Chapter 286: Chapter 253: The Fall of the Huang Family

"Is it Mr. Zhuo leading the team? Didn’t Pei Jian come?" Lin Miao asked Mr. Xie, noting that Pei Jian hadn’t come and had only sent Zhuo Qingfeng.

Zhuo Qingfeng was merely an advisor. Although he held considerable power, he didn’t have a valid title, and without Pei Jian’s presence, it would be challenging to convict the Huang Family.

"I don’t know. I saw Pei Jian, but he didn’t mention coming personally..." Mr. Xie replied.

"No matter, as long as someone is here, but we must remain cautious." Lin Miao pondered carefully, "After dark, you all need to move; don’t stay in the ancestral hall."

"Why? Hasn’t Mr. Zhuo already arrived? Can the Huang Family still make any trouble?" Mr. Xie retorted.

One should not intend harm against others, but it’s necessary to guard against possible harm from others.

"Although we think Pei Jian sides with us, it’s hard to truly know someone’s heart. People in the officialdom often wear multiple faces. We cannot trust completely, and it’s best to be cautious," Lin Miao explained.

Having seen too much treachery and deception in his past life, how could he not be prepared?

Only by ensuring the safe relocation of his senior sister and Yun could he be at ease.

"Lianxin, Liansuo, you will quietly move out with the senior sister and the others after nightfall. Staying in the ancestral hall could be dangerous. Old Xie and I will stay behind to wait for the forces from the city!" Lin Miao instructed Lianxin and Liansuo again.

"Young master..."

"Don’t worry, this is just to be on the safe side. Honestly, with our abilities, old Xie and I will be fine," Lin Miao said.

"Should we start packing now?"

"Just take the important things; unless there’s an unexpected turn of events, we’ll be coming back."

"Alright."

The Huang Family had always posted people to monitor the front and back doors of the ancestral hall. However, with their skill level, it was impossible for them to keep an eye on Lin Miao.

Besides, Lin Miao had ways to ensure they wouldn’t notice that Sun Youwei and the others had already left.

Anyway, as night fell, the lights inside and outside the ancestral hall were lit.

...

The Huang Family courtyard.

At dinner, Patriarch Huang Baiyuan lost his appetite after a few bites and, burdened with heavy thoughts, entered the study.

He felt that the current situation was somewhat bizarre but couldn’t quite put his finger on why.

Lin Miao’s behavior certainly aligned with his purpose for returning: to reclaim what belonged to him and to clear his master’s name.

Yet, he had only been to the grave once, and Sun Simiao’s daughter, Sun Youwei, had returned but hadn’t visited her father’s grave at all?

This defied reason.

Lin Miao, as both disciple and son-in-law, had visited, yet the biological daughter, who’d been back for days, hadn’t once?

Was Lin Miao preventing her?

He’d already had Sun Simiao’s grave restored, and logically, Lin Miao should know, leaving no reason...

Could it be they were waiting for a specific day to visit the grave?

That didn’t seem necessary either...

Moreover, did Lin Miao notice the weapons in the ancestral hall’s storeroom? If he did, he would certainly be aware of the consequences of those weapons being hidden there.

Holding the Huang Family’s members hostage was a clear tactic; as long as he held them, the Huang Family wouldn’t dare to attack the ancestral hall.

There was no more time to delay. Any further delay would lead to problems. Huang Baiyuan thought of this and broke out in a cold sweat, realizing this issue had to be resolved by tomorrow.

If not settled by tomorrow, they’d have to resort to force. For the lives and future of the hundreds of the Huang Family, they must make decisive decisions now.

...

The dawn was breaking.

A signal arrow shot into the sky, producing a sharp whistle over Qingping Town.

"Master, Mr. Zhuo and his men have arrived." In the courtyard of the ancestral hall, Mr. Xie listened for a moment and reported to Lin Miao, "They don’t know the situation in town; I need to guide them in."

"Alright, go ahead. I’m enough here on my own." Lin Miao nodded, standing alone in the center of the courtyard.

A wooden stick stood upright behind him.

"Yes!" Mr. Xie quickly rushed out of the ancestral hall.

Soon, the sound of horse hooves shattered the tranquility of the town as three hundred fully armed soldiers of Dongshan Prefecture rushed into Qingping Town.

They immediately surrounded and sealed off the area around the Huang Family’s courtyard and all the streets where the Huang Family lived.

Swords and spears were unsheathed.

Upon hearing the report, Huang Baiyuan was terrified and ran out in panic. The Huang Family was surrounded entirely, and any resistance would confirm their guilt.

"Huang Baiyuan, considering your family’s past merits to the court, you were given a way out. We didn’t intend to exterminate you, but you remain incorrigible, daring to privately forge weapons with intentions of rebellion. Arrest him!"

Zhuo Qingfeng issued a command.

"Sir, I am innocent. Our Huang Family was exiled here and has always been honest and upright, with no dissatisfaction toward the court, let alone privately forging weapons and plotting rebellion..."

"It seems you won’t shed a tear without seeing the coffin. Your Huang Family occupied the medical hall belonging to Lin Miao’s household, built your family ancestral hall there, and do you claim not to know how many weapons are hidden within that hall?" Zhuo Qingfeng interrupted coldly.

Huang Baiyuan collapsed instantly upon hearing this.

"Men, arrest all members of the Huang Family, spare no male or woman, and kill those who resist without mercy!"

Rebellion was a path to certain death.

The Huang Family, already audacious, naturally refused to surrender. At this moment, not to fight desperately was equivalent to stretching their necks out to be beheaded, leading to a brutal and bloody battle.

Quelling the rebellion was a matter for the imperial army.

Even as Lin Miao witnessed it, he merely watched from the sidelines, and this grand drama he instigated quickly came to an end.

Huang Baiyuan, the patriarch of the Huang Family, was severely injured and captured, dozens of Huang Family members perished or were injured, and the remaining were all apprehended; regarding the destroyed property, it was immeasurable.

Many pieces of evidence, such as correspondence between the Huang Family and the Ye Family, as well as Marquis Lingyang’s Mansion, which hadn’t been destroyed in time, were seized.

There were also many royal forbidden items, likely stolen by the Huang Family during the construction of the imperial tomb.

This added another charge.

The Huang Family’s smelting workshop was discovered, where various weapons were being forged day and night, along with schematics for the assembly of crossbow arrows, which the court strictly prohibited for civilians...

These were secrets of the court, but it wasn’t difficult for the Huang Family, formerly employed by the Ministry of Industry, to acquire these schematics and replicate them themselves.

The weapons ultimately uncovered, both finished and unfinished, were sufficient to equip an entire brigade of five thousand men.

If not rebellion, what was their aim?

Otherwise, a small Huang Family, counting even the watchdogs guarding the home, barely amounted to five hundred people. Why the need to wield so many weapons?

Their intentions were clearly sinister!

It’s beyond Zhuo Qingfeng’s capacity to pass judgement on the Huang Family alone; Pei Jian must step in, and once the situation was under control, Pei Jian naturally took charge.

"Lin Miao, you’ve done a great service this time. I will surely report to the court to commend you!" Pei Jian greeted Lin Miao, his face filled with a warm smile.

This accomplishment was too large for him alone, and he surely needed to share it, and Lin Miao qualified to become his partner now.

He naturally wanted to allot part of the credit to Lin Miao, who now held a scattered rank as a seventh-class official appointed by the court.

Moreover, the Huang Family’s rebellion was discovered by Lin Miao, and the evidence was uncovered by him as well.

The Huang Family clearly implicated Marquis Lingyang, and Pei didn’t want to shoulder all the pressure alone; someone had to share the burden.

Marquis Lingyang was a member of the royal family, having no reason to rebel, leaving the Huang Family as the sole perpetrator!

With this evidence at hand, it’s not enough to topple Marquis Lingyang, especially given the favor bestowed on the Fifth Prince by the emperor, what reason does Marquis Lingyang have to rebel?

The Huang Family already had priors; this time, driven by resentment, they intended to take revenge on the court, secretly forging weapons, amassing power, and preparing for rebellion!

This once again delivers a heavy blow to the factions backing the Third Prince.

These details, he wouldn’t disclose to Lin Miao, for Lin, now merely an honorary official, was not involved in political intrigues at the court.

"I’m not much bothered about the credit, but the case where the Huang Family wrongfully accused my mentor, I wish for Pei’s help in clarifying it." Lin Miao stated.

"That’s not an issue, I’ve heard of your mentor’s case; with no autopsy and insufficient evidence, it was hastily judged. This is clearly an unjust case, and I will scrutinize it thoroughly to provide Lin Miao an explanation!" Pei Jian promised.

"Many thanks, Pei." Lin Miao bowed respectfully.

Lin Miao also handed over the Huang Family descendants temporarily detained at the ancestral hall to Pei Jian; how Pei handled them thereafter was his business.

Mr. Qian was terrified upon receiving news from Qingping Town. Had he not feared implicating his family by fleeing, he would have bolted long ago.

Now, he could only come and ask for forgiveness.

It depended on whether Pei Jian was willing to grant him a way out, though he truly didn’t know about the Huang Family’s forging weapons; at most, his corruption and collusion with the Huang Family for bullying the innocent were evident, and he did reap considerable benefits from this.

Appointed by the court, lacking direct evidence of his involvement in the Huang Family’s rebellion, his offenses amounted only to bribery and corruption, Pei Jian could merely detain him temporarily.

He had the authority to do so, but determining the fate of a county magistrate required intervention from a provincial governor or a direct decree from the court.

Regarding the rebellion, Pei Jian can report directly to the emperor, bypassing the provincial governor, but must inform the governor while reporting; observing these official protocols is necessary, lest he faces ostracization.

The land where the medical hall stood, Lin Miao reclaimed it, but as for the ancestral hall atop it, whether to demolish and rebuild the medical hall or preserve the ancestral hall architecture?

All these buildings were newly constructed, and the investment shouldn’t be minor. Demolishing them is regrettable, but they were built by the Huang Family, and Lin truly had no desire to keep them.

In the end, he decided to tear it down; he felt uneasy seeing the ancestral hall, even if he had the money to rebuild.

The materials from the demolition could certainly be reused, minimizing loss.

Rebuilding the medical hall based on previous designs, yet not exactly the same, at least this was once his home.