Chapter 638, House Raid
Because of the return of Yan Wentao and Yan Wenkai, Mrs. Li knew that her youngest son was thinking about Su Shiyu, so she took the children to visit the Su family again, and thus stayed in the provincial government for a few more days.
On the day that Daohua and his group went to Su's house, Su Shiyu also sent a message to Dong Yuanyao, inviting her to get together at Su's house. Unexpectedly, Dong Yuanyao refused.
"I don't know what's wrong with Yuan Yao recently. This has happened several times. I posted an invitation to her, but she turned it down every time." Su Shiyu said while pulling Daohua.
Daohua frowned. "This time when I came to the provincial government, I found that Yuanyao had changed a little. In the past, Yuanyao's eyes were shining and her face was smiling. This time, I saw a hint of sadness between her brows."
Su Shiyu nodded: "Yuan Yao is worried."
Daohua: "She said she doesn't want to go back to Beijing."
Su Shiyu: "If it were me, I wouldn't be reluctant either. After all, Yuan Yao can be said to have grown up in Zhongzhou."
Daohua was silent for a moment. "I always feel that Yuanyao doesn't want to return to Beijing, not just because she can't bear to leave. Maybe she's scared by Brother Dong's marriage and is worried that after returning to Beijing, her family will force her into a marriage she doesn't want."
Hearing this, Su Shiyu sighed, "Since ancient times, marriage has always been decided by our parents and matchmakers. We have never had the final say on our own."
The Su family and the Dong family had frequent interactions and lived in the same provincial government, so they had heard something about Dong Yuanxuan's situation.
She felt quite sad when she thought about how the once gentle and elegant handsome young man was now as thin as a bamboo pole.
At this moment, she was sincerely grateful for having parents who doted on her, and was also very grateful to God for letting her meet Wen Kai, whom she could entrust her life to.
The two chatted about other things for a while, and suddenly, Su Shiyu's maid Mo Shu ran over hurriedly with a panic on her face.
Su Shiyu: "What happened?"
Mo Shu panted and said, "Councilor Du's house was surrounded by a group of soldiers. They said that the emperor had ordered their house to be raided."
Upon hearing this, Daohua and Su Shiyu both showed expressions of shock on their faces.
Daohua asked hurriedly, "Have you heard that the Du family has committed any crime?"
Mo Shu shook his head.
Su Shiyu calmed herself down, stood up, and took Daohua to the main courtyard.
At this moment, Madam Su and Madam Li also heard that the Du family was raided. Not only the Du family, but also the homes of many other officials were surrounded. Both of them were a little frightened.
There is no way around it. In a large-scale house raid like this, where there was no prior warning, one could be implicated if one is not careful.
When Daohua and Su Shiyu arrived, Mrs. Su took Mrs. Li to the courtyard of the old lady of the Su family to inquire about the situation.
"We're going to Grandma's too."
Daohua pulled Su Shiyu aside and said, "I'm afraid the adults are not in the mood to pay attention to us right now. Let's go find my third and fourth brothers. They might know something."
Su Shiyu nodded and took Daohua to Su Hongxin's yard.
Fortunately, the two arrived quickly and happened to meet Yan Wenkai, Yan Wentao and Su Hongxin who were about to go out.
Yan Wenkai: "Why are you two here in the front yard? Go back now, it's a mess outside."
Daohua quickly asked, "Third brother, fourth brother, what happened outside?"
Yan Wenkai laughed and said, "Some officials have committed crimes and are now having their homes raided."
Su Shiyu was shocked: "Many officials were raided at the same time?"
Yan Wenkai: "Not many, maybe about ten."
Seeing the worry on Daohua's face, Yan Wentao comforted her, "Don't worry, it has nothing to do with our family."
Although she knew that it was most likely nothing to do with her family, Daohua still breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Yan Wentao's firm words.
Daohua was relieved, but Su Hongxin beside her was a little worried.
This time, the emperor ordered a thorough purge of the Eight Kings' followers in Zhongzhou, Fenxi, and Jiguang provinces. Although the Su family was not a member of the Eight Kings' followers, one of their concubines' branches was involved, so the Su family would still be implicated.
Su Shiyu noticed her brother's expression and her heart suddenly tightened: "Is anything going to happen to our family?"
Seeing his fiancée was frightened, Yan Wenkai quickly stepped forward to comfort her: "Don't be afraid, your family will be fine."
Looking at Yan Wenkai's determined eyes, Su Shiyu's heart slowly settled back into her stomach.
Yan Wentao: "Okay, you guys go back quickly, we'll go to the street to see what's going on."
Daohua quickly said, "I want to go too."
Su Shiyu also wanted to go out and take a look, so she said, "And me."
Yan Wentao showed his disapproval: "The streets must be very chaotic nowadays. If you two girls go out, you might get bumped into."
Daohua: "No, we have our third brother, fourth brother and eldest brother Su to protect us, how could we be hit?" As he said that, he shook Su Shiyu's arm, signaling her to ask her fourth brother for help.
Su Shiyu felt a little embarrassed, but in order to go out, she still looked at Yan Wenkai eagerly.
Yan Wenkai really couldn't refuse Su Shiyu, and immediately laughed and said, "Oh, Third Brother, you are too careful. With us here, Shiyu and Big Sister won't get hurt."
Daohua and Su Shiyu nodded repeatedly.
Yan Wentao looked helpless: "Then you are not allowed to run around."
Afterwards, Daohua and Su Shiyu followed Yan Wentao and the other two to the street.
The Du family was next to the Su family. When Daohua and his group came out, they happened to see the male members of the Du family being escorted out by officers and soldiers in handcuffs and shackles.
There were many people standing around watching, and many of them applauded.
The Du family usually relied on the power of Councillor Du to act tyrannically. Now that they saw the Du family fall, everyone naturally cheered.
"Let go of your dirty hands. I'm the Senate's wife. Who gave your dog the guts to pull me?"
Mrs. Du seemed unable to accept the fact that the Du family was raided, and she felt unworthy of the officers and soldiers. When an officer came forward to pull her, she slapped him in the face.
This made the officers and soldiers furious. They raised their hands and slapped Mrs. Du in the face, knocking her to the ground. Not satisfied yet, they stretched out their legs and kicked her hard.
"Mother."
When the girl from the Du family saw her mother fall to the ground, she hurried forward to support her.
While the officers and soldiers were trying to stop her and pulling her apart, they tore Miss Du's clothes, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
"ah!"
When Mrs. Du saw this, she ignored the punches and kicks she was receiving and rushed over to hug the terrified Miss Du.
The men of the Du family looked on with dejected and desperate expressions, while the women stood by trembling, and no one dared to step forward.
After the officers and soldiers had cooled down for a while, other officers and soldiers stepped forward to stop them.
"Damn it, all of you, behave yourself. Stop thinking you are some high and mighty ladies. You are prisoners now. If you know better, you can suffer less."
The officer spat at Mrs. Du, then walked away with a gloomy look on his face.
"keep going!"
Seeing the former noble ladies and delicate young ladies being roughly pulled and pushed by officers and soldiers, and lustful officers and soldiers taking advantage of them from time to time, Daohua and Su Shiyu's faces looked very bad.
Because Su Shiyu was quite familiar with the Du family, she didn't want to look any longer. When Yan Wenkai saw this, he took everyone away.
As soon as they reached the next official's house that was being raided, Daohua and others heard heart-wrenching cries coming from inside the wall.
"Let me go, you beasts! Ah, help me, sir, help me!"
Hearing this cry, Daohua and Su Shiyu's faces turned pale.
"How did you bring them out?"
A voice with obvious anger sounded behind them. Yan Wentao and the other two turned around and saw Xiao Yeyang looking at them with a gloomy expression.
Xiao Yeyang glared at the three of them fiercely, then walked up to Daohua, covered her ears with his hands, and without caring about anyone else, he protected her and left.
Yan Wentao and the other two did not expect to encounter such a thing, so they quickly took Su Shiyu away.
Only when they were far away from the house and could no longer hear the screams did Xiao Yeyang let go of Daohua. Seeing that Daohua's face was not very good, he said dissatisfiedly: "You like to join in every commotion. What's so interesting about ransacking a house?"
Daohua lowered her head and spoke after a while: "Isn't there anyone to take care of those soldiers?"
Xiao Yeyang: "The purpose is to punish the offenders, how can we possibly care?"
Daohua: "But those women are innocent."
Xiao Yeyang sneered: "Innocent? There is no such thing as an innocent person. They enjoyed wealth and glory before committing a crime, and they must be punished accordingly after committing a crime."
Daohua was silent for a moment: "After investigating so many officials, will they all be killed?"
Xiao Yeyang shook his head: "First escort him to the capital, and after the Dali Temple interrogation, the lighter ones will be exiled, and the more serious ones will be executed."
Daohua: "Is it the same with the female relatives?"
Xiao Yeyang hesitated for a moment, thought about it, and finally told Daohua: "Except for the direct descendants, the rest of the female relatives will be used as official slaves or prostitutes."
Hearing this, Daohua couldn't help but shudder.
The fate of women in ancient times was truly tied to her husband's family and her own family, and the relationship of rising and falling together was interpreted to the extreme.
(End of this chapter)
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