Remarried to a top-tier playboy, her reborn ex-husband is filled with regret.

The next day, the gatekeeper suddenly came to report.

"Your Highness, a large number of people have arrived outside the mansion. They say they have come to present the 'Ten Thousand People's Umbrella' to the Loyal and Brave Prince and kowtow in gratitude."

Xiao Fang was taken aback.

"Please let them in."

Before long, a group of people were led in.

There were elderly people with white hair, women holding children's hands, and well-dressed wealthy businessmen.

Some of them walked while crying, while others knelt down before even entering the door.

"The Prince of Zhenbei is my savior!"

When the northern barbarians invaded the village, it was the prince who led his troops back to save our entire village!

"I fled back from the north, but was captured by the Hu people on the way."

We thought we were going to die, but it was the prince's troops who intercepted and killed the Hu soldiers, which is how we returned to Daliang alive!

"Back when I was doing business in the border town, the Northern Hu raided the city before they withdrew their troops."

"If it weren't for the prince arriving in time, my whole family would be gone!"

The people wept bitterly, and some knelt before the coffin, refusing to get up.

Xiao Fang stepped forward and personally helped an elderly man up.

"Our hearts are with you all. If our father is watching from heaven, he will surely receive your sentiments."

He glanced at Mingrui.

Mingrui immediately offered incense.

Xiao Fang had someone arrange for the leader of the villagers to offer incense on behalf of everyone.

The people dared not disturb them too much. After offering incense and kowtowing to Xiao Fang in gratitude, they slowly withdrew.

The King of Loyalty lay in state for three days, and on the morning of the third day, his coffin was lifted and he was buried.

They were buried in the Xiao family's ancestral tomb.

September weather still has some lingering heat.

But early that morning, the sky suddenly turned cloudy.

The wind grew colder in gusts, as if it had chased them all the way from the northern desert.

As the group left the city, a light snow began to fall.

Snow in September, a once-in-a-century event.

Everyone looked up.

Snowflakes fell sparsely, landing on the white paper money, making it impossible to distinguish between paper and snow.

Xiao Fang walked beside the coffin, without holding an umbrella or wearing a straw raincoat.

He let the snow fall on his hair and shoulders.

It was as if even the heavens were bidding farewell to his father.

Paper money mixed with fine snowflakes blanketed the road.

The mournful sound of the suona mingled with the wind, creating a desolate atmosphere that made one's heart clench.

When the Loyal and Brave King was laid to rest, Xiao Fang knelt before the tomb for a long time.

Yun Shuyao stayed by his side the whole time.

Neither of them spoke.

On the day of the Prince of Zhenbei's burial, all the collateral branches of the Gu family were also escorted out of the capital by imperial decree.

Three to five hundred people, men, women, and children, were all chained up and led by constables like dogs.

The whip cracked on the ground.

"Hurry up! Don't dawdle!"

Those people were still wearing shackles on their feet, and if they walked even a little slower, they would be whipped on the back.

They were driven out of the prison and formed a long, dusty line, stumbling and staggering toward the city gates.

The people along the way had already received the news and had crowded both sides of the road.

A woman took rotten vegetable leaves out of her basket and threw them at them.

"The traitor's family! Not a single one of them is any good!"

"I'll smash you to death! I'll smash you to death!"

A teenager picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the person in front of him.

An elderly man was hit on the forehead, and blood immediately flowed down, covering half of his face.

He didn't dare to wipe it, but just shrank his neck and moved forward shakily.

Soon, those people's heads and bodies were covered with rotten vegetable leaves and egg yolk.

Yellow and white liquids dripped down together, emitting a pungent, fishy stench.

Someone finally couldn't take it anymore and shouted hoarsely.

"Gu Jinghuai is the one who did wrong! It has nothing to do with us! We are innocent!"

His shout only enraged the surrounding people.

"Are you innocent?"

"Aren't the people of the North innocent?"

"If the defense map is sold, the city will fall, and people will die. How many people will die?"

The people grew angrier and angrier as they spoke, and their voices grew louder and louder.

"The Loyal and Brave King guarded the border for thirty years, abandoning his wife and children to fight abroad. Wasn't he innocent?"

"He protected you noble people for thirty years, and in the end, he was killed by Gu Jinghuai!"

An old scholar in a gray cloth shirt squeezed to the front and pointed at him, cursing.

"Your Gu family is a long-established clan that has been passed down for generations. What kind of teachings do the elders in your clan impart on a daily basis?"

"You dare say you bear no responsibility for raising such traitorous descendants?"

These words were like a knife stabbing down.

The Gu family members were rendered speechless by the insults and dared not utter another word.

Some young people were still unconvinced and opened their mouths, but were pulled back by the old man next to them.

The old man said in a low voice.

"Stop talking. The more you talk, the more they'll hate us."

The procession remained silent, being dragged out of the city gate amidst the curses and smears of the people.

Outside the city, the coffin of the Loyal and Brave King has already been placed in the coffin.

Xiao Fang personally held the coffin and gently sprinkled the last handful of soil onto it.

He didn't ask for help; he took the shovel himself and began filling the grave with soil, one stroke at a time.

The yellow earth fell onto the coffin lid with a dull thud.

The officers and his entourage all knelt down, and not one of them uttered a sound.

Mingrui walked quickly from behind and knelt down on one knee beside Xiao Fang.

"Your Highness, there is an imperial decree."

All collateral branches of the Gu family were exiled to the border as slaves, never to be freed from their servitude. The women were forced into prostitution and immediately taken to the north.

Xiao Fang paused for a moment.

After a moment, he grunted in agreement and continued filling the hole with soil.

He knew that the Gu family had produced Gu Jinghuai, a traitor who had colluded with the enemy, and the old emperor would never let him off lightly.

If we don't deal with this severely, everyone will follow suit, and wouldn't the Great Liang be in danger?

This decree was expected.

But he also understood that these people were just going to be buried with him.

The real culprit is still hiding in the Northern Hu royal court.

He looked up and glanced north.

The wind blew in from the north, carrying the smells of ashes and gunpowder.

He gripped the shovel tightly.

"Wait."

"Gu Jinghuai, I will definitely bring you back with my own hands."

After returning to the city from the funeral, Xiao Fang first had someone send Yun Shuyao back to the Prince's Mansion.

"Go back and rest. I still have some things to take care of."

Yun Shuyao nodded.

She looked at his face, so thin that his eye sockets were deep, and didn't ask any more questions, only speaking softly.

"My child and I are waiting for you at home."

Xiao Fang gently squeezed her hand.

"Um."

Xiao Fang returned from the outskirts of the city without even entering the Prince's mansion.

He took Lu Zhao and Lin Hui directly to the Censorate.

On the way, Lin Huiyin asked.

"Shall we move now?"

Xiao Fang looked at the plaque on the gate of the Surveillance Bureau, which was wet with snow, and his voice was as cold as the wind outside.

"Although the Wing King has fallen, his followers remain."

"Before I set out on the campaign, I will uproot all the weeds in the court."

"So that when I go on my northern expedition, no one will stab me in the back."

Lu Zhao nodded and was the first to dismount.

"Then what are we waiting for?"

"Start the investigation today."