Hot flashes

Xie Cong rushed out from inside, his face ashen.

"Father! They—"

Xie Xun raised his hand to stop him.

Xie Cong cried out urgently, "Father!"

Xie Xun remained silent.

He stood there, watching people come and go.

Half an hour later, Shen Du came out.

He was holding something in his hands.

A robe.

Dark blue, embroidered with subtle patterns.

Xie Cong's expression changed completely when he saw the robe.

"This is my robe!" he shouted. "What are you doing with my robe?"

Shen Du ignored him.

He unfolded the robe.

A dragon was embroidered on the robe.

Five-clawed golden dragon.

Xie Cong was stunned.

"This...this is impossible!" he cried. "It wasn't there when I put it on yesterday—"

Shen Du looked at him.

"Second Young Master Xie," he said, "are you saying that this dragon grew out of thin air?"

Xie Cong opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

Shen Du handed the robe to the person behind him and then took a tray from that person.

A stack of letters was on the tray.

Shen Du picked up the top letter, opened it, glanced at it, and read aloud:

"A map showing the garrison deployment in the northern border, detailing the strength of each battalion and the names of its generals. If Lord Xie launches an uprising, this place can be taken first."

He put down the letter and picked up another one.

"A secret agreement was made with the Qiang and Hu princes, promising them five cities in Yunzhong in exchange for their troops being sent to contain the northern border."

Another letter, and so on, until the entire stack of letters was read aloud.

Shen Du put the letter back on the tray, looked up, and stared at Xie Xun.

Xie Xun stood there, motionless.

Shen Du said, "Master Xie, these things were all found in a hidden compartment in your study. Do you have anything to say?"

Xie Xun remained silent.

He looked down at the robe and the letters for a long time.

Xie Cong cried out from the side, "Father! Those letters are fake! We never wrote those things! Father, please say something!"

Xie Xun ignored him.

He slowly raised his head and looked at Shen Du.

His gaze was calm.

His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing.

Then he closed his eyes.

Just a moment.

When I opened my eyes again, there was nothing there.

Shen Du looked at him and suddenly felt a sense of admiration.

Even at this stage, they can still stand so steadily.

Shen Du waved his hand.

The Imperial Guards rushed forward and captured Xie Xun, Xie Cong, and all the Xie family members in the capital.

Xie Cong was still protesting his innocence when he was taken away.

"Someone framed me! Someone framed the Xie family!"

Nobody paid him any attention.

That night, the Xie residence was sealed off.

The door was sealed off, and guards stood at the entrance. The maids and servants who used to come and go were all driven out and stood in the street, bewildered.

The news sent shockwaves throughout the capital.

What kind of family is the Xie family? The foremost family in Jiangnan, with a century-old foundation and immense influence. They can just shut them down like that?

Some people didn't believe it and went to inquire. Those who returned said it was true. Xie Xun, Xie Cong, and more than a dozen members of the Xie family were all imprisoned by the imperial court.

The charge was treason.

rebellion?

Those two words were too heavy. No one dared to respond.

In teahouses and taverns, those who usually talked loudly and eloquently all fell silent overnight.

The day after the Xie residence was sealed off, Jiangling also made its move.

The governor's men stormed into the Xie family's old residence in Jiangling and took everyone out. Xie Xun's wife, concubines, and underage children were all taken away.

Some people tried to resist, but were immediately pinned to the ground.

Some tried to run away, but were caught and cut down.

The Xie family had been operating in Jiangling for decades, and their residence occupied half a street.

The boxes that were carried out that day were piled up all over the courtyard, one after another. They contained silver, silk, antiques, land deeds, and everything in between.

The street was packed with onlookers.

The Xie family's businesses in various parts of Jiangnan were seized on the same day.

Money shops, pawnshops, grain shops, cloth shops—all those displaying the Xie family's name were sealed off. The managers, accountants, and clerks were driven out and stood at the door, bewildered.

The canal transport system has also been activated.

Several boats belonging to the Xie family were detained at the dock. Upon inspection, the cargo on board was found to be smuggled salt. The guards who tried to flee were apprehended on the spot.

When the news spread, those who had business dealings with the Xie family were so frightened that their legs went weak.

Some packed their things and fled overnight, some quickly tried to clear themselves of any wrongdoing, and some went to the government to report that the Xie family had done other bad things.

When a wall falls, everyone pushes it down; this has been the case since ancient times.

On the seventh day, the imperial edict arrived.

The crime of treason is punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family.

Xie Xun, Xie Cong, and all adult males of the Xie family shall be executed immediately.

The women were confiscated as government slaves, and the underage children were exiled three thousand miles away.

All of his family's property was confiscated and the proceeds were deposited into the national treasury.

On the day of the execution, it was snowing in the capital.

When Xie Xun was brought out, his hair was completely white. He walked slowly, step by step, through the snow.

The execution ground was crowded with people. Some were there to watch the spectacle, some to see him off, and some were pale-faced and speechless.

Xie Xun knelt in the snow and looked up at the sky.

The sky was overcast, and the snow was still falling.

As the executioner raised his sword, he suddenly smiled.

Then the knife fell.

The blood splattered in the snow, but was quickly covered by fresh snow.

When Xie Cong was brought in, he was already limp. Two executioners held him up and pressed him to the ground. He was still shouting something, but no one could hear him.

The knife fell again.

One after another, more than a dozen members of the Xie family died in the snow.

The blood stained that patch of snow red, then slowly got covered by the snow again.

The onlookers dispersed.

The snow is still falling.

People from other aristocratic families in the capital did not go out that day.

They sat at home, listening to the commotion outside, their faces paler than snow.

The Xie family collapsed just like that. A century-old foundation, connections that reached the heavens, all gone in an instant.

And it collapsed so completely and so suddenly that there wasn't even time to react.

They suddenly realized something.

The one sitting on the dragon throne is a madman.

Qianqing Palace.

After Xiao Jue finished reviewing the last memorial, he put down his pen.

Footsteps sounded outside, and Shen Du's voice rang out from outside the door.

"Your Majesty, Lord Zhou has arrived."

Xiao Jue raised his head.

The door was pushed open.

Zhou Heng stood at the door, covered in dust.