Outside the city gates, a detachment of government officers was escorting a line of shackled prisoners.
The autumn wind was cold, yet they were thinly clothed. Some even bore bloodstains, looking utterly wretched.
"What are you dawdling for? Get a move on!"
A government officer bellowed, his whip lashing out with a sharp CRACK.
A bloody welt instantly appeared on a prisoner's back. He staggered a few steps, nearly collapsing.
Yet he remained silent, enduring it.
Seeing this, the other prisoners lowered their heads and quickened their pace. They didn't dare make a sound, fearing the whip would fall on them next.
Ye Heng was among them.
He trembled at the sight, but couldn't stop himself from looking back.
'I survived. His Highness truly hadn't forgotten me. But... this journey to Tongbei... what untold hardships await on the road!'
The journey from the Capital City to Tongbei was long. Exiled like this, it would take them at least three or four months.
