TSWRLM -Chapter 324 Execution of the Entire Clan

The Duke of Zhen Guo’s victory banquet was scheduled for the day of the Beginning of Winter.

Three days before the Beginning of Winter, all nine branches of the Grand Tutor’s family were sentenced to be beheaded.

When the people learned of the atrocities Li Huaijing and Yun Wantang had committed in Wengzhou, they were overjoyed. On the day of execution, all the citizens gathered at the Meridian Gate to witness the punishment. Many who had been harmed by the Spirit-Reviving Incense even brought rotten vegetables and spoiled eggs with them.

As soon as the prison cart appeared, the crowd surged forward, throwing objects and shouting curses. The members of the Grand Tutor’s household huddled together, unable to lift their heads.

If it weren’t for the palace court officers maintaining order, they would have been beaten to death by the enraged citizens before even reaching the execution ground.

Yun Wantang and her two children were in one cart. The children were so frightened that they wailed loudly, while Yun Wantang did not shield them but loudly pleaded her case:

“I am just a woman of the inner residence who knows nothing. I didn’t know my husband made deals with the people of Yuexi, and I certainly didn’t know the incense would harm anyone. I am innocent!”

She shifted all the blame onto Li Huaijing, repeatedly emphasizing her own innocence and fragility.

However, the authorities had already posted the official notice, and the crowd would not buy her act.

“Ugh! You’re no different from your husband—a black-hearted villain. If it weren’t for your ill-gotten gains, how could you have bought land in Wengzhou to grow the Forget-Worries Herb, making the Grand Tutor’s household so lavish and flourishing? And now you dare claim innocence? Shameless!”

“People don’t know yet, but this Fifth Madam of the Grand Tutor’s household, relying on her looks, seduced men everywhere while pretending to be aloof, acting as if no one could compare. Behind the scenes, she spread rumors that the princess’s husband had feelings for her, trying to defame the princess. She’s a hypocritical harlot!”

“And those two children aren’t even hers. To keep her figure, she deliberately sent her dowry maid to her husband’s bed. When the maid bore children, she kept the children for herself, killing two lives in the process.”

In both Wengzhou and Han Capital, too many had been harmed. Yun Wantang’s carefully maintained image collapsed entirely, and all her hidden secrets were exposed.

The crowd no longer envied her youthful beauty, her loving marriage, and children; they despised her duplicity and poisonous heart.

The jeers were so loud that Yun Wantang could not defend herself and was nailed to the Pillar of Shame.

The citizens were so excited that the prison cart was blocked for a long time before it reached the execution ground. When they descended, they were covered in rotten vegetables and spoiled eggs, utterly humiliated.

The Grand Tutor’s household had grown extensive over the years; hundreds were to be executed. The execution platform couldn’t hold them all, so they had to be executed in batches.

Yun Wantang and Li Huaijing were naturally in the first batch.

Once forced to kneel, Yun Wantang still shouted in protest, her voice hoarse, speaking rapidly as she tried to wriggle out of her fate, hoping for even a sliver of survival.

Suddenly, she saw a servant boy of the Wei family in the crowd.

“Sister! I truly knew nothing! Our bond as sisters has never changed. If I had known this matter would be so terrible, I would never have dragged Ze’er into it. Sister, I am as innocent as Ze’er!”

Yun Wantang shouted herself hoarse, her shoulders trembling, tears streaming down her face.

Inside the carriage, Madam Yun had already cried all her tears away. She listened expressionlessly, feeling as if an invisible giant hand had gripped her heart so tightly that even breathing hurt.

The Ministry of Justice had posted the notice. With witnesses and evidence, she could no longer claim she understood this sister.

Her purpose today was not to mourn Yun Wantang out of sisterly love. She simply couldn’t understand why her Ze’er had been dragged into this.

Even if Ze’er had missed the chance to resume his duties during the Winter Hunt, even if the severed ties with the Xiao family disappointed everyone in the Wei family, he was still so young—he had plenty of time to recover. How could he just die like this?

The Emperor, furious over the Spirit-Reviving Incense, had Ze’er’s body sent back but it was not properly preserved.

Wengzhou was so far from Han Capital that by the time Ze’er returned home, his corpse had already started to rot.

Even worse, his body was covered in wounds, and the injuries on his neck were grotesque and terrifying.

Madam Yun could not imagine how much pain her son had endured before death.

She had hired the finest mortician in Han Capital, but no matter how skilled, the injuries on Ze’er’s neck could not be concealed.

While everyone else celebrated Wengzhou’s victory, Madam Yun could not sleep at night.

Every time she closed her eyes, she heard Ze’er calling out in pain.

She did not believe a single word of what Yun Wantang was saying.

The couple had bought land in Wengzhou to cultivate Forget-Worries Herb, then produced the Spirit-Reviving Incense and sold it through Prince Ying in Han Capital for huge profits. Yun Wantang could not have been unaware.

Yet she did not warn Ze’er, and even let him go to Wengzhou with Li Jixian, deliberately trying to drag the Wei family down with them.

She simply hadn’t expected the scheme to be exposed so quickly, nor that Xuanyuan Lang had set such an enormous trap.

Yun Wantang deserved to die!

Madam Yun lifted the carriage curtain and stared at her with deadly intent.

Seeing her, Yun Wantang became even more agitated, but it was now nearly noon. The execution supervisor had her mouth shut and began to read the imperial decree.

In addition to the Spirit-Reviving Incense, the Grand Tutor’s household had also interfered in the previous Xuzhou corruption case. Multiple crimes were punished cumulatively; no one present was innocent.

Soon, the executioner was ready.

Amid Yun Wantang’s desperate struggles, the blade fell steadily, and crimson blood splattered the ground.

Throughout the entire process, Madam Yun did not blink.

She watched her sister, whom she had cared for half her life, lose her head.

She felt no sorrow, only immense satisfaction.

The prime culprit behind Ze’er’s death was dead.

But… that was not enough.

She had to make Cao Chun Xi also pay, accompanying Ze’er in death.

It was Cao Chun Xi who insisted on leaving the Wei household, who disturbed Ze’er’s mind, who deliberately sowed discord, encouraging He’er to separate from Ze’er.

It was Cao Chun Xi who whispered in Shen Qingyuan’s ear, causing him to deliberately overshadow Ze’er during the Winter Hunt, turning Ze’er into a laughingstock.

Repeated blows left Ze’er disoriented and susceptible to the Spirit-Reviving Incense.

Cao Chun Xi was also guilty of Ze’er’s death!

Halfway through the executions, the spectators were nauseated from the stench of blood, and Madam Yun lost interest in watching, ordering the carriage driver to leave.

Back at home, as soon as she entered the main courtyard, Madam Yun saw Wei’s father.

A middle-aged man, grieving the loss of his son and stripped of his headship, Wei’s father had suffered immensely. In just a few days, his black hair had turned gray, his once straight back now bent, as if all vitality had been drained from him.

Madam Yun’s heart remained as cold as ice. She didn’t even bother to address her husband, merely asking in a detached tone, “Why are you here?”

After Ze’er’s body was returned, Wei’s father, devastated, had started blaming Madam Yun for not looking after her son and even threatened to divorce her. This time, Madam Yun did not tolerate his reproaches. She threw aside all decorum, screamed, and lunged at Wei’s father, scratching his face.

She was not a good mother—was Wei’s father a good father?

Wei’s father, unwilling to argue further, sighed and asked, “There have been many rumors in the city recently. Did you have them spread?”