When my vicious stepmother mistakenly married me to the Immortal Lord

After reading the letter, Jiang Song felt as if something heavy was pressing down on his heart, making it hard for him to breathe.

To be honest, she still feels sorry for Xie Changyan until now.

However, when she thought about how he had plotted against her and used her, her heart turned cold again.

She sighed deeply, burned the letter, turned and walked to the window, looking at the bleak autumn scenery outside.

The leaves turned yellow and fell in the wind, just like her mood at the moment, heavy and lonely.

After an unknown amount of time, she heard footsteps approaching from afar and stopping outside her door.

"Young Madam, Prince Jingyuan has arrived and is waiting in the front hall. He said he wants to see you." Dawn's voice sounded outside the door.

Jiang Song came back to his senses and his heart trembled slightly.

Ximen Liu! What is he doing here?

She straightened her clothes, walked out of the room, and came to the front hall as dawn broke.

After all, it was the prince who came to visit, and the Xie family did not dare to neglect him. Xie Guangting, Chu Jinghong and Xie Changyu were already waiting in the front hall.

When Jiang Song walked into the front hall, he saw Ximen Liu wearing a black brocade robe, with his hair tied up with a golden crown. He was sitting upright in the main seat with an extraordinary demeanor.

Next to him stood a man in black clothes with a stern face. He was the leader of the Black Armor Guards, Mo Ying, who had accompanied her to move the grave yesterday.

"Greetings, King Jingyuan." Jiang Song stepped forward and saluted.

Ximen Liu stood up and gave her a light support, "Miss Jiang, there's no need to be so polite. Please take a seat."

Jiang Song sat down in the guest seat and said with a smile, "Thanks to the prince for helping me move my mother's grave, Jiang Song is very grateful."

"Miss Jiang, you are too polite. It's just a small favor." Ximen Liu smiled slightly. "Besides, it is an honor for me to serve Miss Jiang."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became a little subtle.

Xie Guangting and Chu Jinghong looked at each other and muttered to themselves: The attitude of King Jingyuan towards Jiang Song seems a little too warm.

Xie Changyu looked at Ximen Liu with a bit more wariness and inquiry in his eyes.

Jiang Song coughed lightly, smiled awkwardly, and quickly changed the subject: "I wonder why the prince came to visit today?"

"Regarding the case of treason committed by the four major families, I'm afraid the Jiang family will be able to escape punishment smoothly." Ximen Liu restrained his smile and said seriously.

"Why? Jiang Buli condoned his wife's evil deeds and repeatedly conspired with the remnants of the Shen family to murder our Xie family. Jiang He also deceived the world and stole the reputation... How can they be clean?"

Chu Jinghong became anxious when he heard this and kept asking questions.

Ximen Liu glanced at her calmly, "Du Shulan took all the blame, and during the investigation, no direct involvement of the Jiang family members was found."

"What's more, Jiang Buli presented a divorce agreement stamped with an official seal, indicating that he and Du Shulan had severed their marital relationship before he was imprisoned. The rest of the Jiang family also severed their ties."

"Although Du Shulan was the one who caused the ghost disaster, it was Jiang He who personally solved it. Her merits and demerits offset each other, and Your Majesty will only demote her by two levels to see how she performs."

"As for Jiang Buli, although he has not committed any serious offenses, he has been lax in governing his subordinates and has no good way of managing his household. Your Majesty has reprimanded him and fined him five years' salary as a warning to others."

"He voluntarily handed over over fifty pieces of Jiang family property, saying they would be used to finance the national treasury and military expenditures. Your Majesty, seeing his tact, did not investigate further."

Upon hearing this result, everyone in the Xie family was stunned.

They originally thought that they could take this opportunity to completely suppress the Jiang family, but they didn't expect that the Jiang family could actually make a comeback!

Especially Chu Jinghong, she never thought that the Jiang family could escape the disaster so easily!

"This is impossible!" she screamed. "Those people in the Jiang family are so heartless and ruthless. How could they be completely fine?"

"Mother!" Xie Changyu quickly pulled her back. "The prince is still here. Please calm down."

Xie Guangting also frowned and asked in a deep voice, "Your Highness, is this true?"

"Absolutely true." Ximen Liu nodded. "This was announced by His Majesty himself at the court this morning."

Jiang Song was not surprised that the Jiang family was able to escape punishment. She knew very well what a shrewd and calculating person Jiang Buli was.

He has always been good at seeking benefits and avoiding harm, and protecting himself. This time, he must have made preparations early on and left a way out for himself.

Divorce early? Haha, that's really his style!

Jiang Buli was so heartless and ungrateful that it was hard for Du Shulan to protect him until her death. It was really ridiculous and sad.

"In addition to uncovering a rebellious poem and a highly ominous artifact resembling a phoenix weeping blood, the Shen family also uncovered a secret letter indicating their collusion with the Longxi tribes in the northern border, with the intention of rebellion."

"This letter was written by Shen Jingshi, the head of the Shen family, and it bears his personal seal. The evidence is irrefutable."

"The entire Shen family was imprisoned, awaiting execution in the autumn. All their property was confiscated and put into the national treasury."

As Ximen Liu spoke, his eyes swept across Jiang Song's face intentionally or unintentionally.

When Jiang Song set up the plan, she never thought that the Shen family actually had the intention of rebellion. She even inadvertently helped the court and eliminated a potential threat.

"As for the He family, they are related to the Shen family by marriage and are birds of a feather. During the investigation, we found evidence that they were illegally stockpiling weapons and raising soldiers, with ill intentions. They were also confiscated and executed."

"As for the Du family, aside from their involvement in the attack on the Xie family, all other crimes were committed by Du Shulan alone. Although the rest of the Du family were implicated, they were not sentenced to death. They were only demoted to commoners and exiled thousands of miles away."

Ximen Liu spoke slowly, and everyone in the hall was shocked.

Overnight, two of the four major families were destroyed, one was damaged, and only one was barely preserved. The changes in the situation are truly regrettable.

If there are cultivators or warriors in the clan, they are usually exiled to the bitter cold land in the far north or the malaria-ridden areas in the south to dig spiritual stones and mine minerals for the imperial court, or guard the border to atone for their sins.

"Du Shulan herself has committed numerous crimes. She will be made into a human pig, and the container containing her body will be placed on the city wall as a warning to others, letting the world know that those who commit many evil deeds will eventually suffer the consequences."

Du Shulan also came from a martial arts background. In her early years, she was an outstanding disciple in Fengwu Academy. Later, due to her expanding selfish desires, she went astray.

When Ximen Liu mentioned the punishment Du Shulan would suffer, Jiang Song's eyes involuntarily shrank slightly.

The punishments in Taixi State have always been extremely harsh, and the punishment of turning people into pigs is even more cruel!

They would chop off a person's limbs, gouge out their eyes, pour copper into their ears to make them deaf, pour secret medicine down their throats, cut off their tongues, destroy their vocal cords to make them unable to speak, and then throw them into the sewage.

Some even have their noses cut off, eyebrows and eyelids shaved, and a medicine applied to destroy the hair follicles so that the hair will never grow back after it falls off.

During the process of plucking hair, if the process is too slow, lead water will be poured in, which will directly rot the skin and flesh and take off the hair along with it.

Even a warrior would find it difficult to endure such torture. The main reason is that the human pig cannot die easily. It has to endure endless pain and humiliation until its organs fail bit by bit and it dies.

If a container containing human pigs is placed on the top of the city wall, it will have a great deterrent effect on those with evil intentions.

Du Shulan committed many evil deeds and harmed innocent people. She deserved such an end.