The husband I snatched halfway through his life is strange.

Chapter 508 The New Dynasty is Established, and the People Return to Normal

After a night of fierce fighting, the rebels were wiped out.

The streets of Shangjing remained eerily quiet.

The old woman held her breath and silently closed the doors and windows, trembling with fear and unable to sleep all night.

The grandson in her arms was still very young. Even if he had been frightened, how could he know sorrow? He was sleeping soundly in her arms at the moment.

She looked at her daughter-in-law, who was pacing back and forth in the house, looking worried.

"Stop shaking it, it's giving me a headache."

"I wonder how things are outside?"

The old woman, being of advanced age and having lived a long life, had a clear understanding of things and her analysis was incisive: "Whether the Second Prince, that traitor, succeeds or the Fifth Prince comes to the rescue in time, whether the Emperor is well or dead, it makes no difference to us ordinary people."

Both dynasties were corrupt.

At most, every household would hang an ominous white lantern at their door as a sign of mourning.

“Once the dust settles, no matter how vicious and ruthless they are, they are law-abiding citizens and would never break into our homes and kill us.”

Her thin, withered hands, covered in brown age spots, gently touched her grandson, whose features resembled her son's.

A moment of fear.

The woman choked back tears: "Last night, many people were trampled under horses. Aunt Zhou next door was crying and wailing, but her family, perhaps fearing she would cause trouble, covered her mouth tightly. If my mother-in-law hadn't gone to look for her yesterday, this child... this child would probably be..."

"It's clear he's blessed."

The old woman said, "His father is protecting him from heaven."

She instructed, "Stay home for the next few days. I checked the rice jar; there's enough to last for several days."

—Bang!

There was a loud bang.

The reverberation of the street gong spread through the air like ripples on water, its echo lingering long afterward.

—Bang!

The moment the compass hammer struck the copper surface, a second sound followed immediately.

The old woman suddenly looked up and met her daughter-in-law's terrified eyes.

Immediately, all the people who heard the noise pricked up their ears to listen to the commotion outside, but no one dared to open a crack in the door to peek out.

—Bang!

Three gongs were struck, and someone shouted.

"The rebellion has been quelled!"

The gong rang three more times.

"The two traitors have been executed and are now being brought to justice!"

Continue three times, with a deep and powerful voice.

"With the new dynasty established, all people returned to normal."

He stopped banging and his voice grew louder.

"The traitors have been eliminated, and the new emperor has decreed—"

"Starting today, a special imperial examination will be held nationwide. Candidates from humble backgrounds may apply for travel expenses, tax reductions, and a simplified tax system to prevent officials from exploiting them at every level. Citizens will be allowed to file petitions with the emperor, and a petition drum will be set up to directly appeal for justice..."

This……

This is amazing!

That's not right.

Whispers rippled through the houses.

"Both traitors executed? Was the Fifth Prince not there to rescue the Emperor?"

“He was supposed to go to the disaster area but he appeared out of nowhere, leading a group of troops. I knew he had no good intentions.”

"Pah! What a worthless piece of trash he was, good riddance!"

Some people remain confused.

"No, the Second Prince and the Fifth Prince are both dead. Since there's a new emperor, it means the current emperor is also dead. Then... who will ascend the throne?"

"Are you scared out of your wits? How could you forget that we still have the Fourth Prince?"

Some of the bolder boys carefully climbed the wall and peeked out with half their heads sticking out.

As the morning light slanted in, the haphazardly laid corpses cast crisscrossing shadows on the street. They were silently dragged by the soldiers and thrown onto carts.

This scene...

The boy was so frightened that his legs went weak.

The person was about to fall down, but suddenly saw that some of the soldiers were wearing Wei Family Army uniforms.

!!!

"Wei——"

The noise was so loud that it terrified my family.

He was violently dragged away.

"You bastard! What are you yelling about? Aren't you afraid of getting yourself killed?!"

"Don't be fooled by the fact that everything seems to be over outside; who knows if things will still be chaotic!"

The boy forgot his fear and shouted with delight.

"Mother! It's the Wei family army, the Wei family army is outside."

He was sternly rebuked. "The imperial soldiers are all fierce and ruthless! If you offend them, you..."

The voice stopped abruptly.

and many more.

Who?
Is it the Wei family army that has always treated people as human beings?
At the same time, the old woman felt a little calmer upon hearing this, but she still dared not let go of her fear.

"bang bang"

There was a knock on the door.

The old woman was startled.

“Auntie, this is my son, Lingzhe. He and Brother De were in the same military camp. Do you remember him? He came to visit you and your sister-in-law last year.”

“I just happened to be passing by and thought that you and your sister-in-law must have been terrified by yesterday’s bloody battle.”

"Grandma, can you hear me? It's alright now, there's no danger anymore."

With a creak, the door was pushed open by the old woman.

The old woman looked at Ling Zhe.

Before I could even feel happy, my grandson’s startled voice came from behind me.

"Uncle Ling!"

The nearby residents opened their doors and discovered that every household had posted notices.

Going to Beijing...

No, apart from the disaster area, it can be said that people all over the Great Jin Dynasty tore down the notices on their doors.

Some gathered together.

"What does this say? We can't read."

Even though they can't read, they can still tell the difference.

"That's strange, why are the ones we have all different?"

Of course they're different.

Wei Zhao will announce to the world all the evidence of crimes committed by the emperors and scandals of the royal family that he obtained from Lu Huaizhang.

So what if some people can't read?
There will always be literate people.

Someone started reading.

"The Prince of Yan was benevolent and virtuous, but he was feared by the hypocritical emperor, and his entire household was exiled without exception!"

"The Duke of Shun did not die of illness, but was forced to die by the emperor."

"The Crown Prince of Yan has always been mistreated. When Imperial Censor He investigated the cause of death, the emperor had already tampered with it."

"During the famine, Zhou Qin embezzled public funds, which the emperor tacitly approved! He allowed the people to suffer and starve to death."

"Before the late emperor ascended the throne, in order to consolidate his power and win over the court officials, he recruited the best talents in the country to strengthen the foundation of the nation. In reality, the resumes of many newly appointed Jinshi were falsified, and their exam papers were replaced with anonymous ones, resulting in several poor students failing the exam."

"The imperial treasury is empty, but the private treasuries left by emperors throughout history are filled with gold, which will just gather dust."

"..."

"..."

Each and every one of these incidents elicited loud curses from the listeners.

It's already difficult enough for a poor family to produce a scholar! The whole family has to tighten their belts to support one student, and yet those good-for-nothings steal the spotlight?

Of course, the common people also spread the word.

"Have you heard? The Second Prince is having an affair with a man!"

"I've heard about it, but it's not surprising. His great-grandfather, Emperor Yingwu, was fond of women."

"What's wrong with liking women? It's not something you're making a fuss about."

"A subject's woman! A subject's wife who has just given birth and is still in confinement, do you think that's appropriate?"

"The concubine in the palace is carrying an illegitimate child."

"Ah, how audacious of her! To dare to confuse the royal bloodline!"

"Hilarious! That dog emperor must have been so proud before he died, still able to have a baby kicked in his concubine's belly at his advanced age."

Liang Yue withdrew his troops from the border area.

Disaster areas.

Unlike before, the sky was not overcast, the water level was dropping, and the sun was shining brightly.

People started beating drums and gongs over there.

In addition to the previous summons issued by Emperor Qianlong, further supplements were made.

"Listen carefully, this is the imperial court's grace."

"As an emergency relief measure, we will clear the river channels to prevent the plague. For each corpse collected, we will reward you with five liters of coarse rice."

"Those who produce a fragment of their house deed can exchange it for a raincoat."

“Except for the elderly, weak, sick and disabled, we provided work relief, water conservancy projects, and city wall construction. Those who could read and write registered the drowning victims, and they were provided with three meals a day and wages.”

Today's chapter is really long.

This kind of plot can finally come to an end.

The later stages will involve filling in the plot holes, writing some lighthearted content that you'll enjoy, and then wrapping things up with some side stories.

It will be finished this month.