I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 395 The End
Old Master Jin closed his eyes briefly. "It really is that slut!" He looked at the steward standing to the side. "Go, bring that slut here!"

The steward led the assassins to Madam Jin's courtyard. When Madam Jin saw the steward's menacing manner, she knew that all was lost. "I can walk by myself," she said, standing up and arrogantly ordering, "Lead the way!"

After an incense stick had burned, Madam Jin came to Old Master Jin's side. Before Old Master Jin could speak, she plopped down opposite him.

"Insolence!" Old Master Jin roared. "I haven't spoken, how dare you sit here?"

Madam Jin seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. "If I hadn't married into the Jin family back then, your Jin family would have been squeezed out of Suzhou long ago. I deserve a lot of credit for the Jin family's current status. Why shouldn't I be allowed to sit here?"

Grandpa Jin was speechless.

"Since I married into the Yang family, the Jin family's sons have all studied, become officials, and formed marriage alliances, all thanks to the Yang family's influence. Yet you show not a shred of gratitude!"

Madam Jin's eyes were filled with hatred. "They used the Yang family's secrets to coerce my brother into giving up profits and forced him to marry off his daughter. As a daughter of the Yang family, how could I stand idly by?"

Old Master Jin's eyes were sinister. "A woman follows her husband after marriage. From the day you got married, you were no longer a daughter of the Yang family, but a wife of the Jin family!"

"Ha!" Old Madam Jin laughed. "If you think that a married daughter is like water spilled from a cup, why did you always ask me to remind the Jin family daughters before they got married, to tell them that their maternal family is their only support, and to make them wholeheartedly support their maternal family?"

"Old Master, you can't be so shameless! A woman of the Jin family should abandon her own family and wholeheartedly serve her husband's family, and a daughter of the Jin family should abandon her husband's family and wholeheartedly serve her own family. Do you think the Jin family can have all the good things in the world?"

Grandpa Jin stopped arguing and instead said, "You murdered your husband and grandson; you deserve to die!"

"Yes!" Old Madam Jin raised her chin. "But do you dare to kill me?"

"Once I die, my Yang family will fight your Jin family to the death!"

Old Master Jin sneered, "You really overestimate yourself! Fine, I'll make you face reality!"

The assassin stepped forward, grabbed Old Madam Jin's neck, and twisted it forcefully with both hands.

Old Madam Jin's eyes widened, and she breathed her last before she could speak.

Jin Ge stared blankly, so frightened by the sight of Old Madam Jin's unseeing eyes that she fell to the ground with a thud.

Grandpa Jin didn't even want to look at his useless grandson. Just as he was about to speak, he heard a commotion outside the courtyard.

Just as the butler was about to go out to check, the door was pushed open with great force, and the butler was immediately pulled to the ground, watching helplessly as the person rushed in and surrounded everyone in the room in an instant.

Old Master Jin's heart sank. He stood up to greet her, but before he could speak, a scream rang out, "Sister!"

Old Master Yang stumbled forward, embraced Old Madam Jin's body, and wept bitterly.

Grand Marshal Feng Jie of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang Navy feigned surprise, "What's wrong with the old lady?"

Before Old Master Jin could speak, Old Master Yang said bitterly, "My sister was killed by this beast! I beg the Grand Marshal to do justice for my sister!"

"Why would Old Master Jin kill Old Madam Jin for no reason?"

The air was silent for a moment, and no one answered the question.

Feng Jie looked around and found the easiest target. "Young Master Jin, could you please enlighten this marshal?"

Jin Ge sat on the ground, still reeling from the shock of his grandfather killing his grandmother, when the sudden arrival of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang naval forces terrified him. His mind was in a daze. He looked up and met Feng Jie's sharp gaze, and subconsciously said, "My grandmother poisoned me and my grandfather."

Feng Jie lured her, "Why would Madam Jin want to poison Master Jin?"

Jin Ge mumbled, still a little confused, "Because my grandfather has information about the Yang family's collusion..."

"Shut up!" Old Master Yang shouted angrily.

Jin Ge immediately shut her mouth in fright. "Insolence!" Feng Jie narrowed his eyes, "This is an official presiding over a case, and you dare to obstruct me?"

Old Master Yang's face turned ashen.

Feng Jie looked at Old Master Jin, "What evidence of the Yang family's crimes do you have, Old Master?"

Grandpa Jin took a step back, speechless.

Feng Jie waved his hand, and the Jiangsu and Zhejiang naval forces stepped forward to search, pulling out account books from Old Master Jin's arms.

Feng Jie leaned closer to the torch and opened the ledger, which clearly recorded every expenditure and income of the iron mine jointly operated by the Yang family and the Wei state.

Feng Jie sighed inwardly; the Yang family was completely finished.

Old Master Yang understood perfectly well: Now that the Yang family was finished, the Jin family shouldn't expect to escape unscathed either!
"My lord, I must expose the Jin family's practice of raising assassins!"

"Nonsense!" Old Master Jin retorted, "These are the Jin family's guards!"

"The number of guards in the Jin family has long exceeded the number of guards allowed by the imperial court for aristocratic families. You can search the estates under the Jin family's name to see that what I said is true!"

Feng Jie glanced at the so-called guards of the Jin family who had been captured. They were all burly and calloused, and it was clear at a glance that they were not ordinary guards.

Unfortunately, against the Northwest Army and the personal guards of the Protectorate General's Mansion, it was like throwing an egg against a rock.

"Search all properties under the Jin family's name, and do not let any suspicious persons escape," Feng Jie said decisively. "Extend all members of the Jin and Yang families to the Suzhou government office to await trial."

At Feng Jie's command, the already noisy Jin family became even more chaotic. The men shouted and cursed, the women cried incessantly, not to mention that people had to be spared to put out the fire.

Feng Jie felt very tired.

Having finally arranged everything, Feng Jie led the Jiangsu and Zhejiang naval forces away impatiently, fearing that the conflict between the Jin and Yang families would spread to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang naval forces.

In the main hall of the Suzhou government office, the newly appointed first-rank imperial envoy was reviewing the account books and documents confiscated from the Jin and Yang families, and the more he looked, the more alarmed he became.

No wonder Princess Zhaoshan refused to leave Suzhou even when she was heavily pregnant, determined to bring down the Jin and Yang families. The wealth they had plundered from the people was enough to fill the entire national treasury.

"Lord Min, the Jin and Yang families have been entrenched in Suzhou Prefecture for many years, illegally mining, exploiting workers, and oppressing the people. Did you know nothing about this?"

Min Zhuang knelt on the ground, his official robes already soaked with sweat, and said, "This humble official is incompetent."

“Incompetence is a small matter, but moral failings are a big one. Lord Min should stay home and rest until the cases involving the Jin and Yang families are resolved.”

Min Zhuang swayed and almost fell to the ground.

The newly appointed imperial commissioner was very efficient, especially when there was sufficient evidence and witnesses. He acted swiftly and quickly uncovered dozens of crimes committed by the Jin and Yang families, including illegally mining and raising assassins. The adult men of the Jin and Yang families were sentenced to beheading, the underage men were confiscated from the mines, and all the women were demoted to the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution).

At this point, the Jin and Yang families completely disappeared from Jiangnan. The Jiang and Zou families, being like lips and teeth, dared not make any more mistakes and kept a low profile.

Wuqixianshan Farm in Minzhou.

Tang Zhao, wearing a thick cloak, looked through the window with envy at Qiu Yu and Dong Mei chasing the fire fox around in the courtyard.

Gu Ci reached out and closed the window. "Be careful not to catch a cold breeze."

Tang Zhao counted her due date on her fingers, and Gu Ci immediately said, "Ninety-three days left."

Tang Zhao's lips trembled, and sorrow welled up within her.