After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 938 Fire
Hai Chang'an stayed at home for one night and then returned to his post to continue his duty.

However, the disturbance caused by Lord Sun's letter to defend himself showed signs of getting worse.

Now there are rumors everywhere in the capital, saying that the Sun family bribed some of the generals of the imperial guards, instructed their daughter to murder the late emperor, and then instigated the Ji Wang and his son to stir up chaos in the palace during the national mourning, attempting to take the opportunity to kill the empress dowager, the imperial concubine and a group of royal heirs in the palace, completely eliminate all candidates for the throne, force the cabinet to give in, and welcome the Ji Wang prince to the palace to ascend the throne. By then, the Ji Wang prince will become the new monarch, the Ji Wang will become the emperor, the royal family will benefit, and the Sun family will become the royal family. They only need to wait for the Ji Wang prince's wife to give birth to a legitimate son, so that they can enjoy another hundred years of wealth and honor, and so on.

This kind of gossip was originally only spread among the circle of royal relatives, nobles and high-ranking officials, and later gradually spread to the ears of middle-level officials. The lower-level officials and the general public rarely heard of it. But this was enough. When Sun Ge Lao's self-defense statement was submitted, the new emperor and the cabinet in the palace did not respond, and the number of people in the court willing to intercede for Sun Ge Lao decreased greatly. Most people were influenced by the rumors. Compared with reality, the more they thought about it, the more they felt that the rumors were true. When they looked back at Sun Ge Lao's family, they only thought that they were conspirators with deep thoughts, and no one believed that they were innocent anymore.

The rumor spread widely, and gradually spread to the circles of middle and lower-level officials, and even the families of the imperial guards such as the Banner Guards and the Embroidered Uniform Guards heard about it. On the day Haitang heard the rumor from her cousin Xiao Shitou, her uncle Xie Wenzai also went to Tao Ge Lao's house and returned home in the evening with more news.

This rumor was actually spread deliberately by someone with ulterior motives, otherwise it would not have spread all over the capital in just a few days. The rumor is actually half true and half false, but the true half indirectly proves that the false half is also "true", which is why so many people are willing to believe it.

Now, the Sun family had been besieged for many days, and even food had to be imported from the outside, but under the strict defense of the officers and soldiers, they could not send out even a piece of paper. Apart from the self-defense statement of Lord Sun, the Sun family could not send out anything, let alone send people out to visit allies and manage relations.

It is said that the father and son of Prince Ji who participated in the palace coup have been transferred to the Imperial Clan House. Only the prince of Prince Ji is still in the palace, and he remains silent. With their movements restricted, naturally no one can defend the Sun family.

Most of the imperial guards who participated in the coup did not know the details. Those who knew the details either fled or committed suicide. It was even more impossible for them to come out and speak for the Sun family.

As a result, the Sun family had no way to defend themselves and could only let the rumors run rampant in the capital. Not to mention those Sun faction members who wanted to distance themselves from the Sun family, even the officials and scholars who originally blindly trusted and respected Sun Ge Lao became more and more convinced of the truth of the rumors. With such a foundation, no matter how the new emperor dealt with the Sun family in the future, it would not cause much opposition.

Seeing the Sun family sinking deeper and deeper into public opinion, with less and less hope of turning things around, Xie Wenzai was both happy and sad: "The Sun family is used to using public opinion to harm people. In the past thirty years, I don't know how many wise ministers they have used this method to scheme against. Now, it's time for them to suffer the same fate. The Lu family is just a branch of the clan whose empty house has a Sun family tunnel passing through the backyard, so it's difficult for them to escape. The Sun family dug so many tunnels for no reason, and there is no way to explain it. Now, it depends on who loses patience first and jumps out to act as the vanguard of overthrowing the Sun family."

In fact, if we really want to deal with the Sun family, it is not as difficult as we imagine. Why have those who have the power refused to make this decision in the past thirty years?
Xie Wenzai sighed.

Lu Bainian pursed his lips and said, "If the Lu family is smarter, they can come forward and report it first. Maybe they can make up for their crimes and suffer less." The Lu family has already distanced themselves from the Sun faction, so why not do more and report the Sun family's crimes directly? They must have a lot of evidence of the Sun family's crimes. At this time, they have been involved in a major case of treason, their future is ruined, and their life and death are unknown. Why not be cruel and save themselves?
Seeing that the Lu family had not made any move, Lu Bainian became anxious. If he was not afraid of bringing trouble to the Hai family who had taken him in, he really wanted to visit the prison in person and ask the head of the family why he could not make up his mind?
Xie Wenzai looked at his old friend and sighed, "It's probably because many people can't make up their minds. They are afraid that the Sun family may still be able to turn things around. When they gain power, those who have reported them will be in trouble." Lu Bainian frowned, "It has come to this point. Even public opinion has determined that the Sun family is guilty. Can his family still turn things around? The world thinks too highly of Elder Sun."

Xie Wenzai smiled bitterly: "We don't want to think too highly of him, but we can't take it lightly. After all, the Sun family's case has not been concluded yet, there is no actual evidence, and Elder Sun is cunning and sly. We need to be on guard against the Sun family's desperate actions..."

Lu Bainian was puzzled: "What else can they do? Previously, Lord Sun wrote a letter saying that it was all the clan members who acted on their own initiative and forced Sun Yongbai's wife to death. The clan members also came forward to confess their crimes, but people outside didn't believe it. At this point, how can Lord Sun get away with it?!"

"No matter what method he uses, don't give him a chance to escape!" Xie Wenzai narrowed his eyes, turned around, took out a pen and paper, and started writing a letter at the desk.

Lu Bainian walked up to him and watched him write the letter, gradually revealing a surprised expression: "Sun Yongbai? Is this possible? Such a big thing happened back then, and the Sun family abandoned him to save the king, but he never told the truth. Although his wife was forced to death this time, he was not unaware of it in prison, and I didn't see him react at all..."

Xie Wenzai sneered, "He may not care about his wife, who he married from outside, but what about others? His parents, children, and siblings, they are all his flesh and blood. Can Sun Yongbai bear with that? In the past, he was concerned about his family, and the Sun family saved his life and only let him go to jail. He could live a good life by swallowing his anger, and he could also keep his family rich and prosperous. He was unwilling to tell the truth. But if the Sun family wants to destroy all his relatives and family, can he continue to endure it?"

That night, a house on the street where the Sun family lived suddenly caught fire. Fortunately, it snowed that night, and the soldiers who were blocking the way were diligent and careful in their patrols. They immediately discovered the fire and called for people to put out the fire. They found that the fire was in Sun Yongbai's house. It was said that the white cloth on the mourning hall was blown onto the candles by the wind and burned. However, the people who were on guard all fell asleep, and the whole family, young and old, fell into a deep sleep and did not notice the fire. If the soldiers had not rushed in to rescue people, I am afraid that many people in Sun Yongbai's family would have died that night.

Although no one in Sun Yongbai's family died in the fire, several people were injured and all the furniture in the house was burned down. Kang Wenshu asked the palace for instructions and arranged for a large group of soldiers to move all of Sun Yongbai's family members to another empty house on the street. Although it was a bit crowded, it was at least safe.

The news reached Sun Yongbai's ears immediately, along with a letter from his biological son, which was full of grief, indignation and accusations.

Sun Yongbai looked at the letter, veins on the back of his hands bulged, his teeth were clenched, and his eyes were red.

He's made such a great sacrifice, what else do they want from him?!