The Rebirth of the Vengeful Empress from a Military Family

Chapter XI: The End of the Xie Family

Volume I: The Spring Breeze is Only a Stranger

Chapter XI: The End of the Xie Family (谢家的结局)

Shen Miao lowers her head, an embarrassed expression on her face.

Xie Jing Xing had only been twenty-six the year when he had died.

The members of the Fu family had wanted to punish the Xie family. This Imperial Family of Ming Qi had become addled and inept as time continued on. Instead of ruminating over how the power that the empire holds can be strengthened, all that they thought about all day was how they can protect themselves from the noble families who they all considered to be threats. As Fu Xiu Yi had once stated, the goal of the Shen family is to conduct themselves with honesty. In contrast, the Xie family did not possess such submissiveness to imperial commands, thus they are naturally a thorn in the late Emperor's eyes.

At the time that the Xiong Nu invaded, the soldiers of the Xie family had went off to battle, Xie Ding at their helm. General Xie, who had been unbridled in the battlefield all his life, had finally met his end, along with his entire army. Xie Jing Xing had been in the Capital, waiting for his father to return. In the end, however, what he awaited had been a coffin's arrival. 

Xie Ding's passing had not been the end. The common people themselves sent Xie Ding off at his funeral, the entire empire being consumed by weeping and mourning. This had been unacceptable in the eyes of the Imperial Family.

That is why the young Xie Jing Xing was appointed to replace his father as the military campaign's leader soon after Xie Ding's funeral.

That had not been Xie Jing Xing's first venture into the battlefield. Just like the other warriors descended from the Xie family, the talent he had displayed in the battlefield had been enough to make the enemy quake in their boots. However, knowing the peculiarity of Xie Ding's death, the purpose of this Imperial Edict is almost certainly to back Xie Jing Xing into a corner.

Still, Xie Jing Xing had accepted the Imperial Edict. He had ridden into the battlefield. His army had suffered a defeat. He had been exposed to the enemy on that fateful day, becoming their target. He had ended with ten thousand arrows pierced into his heart. However, it did not end there. The Xiong Nu had somehow gotten hold of his remains, and they had peeled the skin off his corpse and had hung it on a tower to dry in the air in order to set an example for their enemies. 

Another tragic ending had once again been staged, and the entirety of Ming Qi had descended into mourning.

Both father and son had met their end on the battlefield, and all that the people could see was the barbarity of the Xiong Nu and the gallantry of the generals. They could not see the turbulent undercurrent that had laid beneath this conspiracy.

At that time, the late Emperor had already passed away. Fu Xiu Yi had ascended the throne and had assumed control of the matters of the Imperial Court. In order to express his regret over what had befallen the Xie family, he had conferred titles to both father and son. Although the father and son who received the titles had already met their end, the Imperial Court had still been placated, and the concubine and two Shu sons gratuitously received all of the advantages for a low price.

Shen Miao can still recall the deep grief that had been on her father's face when he had received news of Xie Jing Xing's demise. At first, she had believed that the Shen and Xie families are as averse to one another as water and fire, and that her father will not feel sorrow over any adversity that befalls the Xie family. Pondering over it now, she fears that back then,  her father had felt like the fox grieving the death of the hare, mourning the misfortune of his own kind.