The same thing happened all over Chang'an. I don't know how many high-ranking officials and ladies woke up late at night, relatively panicked.
…
Just when the whole of Chang'an was under martial law, the Feng family welcomed an unexpected guest.
Cao Yang.
At that time, before Feng Mingda could rest, he heard something strange happening outside the house door. He was shocked at first, and then relieved.
He got up, put on his regular clothes, and walked out the door. He saw his three-year-old grandson being naughty. He refused to rest at night and asked the nanny to chase him. He ran all the way here.
Feng Mingda stretched out his hand to help him, and said kindly: "Slow down, be careful of falling."
The child stopped and called out "Grandpa" in a sweet voice. Then he heard the faint sound of fighting outside the house, and couldn't help but look puzzled: "Grandpa, what is that sound outside?"
Feng Mingda looked at the child in front of him with innocent doubts on his face, but he felt sad and his heart was twisted like a knife.
He closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face: "This is... the sound of the death knell ringing!"
The child was stunned.
Seeing this, the nanny hurriedly came over to pick him up, bowed her knees and saluted Feng Mingda, and took him away.
The child was especially puzzled and frowned: "Why is grandpa crying?"
The nanny couldn't answer his question, so she could only head forward and take a few more steps, when a shadow suddenly fell in front of her.
She looked up in astonishment and saw a young man appearing on the path in front of her. He had red phoenix eyes, a high nose, lips as red as blood, and was as charming as a monster in Zhiguai.
The nanny was frightened. She really thought she had bumped into something unusual. She stumbled back a few steps in panic. Her feet were unstable and she was about to drop the child in her arms to the ground.
At this moment, the young man reached out and picked up the boy by his collar.
The nanny was shocked and frightened. Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly heard the sound of footsteps behind her. She turned around to look, and whispered with her lips: "Master."
Feng Mingda looked at the young man in front of him and vaguely recalled the scene when he first met him.
At that time, Cao Yang was nothing more than a humble man who relied on his words to gain power to him. He was just a little surprised by this young man's maneuvers and tricks, and therefore felt slightly uneasy.
At that time, he never imagined that it would be this young man who would bring him and the Feng family to their doom.
Feng Mingda sighed and said to the nanny beside him: "This is my guest. Please step aside."
The nanny responded respectfully, then cautiously stepped forward to pick up the child. She never thought that the young man, a newborn calf, was not afraid of tigers. She looked at the person who had just held her with bright eyes and shouted, "I won't leave!"
The nanny called several times, but he refused to pay attention. She couldn't forcefully drag him away in front of the host family and guests, so she became embarrassed for a while.
When Feng Mingda saw this, he waved his hand to send her away: "If he doesn't want to leave, just stay. I'll just watch here."
The nanny bowed hesitantly and withdrew.
Feng Mingda treated Cao Yang with the etiquette of hospitality: "Go to the study and talk."
Then he told the steward, who was hiding in the dark: "Serve tea."
Cao Yang smiled leisurely: "I'm sorry."
Feng Mingda walked in front, Cao Yang walked behind, and the young man followed Cao Yang step by step.
When Cao Yang heard the movement, he lowered his head and glanced at him. The child also raised his face and looked at him innocently. When he saw him looking over, he grinned stupidly.
Feng Mingda noticed this scene, felt something in his heart, and said softly: "This child is destined to you."
Cao Yang bent down and picked him up, and said with a calm expression, "I just don't know if it's a good fate or a bad fate."
Feng Mingda sighed.
The emperor has always acted vigorously and decisively, and Cao Yang was not a procrastinator. After entering the study, he put the child down, took out a document from his sleeve, and pushed it in front of Feng Mingda: "Thank you for your help."
Feng Mingda took a look and laughed loudly: "Ah! I didn't know when I had so many party members! Hahahahaha!"
Cao Yang waited for him to finish laughing with a calm expression: "Then your Majesty is here now."
The smile on Feng Mingda's face faded and he sneered coldly: "Now that things have happened, I am already a mortal man. Why should I rush to drive for him and bite the court officials? It's not like I'm willing to be humble!"
"There are only two of you and a child here, why would you do this?"
Cao Yang just smiled at this: "Let's open the skylight and talk openly, let's talk about the conditions directly."
Feng Mingda sneered: "I'm dead anyway, what else is there to talk about?!"
Cao Yang sighed faintly: "In this case, you can commit suicide after performing the funeral ceremony for Mrs. Feng. If you do this, you can die easily and comfortably without having to suffer the pain of axes and swords. I was humiliated at the hands of the swordsman and tortured by villains before my death. Why didn't you do this?"
Feng Mingda's expression suddenly changed, his lips moved a few times, but he said nothing.
Cao Yang continued calmly: "Because dying is easy, but you can't ignore the living people."
Feng Mingda closed his eyes in pain.
Cao Yang's tone was still indifferent: "You have a wife, children, brothers, grandchildren, in-laws from your mother's family, and teachers from the same family. It is easy for you to die and it will be over, but what about the living people? What you have escaped I'm afraid the pain will be inflicted on them."
Feng Mingda smiled self-deprecatingly, leaning back on the official hat chair, with a dignified manner, as if he was the elegant and dignified prime minister of the province again.
"Tell me about your Majesty's conditions." He said.
Cao Yang said slowly "Uh": "It's pretty much what you imagined. Of the three Yifeng families, only the fourth family was spared; Duke Wenxiang's descendants were unworthy and rebelled, and their souls were moved out of the Taizu Emperor's ancestral temple; Xingqing Palace The Queen Mother has already become a monk, so there is no need to make things difficult for outsiders. On the contrary, if you are the chief culprit, I am afraid that you will be stabbed for 3,600 times..."
Having said this, he smiled: "But Your Majesty also said, how can one predict the future without knowing it? There is really no need to criticize Duke Wenxiang for this. And since he came to the throne, your Majesty has been quite effective in doing things, and combined with this Once I have to do one last errand for him, I will avoid execution at Lingchi and just behead him."
Feng Mingda has considered this result thousands of times in recent days.
How the emperor of Taiji Palace will deal with him is like a sharp sword hanging above his head, which will fall at any time.
He knew he was certain to die, but beyond that...
Feng Mingda lowered his body and begged in a low voice: "I know that my sins are serious and have affected my ancestors, and I will have to cover my face with my hair after death. I dare not ask for forgiveness from the emperor. It's just that innocent children, adult men beheaded, and those under ten years old are exiled to Lingnan ,how?"
Cao Yang looked at him and said coldly: "Feng Lingjun, even if I dare to agree now, do you dare to believe it? What you have committed is a serious crime of treason! The emperor showed mercy beyond the law and spared the four members of the Feng family. He has already given Feng enough. If not, no one should be left alive, and the Feng family cemetery should be opened again, and the dead Feng family members should be dug up one by one and exposed to vent their anger!"
Feng Mingda's face turned pale, his lips trembled, and he was speechless for a long time.
Cao Yang just watched silently.
After a long time like this, Feng Mingda finally reacted. He grabbed Zhi'er, who looked bored because he didn't understand what the adults were saying, and pushed him hard in front of Cao Yang: "This is the one - I am willing to be loyal to your majesty for the last time. , I just want to save this one!"
The young child especially did not understand what kind of wrestling was going on in front of him. He only felt that the hand held by his grandfather was so strong.
His small body was restrained and he felt uncomfortable. He couldn't help but scream in grievance: "Grandpa, it hurts!"
Grandfather didn't respond to him, he just stared at the person in front of him.
Hot liquid dripped continuously onto the back of his hand.
He called out twice more, and seeing that his grandfather still ignored him, he pouted angrily. When his eyes touched the back of his wet hand, he was driven by curiosity and lowered his head to lick the liquid on it.
It's salty.
…
When Cao Yang left the Feng family again, he had a child at hand.
The child was confused and looked back reluctantly: "Grandpa, can't I see my mother-in-law before going to my adoptive father's house? She also said today that she would sew a shuttlecock for me, with peacock feathers. That kind of thing, what should I do if she forgets when I stay at my adoptive father’s house for a few days?”
Feng Mingda burst into tears instantly, turned his back and scolded him sternly: "Go away, go away!"
Cao Yang patted him on the back: "Go to your grandfather and kowtow at the end."
The child ignorantly obeyed.
After leaving Feng's house and being far away from the familiar environment, he finally began to be afraid.
So he held the hand of the only acquaintance harder - in fact, this acquaintance was also a new acquaintance.
"Father, do you want to take me to your home?"
"No," Cao Yang said, "Go to another place first."
The child asked carefully: "Where is it?"
Cao Yang said: "Decide whether you can call me foster father or go to the place of death."
The child was stunned.
"What?" He instantly became alert: "Are you a bad person?!"
Cao Yang glanced at him and said in a brisk tone: "Yes, yes, you finally discovered it!"
The child looked at him stupidly. There was no one in front of him like the nannies around him. She started to coax him with a gentle smile on her face, saying that they were all just playing tricks on him.
He finally started to sob and cry: "Why do you bully a child? Wuwuwu..."
Chapter 33
This night, many people could not sleep peacefully and kept their eyes open until dawn.
When the sky turns dark, I comfort myself in my heart that I can just wait until daybreak. However, when daybreak comes, the situation has not changed at all.
When it was time to go to court, the officials who had not slept all night and had already dressed up tentatively walked out the door. They were stopped after taking a few steps.
The Imperial Guards guarding the gates of various cities and important streets said politely but resolutely: "The Emperor has issued an order. There will be no court today. You all can go back to your homes. If you have nothing to do, don't go out again."
Officials are like this, nobles are like this, and clan members are like this.
…
Princess Ji had just sent her husband off and saw him coming back in the blink of an eye. She couldn't help but step forward and asked, "Why are you back again?"
King Ji took off the winged hat on his head, handed it to the maid, and said to his wife: "The Emperor has ordered that there is no need to go to court today."
Princess Ji sighed: "What on earth is going on?"
He couldn't help but worry: "I'm sorry to hear that Da Lang went out yesterday, but he happened to be blocked outside now. I don't know what the situation is now."
King Ji caressed his wife: "That's his wife's family, how can I treat him so poorly? No one in Yu Daru's house dares to be arrogant."
Princess Ji sighed again.
Someone from outside said: "The Crown Princess is thinking about the Crown Prince and has sent someone to ask for news."
When Princess Ji heard that her daughter-in-law had a close connection with her, she couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "This child usually looks indifferent and doesn't like to talk, but he really treats Da Lang wholeheartedly."
She told the visitor what Prince Ji had just told her, and added another sentence: "Tell the imperial concubine to relax, it'll be fine."
