Shen Changqing’s ruthlessness frightened everyone into submission, making it incredibly easy for Hong Cheng and his n to subdue the Zhao Family mbers. Clamped in iron chains and shackles, they were marched to the Yan one by one.
Shen Changqing rely stood aside, not interfering further. Among those taken away were decrepit elders and wailing, unweaned infants. But from beginning to end, his expression remained impassive. Collusion with Demon Evil was absolutely unpardonable.
"If you must bla soone, bla yourselves for being Zhao Family mbers," Shen Changqing said, shaking his head slightly. He then turned to Hong Cheng on the side. "After all Zhao Family mbers are imprisoned, they are to be executed tomorrow at noon. Also, send n to confiscate the Zhao Family’s assets. Everything is to be added to the Yan’s treasury."
"As you command!"
「 」
The sight of over a hundred mbers of the Zhao Family being escorted to the Yan naturally drew a large crowd of onlookers.
"Serves them right!"
"The Zhao Family dared to collude with Demon Evil! Their assets should have been seized and their clan exterminated long ago!"
"Damn it, and I used to think Zhao Fang was a decent official. Now look! Pah!"
"The over one thousand people from Guyue Village died with their eyes open; the Zhao Family deserves to be buried alongside them."
"Haha, the Imperial Court has finally opened its eyes—"
Not a single onlooker witnessing the Zhao Family’s downfall failed to applaud. Ever since news of the Zhao Family’s collusion with Demon Evil had spread, their reputation had been utterly ruined. Now that their assets were being confiscated, everyone felt it was just deserts. Collusion with Demon Evil was, in everyone’s eyes, an unforgivable cri.
Alas, the Zhao Family is finished! Cui Cheng, dressed in martial attire and carrying a longsword, sighed inwardly as he watched the nurous Zhao Family mbers being led to the Yan.
In fact, he had arrived in Lin’an City just as news about Zhao Li broke. But all along, Cui Cheng had no intention of intervening on behalf of the Zhao Family. Although he shared a significant friendship with Zhao Li, friendship was one thing; the current situation could not be resolved by re friendship. If he were to act and his involvent was exposed, it could implicate the Guiyuan Sword Sect he belonged to. Sacrificing his own sect for the sake of a friend was clearly out of the question.
Zhao Li, anwhile, was kept in the dark. He believed that Cui Cheng simply hadn’t arrived in ti after receiving his ssage, unaware that Cui Cheng had already reached Lin’an City the mont the Zhao Family compound was sealed.
"Senior Brother, isn’t the Zhao Family a bit pitiful?" Beside Cui Cheng, Zhao Yue’s delicate brows furrowed slightly. Perhaps because they shared the surna Zhao, she felt a flicker of compassion for the Zhao Family. She was especially displeased seeing those arrested who were holding infants.
Upon hearing this, Cui Cheng glanced sideways at his junior martial sister’s fair and delicate face, his expression stern. "Junior Sister, you can say such things to , but you must never say them in front of outsiders. Otherwise, you will bring disaster upon our Guiyuan Sword Sect!"
"Senior Brother—" Seeing Cui Cheng’s grave expression, Zhao Yue looked instantly displeased.
Seeing this, Cui Cheng sighed and patiently explained, "You must understand, those who collude with Demon Evil have always hard countless mbers of our Human Clan. So have even caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands. Since that ti, Great Qin established a law: anyone found colluding with Demon Evil will have their entire clan implicated and executed. The purpose is to deter others, to make them dare not collude with Demon Evil. The Zhao Family mbers may seem innocent, but the people of Guyue Village were even more so. If we spare the Zhao Family and others follow their example, colluding with Demon Evil and harming the populace, then who will acknowledge the innocence of those who died so tragically?
"If your words were investigated, you would, at the very least, be accused of disregarding the laws of Great Qin. At worst, they might even fabricate a charge of colluding with Demon Evil against you.
"At that point, even the Guiyuan Sword Sect would be utterly unable to protect you."
His words made Zhao Yue’s face turn pale. "I... I just said a few words casually. How... how could that be colluding with Demon Evil!"
"So matters aren’t resolved simply because you claim innocence. To those with ulterior motives, a single sentence can be twisted into nurous accusations, especially since our Guiyuan Sword Sect has many enemies. If they were to find any pretext, they would surely exploit it to the fullest. Therefore, so things are best left unsaid. Even if you must speak, you must carefully consider the occasion and the weight of your words."
Cui Cheng admonished her earnestly. After speaking, he too felt a wave of weariness. This junior sister of his, who had rarely ventured outside, had indeed caused him considerable trouble on their journey. If not for his own substantial strength and the Guiyuan Sword Sect’s reputation in Guangyuan Prefecture, who knew? They might have already t with disaster by now.
While the two were talking, all the Zhao Family mbers had been escorted into the Yan. The many townsfolk who had followed them stopped at the Yan entrance. They were waiting—waiting for a verdict.
Before long, Principal Clerk Shi Qingsheng erged from the Yan. Looking at the crowd, he announced in a loud voice, "Tomorrow at noon, the Zhao Family mbers will be publicly beheaded east of the city!"
With that said, he walked back into the Yan, leaving only two Governnt Officials guarding the gate.
Publicly beheaded!
These words caused a great stir among the crowd. If they had rely been speculating on the way to the Yan, Shi Qingsheng’s announcent now definitively sealed the Zhao Family’s death sentence.
Beheading! Cui Cheng took one last deep look, then pulled Zhao Yue away. There was no point in watching any longer. The public beheading had sealed the Zhao Family’s fate. He hadn’t intervened before, and he certainly wouldn’t now. The Zhao Family was dood to perish.
The news of the Zhao Family’s imprisonnt and their scheduled execution tomorrow spread like wildfire. In no ti, the entire city knew. Everyone was aware that at noon tomorrow, the Zhao Family would be beheaded east of the city. This topic beca the main topic of conversation for most townsfolk.
"Execution of the entire clan and public beheading. The laws of Great Qin are as ruthless as ever!" soone in an inn remarked with a sigh, then drained their cup of wine.
A person at the sa table heard this and shook their head with a wry smile. "Colluding with Demon Evil—they got what they deserved. If not for the restraining laws of Great Qin, who knows how many would flock to the Eternal Alliance. It’s good they’re being executed. The more who are killed for this, the fewer will dare to collude with Demon Evil."
"Forget it, such matters don’t concern us. Drink up, drink up! Tomorrow, let’s go watch the execution."
"Alright, drink up, drink up!" The two toasted each other and drank with gusto for a while.
「 」
anwhile, Hong Cheng and a few others had thoroughly searched the Zhao residence, turning it upside down. Eventually, they hauled everything back to the Yan.
In the inner hall, Shi Qingsheng stood holding a register, reporting on various matters. Shen Changqing sat in the seat of honor, sipping his tea slowly, listening intently to every word.
"Reporting to Your Lordship, during the search of the Zhao Family residence, we found 3,000 taels of gold and 7,000 taels of silver, along with various antiques, paintings, and calligraphy. The preliminary estimate of their value is around 20,000 taels—"
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