Chapter 503: Slaying the Ten Clans

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

At that time, Zhou Linghuai didn’t think much of Mr. Xian Yun’s words.

Naturally, he did not take his words to heart.

But now that he thought about it, Zhou Linghuai suddenly understood!

He was confused by the situation, while Mr. Xian Yun was a bystander. He had a mystery in his heart. This mystery was an obsession. This obsession was Bodhisattva, and this Bodhisattva was Yu Youyao.

He held onto his greed, anger, and obsession with Yu Youyao.

Zhou Linghuai’s heart was in turmoil, and there was a dark tide in the depths of his eyes. However, his face was as calm as a mirror.

Seeing that her cousin was only looking at her and not saying anything, Yu Youyao panicked. “Cousin?

“Okay!” Zhou Linghuai leaned forward and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. His fingertips gently caressed the phoenix tassel pendant by her temple. The green pearls swayed beautifully.

He was still a little immature.

Zhou Linghuai retracted the wild thoughts in his heart and leaned closer. His clear breath almost landed beside her ear as his fingertips gently rubbed against her ear. “I’ll wait for you.”

Wait for you to grow up a little

Her cousin’s breath landed beside her ear, and every breath seemed to be filled with warmth and love.

Yu Youyao suddenly hugged her cousin’s waist. “All the things in the past, such as yesterday’s death, and moving forward, such as today’s birth, will give birth to a new beginning.” Although her cousin’s chest was not thick, it was very firm. The thin material of his clothes could not stop the strong heartbeat in his heart. The words that had been buried in his heart for a long time suddenly had the courage to speak. “Cousin, let the past be the past!’ On impulse, she hugged her cousin because she wanted to comfort him.

After saying that, she quickly let go of her cousin.

However, Zhou Linghuai raised his hand and suddenly grabbed her slender waist. “Okay, I’ll listen to you.”

Her slender waist was in his hand, and he let go of it with a single grip.

“Cousin has agreed, so let’s pinky swear.” Yu Youyao smiled and hooked her cousin’s pinky with her tender little finger. She shook it gently. “Hook it and it’s a promise. You can’t change it for a hundred years.” After saying that, she pulled her cousin’s thumb with her other hand and covered it with her thumb.

“We have a deal.”

Such a childish action was just a joke to Zhou Linghuai.

However, he knew that this was a very serious agreement for Yu Youyao.

The little girl naively thought that if she made a pinky promise and stamped it, this promise would be witnessed by the heavens and earth and would never be broken. Every time she thought that a promise was very important, she had to make a promise to him like this before she felt at ease.

The next day, the sentence for persecuting the King of Zhouli and company was also handed down.

Within the ten families of the offender Changxing Marquis, anyone who had reached the age of seven was sentenced to be beheaded as a warning to others. Their descendants would never be allowed to enter the court as officials and would be commoners for generations.

Within the two courtiers and the three races, anyone who had reached the age of seven was sentenced to be beheaded as a warning to others. Their descendants would never be allowed to enter the court as officials and would be commoners for generations.

All the high-ranking officials and nobles in the North had lost their wealth and were sentenced to be beheaded. All the men who were at least 12 years old were sentenced to be conscripted into the army, and the women were sent to the Education Department to comfort the army.

The rest of the people who were implicated were exiled to Shangyang Castle and could not enter the capital without an edict.

After the King of Zhouli’s funeral

Execution!

None of the courtiers dared to say anything.

The case had offended the heavens and the imperial family. Although the

Marquis of Changxing was despicable, was the Emperor not doing the same? Was he trying to use this opportunity to intimidate the vassals and cause chaos?

After the verdict was given, there was another uproar in the capital.

How cruel was it to exterminate ten clans?

Throughout history, the most famous thing was that the previous dynasty’s founder had usurped the throne and asked an extremely prestigious old official to draft an imperial edict.

This old minister was also a tough nut to crack, one tough cookie. He would rather die than submit.

The founder threatened to exterminate his entire family, and wrote in the edict: “The usurper dog is not worthy of his position!”

In a fit of anger, the founder exterminated his nine families and his friends as the tenth family.

The heads of over eight hundred people fell to the ground.

As a result, thousands of people were imprisoned and exiled into the army.

The emperor was merciful. At least, he spared the children who were not even seven years old. However, these children had lost their parents and relatives. What will happen in the future? Wasn’t that another kind of cruelty?

Throughout the history of the dynasty, those who colluded with the enemy to betray the country, those who rebelled, those who persecuted the royal family, and those who wreaked havoc with witchcraft were all regarded as offending the imperial power. Their crimes should be punishable by nine generations.

As for how this crime would be judged, it still depended on the person in power.

There was nothing wrong with the Emperor’s actions.

Yu Youyao could not help but feel bold. “The Marquis of Changxing offended the imperial power. It can be said that he deserved this outcome, but how many of the more than 600 people in his ten clans deserve it? How many innocent people were implicated?”

She did not even dare to imagine the scene of blood flowing like a river.

She did not dare to think about how many corpses would be strewn all over the place on the way to Shangyang Castle.

How many people would be lucky enough to make it to Shangyang Castle?

After arriving at Shangyang Castle, how many people could endure the hardships that followed?

Zhou Linghuai pursed his lips. “Do you think…”

He had just started when Yu Youyao suddenly leaned closer and reached out to cover his lips. “I sympathize with those innocent people who were implicated, but I also know that no matter how innocent those people are, it has nothing to do with Cousin. Cousin just did what he had to do. Whether he lives or dies, it’s just the imperial power. I won’t blame all of this on Cousin.”

Back then, wasn’t the King of Zhouli, who had outstanding military achievements, innocent?

Wasn’t the Princess Consort and the Princess who committed suicide by taking poison innocent?

How could a sickly cousin not be innocent?

Weren’t everyone in King You’s residence, including the 2,000 elite soldiers, innocent too?

Also, those people in Youzhou who were implicated in King You’s case, were they not innocent too?

But who would let them off just because they were innocent?

Now, it was just that the world’s morals were deteriorating day by day. Fortune changes and they have to pay the price for their sins. However, the price was too tragic.

However, this was just karma!

No matter who was to blame, it would not be her cousin.

Hearing this, Zhou Linghuai was not surprised. He looked into the little girl’s clear eyes. “Yaoyao, this world is coming to an end soon.”

Yu Youyao’s heart skipped a beat. She didn’t know if she was happy or sad.

Such a topic was too heavy, and it was not something she could handle now. Yu Youyao avoided it and changed the topic. “I plan to open a charity in the capital and take in those orphans, women, and children who have no one to rely on. I’ll teach them how to read and write, as well as some ways to make a living. I won’t let them eat and live for free. I have many shops, restaurants, and manors in the capital. I can arrange for them to work there and exchange work for money..”

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