All Hail Cousin Brother

370 Killed on the Spot

The carriage rushed home at full speed. She could hear the sound of horses neighing. They raised their hooves high and smashed them down heavily. The coachman’s whip cracked, so the carriage was very bumpy. After a while, Yu Youyao’s face turned pale and her forehead broke out in a cold sweat. She grabbed the copper ring in the carriage tightly.

After an unknown period of time, the carriage suddenly slowed down.

Yu Youyao asked groggily, “What happened?”

Before the coachman could answer, Yu Youyao heard a shout from outside the door. “I, Ye Hanyuan, son of Ye Xiaoci of the You Prefecture, want to report the Marquis of Changxing for committing the ten deadly sins.”

Yu Youyao’s ears exploded. Her hands trembled as she suddenly lifted the curtain.

In front of them were two officials with large knives at their waists. They dragged a man covered in blood and with his hands and feet cuffed. They walked on Chang An Street step by step, and the man was bleeding all the way.

There was a sea of people on both sides of the street, and the commoners gathered and made comments.

The carriage was blocked, so she couldn’t leave.

Ye Hanyuan was tall and heroic. Even though he was covered in blood, it could not hide his pride.

In the state capital, he was a third-rank external envoy. He had real power and could mobilize troops, money, and food. He was in charge of more than 30 cities in the north and was a feudal official.

Ye Xiaoci’s son, Ye Hanyuan, had entered the capital to play the drum and was willing to be punished with 30 strokes of the cane to report the Marquis of Changxing!

This was simply even more shocking than a vassal king entering the capital.

The Cabinet Grand Secretary, Xia Yansheng, had just returned home from court. Just as he changed his clothes and drank a cup of tea, he heard a drumming sound outside. It was so loud that even his ears were a little dazed.

Holding his tea, he turned to the servant beside him. “Did you hear anything?”

Of course, the servant heard it. “It sounds like drumming!”

“That’s bad…” With a clang, the teacup in Xia Yansheng’s hand fell to the ground and shattered. Not only that, but the tea that he had just drunk also spewed out of his mouth and he choked on the remaining tea in his mouth.

He coughed violently. As he coughed, he said, “Cough, quickly bring me my court clothes. Cough, cough…”

The servant was also smart. He quickly brought over the court clothes and helped him put them on.

As soon as he finished putting on his court clothes, a servant rushed over to report, “Master, bad news. Ye Hanyuan, the son of Ye Xiaoci from the You Prefecture, has beat a drum and reported the Marquis of Changxing for committing the ten deadly sins. He has already served his caning and is on his way to the palace. Today, there’s a market. Chang An Street is filled with commoners. On both sides of the street, the commoners are sending him off…”

Xia Yansheng had guessed that there was a major grievance, but when he heard that this grievance was from Youzhou, his eyes immediately darkened and his body couldn’t help but tremble.

“This, this is going to pierce through the sky.” As he spoke, his body trembled as he quickly walked out.

Just as he walked out of the door, another servant rushed in. “Not good, Master. Mr. Xian Yun brought the blood letters of the people of Youzhou into the palace to meet His Majesty…”

With a thud, Xia Yansheng fell to the ground. He did not even manage to hold onto the strong servant beside him.

The two servants were shocked and were about to help him up.

Then, they saw their master raise his head and only had time to say, “If I faint, you’ll have to carry me into the palace.”

With that, his head tilted and he really fainted.

The family immediately prepared a stretcher and carried him into the palace.

News of Ye Hanyuan beating the drum and reporting the Marquis of Changxing was also sent to the Marquis of Changxing’s Residence endlessly.

“Old Madam, bad news. The emperor has sent out the imperial guards in the palace and ordered the imperial physician to accompany him to Chang An Street to receive Ye Hanyuan. He has even given an oral order. If Ye Hanyuan dies before entering the palace, no one in the six tribes can escape responsibility.”

“The Military Department of the Five Cities has already sent people to clear a path on Chang An Street. Other than the people escorting Ye Hanyuan, anyone who gets within three steps of him will be executed on the spot.”

“Not good, Old Madam. The Emperor has mentioned the commander of the Divine Arms Battalion and ordered him to immediately bring 3,000 elite troops to Youzhou and escort the Marquis of Changxing. His generals and all the officials in Youzhou will enter the capital without delay. If there’s any resistance, they will be punished.”

“Old Madam, Old Madam, there’s news from the palace that Concubine Zhuang disrespected the Empress Dowager and was stripped of her title. She’s been sent to the Cold Palace to be punished.”

“Not good, not good. The emperor has summoned the Marquis of Weining into the palace…”

Bad news came one after another, and Old Madam Cao felt dizzy.

As the old conferred lord of the Marquis of Changxing’s Residence, how could Old Madam Cao not know that from the moment Ye Hanyuan struck the drum, no matter what the crime was or if it was true, the glory of the Marquis of Changxing’s Residence had come to an end.

As long as this matter involved King You, the relatives of the royal family, the nobles of the royal family, and his descendants, would have to shed a layer of skin even if they were not guilty.

If they were guilty, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to kill all their clans.

At this moment, a few teams of imperial guards rushed past Chang An Street with sabers at their waists. Everyone could only hear the sound of uniform footsteps. Wherever they went, the commoners retreated.

In the blink of an eye, this group of people rushed towards the Marquis of Changxing’s Residence and surrounded it.

When Old Madam Cao received the news, she quickly asked someone to help her out, preparing to ask for the truth.

The leading military commander did not even look at her. He raised the document in his hand and announced loudly, “The higher-ups have ordered that no one is allowed to go out of the grounded residence of the Marquis of Changxing’s Residence. Those who disobey will be killed on the spot!”

The entire capital was turned upside down because of Ye Hanyuan’s drumming.

At this moment, the capital was already under full martial law.

On the streets of Chang An, groups of soldiers with knives rushed to the sides to block the commoners.

The official sedan chairs rushed past Chang An Street and went into the palace.

Under the scorching sun, Ye Hanyuan, who was seriously injured, looked up at the sky and laughed. “I’m Ye Hanyuan from the You Prefecture and I hit the drum. I might be punished with 30 strokes of the cane but I will report the Marquis of Changxing’s Residence for ten deadly crimes!”

Yu Youyao’s carriage was blocked in the middle of the road. When she heard Ye Hanyuan list the crimes of the Marquis of Changxing, every word was heart-wrenching. It was really terrifying.

“The first crime is for forming alliances for personal gain and colluding with the Ministry of War. Every year, he owes money to the You Prefecture army. King You doesn’t report it well, but his tracks are hidden by the Ministry of War. The army is bitterly cold. The soldiers can’t eat their fill, their clothes can’t withstand the cold. Their armor can’t defend against the enemy, their swords can’t kill the enemy, and their thin horses can’t charge ahead. King You fights with the Northern Barbarians every year, and there are casualties every year, causing countless loyal souls to die in vain in You Prefecture…”

“Secondly, he colluded with external enemies to commit treason. This thief colluded with the Di people to cause Youzhou to lack resources. He colluded with external enemies and caused the Di people to invade on a large scale. He also used a delaying tactic to wear down the 300,000 troops under King You, causing him to lose three cities in a row in the north. This is not King You’s fault, but the disaster of a traitor…”