Before Loxi could ask another question, she caught a glimpse of the general and the others walking back, so she could only say, "I'll come again next time."
Qi Lei noticed this as well and quickly said, "Madam Luo, I overheard Du Hong say that he wanted to pin the blame for opening the city gates on the general."
"You must quickly send this message back to the capital, otherwise the Lezheng family will be accused of treason and collusion with the enemy."
Luo Xi's heart skipped a beat: "Okay, I understand."
However, by the time the news reached them, it was too late; the entire residence of General Yuezheng in the capital had been surrounded by government troops.
"Upon investigation, it was found that Le Zheng Feiyuan colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, leading to the invasion of our Tianqi by barbarians. Fortunately, Du Hong, the prefect of Nanyue County, was insightful and the court had the opportunity to drive them away in time. However, Le Zheng Feiyuan fled in fear of punishment, and his crime is unforgivable."
"His Majesty has ordered the arrest of everyone in General Yue Zheng's household. Three days later, they shall be beheaded and their heads displayed to serve as a warning to others."
At first, there was silence, but after a while, the onlookers were filled with righteous indignation.
“That’s impossible. All the men in General Lezheng’s family have died on the battlefield. Now there are only two adult men left. The rest are all old, weak, women and children. How could they possibly betray their country and collude with the enemy?”
"Yes, yes, everyone in Apocalypse might betray the country, but the people in the Cola family would never."
...
"Shut up, all of you." The leader was a man around fifty years old, dressed in official robes. He shouted authoritatively, "This is His Majesty's order. What, do you dare to question it?"
"Or do you also want to rebel?" His sharp, hawk-like gaze swept over the rioting crowd.
This man is none other than the Left Chancellor, Xiao He.
All the soldiers surrounding the general's mansion also raised their weapons and pointed them at the civilians, waiting to pierce through anyone who dared to speak again.
The people had no choice but to shut their mouths, their faces flushed, but their eyes still glared at them resentfully.
Xiao He revealed a satisfied smile.
"Arrest them!" he said.
With just that one sentence, dozens of members of the Lezheng family, young and old, were instantly thrown into prison. And that wasn't the end of it. That very night, General Lezheng, who was also Lezheng Feiyuan's grandfather, hanged himself in prison to prove his innocence and died!
Even so, it did not change the fate of the Lezheng family. Three days later, everyone was still pushed to the Meridian Gate.
That day, the Meridian Gate was crowded with people, all of them weeping as they watched their former hero being sent to the guillotine for treason.
The executioner, carrying a knife, approached with bloodshot eyes.
"I'm so sorry!" they said, choking back tears.
The matriarch of the Yue family straightened her back and said calmly, "Go ahead and do it. You are just fulfilling your duties."
The executioner knew they were powerless to change anything, so he gritted his teeth and raised his knife.
At this moment, many onlookers suddenly pulled out weapons from somewhere, cut down the soldiers blocking their way, and rushed forward. In a few moves, they rescued all of Le Zheng's family and protected them behind them.
The other officers and soldiers were stunned for a moment when they saw this. This was terrible. They quickly grabbed their weapons and rushed forward, but it was not that easy.
Among the onlookers, whether they came specifically to rescue people or to see them off, they all blocked their way as if their lives depended on it.
"Grandma, quickly lead everyone away! The hero of the Yue family shouldn't have died here without a clear reason..."
The old lady, who had been holding back her tears for so long, suddenly burst forth: "Fellow villagers, I appreciate everyone's good intentions, but please hurry and leave, don't sacrifice yourselves for us in vain..."
But no one listened to her. The group fought with increasing ferocity, and with people covering and escorting them along the way, they actually managed to escape.
However, the price was extremely high; from the Meridian Gate to the outer city, blood and corpses littered the entire route.
The old lady gazed at everything that had happened, unable to recover for a long time. After a long while, she wiped away her tears and said, "Xia Zhong, why did you have to do this?"
"Now look what's happened, your Xia family has become traitors too."
The man in his forties scratched his head sheepishly and chuckled, "Don't worry, Madam, I've already made arrangements. They're all fine."
"What does it matter whether I am a rebel or not? You've forgotten that I was originally a bandit. If it weren't for the general and his wife, I would never have a place in the imperial court."
The old lady hugged her grandson tighter, her thousand words condensed into two: "Thank you!"
Xia Zhong scratched his head again: "Actually, this idea came from the Right Chancellor. We were just following his orders."
"No wonder." The old lady should have thought of it sooner. Only that old rascal is quick-witted and hard-hearted.
"Did he say where we were to go after leaving the capital?"
“I said, it’s Tongning County, which is on the outskirts of Toyokawa County.”
"The Second Son of the Si family is in Tongning County, which is next to Toyokawa County?" The old lady was somewhat surprised. "I heard that the Chaoyang Manor is run by a young woman?"
Xia Zhong nodded: "Yes, the Right Chancellor said that this woman is brave and resourceful, and does not covet power or kill innocent people indiscriminately. She is much better than the Heavenly God Sect that claims to be the Jade Emperor descended to earth."
Now that they have rebelled against the court, they have no choice but to turn to other forces that are also opposed to the court.
The old lady knew that the Right Chancellor was always sharp-eyed, and what he said was probably true, but: "They might not necessarily take us in?"
After all, taking them in would leave behind a huge problem, and the imperial court would not let the Lezheng family off the hook.
Xia Zhong also knew this: "Let's go take a look first. If it doesn't work out, we can always occupy a mountain and become bandits."
"This is my old profession, I'm very good at it."
The old lady was immediately amused by him: "Alright, then let's give it a try."
Luo Xi, who was being discussed by them, soon received a message from the Red Mansion. After reading it, she breathed a sigh of relief, relieved that he was still alive.
Although she had never met any of these people, it was truly a pity that such a heroic family could only end up like that.
After reading it, Luo Xi took the opportunity to tell Qi Lei, "So, you don't need to worry anymore."
Upon hearing this, Qi Lei was not happy at all; instead, he looked miserable and said, "Madam Luo, this is probably not a good thing."
He paused for a moment, then said indignantly, "That scoundrel Du Hong once ordered the general to lead troops to wipe out your Chaoyang Manor, but the general refused."
Luo Xi hummed in agreement: "I've heard about this from Si Jia. And then?"
"And then?" Qi Lei was so angry that he almost ground his back teeth to powder: "Now that the military power has just been put in his hands, he has given orders for the Crimson Soul Army to set off in five days to... destroy Chaoyang Manor."
Luo Xi suddenly glanced at him: "You sent you to destroy Chaoyang Manor?"
Qi Lei didn't dare to raise his head: "None of us wanted to go, but he threatened us with our families..."
The tough man almost shrunk his head into his neck.
Luo Xi smiled broadly: "Go, why wouldn't I go!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
