The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 961: Chapter 938: Honor Amid Chaos 6

The streets of the Capital were crowded with people, many of whom had come out to watch the spectacle.

The crowd watched as the usually dignified Madams and young ladies of the Duke Ping Mansion were stripped of their luxurious attire. Their hair was disheveled, and their accessories had been snatched, making them look quite disheveled.

The women and children were the ones mainly being escorted, each one looking dejected, and some were even crying as they walked.

Many people were saying, ”Look, riches don’t last long. It’s better to remain poor.”

”What crime did the Duke Ping Mansion commit? Why were they suddenly raided?”

”Who knows? Anyway, these noble families are often involved in bullying and misdeeds. If they get raided, they deserve it.”

Listening to this, the Old Madam felt extremely embarrassed.

She wanted to let her hair hide her face, but thinking about the few gemstones hidden in her hair, she could only bear it.

Under such circumstances, life-preserving items are more valuable than face.

Anning held Xiao Yin, and Xiao Yin hugged Anning’s neck. At this moment, her tears were falling little by little on Anning.

Anning’s other hand had to hold Xiao Fu, leaving no hand free to comfort her, so she could only softly reassure her repeatedly, ”Don’t be afraid, mother is here, don’t be afraid.”

Xiao Yin was truly scared.

She thought she would grow up peacefully and get married successfully.

Unexpectedly, disaster struck from the skies, and their home was raided all of a sudden.

What would happen to her in the future? What about the family?

Would they be sold off to disgraceful places? What about her father and brothers? Would they be beheaded?

The more Xiao Yin thought, the more unsure she felt.

She knew that if they fell to the bottom of society, a pampered girl like her would face unspeakable things, and it might be better to simply crash into something and end it.

Xiao Fu was also scared.

Being older, she knew more than Xiao Yin.

As she walked, cold sweat streamed continuously, and Anning, holding her hand, could feel the cold and clamminess in her palm.

”Mother is here; I won’t let you come to a bad end.”

Anning assured Xiao Fu.

Xiao Ying followed behind Anning. Seeing Anning holding Xiao Yin for such a long time, afraid Anning might get tired, he said, ”Mother, let me carry sister for a while.”

Xiao Ying, being just a child under ten years old, Anning would never let him carry Xiao Yin. ”I’ll hold her; I am strong.”

Only then did Xiao Yin realize that from the mansion till now, she had been carried by her mother all this time. Surely, her mother must be exhausted.

Xiao Yin twisted her body a little, ”Mother, I can walk by myself.”

Anning thought for a moment and then put Xiao Yin down, holding her hand as they walked.

Anning understood in her heart that once they were in prison, they would be in for a few difficult days, and even the days on the road to exile would be especially tough.

The children must get used to it slowly, no matter what happens, she cannot afford to be too tender-hearted with them now.

They walked and walked until they finally reached the Ministry of Justice.

Once inside the jail, everyone collapsed from exhaustion. They were simply too tired and had kept going out of sheer willpower; otherwise, they would have fallen halfway.

Now they could finally sit and rest for a while. So no matter how dirty or poor the conditions in the cell were, they just collapsed on the ground unwilling to move.

Anning and the others entered the women’s prison.

She naturally couldn’t see Xiao Yuan, nor did she know how he was doing now.

However, Anning didn’t expect that the jailers, upon entering, did not separate her from her children.

Even Xiao Ying, the oldest, was allowed to stay with her in the cell.

Anning looked Xiao Ying over and understood.

Her children took after their original selves.

The original self matured late, developed slower than other children, and only started growing taller at the age of thirteen to fourteen.

Xiao Ying was the same - he was nearly ten years old but not very tall, appearing younger, like a seven or eight-year-old child. Seeing such a little boy, the jailer let it pass, letting him stay with the female relatives.

Because Xiao Ying was let through, naturally, those younger than him were not questioned.

The women of Duke Ping Mansion were numerous, and one cell couldn’t hold them all, so they were separated into several cells.

As they were being separated into cells, Anning quietly slipped a gold ring to the old woman in charge, who then placed Anning and her five children in one cell, making things much easier for Anning.

Otherwise, if they crowded into another cell, everything would be inconvenient.

Once Anning was in the cell, she sat in the corner with Xiao Yin, hugged her, and softly told her to sleep for a while.

She then said to Xiao Ying and the others, ”Just rest and get your strength back, don’t think about anything else, it’s useless to imagine.”

Xiao Ying sighed.

Indeed, they couldn’t leave, and thinking more wouldn’t help, they couldn’t change their fate, couldn’t control life and death.

Still, Xiao Ying sat next to Anning with his siblings, ”Mother, we won’t be executed, right?”

The child was afraid, even though he hadn’t cried or made noise, he was truly scared inside.

”No.”

Anning smiled softly, comforting Xiao Ying, ”No matter how angry Your Majesty is with us, no matter what grave mistake your grandpa or uncle committed, our family won’t face death.”

Xiao Ying looked at Anning with doubt.

Xiao Fu didn’t understand either.

Xiao Yin stopped trying to sleep, blinking her clear eyes and gazing at Anning.

Anning said quietly, ”For the sake of your little aunt, His Majesty will let us live.”

”Huh?”

The children exclaimed softly.

Then Anning explained, ”Back when Your Majesty wasn’t ascended, he was an unfavored Prince and faced many schemes. Your little aunt saved his life. For that, he won’t take the lives of Duke Ping Mansion’s people.”

When Xiao Yin heard this, she felt relieved.

If it were true, the female relatives of Duke Ping Mansion wouldn’t face the worst fate.

After all, the current ruler was saved by a girl from Duke Ping Mansion; he couldn’t let the female relatives of Duke Ping Mansion be tarnished.

”Don’t be afraid, even if we are exiled, we won’t live like nobles, but as long as we are safe, there is still a chance to rise again.”

Anning could only comfort the children this way.

Xiao Ying breathed a huge sigh of relief at these words.

The current ruler was benevolent, not a harsh monarch. He was lenient towards noble families and court ministers, so exile would equate to stripping titles and demoting to commoners, basically being chased out of the Capital, living in other places, and the hardest part would be the journey. Otherwise, it wouldn’t differ much from the life of ordinary people.

Exile, after all, wasn’t like being exiled to penal servitude, there wouldn’t be tattoos of punishment, nor would they always carry the stigma.

Xiao Yin didn’t understand what exile meant, but the other children did, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Anning said these words to reassure the children.

In truth, the situation for Duke Ping Mansion was very dire.

Even though after exile they wouldn’t suffer much, the journey would be full of uncertainties, and who knows how many would perish, how many wouldn’t make it halfway.

Moreover, the days in prison weren’t good either.

With the sudden downfall of Duke Ping Mansion, those with grudges against them would surely seize the opportunity to create trouble.

Additionally, the women’s prison was filled with unspeakable things, jailers making money by letting men outside come in to abuse them, it was truly...

Of course, these thoughts Anning dared not share with the children.