Confiscating property? A stunningly beautiful substitute bride empties the national treasury and is

"Any news about my older brother?"

Song Qingqian pressed for an answer.

Bai burst into tears instantly, carefully protecting her swollen belly, afraid of any mishap.

After a long pause, she choked out, "Just now, Lord Li revealed that... that a letter came from the Jingzhao Prefecture saying they have evidence that your eldest brother is corrupt and has sold weapons to the third brother. He might have his family's property confiscated and his entire clan implicated..."

"How could this be? I know your brother too well. He's been a hard worker his whole life; he would never do such a thing..."

Execute her entire family? Does that mean she has to be included too? No, I need to stay calm, stay calm, I can't panic!

Song Qingqian took a deep breath and sighed, "If you want to find fault, you can always find a reason. It must be because the Eighth Prince is growing up and the Lu family's prestige and power are increasing. Some people are afraid of him and want to bring down the Lu family."

"But the Eighth Prince is only four years old..."

Song Qingqian continued to comfort her, "Sister-in-law, let's not panic. The imperial decree hasn't been issued yet, and everything is just hearsay. You're not feeling well right now, so take the child back and rest. Eat and sleep as usual, and I'll figure out the rest."

Song Qingqian comforted her, saying that now that things had come to this, it seemed she had to leave the Marquis's residence quickly and go to the palace to find out what had happened and how to deal with it.

“But I’m the eldest son’s wife, I can’t just ignore this. I still have to wait for your older brother and the others to come back.”

“A few members of the Lu family’s collateral branches were shouting and almost came to blows. None of those branches are easy to deal with.”

Song Qingqian said speechlessly, "Sister-in-law, why do you care about them? Let them fight if they want. They'll stop when they're tired of fighting and have had enough."

In critical moments, they only bully their own kind; few of them dare to fight the Imperial Guards outside the gate.

Just take care of yourself and the two children. I'll figure out the rest. If they really want to raid the house... just let them. Just make sure you're safe.

"Oh well!"

Bai nodded, and left with no other choice but to take the child away. Lu Lanyue and Lu Xieyue hurriedly followed.

The remaining five families looked at each other in bewilderment. After a short while, seeing that no one was making a fuss, they all resigned themselves to their fate and dispersed.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Song Qingqian quietly left the Marquis's residence and headed straight for the palace.

The palace of the Northern Xia Kingdom was grand in scale and meticulously laid out, with lush trees and jade forests, jade palaces and pearl towers, and magnificent splendor everywhere, truly the epitome of opulence.

Song Qingqian had no time to pay attention. After easily dodging the heavily guarded Imperial Guards, she immediately saw the old lady kneeling in front of the Golden Palace.

"Your Majesty, my son is innocent! I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly..."

The old lady cried out in heartbreaking grief, calling for an unknown amount of time until her voice became hoarse, but no one came out of the Golden Palace.

Song Qingqian was furious. After landing on the roof, she moved a few golden tiles aside and looked down.

Inside the magnificent palace, there was singing and dancing, and no trace of the grief over the death of the imperial concubine could be seen.

The old emperor on the throne looked to be over fifty, short and fat, with a large, fleshy head and ears. Beneath his bright yellow dragon robe, the fat on his belly jiggled with his hearty laughter. His hands, as rough as pig's trotters, were currently on the waist of a slender dancer, wantonly caressing her…

Song Qingqian was stunned. This was so different from the emperors of all dynasties in her memory. No wonder it was so extravagant, even the tiles on the Golden Palace were gold.

While the Crown Prince and several senior officials were still discussing the matter, someone announced that the matriarch of the Lu family had fainted.

The old emperor sneered, "As expected of an old hag, useless. In just an hour and a half, if she knew that Lu Jin'an had been beaten to death, she would have followed her good-for-nothing daughter to her grave."

"Fine, drag him out of the palace. Don't defile my Golden Palace."

The Crown Prince said, "Father, what do you plan to do with Lu Jingchuan? He still commands an army of 100,000. If he rebels, the country will surely be affected."

"To be frank, the best course of action is to eliminate the threat completely. However, there are many officials in the court who support him, and killing them would shake the foundation of the country. It's a difficult situation..."

The Prime Minister said, "Your Majesty, the Lu family has already lost Lu Jin'an as a warning to others. Now that the Consort is gone, they will not be able to cause any trouble. Moreover, the Eighth Prince is still young. If we deal with him too drastically, it may be detrimental to the prince."

"In my humble opinion, as long as General Lu hands over the tiger tally, his family property will be confiscated and he will be exiled."

The Crown Prince agreed: "Father, I have heard that there is a deserted island in the barbarian lands where typhoons and tsunamis occur frequently, and nine out of ten people die there."

Moreover, that place is located at the intersection of five countries, and there is constant warfare there. Countless refugees are fleeing there. By then, Father Emperor won't even need to take action himself; they will probably have already met their demise.

Besides, exile is an incredibly arduous journey. Father can make them disappear whenever he wants; it all depends on your mood.

After the Crown Prince finished speaking, a sinister smile curled at the corner of his mouth. He had extended olive branches to Lu Jingchuan countless times, but Lu Jingchuan did not know how to appreciate them. So he would not blame Lu Jingchuan for being ruthless.

The old emperor laughed heartily and pinched the dancer's waist hard. The dancer then pretended to snuggle into his arms and act coquettishly.

"Alright, it's settled then. I don't care about the rest of the Lu family, but Lu Jingchuan must not live. Make your move as soon as you're away from the capital, lest things get complicated."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will follow your teachings."

The Grand Tutor spoke up: "Your Majesty, since the Fifth Prince passed away, the Kingdom of Dongling has proposed sending a hostage there for the third time, otherwise the land of Shunan will be lost!"

The Crown Prince glanced at the Prime Minister, who understood: "Your Majesty, now that the Consort has left, the most suitable among the princes is the Eighth Prince. He is still young and doesn't understand anything, which is perfect for him to adapt to the environment there."

After a moment of contemplation, the old emperor nodded: "Then let's go with the Eighth Prince. Once the Lu family leaves the capital, we'll send two more teams to escort the Eighth Prince there."

Listening to this motley crew of crickets, Song Qingqian was so angry her heart ached. Putting everything else aside, this Eighth Prince was the old emperor's own son, how could he bear to do this...?

No, she had to teach this rabble a lesson. Song Qingqian swiftly landed on a large tree, and with a thought, she quickly stored everything in the Golden Palace into her spatial storage.

Hearing the sudden screams, the once magnificent Golden Palace was completely stripped bare. Not only were the pure gold pillars gone, but even the white marble floor tiles were gone, not to mention the golden tiles on the roof...

"Help! Someone, come quick!"

The old emperor's panicked voice rang out. He had just been leisurely sipping wine with a dancer in his arms, but suddenly he collapsed to the ground. Not only was his dragon robe torn, but even a lowly maid dared to ride on him...

"You bitch, kill her!"

Song Qingqian took out a sphere of eternal flame from her spatial storage and quickly threw it into the arms of the old emperor in the Golden Palace. Then, with a wicked smile, she left the tree amidst the chaos.

"Fire! Put it out quickly!"

The ministers and the crown prince feigned panic, and not one of them went to put out the fire on the dragon robe. They were all hoping that the old emperor would pass away so that the crown prince could smoothly inherit the throne.