance!" Chen Xue's eyes brightened as she spoke, excitement gleaming in her gaze.
"You mean..." Her father, understanding her well, quickly caught on to her idea but hesitated.
"What are you two talking about?" her mother asked, puzzled.
"Xiaoxue means we could use this to fake our deaths," her father explained. "Everyone saw our boat catch fire and sink. They’ll assume we were swept away, which means that in their eyes, we’re already ‘dead’."
The river was vast, hundreds of meters wide, with a strong current in the middle. Anyone who fell in would be swept away instantly, their bodies lost. If they stayed hidden, the entire empire, including the court, would assume they had perished.
They could wait until things calmed down, then reappear under new identities. It would be a fresh start, free from exile to the southern lands. Officially, they would be "dead"—not fugitives.
Upon hearing this, Madam Chen grew excited. "In that case, what are we waiting for!"
Indeed, compared to exile in the southern wilderness, a life lived under a new identity sounded far more appealing.
Chen Yuan sighed in agreement. Exile was perilous, and now fate had given them a chance to start anew.
"Then we’ll hide in the space for a while," Madam Chen decided.
"But what about them?" Chen Xue glanced at the two guards. The easiest solution would be to eliminate them, but they weren’t villains who could betray loyal servants. These guards had faithfully protected them, and it would be heartless to repay loyalty with death.
Yet if they did nothing, the guards would discover the space and their plan to live under new identities. There was no guarantee they would stay and protect them, or that they wouldn’t leave.
The family was torn until Chen Yuan had a sudden idea. "Xiaoxue, remember the technique you used on Zhao Guang?"
"Father, you mean hypnosis?" Chen Xue's eyes brightened. This could be the solution—no need for murder, yet their secret would be safe.
In the days that followed, Chen Xue hypnotized the two guards daily, allowing them to move about the space without realizing where they were.
For over a month, the family remained hidden. Fortunately, the space provided ample food, and with the help of the two hypnotized guards, they had extra hands for farming and tending to livestock.
Several times, Chen Xue sneaked out at night to see if the search had ended, only to find that some still scoured the riverbanks.
After more than ten days, they realized that some of the searchers were under Magistrate Tan’s orders. As this was his jurisdiction, Magistrate Tan refused to return to the capital until he had found his former mentor. Others were sent by Xie Yunshang, who upon hearing the news of Chen’s supposed death, immediately dispatched a search party to retrieve the bodies.
Though Chen Xue’s family was touched by their loyalty, they knew the fewer who knew their secret, the better. So they waited.
Two months passed before an opportunity finally arose. Late one night, the river was unusually calm, with no signs of any searchers.
Chen Xue and her family quietly emerged onto a bamboo raft, which Shen Dan expertly steered downstream. Chen Yuan and the others remained hidden in the space until they reached a safe distance.
Drifting swiftly with the current, they soon traveled several dozen miles before coming ashore. There, they hired a cart and continued southward.
Eventually, they settled in a modest southern town. It wasn’t large, but it bustled with merchants, allowing them to blend in without attracting attention.
Before their exile, Chen Xue had emptied the family coffers, so they had no financial worries. They soon made a home in the town, living quietly for years.
During that time, Chen Yuan reconnected with Xie Yunshang. They learned that Chen Xiaohua’s family was doing well in the southern lands, thanks to Xu Tian’s care and Xiaohua’s medical skills. With the Chen family's loyal guards also providing protection, they had established a stable life.
Xie Yunshang, overjoyed that the family had survived, kept their secret even from his father. He also ensured the safety of the guards' families back home, relieving the two guards of any concerns so they could stay and protect Chen’s family.
And so, the Chen family lived peacefully in the small town. With the resources provided by the space, they had no need to run a business and kept a low profile.
Years passed. Occasionally, they heard news from the outside world. Magistrate Tan, upon returning to the capital, was eventually promoted to Assistant Minister of Revenue.
The emperor tragically drowned, and the second prince attempted a hasty coup, which ultimately failed. The crown prince ascended the throne and declared a general amnesty. Xie Yunshang and Magistrate Tan submitted petitions to clear Chen Yuan’s name, and an investigation revealed that the chancellor and the second prince had been behind the conspiracy all along.
The crown prince, eager to punish his fallen enemies, issued a decree that restored the Chen family's honor.
Though they no longer needed to live under false identities, the Chen family didn’t care. Their quiet, comfortable life suited them just fine.
The End.
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This is a super short novel but it took me months to finished it
I have been translating novels for 1 year and 6 months already as this novel ends I wanted to express my endless gratitude to all the supports that I had receive throughout this 18 months journey, I am forever grateful and thankful to all readers, supporters and Patreon members, you are all the reason why this page and patreon still exists, you might found this appreciation letter annoying but trust me in every novel that I completed you will always read something similar to this. God knows how much mockery I received when I started this journey and no one I personally knew ever believe in me, this is my hobby and I wanted to do this forever thats why I will always grateful to the readers and most importantly to my patreon members you are not only giving me money but you all encourages me to continue doing this you made this page still exist throughout this 1 year and 6 months
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