Chapter 168 The Ding Family Annihilated
Sure enough, a short while later, Qiao Yuanyao and her daughter arrived with Su Rongrong.
Upon hearing that she was injured, the group all showed expressions of concern.
Min Qiaoshi pretended to be nonchalant and comforted the group before hurriedly sending them away.
No sooner had the others left than Min Yuexi arrived.
"Grandmother, are you alright?" Min Yuexi asked with concern as soon as she entered the room.
Madam Min waved her hand, "I stabbed myself, how serious could it be?"
Min Yuexi choked, unsure of what to say.
Without wasting words, Madam Min Qiao asked, "What do you want to say to me?"
Min Yuexi nodded. "Old Steward Ding assassinated my grandmother and died, which can be considered a fitting end. Father's idea is that since the Ding family has been loyal servants for generations, we will not pursue the crimes of the other members of the Ding family, so as to avoid unnecessary trouble caused by the death of a fellow servant."
Min Qiaoshi did not speak.
Min Yuexi paused for a moment, then continued, "As for Aunt He and Second Sister, my father and I believe that Aunt He will be Aunt He for life, and the Marquis's mansion will support her until the end of her life."
"As for Second Sister, since she's already on the family register, there's no reason to remove her from it. That would make our Marquis's Mansion seem too frivolous."
"Therefore, my father and I plan to let my second sister marry into the Sun family as the second young lady of the Marquis's mansion."
"Second sister is a filial daughter. As long as Aunt He is alive, she will never forget the good things our Marquis's mansion has done for her."
Madam Min Qiao smiled and agreed, "That would be better than kicking the mother and daughter out of the manor directly."
With the He family under her control, Min Yuerui would not only be grateful to the Marquis's mansion, but she would probably have to do whatever the father and daughter said.
Hearing this seemingly affirmative remark, Min Yuexi was overjoyed. Just as she was about to speak, Min Qiaoshi asked calmly, "Has your father entrusted the affairs of this Marquis's mansion to you?"
Min Yuexi smiled and said, "Yes. Father said that I will temporarily take over the affairs of the manor."
Madam Min Qiao glanced at Min Yuexi, whose emotions were on full display, shook her head, and asked with a frown, "Did the people from my Songhe Hall send it back to me?"
Min Yuexi was taken aback. Hadn't Wei Jia and the others already returned?
Madam Min's face darkened: "Where are the cooks in my courtyard? And the people from Lingyun Pavilion and Guanlan Courtyard? Have they all been sent back?"
"And what about Uncle Wu, who was with Su Rongrong? Did he return her safely?"
Seeing Min Yuexi's blank expression, Madam Min Qiao's face darkened completely. "So, instead of focusing on handling things carefully, you're rushing here to show off that you've obtained the power to manage the Marquis's mansion?"
Min Yuexi was startled, and all her joy vanished instantly. She said tremblingly, "Grandmother, I, I will go back and bring the person back right away."
As he spoke, he stood up to leave, but was stopped by Madam Min Qiao.
Originally, Madam Min wanted to ask Steward Ding if he and her father had sent anyone to retrieve the items in their possession. However, after thinking about it, she decided not to ask and waved for them to leave.
As soon as Min Yuexi left, Madam Min Qiao instructed Ajiu and Wenxiu to go to the Ding family that night and retrieve the things that Old Steward Ding had hidden.
Ajiu is trustworthy, and Wenxiu is quick to run. As for Zhen Huan, she fears that he might wipe out the entire Ding family at the slightest provocation.
Although the deaths of the Ding family members are no big deal, the key issue is that after what happened at the An'nan Marquis's residence this morning, countless eyes are now fixed on the Xuanping Marquis's residence and on her.
The death of Old Steward Ding could be somewhat acceptable, but if the entire Ding family were to die at this critical juncture, it would be far too conspicuous.
It's better to avoid trouble. Let's wait until she moves to the estate on the outskirts of the city to recuperate before making any decisions.
Not long after Min Yuexi returned, she sent back the people that Min Qiao had mentioned.
The maids and servants from Lingyun Pavilion and Guanlan Courtyard all returned safely.
Uncle Wu didn't suffer any major harm, but the four cooks at Songhetang really did suffer this time.
Two of them had their right hands broken, while the other two had their right hand fingers crushed.
Madam Min then invited Doctor Mu to treat the four of them.
After examination, the conclusion was that the two broken parts of the right hand were fine once the arm was reattached.
However, even if the two fingers on his right hand that were severed are healed, he will never be able to work as a chef again. His right hand is now completely useless.
After careful questioning, it was discovered that the people who tortured them were the son and grandson of Old Ding's steward.
They threatened them, wanting to use them for their own purposes.
However, Madam Min treated them extremely well. In addition to the generous treatment, she never mistreated them in the slightest and gave them full respect. She never acted arrogantly or bossily and trampled on them at will.
Therefore, when the Ding family showed even the slightest intention to harm Min Qiao through them, they refused without hesitation.
And so they suffered.
As for why some people suffer more and others suffer less, it is naturally to suppress some and win over others.
As for whether the two less seriously injured individuals had been bribed, Madam Min Qiao did not know and did not intend to investigate further.
She doesn't plan to keep any of these four people.
Ultimately, it was because of her that the four people were implicated. Therefore, besides treating the four's injuries, she gave each of the two cooks with severed hands two hundred taels of silver, and each of the two cooks with severed fingers five hundred taels of silver. She then dismissed everyone.
Having suffered this ordeal, the four lost all desire to stay and obediently took the silver and left.
By the time these trivial matters were dealt with, it was already dark.
Since leaving for the banquet in the morning, Madam Min Qiao has not had a rest all day, and by now she is truly exhausted.
After a quick dinner, I climbed into bed and went to sleep.
Before going to bed, he personally reminded Ajiu and Wenxiu to remember to go to the servants to retrieve their belongings that night.
Min Qiao thought she could sleep until the next morning.
However, she was woken up from her sleep in the middle of the night.
"Madam, wake up! Something's happened!" Ajiu's panicked voice rang in her ears.
Min Qiao suddenly woke up and opened her eyes to see Ajiu and Wenxiu kneeling in front of her bed, their faces filled with terror.
Min Qiao was still a little dazed for a moment before she came to her senses and looked at the two of them in astonishment, "What happened? Did you get the things back?"
Ah Jiu shook her head. "Madam, the entire Ding family is dead! And they haven't found anything!"
Madam Min was shocked and asked, "Who did this?"
"I don't know." Ajiu quickly shook her head. "When we got there, the Ding family was all dead. Seven people, men, women, and children, all dead. Including Old Steward Ding, the bodies of all eight members of the family were laid out in the mourning hall."
“You didn’t do it?” Madam Min asked again to confirm.
In the afternoon, when Ajiu heard the cooks recount the purpose of the torture inflicted on them by the Ding family, she was filled with rage, looking as if she wanted to kill the Ding family.
Ajiu shook her head. Wenxiu also testified for Ajiu, "Madam, Ajiu and I have always been together, and we certainly didn't do this."
"Then, could it really be something they did?" Madam Min asked again.
Just then, in order to protect Min Qiao's safety, Zhen Huan, who had been hiding in the darkness, quietly came out.
She knelt on one knee and said in a cold voice, "The Grand Madam cannot be left unprotected. After Ajiu and Wenxiu left, I have stayed by the Grand Madam's side and have not left her side for even a moment."
Ever since Min Qiaoshi injured her shoulder during the day, Ajiu had made a promise with her and Wenxiu that no matter what, at least one of the three of them must stay by the Grand Madam's side to protect her.
Min Qiao coughed lightly, somewhat embarrassed, "You're very good. I shouldn't have questioned you."
He actually nodded, stood up, stepped back, and disappeared into the darkness once more.
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