The atmosphere in the Capital City had shifted dramatically.
The noble clans, once perched high above the rest of society, were now bound by ropes, trembling as they stood in formation before the Xuanwu Gate. They had not been granted a fair trial by the Court of Judicial Review; a single cold, imperial decree from the Emperor had sent them down this path of no return. Their tattered prisoner robes could not hide the pride of their former lives, yet they failed to mask the sheer terror and despair of the present. Occasional sobs broke the silence as the procession moved forward.
Zhang Mingde, once a notorious playboy of the Capital City, was shaking so violently his legs resembled a winnowing sieve. He looked at his father, Zhang Juyang, who was dressed in the same prisoner’s garb, his eyes filled with desperate pleading and stubborn refusal to accept his fate.
Chapter 78