Chapter 2 Stunning

  "Sister..." Xie Ling was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she sat down on the chair. As a noble lady in this world, others might not know, but the Jin Yi Wei were a must-know. They were the death knell of court officials, the messengers of hell for official families...

  Xie Yan lowered her head and looked at her younger sister, looking at the hand that tightly grasped her sleeve, suddenly remembering after Mother's passing, in front of the ancestral hall, before the clan, the hastily promoted Miss Sun from a distant branch of the family wanted to calculate Mother's dowry, Old Lady fell ill, Father was deceived, and no one in the entire household dared to speak up for the two sisters, she was seven years old at that time, also looking at her younger sister like this, with that hand tightly grasping hers...

  Every time this happens, Xie Rou feels that she should become stronger, strong enough to protect her sister and all the things she wants to protect. "How many people have come? Has the imperial edict been issued?" She grasped her sister's hand tightly, biting her lip as she asked Yu Niangniang.

  Yu's mother's lips kept trembling, but she couldn't say a word. Suddenly, they heard the sound of footsteps outside, and Xie Mu's servant girl Jifu rushed in, panting heavily as she leaned against the door frame before saying: "Miss...hurry up, Old Madam wants you to go to the main hall to receive her orders."

  Xie Yan nodded, took a deep breath, and said loudly: "Yu Niangniang, let all the big girls in the yard follow me." After finishing speaking, she pulled Xie Ling and said: "Ling'er, change clothes with me."

  "Change clothes?" Xie Lingqi said: "Why..." Before he could finish speaking, he was pulled into the inner room by Xie Yan. Soon, the two of them came out again. Xie Ling had changed into a gray long gown, while Xie Yan had changed into black attire. The dull colors of their clothes detracted from their natural beauty.

  "Let's go." Xie Xian pulled her sister out of the main gate, seeing several big girls standing in the courtyard, all with looks of panic on their faces. "Don't be afraid," Xie Xian said to the crowd, "Nothing will happen." After finishing speaking, she suddenly squatted down and grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground, smearing it on Xie Ling's face.

  "Wow... sister... have you gone mad?" Xie Ling was startled and dodged, but her face was still covered in dust. Seeing that her younger sister's face was already dusty, Xie Xian turned to the several older maids and said: "You all should do the same, quickly." As she spoke, without waiting for Xi Fu to lead the way, she hastily ran towards the main hall.

  "Sister... sister... have you gone mad? Is it necessary?" Xie Ling saw her usually elegant sister suddenly turn into a flying leg, and she couldn't help but rush up, wiping her face while chasing after her. Before long, the two sisters arrived at the front hall of the Xie residence. Without even waiting to enter, they heard a cacophony of wailing from inside. Xie Xian abruptly stopped in her tracks, suppressing the tremors throughout her body. She saw two burly men with imposing builds walk out from inside, both wearing flying fish robes and carrying embroidered spring knives at their waists. They looked up to see a young woman standing there, momentarily stunned.

  "Sister..." Xie Ling rushed over from behind, grabbed Xie Yan and panted: "You know lightness kung fu, I'll take you away..." She raised her head to see two majestic men standing in front of her, and was so frightened that she covered her mouth.

  Two big men were originally sizing up Xie Yu, looked up and saw Xie Ling, a look of surprise flashed across their faces. The Misses of the Xie family in the capital are known as "Great Virtue and Little Absolute Beauty". The elder sister is virtuous and gentle, a model for women, while the second sister has a heavenly beauty that can topple cities. Seeing the girl behind her with skin like jade and features like a painting, she was stunningly beautiful, a beauty he had never seen before...

  The two men's faces gradually became strange, Xie Xian frowned and turned to look at Xie Ling, and indeed saw her true face, it turned out that she was uncomfortable with the dust on her face, and wiped it all the way, but ended up wiping off the powder.

  Xie Yan quietly took a few steps back, blocking her sister, and bowed to say: "General is good." As she spoke, she pulled Xie Ling into the house, but felt two gazes fixed on Xie Ling in the corner of her eye, causing her to clench her fists...

  Daughter, I beg of you in heaven to let me protect our little sister and the Xie family. Even if it means risking my life...

  As they entered the courtyard, they saw Madame Xie standing in the middle of the hall with a pale face, supported by several maidservants to prevent her from falling. Sun Shi was crying so hard that she was almost collapsing, being held up by several women. Thirteen-year-old Sanmei was leaning against Sun Shi's side, sobbing quietly. Fourteen-year-old Er Ye Xie Su's face was deathly pale and he didn't say a word. Several aunts were standing behind Sun Shi, some crying and others looking around nervously. The second wife Wei Shi was supporting the Second Master Xie Xin in the distance, silent and expressionless, with eight-year-old San Ye Xie Quan and six-year-old Fourth Miss Xie Yu standing behind him...

  "Da ya tou......" Xie Mu suddenly saw Xie Yan in the midst of her anxiety, opening her mouth to call out and stretching out her hand...

  "Old lady..." Xie Xian calmed down, squeezed out a smile, stepped forward and held Xie Mu's hand, saying: "The imperial decree has not been issued yet, old lady don't worry."

  "Miss, are you still trying to deceive the old lady at this time?" Sun suddenly lifted her head, and her beautiful face was full of tears. She pointed outside the door with a trembling voice: "The Jin Yiwei has arrived outside the door, Master hasn't returned yet, but Miss is busy deceiving people... Wuuu..."

  "What are you talking about? White Lotus, you're scared yourself, venting your anger on my sister? If you have the guts, go out and scold those two at the door!" Xie Ling was afraid, but she couldn't overcome her hatred for Sun Shi, seeing that Sun Shi had humiliated Xie Xian, she retorted.

  "Ling'er!" Xie Yu glared at Xie Ling, she didn't have the leisure to think about internal household calculations at this time, what was urgent now was... Remembering the gaze of those two men towards Xie Ling at the door, she frowned and said to Sun Shi: "Mother, don't treat the second daughter with the same courtesy, she's scared out of her wits." As she spoke, she pulled Xie Mu aside a few steps and whispered: "Old lady, this matter must be related to the Third Prince."

  "What? How did you know?" Xie Mu suddenly grabbed Xie Yan's arm and asked, "Big girl, where did you hear the news from?"

  Xie Yan shook her head and said, "It was my guess, Old Lady. Think about it, the biggest thing recently is the death of the Third Prince. The Third Prince has always been the Emperor's most hopeful candidate for the throne, and he was sent to the front line to establish military merit. Suddenly, he disappeared without a trace. How could the Emperor let it go easily? He must have been secretly investigating all along, and now that he has taken action, it should be... But this is just a matter of the Ministry of War, how can it involve Father?" The last sentence was muttered to herself, as she had always been thoughtful and meticulous since childhood, and because she had been prepared for the palace, she was also relatively familiar with the major events of the court.

  Xie Mu had already been frightened out of her wits, but after hearing this, she finally regained her composure. Following Xie Yan's train of thought, she thought for a moment and indeed it seemed to be the case. She raised her head and asked: "Then... Your Majesty, what will happen to our family?"

  It was utterly absurd to ask a young lady from the inner courtyard about such things, but now that everyone was in a state of panic, Xie Xian was the only straw that Lady Xie could cling to. Xie Xian looked at the old lady's pleading eyes, bit her lip, and was just about to speak when she saw the large gate being pushed open, and an eunuch and a man with a sword walked in side by side.

  That eunuch's hair was all white, his face stern and solemn, holding the imperial edict in his hands. However, everyone's eyes involuntarily turned to that man - seeing him wear a large red golden embroidered qilin robe, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, dark skin, and facial features as if carved, combined together, handsome to the point of being almost unnatural, yet with a gloomy expression, his whole body emitting a fierce and murderous aura, standing there coldly and ominously, making people unable to look away, yet also frightened to the point of trembling all over.

  "I'm going, sister, this is so handsome it's pitiful." Xie Ling's eyes widened in shock, she even forgot to be afraid, her mouth agape.