Chapter 350 The Xie Family is Executed
On the ninth day of the sixth lunar month, Princess Fu'an asked the Emperor for permission to go and see off the Xie family members on their final journey.
Dou Wenyi, wearing a hooded hat, accompanied her to the prison.
She couldn't help but think of her past life, where Xue Shi and Xie Mengyao, because of a rumor that she had lost her virginity, felt that she was not good enough for Xie Guidu and tormented her for more than ten years. They even killed Nannan.
This time, they got their wish and got Xie Guidu to marry Princess Fu'an. But what happened?
Life is unpredictable; it's truly ironic.
Xue was chained by the feet, her body was filthy, her prison clothes were tattered, her hair was disheveled, her eyes were sunken, and her gaze was dull and desperate, making her look like a withered shell.
After Xie Guidu escaped, the people of the Dingyuan Marquis's mansion were imprisoned. They still held onto a glimmer of hope until the Dali Temple sentenced the men of the Xie family to immediate execution, while the women were to be executed in the autumn.
Usually, it's just cold, spoiled food, but today, the jailer unusually brought chicken legs and fermented rice wine to the men's cell next door, so she knew their deaths were imminent.
Having lived a life of luxury, Xue endured the stench of spoiled food and excrement every day. Every day, tormented by this, she thought of simply banging her head against a wall and ending it all.
But she was also afraid that if she didn't die in the accident, she would suffer even more pain.
She tried banging her head, but it hurt too much. She seemed to be very afraid of dying and didn't dare to die.
What she couldn't understand was why Xie Guidu, such a brilliant, gentle, and filial person, would embark on the path of 'rebellion'. Moreover, when he fled, he didn't even tell the Xie family, and the entire Xie family of more than 300 people had to be buried with him.
The Xie family raised him for over twenty years, how could he be so heartless and cruel?
What if it drags down the entire Xie family?
Even though Dou Wenyi was wearing a hood, she recognized her at a glance, and the answer to the question that had been puzzling her for so long suddenly became clear.
Suddenly, Madam Xue went mad, lunging forward with a piercing clang from the iron chains beneath her feet. She clung tightly to the prison bars, screaming, "It's you, you jinx..."
Madam Xue, her face contorted with pain, knelt down and pleaded, "It was wrong of our Xie family to break off the engagement with the Dou family back then... You are the Empress, a magnanimous woman, why must you be so ruthless?"
"Please, have mercy and spare my life. I promise to build a shrine for you to live forever..."
Dou Wenyi looked at her quietly without saying a word.
Madam Xue suddenly raised her head, staring at her resentfully, "How cruel you are! Did you come here to see the Xie family make a fool of themselves? It's all your fault, all your fault. If my Gui Du had never met you, she wouldn't have gone down this path of no return..."
Princess Fu'an frowned, her face full of sarcasm, "Even on the verge of death, you still spout nonsense! Xie Guidu is the real jinx; whoever encounters him is doomed."
“I’ve come to tell you that I, the Princess of Fu’an, am divorcing Xie Guidu. He is disloyal and unfilial, and unworthy of being a human being. For his own selfish desires, he disregarded the fate of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Your Xie family’s property has been confiscated and you have been executed; you deserve it.”
Seeing her silence, Madam Xue shouted in panic, "Why aren't you saying anything? Are you feeling guilty? I knew it was you! You bewitched Guidu, causing him to commit such a heinous act, implicating our entire clan! You will die a horrible death!"
Dou Wenyi slowly raised her hand, took off her hood, and watched as she bit wildly like a mad dog.
The prison was dimly lit, but Dou Wenyi's eyes were sharp as knives.
"Mrs. Xue,"
Her voice was calm and even, yet carried a heavy weight: "Now that things have come to this, do you still want to pin the Xie family's sins on me?"
Madam Xue trembled at the coldness in her eyes, then wailed, "If it weren't for you! Gui Du should have brought glory to our family. It was all because of the broken engagement that everything changed! You ruined him, you ruined our Xie family!"
"I ruined the Xie family?"
Dou Wenyi looked down at her, saying each word clearly, "Did I fabricate the story that Xie Guidu secretly colluded with the Japanese pirates and betrayed the country? Did I incite his men to burn, kill, and loot, and to encourage the disaster victims to rebel?"
With each question she asked, Madam Xue's face paled a little more.
Dou Wenyi chuckled softly, "The Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Justice, the Emperor, the entire court—were they all deceived by me, Dou Wenyi? Madam Xue, every single thing he did to get to where he is today is the result of his own evil deeds."
She leaned forward slightly, her gaze sharp as a knife: "He deserved to die! From the moment he personally imprisoned Xie Mengyao in the Dali Temple, you should have realized that he had changed!"
"And you, shouldn't you reflect on why your Xie family raised such a traitorous and rebellious son?"
"Because of him, how many more people will suffer from war? They will also be separated from their wives and children, and their families will be destroyed. Are the lives of the Xie family more precious than theirs?"
Dou Wenyi thought of Nannan, who died mysteriously because she had such a foolish grandmother.
Is it unjust?
Dou Wenyi straightened up and stopped looking at her.
Yes, Xue didn't know about her past life.
Those torments, that despair, that small body that gradually grew cold in her arms, all existed only in her memory, a blood feud she carried alone.
She pulled her hood back up, concealing her surging hatred and pain. "The Xie family's misfortune stemmed from Xie Guidu's own greed; he deserved it, and it has nothing to do with anyone else!"
Princess Fu'an stepped forward at the opportune moment and threw a letter of divorce into the cell. Her voice was cold and resolute: "Xue, listen carefully. Today, I, the princess, hereby sever all ties with Xie Guidu and cut all ties with him! Your Xie family is full of sins, so don't drag others into this mess!"
Looking at the letter of divorce, and then at Dou Wenyi's indifferent profile hidden under her hood, Xue completely broke down.
Dou Wenyi turned and left the prison, the fierceness and hatred in her eyes gradually dissipating.
Everything from the past life should have come to an end long ago.
Xie Guidu, however, was hopelessly immersed in his past life, making one mistake after another, which ultimately led to the downfall of the entire Xie family.
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