Chapter 72: The Aristocratic Families’ Puppet, or the People’s Emperor
White bones littered the ground. Heart-rending wails filled the air. The grief was overwhelming, the scene a tragedy beyond human imagination.
Xiao Jingyi took a deep breath. ’Imperial Sister, oh, Imperial Sister... you really know how to find tasks for me.’
In his entire life, he had never been so shaken. His very soul was trembling.
Although stepping forward today would earn him a good reputation, he would have much rather switched places with Prince Chen.
This tragedy in the mortal world was simply too agonizing. Every moment he stood here, he felt his soul being tormented.
He knew some people were capable of beastly acts, but he never imagined they could be so utterly depraved. ’Are they even human?’
Prince Wei had been assigned to oversee the case, while Prince Chen’s task was to raid an estate.
The estate of the Gao Family!
The Chang Chun Building had been established by a collateral branch of the Gao Family, and was even registered under the name of a member’s brother-in-law.
Technically, one could argue it had nothing to do with the main Gao Family.
But everyone knew that was clearly just a pretext.
With so many influential nobles coming here to indulge their depraved tastes, how could they possibly feel safe without the Gao Family’s backing?
Besides, among those who died last night, three were from the Gao Family.
Before last night, the ledgers from this place had been sent out. They clearly showed that the immense, filthy wealth generated here ultimately flowed into the hands of the Gao Family’s Head.
The Gao Family deserved to die!
Upon receiving his orders, Prince Chen led his men to the Gao Family estate. The family was in the middle of preparing a mourning hall for their three dead relatives when their home was suddenly raided. Everyone, regardless of age or gender, was arrested and hauled to the execution grounds.
Typically, such criminals were executed after the autumn harvest. Coincidentally, it was now past autumn.
The Emperor had never been so resolute. He issued three consecutive imperial edicts, all ordering execution without mercy.
The confiscation of the Gao Family’s assets wasn’t even complete, but every member had already been taken to the execution grounds.
The Emperor’s command was utterly ruthless in the eyes of the great aristocratic families, but in that moment, the common people were profoundly moved.
’A wise ruler! This is a true, wise ruler who stands up for his people!’
At first, the members of the Gao Family cried out about the injustice, insisting on their innocence. But as they watched those beside them beheaded one by one, they began to wail about the Emperor’s cruelty, accusing him of slaughtering the innocent.
However, no one felt any pity for them.
Watching the scene unfold, the commoners were at first filled with grim satisfaction. But that feeling soon gave way to pain as they remembered their lost loved ones, and a wave of anguish washed over them, reducing them to sorrowful tears.
"The heavens have eyes! These beasts have finally gotten what they deserve..."
"Your entire family is made of monsters! You’ve done nothing but evil and deserve to be sent to the eighteenth level of hell! My poor Yu’er... he was only eight years old! My Yu’er..."
"My Juan’zi... My dear Juan’zi..."
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"They actually killed them all," a young man’s voice said, laced with disbelief. "That wasn’t just one person, but an entire second-tier aristocratic family... wiped out in an instant."
Even with conclusive evidence, to raid their estate and proceed directly to execution without a joint trial by the high courts... The speed is simply unprecedented.
Xiao Li, casually swinging her legs, replied, "What else? Should they have picked an auspicious day?"
Xiao Jingyi sat down, his unease palpable. "The reinforcements sent by the major aristocratic families were all intercepted. Prince Chen wanted to stall but was forced to give the order. Even though he was acting on an imperial decree, the other families will remember that he was the one who oversaw the Gao Family’s execution..."
’This is directing the hatred of all the aristocratic families onto Prince Chen.’
’Suddenly, he felt that his Imperial Sister was still partial to him, not making him do such a hate-filled task.’
’If he’d been the one to handle it, he wouldn’t just be having nightmares. He wouldn’t dare to sleep at all, for fear he might never wake up.’
"How did you convince Prince Chen, Sister?" Prince Chen wouldn’t be stupid enough to knowingly walk into a trap.
’Given Prince Chen’s character, he should be standing with the other aristocratic families right now, trying to persuade His Majesty.’
A gust of wind blew in, carrying the thick stench of blood. Xiao Li frowned slightly and raised a hand to lower the window curtain.
"He has things he cares about, so of course he can be persuaded. Just like you..."
Xiao Li produced the gold medal and tossed it to Xiao Jingyi. "Zhang De is on the verge of death. If you have questions for him, you’d better go now."
Xiao Li’s words were as cutting as they were pragmatic. Prince Chen must have been blackmailed to accept an imperial decree for such an offensive task, and Xiao Jingyi, too, was willing to be used because he needed something from her.
’Even though they were all children of the late Emperor, what little familial affection they shared was too shallow to be worth mentioning.’
’His Imperial Sister was more clear-headed than he’d thought. And more ruthless.’
He clutched the Token tightly, a sour feeling in his heart. ’He had thought their relationship was different from the others...’
"Thank you, Sister."
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「In front of the Imperial Study Room」
Grand Secretary Lu Cang led a group of officials, urging the Emperor to retract his edict against the Gao Family. Executing people without a trial was unprecedented and went against the law, they argued.
But the Emperor remained behind closed doors, refusing to see them. Meanwhile, news from the outside trickled in, one piece after another.
The men they had sent to the execution grounds had been intercepted. The Gao Family could not be saved.
Hearing that every member of the Gao Family had been beheaded, these pampered nobles were profoundly shocked. They were the descendants of the dynasty’s founding heroes, members of venerable aristocratic families! How could the Emperor turn his blade on them for the sake of a bunch of commoners?
To slaughter the innocent without a trial... ’The Emperor is being completely irrational and tyrannical.’
Some of the officials who had also partaken of the so-called "Immortal’s" flesh had initially been terrified. But now, for some reason, their guilt vanished, replaced by a surge of self-righteousness. The Emperor’s indiscriminate slaughter of the "innocent" was simply too much. This matter required a firm remonstrance.
One by one, they mentally prepared their speeches, growing more agitated by the second. They just had to wait for the Emperor to appear, and then they would offer their stern counsel, determined to make him understand the depths of his error.
Vice Chief Wang Changwen had never felt so righteous. Because no one from the Wang family was involved in this affair, he felt he could stand tall. He glanced at Lu Cang’s wrinkled old face and said with a sneer, "The Gao Family and the Lu family are related by marriage and have always been close. You couldn’t possibly have been unaware of this, could you? Or perhaps... you were the true mastermind all along? Who would have thought? You old dog, your heart is truly black. A beast in human skin. Your crimes are worthy of death..."
Lu Cang, however, completely ignored Wang Changwen’s provocation. His gaze remained fixed on the tightly shut doors of the Imperial Study Room.
’Never before had he realized so clearly that the Emperor was no longer under his control.’
「Inside the Imperial Study Room」
The Emperor was both panicked and calm.
He was panicked, fearing a backlash from the great families; he knew full well how offensive the edict he’d written was.
He was calm because those who needed to die were dead. The case had reached a point where not even Lu Cang, with all his overwhelming power, could suppress it. The Lu family’s reputation was ruined forever. And if the Lu family were to rebel now, they would have no just cause and would be condemned for all time.
He finally understood the question Xiao Li had asked him: "Do you want to be a puppet of the aristocratic families, or an Emperor for the people?"
’If I side with the aristocratic families, I will only be coerced and suppressed by them, constrained at every turn.’
’But if I side with the people, the people will devour the aristocratic families for me.’