The shadow under Yingyi's hood seemed to tremble.
Distributing the core knowledge that the Bellucci family regarded as their lifeblood in this way was equivalent to completely breaking the monopoly of the appraiser's bloodline and subverting the Bellucci family's millennia-old tradition.
It is precisely because of that secret knowledge that the direct line of the Bellucci family has been able to stay ahead of the branches and appraisers from the outside world, becoming a place that can stably produce appraisers of the legendary level and above.
He really didn't expect that the eldest daughter of the Bellucci family would make such a decision a few years after escaping.
Monica ignored what Yingyi thought. She sneered and ran her finger across another completely different list.
"As for these... Leonard's good uncles and brothers, the core members who charged forward when he colluded with the orcs and reaped the rewards..."
Every name on the list was once a pillar of Leonard's power structure.
"Don't they like power and money? Then give them a 'big gift'."
"Calm them down. Tell them that the family is in turmoil and needs a pillar of support. Entrust them with the remaining most lucrative, eye-catching, and previously most profitable yet also most scalping businesses in the capital—the appraisal firm in the heart of the capital, the largest auction branch, and the management of several core warehouses near the palace... all of them."
"Let them think this is their 'deserved' share after Leonard's death, a sign of the new owner's reliance on them and 'compensation.'" A cruel smile curved Monica's lips. "Let them continue to live in glory atop that golden crater."
…
The inner city of the royal city, the royal palace.
Charles III sat on the cold throne, tapping the armrests with his fingertips.
The failure of the fishy cellar was like a poisonous sting in his heart.
Irina's death, Leonard's sudden death, and the intervention of the Knights of Holy Light made him lose face, and his core plan suffered a severe blow.
The nobles' joint inquiries came like snowflakes, and each one contained a hidden knife edge.
He urgently needed a target big enough to divert his attention, calm his anger, and completely destroy any remaining chain of evidence pointing to him that might be left by the Bellucci family.
Beneath him, a royal spy lowered his head and waited for his decision.
"The Bellucci family... must be completely wiped out," he whispered, his eyes etched with undisguised murderous intent. "All property, confiscated. All members... the crime of treason, unforgivable."
Now that both their daughter and their adopted son-in-law are dead, it's time for their family to make their final contribution.
"...Especially those Leonard's diehard minions. They are the evidence of collusion with the orcs, poisoning the former head of the family, and attempting to overthrow the kingdom! They deceived Irina! They were also the ones who orchestrated the chaos at the auction house! You must find the 'evidence' immediately... irrefutable evidence!"
The king's orders were easily carried out.
Almost at the same time as Monica completed the evacuation of the younger generation, the purge of the remaining Bellucci forces in the royal capital began.
Those core members who were "appeased" in prime positions had just been immersed in the ecstasy of receiving the "legacy" for a short time when cold armor and arrest warrants knocked open the door of their new official residence.
They made the perfect scapegoats.
The royal family needs their crimes to absolve themselves, the angry nobles need to divide up the lucrative industries they occupy, and the Church of Holy Light also needs a symbol of "case closure."
The hyenas who once surrounded Leonard to share the benefits were now torn to pieces by more powerful beasts.
…
The faint smell of chaos and blood coming from the direction of the royal capital seemed to drift across a long distance to the suburban manor.
Enzo was getting a little restless. "Outside...it's started? Should we go out and take a look, gather some information?"
Monica stood in front of the window, with her back to the room, looking at the gloomy sky in the direction of the royal capital.
She didn't look back, her voice as calm as a pool of deep water: "It has begun, and it will soon be over."
As the former eldest daughter of the Bellucci family, she knew the methods of those nobles better than anyone present.
Driven by profit, their efficiency is faster than anything else!
As she was thinking this, Yingyi's figure quietly appeared in the corner of the study:
"Seventy percent of those on the list have been apprehended. The remaining fugitives are wanted by both the Kingdom and the Church... They can't escape."
There was no emotion in his voice, but he knew that his plan of killing someone with a borrowed knife had worked.
"Very good." Monica turned around, her eyes sharp.
"Let those who have gone to the countryside settle down and keep a low profile. Tell them that the glory of the Bellucci family lies not in the glitz and glamour of the capital, but in the knowledge in their hands and the truth in their heads.
"Tell them to concentrate on studying the materials they have been given. For the next ten years, they are not allowed to compete for power or profit, and they are not allowed to act under the banner of Bellucci. If anyone violates this... the Shadow Guards will know how to deal with them."
Ying Yi bowed slightly: "Understood."
…
Bellucci's old manor, morning.
Sunlight filtered through the lush branches of the ancient oak trees, casting dappled shadows on the meticulously manicured lawn.
The Bellucci family, hidden in their old manor on the outskirts of the royal capital, has rarely experienced a period of rest and recuperation with a seemingly peaceful appearance.
The air was filled with grass, earth, and a faint hint of expensive incense from a bygone era.
Inside the manor, in the huge dining room, the atmosphere was subtly stagnant.
There were only a handful of people sitting around a long walnut dining table that could accommodate twenty people.
The slight sound of silver cutlery and fork colliding with bone china plates was particularly clear under the empty and towering ceiling.
Mark frowned as he looked at the delicately arranged, almost bite-sized boiled quail eggs with truffle sauce on the plate in front of him.
He grabbed the silver spoon with a gold rim next to him and tried to scoop some sauce, but found that the spoon was not much bigger than his thumb.
"Is this thing... enough to fill the gaps between my teeth?" He lowered his voice and complained softly to the dwarf Enzo sitting opposite him.
Originally, he could have said these words directly to Monica, but it seemed that since coming to this manor, there seemed to be a big difference in aura between him and Monica.
The noble lady really has the kind of temperament that can only be admired from afar.
Enzo, standing opposite, was carefully pinching a piece of ham that was so thin that it was almost transparent with his thick fingers. He looked very restrained. When he heard this, he almost dropped the ham on the starched snow-white napkin.
"Don't talk nonsense, Mark!" Enzo glanced nervously at the head seat at the end of the long table. "That old butler's eyes are like knives. He stared at me so hard that I didn't dare put the hammer on the table!"
In the main seat, Monica Bellucci wore a well-tailored dark blue velvet morning gown with the silver family falcon emblem pinned to her collar.
She used the knife and fork with standard and mechanical movements. Every bite seemed to be precisely measured. Her posture was impeccable, and she had an aristocratic elegance that was ingrained in her bones and was acquired through long-training.
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