Joy of Life: Starting from Teacher Fan Xian

Chapter 165 Killing people still depends on people

The city of Suzhou was a prosperous place with numerous shops and crowds of people. People wearing fine clothes could be seen everywhere.

The dock in the distance was extremely busy, with boats densely packed on the water and gangsters from various factions mixed together.

The mansions of those wealthy salt and tea merchants are dazzling to the eyes.

The Ming family was not in Suzhou city. A few miles outside the city, there was a large and beautiful mansion, commonly known as Ming Garden, which covered an area of ​​a thousand acres and was extremely magnificent.

Getting off the carriage, Ming Lanshi led Lin Ruo to the mansion with a smile on his face, but the smile was very thin, proving that he was not in a good mood.

It was obvious that Ming Lanshi was still upset about what had just happened in the city.

He was extremely disgusted by the government's behavior of using him as a memorial archway, but he could do nothing about it.

Apart from his father and grandmother, he was far from qualified to challenge the Governor of Jiangnan. If he told this to his grandmother, he would only be scolded and the matter would end in vain. Ming Lanshi had no choice but to swallow his resentment.

The servant who had been following Ming Lanshi went to the backyard after entering the mansion, and did not go to the front hall for receiving guests.

In the leafy green garden, an old woman sat on a chair. Her eyes showed no kindness but majesty.

This old woman is the real person in charge of the Ming family, the elderly matriarch of the Ming family.

Beside her, a middle-aged man stood respectfully with his head lowered, as if he was being scolded. But in fact, he was expressing courtesy to his mother.

He is the owner of the Ming family's huge fortune and the nominal head of the family, Ming Qingda.

A servant came to report that Lin Ruo had entered the mansion. Ming Jiada nodded, asked the people to leave, and looked at his old and immortal mother politely, with a hint of resentment flashing through his heart.

As soon as Old Lady Ming raised her head, all the resentment in her heart was replaced by fear, and Ming Qingda lowered his head to accept instruction.

"Can Lanshi handle this matter?" asked Old Lady Ming.

Ming Qingda said respectfully, "The visitor is just a tea merchant, not an imperial envoy from the capital. Mother and I should not show up. Lanshi can handle it properly."

Old Lady Ming narrowed her eyes and said, "I hope so. Otherwise, I, your wife, will have to clean up your mess again."

When Ming Qingda heard this, he immediately said in panic, "It's all because of my unfilial son."

Old Lady Ming looked at her son and said mercilessly, "I think you are deliberately trying to piss off an old woman like me to death. Even now, the imperial envoy has arrived, but you still haven't cleaned up the mess that needs to be cleaned up."

"Some areas have not been handed over yet. If we deal with it too quickly, it may cause losses. Please give me more time, mother."

"If an old woman like me gives me time, will the imperial envoy give me time? If the deficit in the inner treasury is investigated, will the evidence disappear out of thin air?" Old Lady Ming asked repeatedly.

Ming Qingda was speechless, but he had other thoughts in his mind and didn't care for a while.

"I see that you are still as hesitant as you were seven years ago. If I hadn't poisoned that concubine and hunted down the bastard, with your old and dim-sighted father's temper, the Ming family's assets would have been split long ago, and it would have been your turn to inherit."

"Mother is right, I will learn from your mistakes." Ming Qingda sincerely admitted his mistake, secretly disdainful. He had worked hard to manage the Ming family's business for seven years and brought it to a higher level, but the old woman in front of him belittled him as worthless, and the anger that had been hidden for many years gradually rose in his heart.

In public, he is the head of the Ming family, but in private, he is a humble son who submits to everything. Ming Qingda could not help but grit his teeth and pretend to be gentle on his face.

"The imperial envoy's trip to the south this time is not entirely a threat. The Ming family is already strong enough. It is a good thing to take this opportunity to get rid of the secret activities as soon as possible and get back on the right track." Old Lady Ming continued.

Ming Qingda's face darkened. It was not so easy to get rid of his foundation. Just the pirates from all over the place, perhaps they would have to be killed all together.

His mother could do it, but Ming Qingda didn't want to do so. He thought it was always a safer option to keep a hidden trick.

The Ming family has been supporting the Junshan Society for the eldest princess over the years, but Ming Qingda does not trust it. First, these gangsters are led by Xinyang, and second, in the Ming family, they obey their mother instead of him, the head of the Ming family.

"Perhaps we can try to establish a good relationship with the imperial envoy. In this way, we can avoid most of the trouble." Ming Qingda said tentatively.

The reason why his Ming family and the imperial envoy are at war is nothing but because of Xinyang. Now that the eldest princess is weak, it is not impossible for the Ming family to replace her with someone who is good at speaking in the court.

Old Lady Ming said coldly: "Don't forget, the one behind this war is His Majesty, not the Princess, and certainly not the Imperial Envoy."

"Your Majesty doesn't seem to want to kill us all, but he just wants to regain control of the inner treasury from the eldest princess. If possible, it's not impossible to hand over the inner treasury." Ming Qingda said confidently:
"After all, the accumulated capital over the years is sufficient, and the Ming family can definitely find another way to make a living."

Upon hearing this, Lady Ming was furious: "Ridiculous! The profits brought by the inner treasury cannot be solved by changing your livelihood."

"Some things cannot be let go just because you want to. Not only the eldest princess, but also the imperial envoy's opinion, I'm afraid you can't convince them."

"Don't forget who they are and who you are!" These words are very serious.

There was no chance for the good guys and the bad guys to sit down peacefully. Old Lady Ming understood that the imperial envoy came south not to seek profit, but to truly seek justice.

A trace of cold sweat flowed down his back, Ming Qingda still pretended to be calm and said: "How can there be so much justice in the world, and how can there be so many people seeking justice? If there is, it must be that the chips thrown out are not enough. As long as mother agrees, I will send 100,000 taels of silver. I don't believe that this imperial envoy will not fall into the eyes of money."

One hundred thousand taels of silver is a huge sum of money, an extremely huge sum of money. Ming Qingda is sure that anyone who sees it will be confused.

Old Lady Ming thought for a while, then said with contempt and cruelty: "It is better to kill than to take someone in."

"Mother, he is an imperial envoy, a member of the Supervisory Council, and a favorite of His Majesty." Ming Qingda thought the idea was too absurd.

"What are you afraid of? If the person dies, just send me, an old woman, out to pay for the crime, in exchange for the Ming family's eternal great cause."

Ming Qingda knelt down and said, "Mother, you can't say that."

Old Lady Ming snorted coldly and said mockingly, "Do you really think my life is valuable? In fact, it is worthless. I just want to tell you that it is never as good as relying on yourself to rely on others."

"Eradication of the Ming family's foundation will undoubtedly destroy Jiangnan's roots and the future of the inner treasury. Relying on this, we have an absolute advantage in our hands. The last thing we should do now is to act rashly."

Old Lady Ming was always extremely thoughtful. She looked at the sky and said in a deep voice, "Don't forget, most of the people in the inner library are the princess's people. This matter really has nothing to do with the Ming family."

(End of this chapter)