eurekapd Chapter 304 An Old Friend Arrives
Chapter 304 An Old Friend Arrives
One month later
Their group settled in Pingyang City, which was the closest to the capital and was considered one of the larger cities in the Northern Wei Kingdom besides the capital.
Yuan Tianxiong and Nie Yuan rented a house here first and tidied it up so that Wei Jianning and the others could move in directly when they arrived.
Sitting in the main hall, Wei Jianning asked with a solemn expression:
"Is there any news from the capital?"
Yuan Tianxiong paused for a moment, then nodded and said:
"Yes, I heard that all the local magistrates and their families who were escorted back to the capital, as well as some people who were disrespectful to the Emperor, will be executed in three days."
Upon hearing this, Lan Zhi's brows furrowed instantly.
"Those who are utterly disrespectful to the Emperor? Does that include Ming'er and Mao Mao?"
Yuan Tianxiong shook his head.
"There's a list of people to be executed posted at the entrance of the Ministry of Justice. I've seen it, and their names aren't on it. The Emperor is probably afraid that the people from Tianwu Kingdom will cause trouble!"
"Yes, they're making an example of someone to warn others. There's no need to provoke a war with the people of Tianwu Kingdom. Where are Mao Mao and Wei Ming now?"
"I don't know. They're not in the Crown Prince's residence; they should still be in the Ministry of Justice's prison."
Lan Zhi asked somewhat anxiously:
"Where's my older brother? How is he?"
A hint of sadness crossed Yuan Tianxiong's face as he replied in a low voice:
“I went to see Brother Ling. His condition fluctuated, but he kept mentioning your name.”
Upon hearing Yuan Tianxiong's last words, Lan Zhi's tears welled up in her eyes and slid down her cheeks.
She knew that the person her older brother cared about most had always been her, and always would be.
Yuan Tianxiong paused for a moment, then continued:
"Also, I heard that Elder Ling and Madam Cui are also in the capital. They go to Shuntian Prefecture every day to beat the drum and appeal for justice, demanding that the palace release their daughter."
"Humph!"
Lan Zhi snorted disdainfully.
"If only they had known this would happen, why did they do it in the first place? They've forgotten how smug they were when their daughter was a concubine. Now they regret it, but it's probably too late."
Wei Jianning nodded in agreement.
"Yes, after the late emperor passed away, concubines without children, no matter how old they were, could not leave the palace and had to die in the cold palace. It was indeed a bit cruel."
Although Lan Zhi also felt sorry for these women, she still snorted coldly:
"Every pitiful person has something hateful about them. Alright, let's not talk about these trivial matters anymore. Husband, what do you plan to do next?"
When the topic turned to business, a sharp glint flashed in Wei Jianning's eyes.
"Huo Jinzhou has replied; their people are on their way to Beijing and should arrive within three days. We should also contact Zhu Kui, Lin Xingliang, and a few upright veterans in the army. The first thing we need to do to overthrow Wei Jianxun is to legitimately storm the execution ground..."
Nie Yuan hurriedly bowed and replied:
"Young master, the people of the whole city are now full of complaints against the emperor. I'm sure these important officials in the court are also angry with the emperor but dare not speak out. Why don't we invite Lord Lin and Lord Zhu here to see their opinions and discuss this matter?"
Yuan Tianxiong also chimed in:
"Yes, Lord Lin would be very happy to know that you are still alive."
Wei Jianning's eyes flickered slightly, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
He immediately wrote several letters by hand and had Yuan Tianxiong and Nie Yuan send them to the capital.
Lin Mansion
Lin Xingliang has been bedridden recently and has not attended court for several days.
A letter arrived from the palace: if he does not attend court tomorrow, he will never have to attend court again.
Lin Chengda and Lin Xingliang sat in the main hall, silent and with grim expressions.
"Ugh!"
Lin Chengda's sigh echoed in the main hall, and Lin Xingliang's heart sank as well, but he still offered words of comfort.
"Father, Heaven is determined to destroy the Northern Wei Kingdom; your anxiety is useless."
Lin Chengda clenched his fists and slammed them heavily on the armrests of the chair, saying with a pained expression:
"The late emperor was incompetent, forcing Wei Jianning to leave. The new emperor is incompetent, and this is going to drive the entire Northern Wei Kingdom to its demise! What wrong have those county magistrates done? Just because they can't produce three thousand taels of silver, they are to be executed along with their entire families. What kind of rule is this? And those who have offended this dog emperor, they have all contributed to the Northern Wei Kingdom. Just for saying a few words, they are to be executed along with their entire families. This Northern Wei Kingdom is truly doomed."
"Father, these were all the Empress Dowager's ideas, no wonder the Emperor is not to blame."
"The Emperor is sixteen years old, and he lets the Empress Dowager run rampant. He's just a puppet emperor. Now I only regret that I'm too old, otherwise I would definitely take the imperial sword bestowed upon me by my ancestor and cut off his head..."
"Father, the Empress Dowager is now in charge of the court. Even if you were to bring the Imperial Sword back to life, it wouldn't make a difference. The Empress Dowager doesn't follow the ancestral rules at all. All she wants is to establish the Emperor's authority and make everyone respect him..."
“Establishing authority isn’t about legislating like this. You have to demonstrate real ability and earn everyone’s respect. But these people are just killing this person or chopping that person all day long. Once they’ve wiped out everyone in the Northern Wei Kingdom, they’ll establish their authority, and no one will dare to mess with them anymore, because the Northern Wei Kingdom will be empty of people. They’ve killed them all.”
From Lin Chengda's tone, it was clear that he was extremely dissatisfied with the current emperor and empress dowager's actions, even to the point of anger.
Lin Xingliang also sighed helplessly.
“I missed a few days of court sessions and they issued an imperial edict that I never have to attend court again. Don’t you understand what that edict means? Now the Empress Dowager and the Emperor don’t care who it is. Anyone who doesn’t listen to them will be exterminated. Perhaps it will be our Lin family’s turn soon.”
"Hmph, he wouldn't dare..."
Lin Chengda gritted his teeth in anger.
"I, Lin Chengda, am a veteran of three reigns in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Anyone who dares to touch my Lin family would be defying the world. If that happens, I, Lin Chengxing, will be the first to rise up in rebellion and overthrow this dog emperor's court."
"Father, you mustn't say that."
Lin Xingliang quickly raised his hands and pressed them down.
“Our Lin family has been loyal for generations. Even if the late emperor was incompetent, he would still give the Lin family some face. But this new emperor does things unpredictably. If you say something unpleasant and it gets overheard by someone with ulterior motives, the emperor will not care about the Lin family’s reputation.”
"Humph!"
"Among all the princes, only Wei Jianning was capable of shouldering great responsibilities, yet he died an untimely death. Is Heaven truly destined to destroy the Northern Wei Kingdom?"
He had barely finished speaking when the butler strode in.
"Master, Master, someone outside is requesting an audience."
Lin Xingliang immediately asked:
"who?"
"He was said to be an old friend of the master, but he was wearing a veiled hat, so I couldn't see his face clearly."
An old friend? Still wearing a veil?
Upon hearing those two words, Lin Xingliang and Lin Chengda exchanged a glance, then waved to the butler.
"Please invite him in. I want to see which old friend is afraid to show his true face."
After the butler responded, he quickly went out and returned shortly with a man dressed in black and wearing a veiled hat.
After looking him up and down, Lin Xingliang asked in surprise,
"Who are you to me? May I remove my veil?"
"Then please everyone step aside so that Lord Lin can speak further."
His voice startled Lin Xingliang. He seemed to realize something and hurriedly waved to the butler.
"Have everyone leave and guard the gate. No one is allowed to enter or leave without my order."
"Yes."
The butler acknowledged the order and withdrew. Only when the three of them were left alone did the man slowly remove his veil.