Ximen Yourong should have many relatives in this mansion, but unfortunately, this noble and luxurious mansion has never been related to her.
Those who are related to her by blood have never regarded her as a family member, and there may even be some brothers and sisters who do not think that she is also Ximen Zhende's daughter.
Just because she was just the unexpected "result" of Ximen Zhende's night of lust.
As a father, Ximen Zhende ignored her existence, so how could others take her seriously?
She still remembered that when she was four or five years old, she ran to Ximen Zhende's master's house for some reason out of fun, and happened to face him face to face.
At that time, she did not know that the person in front of her was her biological father, and she curiously raised her head to look at Ximen Zhende.
However, when the house slave told Ximen Zhende who she was, the indifference and disgust on Ximen Zhende's face deeply penetrated into her young heart. Until now, she has never forgotten the sadness of that day!
When she was sent back to her mother, she heard the steward next to Ximen Zhende sternly warning her mother to take good care of her and not to let her appear in front of Ximen Zhende again.
After that, she learned that Ximen Zhende didn't even remember that he had a daughter from a concubine who was being raised in Ximen Mansion.
In other words, she and her mother have long been abandoned by Ximen Zhende.
What puzzled her was that Ximen Zhende had more than one or two concubines, and there were also many concubines from ordinary families. But even though the children they gave birth to did not receive the treatment of direct descendants, Ximen Zhende did not despise her.
To despise the other concubine brothers and sisters, all of them can happily call him "father", why is she the only one who is not qualified to call him "father"?
Although as time passed, she gradually began to care less whether Ximen Zhende recognized her as her daughter, but the question that Ximen Zhende only ignored her and her mother remained in her heart.
She didn't tell her the truth until her mother died of illness five years ago!
It turned out that her mother was once a palace maid of Queen Fuxuan. Ximen Zhende got drunk at Emperor Hongwen's birthday party, and her mother was assigned to serve the drunken Ximen Zhende in the side hall.
What's funny is that her mother got pregnant with her that night.
Originally, it was a capital crime for a palace maid to become pregnant, but because her mother did not lose her virginity voluntarily. Queen Fuxuan was a kind person, so she decided to let Ximen Zhende take her mother back to the palace as a concubine!
But her mother never imagined that after entering Ximen Mansion, she would never receive any favor from Ximen Zhende.
The residence was also the most desolate and remote small house. Even when her mother gave birth to her, Ximen Zhende did not interfere in the slightest.
From the past told by her mother, Ximen Yourong finally understood why Ximen Zhende thought that their mother and daughter did not exist.
That's because Ximen Zhende believes that her mother is a beauty trap set by Queen Fuxuan for him, so even if her mother has no intentions, let alone the eyes and ears sent by Queen Fuxuan, he will never get close to the former
He is a trusted person around Queen Fuxuan.
After the death of Queen Fuxuan, even if Ximen Zhende no longer feared her mother, he would probably have forgotten the palace maid whom he forced to give birth to a child for him overnight.
However, Ximen Yourong actually has no resentment or hatred towards Ximen Zhende. He disowns her, but she accepts it calmly!
Moreover, to a certain extent, she was actually quite grateful to Ximen Zhende for abandoning him.
Because she was not taken seriously, no matter whether she lived in this small courtyard or was driven to the "Shengci'an", she lived a fine life and was very clean!
However, now, Ximen's defeat has broken her innocence, and she has to find another way to survive!
If there was anyone she couldn't let go of after escaping from this mansion, it was Xiang Qing. She held Xiang Qing's hand and looked at her seriously and said:
"Xiang Qing, now it is a foregone conclusion that the Ximen family will be destroyed. If you and I want to live apart from the Ximen family, we may have to risk "death"..."
boom!
A rude kick on the door interrupted Ximen Yourong's unfinished words, and then the sound of hurried footsteps made her make a decisive decision and took out a black pill and stuffed it into Xiang Qing's hand and said:
"The entire Ximen clan has the protection of the Dongling ancestors. Even the punishment of annihilation is to take poison and die to preserve the body. Therefore, you must wait for an opportunity to take this medicine before taking the poison. If everything goes well, none of us will die..."
"
"Your Majesty will come to the guilty minister's residence in person, and all Ximen clan members will gather in the front yard!"
Several aggressive officers and soldiers rushed in from outside the courtyard and appeared in front of their master and servant, raising their swords at each other, guarding them as if they were two weak women capable of turning the world upside down.
Ximen Yourong held Xiang Qing's hand tightly and finally said with a faint smile:
"Don't be afraid, remember what I said, understand?"
Xiang Qing nodded. The two of them wanted to go to the front yard together, but who knew that the officers and soldiers roughly separated them and pushed them one after another. They also threatened them with knives on their necks.
!
When Ximen Yourong was brought to the front yard, she saw hundreds of men, women, and children, headed by Ximen Zhende, all kneeling on the huge flat ground. There were constant sobbing sounds from the crowd!
Directly in front of them walked a tall figure wearing a purple dragon robe.
Because his back was facing the setting sun, Ximen Yourong couldn't see his face clearly for a while, but his noble dragon robe also let her know who he was immediately!
Just before she was about to see his face, she was suddenly pushed hard by the officers and soldiers who were escorting her, and she had to fall down on the sandy ground in embarrassment!
Ximen Yourong's hands supporting the ground were stinging with pain. She knew her hands must have been injured, but the pain was not unbearable.
Xiang Qing knelt down next to her and helped her up. The two of them looked at each other and immediately realized what was going on. They bowed their heads and knelt in the corner to hide as inconspicuously as possible!
Not long after, Dongling Yuanyong stood in front of everyone, his cold eyes scanning the dark heads in front of him.
But the only person he was interested in was Ximen Zhende, who was kneeling but held his head high.
In front of Ximen Zhende stands a gold "Exoneration Monument". It is this "Exoneration Monument" that allows Ximen Zhende to still breathe.
Dongling Yuanyong walked towards the "Exoneration Monument". He read the content on the inscription, then looked at Ximen Zhende and snorted coldly:
"My Dongling ancestors have protected your Ximen clan for more than a hundred years, and it should come to an end today."
"The guilty minister understands what His Majesty said. But although my glory as Ximen's family is no longer there, Your Majesty must have understood the promise on the inscription!"
Ximen Zhende, who is over sixty, looks much older, but his eyes are still bright.
Ximen has been ruling the court of Dacheng Kingdom for more than a hundred years. He originally thought that this aura of power would last another hundred years.
However, he was so confident that Emperor Hongwen secretly arranged so many things during his illness that he was completely unaware of it.
When did Dongling Yuanyong join forces with Emperor Hongwen to overturn the political direction of the court? He only realized it later!
Only now did Ximen Zhende understand that all the wishes of Emperor Hongwen before his death did not come about overnight.
In the last few months of Emperor Hongwen's illness, Emperor Hongwen left almost all matters in the court to the deposed prince Dongling Yuanxi for decision-making, and "Yin Yin ordered" the prince to follow Ximen Zhende's opinions in everything.
It was this seemingly sign of power transfer and entrustment that paralyzed Ximen Zhende's judgment. Therefore, he completely ignored Emperor Hongwen's long-hidden plan!