Chapter 223 The Power of Thunder

The Marquis of Wuding's residence was suddenly surrounded by the Imperial Guards.

Not only were their homes confiscated, but Marquis Wuding and his three sons were also taken away by the Imperial Guards.

As for the stewards, they were all detained.

The women of the household were imprisoned in the female prison of the Dali Temple.

Even the maids and old women who weren't important were put under surveillance.

In just one day, the once noble and powerful family of the Marquis of Wuding had become prisoners...

No one dared to plead for them; when everyone saw that it was the Imperial Guards who had come, they knew that the Emperor was furious.

Duke Anguo and Prince Qin requested an audience with Emperor Xiao Jing, but after kneeling outside the Qin Zheng Hall for two hours, they were unable to see him.

Finally, Wu You came out and said, "Your Highness and the Duke, please return!"

His Majesty said that the matter of Marquis Wuding will be explained to everyone at tomorrow's court meeting.

His Majesty is very busy right now.

Duke Anguo and Prince Qin had no choice but to return to their respective residences.

That night, all the noble families in the capital held a late-night meeting with their advisors to discuss how to respond the next day.

Marquis Wuding was Duke Anguo's right-hand man, and his sudden confiscation of his property would definitely affect Duke Anguo.

If this affects Duke Anguo, it will inevitably affect the King of Qin.

They don't know what crime Marquis Wuding has committed.

But they need to be prepared. If the question comes up to them tomorrow, they won't be caught off guard!

Or, if the Duke of Anguo and the Prince of Qin were to plead for the Marquis of Wuding at the Ming Dynasty assembly, what should they do?

Is it kicking someone when they're down? Or is it speaking up for past favors, pleading with the Emperor to spare the life of Marquis Wuding?

You're not going to care? If the King of Qin were to ascend the throne in the future, he would definitely deal with you.

Control? Ha! The current imperial family won't let you off the hook...

Even Lord Shangguan and his father discussed it for half the night.

Of course, they both belong to the group that kicks someone when they're down.

The key is to carefully control how much rock to smash down...

The only one who wasn't worried was Shangguan Jin.

After the news of the confiscation of the Wuding Marquis's mansion reached her, Shangguan Jin breathed a sigh of relief.

Upon hearing that the Imperial Guards were in charge of the ransacking, Shangguan Jin ordered Dongmai and Aunt Xin to put away the sticks and scissors.

"Like I said, keep an eye on things and get some rest!"

Dongmai, however, was too excited to sleep.

“Miss, our eldest young lady doesn’t need to get married,” Dongmai said happily.

Shangguan Jin nodded.

"Yes! She doesn't need to get married. Starting tomorrow, I'll begin looking for a new son-in-law for Sister Yue."

Aunt Xin also happily came over.

"Madam, I've prepared a lot of things to add to the young lady's dowry."

“Miss, let me help you. I’ve pretty much figured out the situation of everyone in the capital.” Dongmai was even more excited.

Although the family still has a year until the mourning period ends, it's good to start preparing early.

Shangguan Jin nodded, and then pulled Dongmai and Aunt Xin together to go through all the unmarried people in the capital.

result......

I still feel like none of them would be someone Shen Qingyue would choose...

......

The next day was the grand court assembly, and all the officials waited outside the hall without daring to utter a single word.

They already knew that the King of Qin and the Duke of Anguo had been turned away.

The Crown Prince and Prime Minister Xu were also feeling quite bad.

They didn't get any information all night.

Wu Youde, who was usually very easy to talk to, ignored all their attempts to be friendly.

Even Empress Xu, taking advantage of the opportunity to deliver ginseng soup to Emperor Xiao Jing, failed to glean a single piece of information...

Seeing that his colleagues all had red eyes, everyone felt relieved.

So I wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep last night...

The whip cracked, and everyone immediately took their positions.

After Emperor Xiao Jing entered the hall and sat down, as the ministers knelt and kowtowed, he immediately noticed the eyes of the ministers he had raised.

Emperor Xiao Jing, after a moment of surprise, began to reflect.

When did I start raising rabbits? Their eyes are all red; thankfully it's not nighttime...

Emperor Xiao Jing coldly watched as his ministers exchanged glances, none of them daring to be the first to speak.

Fine, if you're not going to speak, then you don't have to. Anyway, I wasn't planning on getting you to speak today.

"Wu Youde! Summon him!" Emperor Xiao Jing said calmly.

The ministers were taken aback. What was being announced?

Only then did they notice that Wu Youde was holding an imperial edict...

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Marquis Wuding, Song Yuanxing, has disregarded the law, colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, acted arrogantly and domineeringly, and shaken the foundation of the Great Yu Kingdom."

According to the laws of Dayu, Song Yuanxing and his three sons are hereby imprisoned in the imperial prison and to be executed in the autumn.

The men of the household were exiled three thousand miles away, and the women were imprisoned in the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment district).

Within these three clans, no one may participate in the imperial examinations for three generations.

All officials are to take this as a lesson. So be it!

After the imperial edict was read, everyone was stunned.

Are they not even allowing discussions anymore? What were they so busy with last night...?

But what shocked them even more was that the Marquis of Wuding was accused of treason and collusion with the enemy...

This... made everyone afraid to speak.

"Your Majesty..." Duke Anguo forced himself to speak.

"Duke Anguo, there's no need to plead for me. I know that Marquis Wuding is a fierce general under your command."

Their ancestors had also made great contributions to the war effort in Chongqing.

I have already shown leniency in dealing with the Marquis of Wuding because of the merits of his ancestors.

Otherwise, for treason and collusion with the enemy, at the very least three generations of one's family should be executed! Emperor Xiao Jing said slowly.

Duke Anguo felt a little dizzy, but still forced himself to ask, "Your Majesty, what exactly happened? Marquis Wuding isn't at the border, so how could he have caused such a thing?"

"How could this be? Wu Youde, summon Deputy General Han to the palace."

Soon, Deputy General Han brought out a person who was bound hand and foot and whose mouth was gagged.

When Duke Anguo saw this man, he was startled; it was actually Song San...

"My lords, I don't need to go into the details of this man, Song San's, relationship with Marquis Wuding!"

Eleven years ago, this man gave the Northern Hu people the route for transporting the grain supplies of the Dayu Weiyuan Army and drugged the food of the escorting officials.

This resulted in the officials escorting the supplies being intercepted and killed, and the grain and provisions being seized by the Northern Hu.

Half a month ago, this person used the same trick again, revealing the latest weapons transport route of the Weiyuan Army to the Northern Hu people.

Fortunately, the Marquis was alert and changed his route at the last minute, thus escaping disaster.

However, the northern barbarians burned the grain and fodder that the Weiyuan Army had just delivered.

Our Lord Marquis is astute; he discovered the reason for the leak.

The letters that Marquis Wuding exchanged with the Northern Hu people eleven years ago have already been delivered to His Majesty by this humble general.

After examination, the Dali Temple confirmed that it was indeed the handwriting of the Marquis of Wuding.

There's also Song San's confession.

"With witnesses and physical evidence gathered, Marquis Wuding's crime of treason and collusion with the enemy cannot be punished." Deputy General Han said solemnly.

After Vice General Han finished speaking, the court erupted in chaos.

They all know about what happened eleven years ago...

“Your Majesty! Marquis Wuding should be executed!” Lord Shangguan stepped forward first.

"Your Majesty! Marquis Wuding's crime is extremely serious; he deserves to be torn to pieces and die a thousand times over."

"Your Majesty, I request the execution of his entire family."

"I second that proposal!"

"I second that proposal!"

......

Duke Anguo's face turned deathly pale. He knew that Marquis Wuding was completely finished.

However, what chilled him even more was the look in the eyes of the King of Qin.

That gaze contained not only fear, but also doubt, and even disgust...