"The south gate is sealed off, so the common people can't interfere. It's just that the procession hasn't started yet." Minghe frowned. The people in the palace are very spoiled. They only need to leave the palace for a few days, but they wish they could move the entire palace there. This has caused a long delay, and several servants who went to urge them to leave have been beaten to death as a result.
"Send the Emperor and Empress Dowager out of the palace first. We don't need to worry about the others. Let them deal with it at their own pace." Yan Zhen's eyes were indifferent, without a trace of amusement.
Minghe said, "I have another matter to report."
"explain."
"Madam An was the first to leave the city, but she was delayed because of An Wan. Now the people are crowding the city gates, and they can't get out, so they have turned back to the mansion."
Yan Zhen raised an eyebrow slightly: "Have someone escort the people from the An family out of the city. There's no need to tell her."
Minghe paused for a moment and said, "I just sent someone to check the An residence. Apart from the ten death row inmates, there was no one else there. Madam An's carriage has also disappeared."
Yan Zhen's gaze darkened slightly: "Gone without a trace?"
Minghe said in a deep voice, "With such a large crowd, it's already very difficult to find them. I'll send people to search for them as soon as possible."
Yan Zhen said calmly, "I don't want to hear any unpleasant news in these four hours. Go."
...
An Xin underestimated the scene of tens of thousands of people flocking to the scene at the same time. As soon as people heard that there was money to be received, they all brought their families, from old, toothless men who were about to die to infants who were only a few days old. For a while, the noise was deafening.
An Xin frowned. Everything was going much more smoothly than she had imagined, but for some reason, she felt a vague unease. Her intuition was usually accurate, and this unease was ominous, making her heart sink.
An Xin glanced at the sky again, then turned and walked towards the An residence.
Father should have left the palace with the Emperor's entourage. For some reason, the Emperor has been very fond of An Youwei these days. An Xin doesn't have time to think about why he is so fond of him. Right now, she should avoid this storm and wait for the sea to arrive and neutralize the poison gas before starting to think about everything again.
She instructed Steward Xu to keep the ten death row inmates in the mansion. It wasn't that An Xin sent them to their deaths; since she was staying in the capital, she naturally had ways to ensure their survival. Could this unease mean that all the death row inmates had escaped?
An Xin's gaze darkened slightly as she quickly walked towards her home.
The gates of the An residence were tightly shut, clearly indicating that her mother had already left. An Xin climbed over a large tree outside the wall and looked towards her home. The entire An residence was empty, without a single person in sight.
An Xin jumped off the wall and walked straight towards the woodshed.
The door was also tightly closed and locked. An Xin stopped in her tracks outside the door. Inside, she could hear the idle chatter of the ten death row inmates. One of them said, "That little wench has been nowhere to be seen all day. I'm itching to get a beating from her every day! Come on, torture me! Come on, torture me!"
"Hehe, it's too quiet here today. Why don't we take this opportunity to escape, tie up that little wench, and have some fun with her!"
"I bet that little vixen is still a virgin, never been deflowered. These kinds of girls are a bit arrogant because they haven't tasted the sweetness yet. Once they do, they'll be more reckless than anyone else!"
"Nonsense, haven't you heard that she's been the Ling family's daughter-in-law for several years? Unless Ling Xiyao is a eunuch, how could he just watch without taking any action?"
...
An Xin raised her hand to unlock the door, and the conversation inside the room abruptly stopped.
An Xin pushed open the door, and the sunlight slanted in from behind, obscuring her entire face in darkness, making it impossible to see her expression.
The death row inmates shivered inexplicably and dared not utter a sound.
An Xin casually pulled out a stick as thick as an arm from the side and walked over slowly, each step seemingly treading on the heartbeats of those people. Finally, someone couldn't bear it any longer and begged for mercy loudly.
An Xin raised the stick and struck hard!
"Ah!" The scream heralded the start of an even more horrific cacophony...
××× ×××
After leaving the An residence, An Xin went to the West Gate, where the crowds were no less than those at the East Gate. When she looked up, she was surprised to find that Jing Lan was not on the city wall.
Jinglan isn't here, so why are so many people flocking here?
"Heavens! The Left Prime Minister is personally distributing the silver! I'll go even if it kills me!" A woman's scream answered An Xin's question, and An Xin suddenly realized.
Jinglan personally distributed the silver, so the people naturally had no suspicions. It must be said that Jinglan knew how to use the people's hearts.
At this rate, the people should be evacuated in three hours...
"Make way! Make way!" A sharp shout suddenly came, followed by a carriage speeding by. The crowd was too dense, and many people were knocked over by the carriage!
An Xin glanced at the carriage, and the next moment her eyes darkened. The person driving the carriage was actually An Wan!?
Was she just too nervous and seeing things?
If she guessed correctly, An Wan should have already left the city with her mother!
"Get out of my way! Who dares to block my path! My brother-in-law is the Right Chancellor! My father is a high-ranking official in the court! If we're going to flee, you lowly people will be the last ones to follow! Get out of my way!"
An Xin's expression suddenly changed.
The crowd was in excruciating pain from the impact, but dared not utter a word of anger.
One of the quick-witted individuals couldn't help but ask, "What escape? The court is just distributing silver; there's no escape involved!"
An Xin quickly tried to squeeze into the carriage, but the crowd was so dense that it was extremely difficult to get through. She couldn't help but shout coldly, "An Wan, shut up!"
An Wan was suddenly stunned, not expecting to see An Xin here. Upon hearing An Xin scold her, she blurted out without thinking, "You think I'll shut up just because you tell me to? Let me tell you, the rocks in that lake on Duanfeng Mountain are about to collapse. Isn't there poisonous gas in the lake? Once the rocks fall in, you'll all die!"
An Xin's face suddenly turned deathly pale.
The noisy crowd fell silent...
An Wan looked at the frozen faces of the crowd with satisfaction and said smugly, "The Emperor has left the palace, and all the court officials have left. If you people stay in the capital, you'll only face death. What are you still doing here collecting money?"
An Xin felt a sudden chill in her chest. At that moment, she wished she could fly straight over and shut An Wan's mouth!