Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2837 Master Qingsong 55.0
"The Gong family and the Ma family—I'm referring to their own families—were they completely unaffected?" Jin Miaomiao frowned slightly. "And that fraud gang—how did they manage to escape unscathed and continue their scams in Beijing? This..." She looked at Song Yaojia, "Is that right? It can't be, can it?"

“Little Miao Miao is really impatient. I’ve only told you the result, not the process, and you’re already in a hurry.” Song Yaojia took the hot tea that Mei Lin handed him, blew on it to cool it down, and said slowly, “The ghost story at the She family’s house was indeed the work of those swindlers from the Ma family. But the ghost story didn’t lead to the She family exorcising the ghost. In addition, our family had other plans, so they left ahead of time.”

"They left early?" Jin Miaomiao stroked her chin. "So, they knew the She family didn't actually believe in this kind of thing, so they changed their approach, right?"

“That’s right.” Song Yaojia snapped her fingers. “The intrusion into the She family happened after the fraud gang left. However, the She family took over the city defense of Yangzhou Prefecture afterward, focusing their attention on that courtyard that they had been eyeing for a long time.”

"The temporary foothold for the Gong and Ma families, right?"

"No, it's just the Gong family. The Ma family left with the fraud gang a long time ago." Song Yaojia sneered. "Guess why?"

"No need to consider the division of spoils?" Merlin looked at Song Yaojia curiously. "It can't be because the Ma family is not as powerful as the Gong family, can it?"

“Of course not for that reason.” Song Yaojia shook her head and said, “Although the Gong family and the Ma family are related by marriage, not all of their relatives get along well. Their own family is naturally harmonious, but it’s hard to say about the relatives in other places. When the Gong family in Yangzhou was questioned, they admitted that they did not get along well with the Ma family, and even said that if their family hadn’t been incapable, they wouldn’t have needed to take action.”

"Internal strife!" Jin Miaomiao curled her lip in disgust. "This is not a good sign."

"Actually, the Gong family of Yangzhou said that when they were carrying out this plan, the Ma family didn't approve. They said the She family wasn't simple. When their people went to the She family to haunt the place, they found that the She family members carried a malevolent aura, clearly not ordinary people, much less ordinary bodyguards. They told them to think twice before proceeding. But they were eager to show off in front of their own family and wouldn't listen to any advice. They even thought the Ma family was just trying to stop them." Song Yaojia spread her hands. "When the Ma family realized they couldn't be persuaded, they had no choice but to leave Yangzhou Prefecture with their own people. They probably thought something terrible was going to happen, so they went into hiding."

“Those who roam the martial world certainly see things more clearly than those who go into tombs,” Shen Cha sneered. “I knew this wouldn’t end well.”

“When it comes to judging situations, con artists are indeed the best,” Song Yaojia said, raising an eyebrow at Shen Cha. “That courtyard is where the Gong family of Yangzhou is staying. The thieves who escaped from the She family are still there with the bronze cauldron. The She family has been watching for several days without making any moves, just to make the people in the courtyard lower their guard. And the people in the courtyard did not disappoint. At first, they were on high alert day and night, but later they only took night shifts, and even the people on night shifts started drinking.”

"The time has come."

“Yes!” Song Yaojia nodded. “Just like when those thieves broke into the She family, the She family also used sleeping incense when they led the Yangzhou soldiers into that courtyard. But this sleeping incense is different from the one used by those thieves. It can only immobilize them, but keep them conscious.”

“I know this.” Jin Miaomiao stretched out her hand. “Immobilization incense is a kind of incense that looks very powerful, but is actually very useless. Normal people would not use it, since keeping people conscious goes against the original purpose of incense.”

“That’s true, but this time it was used in the right place.” Song Yaojia smiled. “With this incense, the Gong family of Yangzhou and those thieves were all caught in one fell swoop, and the bronze cauldron was also found. It was a great victory.” “The Gong family members were probably very panicked when the guards broke in.” Jin Miaomiao sneered. “Besides immobilizing people and keeping them conscious, the immobilization incense has another advantage: it amplifies people’s fear and intensifies their anxiety.” She spread her hands at Song Yaojia. “There’s nothing we can do about it. What was originally a disadvantage has accidentally become an advantage.”

“No wonder Uncle said that some members of the Gong family were scared to death before they even went to court. It turns out it was because of this incense.” Song Yaojia curled her lips in disgust. “However, the mastermind was very determined. He waited until the effects of the medicine wore off and then confessed very voluntarily.”

"So decisive?" Shen Cha was a little surprised. "They didn't even put up a resistance?"

“Resistance is useless. They committed such a serious crime in Yangzhou Prefecture. If they don’t confess quickly and implicate their family, even if they manage to escape, they will likely face certain death upon returning to Wuzhou Prefecture. Not only will they not survive, but they will also implicate their families.” Song Yaojia sighed, finished her tea in one gulp, and continued, “However, although they have confessed, they have severed ties with their family very cleanly.”

"How can you sever ties like this?"

“Yes!” Song Yaojia nodded. “They said that everything was their own doing and had nothing to do with the main family. The main family had no idea about it at all. They only had evil intentions because they heard about the appearance of the bronze cauldron. The search of that courtyard also confirmed this. They had no contact with the main family, or rather, the content of their contact had been burned.”

“There’s no way to find evidence for this kind of thing.” Shen Cha sighed helplessly. “Although the Gong and Ma families are from humble backgrounds, they’ve been around for two hundred years. To gain a foothold in a place like Jiangnan, where powerful families gather, it would be absolutely impossible without some shrewdness and scheming. The reason why powerful families can continue for a hundred years or even more is because they know how to cut their losses and survive at the most critical moment.”

"If we can't find any evidence, we can't connect them to our own family. They're really getting off easy."

"Even so, the Gong and Ma families of Wuzhou were still held accountable by the palace. They were accused of not managing their families properly and violating the style of aristocratic families. They were forced to pay a large amount of gold and silver to the She family, making them bleed a lot and feel the pain."

“Even so,” Jin Miaomiao spread her hands, “the She family has suffered another major blow, and their comeback will have to be postponed again.”

"There's nothing we can do about it," Song Yaojia said helplessly. "However, there's another person who's being implicated this time."

"Empress Ding?" Seeing Song Yaojia nod, Shen Cha frowned. "She pleaded for her?"

(End of this chapter)