The City Defense Army soldiers filed in one after another.
The Sun family members in the courtyard, along with some guests who had yet to leave, were surrounded. More soldiers rushed toward the rear residence, intending to search for and capture any stragglers who had slipped through the net.
But soon after.
Dozens of fully armed private soldiers from the Sun family emerged from the rear courtyard and blocked the City Defense Army's path.
The two sides immediately entered into a serious standoff.
"Fine."
"So the Sun family really did harbor rebellious intentions."
The commander leading the City Defense Army looked at the Sun family's private soldiers with a cold sneer:
"The Imperial Court issued orders long ago forbidding civilians from privately storing armor. I assumed that although you had violated the law, you would have no more than three or five sets. I never expected you to have so many armored soldiers!"
"Good!"
"Very good indeed!"
The one leading the Sun family troops was Sun Bingwen's second son. His face was full of mockery:
"You, Yang, stop pretending to be ignorant when you know perfectly well what's going on."
"Forget Qingzhou. Looking across the Nine Provinces of Great Qi, which powerful family doesn't have private soldiers? Which prestigious clan doesn't have armored soldiers? Why did you pretend to be deaf and mute before, turning a blind eye to everything?"
"Go ask that fellow surnamed Zhu whether his family has private soldiers and armored soldiers."
"If the Old Nobles of the Capital had no soldiers..."
"What would they rely on to keep the nobleman on the dragon throne as a puppet?"
That fellow surnamed Zhu!
The moment he heard that form of address—
The City Defense Army commander's expression changed, and he shouted furiously, "How dare you show disrespect to