Chapter 103 The Massacre of the Entire Family
After pondering all night, Madam Min Qiao felt that the waters of Hangzhou were too deep, and it was not appropriate for a useless old woman like her to get involved.
But the house was forcibly occupied, Yang An and the others were beaten, and the Cui family gave them a hard time right from the start... She couldn't let these losses go unpunished.
The next morning, she asked Yang An to go to the local government office to see if there were any large houses for sale in the city. She also instructed Granny Fang and Ayi to discuss the preparations for the birthday banquet.
She planned to hold a grand birthday celebration for her mother in the mansion, and then, in the name of the Grand Madam of the Marquis of Xuanping, invite all the wives of officials with imperial titles from the Jiangnan region.
She's going to use public opinion to crush the Cui family! She'll make them come to apologize and obediently return her house!
However, before she could take any action, Yang An, who had just left, hurriedly returned.
"Madam, something terrible has happened!"
Seeing Yang An covered in sweat, Madam Min Qiao quickly asked, "What happened?"
Yang Anye dared not delay and said anxiously, "Didn't the Grand Madam say last night that she wanted to continue employing the bodyguards who came with us? I was afraid they would leave Hangzhou. So, I went to their inn first. I planned to leave them there before going to the yamen."
"To my surprise, as soon as I arrived at the inn where the bodyguards were staying, I saw a group of soldiers surrounding the inn and questioning them one by one."
"I asked around and found out that a family had been wiped out in the city, and the authorities were looking for the killer!"
They had just arrived in Hangzhou when a family was wiped out. The main targets of the investigation were these outsiders.
Isn't that a bit too targeted?
Madam Min frowned. "A massacre of an entire family?"
"Yes, the whole family of 34 people, including a pregnant woman who was eight months pregnant."
Yang An's lips trembled, and his face turned deathly pale. "Grandma, guess who this family was that was wiped out?"
Madam Min was taken aback, then shocked. She looked at Yang An in disbelief.
Pregnant woman...
"Could it be the Li family who seized my dowry house?"
“Exactly!” Yang An was sweating profusely, his expression extremely grim. “We just arrived yesterday, and their entire family was dead in the middle of the night! Anyone who hears this will assume it was us.”
How could Madam Min not understand this principle?
The Li family first seized her house, and then assaulted her people when she sent people to inquire about the house...
As a high-ranking matriarch of the highest order, it is perfectly reasonable for her to send people to exterminate his entire family out of anger!
Moreover, Madam Min already had a reputation for being unreasonable and unforgiving when she was in the capital. Even her son and daughter-in-law couldn't make her compromise, let alone the person who forcibly took her dowry house.
"A-Jiu?" Madam Min called out towards the door.
Ajiu hurried in, "Grandma, did you call me?"
Madam Min frowned slightly. "Are you aware of the massacre of the Li family?"
Ajiu was taken aback, then nodded guiltily, "I secretly went to the Li family last night, but I didn't do anything. I just went to scout things out, thinking that once I found out the situation, I would ask the Grand Madam whether we should teach that family a lesson."
Madam Min frowned. "And then?"
Ah Jiu bit her lip. "Then, just as I was about to leave, I saw a group of men in black leap into the house. Soon, screams came from inside. I was afraid of being discovered and having trouble explaining myself, so I quickly left."
"So, you knew about the Li family massacre last night?" Madam Min was a little angry.
Ah Jiu retorted, "When I left, only a few members of the Li family had died; they hadn't been wiped out yet!"
Madam Min was truly angry this time, and said sternly, "Then you should have told me!"
Ajiu said aggrievedly, "It was the middle of the night, and the Grand Madam was sleeping. If we had told her about this, she probably wouldn't have been able to sleep."
Min Qiao was furious: "After such a big thing, you still care about whether I get enough sleep?"
Ajiu replied matter-of-factly, "Of course! Before leaving, Sister Weijia repeatedly reminded me that the Grand Madam's health is the most important thing! Everything must be done with the Grand Madam's safety and health as the top priority!"
Then he muttered under his breath, "Besides, that family deserved to die. Who told them to forcibly occupy the old lady's house?"
Min Qiao felt a lump in her throat, unable to swallow or expel it.
Ah Jiu's words were all reasonable! They were all for her own good! What else could she say?
With a sullen face, Madam Min waved her hand coldly, "You may leave."
Seeing that Min Qiao seemed genuinely angry with her, Ajiu panicked a little. To make amends, she quickly brought up the things she was unsure about.
“Madam, I think I might know those men in black.”
"What did you say?" Madam Min Qiao was so shocked that she stood up from her chair.
Ajiu hesitated, "The way those men in black acted was very similar to the assassins I used to be in. However, when I was in the organization, apart from the two people who trained us, almost everyone I saw was a child. But last night, there were five men in black who broke into the Li family's house, and they were all adults! I can't be sure for now, but it's probably true!"
"Why is it another assassin organization?" Madam Min Qiao said with a headache, "Why are there assassin organizations everywhere? Last time, we didn't even figure out who hired assassins to kill Zhao Zhiheng. This time, how come a few assassins have appeared and wiped out the entire Li family?..."
At this point, Madam Min suddenly froze.
The assassination attempt on Zhao Zhiheng last time was to frame her. This time, the massacre of the entire Li family is clearly also to frame her!
Is it really just a coincidence? Twice, two groups of people, but both times they came to the same assassin organization?
"Grandma, Grandma?" Ajiu waved her hand in front of Min Qiao's eyes.
Min Qiao's thoughts returned, and she coldly ordered, "You may leave." She didn't even glance at A Jiu.
Ah Jiu felt a lump in her throat, and her face immediately fell in dejection.
***
"Smack!"
Inside the Cui family study, Cui Cheng slapped Cui Hao hard across the face.
"You beast! You beast! How cruel you are!"
Cui Cheng angrily berated his kneeling nephew, and not satisfied with just one slap, he kicked him to the ground.
"That's my own daughter, your own older sister! How could you do that?"
"You beast! Your older sister was eight months pregnant! How could you be so heartless as to kill her too?"
Cui Cheng's accusations were scathing, each word dripping with blood; his anger and heartache at that moment were undeniable.
As the saying goes, even a tiger won't eat its cubs. How much less so when the one who died was his most beloved eldest daughter!
Cui Hao was beaten and scolded, but he didn't dare to talk back. Even after being kicked to the ground, he got up and continued kneeling.
He was powerless to refute Cui Cheng's scolding.
Because he was the one who ordered it to be done!
He had also spoken with Cui Cheng beforehand.
However, what the two of them discussed was to have someone kill the two elders of the Li family, then kill a few servants at random, and then pretend to be discovered and leave the Li family.
As long as someone in the Li family dies, Min Qiaoshi can be dragged down with them.
Even killing the two elders of the Li family was a calculated move. First, they were the heads of the Li family; their deaths would escalate the situation. Second, with them dead, his elder sister and brother-in-law could take control of the Li family. His elder sister would also be rid of her mother-in-law, who was now a constant source of pressure. It was a win-win situation.
But something went wrong at some point; what was supposed to be killing a few people turned into wiping out an entire family.
All thirty-four members of the Li family perished. This was something he hadn't anticipated!
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