After leaving the side hall, Emperor Chu issued several orders, and large contingents of Jinyi Dragon Guards rode out of the city. Meanwhile, many people were sent to search various obvious and obscure locations within the city. Surprisingly, both Zhao Weiliang, a Junior Minister at the Honglu Temple, and a wealthy household head known as Liu the Good Man were raided.
But that was nothing; what truly shocked everyone was that the Ning family's members were to be executed at the Meridian Gate on the twenty-fourth of the first lunar month for the crime of treason.
In Shangjing of the twenty-third year of Shengping, the year began with a climate of fear. No one had expected that the Ning family members, who had just entered the capital, would soon be beheaded.
This was not intended to give people any breathing space at all.
Those unaware of the inside story simply watched the commotion, while those in the know understood that this was a ploy to lure the snake out of its hole.
