Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 356 The Shattered Son (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

The sunlight had just climbed to mid-air.

After the torrential rain, the sun was scorching hot, and the air in the palace was filled with the stench of blood after the flogging.

After three hundred lashes, all three Yan Shus would be completely dead.

The emperor rarely held morning court sessions and seldom saw his ministers. The events unfolded so quickly and suddenly that no department in the palace had received any information about what was happening. Moreover, the emperor was truly enraged today, turning his blade against his beloved Yan family. No one knew which way the wind would blow next, and no one in the palace dared to pass on any information.

After Yan Song went to the cabinet, the whole family thought that Yan Song could turn danger into safety. Madam Yan had even arranged for the housekeepers to prepare the fire pit that Yan Song would step over when he returned.

She hadn't slept a wink all night, which was quite a torment for someone as meticulous as her. After making the arrangements, she lay down on the bed and told the master to wake her up before he returned.

As she slept, she heard Yan Shu calling her in her ear, telling her to prepare some clean clothes for him to change into. She opened her eyes abruptly, but found the room empty; there was no Yan Shu to be seen. Instead, she heard Yan Liang and the maids talking in hushed tones outside the door.

She opened the window and saw that it was almost noon, so she asked, "Has the old master gone to the palace yet?"

Yan Liang had just arrived when he heard the noise and stepped inside: "I just received news that the old master has entered the palace, and so has my father!"

Lady Yan was overjoyed upon hearing this. As expected, Gao Hong had made good arrangements. If the emperor still harbored resentment towards Yan Shu, he would not have met with Yan Song at this time, let alone summoned Yan Shu to the palace just one night later.

No wonder she dreamt that Yan Shu asked her to prepare clothes. After spending a night in that filthy place in prison, how could she not feel terrible!
She hurriedly put on her shoes and went out: "Go and take out a brand-new brocade robe that I just sent to the master the other day, inside and out. The master will definitely be returning home soon, and he will wear it as soon as he gets home! — Pick that long robe with lapis lazuli and emerald patterns, and change the jade pendant and jade ring as well. Those bad luck items on him are unacceptable! Also, prepare a table of wine and dishes to welcome the master, and use that set of white jade cups with taotie patterns. And change all the bed curtains in the fine house where he usually stays!"

Yan Liang was slightly worried: "Is it inappropriate to be so extravagant at this juncture?"

"The Emperor has already pardoned them, what's wrong with that? Let those who are still dissatisfied sue again!" Madam Yan said, and then instructed the maid: "Use the 'golden silk curtain' stored in the storeroom, it's something the Master cherishes."

"Also, call back all the people he usually serves. Let him do whatever he wants, as long as he comes back."

At this point, Madam Yan clasped her hands together and bowed towards the west.

Over the years, the Yan family has followed the emperor in believing in Taoism, but now they are even worshipping the Western Paradise, which can be described as grasping at straws in desperation.

Seeing that he couldn't get involved, Yan Liang returned and sent people to inquire again. He also found Yan Qu to search for Gao Hong again. The reason why the emperor had summoned other people besides Yan Song and Yan Shu to the palace remained unclear, preventing him from feeling at ease.

No sooner had Yan Qu left than someone rushed in, carrying a message!
"Young Master, Grand Secretary Feng has been imprisoned!"

Those few words simultaneously nailed Yan Liang inside the courtyard and Yan Qu outside to the ground!

"What did you say?!" Yan Qu rushed in. "Grand Secretary Feng?!"

"A quarter of an hour ago, the Emperor summoned Grand Secretary Feng and Minister Lu to the palace, followed by the Old Master and the Master. Later, Grand Commandant Shen also entered the palace for some unknown reason, and then the Embroidered Uniform Guard escorted Grand Secretary Feng to the Court of Judicial Review, where the Emperor ordered a joint trial by the three courts! In addition, several officials from the Ministry of Revenue were also taken in!"

"We only learned of this after Grand Secretary Feng and the others were brought out! And, and—"

The servant suddenly got stuck in a rut and his face turned ashen.

Yan Liang had a bad feeling when he heard that Grand Commandant Shen had left, and now seeing the situation, he was greatly alarmed: "How is my lord?!"

The servant immediately prostrated himself on the ground and cried out in anguish, "Master, something terrible has happened!"

...Yan Liang led Yan Qu to the palace gate, just as Yan Song stumbled out of the gate.

The once powerful and influential Grand Secretary, second only to the emperor, was now cradled in his arms, his eyes red and swollen, his lower lip bitten, and blood still lingering at the corner of his mouth.

"grandfather!……"

Seeing this, Yan Liang felt a chill in his heart. He stepped forward and called out in a sorrowful voice. Immediately afterwards, he saw two eunuchs carrying out a wooden ladder behind Yan Song, on which lay a corpse with its face covered by a cloth.

The wind lifted a corner of the coarse cloth, revealing a long purple brocade robe embroidered with auspicious cloud patterns in gold thread.

Yan Liang clearly remembered that it was the outfit Yan Shu wore when he left home early yesterday morning.

"Father!"

His knees buckled and he knelt down!
"I'll leave the person here. Please take care, Your Excellency."

The young eunuch carried the person to the side of the street, stepped back, bowed, and then went back to close the palace gate.

Coming to his senses, Yan Qu cried out in alarm and knelt down before the corpse. He swayed the body propped up on the ladder, but found it limp and inhuman. He reached out to remove the cloth from its face, but Yan Song pressed his hand down on his.

Yan Liang stared at Yan Song in shock, but at that moment, a bunch of white things fell out from the gap in the coarse cloth that Yan Qu had lifted.

"……Father!"

Yan Qu saw the object clearly, then his eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground.

Yan Liang also felt a wave of dizziness, and his stomach began to churn!

The white, fleshy mass was about the size of a fist, and as it hit the ground, a few drops of dark red blood trickled down the edge of the coarse cloth.

These brothers had lived a life of luxury since birth, and no matter how much filth and bloodshed they heard, it was always done by their subordinates. When had they ever seen such cruelty befall their own family?

"He was perfectly fine when he left yesterday, and now he's all broken up!" Yan Song muttered to himself, stroking the gold-embroidered silk robe. Before he could even put his hand down properly, he lurched forward and collapsed to the ground unconscious.

The servants panicked, calling out "Master!" and rushed to help him up. Yan Liang, filled with grief and anxiety, could only put aside the dead and attend to the living. Dogs foraging in the street, drawn by the smell of blood and flesh, slowly approached. Though they dared not get too close, their green eyes gleaming with predatory intent sent a chill down one's spine!
"Return to the manor!!"

Yan Liang helped lift Yan Song into the sedan chair and then loudly ordered the servants to pull the carriage.

But who could have predicted this when they arrived? No one brought a car.

Under the scorching sun, how could they wait for them to return to the mansion to retrieve the carriage, leaving Yan Shu's body exposed for an extended period? So they had no choice but to hire a carriage temporarily.

However, the people had long suffered from the tyranny of the Yan family. Half of them disdained to earn this money, while the other half thought it was bad luck to transport dead people. After the servants had been running around for a long time, they finally raised their fists and threatened a mentally unstable person by the roadside to seize a crude cart for transporting manure.

Yan Liang pulled Yan Shu onto the cart, but the cart couldn't fit a whole person. Yan Shu's legs dangled out, and Yan Liang, whose eyes were already bloodshot, had no choice but to hold those legs and sit on the cart as they passed through the streets.

In the past, even a dog in front of the Yan family mansion was more prestigious than a seventh-rank official in the imperial court. This glamorous young master was someone who had to bribe people to get a way to see him. No one expected that he would be so pathetic in public, like a drowning dog.

(Mid-month, requesting monthly votes)