"Are we seeing ghosts?"
"What's the point of ransacking their house? There's nothing left."
The commander of the Imperial Guards waved his hand, signaling his men to be quiet. He went inside, found a richly dressed girl, and kicked her twice. The girl slowly woke up.
Because of his dazed state, he forgot to pretend and revealed his true nature.
"Ah! How dare you kick me! Do you know who I am? I am a renowned talented woman in the capital, and the Fifth Prince's beloved!"
Xu Youyou, who is Xu Jinhuan's non-blood-related older sister, looked at the Imperial Guard commander with dissatisfaction.
The commander of the Imperial Guards was directly under the Emperor, and even princes had to show him some respect. Upon hearing this, he kicked Xu Youyou hard again.
"Stop talking nonsense. You haven't married the Fifth Prince yet. Wait until you marry into the royal family before you try to show off your power to me. Now, I'll ask you a question, and you'll answer it, or you'll be thrown into prison."
Hearing this, Xu Youyou instantly sobered up. She remembered what had happened before she fainted: the Xu family was surrounded by the Imperial Guards, and the Xu family was finished...
But when she saw everything around her clearly, her face was full of surprise. "Your house raiding techniques are so advanced now, you even took the buildings?"
Upon hearing this, the commander of the Imperial Guards knew without asking that the man was unaware of what had just happened.
So he randomly picked a girl whose clothes were decent enough, and was about to kick her awake, but his instincts made him stop and tap the girl twice with the sword he was carrying.
Xu Jinhuan then opened her eyes. If the Imperial Guard Commander had dared to kick her just now, his soles would have been pierced by an invisible dagger by now.
"Do you know why the buildings in the mansion disappeared into thin air?" The commander of the Imperial Guards looked at Xu Jinhuan.
Xu Jinhuan immediately feigned fear and panic, muttering, "There's a ghost! There's a ghost here! It's standing above the Xu residence, sucking all the houses in there and eating them up bit by bit!"
Upon hearing this, the commander of the Imperial Guards frowned and immediately ordered his men to wake up all those who had fainted to see if anyone noticed anything else unusual.
As a result, most people fainted while fighting for the valuables and had no idea what was happening outside.
Occasionally, those outside would say similar things to Xu Jinhuan, about houses suddenly flying up out of thin air and then disappearing again.
"You all watch as the women of the Xu family remove their hairpins and jewelry, and are taken to prison along with the men. All the servants and maids are to be resold. I need to go back to the palace first to report this matter to His Majesty."
After the commander of the Imperial Guards finished speaking, he left immediately.
Without constraints, these subordinates became more unrestrained in their actions.
"You all better stand still, or don't blame me for my knife being merciless."
Because of her headaches, Xu's mother was still a little confused, but upon hearing this, she became completely awake. The first thing she did after regaining consciousness was to call out to her child.
"Tian Zhou, You You, where are you? Come to my side!"
Xu Jinhuan happened to be right behind her. Upon hearing this, she curled her lip and remarked, "Tsk, motherly love is truly as vast as a mountain."
When Xu's mother heard the voice behind her, she was stunned for a moment before realizing that she had only called out to two people, one of whom was not her biological daughter, yet her own daughter had overheard it...
"Mother!"
"Mommy, Youyou was so scared just now. Does your head still hurt? Do you want me to rub it for you?"
Upon hearing their mother's call, Xu Tianzhou and Xu Youyou immediately ran over. Xu Youyou even threw herself into her mother's arms and started to act coquettishly.
This was the usual practice, but now, under Xu Jinhuan's intense gaze, Xu's mother actually felt somewhat embarrassed.
Then he remembered that it was this wretched child who had made him so angry before, and the little bit of guilt that had just arisen disappeared.
However, looking at her eldest daughter who was still snuggling in her arms, she sighed softly.
“Youyou, you’re all grown up and you’re still acting like a child. Our family is in trouble now. You’re the eldest sister, and you should set an example for Tianzhou. It’s time for you to grow up.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Youyou awkwardly got up from her mother's arms, but when she saw Xu Jinhuan not far away, her eyes flickered, and it was unclear what she was thinking.
"My lord, I am but a concubine. Please let me leave."
"Yes, sir, none of us have borne a son or daughter for the Xu family. Staying would only bring us unnecessary suffering."
Suddenly, a commotion broke out ahead, as if someone wanted to leave.
Xu Jinhuan remained expressionless upon hearing this, but the expressions of Xu's mother and Xu Youyou changed.
Madam Xu went over first and said loudly, "Even if the Xu family has fallen, we are still your masters. Don't forget that your indentures are still with me!"
The concubines were taken aback; they had forgotten about this.
One of the Imperial Guard captains walked over and, upon hearing this, immediately offered a solution: "If you don't want to be exiled, then stand with the servants and be sold off together."
The concubines looked at each other, and one of them quickly made a decision.
“I would rather be sold back into slavery than go into exile. What kind of life would I have on the road to exile? I might not even make it to the north.”
Her words were like a wake-up call, waking up many people.
So, not only the concubines from before, but also the other concubines who had never given birth resolutely joined the ranks of servants.
"Divorce! Yes, sir, I want a divorce!" a woman dressed in her early twenties cried as she spoke.
Madam Xu immediately rebuked, "Huiru, how cruel you are! You've been married into the Xu family for so many years and haven't had a child, yet I've never blamed you."
Xu Jinhuan peeked out and saw that it was none other than the eldest daughter-in-law, whose family background was so prestigious that Xu's mother always praised her. Now, this eldest daughter-in-law, who had brought honor to Xu's mother, was going to make her lose face.
The Imperial Guard captain asked impatiently, "Anyone else wanting to divorce or sever ties? If so, say so now, don't do it one by one, or I'll lock them all up in jail."
Therefore, Xu's mother's second daughter-in-law also took this opportunity to propose a divorce. Once the divorce papers were completed, she would have no further connection with the Xu family.
Before Xu's mother could even feel sad, something even more heartbreaking happened.
"Brother Imperial Guard, I... I'm not the biological daughter of the Xu family, but an adopted daughter from a collateral branch. Does that mean I don't have to be exiled?" Xu Youyou asked cautiously.
Xu's mother looked at Xu Youyou with a face full of surprise, clearly not expecting that her daughter, whom she had carefully nurtured for more than ten years, would actually do this...
Xu Tianzhou looked utterly betrayed, asking, "Big sister, how could you abandon the whole family?"
The Imperial Guard captain glanced at Xu Youyou and asked, "Are you from a collateral branch of the Xu family?"
Xu Youyou nodded expectantly, "Yes."
The Imperial Guard captain waved his hand impatiently, "Then exile is inevitable; the imperial edict includes a collateral branch of the Xu family."
Xu Youyou was stunned for a moment, then swayed, clearly not expecting this situation.
She glanced awkwardly at Xu's mother and Xu Tianzhou, her mind racing as she tried to come up with a defense.
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