Zhou Donglin's premonition was right.
This time, Song Jiaye gave him an imperial edict and asked him to go and read it on behalf of the eunuch who was supposed to do so. He even said with a smile, "I can rest assured leaving this matter to you."
Song Jiaye certainly didn't mean that Zhou Donglin was his confidant or a person he trusted. He was just using these words to humiliate Zhou Donglin. Since Zhou Donglin was already a eunuch, asking him to do some eunuch's work was just making the best use of him.
The other party was the emperor. Even though Zhou Donglin was unhappy, he had to take the order at this moment.
There was a special carriage for reading the imperial edict, but Zhou Donglin didn't have one. He walked out of the palace gate alone and got into a carriage.
After getting into the carriage, he opened the imperial edict. However, the content on it really stunned him.
This... This Song Jiaye...
It was an imperial edict announcing the Li Family's treason.
Song Jiaye was really cruel! He was asking him to send the entire Li Family to hell!
No, he couldn't just watch this happen.
Zhou Donglin quickly called a servant and whispered, "Hurry up and inform the Li Family." After thinking for a while, he ordered again, "Go to the morgue and buy the unclaimed corpses. The closer and the more, the better."
The servant also realized the seriousness of the matter. After receiving the order, he quickly scurried away.
Zhou Donglin pinched the imperial edict, and his heart was pounding.
He of course knew that Song Jiaye had a backup plan. After being in the officialdom for so many years, he was well aware of these little tricks of the imperial power.
Normally, when reading an imperial edict for raiding a family, the imperial guards would usually be brought along. This was to prevent the other party from rebelling and to ensure that the family was raided by the imperial guards when arresting people, achieving a one - shot success.
Song Jiaye was such a cautious person. He couldn't possibly let Zhou Donglin go and read the imperial edict without any preparation. Maybe the imperial guards were secretly following behind him, or maybe they had already been waiting at the Li Family's gate.
Song Jiaye wanted to kill two birds with one stone this time.
If Zhou Donglin tipped off the Li Family and they escaped, Song Jiaye could justly punish Zhou Donglin.
If Zhou Donglin didn't tip them off and the Li Family didn't escape, he could still take down the Li Family. His vicious intentions made people shudder just thinking about them.
Although Zhou Donglin knew the danger, he still wanted to tip off the Li Family. Even though he knew it was like an arm blocking a car, he still wanted to stop it.
He wasn't afraid. He was only afraid that he couldn't save the Li Family.
Thinking of this, Zhou Donglin said to the coachman, "Drive slower."
"Okay."
He simply dawdled in the carriage slowly to buy time for the Li Family.
After seeing this imperial edict, it wasn't strange that Song Jiaye had issued a military reform order a few years ago, which was similar to dividing the troops into smaller units and turning soldiers into farmers.
Since the Zhong Family had replaced the Li Family's army in guarding the border, the Li Family's army had been idle and had been consumed over time. At this moment, if they really had to face the imperial guards, no one knew how much chance they had.
The Li Family soon learned of Zhou Donglin's message. Father Li was mentally prepared for such a result. The emperor had been weakening his Li Family's army for years, and now it had been almost divided up.
Brother Li advised, "Father, I'll deal with the emperor. You take the others and leave first."
Father Li shook his head unhurriedly.
"Do you think where Zhou Donglin got this news from?"
Brother Li couldn't understand why his father was still concerned about such matters at this critical moment.
"His father is the prime minister, and he has also been an official in the capital recently. He has many colleagues in the officialdom, so there must be ways for the news to leak."
"Do you think our Li Family's spies can't find out the news that he can?" Father Li shook his head helplessly.
"Father, do you mean..."
"If I'm not wrong, the official who comes to read the edict is Zhou Donglin."
Hearing this news, Brother Li and Sister - in - law Li were both shocked: "This... The emperor is so vicious! He wants to turn the Zhou and Li Families into sworn enemies!"
Father Li looked up at the gray sky and at his family behind him. The sword hanging over the Li Family's head had finally fallen.
"If we leave, Zhou Donglin will become the scapegoat. The Zhou Family only has Donglin as their child. If something happens to him, how can we explain it to Prime Minister Zhou?"
The Li Family members looked at each other. Moreover, under the emperor's rule, there was no place they could escape to. What would happen to Qi Yu who was still in the palace if they became rebels?
"Forget it, forget it. The world is big, but where can we flee to?"
In the evening, Zhou Donglin's carriage finally wobbled to the Li Family's mansion. Zhou Donglin's steps were as heavy as if they were filled with lead. He stepped onto the steps one by one.
This journey was longer than any he had ever taken in his life.
Inside the gate, the Li Family members were all neatly dressed and waiting in full battle array. No one escaped, and no one flinched.
This was the backbone of the Li Family.
Zhou Donglin's hand holding the imperial edict was trembling. He looked at the Li Family members and couldn't help but get red - eyed.
Why didn't they leave?
If they left, they could survive.
Father Li saw through the worry in Zhou Donglin's eyes. He took the lead, lifted his robe, knelt on both knees, and waited to hear the edict.
"Your subject, Li Xiangping, is respectfully waiting for the imperial edict."
At this moment, suddenly there were countless footsteps at the door. Just as Zhou Donglin had expected, Song Jiaye had already arranged people to wait at the door. At this moment, all the exits of the Li Family's mansion were blocked. The leader of the imperial guards rushed into the Li Family's mansion with a sword in hand. The long sword was half - drawn. For a moment, no one knew whether he was threatening Zhou Donglin or the Li Family.
The cold sweat in Zhou Donglin's palm had soaked the imperial edict. He trembled as he opened the edict. Looking at the words on it, he felt the sky spinning. He staggered and almost fell. It took him a great effort to steady himself.
The leader of the imperial guards behind him impatiently urged, "Lord Zhou, please read it quickly. Whether you die early or late, you have to die anyway."
Father Li knelt on the ground, looked up at Zhou Donglin, and advised in a voice only they could hear, "Little Donglin, read it."
Little Donglin was Father Li's pet name for Zhou Donglin. After all, Zhou Donglin was like half of a Li Family member and had been watched by Father Li as he grew up.
The call of Little Donglin made Zhou Donglin's tears burst out instantly. In his blurred vision, the words on the imperial edict were all blurred.
Zhou Donglin opened his mouth with difficulty. His throat seemed to be pinched, and it was very difficult for him to make a sound.
"By the mandate of heaven, the emperor decrees..."
The further he read, the more difficult it became. He could no longer see the faces of the Li Family members clearly. His vision was white, and his mind was buzzing. He wanted to save the Li Family, but the imperial guards were surrounding them tightly outside. He was powerless.
It wasn't only Zhou Donglin who wanted to save the Li Family.
There was also Li Qiyu.
Li Qiyu also received the news. At this moment, she was kneeling in Concubine Xiang's courtyard.