Song Shi and Yin Jinzhuo were thrown out, while the rest of them crawled out faster than anyone else!
After they had all left, Xie Zhaozhao walked to Yin Jin'an's coffin and said to Wang Fen, "Open the coffin lid!"
It was cold, and Yin Jin'an was cleaned up. He closed his eyes, his lips were tightly pursed, and he still looked as unruly as ever.
She suffered greatly during her days in the palace, and even when Yin Jin'an passed away, she couldn't cry out loud.
Now, having suffered countless grievances, I have not received any redress whatsoever.
"Yin Jin'an, you broke your promise..."
I once thought we could ride horses together, laughing at the world, but I never imagined we would just be passing through, and ultimately missed our promise for this lifetime.
The laughter in my memories has now become a stabbing knife; the words that were never spoken have now become scars on my heart.
You once said that I rode on auspicious clouds and gave you the glow of dawn. Now look, even without me, you would still be that proud young man.
Yin Jin'an, I've been wronged!
What I tried to protect vanished in an instant!
Can you also be reborn? This time, I'll do whatever you say, go to the North, and become queen...
Now that you're gone, you'll probably stop being the Living Guanyin, right?
I want to be impulsive just this once...
Xie Zhaozhao held the coffin and wept bitterly, her cries so heart-wrenching that they seemed to change the very landscape.
Zhou Shaoyu came over to help her up, patted her back, and told someone to cover Yin Jin'an's coffin.
Liang Youbin, Wang Fen, and Chu Zhongtian were all present.
Chu Zhongtian was summoned by Wang Badao because Yin Jin'an's coffin had arrived, and they were to keep vigil for Yin Jin'an.
Fortunately, he was keeping vigil for Yin Jin'an; otherwise, Chu Zhongtian would be a key technician at the Ordnance Bureau now, a classified personnel.
There was no one else in the courtyard. Xie Zhaozhao asked Liang Youbin, "How many people from the capital have come to pay their respects these past few days?"
Liang Youbin showed her a notebook.
Xie Zhaozhao looked around and saw that people from various mansions had come to offer their condolences. However, after Xie was imprisoned, many of the people who came were not the heads of the families, and some were even stewards or servants.
"Yin Jin'an, I'm sorry, I've dragged you into this!"
People in the capital are well-informed. Many people know that Xie Zhaozhao and Yin Jin'an are on good terms, and they also know that it was because of Xie Zhaozhao that he reformed.
With Xie Zhaozhao gone and Yin Jin'an dead and without any descendants, they were indeed treated with contempt.
After reading through the entire condolence book, Xie Zhaozhao said to Liang Youbin, "Call everyone in the mansion here; I need to hold a meeting."
The servants in the Xiaoyao Marquis's mansion were extremely simple. Yin Jin'an had no wives or concubines, no maids, and apart from the two cooks he hired, the rest were rough men like Liang Youbin and Wang Fen.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Xie Zhaozhao said to them, "The funeral arrangements for Yin Jin'an will be temporarily overseen by the Earl of An'nan and Young Master Zhou. He will not be buried in the capital, but in the city that the Marquis loved most during his lifetime. You should prepare to escort the Marquis's coffin to An'an."
Liang Youbin, Wang Fen, and their five sons, along with Chu Zhongtian, were assigned to escort the coffin. Yun He and Yun Yao led fifty people to escort Yin Jin'an's coffin to Ancheng.
After arranging the first matter, she looked at Zhou Shaoyu and said, "We are no longer husband and wife. From today onwards, you should not follow me."
Zhou Shaoyu looked at her intently, without any sign of grievance or even shock, and simply remained silent, pursing his lips.
“I am a daughter of the Xie family, and naturally I will be punished along with the Xie family. His Majesty will soon issue an edict to confiscate our property and exile us. Therefore, we will be strangers from now on, and you don’t need to wander with me.”
Zhou Shaoyu did not beg for mercy, and it was unclear what he was thinking.
Nanxing was terrified and knelt down, pleading, "Madam, how could you abandon His Highness? You are the one His Highness loves most, how could you abandon him?"
Xie Zhaozhao sneered and said, "Now that we have no relationship, your prince is a prince with a noble status. If the Xie family is exiled and his family is confiscated, and he follows us, His Majesty will think that I led him astray. The Xie family will probably be hunted down and killed."
Nanxing understood, but how could he bear to separate his wife and the prince? Struggling internally, he continued to plead, "But the young master still needs his mother."
“He has followed me through countless hardships and wanderings. It would be better for him to stay in the palace with His Highness. I don’t want him to suffer with me.”
Nanxing fell silent, looking pleadingly at Zhou Shaoyu, then at Yuanyuan.
Yuanyuan didn't say anything, touched the soft sword at her waist, and stood next to Xie Zhaozhao.
Nanxing understood that Xie Zhaozhao and Zhou Shaoyu were truly going to part ways. He couldn't bear to leave His Highness, and Yuanyuan wouldn't abandon Xie Zhaozhao either.
Yuanyuan abandoned her love for him and chose to remain loyal to Xie Zhaozhao.
Zhou Shaoyu remained silent for a long time, looked at Xie Zhaozhao, and quietly asked, "Does it have to be this way?"
“Yes!” Xie Zhaozhao said firmly, “If you come with us, you will only bring us annihilation.”
"Fine, I'll grant your wish!" Zhou Shaoyu clenched his fist, stood up and left, his back straight, his steps hurried.
After leaving the Xiaoyao Marquis's residence, Nanxing followed behind him. Zhou Shaoyu's body went limp, and Nanxing immediately stepped forward to support him.
"I'm fine, let's go back!" Zhou Shaoyu and Nan Xing staggered back to Qingpuyuan, where they saw Leng Luo waiting for them at the door.
"Your Highness, His Majesty is unwell. Please go back and see him." Leng Luo said apologetically, holding his sword. "The young prince is also crying."
Zhou Shaoyu said, "You should go back first. Zhao Zhao is handling the funeral arrangements for Marquis Xiaoyao. Marquis Xiaoyao is also my friend. I will go to the palace after Marquis Xiaoyao's funeral."
Upon receiving the news, Leng Luo returned to the palace first.
The Imperial City Guard also reported to Emperor Hui that Xie Zhaozhao was at the Xiaoyao Marquis's residence.
"The Xie family was very decisive and directly drove His Highness away, saying that his presence would only bring disaster upon the Xie family."
"She's ruthless. My foolish, infatuated son should have seen through her." Emperor Hui sneered, then said to Ling Xun, the court attendant beside him, "You and Chief Eunuch Hua go to the imperial prison to issue the decree!"
Ling Xun lowered his eyes and nodded in agreement.
The next day, before dawn, Hua Zisheng and Ling Xun went to the imperial prison to deliver the imperial edict.
Because of the large number of Xie family members, it took the jailers almost half an hour to expel them from the prison.
Ling Xun wasn't in a hurry, and Hua Zisheng was also filled with mixed emotions, so he didn't urge them.
After all the members of the Xie family had knelt outside the prison, Hua Zisheng read out the imperial edict.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Xie Anfeng, the Grand Councilor, has been raising soldiers, deceiving the Emperor, and committing embezzlement and perverting the law. Xie Anhuai is also corrupt and indulgent, lacking any ambition... I am deeply grieved and indignant, and hereby dismiss him from all his posts and demote him to a commoner."
I cannot bear to execute him, so I hereby grant him a reprieve. However, his entire family will be implicated, and all members of the family, regardless of gender, will be exiled three thousand li away.
All of the mansion's property is to be transferred to the national treasury, and the journey is to commence immediately. So be it!
After the imperial edict was announced, Madam Xie fainted, and the women of the family wept.
"Xie Anfeng, receive the imperial decree!"
Xie Anfeng silently accepted the imperial edict, looked at the clan members, young and old, and knelt down again, saying to everyone, "Fellow clan members, it is Xie Anfeng's incompetence that has implicated the entire clan."
The women of the Xie family, apart from crying, did not blame each other. They were just surprised to see Xie Zhaozhao receiving the imperial decree with them: Xie Zhaozhao is an imperial concubine, so why is she wearing prison clothes?
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