Chapter 312 Murder to Silence
At the gate of the Ministry of Revenue, Xu Huaining was asked by the four sisters, Peng Chunlan and Xu Dani, to pay 10,000 taels of silver as hush money.
Even if he emptied his pockets, he couldn't come up with even a tenth of the ten thousand taels of silver.
Xu Huaining knew how Liu Huazhi died and also guessed who killed Ma Dahua and stole the one hundred taels of silver.
If Xu Laosi and Feng Lianhua hadn't been arrested, he might have held onto a sliver of hope. But now, seeing the resolute expressions of Peng Chunlan and the four Xu sisters, he couldn't muster even a sliver of hope.
Xu Huaining locked himself in his study to think of a solution, and finally went to the Princess's residence to ask Princess Shanmin for help.
Upon hearing that the Jingzhao Prefecture had refused to release the person, Princess Shanmin angrily exclaimed, "Well done, Jingzhao Prefecture! Well done, Du Changfeng! How dare you try to fool this princess!"
As for the matter of Xu Huaining being extorted for 10,000 taels of silver as hush money, Princess Shanmin didn't care at all; she was only angry at the Prefect of the Capital for defying her.
Seeing Xu Huaining's timid and submissive demeanor, Princess Shanmin became even more furious:
"Useless trash! You lose your composure as soon as you're threatened by a few lowly peasants. I really misjudged you back then!"
She has a similar face to that person, but her abilities and talents are vastly different. She can't get anything done, and you have to clean up her messes.
Being called a good-for-nothing in front of a group of maids, Xu Huaining felt extremely embarrassed and lowered his head, his posture extremely humble: "It is my fault."
Princess Shanmin ignored him and, with a gloomy face, ordered her trusted maid, "Go and call Wei Ming."
The trusted maidservant hurriedly left, and Xu Huaining breathed a slight sigh of relief.
If Princess Shanmin is willing to take action, this matter will be easily resolved.
Peng Chunlan and her ilk must die!
A short while later, Wei Ming arrived.
Upon seeing Xu Huaining inside the room, he didn't even flinch. After bowing to Princess Shanmin, he asked, "What are your orders, Princess?"
Princess Shanmin said in a sinister tone, "Tonight, you will kill a few unruly commoners for me."
If that guy surnamed Du dares to fool her, she'll kill all those lowly people and the so-called witnesses, and see how he tries to judge the case then.
A glint flashed in Wei Ming's eyes, and without any hesitation, he replied, "Yes!"
That night, all was quiet.
In the unassuming inn, Peng Chunlan and the others were already asleep, dreaming of making a fortune, completely unaware of the danger approaching.
This inn is located in a remote area and usually doesn't have many guests. It's not peak season now, so there aren't many caravans coming to Beijing. As a result, the only guests staying here right now are Peng Chunlan and her two children, and four couples including Xu Dani.
Outside the inn, several men in black climbed over the wall from the backyard.
After exchanging glances and confirming the location of Peng Chunlan's room, they slowly pried open the back door of the inn and quietly slipped inside.
Standing at the doorway, listening to the chorus of snores inside, the leader of the men in black gestured to the two behind him.
The next moment, the two men stepped forward, opened the lid of the kerosene barrel, and began pouring kerosene into the room through the crack in the door. In an instant, the air was filled with the pungent smell of kerosene.
After the barrels of kerosene were emptied, the leader of the men in black took out a tinderbox and revealed a sinister smile.
You have no choice but to offend Princess Shanmin of all people.
Later, go to the underworld to complain to the King of Hell. Remember, every grievance has its source and every debt its debtor; don't blame the three brothers!
After his subordinates stepped back, the leader of the men in black blew on a tinderbox and threw it into the oil without hesitation.
With a "boom," the kerosene ignited upon contact with the flame, shooting up more than a meter high and rapidly spreading in all directions.
The three men in black quickly retreated and stood guard outside the window in the backyard. If anyone opened the window and tried to escape, they would immediately end their lives with their knives.
Just then, a piercing scream rang out from inside the inn: "Fire! Fire! Help! Fire!"
In an instant, the small inn was filled with screams, cries, and calls for help.
With the doorway blocked by raging flames, Peng Chunlan and the others were unable to escape and immediately thought of jumping out of the window.
Just as she opened the window and stuck out a leg, a large, gleaming knife came straight at her neck, scaring Peng Chunlan into retreating in panic.
Upon seeing the black-clad figure standing outside the window, whose features were obscured, Peng Chunlan immediately realized what was happening and let out a desperate scream: "Xu Huaining, you beast deserving of divine punishment!"
Killing her only daughter wasn't enough; tonight they even sent people to set fire to the house and burn them to death.
These are eleven living, breathing human lives!
Not only were Peng Chunlan and her two children trapped back in the burning room, but Xu Dani and others from next door were also trapped inside.
"Help, help me—Waaah, I don't want to die, I don't want to die..."
The relentless waves of heat, capable of scorching a person, assaulted them, and the intense burning pain made it impossible for them to remain calm. Surrounded by flames, they screamed and cried helplessly and desperately.
If they had known it would bring them death, they wouldn't have traveled all the way to the capital to file a complaint, even if there were mountains of silver in front of them.
Now they haven't gotten the money, and they're going to lose their lives too.
Just as Peng Chunlan and the others were in despair, a group of constables wielding large knives suddenly burst in through the back door and fiercely pounced on the three men in black.
"How dare they set fires and kill people right under the emperor's nose! Seize these three thugs!"
The three men in black were completely unprepared to be discovered by the constables of the Jingzhao Prefecture. They hurriedly raised their knives to parry and prepare to break through the encirclement and escape.
However, there were too many constables, and each of them was a skilled fighter. Even though the three men in black were highly skilled, they could not fight against so many opponents with their bare fists. In just a few breaths, they were all subdued and pinned to the ground.
To prevent them from committing suicide, the constables immediately removed their jaws to check their mouths for poison.
Presumably thinking that the mission was a sure thing and there would be no mistakes, the three of them made no preparations for suicide; there was no poison in their mouths, only food scraps.
While the three men in black were preoccupied with other matters, Peng Chunlan and the others successfully escaped through the window and were taken away from the fire by the constables, who were exhausted.
Watching helplessly as the inn was consumed by fire, the eleven survivors wept bitterly, filled with intense hatred for Xu Huaining, who had hired someone to kill them and silence them.
This time, they don't want money; they just want to bring down Xu Huaining and make him pay the price he deserves!
Finally, Peng Chunlan and the others, along with three men in black, were taken to the Jingzhao Prefecture.
Tonight, not only was the inn attacked by men in black, but several witnesses brought from Qingzhou also narrowly escaped being killed. Fortunately, the Prefect of the Capital was prepared, preventing the mastermind from succeeding.
The Prefect of the Capital personally came to the prison and interrogated the six men in black who had been arrested that night, subjecting them to all sorts of cruel tortures.
The six men in black endured the ordeal for less than an hour before they confessed everything, saying that Princess Shanmin had ordered them to kill each other to silence them.
The Prefect of the Capital was furious. He ordered his subordinates to prepare their statements and, without even returning home to freshen up, went to the palace to file a complaint as soon as the first rays of morning sunlight appeared.
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