Chapter 3 Enemy

  "Eunuch Chen..." Madam Xie supported Xie Rou's hand, walking out with trembling steps, her eyes revealing a questioning intent. The Xie family was considered one of the emperor's close officials, and eunuchs often came and went to deliver imperial edicts. This Eunuch Chen was one of them, and they had a somewhat familiar relationship.

  Who would have thought that Chen Gonggong, with a stern face, ignored Xie Mu's hint and walked straight to the middle hall, facing south and back north. He opened the imperial edict in a loud voice: "By the order of the Emperor, the Minister of Rites, Xie Xuan, has plotted against the throne. By imperial decree, he is to be imprisoned and interrogated. The Northern Patrol Commander, Wei Shang, is ordered to investigate and deal with him. As for the other members of the Xie family, they are to be investigated and arrested by the Southern Patrol Commander, Chang Qing."

  Before the words were finished, a burst of crying erupted in the hall. Sun's voice had barely fallen when she fainted, her face deathly pale. Suddenly, she grabbed Xie Yan's hand and croaked, "Eldest girl, didn't you say it was nothing?"

  Xie Yan didn't say a word, raised her head to look at Chen Gonggong, and suddenly heard Xie Ling say: "Old lady, can sister handle the emperor's affairs?……" She was originally looking at the handsome Jin Yiwei leader, hearing Xie Mu scolding her sister, couldn't help but retort, and was suddenly held by Xie Yan's hand, so she could only pout and shut up.

  Xie's mother also knew that she was being unreasonable, but at this time, she really didn't know what to do. Her eldest son had not entered the Ministry of Punishment, but had gone to the Northern Pacification Commission, which was a one-way gate of no return, and once the crime was confirmed, the Xie family would be...

  Mr. Chen bowed his head to see the panic in the hall, shook his head and walked out. If it were usual times, someone would naturally go to pay respects. At this moment, no one had any thoughts, seeing Mr. Chen about to walk out of the courtyard gate, suddenly heard from behind: "Sir, please stay."

  Chen Gonggong turned around to see that it was the eldest daughter of the Xie family. In his heart, he secretly sighed, "This girl is virtuous and knowledgeable about etiquette, she's a good child. Originally, she had already been pre-selected as a candidate for the crown prince's consort, but now it seems like..."

  "Ah, Lord Chen..." Xie Yun saw that Lord Chen was willing to stop and step aside, her heart slightly at ease. She stepped forward and performed the standard courtesy, saying: "The Xie family's calamity is not worth mentioning, but I implore you, Lord Chen, considering our usual friendship, just tell me one thing - how is General Jing Yi doing?"

  Chen Gonggong thought Xie Yan would ask him to plead on her behalf in front of the Emperor, or perhaps inquire about Xie Xuan's whereabouts. Who knew she would ask this instead? He was taken aback and said: "Jingyue General? Our family hasn't heard that he had an accident."

  "That's great." Xie Yan said with a sigh of relief: "Thank you, Grandfather Chen. I will never forget your kindness." Grandfather Chen was momentarily at a loss for words, but it wasn't convenient to argue with the daughter of a convicted criminal, so he shook his head and left with two small eunuchs.

  "Sister, why are you asking this?" Xie Ling followed her out of the main hall, holding her sister's hand and asked.

  Xie Yan was about to speak when suddenly a dozen or so big men wearing flying fish robes and carrying swords rushed in through the door. She quickly pulled her sister's hand back, and saw her mother bowing to the commander of the brocade guards, Chang Qing, saying: "Sir, please let us die with a clear conscience, what crime has the Xie family committed?"

  Chang Qing held the hilt of his sword with one hand, expressionless and silent, coldly gazing at the crowd in the hall as if they were lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

  "Sister, he's so handsome, cool and handsome." Xie Ling whispered in admiration.

  Xie Yan turned her head and looked at her sister with a helpless gaze. Her sister had always liked to say strange things since she was young, but it was even more astonishing that she could still notice the appearance of the big boss at this time...

  "A grown-up..." A big man in a flying fish uniform walked in, bowed to Chang Qing and seemed to be waiting for his instructions.

  "Seize!" Chang Qing spat out a single word.

  "Yes!" The big man walked out of the door, waved his hand, and more than a dozen Jin Yiwei guards drew their swords with a "clang clang" sound, surrounding the main hall of the Xie family. Soon, the sound of "ding ding dang dang ri la la" came from outside the courtyard, accompanied by cries, wails, and screams, frightening the people in the hall so much that they trembled with fear, their faces pale, and many women simply fainted like Mrs. Sun.

  "Ling'er, stand in the middle." Xie Wan said softly to Xie Ling.

  "Why?" Xie Lingning stood up a bit straighter, letting the evergreen by the door notice her. She still had confidence in her own charm - it wasn't that she didn't understand the situation, but this cool and handsome man was just too much to her taste, simply the first idol-level person she had met since coming to this world...

  "Go quickly." Xie Lian's tone was not to be doubted, and she pushed Xie Ling forward with a cold face like jade, looking at Chang Qing, then glancing outside the hall, secretly calculating in her heart.

  "Oh, okay." Xie Ling was used to listening to her sister's words and reluctantly walked into the crowd with a pout on her face. With Xie Wan safely by her side, she made her way to the front where her mother stood and supported the elderly woman.

  Xie Mu, in a daze, suddenly saw Xie Yan's calm face and finally came to her senses. She said in a low voice, "Da Ya Tou, your father is probably..." As she spoke, tears flowed out.

  "Hmm." Xie Yan saw the cold and stern leader standing at the door, listening to his subordinate read out the list of confiscated goods. He spoke in a very low voice: "Old lady, it hasn't collapsed yet... General Jing Yi is fine." As he spoke, he suddenly saw the man's body move slightly, and he turned his head to look at her...

  This was their first real confrontation, the man's eyes were as cold as an ice knife, seemingly looking at a dead body, with a hint of bloodthirsty pleasure in his indifference - the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Imperial Guard had always been the arch-enemies of the pure and honest civil officials as the emperor's direct subordinates. The two major factions of the Tian Shun dynasty had gone through three or four rounds of bloody battles, with the civil officials suffering heavy casualties at their hands, and they would also be killed by the civil officials, each side having inflicted great damage on the other. Now that the Xie family, as the leader of the civil officials, had fallen into the hands of their arch-nemesis, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it was likely that the emperor wanted to exterminate the Xie family clan.

  Xie Yan had long understood this point, but being willing to suffer was not her temperament. Even if there was only one hope, she would not let it go. General Jing Yi hadn't died, and he was the only hope for the Xie family...

  In the midst of crying and chaos, the sky gradually darkened. Searching for family property was secondary; what was most important was finding evidence of "collusion with the enemy". However, after the Embroidered Uniform Guard turned the Xie family's study upside down, they didn't find any clues. When Chang Qing heard the report, he slightly furrowed his brow. It was easy to catch a big fish from the political enemy group; he absolutely wouldn't let the Xie family turn things around. How could there be no clues? Or rather, there should be something...

  Just then, suddenly heard a woman's "ah" in the hall, saw two big men dragging a very beautiful girl at the door. Seeing Chang Qing looked up and called out: "Sir, it's been a hard day, let us brothers have some fun." The usual practice of the Pacification Commission was to bully and humiliate the families and servants of officials who had committed crimes, especially those of literary officials. Chang Qing himself was not interested, but he was willing to watch them slaughter and ravage, so he remained silent, coldly staring.

  That girl refused to give in, clinging tightly to the door frame and shouting loudly: "Madam, madam save me!" It was just Sun Shi's personal maid, Cui Fu. Sun Shi thought it was just a maid and didn't pay attention, but suddenly heard a young man scolding: "What are you doing? Let go of Sister Cui..." Before he could finish speaking, there was a loud cry of pain, the sound of bones breaking, and when she opened her eyes, she saw her precious son Xie Su holding his arm and crouching on the ground.

  "Ah, Xiao'er......" Sun's family frantically shouted and rushed over.

  "You're not bad either..." The two big men, seeing Sun's beauty, came over and dragged her away.

  Xie Ling had a crush on that cool guy, but in such a terrifying scene, the man was actually watching coldly. She couldn't help but walk to Xie Xian's side and say, "Sister, I didn't expect this person..." Before she finished speaking, she saw Xie Xian suddenly push her behind a group of women and quickly walk out of the crowd, loudly shouting: "Wait!"