Great Xia: At the start, summon the Net of Heaven to suppress the martial arts world.

"Young man, you are in command of this operation, so let's set off immediately!"

"Your Majesty has not given us much time!" After Cai Qi received the decree, Xiaoyaozi stepped forward and said to Cai Qi.

With just a moment's thought, Xiaoyaozi understood the profound significance of Xia Taige's oral message.

This move not only damaged the Cai family's reputation, but also cut off the Cai family's future prospects.

This also effectively ended any hope that the Cai family branch would ever take in Cai family disciples in the future.

It is likely that after the Cai clan is wiped out, its followers will not side with the branch that destroyed the Cai clan.

From this point on, even if one branch of the Cai family survived, the Cai family would likely have existed in name only.

"Thank you all for your help! If there is anything inappropriate in my actions, I hope you will forgive me!" After saying this, Cai Qi bowed slightly to Xiaoyaozi.

"No problem, let's not delay and set off immediately! We can discuss the specifics on the way!"

"Alright!"

~~~

Outside the Wang family's ancestral home, a group of eunuchs from the Eastern Depot gradually approached from afar.

Upon seeing this, the guards outside the Wang family mansion dared not delay and hurriedly went to consult the clan leader.

A moment later, when the Wang clan patriarch and the elders rushed over, they found several officials from the imperial court already waiting outside.

Seeing this, the Wang clan patriarch and the others unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

At such a critical juncture, Wang was still somewhat worried that the imperial court had sent people to exterminate her clan.

"I am deeply sorry for the esteemed angels who have graced us with their presence!" Upon seeing this, the Wang clan patriarch dared not delay and quickly apologized in a low voice.

"You're too kind, Clan Chief. I've come here on His Majesty's orders to deliver a decree!"

"Clan Chief Wang, please lead your men to receive the imperial decree first!" The head eunuch of the Eastern Depot waved the imperial decree in his hand, interrupting.

“Yes, yes!”

Upon hearing this, the Wang clan patriarch nodded repeatedly and then led everyone to kneel down to receive the imperial decree.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: It is now known that the Wang clan of Shuntian has realized their mistake and returned to the right path, no longer colluding with villains and showing consideration for the people's will. Having learned of this, I am willing to grant the Wang clan a chance to redeem themselves. Therefore, I hereby order the Wang clan to devote themselves to the restoration of people's livelihood from this day forward, and they must not make any mistakes."

"Appreciate this!"

As the shrill whispers ended, the Wang clan chief was taken aback, wondering what the imperial court's purpose was.

But he dared not delay and quickly kowtowed to express his gratitude and accept the imperial decree.

"This humble subject accepts the imperial decree and expresses his gratitude! The Wang family will certainly do its utmost to live up to Your Majesty's expectations!"

After the clan chief finished speaking, he stepped forward and took the imperial edict from the man from the Eastern Depot, then gestured to the person next to him to hand over the reward money.

"I hope you gentlemen will accept this small token of my appreciation!"

Upon seeing this, the steward beside the Wang clan chief quickly took out several brocade pouches from his bosom and handed them to several eunuchs from the Eastern Depot in a flattering manner.

Seeing this, the eunuchs from the Eastern Depot accepted the gifts without showing any emotion. Before leaving, they gave the gifts a meaningful instruction:

"I hope Your Excellency will cherish this opportunity and not disappoint His Majesty's expectations."

Having said that, the men from the Eastern Depot did not linger, but turned and rode away on horseback.

Upon hearing this, the Wang clan chief felt a little more serious. When he led the clan elders back to the main hall, he found the old clan chief already waiting inside.

Before the Wang clan patriarch could speak, the imperial edict in his hand flew toward him involuntarily.

Upon receiving the imperial edict, the old patriarch quickly opened it and read it carefully.

The old clan chief spent the time it takes for an incense stick to burn in just a few dozen words.

After a moment, he finally raised his head and looked at the people inside the hall.

"What are your plans?" the old patriarch asked the Wang patriarch in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, the Wang clan patriarch pondered for a moment before responding:

"This junior believes that this is an opportunity for the Wang family to demonstrate their loyalty, and we should act in accordance with the imperial decree without any reservations!"

"Indeed, at such a time, the imperial court's issuance of this edict must have a profound meaning, and we must not be careless."

Upon hearing this, the old patriarch agreed.

From the moment the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion was exposed, everyone present was thankful for the decision they had made.

Otherwise, like Cai, even cutting off one's tail might not guarantee survival.

The Cai family's intentions could not be hidden from the numerous powerful families and clans within the Great Xia, let alone the imperial court.

Nowadays, the power of the imperial court is no longer something that aristocratic families can contend with, even if all the aristocratic families were combined.

At this critical juncture, Xia Taige's issuance of this imperial edict must have had a profound meaning.

If the Wang family does not want to be purged by the imperial court in the future, they must pay compensation now, even if it means going bankrupt, to restore people's livelihood as soon as possible.

Otherwise, once the affairs of the aristocratic families come to an end, it will probably be the end of the Wang family.

"Although this move will cause heavy losses to our Wang clan, how can the court forgive us, one of the four great families, without paying some price?"

"I'm afraid this will severely damage the Wang family's vitality, which is also the deeper intention of the imperial court."

"I suppose this is not something that my Wang clan alone can accomplish. I'm afraid the court is more interested in seeing the attitude of my Wang clan."

"But in any case, our Wang family has fared much better than the other three great families."

The elders below then offered their analyses.

Given current prices and the Wang family's resources, restoring it to its original state is probably wishful thinking.

But upon closer reflection, the court must have something big to do to make this move; otherwise, it wouldn't have issued this imperial edict out of nowhere.

Upon closer reflection, it suddenly became terrifying.

"Since no one objects, let's implement the imperial edict immediately."

"No matter the cost or the loss, even if it means the Wang family goes bankrupt, we will get this matter through to the end."

"It is strictly forbidden for any member of any family to shirk their duties at this time, or they will be considered to have committed a disgraceful act!"

After looking around and seeing that no one objected, the Wang clan patriarch immediately gave a serious order.

"Yes, we will obey the clan leader's order!" Upon hearing this, all the clan elders present responded with solemn expressions.

At such a critical juncture, if things go wrong now, Wang's good days may be coming to an end.

Just as the Wang family was discussing the profound meaning of the imperial edict, at the same time, outside the Li family in Xu'an Prefecture...

At this moment, Wei Zhuang took the lead and personally led his team to the gate of the Li family mansion.

Such a large-scale operation could not escape the notice of the Li family, whose gates were now tightly closed.

However, the entire Li family mansion was already surrounded by the Zhenwu Division, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the soldiers of Xu'an Prefecture.

Outside the gate, Wei Zhuang waved his hand, and a powerful man wielding a large hammer appeared behind him, heading straight for the gate.

With a loud bang, the Li family's gate shattered into pieces.

Similarly, this hammer blow also struck the hearts of the Li clan.

The court's actions at this moment clearly indicate that it intends to exterminate the entire clan.

At this point, openly attacking the Li family means they certainly won't let a single member of the Li family leave alive.

Either the Li family wins and can survive temporarily, or the imperial court wins and the entire Li family is wiped out.