The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the Somersault Cloud, Old Zhu was so envious he cried!

The news of the Li family's entire family being executed spread throughout Qingshui County in less than half a day.

Some even took on the role of storytellers, vividly describing how the upright and just Lord Zhu Ming judged the Li family.

The Zhao family lived in the west of the city.

Zhao An was checking the accounts in the cloth shop when he heard the servant's report, and the abacus in his hand fell to the ground with a thud.

His face turned pale.

The Li family... are they gone?

Mr. Li, who went to the banquet with him yesterday, is gone today.

The Sixth Prince acted far too quickly!

He swallowed hard, about to speak, when he heard the servant stammeringly add:

"Master... This morning I saw with my own eyes that the head of the Huang family, Master Huang, was getting very close to that Sixth Prince. He was the one who took care of everything there just now."

Zhao An was stunned, somewhat incredulous.

"What did you say?"

"My lord, you weren't there at the time, so you probably don't know that the Huang family has already pledged allegiance to the Sixth Prince!"

Zhao An's face turned from white to pale in an instant.

You, Huang Zi'an!

Everyone always says you're the toughest guy.

As a result, the Sixth Prince had only just arrived in Qingshui County yesterday, and you had already surrendered!

You old fox, you're quick to make your bets!

Zhao An was so angry that he plopped down in a chair, his chest heaving violently, feeling betrayed by his best friend.

He was angry, but he was also genuinely panicked!

Of the four major families in Qingshui County, one is gone, and another surrendered long ago. So who will be next?

Meanwhile, on the other side, the Hu family in the north of the city.

Hu Wan, the head of the Hu family, is more composed than Zhao An!

He sat in the armchair, listening to the people below recount how the Li family had been wiped out that morning. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and frowned slightly.

You could say he's not worried.

That's fake.

But they weren't as panicked as Zhao An.

Because the Hu family is different from the Li family.

What kind of powerful backer does the Li family have?

The highest-ranking official was only a minor county magistrate.

But Hu Wan was different; his Hu family was related to that Lord Hu in the capital.

Besides—

He put down his teacup and looked up at the servant kneeling below:

"You just said that the Sixth Prince might be an imposter?"

The servant nodded hurriedly in response:

"I only heard people at the execution ground talking about it... There was a guy named Hua An who, before he died, shouted that the Sixth Prince wasn't the real one, that the real Sixth Prince was actually some kind of Prince Chu, Zhu Zhen..."

Hu Wan narrowed his eyes.

A fake?

He weighed it in his mind.

What if this Sixth Prince is really an imposter?

That makes things interesting.

He hesitated for a moment, then called out towards the door:

"Go, and deliver an invitation to the Zhao family for me."

Juan paused, then added:

"Just tell him that I, Hu Wan, want to discuss with him what to do with Qingshui County in the future."

Zhao An received Hu Wan's invitation.

Without hesitation, he immediately agreed.

Because at that moment he was like a headless fly.

I don't know what to do right now?

If someone could give him some advice, things might be a little better.

So Zhao An arranged to meet Hu An at Zuixianglou.

Zuixianglou is not a place to eat; it's a brothel.

It's a property owned by the Zhao family, and it's very secretive.

After all, no one would have expected that people would be discussing business in a brothel.

The door was closed tightly.

As soon as Hu Wan entered, Zhao An rushed to greet him, his face full of panic, and said:

"Brother Hu, you've finally arrived! Have you heard about what happened to the Li family?"

Hu Wan didn't rush to speak, but instead walked to the tea table and began to pour tea.

After the tea was poured, he raised his eyes, looked at Zhao An, and slowly said:

"Brother Zhao, what's the panic?"

"How can I not panic? The entire Li family has been executed, the Huang family has already surrendered, and we're next!"

"Brother Zhao, I know you're in a hurry, but please don't rush."

"???"

"Don't you think there's something fishy about this?"

"Strange? What's strange about it?"

Hu Wan didn't beat around the bush and bluntly stated, "Brother Zhao, let me tell you the truth, that Sixth Prince is most likely an imposter."

Zhao An's expression froze.

"What did you say?"

"Today at the execution ground, a man named Hua An shouted out before he died," Hu Wan lowered his voice. "The real Sixth Prince is Prince Chu, Zhu Zhen. This guy in front of us... his surname is Zhu and his given name is Ming, he's not him at all."

Zhao An's eyes widened in surprise.

He swallowed hard, and after a long pause, managed to squeeze out, "Is...is this news...reliable?"

"I've already sent someone to the capital at top speed to gather information." Hu Wan picked up his teacup, blew away the foam, and said, "In a couple of days, we'll know whether it's true or not."

Upon hearing this, Zhao An felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

"well……"

He nodded, then immediately started cursing again: "This kid...this kid's got some nerve!"

"That's a prince!"

"He even dares to impersonate a prince? Isn't he afraid of being executed along with his entire family?"

But Zhao An stopped cursing suddenly.

He frowned, as if remembering something, and asked with a puzzled look:

"That's not right..."

"If his identity as the Sixth Prince is fake, what's his motive?"

Why would he go to all that trouble to treat a bunch of lowly people to a meal?

Hu Wan did not respond.

Zhao An felt increasingly uneasy, and started counting on his fingers:

"These lowly people aren't just one or two, or even a thousand or two; there are over a hundred thousand of them."

"And my people told me that the kid treated everyone to a meal, with lots of meat and fish, and some dishes I'd never even seen before..."

"How much silver will it cost in a day?"

Zhao An seemed to feel sorry for Zhu Ming, and the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily:

"And where did he get all this food? So many people are eating freely, where did he get so much food? It couldn't have just appeared out of thin air, could it?"

At this point, Zhao An couldn't help but laugh.

If he could conjure food out of thin air,

I, Zhao An, ate the toilet!

Hu Wan chuckled at his expression.

"Brother Zhao, it's not your money, why are you so upset?"

Zhao An chuckled sheepishly, "I just can't stand seeing people waste things!"

"I guess," Hu Wan put down his teacup, leaned forward, and lowered his voice, "this group is most likely from the White Lotus Sect."

Upon hearing the words "White Lotus Sect," Zhao An was startled: "White...White Lotus Sect?!"

"Otherwise what?" Hu Wan squinted. "A fake prince, leading a group of people, came to Qingshui County during a severe drought, and instead of looting or plundering, he treated the entire town to a meal—do you really think he was doing a good deed?"

"He's trying to win people over!"

Zhao An opened his mouth, then subconsciously asked, "Why is he trying to win people over?"

Hu Wan didn't speak, but simply raised his head and looked at Zhao An with an expression as if he were an idiot.

Zhao An was taken aback by his gaze.

He was stunned for a moment, as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over his head, and suddenly realized what was happening.

His lips trembled slightly, and his voice was extremely low: "Could it be... that he intends to rebel?"

Zhao An panicked completely: "Then... what should we do now?"

Hu Wan picked up his teacup and slowly took a sip.

"wait."

"Wait?" Zhao An was taken aback. "Wait for what?"

"Wait until my men in the capital return." Hu Wan put down his teacup. "Whether it's true or false, we'll know within two days."

Zhao An grew anxious: "What if he attacks us first in the next two days?"

Hu Wan glanced at him and chuckled:

"Brother Zhao, what exactly are you afraid of?"