Prefect Huo and his colleagues were spinning like tops, racking their brains on how to save their own heads.
Xie Jiang sat motionlessly by the main entrance for a long time.
At her feet lay the corpse of Madam Zhou, already covered with a white cloth.
"Madam Zhou, look. Your persistence was not in vain. From today onwards, there will be no more Nanxiong Marquis Manor in this world. You were a great mother, and you avenged your daughter."
"Hongyun, you will not have died in vain either. From today, everyone in this world will know that the power of the people is infinite."
"The strength of one person, ten people, a hundred people, may not be enough to instill fear in the eyes of those noble families. But tens of thousands of people, with the anger burning in their hearts, can still make them tremble!"
"They may never imagine that lowly ants can shake a great tree and crush all power and wealth."
"Hongyun, do not blame me. This is your own destiny. I have no obligation to change it. But by sacrificing your life, you have saved countless girls, which is a boundless merit."
"If there is a next life, remember to learn to become stronger, because apart from yourself, no one can save you."
The people of Shuntian Prefecture thought that Young Master Xie might have been too stimulated and was a little mentally unstable, muttering to himself, and finally laughing at the sky, which was chilling…
Thick smoke rose from the direction of the Nanxiong Marquis Manor, and the sound of horse hooves echoed on the streets. The patrol battalion could no longer control the situation, and the Imperial Guards were finally dispatched.
The top two officials of Shuntian Prefecture, who had taken sick leave, rushed over. They were disheveled and pale, looking as if they were indeed quite ill.
Arriving shortly after them were officers from the Dali Temple, who were there to arrest Xie Jiang.
Xie Jiang offered no resistance and surrendered obediently. "Is Lu Baofang dead?"
The Dali Temple Vice Minister looked at the young man who had caused such a massive uproar. "He is dead. He was beaten to death by the people who stormed the Nanxiong Marquis Manor."
"Old Master Lu is also dead, having died of anger. The other members of the Lu family either hanged themselves, died of fright, or fell to their deaths. Some were trampled to death in the chaos..."
"There are no survivors in the Nanxiong Marquis Manor."
Xie Jiang nodded. "That puts my mind at ease."
The Dali Temple Vice Minister's eyes were complex. "Young man, your actions were too radical. Even though the Nanxiong Marquis Manor deserved its fate, you shouldn't have incited a public riot. This is an unforgivable crime!"
Xie Jiang's face showed no fear. "The Lu family deserved to die like this, and the Nanxiong Marquis Manor deserved to fall like this, to be reviled by everyone and disgraced for eternity."
"But have you considered that once a riot starts, it's not easily controlled? How many innocent people suffered unwarranted disaster in this riot?"
The Nanxiong Marquis Manor, this great malignant tumor, had been eradicated, and the Vice Minister couldn't help but applaud in private. But this was not the way it should have been done!
Not only did she sacrifice herself, but she also almost overturned the capital…
Recalling the scenes of chaos, vandalism, and looting he had witnessed on the streets from a high vantage point, the Vice Minister couldn't help but shiver.
He heard that even the Emperor, who was indulging in cultivation in the palace, was alarmed and almost thought that the world was in chaos and the rebels were about to overthrow the dynasty.
Fortunately, the dispatched Imperial Guards controlled the situation in time, and the rioters did not have time to attack the imperial palace and the various government offices, otherwise, today's mess would have been unmanageable.
Xie Jiang shook her shackled hands and feet. "Therefore, I plead guilty. Judge me as you see fit."
...
The streets the prisoner cart passed were in disarray.
Men and children wept by the roadside, holding the bodies of disheveled women.
The injured were tidying up shops that had been smashed and looted.
Stooped figures were salvaging usable items and meager food from the wreckage.
And figures covered in black ash sat amidst the extinguished ruins, wiping away tears blankly.
The Vice Minister, riding his horse at the head of the prisoner cart, sighed. "Do you see? When a riot breaks out, all sorts of unsavory characters emerge."
These were all expected consequences, and she had pushed things to this point. Xie Jiang watched with cold eyes from the beginning, without much pity in her heart.
Eight years ago, when the Duke of Dingguo's manor suffered all this, where was the compassion from anyone?
"I do not regret it."
It was just that her heart felt a little restless.
...
Duke of Dingguo's Manor.
In a pavilion surrounded by clusters of blooming flowers.
Song Ze raised his hand and gently touched a white peony that had reached into the pavilion.
"Li Chi, have you remembered anything?"
Li Chi's expression was complicated. He had secretly watched the chaos at the Nanxiong Marquis Manor from beginning to end. "Eight years ago, our Duke of Dingguo's manor was also attacked like this."
Song Ze gently stroked the soft petals. "Yes, what happened to the Duke of Dingguo's manor eight years ago has been reenacted."
"Second Miss she..."
She must have been aware of the feud between the Young Master and Lu Baofang.
That's why she planned it this way, or rather, she went with the flow.
The ruthless Second Miss, who was silent until she acted, and when she did, she astonished everyone, directly eliminating the entire Nanxiong Marquis Manor.
Li Chi silently gave the Second Miss a thumbs-up.
Song Ze smiled faintly and turned towards Li Chi.
"She cares about me, Li Chi. I am truly happy."
Li Chi was also very happy.
The more ruthless the Second Miss was, the happier he became.
This way, no one would be able to bully her again.
"It's just that Second Miss has been detained by the Dali Temple." Logically, Li Chi shouldn't have any worries. Looking at the Second Miss's style of handling things, there was nothing for him to fret about.
But as their own young lady, no matter how strong and capable she was, he was afraid she might be wronged.
"You should have more confidence in her. She must have made all the arrangements, otherwise, she wouldn't have acted so rashly." The dappled sunlight fell like diamonds on Song Ze's long eyelashes.
"Yes."
Li Chi paused and then asked with some confusion, "With Second Miss's methods, it shouldn't be difficult to bring down the Nanxiong Marquis Manor. Why did she specifically..."
"She is using this method to announce her return. It's just that I don't know how many people have noticed."
...
On the other side, Yi Yancheng had just emerged from Yuan You Palace.
Feng, like Li Chi, dutifully reported the fate of the Nanxiong Marquis Manor and Xie Jiang's situation.
Finally, Feng asked softly, "Did His Majesty say how Miss Xie will be dealt with?"
Yi Yancheng glanced back at him.
Feng's scalp immediately tingled, and then he puffed out his chest.
He was just asking, with no other intentions.
He wasn't Yuan Liu, and he didn't have such deep resentment towards Miss Xie.
If Miss Xie could turn over a new leaf and live a good life with his master, it would be a match made in heaven, wouldn't it?
Although the possibility was very small.
Yi Yancheng frowned throughout.
His Majesty had already made arrangements for how to deal with the Nanxiong Marquis Manor and the Lu clan, but her sudden intervention had disrupted His Majesty's plan.
His Majesty was naturally furious.
What made His Majesty even more fearful was that she, single-handedly, easily incited a public riot, and the vast Nanxiong Marquis Manor was annihilated in an instant.
His Majesty was truly frightened.
Who would have thought that ordinary, defenseless commoners, as weak as lambs, could erupt with such terrifying power, like raging flames burning everything, over a trivial matter?
His Majesty couldn't help but wonder, what if they were targeting him?
"Next, it will depend on Xu Hengyan."
How could a mere Dali Temple prison possibly hold her?
The reason she surrendered obediently was naturally to lure Xu Hengyan.