flstandardbreds Chapter 175 This is an old story from many years ago.
Chapter 175 This is an old story from many years ago.
With a loud crash, the vermilion gate of the He residence was kicked open by the officials.
Jiang Lanzhi held her son and huddled under the offering table in the ancestral hall.
The sound of shattering porcelain mixed with cries came from outside. Jiang Lanzhi covered her son's mouth and trembled.
She was terrified and only hiding in this corner could make her feel safe.
She originally thought she could follow her husband's instructions and escape to Shu with her son.
Unexpectedly, they were stopped and sent back to their residence as soon as they left the city.
With her husband away from home, she didn't know what to do.
Just then, she heard the sound of clattering footsteps.
Someone found this place!
Her nerves tensed instantly, and as she listened to the sounds of the officials searching outside, she broke out in a cold sweat.
Suddenly, the gleaming tip of the knife lifted the tablecloth, revealing the faces of the mother and son.
"We've found you." The officer smiled slightly, staring at them.
"Ah—" Jiang Lanzhi couldn't help but blurt out, screaming.
"Take them away and keep searching. The He family knows how to hide; they're all like rats." The officer with the sword dragged the mother and child out from under the table.
"Let go of my mother! Let go of my mother!" Eight-year-old He Lin struggled.
The officer slapped him across the face.
"If you keep causing trouble, believe me, I'll kill you. Your father is already a prisoner, sentenced to immediate execution, and you're still making a scene."
Upon hearing the words "execution immediately," Jiang Lanzhi could no longer bear the pressure. Her legs went weak, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.
"Mother, waaaaah, Mother, please wake up. Lin'er is scared." Caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, He Lin, who was in a state of extreme terror, wet his pants in fright.
"You son of a bitch..." The officer slapped him again, threw him to the ground, and instructed his subordinates.
"Keep an eye on this kid."
The raids are still ongoing.
The entire He family was thrown into chaos.
On the other side, the Huo mansion, which had been raided, was even more lively, as if a grand opera was being performed.
The concubines of the Duke of Xingguo were huddled in the artificial rockery cave in the back garden, pulling each other's hair and grabbing each other's collars, with broken jade bracelets scattered all over the ground.
Huo Pinglan's most favored sixth concubine was busy stuffing a pearl necklace into her hair when she was caught red-handed by the old woman searching her.
The two wrestled and rolled into the koi pond. When they were pulled out, the sixth concubine still had half a gold leaf in her mouth.
The old Duke didn't believe the Emperor would be so heartless, and even tried to bribe the officials who were investigating the confiscation to send a message to Consort Huo, asking her to plead with the Emperor for mercy.
But I was rejected outright.
"Huo Pinglan has interfered in the imperial examinations and has been sentenced to immediate execution. Not even the Imperial Concubine, let alone the Heavenly King himself, can save you."
Upon hearing this, the old Duke closed his eyes in despair.
The Huo family's fate is sealed.
Upon learning that both her husband's and her own families had been raided and exiled, He Yunqing fainted on the spot.
……
In the palace.
Consort Huo learned that the Huo family had been raided and exiled.
With a "crack," the jade comb in her hand fell to the ground and shattered into three pieces.
The young eunuch who came to deliver the message had his forehead pressed against the floor tiles, and he could clearly hear the sound of his teeth chattering.
"Say it again?" Consort Huo slowly stood up, leaning on the dressing table, her sleeve sweeping over the entire box of snail-shell ink.
The young eunuch repeated, his voice trembling with tears, "The Duke interfered in the imperial examinations and accepted bribes; he was sentenced to immediate execution. The old Duke and the others..."
Before she could finish speaking, Consort Huo grabbed her makeup box and threw it at her, shouting angrily, "Impossible! Someone must have seen that I am favored and framed the Huo family."
Consort Huo lifted her skirt and hurried towards the Imperial Study.
As soon as they got close, they were stopped by two guards with swords.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me, but the Emperor has said he will not see you."
Consort Huo pulled off the dragon-patterned jade pendant from her waist. It was tied to her waist by the Emperor himself the year Ning Le was born.
Over the years, she has never taken it down even once.
"His Majesty said that as long as I produce this jade pendant, I can have an audience with him. Do you intend to defy His Majesty's will?" Consort Huo's voice was loud and clear.
Emperor Xiangwu, who was in the imperial study, heard everything clearly.
After a moment, he sighed and said, "Let the Imperial Concubine in."
The guards then stepped aside.
Consort Huo burst through the palace door and knelt down with a thud.
Two of her carefully maintained fingernails broke, leaving several white scratches on the floor tiles.
She choked back tears as she spoke, "Your Majesty, I watched Pinglan grow up; she would never do such a thing. You once said that as long as I remained a Noble Consort, you would forever protect the Huo family's wealth and honor..."
"Incapable of doing such a thing?" Emperor Xiangwu sneered.
He threw the account books and Lu Qingyun's written report on the ground so she could see them clearly for herself.
Consort Huo quickly picked it up.
Emperor Xiangwu said coldly, "Your good nephew has collected more money in the Jiangnan imperial examinations than my Ministry of Revenue has! One hundred thousand taels of silver were confiscated from the Duke of Guang's mansion alone!"
The Imperial Concubine's face turned deathly pale, and she began to kowtow frantically: "Pinglan is my own nephew! The only heir of the Huo family! Even if he has committed a terrible crime, Your Majesty should spare his life. I beg Your Majesty to forgive him this time."
She banged her head so hard that blood seeped from her forehead, and her voice became hoarse.
Her maidservants also kowtowed.
"I beg Your Majesty for mercy."
Looking at the disheveled Consort Huo on the ground, Emperor Xiangwu suddenly recalled the image of her chasing butterflies in the Imperial Garden twenty years ago, wearing a peach-colored dress.
He felt a tightness in his chest.
"You are now not only the daughter of the Huo family, but also my Imperial Concubine. Your nephew has committed such a mistake, how can I forgive him???" Emperor Xiangwu's tone was full of disappointment.
Consort Huo knew she was in the wrong and dared not argue, but only begged him for mercy again and again.
At this moment, a young eunuch came to report that the Empress was requesting an audience.
Upon hearing this, Consort Huo suddenly stood up from the ground.
Because she stood up too fast, her vision blurred and she swayed unsteadily, but with the help of the palace maids, she managed to regain her footing.
She absolutely could not let the Empress see her in such a disheveled state.
Emperor Xiangwu glanced at her, but did not take her rudeness to heart, and looked at the palace maid beside her.
"Hurry up and take the Imperial Concubine back to rest."
"Yes," the palace maid replied, and was about to help Consort Huo leave when the Empress, who had just entered, stopped her.
Empress Chu looked at the Emperor: "Your Majesty, I have something to report. It concerns Consort Huo and Princess Ning Le. Please ask her to stay and listen as well."
"What is it?" Emperor Xiangwu frowned slightly.
"This is an old story from many years ago. Princess Ning Le's husband, Lan Zhizhang..." Empress Chu recounted how the Consort had separated the couple and caused the death of the husband's ex-wife and her family.
"Back then, the princess's wife already had a child, but Consort Huo not only caused the death of both mother and child, but also wanted to exterminate the entire family. Alas."
Consort Huo suddenly widened her eyes and looked at her.
How did the Empress find out about this?
"You wicked woman, how could you do such a terrible thing? Have you gone mad? Ning Le could have any kind of husband she wanted, but you had to arrange a married man for her!" Emperor Xiangwu glared angrily at Consort Huo.
"You, you're talking nonsense..." Consort Huo retorted instinctively.
Empress Chu clapped her hands, and a palace maid walked in.
"I beg Your Majesty and Empress to do justice for my aunt." She knelt on the ground and recounted what had happened that year.
She was the niece of the prince consort's ex-wife.
She happened to be out for a stroll when her family was massacred, and thus escaped the calamity.