Wei Wenshi, who had fainted, was awakened by the commotion. She looked blankly at the two rows of yamen runners in the hall and was not quite sure what was going on.
Wei Chengxiu was blind, but he sensed something was amiss and became nervous. Sun Lurong patted his hand to reassure him, then turned to the constables and asked, "Who are you...?"
She had barely opened her mouth when she was interrupted by another voice:
"Are you here because of my son Xu'er's case, officers? My son Xu'er is innocent, sirs!" Meng cried out, trying to exonerate Wei Chengxu.
However, Wei Shuwan noticed something was amiss. These people were dressed differently from the constables who had gone to the inn to arrest Wei Chengxu earlier that day. These should not be ordinary constables from the government office.
Besides, even if Wei Chengxu's case were to be tried, she would be summoned to the court for questioning. Why would they make such a fuss and come to her door?
From this, Wei Shuwan concluded that these people were not there because of the murder case that Wei Chengzhi had ordered, but because something else had happened, and it was a big deal.
But such a major event did not happen in the Wei family in her previous life. What could it be? Although Wei Shuwan couldn't figure it out for a moment, her heart was pounding like a drum!
Meng was still wailing, but the constables clearly showed no pity for her. Each of them held their chin high, their expressions stern, treating her like an ant. They were lined up neatly, presumably waiting for someone.
Wei Shuwan subconsciously looked towards the door and indeed saw a person walking towards her, dressed in formal official robes. However, Wei Shuwan's eyesight was not good enough to determine his rank and position based solely on his official robes.
The man stood in front of the door, surveying the crowd inside with a cold and imposing gaze. When he raised his left hand, the two teams of constables immediately knelt down in unison.
The Wei family was terrified by this scene, and they were all panicked and bewildered. However, Wei Shuwan noticed that the official was holding a scroll of silk in his left hand.
Bright yellow with dragon patterns.
That's... an imperial edict?!
Wei Shuwan's eyes trembled, and her legs involuntarily went weak. Although she had never received an imperial edict before, she knew in her heart that if it was an edict of reward, it should be read by a noble lady from the inner palace. But if it was read by two teams of yamen runners, it was most likely a decree of punishment.
The official glanced at the Wei family and said in an unfriendly tone, "Why aren't you kneeling down to receive the imperial decree?"
Wei Wenshi was stunned for a moment, but reacted the fastest, immediately pulling the old nanny beside her to kneel down.
Wei Shuwan knelt down in fear and quickly exchanged a glance with her mother as a warning. Sun Lurong then pulled Wei Chengxiu to kneel beside Wei Shuwan.
Seeing this, Wei Hai quickly knelt down as well. After kneeling down, he suddenly remembered his wife, who was almost frantic with worry, and quickly tugged at the sleeve of Meng Shi beside him.
Meng Shi then realized as if she had just woken up from a dream that these people had not come for her Xu'er. She couldn't tell whether she was disappointed or relieved, and she slumped to her knees on the ground.
The entire Wei family, from master to servant, had knelt down to receive the imperial edict. The official looked down at the family, young and old, and let out a faint snort before slowly unfolding the edict he was holding in his left hand.
"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The section of the Jiangzuo Dam in Wu County, constructed under the supervision of Water Conservancy Commissioner Wei Zheng, has collapsed, causing flooding and resulting in the deaths and injuries of dozens of innocent people along the river, as well as the destruction of countless farmlands and houses! The Censor has impeached Wei Zheng for embezzling funds allocated by the court and for using inferior materials, thus causing this disaster. His entire family is to be implicated, arrested, and imprisoned. This case will be jointly investigated and tried by the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate!"
It turned out that something had happened to her father!
Wei Shuwan's body trembled. She looked up at the official who had delivered the decree and asked in a shaky voice, "My lord, I am Wei Zheng's daughter. I do not know where my father is now?"
"Your father has already been imprisoned before you. Perhaps you will have a chance to meet him again." The official said in a cold tone, then waved to the bailiffs beside him, signaling them to take the man away.
The two teams of constables immediately sprang into action, pulling up the Wei family members who were still kneeling on the ground and taking them outside.
"How...how could this be?" Wei Wenshi couldn't believe it, and her legs seemed to be unable to walk as she was dragged out by two yamen runners.
Although Sun Lurong was also shocked, she couldn't bear to see the yamen runners dragging an old woman out like a dead dog, so she wanted to help Wei Wenshi. After all, Wei Zheng had entrusted this foster mother to her when he left home, and no matter how bad things were between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, she couldn't just stand by and watch others bully her.
But as soon as she helped Wei Wenshi up, two other yamen runners came over, grabbed her, and dragged her out just like they had done to Wei Wenshi!
Sun Lurong, who had always had a fiery temper, was not about to swallow this insult. She struggled to break free while retorting, "This case hasn't even started yet, and it's still unknown whether my master is guilty or not! How can you treat us like this? Even if you treat us like criminals, we have legs and we can walk on our own!"
Those yamen runners were all clerks from the Dali Temple. They were used to handling cases of fallen officials and didn't take Wei Zheng, a fifth-rank official, seriously at all. They treated his family members with extreme arrogance, and apart from sneering, they didn't respond in any other way, but instead increased the force in their hands.
Sun Lurong's arms were forcibly pulled by them, and she couldn't help but cry out in pain.
"Mother!" Wei Shuwan and Wei Chengxiu, siblings, called out at the same time, but their hands were tied behind their backs by the yamen runners, so they couldn't help at all.
Just as they were getting extremely anxious, Ziqiao and Miaoxiang rushed over upon hearing the commotion: "Miss!"
The two maids rushed towards Wei Shuwan, but the constables blocked them a few steps away. Miaoxiang was no match for them, but Ziqiao, who possessed some martial arts skills, used her strength to break through the two blocking her way and rushed to Wei Shuwan's side to support her: "Miss! What happened?"
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