The next day, when the officials attended court, as soon as the Emperor took his seat on the dragon throne, he had Eunuch Li announce an imperial decree: "Last night, the Empress attempted to assassinate me but failed. She was executed that very night. Today, I decree that anyone associated with the Empress shall be beheaded!"
This decree caused an uproar throughout the court, and everyone quickly distanced themselves from Lin Zhenfei.
Lin Zhenfan was stunned after hearing the decree. In just one night, his sister was dead, his brother had fled, and he himself was about to have his property confiscated and be executed.
As he was pondering, the Emperor gave an order, and the Imperial Guards immediately escorted Lin Zhenfei to the imperial prison.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this minister is wronged! The Empress's assassination attempt has nothing to do with me!"
Lin Zhenfei, once powerful and formidable, was now terrified.
But the Emperor refused to acknowledge him. He waved his hand to the Imperial Guards and then said sternly, "Take him away!"
Later, no matter how much Lin Zhenfei shouted, the Imperial Guards did not stop, continuing to escort him away from the Chaoyang Hall.
Following this, the Emperor also ordered Prince An and the Minister of Justice, Yan Song, to respectively raid the Qing King's mansion and the Duke of Lin's mansion.
Not long after, Prince An arrived at the Qing King's mansion with two rows of soldiers. As per the Emperor's decree, he dragged out all the concubines, servants, and maids of the Qing King's mansion to be sold as criminal slaves. All valuable items within the Qing King's mansion were confiscated into the national treasury. Then, he and his men searched the entire Qing King's mansion, leaving no corner unchecked.
When they reached the criminal slave courtyard of the Qing King's mansion, a staggering, disheveled, dirty, and foul-smelling beggar woman stumbled out from the courtyard and accidentally bumped into Prince An.
Immediately, a guard beside Prince An kicked her away, causing her to spit out a mouthful of blood.
"Please forgive me, Your Highness Prince An! Your subordinate failed to protect you and allowed a filthy person to offend you!"
After kicking the woman away, the guard beside Prince An immediately apologized to Prince An.
"It's nothing! Let's go into the criminal slave courtyard." Prince An glanced at the woman and was about to step through the entrance of the criminal slave courtyard.
Unexpectedly, the woman who had been kicked away and was lying on the ground, intending to feign death to escape, suddenly opened her eyes wide and quickly got up from the ground when she heard the words "Prince An." She rushed to Prince An, knelt down, and pleaded, "Prince An, please save me. I am the Cold King's Consort's sister, please save me."
"The Cold King's Consort's sister?"
At this moment, Prince An, Jun Moyu, who was noble, with sharp sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, and handsome features, showed a slight flicker of surprise in his eyes.
"Yes, yes, Your Highness Prince An, I am the Cold King's Consort Leng Ruo Li's sister, Leng Ruo Shuang. Please save me."
Leng Ruo Shuang immediately tried to capitalize on the situation, but she did not expect Prince An to not be swayed.
"Where did the Cold King's Consort get a sister? She only has an elder brother."
Prince An replied with a serene and indifferent expression.
"But I am indeed the Cold King's Consort Leng Ruo Li's sister, Leng Ruo Shuang. If you don't believe me, you can take me to the Cold King's mansion to find my sister right now." Leng Ruo Shuang persisted shamelessly.
This time, Prince An smiled as he listened to her.
"I have indeed heard of Leng Ruo Shuang. However, I heard that Leng Ruo Shuang, from childhood to adulthood, loved to bully the Cold King's Consort and even almost killed her with her mother... Later, when General Leng returned from the border to the capital, he drove out Liu Ruyi and Leng Ruo Shuang not long after."
"Furthermore, General Leng has explained to the world that Leng Ruo Shuang is not his biological daughter, but the daughter of his enemy. At the same time, he said that Leng Ruo Shuang is his only precious daughter in this world, so how can you be the Cold King's Consort's sister?"
Prince An's words shattered all of Leng Ruo Shuang's schemes.
"Prince... Prince An, please be kind and save me. If you are willing to save me, I am willing to be your servant for the rest of my life." Leng Ruo Shuang stammered through her words.
"Heh! You are not worthy of being my servant. However, I do have a good place to arrange for you?" Prince An suddenly sneered.
"Your Highness Prince An, Your Highness Prince An, as long as you don't hit me and give me something to eat, I can go anywhere."
Upon hearing this, Leng Ruo Shuang was overjoyed, truly believing Prince An's words.
But what followed was Prince An's words that sent her plunging into an abyss.
"Guards, send this woman to the red tent of the military camp outside the city."
As Prince An spoke, his expression was cold and his gaze was chilling, like ten thousand years of ice. His words instantly plunged Leng Ruo Shuang into a cold pool.
"No! Your Highness Prince An, please don't send me to the military camp's red tent. It will make me wish I were dead there. Woo woo..."
Leng Ruo Shuang deeply regretted her previous thoughts. She would have preferred to be sold off like a common servant rather than be sent to the red tent, but this consequence was entirely her own doing.
However, Prince An acted as if he heard nothing and walked into the criminal slave courtyard.
Leng Ruo Shuang was roughly dragged away by the soldiers. This was the last time Leng Ruo Shuang appeared.
It is said that after Leng Ruo Shuang was sent to the red tent, she was tormented to death within three days. The soldiers there tortured her even more cruelly than they would a man in the criminal slave courtyard. In the end, not even Leng Ruo Shuang's corpse was found, as it was discarded somewhere.
As for Prince An, Leng Ruo Li had already shown him kindness, and Prince An harbored an unknown affection for Leng Ruo Li. How could he possibly help someone who had bullied and harmed the woman who existed in his heart like a goddess?
Leng Ruo Shuang's actions that day undoubtedly exposed herself to Prince An and led to her death, and an even more miserable end.
On the Duke of Lin's mansion side.
Lin Hongtao was unaware of the events in the palace. At this moment, he was enjoying the cool breeze in the garden of his mansion, with a beauty on each side feeding him.
But at this very moment, Yan Song, the Minister of Justice, suddenly led soldiers into the Duke of Lin's mansion.
"Young Master, Young Master, this is bad! This is bad! Master Yan... Master Yan has brought a group of soldiers into our Duke of Lin's mansion."
The steward of the Duke of Lin's mansion ran over, panting, and said.
"What? I would like to see which Master Yan has such audacity to dare to force his way into my Duke of Lin's mansion?"
As soon as Lin Hongtao finished speaking, Yan Song walked out from behind the steward.
"It is I, Yan Song!"
Upon seeing Yan Song, Lin Hongtao was furious.
"Master Yan, what is the meaning of this? You have brought people to force their way into our Duke of Lin's mansion."
"Young Master Lin, you may not know yet. Last night, the Empress attempted to assassinate the Emperor but failed and was executed on the spot by the Emperor. This morning, the Emperor decreed that anyone associated with the Empress must have their entire family and clan exterminated. Please cooperate, Young Master Lin!"
Yan Song briefly explained the events from last night to this morning.