Song Yu glanced at the token, shook his head and refused: "The Donglai people failed to take me hostage, and they won't make another move for a while. I'm not in danger for the time being. You should leave the things with Mother."
His attitude was firm, so Jiang Wan had no choice but to take the items back.
“I’ve been busy with military affairs lately and haven’t spent much time at home. Mother, please take care of yourself.”
Song Yu glanced at the Eastern Palace guards standing at the gate of the mansion and spoke.
"As for the matter of divorce, don't be impatient; there may be a way out."
Jiang Wan smiled and nodded, then asked, "What are you busy with in the army?"
"His Majesty has ordered me to investigate the Illusion Moon Cult and track down its followers."
Jiang Wan became interested.
She felt that the Illusion Moon Sect was unusual, and had previously instructed Shi Xu to investigate it, but so far there have been no results.
"Any progress?" she asked.
Song Yu paused slightly and looked up at Jiang Wan.
Seeing only curiosity in the other person's eyes, he thought for a moment and replied, "The Illusion Moon Cult is very cunning. We couldn't find any trace of them for a while, but we found some clues. The Illusion Moon Cult was founded in the year the late emperor passed away. Its leader is a man surnamed Kuai. He has been wandering the martial arts world for many years and is good at hiding. The imperial court has sent troops to besiege and suppress them many times, but all of them have failed."
"His Majesty has dispatched three thousand Xuanjia soldiers, which I will lead, in the hope of annihilating the stronghold of the Illusion Moon Sect in one fell swoop."
Is his surname Kuai?
Jiang Wan was slightly taken aback.
This surname is extremely rare in the Dayong Dynasty. She only knew that the late emperor had a young concubine with the surname Kuai, whom the late emperor favored greatly and bestowed upon her the title of "Noble Lady Li".
Coincidentally, the Illusion Moon Cult emerged in the same year that the late emperor passed away.
Could there be some connection between these things?
"lady!"
Before Jiang Wan could come to a conclusion, Biluo lifted the curtain and walked in.
"Half an hour ago, His Majesty's decree reached the Ministry of Justice. The Song family's crimes are well-known. Considering the Song family's generations of loyalty and bravery, they are spared the death penalty. General Song and Song Lin are to be punished with fifty strokes of the cane and exiled to Lingnan. The Yuan family's first-rank imperial title is revoked, and they are to be exiled to Hanling Tower along with the Gu family, never to return to the capital for the rest of their lives."
Jiang Wan narrowed her eyes.
Lingnan is a land shrouded in miasma, hot and humid, and malaria is rampant.
Although Emperor Jingyuan did not issue an edict ordering their execution, it was highly likely that Song Ziyu and Song Lin would meet a tragic end.
The Cold Tomb Tower was even more bitterly cold. Yuan Shi was old and Gu Yurong was weak. Not to mention the harsh environment of the Cold Tomb Tower, it was feared that the two of them would not be able to survive the bumpy journey.
“For many years, the Great Yong Dynasty has valued civil officials over military ones. If Your Majesty wants to change this situation, you must consider the feelings of the military officers in the court. Therefore, you cannot execute the descendants of the Song family.” Song Yu took a sip of tea.
A hint of sarcasm flashed in Jiang Wan's eyes.
The fact that the emperor did not impose the death penalty is naturally a sign of his benevolence, but the suffering of exile is not as pleasant as ending one's life with a single blow.
"The imperial edict has been issued, and the execution will take place soon."
She chuckled softly.
"As family, I should see them off before leaving Beijing."
In the Ministry of Justice prison.
Song Ziyu had been flogged, and his prison clothes were soaked with blood. The jailer threw him carelessly on a straw mat, and from a distance, he looked like a pile of rotten flesh.
His wounds were so deep that the bone was visible, and without a doctor's treatment, they had become festering.
At this rate, it's uncertain whether they can even survive until the day of their exile.
Yuan pinched his philtrum hard twice, and he woke up in pain, vomiting blood.
"Injustice, a wrongful conviction."
As soon as he regained consciousness, Song Ziyu struggled to crawl toward the prison door and cried out that he was innocent.
"I demand to see His Majesty... Grandmother, we've been framed! I... I refuse to accept this..."
Compared to his indignation, Yuan Shi appeared much calmer.
She sat motionless on the straw mat, like a lifeless stone statue.
"Accept your fate, Yu'er."
"no I do not!"
Song Ziyu pounded on the prison door frantically, his expression becoming frantic.
"Someone must be plotting this behind the scenes! Someone wants us dead! Why doesn't His Majesty believe me? As long as I see His Majesty, he will believe me! I must see the Emperor!"
Yuan's eyes were half-closed, and his face was ashen.
Three days have passed since the eunuch came to read the imperial edict.
After hearing that Gu Yurong and her son had been escorted to the Jingzhao Yin (prefect of the capital), she guessed what would happen today.
She had no desire to argue whatsoever.
She knew all too well that Miao territory was a taboo subject for the Dayong royal family, and Emperor Jingyuan would not tolerate the mere act of using witchcraft against Ji Rong.
It was her carelessness that allowed the person behind her to seize upon her weakness and lure her into a trap, linking the Song family with the Illusion Moon Sect and accusing her of treason.
No emperor can forgive treason.
Emperor Jingyuan did not take her life immediately out of consideration for public opinion; exiling her thousands of miles away left no way out for the Song family.
Yuan closed her eyes.
Song Ziyu's hoarse voice came from beside my ear again.
"Grandmother, please say something!"
He lay half-prone on the ground, clutching Yuan's clothes and shaking them desperately.
"Oh, right, and the Iron Certificate! That's a sacred artifact left by my grandfather to protect him. Even if His Majesty has murderous intentions, he can't ignore the Iron Certificate..."
Upon hearing this, Madam Yuan suddenly opened her eyes, a hint of hatred flashing in them.
"Since His Majesty has issued an edict of exile, he must not have seen the imperial edict."
"The Song family's imperial edict... has probably already fallen into other people's hands."
Song Ziyu was horrified: "This, how is this possible! Who would dare..."
"It seems that General Song has wasted these days in prison and his mind has not improved much."
"If you had inherited even a fraction of your grandmother's shrewdness, you wouldn't be in this state of utter defeat today."
Outside the prison gate, in the pitch-black corridor, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared.
A woman dressed in a light blue lotus-colored long skirt, carrying a candle in her hand, walked step by step from the end of the road.
The candlelight illuminated her aloof and beautiful face, her dark eyes sharp and proud.
Song Ziyu was stunned for a moment, and it seemed like it took him a long time to recognize her: "...Jiang Wan!"
"What are you doing here? Came to laugh at me? Get out, get out!"
He became agitated, and his movements aggravated the wound on his back, causing him to gasp in pain.
Jiang Wan stopped a few steps away, quietly watching his disheveled state. Her eyebrows curved slightly, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.
To Song Ziyu, this appearance was undoubtedly one of schadenfreude.
Song Ziyu was furious: "You fool! Do you think you'll have a good end just because the Song family is ruined? You are my wife, betrothed by the late emperor, and cannot be broken. You will be a member of the Song family for life!"
"If you want to live, hurry and find your father, the prime minister, and ask him to find a way to get me out of here, otherwise, otherwise..."
Jiang Wan said, "Otherwise what?"
"Otherwise, I will tell His Majesty that you are my accomplice, and have His Majesty punish you by exiling you to Lingnan!"
"Song Ziyu said fiercely."
"If I die, you won't live either!"
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