Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

In the luxurious front hall of the Wang Family Manor, Wang Shanxiang paced back and forth.

The Wang family was able to rise from a minor salt merchant ten years ago to become one of the new seven major salt merchants in just a few years, swallowing up the salt permits of other salt merchants. This was not only because of their connection with the Crown Prince's Mansion, but also because of their ruthless and unscrupulous approach to doing things.

Anyone who dares to hinder the rise of the Wang family will be eliminated by Wang Shanxiang. Even if an accident occurs, his superiors will always smooth things over for him.

Over time, this naturally fosters an arrogant and disdainful attitude.

But this time was different. Even though he felt he had made thorough preparations, the person he was going to eliminate was, after all, a marquis of the current dynasty, a close minister of the emperor, and an imperial envoy!

But he still did.

Because he was very confident.

Since ancient times, even heroes have found it hard to resist the charms of beautiful women, and it is also said that lust is a knife hanging over one's head. He felt that this was Jia Lian's biggest weakness.

On his very first day in Yangzhou, he had sex with a woman, and afterwards, he dared to keep her by his side?

He had also seen An Siyuan's widow, who was indeed a rare beauty. What was even more remarkable was that she came from a scholarly family and was the wife of a high-ranking official!

In Yangzhou, a fourth-rank salt commissioner was an extremely high-ranking official.

Therefore, he could understand why Jia Lian was so fond of the Xu family mother and daughter, because he had also been young once.

In his view, even if Madam Xu had no choice but to submit to Jia Lian's tyranny, she must have harbored hatred and resentment in her heart, given how Jia Lian had humiliated the An family.

Therefore, if he wanted to get rid of Jia Lian, the pitiful wife and daughter of the corrupt official were the perfect weakness that Jia Lian had given him.

Because if Jia Lian were to die in Yangzhou without any reason, it might cause a huge uproar in the court and enrage the emperor.

But if Jia Lian died on a woman's belly, and moreover, at the hands of Xu and her daughter, then that would be a different story...

The dignified imperial envoy, the Marquis of Zhenyuan, who was sent south to supervise the salt administration on behalf of the emperor, was actually killed because he slept with a mother and daughter. Isn't that ridiculous?

One can imagine that once such a thing spreads, it will become the biggest laughing stock in the world, and even the imperial court will lose face. At that time, let's see who in the court will still have the nerve to make a big fuss about Jia Lian's death!

Then, he can join forces with the Zhou and Bai families, letting the three most powerful salt merchants unite their backers and give the matter a little push, making it easy to cover up the incident.

In this way, not only can the threat that Jia Lian poses to all the salt merchants be eliminated, but the court may also be too embarrassed to pursue the matter of the previous sharp reduction in salt taxes.

Therefore, as long as Jia Lian can be eliminated successfully through this, turning the tide will not be difficult. This is also why the cunning Zhou family and the Bai family, who only act when they see a clear benefit, were persuaded to help him.

Once the major aspects are properly considered, the remaining question is how to ensure the plan's success.

He happened to have an unexpected but now extremely important bargaining chip. It was a preventative measure he had taken before the imperial envoy arrived in Yangzhou, to prevent the An family from informing on him and to avoid any unforeseen complications. It was he who had taken action and captured An Siyuan's only son.

With the only heir of the An family in his grasp, he wasn't afraid that Madam Xu wouldn't listen to him. All he needed to do was get rid of Madam An's wife and daughter after the deed was done, making it look like a "humiliated suicide," and then everything would be perfect.

He even felt that the very conditions necessary for all of this to succeed were opportunities created for him by God. Under such circumstances, if he still only dared to cower and wait for Jia Lian to kill him like the Zhao family, without daring to take a chance, he himself felt unworthy of succeeding.

So, after returning from the Zhou family's villa, he immediately sent someone to contact the spy who had been planted in the Salt Commissioner's office long ago...

Although Jia Lian had eliminated many spies after taking office in the Salt Commissioner's Office, some still managed to slip through the net.

He had already learned that Jia Lian had returned to the Salt Commissioner's office. How triumphant he must have been after his grand confiscation of the Zhao family's property!

The Zhao family had been entrenched in Yangzhou for so long, and Old Man Zhao was known for his love of money; one can imagine how wealthy they were.

In terms of family wealth alone, apart from the Zhou family, the other families are hard to match.

Having so much property confiscated, Jia Lian must have been overjoyed and extremely pleased with himself. He probably couldn't wait to vent his pleasure on Madam Xu after returning home.

So, judging by the time, it should be about time.

"Sir, the Salt Commissioner's office has indeed made a major move!"

Upon hearing the message from her trusted confidant, Wang Shanxiang was overjoyed and immediately stepped forward to ask, "How is it? Is Jia Lian dead?"

"Well, I don't know. Anyway, someone ran back and said that the officers and soldiers of the Salt Commissioner's Office are starting to assemble again..."

Soldiers and officers assembling? Shouldn't it be chaos? Wang Shanxiang frowned; this was somewhat different from what he had expected.

Worry arose in his heart, and before he could react, his most favored son ran over with a message: "Master, something bad has happened! Jia Lian's soldiers have been mobilized in large numbers again."

"They've been mobilized. Where did they go? Is Jia Lian among them?"

"Whether Jia Lian is here or not is unknown, but judging from their route, it seems they are heading towards the Bai family in Huarong Ward!"

"not good!"

Wang Shanxiang's expression changed slightly, and he slapped his thigh hard, his face turning rather ugly.

His son asked, puzzled, "Master, even if Jia Lian goes after the Bai family, what does it have to do with us? Besides, didn't you say that Jia Lian is just a bully, only daring to pick on easy targets like the Zhao family? He'd definitely back down when he encounters the Bai family, wouldn't he?"

Hearing her son say this, Wang Shanxiang calmed down.

That's right, the Bai family is not the Zhao family. He really doesn't believe that a mere Jia Lian would dare to lay a hand on the Empress Dowager's family.

Even the emperor wouldn't dare to do that so easily.

Thinking this way, Wang Shanxiang felt relieved again. This was also why he didn't take the other salt merchants seriously, but he made sure not to offend Zhou and Bai.

He didn't think much of the Zhou family either, only because he felt that Zhou Boru was too cunning, and because he had tried several times to take the position of the head of the Yangzhou Salt Guild of the Zhou family but failed, which made him somewhat wary of them.

"Quickly, send someone to keep an eye on the Bai family. Report back immediately if there's any movement."

Upon hearing Wang Shanxiang's instructions, her son immediately went out to make the arrangements.

"Someone come here..."

Wang Shanxiang shouted and paced back and forth.

"Master, what are your orders?"

"Quickly, get out of here... never mind, you all."

Wang Shanxiang instinctively sensed something was wrong and wanted to move his valuables out to avoid the worst-case scenario.

Although there were twenty or thirty soldiers guarding the outside, the Wang family had hundreds of thugs employed throughout the household. Even those not at home had been placed near the residence beforehand. With a single order, taking down those twenty or thirty soldiers would be a piece of cake.

But he was still undecided.

First of all, we don't know the specific situation on Jia Lian's side yet. If the family property is suddenly transferred at this time, and Jia Lian is still alive, isn't that an admission of guilt?

Not to mention directly attacking officers and soldiers, which would be tantamount to rebellion.

That's not advisable! What if I'm just overthinking things, and Jia Lian is actually dead?

Even if things don't go as planned, the Bai family will be there to back him up.

Yes, with the Bai family backing them up, Jia Lian wouldn't dare do anything to them...

……

Unfortunately, Wang Shanxiang's expectations were ultimately dashed.

At this moment, Jia Lian was not only alive, but also perfectly fine, riding his horse and watching the soldiers disperse and surround the entire Bai family.

Jia Lian truly hadn't expected these salt merchants to be so audacious!

He had previously orchestrated an assassination attempt, but these salt merchants turned around and staged a real one for him, which was quite unexpected.

Master Bai Yi, the head of the Bai family, rushed out with his men. Upon seeing the scene, his expression changed, and he shouted at Jia Lian, "Jia Lian, what do you mean by this? You want to supervise the salt administration and say you want to block the entry and exit of my Bai family's goods. My Bai family is fully cooperating. I have even prepared the accounts from previous years, waiting for you to come and check them."

"My Bai family has fallen to such a state, what more could you possibly want? To bring troops to surround my Bai family? Do you really think my Bai family is easy to bully? Or is it that you, Jia Lian, truly disregard the Empress Dowager and dare to humiliate my Bai family at will?"

Bai Yi could tolerate Jia Lian before, but now he could no longer hold back and shouted at Jia Lian.

Jia Lian looked at him coldly, "I would naturally not dare to be disrespectful to the Empress Dowager, but when have you, a mere salt merchant from Yangzhou, ever been able to represent Her Majesty the Empress Dowager?"

The Empress Dowager, a paragon of virtue, has always lived in seclusion in the deep palace, never concerning herself with state affairs. What business is it of someone of her status, a mere merchant like yourself? You must have a death wish to dare to casually associate yourself with the Empress Dowager.

Let me tell you, today I will not only surround your Bai family, but also confiscate your property.

"Guards, arrest everyone in the Bai family! Anyone who resists, kill them without mercy! I'd like to see where the Bai family gets the audacity to instigate an assassination attempt on the imperial envoy!"