"Master, we've captured all those who laid an ambush for Young Master Chen. They've also admitted that it was the servant of the Young Master of the Gu Family who told them to do so," the servant reported respectfully, looking at the man sitting on the armchair.
The Master of the Song Family was holding a bowl of tea. He skimmed the froth off the tea with the lid and said, "You've done well. Were you spotted?"
"Well..." The servant hesitated.
"What's wrong?"
"We did encounter a group of people. They seemed to be there for the same purpose as us, to watch out for the Gu Family members. They were very skilled. When those people tried to escape, they helped us capture them, so no one got away."
The Master of the Song Family asked, "Did they say who they were?"
The servant shook his head. "No, they left as soon as they saw that we'd caught the people."
"Understood." The Master of the Song Family pondered for a moment. "Don't bother about them. Just carry out the plan as scheduled."
"Yes." After the servant left, the Master of the Song Family picked up his teacup again. In the misty steam, his eyes were filled with an inscrutable light.
Elder brother, soon I'll avenge you all.
You can finally rest in peace in the underworld.
...
In Tanzhou, Ji Junye was also closely following the situation in Hongzhou City.
Last time, many of their informants were exposed, but not all of them were eliminated. The news was spreading like wildfire in Hongzhou City, so it wasn't difficult to find out.
These days, they'd also had some small battles with the Jiangnan Army in several counties below. The victories and defeats were about even. If it continued like this, they wouldn't be able to afford the consumption of food and supplies.
After all, so many people had to be fed.
He couldn't wait any longer.
He had to end all this quickly.
The events that had taken place in Hongzhou City during this period made him feel that there was an opportunity. He wanted to take advantage of this situation to stir up more trouble.
The people who had helped the Song Family last night were his men.
He'd also received a report from his informant about the whole process.
Ji Junye originally thought that the Song Family wanted to defeat the Gu Family and rise to power. But now, looking at the overall situation, he didn't think so.
The Song Family seemed more like the executor. There should be someone else behind the scenes planning all this.
Qingqing, is that you?
If it was Qingqing, she'd managed to stir up the waters in Hongzhou right under Ji Huaiyan's nose...
Ji Junye felt proud and gratified, but most of all, he felt heartache.
He wondered how much grievance and humiliation she'd endured under Ji Huaiyan's control to reach this stage.
Ji Junye's desire to take Hongzhou and kill Ji Huaiyan reached its peak at this moment.
...
At this moment, in the dungeon, Shen Qing, who was being thought about by someone, suddenly sneezed. She rubbed her nose. Who was scolding her?
Could it be the King of Jin again?
That bastard hadn't come to show off to her for several days. He probably couldn't bear the blow from the princess and was crying in his quilt.
She hated seeing him laugh. It annoyed her.
However, since the King of Jin had been too busy to pay attention to the dungeon these days, it had been easier for Xu He and Concubine Song to send her messages.
The time was almost right. All they needed was one more push, and Hongzhou City would be in complete chaos.
Outside, there was indeed an uproar because of the incident involving the Gu Family.
Chen Shu was ill. It was said that he'd been beaten up and two of his ribs were broken. And the people who had done it were from the Gu Family.
Many people had heard the commotion, and the rumor was spreading vividly.
Many people knew Chen Shu, so when he appeared in front of them on a stretcher, wrapped in thick bandages, their anger and condemnation of the Gu Family reached a peak.
"It's too much! They deliberately retaliated against the witness!"
"The Gu Family doesn't take the law seriously at all!"
"Don't worry, Young Master Chen. We'll definitely get you an explanation!"
The Master of the Gu Family found out about this early. He stormed into Gu Cheng's room angrily. Gu Cheng was reading a storybook and eating something. Before he could even call out "Father", the enraged Master of the Gu Family slapped him hard, knocking the snack out of his mouth.
"Father, why did you hit me?"
"Ouch—"
In his excitement, he accidentally pulled at his wound, and he gasped in pain.
The Master of the Gu Family trembled with anger. "What did I tell you yesterday? I told you not to cause any more trouble. What's going on outside now?!"
Gu Cheng was stunned. "What do you mean?"
Then he remembered that he'd indeed sent someone to teach Chen Shu a lesson. Could it be that it was so easily discovered?
The servant who was following the Master of the Gu Family glanced at Gu Cheng and explained, "Chen Shu was beaten up so badly that he can't get out of bed. People outside are saying... that it was our Gu Family who did it."
The master had ordered everyone in the Gu Family not to cause any trouble yesterday, but this incident had happened today. Apart from the young master, there was no one else who could have done it.
Gu Cheng's face turned pale, but since his face was already a bit pale from the pain, the Master of the Gu Family didn't notice.
"Father, it wasn't me. I've been lying here all the time. I don't even know what happened!"
Gu Cheng shouted his innocence. He would never admit it. If he did, his father would really break his legs!
The Master of the Gu Family roared, "If it wasn't you, then who could it be? Don't you dare to argue with me!"
At this moment, Gu Cheng saw the cowering servant in the crowd. He immediately understood what was going on. He said in disbelief, "You dare to betray me!"
The servant was about to deny it when the Master of the Gu Family spoke first, "So it was really you who did it!"
"You unfilial son!"
Gu Cheng's face turned as white as paper. "Father, I..."
"Don't call me Father! How could I have such a stupid son like you?!"
There were probably many people watching them now, and he still dared to go against his order and cause trouble.
If it weren't for the fact that Gu Cheng couldn't get up, he would have beaten him with thirty strokes of the board!
The Master of the Gu Family felt a lump of anger in his chest. He couldn't let it out, and he couldn't hold it in either. His face turned red from the frustration.
"After this matter is resolved, I'll break your dog legs!"
The Master of the Gu Family left with a harsh warning and ordered the clan members to be summoned for a meeting to discuss countermeasures.
The members of the Gu Clan had also accumulated a lot of dissatisfaction because of the events in recent days.
The Gu Family discussed for a long time, and finally, the Master of the Gu Family decided to go to the King of Jin's mansion to plead guilty with a bundle of twigs on his back. They'd already lost all their face, so it didn't matter losing a bit more. The king would surely not ignore them.
But when the Master of the Gu Family arrived at the King of Jin's mansion, he didn't even get to see the king.
"Master of the Gu Family, our king is currently discussing important matters. He really doesn't have time to see you. Do you think you could go back first?"
The Master of the Gu Family glanced at the closed study door. "I'll wait here until the king is free."
At the same time, a momentous event was taking place outside.
"Have you heard? The former Master of the Song Family didn't die accidentally when he encountered bandits. Someone deliberately revealed their whereabouts to the bandits!"
"What! This is murder for money. Who would do such a thing?"
"Let me tell you. I heard from someone that it was because the Gu Family wanted the Song Family's brewing recipe at that time. They offered a price, but the Master of the Song Family didn't agree. Then they had a dispute, and then..."