Chapter 20 The Breakdown of the Mother-Son Relationship

Pei Xuan's order was swift and decisive. His personal guards, like unsheathed blades, immediately surrounded the magnificent yet decaying Duke Huguo's mansion. The news spread faster than the wind, and the area in front of the mansion was already crowded with onlookers, pointing and whispering, some gloating, some sighing, and others feeling a sense of shared misfortune.

The mansion was already in chaos. The news of the imperial edict was like a death knell, tolling a long time in the heart of this once-illustrious residence. Some clever servants tried to sneak out the back door with their valuables, while some distant relatives of the Shen family attempted to blend into the crowd and escape. However, the soldiers sent by Pei Xuan had already secured every exit tightly, like a net stretching across the sky. All those who tried to escape were dragged back one by one by the ruthless soldiers, thrown into the center of the courtyard, and gathered together with their masters, who were ashen-faced and limp on the ground.

Cries, pleas for mercy, and curses mingled together, turning the once bustling Duke's mansion into a living hell.

Pei Xuan stood outside the mansion gate, his hand on his sword, his black armor gleaming coldly, seemingly oblivious to the chaos and commotion within. He didn't need to go inside; he only needed to remain here and ensure the imperial decree was carried out without fail. Occasionally, his officers would come out to report:

"General, the headcount for the main courtyard is complete. There are a total of 28 adult males in Shen Chong's direct line, and 41 female relatives and children born to married women. All of them have been detained!"

"General, after taking inventory of the side courtyards and collateral branches, there are a total of one hundred and three people who meet the criteria for being implicated!"

"General, the warehouse has been sealed off, and the land deeds, gold, silver, and valuables are being registered!"

Pei Xuan merely nodded slightly, his cold gaze sweeping over the once high and mighty Shen family members who were being roughly dragged out by the soldiers, and he uttered two words indifferently: "Take them away."

Just then, a sharp, piercing wail came from inside the mansion. A disheveled old woman, still dressed in luxurious clothes, was dragged out by two soldiers. She was the Duchess of Huguo, the Empress's birth mother. She seemed insane, struggling desperately and screaming incessantly:

"Let me go! You dogs! Do you know who my daughter is? She's the Empress! The Empress of the Great Zhou! The Empress Consort of the Yuwen family! How dare you touch my Shen family?! His Majesty wouldn't do this! It must be that bewitching concubine who seduced me! I want to see His Majesty! I want to see the Empress Dowager!"

Her words caused a small commotion. Pei Xuan frowned slightly, took a few steps forward, and spoke in a calm yet undeniably authoritative voice that clearly reached everyone's ears:

"Madam Shen, His Majesty has already issued a decree in front of everyone at the palace gate, deposing Empress Shen and imprisoning her in Fengyi Palace. She will not be released unless she dies. As for Duke Shen..." He paused, looking at the old woman's instantly frozen expression, and continued, "He has been escorted to the execution ground to await execution. The decree has been issued and cannot be changed."

"What?! Deposed Empress?! No—! Impossible!" Madam Shen was struck dumb, stunned for a moment, then burst into even more shrill cries and vicious curses. She no longer targeted the soldiers, but instead poured all her resentment onto the person she believed to be the culprit:

"Su Luoxue! It's all that bitch's fault! That vixen from a merchant family! Consort Chen? Bah! She's a wicked concubine who brought ruin to the country! She deserves to die a horrible death! She will surely be punished by heaven! Her children will die young! Her entire Su family will suffer a terrible end! She..."

The language was foul and offensive, making the surrounding people frown.

Pei Xuan's face darkened, a hint of disgust flashing in his eyes, and he said sharply, "Gag her!"

A soldier immediately pulled out a rag and stuffed it into Madam Shen's mouth without any politeness, silencing all her subsequent insults and leaving only muffled struggles.

"Take him away! Send him to the execution ground immediately, without delay!" Pei Xuan waved his hand and gave the order.

The soldiers roughly dragged the still struggling Lady Shen away, merging her into the long line of people heading towards death.

Pei Xuan stopped looking in that direction and turned back to handle the follow-up matters. The cries and screams inside the mansion gradually faded, replaced by the cold shouts of the soldiers and the sounds of items being confiscated.

The onlookers watched in horror as the once-glorious Duke of Huguo's mansion crumbled in an instant, as those formerly high-ranking nobles were now prisoners, led to the execution ground. The emperor's wrath was truly terrifying! And all of this stemmed from the reclusive Consort Chen within the palace walls.

"Truly... serving a ruler is like serving a tiger..."

"You must never offend that Imperial Concubine again..."

"Just who is this Consort Chen, that His Majesty would go to such lengths for her?"

Whispers rose softly from the crowd, filled with awe, curiosity, and a hint of unspeakable fear. The bloodshed of the Duke of Huguo's mansion laid a heavy and cruel foundation for Su Luoxue's path to becoming a favored concubine.

The news of the Duke of Huguo's mansion being raided and its entire family wiped out swept through the heavily guarded palace like a sudden blizzard. Just moments before, the concubines were whispering amongst themselves, discussing Consort Chen's heinous crime of "plotting against the imperial heir," speculating whether she would be executed or banished to the Cold Palace, some even gloating that His Majesty was finally coming to his senses. The next moment, however, came the devastating news of the Empress's deposition and the entire Shen family being led to the execution ground!

This huge reversal stunned everyone, making them almost doubt their ears.

"What? The deposed empress? The Shen family... wiped out?"

"How could that be?! Didn't they say this morning that it was Consort Chen..."

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty actually...actually went to such lengths for Consort Chen?!"

"The Shen family is also the Empress Dowager's maternal family! Does His Majesty not even care about the Empress Dowager's dignity?"

The concubines gathered together, their faces devoid of any relaxed amusement, replaced by deep fear and disbelief. Just how much weight did Su Luoxue, a commoner, hold in His Majesty's heart? To oppose her had resulted in such a tragic end! Even the Empress and the prestigious Shen family, with their centuries-old reputation, could be wiped out in an instant; what were they, these insignificant concubines, compared to her? In an instant, everyone felt insecure, and Guanju Palace became an absolutely untouchable forbidden zone in their hearts.

When the news reached the Cining Palace, it caused an earth-shattering uproar.

The Empress Dowager was chanting scriptures in the Buddhist hall as usual, trying to calm her anxiety caused by the failure of her plan. Granny Qin rushed in, her face ashen, her voice trembling uncontrollably:

"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened! A...a major disaster has occurred!"

The Empress Dowager paused in her fiddle with the prayer beads, her brows furrowing in displeasure: "What's the matter that you're so alarmed?"

"Your Majesty...His Majesty..." Granny Qin collapsed to the ground, almost sobbing uncontrollably, "His Majesty issued an edict in front of everyone at the palace gate, deposing the Empress! Imprisoning her in the Phoenix Palace! And...and also issued an edict to execute the entire Duke of Huguo's family...Empress Dowager!"

"What did you say?!" The Empress Dowager abruptly stood up, the prayer beads in her hand snapping as she exerted force, the sandalwood beads scattering across the floor with a crackling sound. She stared intently at Granny Qin, as if she couldn't understand what she was saying, repeating in a shrill voice, "Say it again! Who did he kill? Who did he kill?!"

"It's the Shen family! Your Majesty the Empress Dowager! It's your maternal family, the Shen family!" Granny Qin cried out. "The imperial decree has been issued, and General Pei Xuan personally led the search party to confiscate all their property! The Duke and his wife... have already been taken directly to the execution ground, and I'm afraid... I'm afraid they've already been executed! And all the adult men and women of the Shen family, even... even the married-out daughters and their children... are all... on the list of those to be executed! As for the minors, the men will be enslaved and the women will be prostitutes!"

Granny Qin recounted the contents of that bloody imperial edict verbatim.

The Empress Dowager was struck as if by lightning; she froze on the spot, all color draining from her face, turning ashen. She swayed, almost unable to stand, and had to brace herself against the incense table beside her.

"He's gone mad...he's truly gone mad..." the Empress Dowager muttered to herself, her eyes vacant, before bursting into heart-wrenching cries and roars, "How dare he! How dare he?! Yuwen Che! You are truly my good son! You are truly my good son!!"

She seemed to have completely lost her mind. Ignoring the Empress Dowager's dignity, she pushed away the palace maids who tried to support her and tried to rush out, shouting, "Let me go! I want to ask him! I want to save the Shen family! He can't treat me like this! He can't treat the Shen family like this!"

Granny Qin was terrified and clung tightly to the Empress Dowager's leg: "Empress Dowager! Your Majesty! You can't go! The imperial decree has been issued, and its words are law and cannot be reversed! Pei Xuan's cavalry has already taken control of the execution ground and the Shen residence. If you go now, not only will you not be able to save anyone, but you will also make His Majesty... make His Majesty even more furious!"

The Empress Dowager was held back by Qin Mama. After struggling for a few moments, she finally collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Looking at the gray sky outside the palace, tears streamed down her face. Her eyes were filled with endless grief, resentment, and a despair of being betrayed by her closest relatives.

She had calculated everything, anticipating that her son's personality would lead him to protect Su Luoxue, and she had also anticipated that the court officials would exert pressure. But what she hadn't anticipated was that her son's protection would be so extreme, so ruthless! He actually dared to target the Shen family behind her, using the blood of hundreds of her maternal relatives to pave the way for that vixen!

"Yuwen Che...you are so cruel...for a woman, you even abandoned your mother and your maternal clan..." The Empress Dowager lay on the ground, her shoulders trembling violently, her sobs suppressed and painful. "I...I will never let this go! Su Luoxue...it's all because of you! It's all because of you!"

Inside the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager's cries and curses mingled with the execution horns outside, creating an exceptionally mournful and eerie atmosphere. This conspiracy, orchestrated by her own hands, ultimately ended with the destruction of her maternal clan and the complete breakdown of her relationship with her son. The immense blow and hatred twisted the mind of this woman who had once held immense power in the harem. She and Su Luoxue were now irreconcilable enemies. And the already fragile mother-son bond between her and her emperor son now showed signs of irreparable damage.