Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 425 Leave none alive!
"Lu Jie, you scoundrel!"

Yan Song turned his ferocious face around. "I tried everything to guard against you, but I still couldn't stop you!"
"But it's good that you're here!"
"You were present when the Crown Prince was poisoned. It seems that this was all a conspiracy between you and Li Quan. You colluded with him to kill the Crown Prince!"
"Now they are trying to kidnap the Emperor!"

"For this crime alone, I should have you torn apart by five horses and your entire family wiped out! Only then can you honor the spirit of the Crown Prince in the afterlife!"

"They can't get things done, but they have all the fancy ideas."

Lu Jie snorted coldly.

Yan Song snatched a sword from the guard beside him and stabbed it at Lu Jie.

The sword was still a foot away from his chest when the hand holding it was severed and fell to the ground!
The jarring sound of the longsword hitting the ground rang out.

Yan Song, still standing there, stared in disbelief at his severed arm, then looked at the person in front of him with great shock!
"After performing this one-man show for so long, it's time to wrap it up." Shen Bo threw down his sword, turned around, and knelt before the emperor: "Your Majesty, I am late in coming to your rescue, please forgive me!"

Shen Qingzhou appeared shortly after, leading a large force that instantly surrounded the officials outside the hall! The guards hidden among the officials quickly engaged them!
Yan Song was horrified: "When did you come in?!"

"Rebel!"

Shen Qingzhou roared and stepped forward, slashing off another of his arms with his sword.

Yan Song knelt on the ground, his head drenched in sweat.

The next moment he struggled to get up again.

"Even if you come, it will be of no use. Prince Ning has already sent people to the city gate. We have already spread the word, and he is probably already at the palace gate by now!"
"Now that the Crown Prince is dead, he is the only candidate to become the heir apparent!"
"If you want to kill me, and kill so many officials, you'll have to ask Prince Ning for his consent first!"

Shen Qingzhou just sneered.

Neither kill him nor respond.

The emperor sat in his chair, clutching his chest: "Kill, kill..."

He pointed outside the palace, gritting his teeth, clearly wanting to vent his intense anger and hatred, but then abruptly stopped himself from saying the second half of his sentence.

Shen Bo stood up: "Does Your Majesty want me to capture Prince Ning? Prince Ning colluded with the Yan family to rebel, and he certainly deserves to die!"

The emperor shook his head. Suddenly, he looked ahead with a sorrowful expression.

"The Crown Prince has already been poisoned, and I am at my wit's end!"
"Even if I die, I'm not reconciled, yet they still succeeded!"

The emperor's eyes were so red they looked like they were about to spit blood.

Yan Song burst into laughter!

But the next moment, he could no longer laugh.

The Crown Prince slowly emerged from behind the screen, accompanied by his serene Crown Princess.

"You're not dead?!"

He raised his bloodied severed arm and jumped up as if he had seen a ghost.

"How dare I die before I see you, who dared to rebel, die?!"

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's cold rebuke, the Emperor stopped crying, looked up, and immediately stood up!

"……you?!"

The Crown Prince bowed and said, "Your subject greets Your Majesty."

"You're not poisoned?!"

"My son was poisoned, but he had caught a cold recently and coughed up the medicine, so the poisoning wasn't severe. He just took some antidote and has recovered."

The prince opened his palm, revealing a pill with obvious signs of melting.

"Your Majesty!" Shen Bo said loudly, "There is no need to worry about the rebellion of Prince Ning. The reason why I entered the palace to save Your Majesty at this time is because I was delayed in rushing to mobilize troops to capture the Prince's guards who were waiting outside the city gates!"
"Fortunately, it's not too late, and the treacherous officials outside the palace have already been brought under control by my men!"
"Currently, all the civil officials in the court who did not participate in the Yan family's rebellion have quickly taken over the duties of their respective departments and are investigating whether any have escaped!"

"well!……"

The emperor was trembling all over.

He had been trembling almost the entire day. But this trembling was accompanied by an unusual spirit!
The prince's words don't seem true, but what does it matter?

There's no better news than him being alive!

He quickly turned to look at Yan Song and the assembled officials, who had already collapsed, and reached out his arm:

"Lu Jie, heed the imperial decree! Heed the imperial decree!"

"Chen is here!"

"I order you to immediately draft an imperial edict ordering the execution of the entire Yan family! Forget your tedious wording, just write 'execute the entire Yan family'! In short, be quick!"

He roared with all his might, as if trying to pierce the heavens.

After speaking, a sickly flush appeared on his pale face, but he shouted in an even colder voice: "Shen Bo, listen to my decree! He Ping, listen to my decree! I order you to search and confiscate the Yan family property within one day! Within ten days, investigate and punish all the accomplices in this evil act in the courtyard according to the law!"

"all!
Leave none of them alive!
“Those who didn’t enter the palace, and those who were involved, should all be dragged out!”
"Interrogate them one by one!"

"Don't leave them a way out!"
"Did you hear me?!"

"I heard it clearly!"

The four men withdrew.

The emperor then looked at Shen Qingzhou through the layers of palace servants who had filed in one after another:

"The same to you!

"After your father and the others have finished searching, you will be in charge of Yan Song's execution. I want him to be torn apart by five horses!"

"I order you to personally oversee the execution! And you must record the process in detail, then return to the palace and report back to me!"

"do you understand?"

Shen Qingzhou glanced at Yan Song: "Your Majesty, rest assured, if I fail to handle this matter properly, I will offer my head as a reward!"

The emperor then sat down, leaning back in his chair, utterly exhausted.

……

Yan Song left the mansion early in the morning.

The news of the Taoist priest's success arrived at 9:00 AM.

The entire mansion was as usual today, and Yan Liang was also as usual.

He arranged the general affairs early in the morning, then went to the mourning hall to offer incense and kneel in worship as usual. He checked whether the people who were preparing the offerings were doing their best, and listened to the replies from several people.

Finally, he passed by a small garden, stopped and picked out a pot of orchids of excellent quality, and carried it to his children's daily study room, Yangxinzhai.

The eldest son, Rongge'er, is already six years old. This child is precocious, and last year we asked a tutor to teach him. Now his writing is already quite good.

The old man praised Rong-ge'er, saying he was no less capable than his own father. Rong-ge'er was naturally pleased to hear this and became even more attentive to his upbringing.

With such a family background and the protection of his father who has painstakingly planned for the family's future, it would be reasonable for Rong-ge to become one of the Nine Ministers in the future.

Yan Liang's daughter, Shan Jie'er, was four years old and quite clever; she could already recite the Three Character Classic. Everyone said that girls didn't need to study so much, but Yan Liang didn't think so. He believed that women should be literate to avoid being fooled. If they could be well-versed in literature, that would be even better. That way, they wouldn't be exploited like her birth mother.

The young lady of the Yan family will inevitably be matched with a husband of equal social standing in the future, expanding her family's network of connections, or she may even enter the palace to take charge of affairs—I heard that the heir of the Prince of Ning is also six years old.
Regardless of whether Prince Ning is useful or not, once he ascends the throne, the Yan family will not allow him to wield much power.

If the Yan family's daughter were to enter the palace, she would undoubtedly have to become the empress. If she were to give birth to a prince, the future crown prince would be his.

Why should relatives of the empress dowager not be allowed to seize power?
It's nothing but the rant of an incompetent person.

The rules are in the hands of those in power. The Yan family's power must not only continue in the cabinet, but also in the harem.

He placed the orchid on Shan Jie'er's small desk, then hugged Rong Ge'er and started looking at his homework.

As he turned a page of his book, the steward entered: "Young Master! Something has happened to the people from the Ning Prince's residence outside the city!"