The gates of the Ji family, once opened, could never be closed again.
With so many common people anxiously watching from outside, any attempt to forcefully shut the gates would surely stir public outcry, even if no other action was taken. Moreover, the Emperor’s decree included the death penalty.
The eunuch suppressed the urge to personally hack the eldest daughter of the Ji family to death with a thousand cuts. He unfurled the memorial scroll in his hand and read the imperial decree aloud, word for word.
If your Ji family is not afraid of losing face, what is there for the court to fear?
The bewildered commoners listened to the imperial decree, each word clearly reaching their ears. The Battle of Luoyi had indeed sent news via the imperial messenger, yet the Emperor had never passed judgment on the Ji family. Now, with the decree issued, could it be that the true culprits behind the defeat at Luoyi were indeed the men of the Ji family?
The women of the Ji family watched as the initial looks of doubt on the faces of the commoners slowly turned cold and indifferent. Their hearts pounded in their chests.
The Ji family was already in such a dire state; they couldn’t understand why Sister Zhao had ordered the gates to be forced open. Was it merely to let the entire city witness the Ji family’s just desserts?
Naturally not.
The Ji family was entirely innocent, so what desserts were there to receive?
Ji Zizhao, facing the gradually growing looks of hatred and animosity from the commoners, stood tall with her back straight.
The eunuch, pleased with the commoners’ attitude, approached Ji Zizhao with a sneer. “Since the eldest daughter of the Ji family is the head of the family, please accept the imperial decree. This servant will certainly bear in mind the Ji family’s past contributions to Yulin and grant the eldest daughter a swift end.”
Ji Zizhao did not reach out to accept the decree. Instead, she raised her voice and retorted, “The imperial decree states that the defeat at Luoyi has been confirmed, but it does not explain how it was confirmed. And with this, you intend to condemn my Ji family? How can my Ji family submit!”
The eunuch was taken aback, having never encountered someone who questioned an imperial decree before accepting it. His anger flared, “Your Ji family’s audacity is truly growing by the day! Not only did the men of the Ji family cause the death of Yulin’s hundred thousand troops at Luoyi, but now the women of the Ji family wish to defy the imperial edict! Does your Ji family truly intend to rebel against heaven?!”
“The Battle of Luoyi, even the Emperor did not include the detailed reasons in the imperial decree. How do you, a eunuch, know?”
The eunuch was momentarily stumped.
“My Ji family has been a military household for a hundred years, safeguarding the peace of Yulin for a century! Now, all the men of my Ji family are buried on the battlefield! Leaving behind a household of widows, we die without even knowing the truth of the Luoyi battle! What kind of justice is this? What kind of national law? If my Ji family is truly guilty, we are willing to kneel and accept punishment. But to attempt to put my Ji family to death without clarity, where is the heavenly justice? Where is His Majesty’s wisdom!”
Ji Zizhao thought of how the men of the Ji family had died with a bad name, slandered and cursed. Tears streamed down her face, the pain in her heart like flesh being gouged out, her voice trembling.
She knew she shouldn't mention the two names that the Ji family had desperately suppressed in their hearts, but now, to protect those in the Ji family who could still live, she had no choice.
“May I ask, Eunuch, do you still remember Ji Zihe? Ji Zilu? May I ask if the court still remembers them!”
Madam Lin Wanyun and Second Madam Yu Fenglan, who had been kneeling on the ground, trembling with anxiety, trembled violently at the mention of these two names.
They didn’t know how long it had been since they had heard these names.
It wasn’t that they had forgotten, but they didn’t dare to think of them.
And these stirring words also made the commoners outside the gate impassioned.
The eldest daughter of the Ji family was right. The contributions the Ji family had made to Yulin were witnessed by the people of the capital. Other noble families’ young masters might still be crying at the age of five, yet the sons of the Ji family were already sent to military camps for training.
The defeat at Luoyi was a foregone conclusion, but what was the truth? Why was the court unwilling to announce it to the world openly?
“If the court intends to punish the Ji family, they must provide a crime supported by irrefutable evidence!”
“Is the court bullying the Ji family’s orphans and widows, who are now without support?”
“We will remain here. For every day without an answer, we will remain here. For a year without an answer, we will remain here. We shall see if there is any law in this world!”
The commoners, filled with righteous indignation, spontaneously walked up to the steps of the Ji family mansion.
In the blink of an eye, the area outside the Ji family gates was packed beyond measure.
It wasn’t that the commoners didn’t believe the court, but Ji Zizhao’s words had made them unable to forget the past of the Ji family.
The commoners also deeply remembered the scenes of all the men of the Ji family fulfilling their duty to the nation.
It wasn’t that the Ji family lacked men. The first and second madams of the Ji family had both borne sons.
Ji Zihe and Ji Zilu were their names.
However, during a period of border unrest that year, the two boys, only about ten years old, had followed countless soldiers to defend their homeland. They were captured by the enemy and eventually died miserably under the torture of an enemy general.
Even now, the remains of the eldest madam’s son had not been recovered.
Years had passed. The Ji family had never mentioned the tragically deceased youths, and the citizens of the city, not wanting to reopen the Ji family’s wounds, had also buried the two young men in their hearts.
But just because they didn’t mention it, didn’t mean they had truly forgotten!
The Ji family even sent their young children to the battlefield to protect the nation. How could they possibly commit heinous crimes?
Faced with the ever-increasing number of commoners, even the guards within the courtyard dared not make any rash moves.
The eunuch delivering the decree felt a blockage of anger in his chest. He, who was always glib-tongued and at ease within the palace, was now rendered speechless by a woman.
“The men of my Ji family lie unburied in the wilderness, unable to return to their roots even in death. The court wishes to erase everything with a single heavy charge, and reduce the widowed women of my Ji family to military prostitutes! His Majesty rules with benevolence, but what does benevolence mean? Why have I never seen it! If you wish for my Ji family to submit and confess, I implore His Majesty to permit the Second Prince, who has already gone to Luoyi, to publicly announce the contents of the military dispatch. If my Ji family is truly guilty, my Ji family will willingly die to atone!”
The eunuch’s hand holding the imperial decree trembled, and his legs, standing in the Ji family courtyard, also shook. If he could, he truly wished to sew Ji Zizhao’s mouth shut with his own hands.
But he knew he couldn’t. The commoners outside the gate were now in an uproar, full of fervor. Many indignant men were glaring at him, panting like bulls.
In the current situation, let alone him covering Ji Zizhao’s mouth, just getting a little closer to the Ji family might result in him being devoured alive by the commoners at the gate.
Especially since this matter involved the Second Prince. If things did not resolve smoothly today, the Second Prince would likely become a target of public criticism in the future.
The eunuch dared not delay. He quickly clutched the imperial decree in his hand and pushed his way out of the crowd.
He almost galloped back towards the imperial palace, tears streaming down his face.
Your Majesty, this servant cannot hold on any longer!!