Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 439: The Death of Hou Wei (1)

Feng Xuer became more and more infuriated as she read, finally flinging the documents in her hand onto them.

"Take a good look at these for yourselves, and you still have the nerve to ask me to stand up for you."

Madame Wang Lu and Madame Gao from the Gao Family glanced at the Empress with trembling hands, picking up the papers off the floor. As they read the list of their sons’ offenses, their hearts sank with each item, until they dared not continue reading further.

"Empress, spare my son’s life, I beg of you. Remember that the Duke of the Zhenguo’s ancestors fought alongside the founding emperor to conquer this country and spare my child for their sake," pleaded Madame Gao, sensing the murderous intent in the Empress’s eyes. Crawling forward on her knees, she clung to Feng Xuxu’s legs—seemingly begging for mercy but actually reminding Feng Xuxu of the Gao Family’s position in Xueyan Country.

Meanwhile, Madame Wang Lu simply bowed her head silently, constantly praying that Madame Gao could achieve a favorable result so her own son might be spared as well.

As soon as Feng Xuxu heard this, she lifted her leg and kicked Madame Gao in the chest, glaring at the woman who had fallen to the ground: "Hmph, those who know the law and break it deserve an even harsher punishment."

"My lady, even if not for anything else, consider that the Duke of the Zhenguo is the Emperor’s maternal grandmother’s family. You can’t just kill my son," Madame Gao blurted out desperately, saying anything she could in front of all the noble ladies present.

Madame Wang Lu tried to signal to her discretely to no avail; eventually, she simply gave up, now trying to think of ways to lighten the Empress’s potential punishment for her own son.

"The crimes committed by Li Tianjie and the Duke of the Zhenguo warrant death a hundred times over. You even have the audacity to invoke the Emperor’s maternal grandmother’s family, using the Royal Family’s name to commit atrocities. If I do not punish you, it would be a total miscarriage of justice," Feng Xuxu sat up straight, her eyes emitting a cold light, wishing she could personally end them.

"Xuan Yue, proclaim my edict. The Duke of the Zhenguo, knowing the law, has flagrantly violated it, disregarded others’ lives, wantonly murdered the innocent, and shielded his son Li Tianjie’s crimes. His guilt is evident, strip him of his noble title, arrest his entire clan, confiscate his property and carry out a thorough investigation," she ordered.

"Hou Wei abetted the evildoer, protected his son’s criminal acts, showed no remorse afterward, and even conspired to cover them up, further compounding it by driving others to their deaths. His crimes are numerous and unforgivable, strip him of his noble title, arrest his entire family, and conduct a thorough investigation of this matter."

"As you command, my lady."

Xuan Yue rose and departed the Moxuan Pavilion.

Feng Xuxu’s eyes swept over the other noble ladies, observing how they trembled like chaff. She curled her lips in a mocking smile, stood up, and strode past the two women on the ground who had become completely stupefied.

"We bid the Empress farewell," the noble ladies said with pale faces, kneeling on the ground, watching the Empress leave.

Once Feng Xuxu left the Warm Pavilion and boarded her palanquin to depart, the remaining noble ladies collapsed to the ground, their only thought being to return home and warn their irresponsible sons to behave properly—lest they face a fate as light as family ruin or as grave as clan extermination.

The Empress, in her great fury, had dealt with both the Duke of the Zhenguo’s and Hou Wei’s families. The common people, watching the soldiers escorting the crestfallen individuals, cheered. Those who had once shied away from them now stood on the streets hurling rotten vegetables and spoiled eggs at them; some even, not content with this, picked up small stones to throw, showing just how hated they were among the public.

At the same time, people applauded the Empress and even spoke of placing her portrait in their homes to pay respect.

Following several tumultuous days, peace finally returned to the Capital City.

On the Western Frontier, since Sunset Kingdom had successively taken three cities, Mingyi Country began to withdraw its troops, but it was already too late. Moreover, Dugu Chen had rallied a large army in pursuit of Mingyi Country’s retreating forces. Originally numbering 370,000, their army was now reduced to fewer than 100,000. Seeing this situation, Dugu Chen seized the moment and took another three cities. The defenders, seeing Xueyan Country’s imposing arrival, simply abandoned their posts and fled. For the last two cities, there hadn’t even been a fight; their lords had opened the gates to welcome the Xueyan Army into the city.