Painting Doctor Jinhua

Wuyi Lane is on the south bank of the Qinhuai River. Since the Jin Dynasty moved south, it has been the residence of the two major aristocratic families, Wang and Xie. It is the most prosperous and beautiful scenery in Jiankang City. Because countless famous figures from the Wang and Xie families came from here in the past two hundred years, this place has become a legendary place that people talk about and yearn for.

These two aristocratic families have a long history and were once the top families. High-ranking officials were passed down from generation to generation. Everyone thought they would be prosperous forever. But who would have thought that because of a rejected marriage, these two families would suffer the tragic disaster of being wiped out, and the descendants of Wuyi disappeared from this world from then on.

And she was the culprit of all this.

As the eldest daughter of Chenjun Xie's family, she had the most noble status and innate pride. She would not marry a poor scholar and would always stay away from the imperial power. Preserving the strength and heritage of the family was the family motto she had inherited since childhood, and she also strictly followed this family motto. Therefore, when Hou Jing proposed to Emperor Wu of Liang about marrying the Xie family, she refused without hesitation, and based on some of the trends she could roughly predict about the future, she advised Emperor Wu of Liang to drive Hou Jing out of Daliang. However, the old and confused emperor did not listen to her advice. Instead, he repeatedly promoted Hou Jing to a higher position and sent him money and silk to appease him, so that Hou Jing's military and political power as well as military supply reserves grew day by day, until he could finally shout "clear the emperor's side" and rebel.

However, up to this point, Emperor Wu of Liang still did not become alert, and even rewarded and appeased the foreigners who raised the banner of rebellion again. My grandfather was powerless to see that the capital was about to fall into the hands of the thieves. In desperation, he had to ask Emperor Wu's most beloved nephew Xiao Yuanming to design an assassination of Hou Jing through the powerful official Gao Cheng of the Eastern Wei Dynasty. However, he did not expect that someone had heard of this matter. When the matter was exposed, Hou Jing was furious and launched a rebellion. He summoned tens of thousands of troops to attack the city of Jiankang.

The Jiankang gentry had always lived a life of luxury and ignored worldly affairs. They were completely unable to resist Hou Jing's brutal attack and soon the Jiankang Taicheng fell. His family, along with many other gentry in the south, suffered Hou Jing's brutal revenge.

After taking control of Taicheng, Hou Jing deposed the emperor and proclaimed himself emperor. The first decree he issued was to execute both the Wang and Xie families.

At that time, under the protection of her family elders, she fled with her younger brothers and sisters. She finally escaped from Jiankang and wanted to reunite with another tribe in the north. However, she encountered an ambush on the way and was attacked by a group of masked men in black.

That was the day she died at the hands of that man. However, she never understood until her death that the man who doted on her to the point of obeying her every word and never complaining only wanted her life in the end.

The Southern Chen Kingdom... Turns out it was Chen!

Xiao Jinyu stood under a big tree, looking at the abandoned mansions not far away, and laughed silently, with big tears rolling in her eyes.

Father, mother, grandfather, I am back again. Although I am no longer the Xie Yuqing of the past, but have become Xiao Jinyu of twenty years later, I will never let the Xie family be buried in the long river of history and disappear.

This was the last time I allowed myself to cry.

"Brother Qing - I found out."

When Xiao Jinyu heard Fenghuang's voice, she immediately wiped away her tears, turned to the boy and nodded.

"Go ahead!" she said.

Seeing her slightly red eyes, Fenghuang was slightly stunned for a moment, but did not reveal her pain. She only replied: "I just went to inquire about it. The Lanling Xiao family living in Jiankang City is said to be the descendants of the former Crown Prince Zhaoming..."

"Descendant of Prince Zhaoming?" Xiao Jinyu was a little surprised.

Prince Zhaoming Xiao Tong was the first biological son of Emperor Wu of Liang, but not the eldest son. Emperor Wu of Liang's eldest son was Xiao Zhengde, who was adopted from the son of his cousin. Later, when Emperor Wu of Liang was forty, he had a son, so he transferred all his fatherly love to his own son Xiao Tong, and gave the position of crown prince that should have fallen on Xiao Zhengde without hesitation to his own son Xiao Tong. He invited many knowledgeable celebrities and Confucian scholars in Jiankang City to teach and educate him. Xiao Tong lived up to expectations when he grew up, and developed the Confucian character of "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and filial piety". He was not only brilliant in writing and knowledgeable, but also kind in nature, diligent in his work and loved the people.

However, he never expected that he would be suspected by Emperor Wu of Liang because of a wax goose incident, and eventually died in depression.

After the death of the crown prince, the princes of the Xiao family started playing a game of seizing the throne. When Hou Jing attacked Taicheng, they all stood by and watched, ignoring their father and hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in Taicheng, Jiankang. They sat back and watched the fight between the two tigers, which eventually led to Emperor Wu of Liang starving to death in Taicheng, and 200,000 people in Jiankang either starved to death or died at the hands of Hou Jing.

It was really ridiculous! Because of the stupidity of Emperor Wu of Liang and the selfishness and cowardice of the descendants of the Xiao family, Hou Jing, who had only a few thousand soldiers, destroyed the prosperity of the entire Southern Liang and Jiankang City, causing thousands of people to be slaughtered and starved to death. The entire Jiankang City was deserted and smokeless for thousands of miles.

Her father, brothers and sisters were tortured and humiliated by Hou Jing's revenge.

At that time, she thought more than once, if Prince Zhaoming was still alive... or even if Prince Zhaoming ascended the throne one day earlier, wouldn't the subsequent kings have been exiled, wouldn't the cruel Hou Jing Rebellion have happened, and her family wouldn't have...

Thinking of this, Xiao Jinyu shook her head and laughed again. There is no if in anything...

However, I really didn't expect that since Chen proclaimed himself emperor in place of Liang, didn't he follow Hou Jing's example and exterminate the Xiao family?

At this time, the phoenix replied: "It seems that it is because Prince Zhaoming was highly respected and knowledgeable during his lifetime, and he was a role model for scholars. Emperor Wu of Chen appreciated his talent and kept this branch of the Xiao family as an official in the Chen Dynasty."

This is a good way to win people's hearts. Founding monarchs of all dynasties would do this in order to show their wisdom and benevolence to the public, but there are endless assassinations in secret.

"Who is the head of the Xiao family this generation?" Xiao Jinyu asked.

Phoenix replied: "Xiao Jian."

"Xiao Jian?" Xiao Jinyu frowned.

"Brother Qing, have you remembered anything, or do you know this person?" Seeing Xiao Jinyu's expression showing a little surprise, Fenghuang asked again.

Xiao Jinyu shook her head. She really didn't know this person. Moreover, in her memory, there was no one named Xiao Jian among the descendants of Prince Zhaoming.

"How many people are there in the Xiao family now? How many descendants do they have?" Xiao Jinyu asked again.

Phoenix thought for a moment, shook his head and replied, "Not too much."

"How do you say this?"

Fenghuang answered, "It's like this. I heard that Xiao Jian, the head of the Xiao family, originally married two wives in order to make the Xiao family prosperous. From those two wives, there seem to be four or five legitimate sons, and more than a dozen illegitimate sons. But what's strange is that a few years ago, the Xiao family seemed to be infected with a plague, and many people died. Now, there are only two legitimate sons alive, Xiao Xian and Xiao Yun. Brother Qing, you also met this Xiao Xian today. I heard that he is also sick and weak, and he will not live past the age of 25."

"Also... I asked around, but no one knew that the Xiao family had an aunt. I also don't know why the aunt left the Xiao family. Do the Xiao family members still remember her?"

At this point, the boy's tone was a little disappointed. If the Xiao family refused to acknowledge Brother Qing, could he really return to the Xiao family with only those tokens?

"You don't have to feel sad. I never planned to live under someone else's roof." Xiao Jinyu continued, and then asked, "You just said that Xiao Jian married two wives. Does he support two wives at the same time?"

There was no such thing as having a co-wife at that time, and the sons of aristocratic families especially did not dare to go beyond the etiquette and attract criticism and ruin their reputation. However, if there were not many heirs in the family, an only son could inherit the ancestral lineage of both families.

Fenghuang shook her head and said, "No, it seems that the second wife that the head of the Xiao family married was arranged by Emperor Wen. She was a princess of the Chen State. As a princess, she certainly did not want to be a concubine, so Emperor Wen followed the example of Jia Chong in the Jin Dynasty and gave the head of the Xiao family two wives, the left and the right. I heard that the right wife is more than ten years younger than the left wife."

"Madam Zuo and Madam Zuo?" Xiao Jinyu murmured, and then asked, "What about Madam Zuo? How is she now?"

"I heard it's not good. After the epidemic that hit the Xiao family, Madam Zuo lost several children and then got a serious illness. Until now, she has been paralyzed in bed and mentally unclear. Those people also said that if Madam You hadn't invited a famous doctor to take care of her with medicine, Madam Zuo might have died long ago. Those people praised Madam You very highly." At this point, Fenghuang added, "Oh, by the way, I heard that Madam Zuo is from the Yuan family of Chen County!"

"Chenjun Yuan family?"

Fenghuang nodded, and Xiao Jinyu's expression darkened.

Everyone knows that during the Hou Jing Rebellion, there was a massacre in the city, and the four major immigrant families, "Wang, Xie, Yuan, and Xiao", were all slaughtered. It is no wonder that the emperor of the Chen family dared to give a princess to Xiao Jian as his right wife. Without the protection of the family, no matter how noble the status was, it would be nothing more than tender meat without a shell, at the mercy of others.

"Fenghuang, let's go to the Xiao family tonight." After thinking for a while with a smile in his heart, Xiao Jinyu suddenly said, "Before that, please send a letter to the Xiao family for me."