Guangling City is rich in the east and rich in the west. It can be said that the city is full of wealthy businessmen and noble families.

As the largest salt merchant in the south of the Yangtze River, the Xu family can be said to be a wealthy family. Surrounded by the Xu family, there are six major salt merchants who are in charge of the world's salt affairs.

Even the imperial court had to give salt merchants three cents of thin noodles.

Qunfang Pavilion is a good place for merchants and officials in Guangling City to drink tea, accompanied by courtiers.

At this time, in an exquisite pavilion on the third floor of Qunfang Pavilion, a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar gently plucked the strings on the piano table in front of him with his right hand.

With a "clang" sound, the strings broke in response.

There was only a deep mark left on the white fingers.

"Mr. Wen, are you worried?"

A pair of soft, boneless and slender jade hands held a cup of fragrant tea and handed it to the scribe with a clear voice.

The woman's name is Li Manqi, she is twenty-eight years old. She wears a green lotus-colored embroidered skirt, has a graceful figure, and has a pair of autumn eyes with a hint of worry.

As a shepherd of Qunfang Pavilion, she only loved the scribe in front of her.

"Manqi,"

The scribe took the fragrant tea handed over by the woman's hands, took a sip, and looked up at the main door of Xu Mansion outside the attic, which was still closed.

Sitting back in front of the window, the scribe gently stroked the beauty's catkin with his right hand, "When such a big event happened to the Xu family, the prefect Wang was also panicked. Representatives of the six major salt merchants in the city must have gathered in Qunfang Pavilion at this time.

"

Following the scribe's gaze, Li Manqi's apricot eyes fell in the direction of Xu Mansion, and her heart felt empty for a while.

Qunfang Pavilion was originally a brothel, but now it has become a teahouse where wealthy officials in the city enjoy tea.

The twists and turns are only known to them, the servants in the building.

Three years ago, the oiran from Qunfang Garden was brought into the Xu Mansion and became the aunt of the Xu Mansion.

The 13-year-old Xu family member bought the entire Qunfang Garden in one go and renamed it Qunfang Pavilion.

Not long after, the young master of the Xu family was driven to Xujiazhuang outside the city.

And no one dares to treat this Qunfang Pavilion as a brothel.

Just when Li Manqi was lost in thought, there were several knocks on the door of the Accord.

"Master Wen, the stewards of the Qi, Lu, Bai, Zhang, Yuan, and Yang families, please come over and have a chat."

"knew."

The scribe let go of Li Manqi's crotch and chuckled. "It's not in vain that I've been sitting here all afternoon."

"Do you want me to accompany you?"

With a touch of tenderness in Li Manqixing's eyes, she followed the scribe out of the Accord and asked softly.

The scribe shook his head slightly.

In the inner room of Qunfang Pavilion, Tianzihao, the stewards of the Qi, Lu, Bai, Zhang, Yuan, and Yang families in Guangling City were sitting around a round table, with only six cups of tea on the table.

In the luxurious Accord, the furnishings were extravagant, but six people only had six cups of tea.

Not long after, the door creaked.

A middle-aged scribe in a light blue robe slowly walked into the Accord and nodded to the six people in the room.

"I've met Mr. Wen. Please sit down, Mr. Wen."

Everyone stood up one after another and welcomed the scribe to the main seat.

...

"Bang~"

Wang Wenhua kicked the government clerk to the ground, with an angry look on his face, "Let's get to the point!"

The scribe finally regained his breath and climbed up with difficulty, his face turning red.

"Give him water."

Wang Wenhua saw that the other party had not yet breathed, so he ordered the waiter in the back hall to bring him a cup of tea.

"GuluGulu~"

The scribe drank all the warm tea in the teacup and then heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Lord Magistrate. Mr. Wen is already at Qunfang Pavilion now. The stewards of the Qi, Lu, Bai, Zhang, Yuan and Yang families are here."

"Where's the Xu family?"

Wang Wenhua, who had no time to look after six salt merchants, glared at the scribe and asked reproachfully.

"The Xu family? The Xu family is still closed and locked."

"There is no news about the Xu family, what are you doing back here?"

Afraid of being kicked again, the scribe hurriedly took a few steps back, not daring to look at Wang Wenhua's furious look, and said with a trembling voice.

"The master asked me to come back and report that the stewards of the six families are here. Let the magistrate relax a little first. As long as these six families are appeased, there will be no big chaos in the salt affairs in Jiangnan."

"What kind of news is this! Go and ask again!"

Wang Wenhua flicked his sleeves and robe, turned around and returned to the back hall.

...

Qunfang Pavilion, inside Tianzi Ya Pavilion.

Qi Junneng, who was dressed in fine clothes, looked at Mr. Wen who said nothing, and then at the other five stewards who kept winking at him.

After pondering for a moment, he could only force out an awkward smile and coughed dryly.

"Mr. Wen, you have been in Guangling for a while, and you are aware of the Xu family's situation. Without the Xu family's words, we six families would never dare..."

Qi Junneng did not say clearly that although the six of them were the stewards of the six families in Guangling, they were doing things to welcome and send people off.

"Yes, now, although the head of the Xu family suddenly died of illness, the Xu family is a prominent family in the south of the Yangtze River. Maybe there will be a new head tomorrow. What Mr. Wen said is not that we don't want to do it, but that we dare not do it.

ah."

Lu Wensheng, who was sitting on Master Wen's left hand side, also looked strange.

The head of the Xu family in the south of the Yangtze River has recently died. According to common sense, all the powerful families want to seize the Xu family's share of the salt business in the south of the Yangtze River.

Behind the Qi, Lu, Bai, Zhang, Yuan, and Yang families, none of them had a "friend" who was an official or a butler in the court.

But at this juncture, let them try to seize the Xu family's salt business and become the leader.

No one is a fool, no one is willing to do it.

Without waiting for the stewards of the other four families to refuse, Mr. Wen coughed lightly, put down the tea cup in his hand, gently picked it up with his right hand, and tapped it on the round table.

"We know that you and the people behind you all have difficulties. But don't forget the King of Nan'an who sits in the south of the Yangtze River. Even if you have the support of important people in the court, there is still a distant water that cannot quench your near thirst."

Among the five kings and ten princes of the Daqian Kingdom, the largest vassal king with a different surname in the south of the Yangtze River was Nan'an King Li Muzhi.

"this..."

For a moment, the six people in the Accord were speechless.

They all thought that Mr. Wen was the master of the prefect of Wang, and that he represented Wang Wenhua, the prefect of Guangling. Unexpectedly, Mr. Wen suddenly changed and turned out to represent the king of Nan'an.

He was Guangling who came from Shenjing with Wang Wenhua. When did he hook up with the Nan'an Palace?

There was silence in the Accord. The six of them did not dare to think too much, let alone dwell on it.

Only the scent of tea lingered on the seven cups of tea on the round table.

The six people looked at each other, not knowing how to decide.

"I believe that all the big shots in Aurous Hill are aware of the news that the Xu family has no owner. Where should you six families go? Who should you cooperate with? You will definitely make the right choice."

Master Wen picked up the tea cup in front of him, took another sip, glanced at the six people with a smile, and said calmly.

"I believe that by serving the imperial court and sharing the worries of King Nan'an, the six families of Qi, Lu, Bai, Zhang, Yuan and Yang will make wise choices."

After finishing speaking, Master Wen stood up and left the table without waiting for the six people to persuade him to stay.

"This...what should we do?"

The six people looked at each other, not knowing what to do. They could only look at the back of the scribe who disappeared outside the door.

"Let's go, such a big matter is not something that we stewards can decide. We are just here to mourn the Xu family leader, other matters must be discussed by the family heads."

"Yes, yes, yes."

"It's just that there is something unusual about the Xu family locking their doors this afternoon." Bai Changkong frowned, looked sideways at the Xu family's ancestral home outside the window, fell into deep contemplation, and murmured to himself in a low voice.

"It's weird, it's really weird. Just close the door. There will always be a moment when the door opens. Let's leave some servants here to guard it. Now the most urgent task is to pass Mr. Wen's words back."

"Mr. Wen? Are you sure that's not what King Nan'an meant?"

"The Xu family~ Hey~ I don't know whose family will be next." Lu Wensheng kept his secrets on his face, gently pushed the wooden chair away, stood up and left.

Not long after, the other stewards left Qunfang Pavilion with various emotions.

At night, the bright moon shines on Guangling.

In the courtyard of the Xu Mansion, hundreds of torches illuminated the courtyard in front of the mourning hall as bright as day.

The usually spacious courtyard was now crowded with people.

On the corridor in front of the mourning hall were kneeling more than ten descendants of the Xu family, and in the middle of the courtyard were more than two hundred slaves.

On the corridors around the courtyard, everyone in the Xu family stood, quietly watching the situation in the courtyard, with unbelievable horror on everyone's face.

In the corridor of the main hall, Xu Ji and Xu Xiang, the two most senior people, stood in front of the mourning hall, speaking righteously and spitting.

Hundreds of words were written eloquently, describing the crimes of more than a dozen of his descendants who were kneeling in front of him.

The torches clearly illuminated the Xu family members and servants in the corridor, and the subtle expression changes on each person's face were clearly visible.

Xu Fan was lying on the roof of the mourning hall. He picked up an old gourd in his right hand and drank a mouthful of pear blossom white. His expression was indifferent as he scanned the eyes and expressions of everyone in the courtyard.

"Xu You, Xu Yu, Xu Shu, Xu Jun... and other fifteen people have conspired with the Yin and Yang clan thieves to seize the ancestral property of my Xu family and exterminate them according to the clan rules!"

The word "eliminating the clan" came out!

It was like a huge boulder falling from a height of a hundred feet into a pool of water, causing a splash of water.

Under the circular corridor, there were several Xu family members who looked healthy and looked desperate.

Eliminating the family members means losing everything they have now, and even the status and treatment of Xu family members outside the family will be deprived.

The dozen or so descendants of the Xu family who knelt in front of Xu Ji and Xu Xiang kept kowtowing and admitting their mistakes.

"Grandpa, money has blinded me. Please forgive me this time."

"Bang~bang~bang~"

The sound of kowtows is endless!

"Grandpa, please, please spare your grandson this time. I am your grandson!"

"Grandpa, Xu Fan is the only direct descendant of the Xu family. As long as..."

"Drag it out! Drag it out!"

Before the Xu family member could say anything, Xu Xiang immediately ordered his servants to block his mouth and drag him out.

"Don't cry anymore! You are lucky to be alive, so don't think too much about it! Extermination of the clan is not a big disaster for you. At least you still have life to live on."

Before everyone could cry and beg, Xu Ji shouted loudly.

Immediately, Xu Ji waved his hand and signaled his servants to take more than ten descendants of the Xu family and their parents, wives, children, and children to leave the house.

After more than a dozen descendants of the Xu family were taken away from the courtyard, Xu Xiang began to read out the next item.

"Death with a stick!"

The two senior elders of the Xu family didn't say much, just two words.

At this time, no amount of words can be as good as actions.

"Bang~bang~bang~...."

The servants and servants who had their hands and feet tied all over the courtyard were whimpering, and their eyes were full of pleading.

When everyone standing under the corridor around the courtyard heard the word "kill with a stick", their hearts trembled.

Before anyone could react, they heard the sound of wooden sticks hitting the body.

For a moment, everyone was shocked, stunned, and scared.

No one dared to think that on the first night after Xu Fan returned home, the Xu Mansion would kill hundreds of servants and servants with sticks.

This kind of shock is not only for the delusional clan members in the Xu family, but also for other forces in Guangling City.

On this day, Xu Fan returned home.

That night, Xu Mansion opened its doors three times.

One time, the descendants of the Xu family who had been exterminated and their families were driven out of the house.

Once, dozens of carriages with corpses piled up appeared out of the corner of their eyes, and they turned out to be the main entrance of the Xu Mansion.

Another time, the Xu family's retinue tied up dozens of people and went to the Guangling government office to report the crime.

This move shocked everyone waiting in Qunfang Pavilion.

Overnight, all kinds of news flew everywhere, and no one knew what the Xu family wanted to do.

If the Xu family is in chaos, the whole Jiangnan will inevitably be in chaos.

After a night of anxiety, the heads of various families in Guangling City, as well as spies from various forces who quietly sneaked into Guangling City.

...

Guangling government office, lobby.

Wang Wenhua finally waited for the news from the Xu family, but his heart sank to the bottom.

In the Yin and Yang Gate, a gangster force actually started planning to seize the Xu family's property three years ago.

Wang Wenhua's face was as dark as water, and his eyes were red as he stared at the confession on the table.

The scribe sitting on the chair beside him had the same expression on his face as usual, but his fingers under his brocade robe turned white.

In the afternoon, he notified the six salt merchants in Guangling to try to seize the Xu family's salt business.

In less than two hours, the Xu family sent such a big gift.

Shocked! Naked shock.

Use the lives of your servants to frighten every family in Guangling City.

In one breath, there were hundreds of corpses.

If he kills someone, he still kills his own servant. Even if the prefect goes to court to resolve the case, it will be useless.

In Daqian, if a domestic slave breaks the law, the master can kill him directly.

This time, the Xu family had witnesses and physical evidence gathered together. It was reasonable to kill these slaves with a stick, but it was just too cruel.

When the carload after carload of bloody corpses traveled from the Xu Mansion to the mass grave outside Guangling City, countless children and women were frightened into tears.

"These charlatans are so abominable!"

Wang Wenhua punched the table hard, causing the teacup beside him to shake.

He had only been in Guangling for half a year, and he still wanted to take a look at it, but it turned out that these Jianghu sects had planned it more than two years earlier than him.

"What about Mrs. Wang?"

After reading the confession, Wang Wenhua stared at the string of names on the confession, his eyes almost splitting.

Master Wen coughed lightly and said, "Sir Wang, although that woman is an accomplice, she gave birth to a daughter for the Xu family after all. The Xu family did not hand over this person, which is reasonable and reasonable."

"What's the use of a bunch of smelly fish and rotten shrimps?"

Ever since more than a dozen disciples from the Yin and Yang Sect were imprisoned in the government prison, Wang Wenhua began to feel anxious.

Although he was the prefect of Guangling appointed by the emperor, he still had some involvement in Jianghu affairs.

"Please sir teach me about the Yin and Yang Sect."

Wang Wenhua stroked his trembling beard, calmed down his mood, and asked with a frown.

"This is indeed tricky after all. The Yin-Yang Sect is not one of those small sects in the world. When the Five Kings and Ten Dukes followed Taizu to establish the Great Qian, the Yin-Yang Sect gave them a lot of help. After Taizu established the capital in Shenjing, the Yin-Yang Sect disappeared. none."

"This sudden appearance in our Guangling is really unpredictable."

Wang Wenhua rubbed his fingers over the confession of the Yin-Yang Sect disciples and frowned. The Xu family in Jiangnan was so deeply penetrated by the Yin-Yang Sect, and he couldn't even imagine what it would be like for other wealthy families.

While he was deep in thought, he heard Master Wen, who was sitting below, reminding him, "Sir, the Yin-Yang Gate matter is a big one and involves far-reaching things. It is still the most important thing at the moment to truthfully report the matter to the Emperor."


Chapter completed!