The next day.
The sky was gray and dark, with a ceaseless drizzle.
Travelers came and went in a hurry.
As far as the eye could see, rain capes and oiled-paper umbrellas stood thick along the streets. As they swayed, dozens of carriages passed through.
Every carriage was of the same make, with dark green compartments and red jujube horses.
Even the drivers wore identical attire—the black robes of the Judicial Department.
Within the carriages, one could vaguely see shackled figures with haggard faces.
They were Ye Jingxiao, Zhu Lingchuan, and the others being escorted to the Capital Prefecture.
The Judicial Department had originally intended to make these prisoners walk the ten thousand li, but the Female Tiger, Golden Banner Officer of the White Tiger Guard, had given an order—they were to reach the Capital Prefecture within ten days.
Left with no choice, all the Yamen's carriages had been dispatched, barely enough to hold this group of criminals.
The townsfolk along the road recognized the prisoners inside the carriages and could not help recalling what had happened some days ago.
Angry curses rang out without end.
Some said these bastards were finally on their way, wishing them down to the eighteenth level of hell, never to be reborn for all eternity.
Some said it was a pity they had not been executed in Shuzhou, or else they would surely have spat on them.
Others said these people did not deserve to ride in carriages and ought to be marched to death on foot.
Amid the uproar, the vast procession left through the northern city gate and headed straight for the Capital Prefecture.
Behind the carriages, a black steed and a white steed traveled side by side.
The two riders, Lou Yuxue and Fang Hongxiu, wore different outfits, yet both swept