Upon hearing this, Prince Jing's brow twitched. If the entire Lin family were to be wiped out, what would happen to Concubine Lin? After all, Minister Lin was his father-in-law; he couldn't just sit idly by and do nothing.
Thinking this, Prince Jing was about to step forward and beg for mercy again, but Ning Zixuan, who was standing next to him, quickly reached out and pulled him back, whispering in his ear:
"If you want to protect the Prince's Mansion, you'd better watch the show quietly. If you want to protect Aunt Lin alone, I can only advise you not to regret it."
Prince Jing turned and glared at Ning Zixuan. He felt nothing but bad luck looking at his son now. If it weren't for the trouble Ning Zixuan had caused today, things wouldn't be like this now. So he replied irritably:
What do you mean by that?
Ning Zixuan glanced at Prince Jing and said calmly:
"Aunt Lin has been locked up by my mother."
Prince Jing became even more anxious upon hearing this.
"Is your mother trying to rebel? How has she been tormenting Aunt Lin during the year I've been away?"
Upon hearing Prince Jing's words, a hint of disappointment flashed in Ning Zixuan's eyes. He released his grip and glanced at Prince Jing indifferently.
“Aunt Lin and the physician have cheated on you. Everyone in the manor has seen it. If my mother doesn’t lock them up soon, the baby will probably be born by the time you return.”
Upon hearing this, Prince Jing clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot.
"You little rascal, wait till I get back to the manor, I'll teach you a lesson."
Ning Zixuan replied with an indifferent expression and then ignored Prince Jing. In any case, he had already delivered his message, and whatever Prince Jing did was none of his business.
At this moment, Prince Jing glanced at Ning Zixuan, then at Minister Lin kneeling on the ground, trembling, and simply closed his eyes, ignoring everything else, because Prince Jing knew that Ning Zixuan would never dare to lie to him about being cuckolded.
Judging from the Emperor's attitude and Minister Lin's state, the buying and selling of official positions must be true. There's no need for me to plead for the Lin family out of consideration for Aunt Lin anymore. Let the Emperor do whatever he wants.
The emperor glanced at Minister Lin kneeling below, not wanting to give him a chance to explain. With witnesses and evidence presented, any rebuttal would be futile.
The emperor waved his hand and said:
"Since that's the case, then today we'll send men to wipe out the entire Lin family. That will be a fair settlement for the Sun family. The rest of the Lin family's associates will have their property confiscated, be dismissed from their posts, and be exiled to Lingnan. Their descendants will never be allowed to serve in the capital again."
After saying this, the emperor got up and left.
Minister Lin and the other corrupt officials were also taken out and executed.
Looking at their terrified faces, Qiu Yue couldn't help but laugh. She no longer needed to hide in the General's Mansion; she had finally avenged the entire Sun family.
At this moment, Prince Jing couldn't care less about anything else; he just wanted to get home as soon as possible to see what had happened in his residence during his year-long absence.
Furthermore, the princess had told him in her letter that her eldest son with her had been found, and Prince Jing also wanted to see his son as soon as possible.
Once Ning Huaizhi saw that the affairs of the court were resolved, he also wanted to return to the Jingwang Mansion as soon as possible to see his wife and children. He had left for the expedition in a hurry that day and had not been able to see Jiang Yuwei. She was the person he thought about day and night in the military camp.
Now that they've waited so long, they can finally meet, and Ning Huaizhi is very excited.
Ning Zixuan sent someone to escort Qiuyue back to the General's Mansion, and then gave the carriage he brought to Prince Jing and Ning Huaizhi to ride together, while he rode ahead on horseback to lead the way.
The people along the way saw the carriage from Prince Jing's residence and stood by the roadside to express their gratitude and pay their respects.
After finally returning to the Prince Jing's residence, Ning Huaizhi saw Jiang Yuwei standing next to the Princess with Ning Wan and Ning Zhao, waiting for his return.
Ning Wan, with her sharp eyes, spotted Ning Huaizhi first. She quickly ran to him, grabbed his leg, and climbed onto him. Ning Zhao also ran to Ning Huaizhi, while Jiang Yuwei watched him from afar, her eyes filled with tears.
Ning Huai held Ning Wan in one arm and Ning Zhao in the other, his gaze falling on Jiang Yuwei. Just one look and his eyes reddened as he called out to her:
"Yuwei, I'm back!"
Jiang Yuwei could no longer hold back. She quickly ran down the steps, reached out and hugged Ning Huaizhi, tears streaming down her face.
"Huaizhi, you're back, you're finally back."
The family of four embraced each other, while Prince Jing and his wife stood side by side, watching the joyful scene before them and exchanging smiles.
Once everyone had entered the mansion, Prince Jing turned cold and looked at the Princess.
"What happened to Aunt Lin?"
The princess nodded to her mother, then looked at Prince Jing.
"Let Aunt Lin and the physician tell you themselves. As for how you want to handle it, I won't interfere."
Before long, two servants dragged up the nearly lifeless Aunt Lin and the family physician.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Yuwei quickly bowed to Prince Jing.
"Your Highness, these are the two men's confessions."
He then handed over the envelope. Prince Jing frowned as he read the confession, glared at Consort Lin and the physician kneeling below, and angrily said:
"Who gave you the audacity to collude like this!"
Upon hearing this voice, Aunt Lin opened her eyes and vaguely looked at the man sitting above her. Tears immediately welled up again in her eyes, which had already dried up from crying.
"Your Highness, Your Highness, is that you? Your Highness, please let me explain! I didn't mean to collude with him. I was blinded by greed. I was wrong, Your Highness, please forgive me. You've been gone for so long, you have no idea how much I've missed you... Waaah..."
When Prince Jing heard Consort Lin's words and looked at the kneeling physician beside him, he thought it was all a joke. He picked up the sword on the table and beheaded the physician in one stroke.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Yuwei quickly reached out and covered Ning Wan's eyes.
The princess was also startled by Prince Jing's sudden sword strike, and some of the maids and servants around her even cried out in surprise.
Aunt Lin, unaware of what was happening, squinted and felt a warm spray on her face. Then she smelled a strong stench of blood, and shuddered in terror.
"Your Highness, please don't kill me! Please, for the sake of our many years of friendship, don't kill me! If you kill me, the Lin family won't let this go!"
Ning Zixuan, who was standing to the side, snorted coldly.
"You don't know yet, do you? The Lin family has committed numerous evils. Just now, the emperor dismissed your father from his post and exterminated your entire Lin family. If you hadn't married into the Jing Prince's mansion, you would probably be dying with them today."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Lin suddenly stood up and screamed like a madwoman.
"No, it's impossible! You're lying to me! You bastard, you bastard child! It's all your and your mother's fault! You've ruined me! You all deserve to die!"
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