After receiving the letter of divorce, Xie Qinglan went to the government office to formally acknowledge the divorce that same day.

The next day, she led a group of people to the Prince of Huaiyang's residence to retrieve her dowry.

The Prince of Huaiyang's mansion is now deserted and desolate. Although the case has not yet been finalized, in the past few days, several of the Prince of Huaiyang's legitimate and illegitimate sons have been invited by officials from the Ministry of Justice to "cooperate" with the investigation, but they have not been released since.

Only a few women remained in the once grand Prince Huaiyang's mansion.

Princess Consort of Huaiyang saw Xie Qinglan directing her personal maid to pack her luggage and said resentfully, "Sixth Prince and you also had a time of marital bliss. Do you really not remember any of our past affection?"

Xie Qinglan said, "The affection between him and me was worn away long ago when he repeatedly attacked me." She pulled up her sleeve to reveal her arm, which still bore some marks. "The Princess Consort is not unaware of this. What's the point of saying these things now? The daughters raised by the Xie family will never be submissive or repay evil with kindness."

Princess Consort of Huaiyang was speechless and turned pale. Because of the Xie family's social standing, she dared not make things too ugly, so she could only leave Qingsong Courtyard to avoid further trouble.

She thought of her husband and son in prison. She asked the old woman who was serving her, "Where is Da Lang's wife? Didn't she say she went back to get news? Why haven't we seen her since? Has her in-laws done anything?"

Just then, a maid rushed in, looking flustered, and said, "Your Highness, someone from the Zhang family has arrived."

The Princess Consort was overjoyed, thinking that there was news from the Zhang family. However, when she arrived at the hall, she found that it was only the Zhang family's steward who had come. The steward bowed to the Princess Consort and handed her a letter of divorce.

The Princess Consort's face darkened: "What does the Zhang family mean by this?"

The steward said in a friendly tone, "The Prince's Mansion has committed a serious crime of confiscation of property and exile. Our lord feels sorry for his wife, so he has kept her at home. If the Prince's Mansion still values ​​our wife's contributions over the years, then sign the divorce papers and spare our wife's life. As for the Prince's Mansion's case, our lord is powerless to change it, but he will have people take good care of her on her journey to exile."

The Princess Consort was shocked: "How could it be so serious?"

The steward said, "The master said the case will be decided before the end of the year, so the princess should make plans as soon as possible."

The Princess Consort's face turned deathly pale, and she could barely stand. Looking at the divorce papers in front of her, and then thinking of Xie Qinglan still packing up her dowry in Qingsong Courtyard, she tore the divorce papers to shreds and gritted her teeth, saying, "They're all ungrateful wretches! They only care about themselves when something happens!"

The steward was not surprised by her behavior and bowed, saying, "Princess Consort, please think more positively. Although our lord cannot intervene in this case, the future exile of the entire Prince's family will have to pass through our lord's hands."

He spoke calmly, but the threat was palpable.

If the Prince's Mansion were to truly confiscate their property and exile them, then the life and death of the entire family would be in the hands of the Zhang family.

The princess was swaying precariously, but was saved from falling by the support of the nanny behind her: "I will visit the eldest son and the others tonight, and will deliver the divorce papers tomorrow."

Seeing that she agreed, the steward bowed and turned to leave.

The princess's body went limp and she collapsed to the ground.

Just then, Xie Qinglan had finished checking the luggage and was preparing to leave with her entourage. She saw the Princess Consort in the hall from afar, and seeing her pale face as she slumped to the ground, she did not approach her. Instead, she curtsied from a distance and took her leave with her entourage.

As the people flowed out like a river, the Princess Consort cried out in despair, "It's over, it's really over."

*

As expected, the case involving the Prince's Mansion was adjudicated before the end of the year.

The Prince of Huaiyang was convicted of selling smuggled salt and disregarding human life, and was sentenced to be executed in the autumn. Xue Shaojun's murder cases were also investigated and he was sentenced to be executed in the autumn for murder.

The remaining members of the Prince's mansion were all involved in the sale of smuggled salt, but they knew about it but failed to report it. They were sentenced to have their property confiscated and be exiled three thousand miles away.

When Xie Qinglan learned the news, he was having hot pot with Shen Youying at Fanlou.

This winter is unusually cold, and it's snowing heavily outside. Meanwhile, the people from the Prince's Mansion are being paraded through the streets in prison carts.

Xie Qinglan looked down and saw Xue Shaojun, who was ranked second.

Xue Shaojun somehow saw her too, raised his head and stared at her intently, his eyes like those of a demon, as if he wanted to devour her alive.

Xie Qinglan was terrified by the stare, but she glared back defiantly until the prison cart had passed. Then she turned her gaze away and sighed to Shen Youying, "When I wanted to divorce Xue Shaojun, I never expected that the Prince's Mansion would end up like this."

Shen Youying said, "If small evils are not punished, great evils will surely arise. Just look at how the Prince's Mansion protected Xue Shaojun's evil deeds, and you can tell that their family values ​​are not upright. It is not surprising that things have come to this."

Xie Qinglan nodded, about to say something, when she heard a commotion downstairs.

Curious, she looked down and saw a man dressed as a scout riding a horse galloping towards her, shouting, "Make way! Urgent report from 800 li away! The Northern Rong have breached Taiyuan Prefecture!"

The horse, having run for an unknown amount of time, was whipped repeatedly by the scouts until it let out a long neigh, foamed at the mouth, and collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.

The scout fell in the middle of the road, covered in snow and mud, and scrambled to his feet, running towards the palace.

Hearing the commotion from afar, Cui Zichen spurred his horse forward, scooped the man onto its back, and galloped off towards the palace.

The sudden turn of events stunned everyone. After regaining their senses, the people discussed the matter in disbelief: "The Northern Rong people have reached Taiyuan? Is it true?"

"Isn't there annual tribute every year? We've had peace for so many years, why did fighting suddenly break out this year?"

"It seems like there were rumors beforehand, but everyone thought it was just a minor skirmish like usual..."

Shen Youying and Xie Qinglan exchanged a glance and saw the worry in each other's eyes.

The two immediately lost their appetite for the hot pot and hurriedly parted ways to return to their respective residences to report the news.

Shen Youying hurriedly went to find Wang Deshun: "Where is the Prince?"

Wang Deshun said, "The prince received news half an hour ago that the Northern Rong people had breached Taiyuan City and immediately left the city."

Shen Youying opened her mouth wide, and after a long while, she asked, "What is he doing out of the city?"

After a slight hesitation, Wang Deshun still told the truth: "Your Highness said that Taiyuan is an insurmountable barrier. Now that Taiyuan has fallen, the Northern Rong people can drive straight down to the capital. To prevent this from happening, Your Highness has gone out of the city to make some preparations."

"The capital is bound to be in turmoil from now on. It would be best for the Princess to stay in the mansion these days and not go anywhere."

Shen Youying was shocked: "The Northern Rong and the Great Wei have been at peace for many years, how could they suddenly start a war?"

Wang Deshun sighed, "The previous Northern Rong king passed away five months ago, and the Northern Rong fell into internal strife. In the end, the fourth prince, Duolei, successfully seized power and inherited the throne. Duolei is the Northern Rong's number one warrior, ambitious and ruthless. He kept the death of the previous Northern Rong king a secret and has been harassing the border repeatedly, taking advantage of the border guards' unpreparedness to launch attacks... Your Highness said that Duolei's ambition is obvious. He will never be content to remain confined to the northern grasslands... This time, I'm afraid there will be a tough battle to fight."