"Zheng Gui, how many years have you been serving me?" Zheng Bingyi's voice was calm, but it made Zheng Gui, who was most familiar with him, suddenly break out in a cold sweat.
He quickly knelt down and replied, "Master, I have been your servant since I was eight years old. I have been by your side for nearly thirty years. When my family was in trouble, I was about to starve to death, but you took me in. I am deeply grateful and am willing to serve you like a slave for the rest of my life."
Zheng Bingyi nodded in satisfaction, and the hostility in his body subsided a little.
"Okay, remember what you said. Now there's something I need you to do, and it's a bit dangerous. But if you succeed, I'll be a prince with a fiefdom, and you'll be the chief steward of the prince's mansion! In the fiefdom, you'll be second only to the emperor, and above everyone else! Do you dare to do it?"
"I dare!" Zheng Gui responded immediately, "I'll do whatever the master tells me to do!"
Zheng Bingyi was even more satisfied. He helped him up personally, whispered some instructions to him for a long time, and then took out five silver bills and stuffed them into Zheng Gui's pockets.
"Tell them this is the deposit! After the deal is done, there's another five hundred taels! I have only one request: leave no one alive, burn them to the ground!"
Zheng Gui's hands were shaking slightly. He was the master's confidant, and he knew some inside information about the extermination of the mistress's family in the north.
But now that he has to do it himself, involving the lives of dozens of people, he realizes how cruel it is!
Zheng Bingyi stuffed the banknotes into his hands and scolded him in a low voice, "It's time to do it! If they are innocent people, it's wrong to kill them, but there is no good person in the Cui family! When Cui went to the north to find someone to kill the whole family, she couldn't do it without her eldest brother's help!
"There's not a single good person in this family; they're all culprits. Killing them now means we've dealt with the wrongdoers and it has nothing to do with us, understand?"
"I understand... I understand!" Zheng Gui nodded heavily, and was once again successfully brainwashed by his master.
He took a deep breath, hid the banknotes, and prepared to set off.
Zheng Bingyi also changed into his official uniform and went to the yamen to work as usual, still acting in an official manner, no different from the past.
Little did he know that Zheng Gui was being watched as soon as he left the house...
When it comes to the New Year atmosphere, the south of the Yangtze River is much more lively than the north.
As the twelfth lunar month approaches, there are more pedestrians in the streets and alleys, and more vendors who want to make some quick money. Some sell candied haws with straw baskets, some stir-fry chestnuts in sugar in big pots, some fry oil cakes, and some paint sugar paintings. In short, everything they do attracts children from all families all the time.
The little kid's eyes were red with anticipation, and he just wanted to follow the adults to walk on the street, see the excitement, and satisfy his hunger.
Of course, Zhuzhu doesn’t have this worry. As long as she wants to go, the street vendors will smile happily.
Because she's a foodie, she usually buys from street vendors to the end of the street. It's only been a few days, but the sharp-eyed vendors have already remembered this plump girl who looks like a virgin under a fairy's throne!
As the sun sets, it shines on the ancient city, covering everything with an orange coat, which has a unique beauty.
Zhuzhu sat in her uncle's arms, licking the candied haws while walking home.
Chen Zhao pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the fat girl's saliva, and smiled so hard that the corners of his mouth couldn't stop. "Zhuzhu, are you happy? Uncle will take you out again in the future, okay?"
"Okay, uncle is the best!" Zhuzhu smiled with her big eyes curved, and her two chubby hands were holding food, so she pouted her little mouth and gave her uncle a big kiss on the face.
She had just been chewing on a candied haws, and inevitably Chen Zhao's face was covered in sugar stains.
Chen Zhao didn't mind, and just walked home with the glaring sugar stains on his head. He was young and frivolous, and loved freedom. He never thought of getting married and having children. He had been so dissolute for many years, and he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
But now, holding the fat girl in his arms, he suddenly felt a little envious. It seemed that it would be great if he could marry a gentle wife and have such a lovely daughter...
Just as the door to the house was not far away, a peddler carrying a shoulder pole suddenly came over and whispered, "Boss, there's movement over there. Zheng's personal attendant has gone out, and our people have followed him."
Chen Zhao's eyes flashed, and he sneered, "I know, I'll definitely follow closely. You've worked hard these past few days, and I'll definitely reward you handsomely later."
The vendor nodded and quickly walked away. It was quiet here, so no one could see him. Even if someone saw him, they would just think he was selling groceries.
In reality, the vendor was actually one of the Sixth Prince's guards in disguise. Their original mission was to protect Yang Lihua and Zhuzhu, but Yang Lihua wasn't one to show off, spending her days sewing in the courtyard, while Zhuzhu was always accompanied by an adult whenever she went out, and the farthest she went was to buy some snacks in the nearby street.
Therefore, after coming to Jiangnan for so long, these guards have had a lot of free time, even to the point of having sore bones all over their bodies.
Fortunately, Chen Zhao arranged tasks for them. Not only did they have something to do, but they would also receive a large sum of money as a reward afterwards. It was really killing two birds with one stone!
Chen Zhao continued walking with Zhuzhu in his arms, feeling no burden at all.
The most loyal master of these guards is naturally the Sixth Prince. The Sixth Prince must have known that he wanted to take revenge and wipe out the Cui family. Since he did not stop him, it means that he acquiesced.
This is his greatest confidence and one of the reasons why he wholeheartedly helps the border defense troops to arrange military rations and pay.
He is willing to exchange all his achievements for a chance to avenge his sister without leaving any hidden dangers for his nephew!
Thinking of Zheng Bingyi and the entire Cui family, he felt a little...
"Zhuzhu, tell me... if someone punches your uncle and your uncle punches him back, would that be wrong?"
Zhuzhu had finished eating the sugar coating of the candied haws, leaving only the hawthorn. She disliked the sourness and was quietly spitting it out.
Suddenly hearing her uncle's question, she tilted her head, thought about it, and then shook her head.
"Uncle is right. That time, my second brother was reading a book and he came across a line: 'Repay evil with kindness, but how do you repay kindness?' Zhuzhu asked my second brother what it meant, and my third brother jumped in and said that if someone hit him, he should hit back in kind, instead of offering the other cheek for a slap!"
After saying this, the fat girl touched her little face, as if she had been hit, then raised her little fist and shook it, baring her little white teeth and shouting in a baby voice, "Whoever dares to hit Zhuzhu, Zhuzhu will hit back!"
The fat girl who looked fierce and aggressive was so adorable that Chen Zhao couldn't help but burst out laughing!
"Okay, okay, we should fight back! Uncle will listen to Zhuzhu!"
Zhuzhu didn't know that she had solved her uncle's problem, and she was so happy to receive the praise that she went to attack another piece of osmanthus cake!
Chen Ruiyang heard the noise, opened the gate and looked out, then happily went forward, snatched his sister from his uncle's arms, and fed him a piece of candy. The brother and sister ran into the door happily!
Chen Zhao was amused at how easily he was abandoned by the fat girl, so he lifted his robe and stepped over the threshold.
Yang Lihua prepared dinner, and after everyone had eaten, Chen Zhao took Chen Ruiyang back to the farm.
Yang Lihua vaguely knew something about the Zheng family, but she didn't say anything or stop them.
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