Chapter 108 How ruthless! How vicious! How ruthless!
I learned from Qiao Qingping that the Min family ancestors were originally just pig butchers. In the face of hardship and oppression by officials, the Min family ancestors, relying on their skills, led a group of villagers to become bandits in the mountains.
After hearing that the Li family had risen up in rebellion, the ancestors of the Min family led their people to join them.
Afterwards, the Li family ancestor pacified the land and bestowed great rewards upon his meritorious officials. The Min family ancestor was also granted the title of Marquis of Xuanping.
From pig butchers to bandits, and then from common soldiers to Marquis Xuanping, the Min family was essentially transformed from serfs into peasants.
The Min family, who came from humble beginnings and had no background, became extravagant and wasteful once they gained power.
For the first two generations, the Xuanping Marquis's family was able to live off their savings, relying on the gold and silver treasures they plundered during the chaos of the world and the emperor's rewards.
By the time of Min Ji's grandfather's generation, the Xuanping Marquis's family had become accustomed to a life of luxury, but their finances were already insufficient to cover their expenses.
In this prosperous era of peace and tranquility, commerce flourishes day by day.
The Min family also set their sights on the prosperous Jiangnan region.
As is well known, the Jiangnan region was an important salt-producing area for the people of the country. Salt taxes from Jiangnan were also a significant source of revenue for successive dynasties.
At that time, a network of interests between officials and merchants had already been formed in the Jiangnan region, lacking only a high-ranking official in the imperial court to rely on.
Thus, the two sides quickly reached an agreement.
The assassin organization was established after that, at the suggestion of the Min family and with funding from several major merchants in Jiangnan.
In the decades that followed, the imperial court did send people to investigate the salt tax problem in Jiangnan. Unfortunately, those sent either died unexpectedly or were turned against the government and became complicit with the corrupt officials in Jiangnan.
It wasn't until Min Ji's grandfather passed away and Min Ji's father succeeded to the title of Marquis of Xuanping that this chain of interests began to have problems.
Min Ji's father was the complete opposite of his audacious grandfather; he was a cautious man who only wanted to survive.
Having just taken over the Xuanping Marquis's residence, he wanted to withdraw from the affairs of Jiangnan!
However, once the Marquis of Xuanping's household got on the pirate ship, getting off was not such an easy thing.
Min Ji's father was adamant in his stance, only wanting to extricate himself, which once provoked people in the Jiangnan region to threaten to fight Xuanping Marquis's mansion to the death.
Not long after that, Minji's father suddenly fell ill and passed away.
At the young age of eighteen, Min Ji succeeded as Marquis of Xuanping.
Some say that Min Ji's father was killed by assassins sent by people from Jiangnan.
But only those inside Jiangnan knew that Min Ji had killed his own father!
Because his father had the heart to save the Xuanping Marquis's mansion, but lacked the means and ability, and even more so the cunning and scheming, he would only end up putting the Xuanping Marquis's mansion in a state of utter ruin.
So, Min Ji killed his own father and took over the position.
In order to appease the people in Jiangnan, the first thing Min Ji did after succeeding to the title of Marquis of Xuanping was to marry the eldest daughter of the Wang family, a prominent family in Jiangnan, as the wife of the Marquis of Xuanping.
Later, he took Qiao Qinghe, the daughter of the Qiao family, a merchant family in Jiangnan, into his household as a concubine, strengthening the ties between the Xuanping Marquis's mansion and the Jiangnan merchants. This was to demonstrate his sincerity to those people in Jiangnan.
Meanwhile, Min Ji also used various methods to actively win over Lu Shanglin, a Grand Secretary and a favorite minister of the emperor.
In order to pull the Marquis of Xuanping out of the quagmire of Jiangnan and to preserve the Marquis of Xuanping, Min Ji spared no effort.
In the end, Min Ji succeeded.
However, the Lu family, the Wang family, and the Qiao family became stepping stones on Min Ji's road to success!
Among them, the Qiao family and the Lu family suffered the most!
"So, it was all Min Ji's scheme?"
Madam Min Qiao felt a mix of emotions. "I was able to marry into the Xuanping Marquis's family not because of Madam Wang, but because Min Ji chose the Qiao family and chose me?"
“Yes.” Qiao Qingping nodded heavily. “Zheng, Wu, Qian, and Qiao, the four great merchants, had more than a dozen eligible unmarried women, and he chose you.”
Qiao Qingping said with a bitter expression, "At that time, everyone thought that the Qiao family had hit the jackpot and encountered such a good thing. After all, the Wang family daughter had been married into the Marquis's mansion for many years, but had not yet borne any children. After you enter the mansion, as long as you give birth to a son, the entire Xuanping Marquis's mansion will belong to you and your son."
“At that time, Min Ji secretly handed over the operation of the entire assassin organization to the Qiao family. Even my grandfather felt that Min Ji really wanted to help the Qiao family become the number one merchant in Jiangnan.”
"In the first few years after you married into the Marquis's family, the Qiao family did indeed prosper for a while."
"But as news of your dissatisfaction with the Qiao family spread from the Marquis of Xuanping’s residence, it was later reported that you had severed ties with the Qiao family. The Qiao family also sent letters to you many times, but you either did not reply or your words were harsh and hurtful."
"After that, my grandfather sent people to the capital to see you many times, but the people from the Marquis of Xuanping’s residence said that you refused to see him."
"After that, the situation of the Qiao family took a sharp turn for the worse."
"Wait!" Madam Min Qiao couldn't help but interrupt, "All the calls I receive are from you who want to expand, seek help, or have done illegal things and are looking for ways to clean up the mess."
"After I publicly announced that I was severing ties with the Qiao family, I never received a single letter from them, not even one! Nor did I ever see anyone from the Qiao family come to visit!..."
As Min Qiaoshi spoke, she suddenly understood everything.
"It was Min Ji! He cut off my correspondence with the Qiao family! He spread false information, making the Qiao family think that I refused to meet with them."
"Perhaps all the bad things about the Qiao family were fabricated by him to sow discord between me and the Qiao family!"
"He...he's two-faced, every word of which is like a knife to the heart!"
Madam Min was burning with rage.
Min Ji! Min Ji! The man she once deeply loved and for whom she protected the Xuanping Marquis's mansion her entire life! Turns out he's a complete liar!
If she hadn't been reborn and hadn't gone back to her parents' home, she wouldn't even have known that Min Ji had lied to her about so many things!
"This is nothing," Qiao Qingping smiled, but a bitter smile spread across his upturned lips.
"After he cut off your contact with the Qiao family, he publicly declared that the Xuanping Marquis's Mansion and the Qiao family had no further connection."
"After that, the Qiao family's situation took a sharp turn for the worse. No matter how the Qiao family tried to save it, they were always helpless. They could only watch as the Qiao family was completely swallowed up by the other three families."
“Originally, we thought this was just normal business competition. Without the Marquis of Xuanping’s mansion, it was only natural that the Qiao family would lose power.”
"It wasn't until the Qiao family withdrew from Hangzhou that we realized that the fact that the Marquis of Xuanping was able to withdraw safely from the Jiangnan region was a gesture of goodwill from Min Ji to others!"
Upon hearing this, Madam Min felt a buzzing in her head, and her insides burned with an intense urge to vomit.
Min Ji married this woman from the Qiao family, took away a huge amount of wealth from the Qiao family, and then used the entire Qiao family as a sacrifice, allowing other families to divide and annex it, in order to achieve his own goals!
How ruthless! How vicious! How ruthless!
Just as Madam Min was about to speak, she spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Sister?" Qiao Qingping asked anxiously. "Are you alright? I'll go and get a doctor for you."
Madam Min quickly pulled the person back, saying, "I'm fine."
She took out a handkerchief and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. Far from feeling uncomfortable, she felt completely relaxed.
Very well, her last bit of attachment to the Marquis of Xuanping's mansion has completely vanished.
She won't have to bear any guilt when she tries to harm the Marquis of Xuanping's family again.
Not only that, she will also take back what the Qiao family lost in the name of the Marquis of Xuanping's mansion.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com