Chapter 49 Confiscating Property and Exile (1)
Yun Zhaoxue already knew that her family would be raided and she would be exiled, so she wasn't surprised at all when she heard the news. However, the original book is the original book. She had changed many things after transmigrating. She emptied the palace, and the emperor might be so desperate that he would kill them.
"Is confiscation of property a form of exile or execution?"
Zhuiying said, "Exiled to Lingnan."
The message relayed by the spies planted in the palace by the Prince of Zhenbei.
The two rushed back to the Prince's Palace, only to find that the imperial edict had already arrived and was about to be read aloud.
The second and third wives had packed their bags and fled the palace several days ago.
Only the master of the main house and a few servants who were loyal to the Prince's mansion but had nowhere else to go.
The people of the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion went out to kneel and greet her. Yun Zhaoxue was frail and appeared with the help of her maid.
When the father-in-law saw that all the masters of the main branch had arrived, he cleared his throat, unfolded the imperial edict, and began to read it aloud.
By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:
Prince Xiao Yuanshan, the Prince of Zhenbei, was a man of imperial favor, ruling over the northern frontier. He should have been loyal and diligent in serving the king, protecting the land of our Great Zhou. However, he secretly colluded with the northern barbarians, nurturing bandits to enhance his own power, causing the border to be in grave danger. His crimes are clear. I wish to pardon him in consideration of his past merits in resisting the enemy, but he committed suicide out of fear of punishment, betraying the emperor's grace.
The Xiao family is hereby stripped of their royal title, and their family property is confiscated to fund border defenses. The entire Xiao clan is exiled to Lingnan and will never return. Those who knew of this but failed to report it will also be punished.
Those exiled shall never return to the capital without imperial decree, and their descendants for three generations shall not be permitted to serve as officials in the court. Those who disobey shall be punished for treason! So be it!
“Our Xiao family has not colluded with the enemy or betrayed the country. My father did not commit suicide out of fear; he was murdered. Instead of finding the murderer, you have slandered his reputation. You cannot do this! I want to see the Emperor. I want to clear my father’s name…”
The eunuch delivering the imperial decree frowned and gave a wink to the little eunuch beside him.
The young eunuch understood and stepped forward to slap Xiao Xiuning across the face. "Smack!"
"Insolence! Where did this brat come from? How dare she question the Emperor and his decree! She deserves a beating!"
"Ning'er..."
Xiao Xiuning, seemingly unafraid of death, continued to shout loudly, "My father was wronged..."
"Slap!" Another slap landed.
Xiao Xiuning closed her eyes in fear, but the pain she had imagined did not fall on her face. When she opened her eyes, she found Xiao Xuanwu standing in front of her.
"Fifth brother, who told you to shield me? Get out of the way."
She takes full responsibility for her actions.
The eunuch bowed towards the direction of the palace, "Is the Fourth Miss opposing the imperial edict a questioning of the Emperor?"
Xiao Xiuning lowered her eyes, "This subject dares not, but..." My father was wronged.
Before she could finish speaking, Madam Yang sternly stopped her, "Ning'er, don't say anything more!"
Xiao Xuanwu swiftly struck her acupoint, rendering her speechless.
Seeing that some of them were sensible and continued to harp on Xiao Xiuning's mistakes, the eunuch handed over the imperial decree, saying, "Receive the decree."
Kneeling on the ground, Madam Yang raised her hands to receive the imperial edict, saying, "Your subject... this humble woman accepts the edict and expresses her gratitude!"
When the eldest son and his family heard about the confiscation of their property and the exile, they buried their heads and bit their lips hard, enduring the fear. Even the three children huddled in their mothers' arms.
Suddenly, a pig-like scream came from the doorway, "Ouch! Don't grab me, don't grab me, let me go!"
"We have separated from the main branch of the family, broken away from the Prince's Mansion, and have no connection with the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion anymore. Please don't arrest us, sir, please release us..."
Amidst angry and terrified screams, the women whimpered softly, "I don't want to be exiled, I don't want to be beheaded, I don't want to die, waaaah..."
"Let me go, let me go..."
No matter how frantically the people from the second and third wives struggled and kicked, even kicking their shoes off, the merciless Imperial Guards still dragged them back and threw them to the ground like dead dogs.
They saw their father-in-law rush over, as if grasping at a straw, grabbing his clothes and pleading:
"Father-in-law, father-in-law, spare us! We've long since severed ties with the eldest branch of the family; we're not related to them anymore. If you want to confiscate our property, confiscate theirs; if the Emperor wants to execute them, then execute them! Please, father-in-law, spare us!" Aunt Xiao Er pulled out the few remaining pieces of silver from her sleeve, her hands trembling. "This is a small token of our respect for you, father-in-law. We hope you will accept it. Please, in your magnanimity, forgive us as nothing."
Seeing this, the others quickly got up from the ground, knelt down in front of their father-in-law, and hoped that he would have mercy and release them.
If the father-in-law doesn't accept it, fine; but if he does, it won't be less than a hundred taels. You think you can bribe him with just a few taels of silver?
They treated him like a beggar.
The father-in-law flicked the whisk in his hand at Uncle Xiao and Aunt Xiao's faces, 'smack!' slapping their faces as they tried to force a smile.
"As long as you have the surname Xiao, you are members of the Xiao family. If you dare to run away, you will be treated as fugitives and killed without exception!" After saying this, the eunuch turned and went back to the palace.
"Father-in-law, Father-in-law, please don't go! You can't leave..." The second and third wives refused to give up, kneeling and chasing after their father-in-law to beg for mercy. The imperial guards drew their swords and forced them back. "Go back! Anyone who crosses this line will be killed!"
The commander of the Imperial Guards drew a line on the ground with his sword.
The second and third wives hurriedly crawled back, crying, "Don't kill me, don't kill me..."
The Imperial Guards surrounded them, and some of them went to ransack their homes and begin counting the names on the list. The masters of the first, second, and third wives were all there.
The servants were taken into custody by the government and resold.
The steward of the Prince's mansion had been there for over twenty years. Before being escorted away, he bowed to Yang and the others to say goodbye, "Princess Consort, First Madam, Second Madam, Crown Princess, Fourth Miss, Fifth Young Master, and all the young masters, this old servant can no longer serve you. Please take care on your journey."
"Yes, and please take care, steward."
After the servants were taken away, they were also taken to the Dali Temple prison to be changed into prison clothes, put in shackles, and then exiled.
Before going to Dali Temple, you must remove the hairpins, hair ornaments and other accessories from your head.
The valuables belonging to the second and third wives were all in their bundles, which had long been confiscated. There was nothing that could be done, so they lay on the ground, weeping bitterly.
Aunt Xiao said, "You people from the eldest branch of the family are reincarnated jinxes, jinxes and harbingers of doom. You are the ones who deserve to die. When you were successful, we couldn't even benefit from it. But when something happens to you, you drag us down with you. What sins did we commit in our past lives to be family with you?"
Uncle Xiao said, "Brother, why didn't you tell us beforehand that you were treasonous and betrayed the country? You could have severed ties with us earlier and not implicated us, so that our Xiao family could have descendants. Now we're all going to be exiled. If we're lucky enough not to die on the way, how are we supposed to survive in Lingnan, which is full of miasma?"
Uncle Xiao said, "Big brother is deliberately trying to wipe out the Xiao family line. If our parents knew this in the afterlife, they would be turning in their graves."
...
When Xiao Xuanwu heard them slandering his most respected father, he retorted, "Hasn't our eldest branch helped your second and third branches a lot? If it weren't for us, you would still be farming in the fields."
Uncle Xiao roared at his nephew, "We'd rather go back to farming than have anything to do with you."
Only a few thousand taels of silver and some items bestowed by the emperor were found in the mansion.
The commander was worried that he wouldn't be able to explain himself to his superiors.
"How could a royal family have so little silver? It's not even as much as an ordinary merchant family. You've already hidden it away. Hand it over, or even exile will be a luxury for you."
Yun Zhaoxue said, "My lord, this is indeed the little silver the Prince's mansion has left. Previously, all the Prince's property was placed in the Yunyang Marquis's mansion. Who knew that the Yunyang Marquis's mansion was robbed and all the silver was gone. The Marquis's mansion returned the betrothal gifts given by the Third Prince to me. Later, it was stolen by the second and third branches of the family, and then it was robbed again. They still owe 50,000 taels of silver in compensation, 25,000 taels each from both families. If you want the silver, go to them for it."
"What does it have to do with us if it was stolen by thieves? We haven't even asked you to return the money yet, and you're already trying to smear us."
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