Chapter 329: Volume 1, Chapter 329 — The Emperor's Move Was Too Ruthless

"Don't cry, what are you crying for? Your father is perfectly fine." The Marquis of Ningyuan shuffled over in his fetters, crouched down, and looked at his daughter as he spoke.

"Father, I already know everything. You don't need to deceive me." Song Huihe wiped her tears and looked up at her father, who had aged considerably all at once. Unable to hold back, she began crying again.

The Marquis of Ningyuan fell silent at his daughter's words, then asked, "How are your mother and the others?"

"Not well. His Majesty has sealed off the Marquis of Ningyuan's residence. Mother moved everyone out of the estate, but at least their lives are not in danger," Song Huihe said once she caught her breath.

The Marquis of Ningyuan nodded silently. After a long moment, he said, "You shouldn't have come here. Stay in the palace and be a consort. As long as you don't make mistakes, His Majesty won't punish you."

"Father, how could your daughter stand by and watch you fall into prison without doing anything? Father, wake up! Ever since you were imprisoned, Prime Minister Su has ignored you completely, with no intention of rescuing you at all. Why won't you expose a heartless man like him?" Song Huihe said angrily. "Father, that wretch Su Ying is still scheming against me in the palace. I've also made a grave mistake in the palace. Both of us, father and daughter, have been brought down by their father and daughter..."

The Marquis of Ningyuan was greatly alarmed. "What happened? Tell me in detail."

Song Huihe recounted the full story of the Ten Thousand Li Rivers and Mountains Painting in detail. The Marquis of Ningyuan listened with great fury. "Worse than pigs and dogs! Prime Minister Su promised me that Su Ying would assist you!"

"Father, their father and daughter are treacherous and heartless. How would they help us? Now they can't wait to trample us underfoot. Father, His Majesty has already ordered Xiao Shen to attack Suizhou, bringing the newly produced weapon from the Ordnance Bureau—cannons. Her Majesty the Empress said one cannon blast can collapse half a city wall. If that's true, the Song family of Suizhou cannot hold. Father, think carefully. The current His Majesty is not the Late Emperor. How would he continue to tolerate the arrogance of noble houses? Think of your daughter, think of Mother, think of the family. Father, turn back before it's too late. The Song family of Suizhou has over a hundred people."

The Marquis of Ningyuan's complexion could no longer hold up. "Is what you say true? Has His Majesty really ordered Xiao Shen to attack Suizhou?"

"Yes, absolutely true." Song Huihe's eyes were already swollen red. "Father, you have always been fierce in temperament, always charging forward boldly in everything you do. This time, you were pushed out to be the one to stick your neck out. Now that something has happened to you, look—who is speaking up for you? They are all just waiting to see how His Majesty deals with the Song family before making their plans. Father, the Empress said that His Majesty has elite soldiers and capable generals, financial backing, and divine weapons. The Song family cannot withstand the imperial army."

If the Emperor didn't have so many cannons, crossbows, Fire Thunder, and other weapons, the Song family would actually have some ability to resist. But they couldn't withstand the fact that after the new Emperor ascended the throne, he had produced so many formidable things.

This was also why other noble houses didn't lift a hand to save the Song family. They all wanted to see how long the Song family could hold out once His Majesty made his move.

These bastards!

"Let your father think." The Marquis of Ningyuan felt a rush of metallic sweetness in his throat. He forced it back down, not wanting to frighten his daughter. "Go back now. Behave yourself in the palace, and don't oppose the Empress anymore."

"Father, what more is there to think about? Of course preserving the Song clan's people is what matters most!" Song Huihe cried out in fear. She was terrified that her father would remain obstinately blind and follow one path to the very end.

The Marquis of Ningyuan looked at his daughter. "You don't understand. There's a lot more to this matter."

"Father, your daughter may not understand, but there is one thing she knows: if His Majesty hadn't sanctioned it, how could I be here persuading you? His Majesty is not truly heartless. He is leaving our family a way to live. Father, you think of other noble houses, but they want to use us as a stepping stone. Father, your daughter begs you. Think more about our own family. Think of your younger brother. He hasn't married yet. He's still young. Can you really bear to watch him throw his life away?"

"Father, as long as you are willing to redeem yourself through meritorious service, as long as you bow your head and admit your mistakes to His Majesty, our family still has a chance."

"Father understands."

Song Huihe didn't know whether her father could truly make up his mind, but she had said everything she could. She could only take her leave, looking back at every few steps.

Walking out of the Ministry of Justice prison, Song Huihe was dispirited and lost. She hadn't expected to run head-on into Prime Minister Su, who was coming to the Ministry of Justice. It was truly a case of enemies meeting, their eyes reddening with hatred.

Prime Minister Su, however, did not recognize Song Huihe. Before she entered the palace, she was a young woman of the household and naturally would not have appeared before Prime Minister Su. By the time she entered the palace, Prime Minister Su only knew that the Song family had produced a Consort Hui.

But Prime Minister Su saw the woman coming out of the Ministry of Justice prison, and looking at her attire, his expression involuntarily shifted slightly.

Song Huihe gave Prime Minister Su a cold look. Unwilling to waste words on such a petty man, she boarded her carriage directly and left.

Once the person was gone, Prime Minister Su looked at his attendant and said, "Go find out who that person just was."

"Yes, this subordinate will go at once."

Prime Minister Su's footman immediately left to inquire. Only then did Prime Minister Su continue walking out. In truth, he already had an answer in his heart, but until it was confirmed, he still clung to a sliver of hope.

If it really was the Marquis of Ningyuan's daughter, then how did she leave the palace to see the Marquis of Ningyuan?

Prime Minister Su's mood was very wretched at this thought. The development of matters had now completely exceeded his imagination. He had not expected that His Majesty would truly make a move on Suizhou.

He had assumed His Majesty was merely making an empty show of force.

Once His Majesty made a move on Suizhou, how could the noble houses in the capital still sit still? Over the past two days, his residence had had no peace, all of them coming to gather information.

Prime Minister Su left the Ministry of Justice, boarded his own carriage, but did not go home. He told the driver to detour to the Minister of Works' residence.

The Minister of Works, Wu Lu, was meeting with the Vice Minister of Rites. When the two heard that Prime Minister Su was visiting, Wu Lu immediately said, "Tell him I'm not in."

After the person withdrew, the Vice Minister of Rites, Ruan Sheng, spoke up: "I've already received word from my clan. In the past half month or more, quite a few unregistered households have secretly fled. Even artisan households have quietly lost many people. This is not good news. Brother Wu, I'm afraid your clan is no different, no?"

Wu Lu nodded. "Indeed. I truly never expected His Majesty to make such a move in secret. Our clan has already strengthened its defenses, but we still can't stop the large number of people fleeing. If this continues, I'm afraid the servants under each clan's name will be reduced by more than half. This would be an enormous blow to every one of our families."

Whether for farming or corvée labor, people were indispensable. Without people, even vast tracts of land were of no use. With no one to cultivate them, they would sooner or later become wasteland.

The Emperor's move was too ruthless, leaving them virtually unable to parry.

"The noble houses are now in a state of panic, devising all sorts of methods to pursue, intercept, and block, but with little effect. If this goes on, there would be no need for His Majesty to set up cannons at the city gates—we'll collapse on our own." Ruan Sheng sighed continuously.

Who knew who had given His Majesty such an idea. It was simply too vicious.