“Lin Nancheng met with His Majesty yesterday.”
That reminder finally gave Xiao Yan someone to blame.
Pointing at Lin Nancheng, he demanded,
“Lin Nancheng! Was it you who secretly moved the family assets?”
“You’ve got some nerve!”
Hearing this accusation, even members of the Lin family began wondering whether Lin Nancheng possessed some kind of ability to foresee the future.
Lin Nancheng could only smile bitterly.
“Commander Xiao, do I really look capable of hiding an entire household’s wealth?”
But Xiao Yan wasn’t interested in reason.
If he couldn’t find a scapegoat, the Emperor would simply accuse him of incompetence.
“Stop making excuses, Lin Nancheng!”
“If it wasn’t you, then who was it?”
“Hiding confiscated property is an additional crime!”
“If you confess now, I’ll plead for mercy on your behalf. Perhaps you won’t be sentenced to death.”
“But if you refuse to cooperate, don’t blame me for what happens next!”
With that, Xiao Yan signaled two soldiers to drag Lin Nancheng away.
There was no need to guess what he intended.
A few dozen strokes of the board at minimum.
Moments earlier, Lin Nanxuan had already experienced the punishment firsthand.
After witnessing that, none of the Lin family members dared step forward.
Just as the soldiers reached for Lin Nancheng, Lan Luoyun shoved them aside and stood protectively in front of him.
“You stupid woman! Are you tired of living?”
Xiao Yan immediately thrust his sword toward her.
The twins, Dabao and Erbao, were terrified.
They burst into loud sobs.
Panicking, Lin Nancheng lunged forward and grabbed the blade with his bare hand.
Blood instantly flowed down the edge of the sword.
Nearby, Lin Yaxin quickly pulled the children into her arms to shield them.
Lin Yaxin was the daughter of the Fourth Concubine.
After her mother’s early death, she had been raised under Su Yuping’s supervision.
Su Yuping frequently beat and scolded her, leaving her with no choice but to endure in silence.
Seeing Lin Nancheng risk himself for her, Lan Luoyun felt a sharp ache in her heart.
For my sake, he’s willing to go this far…
At that moment, she silently swore that she would one day make Xiao Yan pay for this humiliation.
At least now, Lin Nancheng had only suffered a hand injury.
With her storage space and medical supplies, she would never allow him to die miserably during exile as he had in the original timeline.
But before that, they absolutely could not clash with Xiao Yan again.
That would be like throwing eggs against a stone wall.
“Commander Xiao,” Lan Luoyun said coldly.
“You’ve been ordered to confiscate property.”
“The imperial decree never granted you permission to kill people at will.”
“I hope you’ll think carefully before acting.”
It was both a reminder and a warning.
She would protect Lin Nancheng no matter what.
In truth, Xiao Yan had concerns of his own.
If a member of the Lin family died now, the Emperor might suspect they had known some secret and been silenced.
The current Emperor was notoriously suspicious.
At that moment, a guard rushed into the courtyard.
“Commander Xiao! Bad news!”
“The Imperial Palace has been robbed!”
“The Grand Tutor’s residence has also been robbed!”
“His Majesty orders you to return immediately!”
Xiao Yan froze.
The Imperial Palace?
Robbed?
He spent every day guarding the palace.
Even a fly could hardly get in.
How could thieves have entered?
Unless…
There was an insider.
And if the palace had truly been robbed, the Emperor would undoubtedly hold him responsible.
The charge of dereliction of duty alone could cost him his life.
Now all he could do was hope that Grand Tutor Xue would speak on his behalf.
Even so, before leaving, he didn’t forget to bark orders at the soldiers.
“Keep a close watch on them!”
“If you can’t find valuables in the rooms, search their bodies!”
“Not a single person leaves with anything!”
After Xiao Yan departed, the soldiers began thoroughly searching every member of the Lin household.
There were nearly three hundred people in total.
One soldier approached Lin Yaru and reached for the hairpin in her hair.
Instead of surrendering it, she bit his hand.
The enraged soldier grabbed her hair and ripped the hairpin out by force.
The painful scene immediately frightened the other women into submission.
No one dared resist afterward.
As for Lan Luoyun, she handed over the few items on her person without complaint.
The soldiers therefore gave her little trouble.
Once the final scraps of property had been confiscated, the household servants were separated from the family.
They would be sold into labor camps to perform hard labor.
The remaining seventy or eighty members of the Lin clan were escorted toward the prison.
The next morning, they would be joined by the collateral branches of the family and marched out of the capital together.
Along the way, the soldiers grumbled endlessly.
“This job is cursed.”
“Not even a single tael of silver to pocket.”
“In the past, we could always skim something from a confiscation.”
One soldier spat in frustration.
Lan Luoyun nearly laughed.
Trying to confiscate my property? Dream on.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yan had already rushed back to the palace.
The Emperor was in the middle of a furious outburst.
“Who dares?”
“Who dares steal my treasury and armory?!”
When Xiao Yan heard that even the armory had been emptied, his legs nearly gave out beneath him.
Losing money was one thing.
Losing weapons was another.
That kind of crime could lead directly to execution.
But there was no avoiding it now.
Sooner or later, the Emperor would learn that nothing had been found at the Lin residence.
He might as well report it first.
Trembling, Xiao Yan stepped into the hall and knelt.
“Your Majesty, when this subject carried out the confiscation of the Lin family, there was… nothing there.”
“What?!”
The Emperor exploded.
“What exactly are you good for?”
“You can’t guard the palace!”
“You can’t even conduct a confiscation properly!”
“If you’re that useless, why are you still alive?”
“You might as well die!”
Hearing those words, Xiao Yan nearly collapsed.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”
“This subject did not leak any information beforehand.”
“The Lin family couldn’t possibly have had enough time to hide everything.”
“Perhaps… perhaps they were robbed as well?”
At this point, he would seize any excuse available.
On the way back, he had already pieced together the situation.
The Imperial Palace.
Grand Tutor Xue’s residence.
The Duke of Qin’s residence.
Several other powerful households in the capital.
All had been stripped clean overnight.
If those families had been robbed, then perhaps the Lin family had suffered the same fate.
As long as the Emperor didn’t accuse him of incompetence or leaking information, he still had a chance to survive.
Thus, Xiao Yan became firmly convinced that the Lin family had also been victims.
At that moment, Grand Tutor Xue stepped forward.
Although he was furious about his own losses, Xiao Yan was one of his trusted followers.
Saving him now would also serve his own interests.
“Your Majesty, aside from the Lin family, more than ten prominent households in the capital have been robbed.”
“It is entirely possible that the Lin family suffered the same fate.”
The current Emperor relied heavily on his ministers’ advice.
Among them, Grand Tutor Xue was particularly skilled at flattering him and enjoyed immense favor.
Hearing even Xue say so, the Emperor finally began to believe it.
However, his rage remained undiminished.
“Then what are you waiting for?”
“Investigate immediately!”
“Find out who is bold enough to steal from the Imperial Palace itself!”
The Emperor’s furious roar echoed throughout the hall.