Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

The masters of each household learned about the situation from their servants, so they were not in a hurry to go back. Instead, they followed Zhou Boru to a separate courtyard of the Zhou family to discuss countermeasures.

"This Jia Lian is really going too far! He actually dared to raid the Zhao family's property!"

The six men sat down and began to berate Jia Lian. Of course, only they themselves knew how much fear they were experiencing.

"My men have found out that the entire city of Yangzhou is now basically under Jia Lian's control."

Even Prefect Wu Zhirong and Garrison Commander Gao Kui were placed under house arrest by Jia Lian within the headquarters.

It's clear that Jia Lian made thorough preparations before attacking the Zhao family, leaving us no room for resistance whatsoever!

The officials in power in Yangzhou are all controlled by Jia Lian, so even if they wanted to find someone to help punish Jia Lian, it would be impossible for them.

Seeing everyone silent and dejected, completely lacking their former composure, Wang Shanxiang said bitterly, "Are we just going to let them slaughter us like this? Jia Lian is clearly an extremely greedy person. Today it's the Zhao family, but tomorrow it could be any one of us."

"Everyone, we have reached a critical moment of life and death. If we want to survive, there is only one way to go..."

"He Lu".

"Get rid of Jia Lian, and have the court send another imperial envoy!"

Previously, no one had paid attention to what Wang Shanxiang had said, but now everyone had to think about it seriously.

Jia Lian's direct use of force posed a significant threat to them.

For the average wealthy person, having vast wealth is already considered extremely rich, and their assets are their lifeblood.

This was especially true for the salt merchants. Each of them possessed far more than ten thousand taels of silver! Take the six people present, for example; each family certainly had assets exceeding one million taels.

They originally had endless wealth to enjoy. However, Jia Lian wanted to deprive them of their wealth, which was tantamount to killing them.

Even a cornered dog will jump over a wall, let alone the fact that they were never good people to begin with.

At this point, any fear of consequences should be put aside.

"You make it sound so easy. How do you get rid of him? After tonight's events, Jia Lian will definitely be more cautious. Are you sure you can kill him?"

He has so many soldiers under his command, does he expect us to gather our household servants and fight them?

"Even if we could kill him, what would we do if the court were enraged...?"

Faced with the doubts of others, Wang Shanxiang simply sneered, "Man proposes, God disposes. No matter how difficult it is, can it be more difficult than our current situation?"

When Jia Lian's cold sword was pressed against his neck, Wang Shanxiang truly felt the fear of death.

But after the fear came endless resentment.

Seeing that Wang Shanxiang seemed confident, the others asked him what he planned to do, but Wang Shanxiang remained silent, clearly not wanting to tell them the truth.

Their minds began to race. If Wang Shanxiang was truly confident in eliminating Jia Lian, it would indeed be a good thing for them. As she said, the situation couldn't possibly get any worse than it was now.

Judging from Jia Lian's current posture, he intends to wipe them all out in one fell swoop! Who would be willing to accept that?

Moreover, if Wang Shanxiang dares to make a move, even if things get out of control, it will be Wang Shanxiang and his cronies, including the Crown Prince, who will bear the brunt of the consequences. Everyone likes to reap the rewards without sowing.

Zhou Boru glanced at the Bai family patriarch, who had kept a gloomy face and hadn't said much, and then said, "Alright, no matter what, after you all go back tonight, the most important thing is to immediately send people to contact your respective connections in the court and mobilize all possible forces."

Since Jia Lian didn't immediately attack us, it means he had his concerns. At the very least, he didn't dare to completely destroy the salt administration of the entire Jiangnan region. We control the salt transport and sales of the entire Jiangnan region; if something were to happen to us, the whole region would be thrown into chaos, something Jia Lian couldn't afford to offend.

However, it will take time for our backers to make a move, and we cannot simply sit idly by and wait to be killed. I have already planned to find an opportunity to ask Jia Lian for help again, hoping to resolve the issue peacefully…”

Although Zhou Boru said this, his tone was very low at the end, clearly indicating that he himself was not confident in bribing Jia Lian.

However, everyone felt that Zhou Boru's words made sense, at least more so than Wang Shanxiang's. Therefore, they breathed a slight sigh of relief. After their initial grumbling, they all promised to do their utmost, at any cost, to get the court to recall Jia Lian…

Several plans were discussed, and the gentlemen all went back to prepare.

Wang Shanxiang gave Bai Yi a look, and the two of them went around back to find Zhou Boru.

Zhou Boru was not surprised at all by their return, and even sat in the hall waiting for them.

"Speak, what is your plan? If you are going to send assassins as recklessly as the Zhao family, then I, Zhou, will not play along."

"Does the Chairman really believe that tonight's assassin was sent by the Zhou family? Or that the Zhao family servant who was killed was actually an assassin?" Wang Shanxiang sneered.

Zhou Boru merely twitched the corner of his mouth without saying a word.

Bai Yi plopped down on the bench, saying impatiently, "Speak, why did you call me back?"

You could tell from his tone that he was also in a bad mood.

"If I had a plan that could potentially eliminate Jia Lian, and I was confident that the court wouldn't pursue the matter too far, would you two be willing to assist me?"

Zhou Boru and Bai Yi both showed a change in expression.

The reason they dared not even consider a direct confrontation with Jia Lian was not only because Jia Lian had already taken control of Yangzhou at lightning speed, leaving them with no chance of victory, but also because they knew that even if they defeated Jia Lian, they would ultimately be no match for the imperial court. In the end, it would all be for naught.

"Are you really confident?" Bai Yi asked solemnly.

Over the years, knowing that the Bai family was related to the Empress Dowager's maternal relatives, who would dare not give the Bai family some face? Jia Lian actually dared to send people to surround the Bai family, and he wished he could kill Jia Lian.

Wang Shanxiang smiled and said, "If it were just me alone, I might not be confident. But if we add the strength of Master Bai and Chairman Zhou, we'd be much more confident."

Zhou Boru and Bai Yi exchanged a glance, indicating their willingness to listen.

After a while, watching Bai Yi and Wang Shanxiang leave, Zhou Yanru's son, Zhou Yan, stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "Does Master really think that Wang fellow can succeed?"

"Whether it will succeed or not, we'll have to try to find out. If he does manage to succeed by sheer luck, my Zhou family will naturally be willing to lend him a hand..."

However, we cannot place our hopes on him; the Zhou family must also make two preparations.

By the way, where is Gu Qingyi now?

"The annual Jiangnan Flower Queen Competition is about to begin. The young lady in green is currently performing in Suzhou, preparing to compete for the title of the number one flower queen."

"No need. Just send someone to bring her to Yangzhou. She doesn't need to participate in the courtesan competition."

The Jiangnan region was prosperous and had a flourishing literary culture. As a result, many scholars and literati were known for their romantic affairs, leading to the proliferation of famous brothels in the area.

Putting aside other things, in major cities like Yangzhou, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Nanjing, which city doesn't have dozens of brothels?

As a renowned salt merchant group in Jiangnan, the number of brothels they controlled was unknown.

This Gu Qingyi is the most outstanding courtesan to emerge from all the brothels controlled by the Zhou family in recent years. Even Zhou Boru regards her as a trump card, spending a fortune to promote her and make her famous.

Therefore, upon hearing Zhou Boru's instructions, Zhou Yan hesitated and asked, "What does Master mean? But didn't Master say that the girl in green was prepared for the Crown Prince...?"

"Enough with the nonsense, go right now when I tell you to!"

"Yes……"

After his son left, Zhou Boru sighed inwardly. Everyone said he was extremely shrewd and calculating, but only he knew how many people were watching him, and how cautious he was, given his vast wealth in Jiangnan.

Unlike others, he was not flamboyant. He did not become arrogant and unscrupulous after associating with powerful figures.

He did the opposite; although he constantly cultivated his network, he never proactively revealed his connections. Because he knew that those important figures all hated trouble.

Therefore, even though the Zhou family was the most powerful salt merchant, not many people truly knew what the Zhou family relied on.

Outsiders only know that the Wang family has connections with the Crown Prince's residence, but who knows that the Zhou family has also long been connected with the Crown Prince, even more so than the Wang family.

If Wang Shanxiang succeeds this time, he certainly wouldn't mind cleaning up his mess afterwards.

But if it doesn't work out, the Zhou family will naturally need to make plans early. True wisdom lies in considering failure before success.