The people in Shengjing City were no strangers to Yan Huan. In the past two days, the incident of the Capital Garrison troops laying down their armor and kneeling in front of the palace gate to petition had caused quite a stir. Yan Huan was boasted to be a loyal and patriotic general, dedicated to the people and brave in battle.
Indeed, Yan Huan had become well - known. Many people believed what the Capital Garrison troops said and joined in pleading for him.
However, when they learned from Wang Chongling that the very person they had been pleading for had, in order to stay in Shengjing City, led his former subordinates to disguise themselves as bandits, massacre the innocent people at the foot of Yandang Mountain, and attempt to assassinate the current emperor, while trying to frame the Duke of Yong, the people immediately felt a sense of anger at being deceived.
Suddenly, curses filled the air. Spit, gravel, garbage and other things were mercilessly thrown at the corpses of the Yan family. Some people even pushed aside the guards and rushed forward to trample on the corpses.
Yan Wenqi, Yan Huan's youngest son, had previously relied on his father's position as the commander of the Capital Garrison to bully people in the market and harass civilian women in Shengjing City. The people had been too afraid to voice their grievances.
Now, Yan Wenqi's body lay beside Yan Huan's, and he also suffered intense retaliation from the people. His once - handsome face was trampled to a bloody mess.
The anger of the people was so great that even the city guards couldn't stop them. Wang Chongling was even affected. He was punched twice in the face by the angry people, and his old back was sprained during the pushing and shoving. He had to be carried back by the Wang family's guards.
In Shengjing City, there were two other major events. The King of Cang and the Duke of Yong were respectively rewarded.
While the entire Yan family was being executed, the rewards from the palace were carried by the palace servants like a flowing stream to the mansions of the King of Cang and the Duke of Yong.
The glittering jewels and the colorful silk fabrics dazzled the on - looking people, who envied them greatly.
Since the people knew that Yan Huan was a traitor, they also knew that the King of Cang and the Duke of Yong were loyal officials who had bravely protected the emperor. In their conversations, one could see their support for the two.
"I said the Duke of Yong was a hero. Look, he has only been in Shengjing City for a short time, but he has already made great contributions and received so many rewards!"
"No one expected that that person would be made a king this time. He is really in the emperor's favor!"
"With the King of Cang and the Duke of Yong around, they will surely deter those villains and make them not dare to act recklessly!"
Of course, there were also opposing voices in the crowd.
"Humph, the emperor collects so many taxes from us common people every year. See, all this money is being rewarded to his subordinates. In my opinion, the King of Cang and the Duke of Yong are just corrupt officials!"
No one knew where the voice came from, but these words really made everyone pause for a moment.
Yes, whether they were farmers or merchants, they had to pay taxes to the court every year. Where did all this money go?
If it was all used to reward these high - ranking officials in the capital, wasn't it like sucking their blood and marrow?
Looking at the continuous stream of rewards in front of them, everyone's eyes turned red.
Someone else said:
"You're right. If some of this money was used to buy grain and relieve the refugees outside, many lives could be saved."
"Not to mention the victims of the disaster, it could at least give the beggars in the city a meal."
Another voice said, "We can't just let them enjoy these rewards. Anyway, they should give some back!"
Just as the people were about to rush forward to snatch the rewards from the palace, a man in a gray robe said excitedly, raising his voice,
"So what if the emperor rewards them? Think about it. The traitors of the Yan family massacred an entire village of people at the foot of Yandang Mountain and tried to assassinate the emperor. If it weren't for the Duke of Yong and the King of Cang risking their lives to protect the emperor and behead the enemy leader, the world would have been in chaos long ago, and we would have become refugees. Do we still have the chance to stand here and criticize?"
"These rewards are what the Duke of Yong and the King of Cang deserve. They earned them with their excellent martial arts and at the risk of their own lives. Is the emperor's life really so worthless in your mouths?"
These words immediately pulled everyone out of their jealous emotions.
"Yes, the Duke of Yong once killed so many northern barbarians in the north and protected the northern defense line and the people there. This is what he deserves!"
"If you have the ability, go to the north and kill the barbarians and become a great general. Stop talking nonsense here. I think you have bad intentions. You want us to clash with the palace rewards so that we can be punished too!"
"Anyway, I only know that if someone brags about a person too much, it may not be true. If someone maliciously slurs others, they must have bad intentions."
Soon, the disharmonious skeptical voices were suppressed by the enthusiastic people. The first few people who raised the doubts managed to break out of the crowd with great difficulty and ran away in a hurry.
After they left, they slipped into an ordinary cottage in a deep alley.
The chief steward of the Wang family was sitting inside waiting for them.
Kneeling in front of the chief steward, the men said in a low voice, "Steward, our plan has failed again."
"Yes, the people outside are blindly worshipping Su Qing and Cang Xuan. They simply won't listen to us!"
The chief steward of the Wang family looked gloomy. He raised his hand to stop them and said, "I know. You can all go down."
Sure enough, as the family head had said, it was really difficult to deal with a well - known general like Su Qing with rumors. The people would justify him on their own.
It seemed that they had to start from another aspect.
...
Su Yuanyuan woke up to a somewhat festive commotion.
After waking up, she looked around and found herself lying safely in bed. It was already broad daylight, and she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
Last night, she sat by the bed, fighting off sleep and waiting.
She didn't know why she was waiting, but she just wanted to try and see if that big liar would come to her room again.
She waited and waited. The night watchman's drum had already sounded, but her room remained quiet, without a single figure. This made her extremely disappointed.
Eventually, she couldn't resist the drowsiness and fell asleep.
She slept very soundly that night and didn't have any dreams at all. She just slept until dawn.
But for some reason, thinking that she hadn't dreamt of anything last night, she felt even more disappointed.
As soon as she woke up, Xiao Ba exclaimed, [Little Yuanbao, you're awake! Good morning!]
[Good morning.]
Su Yuanyuan was already used to Xiao Ba's morning greetings. After the greeting, she looked up at the half - closed window and murmured, "What's going on outside? Why is it so noisy?"