Chapter 316: Killing the whole family
After General Qian was taken away, the officers began to rudely drive away the women and servants of the Qian Mansion who were still standing outside the mansion, "All of you, get back to the yard. Anyone who disobeys will be beheaded on the spot."
Aunt Tong was so frightened that she immediately ran to the inner courtyard. She was afraid that if she was a step late, she would be killed by these ferocious officials.
At this time, the old servant also helped Madam Qian to walk into the mansion. Qian Huan stepped forward and instructed, "Madam, I will send someone to deliver some food to the mansion every day at noon. Remember to send two servants to move things at this time every day."
Madam Qian was extremely grateful. At this critical juncture, everyone else was probably afraid of having anything to do with their General's Mansion, but she didn't expect that this girl would actually come up to her on her own initiative.
But Madam Qian was not sure whether the Qian family could escape unscathed this time. She did not want to implicate innocent people, so she said in a somewhat distant tone, "County Lady Jingrou, you really shouldn't come to our Qian family at this time. Collaboration with the enemy and treason is a serious crime, and innocent people may be implicated if you are not careful."
Qianhuan understood that Madam Qian was afraid that she would be implicated, so she tried to comfort her, "Madam Qian, Commander Qian once saved my life, and repaying a favor is a virtue. I am only sending you some food, and I believe that even if His Majesty knew about it, he would not convict me without knowing the truth. Just send someone to get the things, and don't worry about me being implicated."
Madam Qian no longer refused after hearing this. She grabbed Qianhuan's hand and said gratefully, "County Lady Jingrou, I am so sorry to trouble you. I am really grateful."
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the old lady reached into her sleeve, quietly took off the bracelet on her wrist and handed it to Qianhuan, "Qianhuan girl, I don't have any money on me right now. This bracelet was made for me by my son at a high price. It's very valuable. You can take it to the pawn shop and use it to buy food."
Qianhuan was unwilling to accept it. "Madam, you absolutely cannot do that. Qianhuan cannot have your bracelet. Please put it away yourself."
"Girl, if you don't accept it, how can I, an old woman, enjoy the food you bring with peace of mind?"
Qianhuan knew that the old lady was not the kind of person who liked to take advantage of others. In order to reassure her, she said, "Don't worry, old lady, I will keep a record of how much money I spent on food. I will come to your house to ask for the money after General Qian and Commander Qian are acquitted."
The old lady heard this and still stubbornly forced the bracelet into her hand. "In that case, I will keep this bracelet for you. When the Qian Mansion is safe, you can return it to me. If you don't take it, and our Qian Mansion is really raided, then I won't be able to keep this bracelet. Rather than letting those people get away with it, I'd rather give it to you, little girl."
When the officer saw the two men arguing, he drew his sword and shouted, "Leave immediately, all the outsiders. The people from Qianfu should go back to their mansion immediately, otherwise don't blame the swords for being blind."
Qianhuan had no choice but to quickly grasp the bracelet in her hand, and then watched Madam Qian enter the mansion. She did not turn around and leave until the door of the Qian mansion was closed by the officials.
Yinhua and Banxia stepped forward, and Yinhua asked, "Miss, are we going back to Jingyuan now?"
Qianhuan shook her head and said, "No, I want to go to Prince An's Mansion first to find Ziyu to find out the situation."
Banxia said, "Miss, the prince is probably still in the palace at this hour, so if we go there it would be a wasted trip."
"It doesn't matter. If he really ran away, let the guard pass a message to Zi Yu and ask him to come to Jingyuan after the court session."
So the master and his two servants went around to Prince An's mansion first. As Banxia had expected, the guard told them that the prince had gone to the palace to attend court early in the morning and was still in the palace and had not returned.
Qian Huan had no choice but to leave a message, "If the prince comes back, please let him know and tell him that I came to see him and ask him to come to my house."
The guard had known Qianhuan for a long time. He nodded respectfully and said, "County Lady Jingrou, don't worry. When you come back, I will definitely pass on your message."
When the prince returned home after court, he learned that Qianhuan had come to see him, so he hurried to Jingyuan.
As soon as they met, Qianhuan directly asked what she was most concerned about, "Zi Yu, how is the interrogation of General Qian Da for treason going? Has His Majesty found out the truth?"
"When His Majesty saw the letter of treason, he was so angry that he ordered the execution of Qian's father and son on the spot. Fortunately, I and some generals pleaded for mercy, and His Majesty rescinded the order and temporarily imprisoned them in the prison to be interrogated by the Ministry of Justice."
Qianhuan asked worriedly, "Your Majesty won't just take their lives, right?"
The prince said with a serious expression, "The Qian family father and son have been crying out for injustice in the hall and refused to plead guilty. His Majesty has only given the Ministry of Justice three days to interrogate them. If the Qian family father and son plead guilty, the whole family will be executed."
"What if they refuse to confess? Your Majesty can't just convict them?"
"Even if they don't plead guilty, if they can't produce strong evidence to prove their innocence, they will definitely not have a good ending."
"General Qian has fought for Dayuan all his life. I don't believe that someone who loves his country and his people like him would collaborate with the enemy and betray his country."
"In fact, I don't believe that General Qian would collaborate with the enemy and commit treason, but it's useless for us to believe it. Your Majesty has always been afraid of these military commanders who command a large number of troops. Now that the world is peaceful, there is no place for military commanders to use their military power in recent years. Your Majesty has long been thinking about taking back the military power from these old ministers. Now that letters of treason have been found in Qian's mansion, His Majesty is furious and won't listen to any advice. Now we can only wait and see what happens."
After hearing this, Qianhuan could only wait for the final interrogation results.
Early the next morning, Qianhuan sent people to purchase fresh ingredients such as fruits and vegetables, and then personally delivered them to the Qian Mansion. As promised, Old Madam Qian also sent two servants to move the things.
In this way, Qianhuan delivered food to Qian Mansion for three consecutive days.
It was not until the fourth day that the emperor directly charged the Qian family with treason and ordered the execution of all members of the Qian family, with the execution to be carried out three days later.
The Ministry of Justice sent people to the Qian family to arrest people, and all the hundreds of people in the Qian family, from the top to the bottom, were driven out of the mansion by the officers and soldiers.
Everyone had their hands tied and were pulled by a long rope. Old Madam Qian was tied in the front, followed closely behind her was Madam Qian, who had lived in the Buddhist temple for a long time, followed by Aunt Tong and others.
There were many common people outside Qianfu Gate who were watching the fun, and everyone couldn't help pointing and talking.
"It's a pity that we usually respect General Qian so much and regard the Qian family as heroes who protect Dayuan. Who would have thought that they would actually collaborate with the enemy and sell out the country? Such people are really guilty of heinous crimes and deserve to be executed along with their entire family."
"That's right, this kind of traitor who betrays his country must be cut into pieces."
It was not known who took the lead in throwing vegetable leaves at Old Madam Qian, but the common people behind began to follow suit, constantly throwing rotten eggs and spitting at the Qian family members.
Madam Qian was afraid that Old Madam Qian would get hurt, so she turned sideways and used her body to block Old Madam Qian, and all the vegetable leaves and rotten eggs fell on her.
While Aunt Tong was using her hands to protect her head from getting hurt, she was muttering in her heart: Why didn't that little bitch Yuying let the Fourth Prince send someone to pick me up? Is she really going to let me go to jail with these people?
When Qianhuan learned the news that the Qian family was going to be executed, she suddenly covered her chest with a painful expression on her face.
Yin Hua exclaimed, "Miss, what's wrong with you?"
Qianhuan frowned and said, "I don't know why, but when I heard that the Qian family was going to be exterminated, my heart ached."
Banxia understood medical knowledge, so she quickly rubbed Qianhuan's chest and smoothed the air on her back. After a while, Qianhuan finally recovered.
She didn't know why, but she believed in her heart that the Qian family was innocent, and she didn't want to see a loyal family being killed in such an unclear manner.
If nothing else, even if it was just to repay Commander Qian for saving her life, she felt that she had to do something. She couldn't just watch them die. "Come on, follow me to Prince An's Mansion."