The casualties at the Yong'an Prince's Mansion were extremely severe. Apart from a few servants hiding in the backyard, as well as Bai Zhi and Su Muxi, everyone else was dead.
After the Emperor's Imperial Guards dealt with Qiao Xiuyuan's men, Bai Zhi rushed to Zhong Bin's body and burst into tears.
Hearing Bai Zhi's cries, Su Muxi felt an intense pain in her chest.
Xiao Ce rushed in and finally saw Su Muxi's face without the birthmark.
Normally, he would definitely have made some remarks, and might even have flattered her.
But now that he saw his former brothers dead, Su Muxi's stunningly beautiful face could no longer attract his attention.
Undeterred, he checked each one one by one, and finally, when he found McQueen, he exclaimed excitedly, "Your Highness! McQueen is still breathing!"
…
The news of Marquis Qiao Xiuyuan's massacre of the Prince of Yong'an's mansion in the dead of night spread throughout the capital at dawn.
Just as everyone was wondering what was going on, the Emperor issued an edict exonerating Prince Yu and General Lin.
It turns out that the rebellion of Prince Yu nineteen years ago was framed by Marquis Qiao Xiuyuan of Anyang.
Prince Yong'an discovered the key to this matter. Seeing that there was no way out, Qiao Xiuyuan prepared to slaughter Prince Yong'an's mansion in order to vent his anger and resentment.
The people readily accepted this explanation, but those who knew the truth would not spread rumors.
Although Su Muxi is the daughter of Lin Zhisheng and Yun Ying, she has been a member of the Su family for almost twenty years, so her name and background are no longer that important to her.
Therefore, she has no intention of revealing her true background.
With Qiao Xiuyuan dead, the real reason he led his men into the Yong'an Prince's Mansion is no longer so important.
The real reason why Ye Jingchun issued an imperial edict to exonerate Prince Yu and General Lin was not Chang Zhong's one-sided statement or the speculations of others.
Instead, Ye Ziyu presented Ye Jingchun with a letter from nineteen years ago that confirmed Prince Yu's treasonous act during the morning court session, in front of all the civil and military officials.
I thought that since Ye Zerui was dead, those letters from nineteen years ago would be lost.
I thought that with Qiao Xiuyuan dead, it would be difficult to clear my name again after what happened back then.
Unexpectedly, the letter that Qiao Xiuyuan forged nineteen years ago accusing Prince Yu of treason was hidden in Azhu Baobei's porcelain pillow.
Ah Zhu is actually the daughter of Fan Jun, the warehouse manager who died.
For the money, Fan Jun switched the letters, hid them in a porcelain pillow, hung them as a pawn, and placed them in the pawnshop.
He thought that doing this would allow him to enjoy wealth and honor for the rest of his life, but he never expected it would bring him the disaster of his clan's extermination.
Although Ye Jingchun was unwilling to admit that he was wrong back then, Ye Zeyu was forcing him to admit his mistake in front of so many civil and military officials.
The reason was that there was a very obvious flaw in those letters back then; anyone who paid attention could tell that the letters were forgeries at a glance.
Although Qiao Xiuyuan was cunning and meticulous, and his handwriting was very similar to that of Prince Yu, he was just a lowly captain back then, and he ultimately overlooked one thing: the paper on which he wrote the letter.
The northern frontier is remote, and even the Prince of Yu could only use the most ordinary hemp paper.
However, the letters Qiao Xiuyuan wrote were on stiff yellow paper, a type of paper that only wealthy families in the capital could afford.
This indicates that these letters were written in the capital.
Therefore, it is impossible that it was written by Prince Yu in the northern frontier.
Therefore, Prince Yu had no intention of rebelling, nor did he ever do anything to collude with the enemy; he was wronged!
Under pressure, Ye Jingchun could only attribute everything to Qiao Xiuyuan and finally wrote an imperial edict to exonerate Prince Yu and General Lin.
But he had nowhere to vent his frustration, so he ordered the execution of the entire Anyang Marquis's family.
Three days later, the entire Qiao family was dragged to the Meridian Gate and executed in the street.
Qiao Zixi knelt on the stage and immediately spotted Pei Yuan in the crowd, who was smiling broadly.
Yes.
With her dead, Pei Yuan no longer needs to marry such an ugly woman.
No wonder Pei Yuan was so happy…
She searched the crowd again, but couldn't find the person she was jealous of.
However, at this moment, she felt a deep sense of regret.
If she had been able to get along with Su Muxi back then, perhaps she wouldn't be in this situation now.
At least she wouldn't have died such an ugly death.
Qiao Ziming was also trying to find Su Muxi in the crowd.
He no longer hoped that Su Muxi would like him; he only wished to see Su Muxi one more time. But now it seems that even this last wish is just wishful thinking.
Qiao Zixian, Qiao Xiuyuan's illegitimate daughter, also knelt on the stage.
She had always been an unacknowledged illegitimate child, and she never expected that the first time she would openly appear as a member of the Qiao family would be at such a time.
Suddenly, a man carrying a food box walked over with a smile, handed the officials some silver as a bribe, and then came up.
"I didn't know exactly what you liked to eat, so I asked the restaurant to make some dishes that girls usually like. Try them, eat your fill before you go, and you'll have fewer regrets!"
Qiao Zixian never expected that the person who would see her off on her final journey would be Zheng Yi.
Although Zheng Lin helped Qiao Xiuyuan get Bai Mengying out of the Ministry of Justice prison, Ye Zeyu gave the credit for killing Qiao Xiuyuan to Zheng Yi, which spared Ye Jingchun from punishing the Zheng family.
However, although he was spared the death penalty, Zheng Lin lost his original position as Minister of Justice.
But Zheng Yi was content. Although his father had lost his official position, the emperor had not confiscated their property. They still had some savings, so it wouldn't be bad to return to their hometown and live as wealthy men.
The Zheng family originally planned to leave the capital today, but Zheng Yi insisted on seeing Qiao Zixian off before leaving.
Qiao Zixian's hands were tied behind her back, so she couldn't hold chopsticks.
So Zheng Yi fed her.
Qiao Zixian ate while crying, and occasionally smiled, her appearance was indescribably touching.
The appointed time was approaching, and the officials began to drive Zheng Yi away.
Zheng Yi hurriedly packed his things, and before leaving, he didn't forget to wipe Qiao Zixian's mouth with a handkerchief.
Zheng Yi moved his lips, but didn't know what to say.
But then Qiao Zixian said, "Zheng Yi, if there is an afterlife, will you marry me?"
Zheng Yi's behavior towards Qiao Zixian was not out of affection; he simply felt sorry for her. He never expected to hear her say such things.
He was inwardly moved, but he didn't show it at all. Instead, he put on his usual nonchalant attitude and laughed, "That's great! I've always dreamed of marrying a wife as beautiful as you!"
Qiao Ziming and Qiao Zixi felt an indescribable envy upon seeing this scene.
With a shout: "Time's up!"
They slowly closed their eyes.
…
Meanwhile, Chang Zhong, imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice's jail, looked at a small patch of sky outside the window and smiled happily.
He tore off his belt and hung it from the roof beam.
"Your Highness, I can finally come to see you!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
