Starting as pearl divers, they have endless jobs.

Chapter 31 Confiscating the house
Both Lu Ying and his son were well-read scholars who had never seen such a spectacle before.

Lu Ying was the first to come to her senses. She immediately went to the door and called out loudly, "Who is this esteemed person who has graced us with their presence? Please show yourself!"

The only response he received was the rustling of the bamboo leaves in the night wind.

At this moment, Lu Jingcheng quickly walked to the pillar, took the letter off the hilt of his knife, and handed it to his father.

Lu Ying took it and glanced at it, then her expression changed drastically.

After reading it, he handed the letter to Lu Jingcheng, saying, "You should take a look too."

Lu Jingcheng took it and his expression changed.

"Traitor to the country, truly a traitor to the country!" Lu Jingcheng trembled with rage, feeling a surge of hot blood rush to his head.

He studied the classics diligently from a young age and harbored a strong desire to serve his country. Therefore, what he hated most were those shameless people who, when the country was in peril, only cared about their own selfish interests and even sold out their country for personal gain!
But after the anger subsided, a huge question arose in his mind.

Who obtained such a confidential letter, and why was it delivered to their home?

In a flash, an idea suddenly flashed through his mind.

Months earlier, on a similar night, an anonymous letter suddenly appeared in his study, saving the Lu family from a tremendous humiliation.

That method is extremely similar to what we use today!

“Father.” Lu Jingcheng took a deep breath and voiced his suspicions, “Do you think… the person who sent this letter is the same person who exposed Lin Yan’s affair last time?”

Lu Ying was shocked, realizing that her son's guess made a lot of sense.

However, now is not the time to dwell on this. Lu Ying's eyes sharpened, and her previous dejection vanished.

"Who it is doesn't matter now. What matters is that now that we know about this, we have no reason to sit idly by!"

As he spoke, he strode towards the inner room and began to put on his official robes.

He knew in his heart that this matter was of great importance and that not a moment could be wasted.

Lin Hong is an incredibly cunning old fox. Once he realizes that the information has been leaked, who knows what other unexpected things might happen.

We must kill him with one blow before he can react!
At midnight, in the Imperial Palace, at the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The bright lights and fragrant incense could not dispel the somber atmosphere inside the hall.

Emperor Yang Zhao leaned back on the dragon throne, his face haggard and his eyes bloodshot.

The bad news of the past few days had already exhausted this pampered emperor.

When he heard that Lu Ying, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, had requested an audience late at night, claiming that there was something extremely urgent, he couldn't help but feel a surge of irritation.

But after he finished reading the letter Lu Ying presented, all his agitation vanished, replaced by a deathly silence.

Yang Zhao did not roar or curse; he simply sat quietly on the cold dragon throne, his entire being resembling a lifeless statue.

She didn't know how much time had passed, so long that Lu Ying's knees started to go numb, before she finally heard Yang Zhao's voice.

"Minister Lu, how did you obtain this letter?"

Lu Ying dared not conceal anything and recounted the whole story of the flying knife message.

After saying this, he boldly stepped forward and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the Lin family is a wolf in sheep's clothing, and the evidence of their crimes is irrefutable! This matter is of utmost importance. I urge Your Majesty to make a decision as soon as possible, otherwise, if that old scoundrel Lin Hong finds out, I fear unforeseen changes may occur!"

Yang Zhao's gaze slowly shifted from the letter to Lu Ying.

At this moment, his heart was filled with endless anger and sorrow.

He was furious that, with the nation in peril, the noble families he relied on were secretly plotting to betray him for personal gain.

The tragedy lies in the fact that this is only what has been revealed; beneath the surface, who knows how many more Lin families are lurking!
He felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness.

But he quickly rallied his spirits and said in a deep voice, "Issue my order to dispatch the Imperial Guards to search the Lin residence tonight! Arrest all those involved, regardless of age or gender, and imprison them in the Imperial Jail!" He picked up a token from the imperial desk and threw it in front of Lu Ying.

"Lu Ying, I hereby appoint you as the commander-in-chief of this operation, to oversee it on my behalf. You must wipe them out before the Lin family can react!"

"Sir, obey the order!"

Lu Ying took the token and felt it was as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Soon, a chilling atmosphere quietly permeated the capital city under the cover of night.

One after another, elite troops clad in black armor and wielding sharp blades filed out of the imperial city; they were the emperor's private army—the Imperial Guard.

Under Lu Ying's command, the Imperial Guards quickly sealed off all the streets surrounding the Lin residence, cutting off any possibility of escape.

Then, with Lu Ying's command, a heavy banging sound erupted as the door was slammed shut!

"boom!"

The vermilion gate of the Lin family mansion, a symbol of a century of glory, collapsed with a crash under the impact of the giant tree.

The fierce Imperial Guard soldiers swarmed in, and the shouts of battle, screams, and cries instantly shattered the Lin family's beautiful dream.

The servants and guards in the mansion were still asleep when they were instantly subdued and pinned to the ground.

Lin Hong, the head of the Lin family, was awakened by the huge commotion. He rushed out of his bedroom, only to be met with the horrifying sight of a large number of imperial guards storming into the mansion.

Then he saw Lu Ying standing at the very front of the crowd.

"Minister Lu!" Lin Hong's face turned deathly pale instantly, but he still managed to maintain the dignity of a noble family head and questioned him sternly.

"What do you mean by this? My Lin family are founding nobles. How dare you lead troops into my residence in the dead of night? What are you trying to do? Do you want to rebel?"

Faced with his questioning, Lu Ying gave a slight, cold laugh.

"Patriarch Lin, you surely know better than anyone why I have come." He slowly stepped forward, his eyes looking at a dead man.

"To tell you the truth, this is His Majesty's decree. Otherwise, how do you think I, a mere Vice Minister, could mobilize this Imperial Guard?"

"His Majesty's decree..."

Lin Hong's last shred of hope was shattered by those five words.

He knew that everything was over!

Just then, a disheveled young man was roughly dragged over by two soldiers, with a clear handprint on his face. It was none other than Lin Rui, the young master of the Lin family.

He had just fallen asleep with a pretty maid in his arms when he was dragged out of bed.

"Dad, they're hitting me! Tell them to let me go!" Lin Rui cried out in terror as soon as he saw his father, completely unaware of the impending doom.

But Lin Hong was too preoccupied to care about him at that moment. He stared intently at Lu Ying and squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "Lu Ying, I really don't understand, how...did you find out?"

"You'll find out when the time comes," Lu Ying said calmly.

Before he finished speaking, all the women in the backyard were also brought over.

The third young lady, Lin Yan, was naturally among them.

However, she remained oblivious to her impending doom, arrogantly screaming at the soldiers escorting her: "You bunch of dog slaves, let me go! Once my father reports to His Majesty, he will have you all torn to pieces!"

What she received in return was an extremely loud slap.

Snapped!
An Imperial Guard officer withdrew his hand expressionlessly and said coldly, "Shut up!"

(End of this chapter)