Chapter 11: Executing All the Traitorous Ministers

Chapter 11: Slaying the Treacherous Officials of the Realm

Yun Ran looked with satisfaction at the blood-soaked floor below.

"Alright, Xiao Louzi, come here."

Suddenly called upon by the emperor, Xiao Louzi went rigid, his heart pounding with anxiety as he scurried over.

"Your servant is here."

"Today, I appoint you Grand Steward of the Imperial Court, and grant you the name Yuanbao!"

Yun Ran was obsessed with money.

With the national treasury empty, the Chief Eunuch's name had to bring wealth! Only then would they strike it rich.

Everyone was stunned!

Chang Yuan was still right there—the Dragon Scale Guards all felt a jolt of alarm. Could it be that the emperor was going to get rid of him now that he'd outlived his usefulness?

"Come here."

Yun Ran dashed off an imperial edict and handed it to the newly appointed Chief Steward, Eunuch Yuan, waiting nearby.

He was startled at first, then quickly cleared his throat and began reading it aloud.

"By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: Grand General Chang Yuan, loyal and upright, steadfast in righteousness, followed the late emperor's decree to protect me, and was framed by villains and exiled a thousand li. Now that the truth has come to light, Chang Yuan's merit in supporting the throne is hereby recognized. He shall be reinstated as the Banner General, granted an additional three thousand households in Zhuzhou as his fief, a general's residence, and two thousand taels of silver..."

"Your servant thanks Your Majesty for his boundless grace."

Yun Ran did not reveal that Chang Yuan had entered the palace; instead, she fabricated the story of his exile of a thousand li, so his return to court wouldn't stir up trouble or gossip.

Chang Yuan understood the emperor's intent. He raised his sleeve to wipe his red-rimmed eyes.

Soon, a eunuch from the next room arrived with a brand-new general's uniform.

At Yun Ran's signal, Chang Yuan went next door to change into it.

When he emerged, he wore a brand-new crimson court robe, his graying hair tied up high. Though his face was covered in scars, the sharpness in his eyes remained undiminished.

Draped in a black cloak, he was even carrying a suit of golden flowing-cloud armor!

This was Yun Ran's latest gift to him.

"Commander of the Dragon Scale Guard, heed my command!"

Wu Sibai stepped forward. "Your servant awaits your command!"

"Immediately follow my Grand General, dispatch ten thousand elite troops, take the knockout drugs, use the knockout darts first, then kill. Raid the homes of these ants! Execute everyone on the spot, burn the bodies, and bring back all the ashes. I will use the ashes of these corrupt officials to send a message to the world!"

Why use knockout drugs first? Obviously, to stop anyone from slipping out through secret tunnels.

"Your servants obey!"

Chang Yuan led the group, took the knockout drugs that Yun Ran had prepared, and departed swiftly.

"Xiao Yuanzi."

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Today, dismiss all the eunuchs and maids in this palace and replace them with new, capable replacements! Bring the Chief Steward of the Imperial Household Department to me!"

Eunuch Yuanbao hurried off to carry out the order.

Soon, a group of eunuchs arrived, quickly cleaned up the bloodstains in the great hall, bowed their heads and quietly left.

Within the palace, panic was spreading through the corridors.

The chief eunuch of the imperial kitchen had just picked up some gossip and rushed back in a panic.

"Everything's changed! Everything's changed! Eunuch Huang is dead, and the Regent is dead too. From now on, the emperor's in charge now. The Chief Steward of the Imperial Household Department has just been called in for a dressing-down. From now on, we must watch our step and not incur the emperor's wrath—this one's a butcher!"

When everyone learned that the emperor had held one morning court session and killed all the officials, they were stunned speechless!

The master chef preparing the morning meal was shaking like a leaf.

"Ah! Damn it! I put too much salt! I'm a dead man, boo-hoo-hoo."

A crowd of eunuchs instantly huddled together, scrambling to fix it.

"Quick, make it again! If you want to die, don't drag us down with you, boo-hoo-hoo..."

The common folk on Chang'an Street saw quite a show that day.

Thousands of imperial guards, riding fine horses, hauled flatbed carts piled with the corpses of officials who'd once been high and mighty!

Piled high, whole families lying dead in neat rows.

Fan Fanhua, a commoner from the capital, had just lost her brother—tortured to death by the son of an imperial envoy. Now she helped her lame father walk over to watch the commotion.

Her eyes brimming with tears, she tightly gripped her father's shoulder and laughed as she spoke.

"Pah! How satisfying! Father! Look, the envoy's whole family is dead! Not a single survivor, hahahaha. That's karma for you! His son killed my brother and abducted women, committing so many crimes, boasting that no one in this imperial city could touch him. But there's still justice in this world!"

Chang Yuan, riding at the front, tossed papers into the air as he rode.

"What's that lord throwing out? Anyone here who can read? Read it aloud for us!"

"I'll do it! I'll do it!"

An old storyteller picked one up, looked at it carefully, and gasped.

"The emperor wrote this!"

The old man exclaimed excitedly, then quickly began reading.

"A proclamation to the world: For the eighteen years the Regent held power, he colluded with noble families, covered for each other, defied the law, and made the people's lives miserable. Yesterday, he attempted to assassinate the emperor! His family has been wiped out and he has been executed.

It also says that today the emperor has cleaned house, and all corrupt officials have been put to death. It further states that corruption will be rooted out, traitors eliminated, and peace restored to the realm—the people have nothing to worry about."

"We ordinary folks don't get all that. As long as my brother didn't die in vain, I'm happy!"

"Right! As long as ordinary families like ours can have enough to eat, and these officials stop snatching women off the streets, then the emperor is surely a Wise Monarch!"

As everyone was discussing heatedly, they saw a guard on horseback leap up, hoist a severed head up, and hang it from the city gate.

That head was none other than the Regent, Dan Yanzhi!

At once, the new emperor's outrageous actions drew gasps from the crowd.

...

"What?"

A heavy palm slammed down on the pearwood table.

The Qinghe Xu clan, the Chenjun Li clan, the Lanling Guo clan, and the Longxi Xie clan—these great aristocratic families—

all got wind of it at once, grinding their teeth in rage.

"Damn it! Slaughtering all the ministers in one day—how dare he!"

Despite their fury, they'd already lost the Regent,

and Dan Junlin had clipped the court's wings, leaving them like a plucked chicken.

And on top of that, the emperor had secretly sent assassins to take out the heads of the scheming noble families.

The blood-soaked halls sent chills down the spine of every clan.

It was clear the emperor didn't give a damn whether they were princes, generals, or founding heroes.

If they reached too far, the emperor wouldn't let it slide.

If they dared to fight back, they might just get a pot of boiling water dumped on their heads.

Thinking it over, these people didn't dare act so high and mighty anymore.

At the same time,

countless elite soldiers, bearing imperial edicts, rushed to every corner of the country.

In Shuzhou, in Tongdu County,

an old man in a rough hemp shirt was tilling the fields.

"Clop, clop, clop..."

The familiar sound of hooves came from the distance.

He tensed up at once, pulling his wife—who'd brought him his lunch—behind a haystack, while he stepped out himself, squinting at the riders closing in.

As the horse approached, a soldier in dark silver armor dismounted and raised an imperial yellow edict.

"Qi Kaisheng, receive the edict!"