A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 268 The Demise of Chen
"Mother--"

With a cry, Chen Xu, the Marquis of Dahantang, knelt down, embraced his elderly mother's legs, and cried out in tears, "Mother, save me! Save me!"

Princess Dou closed her eyes.

The reason she was able to live and be imprisoned in the Imperial Clan Court until her death was simple: she was the daughter of Emperor Xiaowen, possessed the will of Empress Dowager Dou, and was already old; whether she lived or died was of no harm to the Emperor of Han.

Otherwise, she would have been punished for treason and regicide, and the Zhao King Liu Pengzu, who was executed, would have served as her example.

She can't even protect herself, how can she protect her eldest son?
Zhang Tang showed no reaction to the scene of a mother's love and her son's sorrow. He simply raised his hand, signaling the embroiderer to take action.

Seeing the burly, embroidered-robed envoy rushing towards him, Chen Xu could no longer care about anything else and cried out in a shrill voice, "Mother! Mother! You're biased! You've ruined me! It's all your fault!"

Princess Dou's body trembled.

Perhaps the Liu family favored their youngest son, or perhaps they were influenced by Empress Dowager Dou's love for her youngest son, Prince Liang.

She had two sons and one daughter: her eldest son Chen Xu, her second son Chen Jiao, and her daughter Chen Ajiao.

Empress Chen Ajiao needs no introduction. She married Liu Che, the King of Jiaodong at the time, and became the Empress of the Han Dynasty. In the fifth year of the Yuanguang era, she was deposed and lived in seclusion in Changmen Palace.

In the fifth year of Emperor Xiaojing's reign (1141), when the Zhou family, formerly Marquis of Longlu, was stripped of their titles, Chen Jiao, the second son, went to great lengths to win Emperor Xiaojing's favor and then secured the title of Marquis of Longlu for him, with a fief of 4,126 households. Furthermore, through her schemes, Chen Ajiao married Liu Che, while Liu Che's sister, Princess Longlu, married Chen Jiao.

Emperor Liu Che of the Han Dynasty and Marquis Chen Jiao of Longlu were brothers-in-law.

As for Chen Xu, he only inherited the hereditary title and fiefdom after his father, Marquis Chen Wu of Tangyi, died.
Only 1,800 households.

As the eldest son of the emperor, Chen Xu always stayed by his parents' side, respectfully and diligently, yet he always received the least in return.

But the danger is the greatest.

In this secret plot to launch an uprising, both the fiefdom of the Taizhu in Guantao County and the fiefdom of Chenxu in Tangyi County were preparing for war and plotting rebellion.

What about Chen Jiao, the Marquis of Longlu, who lived in Longlu County?

Completely unaware!
The reason for this was that Empress Dowager Dou had considered the possibility of failure. Liu Ju, Gongsun Hong, Wei Qing, and Huo Qubing, the four chariots of the Han Dynasty, were too invincible. Empress Dowager Dou worried that even if the whole country rebelled, it would not be able to shake the rule of the Emperor of Han.

For the safety of her youngest son, Princess Dou did not inform him of the plot to rebel. She waited for the success of the rebellion so that she could give her youngest son a great surprise. With the emperor's restoration, she would be overjoyed and it would not be difficult to increase her youngest son's fief to ten thousand households.

If they fail, the younger son can escape punishment by claiming "ignorance".

After all, Princess Longlu was the aunt of the Emperor of the Great Han Dynasty. Given the Crown Prince's almost weak leniency towards his aunt's family, who were unaware of the situation and had not been involved, his youngest son would most likely remain unharmed and continue to live a carefree life as the Marquis of Longlu.

Despite sacrificing herself and her eldest son, Princess Dou was always thinking of her youngest son.

Chen Xu couldn't understand why his mother doted on his younger brother, even in death, while letting his brother live.

Chen Xu had already been captured by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Tears streaming down his face, he looked back at his mother and cried out in despair, "A lifetime, a lifetime, a lifetime..."

No matter what he did, no matter how filial he was, his mother never gave him a second glance.

For his mother, he could endure the contempt of his younger siblings; for his mother, he could endure the young entertainer's frequent visits to the Marquis's mansion, being ridiculed and mocked by countless powerful figures in Chang'an; for his mother, he could be as futile as an ant trying to shake a tree, or even rebel and start a rebellion. He was capable of anything.

However, his mother had never loved him in his entire life. Princess Dou seemed to shed tears, turned away, and allowed the Embroidered-Robe Envoy to take her eldest son away.

Such a tragic scene made Zhang Tang frown and shout, "What are you crying about? You'll be meeting Marquis Longlu in the netherworld soon, what's there to cry about?"

Chen Xu's crying stopped immediately.

Princess Dou suddenly turned around, her head turning first but her body not following, and she almost twisted her neck.

"Grand Commander, what did you say?"

"Upon investigation, it has been found that Marquis Longlu committed bestial acts and, during the Empress Dowager's passing, committed adultery. According to the laws of the Han Dynasty, he should be executed!" Zhang Tang said coldly.

Marquis Longlu, Chen Jiao, had been having an affair with his daughter for more than a year or two. According to the investigation by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it had been going on for at least one or two decades. In fact, during the fourth year of the Yuanshuo era, when the Empress Dowager was in mourning, he committed adultery with his daughter again.

Based on these alone, Marquis Longlu and his daughter could not escape death. In addition, Chen Jiao committed numerous crimes in the marquisate, which, although not as serious as treason and regicide, were enough to warrant the extermination of his entire clan.

"Hahaha! Hahaha!" Chen Xu gave up struggling and let the Embroidered Robe Envoy carry him out of the palace. His joyful laughter was captivating.

"You, you..." Dou Taizhu ignored her unfilial eldest son, pointed at Zhang Tang, and wanted to say something, perhaps an insult or a curse, but before she could speak, she vomited blood again and collapsed to the ground.

Zhang Tang quickly caught him as he fell to the ground, and then instructed the Embroidered Uniform Guard to hand over the person and evidence to the Imperial Clan Prison.

Zhang Tang knew what Princess Dou wanted to say.

He exterminated the entire Chen clan. Of the two sons and one daughter of Princess Dou, Chen Ajiao fell first because of the witchcraft case handled by Zhang Tang, Marquis Chen Xu of Tangyi fell because of treason and regicide, and Marquis Chen Jiao of Longlu fell because of adultery. He spared none of them.

If nothing unexpected happens, what Princess Dou didn't say was a curse wishing him a terrible death.

Stepping out of the main hall, the north wind had stopped, and the light snow that had been blown away had fallen back to the ground. The world had returned to its clear state. Looking up, the Milky Way shone brightly. Zhang Tang looked up and asked the heavens what kind of wondrous realm this was.

The Embroidered-Robe Envoy continued to arrest people, saying that anyone from the Zhu clan was a member of the Chen family, regardless of distance or kinship, and that anyone within the Tangyi Marquis's residence was considered to have enjoyed the pinnacle of Tangyi Marquis's life.

When one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven; conversely, when one person fails to attain enlightenment, the same

Zhang Tang couldn't help but think that this might be the downside of human relationships: killing one person means killing the whole family. No wonder he went to such lengths to implicate relatives.

After the troublesome people were apprehended, the incident at the Pingyang Marquis's residence was replicated. Yan Yi, the official in charge of grain management, arrived with his men, clearly having been waiting for some time.

"Greetings, Grand Minister of Works." Yan Yi stepped forward, bowed, and said respectfully.

As a tenth-generation descendant of the sage Yan Hui, a descendant of a saint, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed when others were waging war while he was plundering the rear.

Embarrassing as it may be, even without an order from above, he and the officials under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs could not possibly give up such a large piece of meat.

It should be noted that Princess Dou was a "big spender" who could allow her male favorite, Dong Yan, to consume a thousand bolts of silk and spend over a hundred bolts of gold in a single day without reporting it. The Princess's treasury was said to be as rich as a country, and now that it had been confiscated, the only recourse was to use the national treasury.

Zhang Tang was not angry, nor did he argue with Yan Yi. He nodded slightly and let the Embroidered Uniform Envoy lead the team away. He himself refused the carriage and walked through the snow in the morning light toward Xuan Shi Hall to report back.

(End of this chapter)