Receiving the imperial decree, the men of the Qin family felt a sense of unreality. Although they had heard from Qin Liuxi that their family might escape from this bitterly cold place, until the decree arrived, it was all just wishful thinking.
Yet now they really had received the Emperor's decree. Although they weren't reinstated to their original positions but demoted instead, this was far better than most exiled people who can't return for life. Originally, they didn't dare to hope they could be officials again, after all, they had been in exile for only about a year, less than two years, though it felt like they had suffered for half a lifetime. But if they really counted, they hadn't stayed in the northwest for long.
