Dream of the Red Chamber: After being exiled, I went on a killing spree in Liaodong.

Those who hide behind the scenes, pave the way with money and wealth, and aid and abet evil, deserve to be torn to pieces even more than the rebels who wield knives!

"Yangzhou salt merchants," Jia Yi said in a deep voice, his face ashen.

"Yi-ge, do you have any evidence?" Lin Ruhai immediately lowered his voice, his expression grave. "This matter is extremely complex; without solid evidence, we must not act rashly!"

He knew that these salt merchants were deeply entrenched and had connections with powerful figures in the court. Even if Emperor Yuankang himself came, he would have to think twice.

"No evidence," Jia Yi sneered, his eyes sharp as knives. "But I know exactly who's been funding the White Lotus Sect. None of them will escape."

Others may be wary of him, but he is not afraid.

In the eyes of the world, he was just a foolish young master. As long as he didn't really rebel, the imperial family would indulge him in every way, and even if he stirred up a bloodbath, they would turn a blind eye.

"But..." Lin Ruhai wanted to persuade him further.

Before he could finish speaking, Jia Yi raised his hand to interrupt him.

"Uncle, there's no need for further words." His gaze was piercing, and he spoke each word deliberately, "I've come to Yangzhou today for only one thing—to exterminate these parasites!"

Lin Ruhai was speechless.

When has a Salt Commissioner ever been interrupted like this?!

But surprisingly, from Grandmother Jia to the Empress Dowager in the palace, and now to this "foolish" nephew in front of them, everyone does things differently!

While he was still in a daze, the major powers in Yangzhou City had already been in an uproar.

Jia Yi, the man who swept through Nanjing and utterly crushed 500,000 rebel troops, has arrived!

The White Lotus Sect? A rebel army? They couldn't even last an incense stick's time in front of Jia Yi before being crushed to ashes!

When the news arrived, the whole city was in an uproar, but people were temporarily at ease.

Even the salt merchants who had been secretly funding the rebellion breathed a sigh of relief.

"Old Hu, is everything cleaned up over there?" The salt merchants sat around, all their eyes turning to Hu Fanglin.

"Hmph, you don't trust me to do things?" Hu Fanglin sneered, picking up his teacup. "If I hadn't silenced them early on, even if Jia Yi had ten heads, he wouldn't have been able to trace it back to us!"

Everyone nodded in agreement, feeling somewhat relieved.

"Alas, the White Lotus Sect is also unlucky. They painstakingly built up an army of hundreds of thousands of people, but it collapsed in an instant when Jia Yi arrived."

"They're just a bunch of useless trash! No matter how many of them there are, they're still just a rabble!"

"Haha, you're right! A nobody can never amount to anything!"

Laughter filled the air, glasses clinked, and everyone seemed to have survived a calamity and were confident of victory.

"Alright!" Hu Fanglin put down his cup and said in a deep voice, "The past is all buried in your heart. You can't tell anyone, not even if you die!"

Everyone was awed and readily agreed.

Who can say for sure? If it's leaked, the family will be wiped out, nine generations of relatives will be exterminated, and their remains will be left nowhere!

"Let's call it a day." Hu Fanglin waved his hand. "Everyone go home, and all will be well."

"good!"

Everyone rose to take their leave, their faces beaming with joy, their steps light and quick, as if a great burden had been lifted from their shoulders.

As everyone knows--

The scythe of death is already hanging overhead.

The night was as dark as ink, and the sound of hooves was like thunder.

Jia Yi dispatched elite cavalry, like dark clouds pressing down on the city, heading straight for the residences of major salt merchants in Yangzhou!

Lanterns hung high in front of the Hu residence, creating a peaceful atmosphere.

Sudden--

"Master! Something terrible has happened! Master!!!"

A roar shattered the silence, and a servant stumbled in, his face ashen.

Hu Fanglin was washing his hands when he heard this, his eyes widening in anger: "What are you yelling about! Trying to scare your master to death!"

He stormed out of the room, glaring coldly at the trembling servant: "Speak, what happened?"

The servant pointed tremblingly outside the door: "Soldiers...soldiers have surrounded the mansion! Fully armed, they say...it was ordered by the Duke of Qin himself!"

Hu Fanglin froze, and the handkerchief in his hand fell to the ground with a thud.

Jia Yi...made a move?!

Only then did he realize—

The "rooting out" that you are so proud of may not have been completely eradicated at all!

Tonight, the long-awaited knife has finally fallen.

Hu Fanglin led a group of servants and rushed toward the mansion gate.

As soon as he stepped out the door, the sight before him made him pause – the usually arrogant salt merchants of Yangzhou were now being escorted and shoved to their doorsteps by heavily armored soldiers, their faces ashen and their eyes darting around.

"Old Hu, does it mean... things have failed?"

"That's right! Those soldiers came up and dragged us out of our homes without saying a word!"

"Look at the way they look at you, like you're staring at a dead person, it's creepy!"

A cacophony of whispers erupted from the crowd, and all eyes turned to Hu Fanglin. He was the top strategist among these old foxes; now, they could only rely on him for advice.

"Who leaked the information?" Hu Fanglin's eyes turned cold as he scanned the crowd, his mind churning. If he had known there were such useless cowards around, he would have preferred to take the deal for himself rather than be dragged down to this point by these incompetent teammates!

"Old Hu, those words are really hurtful!" someone exclaimed urgently in defense. "Don't we have any sense of propriety? Who dares to utter a single word about things that should remain unsaid?"

"Exactly! If they had really told the truth, would they still be standing here? They would have wiped out their homes and silenced them long ago!"

Hearing the crowd's complaints, Hu Fanglin frowned, unsure of where things had gone wrong.

A moment later, he gritted his teeth and hissed, "No matter what, whatever the Duke of Qin says later, deny it to the death! Deny it completely!"

"As long as we're of one mind, he has no evidence and can't touch a hair on our heads!"

"Let's each contact our backers and turn the tables on him!"

Everyone nodded vigorously, exchanging nervous glances.

"Deny the Duke of Qin...deny the Duke of Qin..." A fat, big-eared salt merchant stood in the corner, his lips trembling as he repeated the words over and over, as if trying to etch them into his soul.

It only takes the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The sound of horses' hooves broke through the air.

Jia Yi rode on his horse, looking languid, while Lin Ruhai followed behind him with a composed expression.

"Go, bring two chairs," Jia Yi said casually.

"yes!"

Without saying a word, a troop of cavalry kicked open the gate and stormed into the inner courtyard of the Hu residence.

"Damn it!" Hu Fanglin's eyes twitched violently, and anger flared up in his heart—this was his ancestral home! You just barged in like this? Without even a greeting?

In the blink of an eye, soldiers carried out two carved sandalwood chairs and placed them in the center of the courtyard.

Jia Yi reached out and touched the back of the chair, clicking his tongue in amazement: "Wow, this material is quite good, it must be worth a lot of money, right?"

"This is not a chair!" the fat man suddenly roared and lunged forward.

The entire room fell silent.

Everyone stared at him dumbfounded, as if he had been scared out of his wits.

Jia Yi narrowed his eyes: "Did you catch an idiot?"

The soldiers who carried out the arrest were bewildered: "They were fine just now, how did they suddenly go berserk?"

"Go to hell!" Hu Fanglin covered his face, wishing he could strangle this idiot on the spot.

"Beat this piece of trash awake!" Jia Yi sneered.

"yes!"

Punches and kicks rained down on the fat man, who barely uttered a sound before being beaten unconscious and lying on the ground like a lump of mud.

Hu Fanglin was terrified, fearing he would be next. He had no choice but to step forward and bow, saying, "Duke Qin, Lord Lin, may I ask what brings you here today?"

Jia Yi didn't speak, but just glanced at Lin Ruhai.