Chapter 286 The only way out is death!
Marquis Anping's words were like hailstones, raining down on Li Yao.
Li Yao was so stunned by the blow that he was dizzy and only came to his senses after a moment of blankness.
Yes, if Li Mu and his family of three were to die, Madam He would be heartbroken. Given her health condition, she wouldn't be able to hold on for long.
His act of setting fire to the He family's residence was truly unnecessary.
Once Li Yao understood this, he collapsed to the ground, his face deathly pale.
He murmured, "I... I was only thinking about getting Madam He to make room for my mother, I didn't think about anything else. What should we do now?"
Marquis Anping snorted in annoyance.
"What else can we do? This wasn't originally going to happen. I'll figure out a way to get you out of here in a few days."
Now that the evidence and witness testimonies are irrefutable, what else can we do? We're facing certain death!
Li Yao grabbed Marquis Anping and cried out in panic, "Are we sentenced to beheading? Father, what should we do? I... I don't want to die!"
Zhenxuan and Youyou are still so young. If I die, what will happen to them? Sun Shi alone can't support two children."
Marquis Anping, his head throbbing from the crying, rubbed his temples and said, "Alright, stop wailing. Can't you see I'm trying to think of a solution?"
Li Yao raised his head, looking at Marquis Anping with hopeful eyes. But when he remembered His Majesty's decree, the glimmer of hope in his eyes dimmed instantly.
"His Majesty has already issued an imperial edict for beheading. Do you think we can escape from prison? At this point, death is probably the only thing waiting for us."
He sat blankly on the haystack, his whole body drooping like a wilted eggplant.
Marquis Anping glanced at him, said nothing, and walked to the wall, gently tapping it.
The tapping sound was very rhythmic, three long taps followed by one short tap.
Soon, the same knocking sound came from the other side of the wall.
Then a brick in the middle of the wall was removed, revealing a hole about half the size of a face.
Bai San Niang's calm gaze appeared from the cave entrance.
"I heard the imperial decree. Don't worry, let's think of a solution together."
Marquis Anping let out a long breath and lowered his voice, saying, "After thinking it over, I realize that at this point, the only way for us to go is to die!"
Bai San Niang: "A dead end? You mean...?"
She made a gesture, and Marquis Anping nodded.
Bai San Niang pinched the bridge of her nose.
"This matter is of utmost importance. Let me think about how to implement it. We'll discuss it further once I've made up my mind."
Take good care of yourself and Yao'er.
Marquis Anping's expression softened, and his gaze towards her held a hint of concern.
"Are you alright? Did the constables get rough with you?"
Bai San Niang shook her head.
"No, today is the first day of the month. The officials have just finished their homage. Even if we want to ask questions, we'll have to wait until the afternoon."
Don't worry, I know how to handle it.
Marquis Anping whispered, "If they ask about the oil mine, just pin it all on me. It doesn't matter, it's not like I'm missing a single charge."
"I just hope you can get out safely. The Dali Temple dungeon is dark and damp; your health is weak, and staying there for too long won't be good for you."
Bai San Niang looked at Marquis Anping with great tenderness.
"Yes, don't worry, I can handle it."
Marquis Anping spoke a few more words to her in a low voice before putting the square brick in the middle back in.
The brick that was put back in fits perfectly into the surrounding wall, and there is no indication that it was ever removed.
On the other side.
The second imperial edict was delivered directly to the Li family of Changyuan.
The eunuch who delivered the imperial decree was accompanied by Li Mu to Changyuan.
The Li family had not received an imperial edict for decades. Upon hearing that the edict had arrived, the clan leader led all the members of the clan, young and old, out to receive it.
When they heard the imperial decree announcing the expulsion of Li Yongfeng and Li Yao from the Li clan and their removal from the family genealogy, and that Li Mu would directly succeed as the Marquis of Anping, everyone was stunned.
Unlike Li Mu, who grew up in Bianjing and only returned to his clan during ancestral worship or major festivals, Marquis Anping, Li Yongfeng, grew up in the Changyuan clan.
The clansmen were closer to Li Yongfeng than to Li Yao, because Li Yongfeng often brought him back. The clansmen were also more familiar with Li Yao than with Li Mu.
As soon as the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree left, the clan chief immediately led several clan elders to surround Li Mu.
"What are you talking about? It's the Lunar New Year, why are you suddenly going to expel your father from the family genealogy?"
"Is everything in that imperial edict true? Does the Marquis really want to kill you?"
"Did the second young master really set fire to your mother?"
As everyone bombarded him with questions, Li Mu showed no mercy to Li Yongfeng and Li Yao.
He recounted in detail how Li Mu and Bai San Niang had an illegitimate son, Li Yao, who was then given the title of legitimate son by a concubine, and what happened on New Year's Eve.
"It's actually the Bai family who lived next door twenty years ago? My God."
"No wonder the eldest young master sent someone to investigate the Bai family a few days ago."
The clan chief hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Were your father and the others really sentenced to beheading?"
Li Mu nodded.
"He violated the law of the country, and it is right to sentence him to beheading."
He waved the imperial edict in his hand.
“I originally requested His Majesty to sever my father-son relationship with him, expel me from the Li clan genealogy, and establish a separate lineage.”
However, His Majesty, mindful of the merits established by the Li family's ancestors, could not bear to see his existence tarnish their legacy, and thus issued an edict to expel him from the family register.
The group looked at each other in bewilderment.
After a long silence, the clan chief stood up and nodded, saying, "Your Majesty is wise. Indeed, we cannot allow such a person to tarnish the illustrious name of the Li family's ancestors."
As soon as the clan chief finished speaking, he took the lead and knelt on the ground.
"Greetings, Lord Marquis!"
Upon seeing this, the clan elders and other members of the clan also knelt down and changed their way of addressing Li Mu.
Li Mu tightened his grip on the imperial edict and nodded slightly.
He personally bent down to help the clan leader up, and then raised his hand to signal the others to stand up.
"Please rise, everyone. Now that I have taken over the Li family, I will certainly take on the affairs of the family in the future. Please rest assured."
The clan chief visibly breathed a sigh of relief, and his smile became even more fervent.
“I will go to open the ancestral hall right away and ask the Marquis to personally witness the revision of the genealogy and expel Li Yongfeng and his son Li Yao from the Li family genealogy.”
"good!"
The group opened the ancestral hall, offered incense and kowtowed to their ancestors, and then brought out the family genealogy.
The clan chief was a very clever man. He tore out the page of the clan genealogy that contained Li Yongfeng's information and handed it to Li Mu.
Then they found Li Mu's uncle who died young from his grandfather's generation and registered Li Mu's family under that uncle's name.
This means that Li Mu inherited the title of Marquis of Anping directly from the old Marquis of Anping because his uncle died young.
In this way, Li Yongfeng will be completely erased from the Li family genealogy!
Not to mention Li Yao's existence!
Having accomplished all this, Li Mu hurried back to Bianjing.
He needs to see Li Yongfeng again before the Dali Temple conducts further proceedings.
Upon learning that Li Mu was going to see Li Yongfeng, Li Nanke quickly made a request.
"Father, I want to go with you too."
Li Mu frowned. "I've heard that the Dali Temple's prisons are cold and damp, and people often die there. You're too young to go to such a place."
Li Nanke was very persistent.
"Father, I must go, please take me with you."
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