avenge father
“This…” Ding Liqun hesitated. It was true that the Fu family had three branches, but the eldest son, Master Fu, had passed away two or three years ago. His wife and daughters had been recuperating in the countryside and had not returned to the Fu family for two or three years. This matter had nothing to do with them.
Xie Zhuo waved to Ding Liqun, indicating that he would handle the matter himself.
"Second Madam Fu, how does it feel to be kicked out of the Fu family?" Xie Zhuo sneered as he strode over to her, squatted down, and said, "Your second branch should also experience the pain that the eldest branch of the Fu family suffered."
Zhao Xialan's eyes widened suddenly, staring at Xie Zhuo in disbelief: "You..."
Before she could finish speaking, Xie Zhuo stood up: "Speed up!"
"Yes, Your Highness."
Zhao Xialan trembled like a leaf when she heard the officials call out "Young Master Xie Zhuo." It turned out that he was the young master, and Fu Zhiqiao had actually managed to establish a connection with him.
Zhao Xialan finally understood why Fu Yan'er had failed and why the master had been executed. It was all because of Fu Zhi Qiao. This was Fu Zhi Qiao's revenge on her family!
The Fu family was a wealthy merchant family. A group of officials searched the house from early morning until afternoon before transporting the confiscated property to the yamen for inventory.
Xie Zhuo did not return to the yamen with them; he went to see Fu Zhiqiao.
"You're awake!" Seeing Fu Zhi Qiao leaning against the headboard with a pale face, Xie Zhuo's eyes were full of heartache. "Is there anything else that's bothering you?"
Fu Zhi Qiao shook her head. "I'm fine."
Yinxing was sitting on the footstool talking to Fu Zhiqiao, but after Xie Zhuo arrived, she tactfully withdrew.
The two remained silent, neither knowing what to say.
"Fu Mingjie shall be executed immediately, and the rest shall be exiled."
"Um."
"You're not angry with me?"
"What's it to you?"
"I ransacked your house."
Fu Zhi Qiao: "..."
Fu Mingjie's crimes are unforgivable; he deserves to die.
Unfortunately, Fu Mingjie was in charge of the Fu family, and he took the blame for all the crimes, allowing Fu Wenyang to escape death.
However, Fu Zhi Qiao had already made arrangements with the escorting officers to "take good care" of Fu Wen Yang on the way to exile. She would never let him be exiled alive; he would suffer greatly on the way and be tortured to death.
As for Fu Yan'er, Fu Zhi Qiao did not intend to take her life directly. Without financial support and a life of luxury, falling from a high place and living a humble and painful life would be the greatest punishment for her.
"Um, there's something I'd like to discuss with you," Fu Zhi Qiao said, breaking the awkward silence.
"What's up?"
"Isn't the Fu family's courtyard going to be turned over to the national treasury? I wonder if I could buy it?"
No matter what, it was the Fu family's house. She had lived there for many years, and for the sake of Fu Changyue and Yu Roulan, she wanted to keep the house in her own hands.
"I've already bought it." Xie Zhuo took out a set of keys.
He had his eye on the Fu family's property when the government office was taking inventory. When Ding Liqun saw Xie Zhuo ask to buy the courtyard, he agreed without hesitation. He not only gave him the keys on the spot, but also transferred the courtyard to Fu Zhiqiao's name.
Then he pulled out the land deed from his pocket, his tone carrying a hint of seeking praise, "This courtyard is yours now."
Upon hearing the implication in his words that he was going to give her the courtyard, Fu Zhiqiao took the keys and land deed and asked, "How much did it cost?"
Without a word, Xie Zhuo immediately understood: "No need, just consider it a gift from me."
Fu Zhi Qiao remained silent, then sighed and said, "I have no right to accept the courtyard you offered."
Xie Zhuo's eyes darkened as he recalled how Fu Zhi Qiao avoided him like the plague, and he said, "There's no need for us to be so distant."
"We cannot be this close."
The moment the words left his mouth, the temperature in the room dropped two degrees.
She would naturally repay kindness with sincerity when others were kind to her, but that person just happened to be Xie Zhuo...
Seeing the hurt in Xie Zhuo's eyes, Fu Zhi Qiao was a little at a loss. Putting aside the entanglement between the two of them, the fact that Xie Zhuo was her savior was undeniable. She quickly controlled her emotions: "That's not what I meant. What I meant was that I have my own money..."
"I know."
After meeting the Fu family, he seemed to understand why she was so independent. She was clearly a delicate woman, but she was determined to prove that she could live well without relying on a man.
She had no family to rely on, so she had to rely on herself for everything.
Xie Zhuo suddenly remembered the question Fu Zhi Qiao had asked him before: whether he had ever truly respected her. He had actually thought about this question seriously, but at the time he hadn't understood its meaning. Wasn't he good enough to her?
Only today did he truly understand the meaning behind Fu Zhiqiao's question to him.
She was not his possession; she had an independent personality. What she wanted was never his favor, nor did she want to depend on him. What she wanted was someone who could stand shoulder to shoulder with her.
That's why she didn't accept men having multiple wives and concubines.
"You don't have to work so hard, you can rely on me completely!" These words were on the tip of his tongue several times, but in the end he chose to swallow them back.
Rather than letting her rely on me, I'd rather prove myself to her.
"Thirteen thousand taels."
"Huh?" Fu Zhi Qiao didn't react for a moment.
"The money to buy the Fu family mansion is thirteen thousand taels."
Xie Zhuo suddenly changed his mind, which surprised Fu Zhi Qiao. "Oh, okay, I'll give you the money later."
"Hmm, no rush."
Fu Zhi Qiao smiled and said, "Thank you."
*
News of the Fu family's property being confiscated, the second master of the Fu family being beheaded, and the clansmen being exiled quickly spread throughout Yuzhou City.
Three days later.
At dawn, when the sun was just rising and the sky was not yet fully bright, many people who loved to watch the excitement were already waiting at the execution ground.
Today is the day that the second master of the Fu family was beheaded.
Fu Mingjie was dressed in a white prison uniform with a shackle around his neck. He was being escorted by two guards, his eyes lifeless and filled with despair.
The people below threw rotten vegetable leaves to express their dissatisfaction.
After the executioner finished reading the charges, he pulled out a plaque and threw it on the ground. The executioner then raised his broadsword, ready to carry out the execution.
Fu Mingjie saw the gleaming broadsword and his body trembled uncontrollably with fear.
"Ha!" the executioner roared, gripped his knife with both hands, and slashed down fiercely.
Blood gushed from his neck, staining the ground red.
Fu Mingjie's body twitched reflexively a few times, and his head rolled several meters away. Soon, soldiers ran up and took his head away with a black cloth.
Standing at the back of the crowd, Fu Zhiqiao listened to the people cheering loudly, and silently thought to himself, "Old Man Fu, the culprit who killed you has been brought to justice. Just wait, the other one will be down with you soon."
The day after Fu Mingjie was beheaded, the rest of the Fu family members were to be exiled.
The constables put shackles on everyone in the Fu family. The heavy shackles made it difficult for them to take each step, especially Fu Wenyang, who was used to a life of luxury and had never experienced such hardship. He was dragged along behind the main group in a daze.
"They're here! They're here!"
"Look, it really is them!"
The constables kept shouting at the curious onlookers to leave.
The onlookers were all surprised to see the Fu family members in shackles; some sighed, while others applauded.
"The Fu family's vast fortune just collapsed like that?"
"If the person is handcuffed, how could it be fake? I heard that it was a young master from the capital who personally went to confiscate their property."
"I've really seen something today. The Fu family, a pharmaceutical merchant family with a history of nearly 100 years, has actually fallen before my eyes. Back when Master Fu was still alive, the Fu family was so glorious. Who would have thought that after Master Fu took over, the Fu family would fall to such a state?"
"Master Fu is truly despicable, using fake medicine to fool people. He deserves to be beheaded!"
The crowd chimed in with their own opinions, and many people threw rotten vegetable leaves at Fu Wenyang.
A rotten egg landed precisely on Fu Wenyang's face, the stench almost suffocating him. Seeing the angry curses of the people on both sides, he wished he could bury his head in the ground.
The exiles are about to leave the city.
Thinking of his fate of being exiled for the rest of his life, Fu Wenyang looked up at the high city wall. With just a glance, he spotted many familiar faces in the crowd. Those who used to fawn over him were now watching his spectacle from the city gate.
He used to be so full of vigor, but now he was like a rat in the street, despised by everyone. Just as he turned his gaze away, he saw Fu Zhi Qiao in the crowd. He gritted his teeth and cursed viciously: "Bitch!"
Seeing that Fu Wenyang suddenly became agitated, Fu Yan'er followed his gaze and saw Fu Zhiqiao.
These past two days have been big for the Fu family. Fu Zhi Qiao hasn't been idle either. She went to the execution ground yesterday to watch Fu Ming Jie behead, and today she rushed to the city gate to watch Fu Wen Yang and others being exiled.
Seeing Fu Wenyang and Fu Yan'er's helpless and furious expressions, Fu Zhi Qiao raised her face with a smile, made a beheading gesture towards them, and waved goodbye.
"Sir, there is still someone in our Fu family who has not been exiled. It is Fu Zhi Qiao from the eldest branch. She has not been exiled yet!" With his hands cuffed, Fu Wen Yang could only shout out. The other members of the Fu family noticed Fu Wen Yang's unusual behavior and followed his gaze to Fu Zhi Qiao.
The constable walked over and lashed out with his whip, yelling, "Quiet down, and stop causing me trouble!"
Fu Wenyang wanted to say something more, but the constable lashed him twice more. After being lashed several times, Fu Wenyang grimaced in pain and dared not say another word.
Fu Yan'er's shoulder was stabbed, her clothes were stained red with blood, her hair was messy and dry, and she looked extremely disheveled. She stared intently at Fu Zhi Qiao, her scarlet eyes seeming to spit fire.
The constable lashed out with his whip, and Fu Yan'er winced in pain. She turned around and glared at him angrily. The constable was momentarily startled by her gaze, but then reacted and lashed out with the whip again. "What are you dawdling for? Get moving!"
Fu Yan'er was whipped twice and collapsed to the ground, powerless.
This scene naturally caught Fu Zhi Qiao's eye. She sneered inwardly, thinking that even in such a predicament, this family still dared to try to drag her down with them.
However, the thought of the two Fu brothers, one beheaded and the other tortured to death after his exile, and Fu Yan'er and the rest of the Fu family spending their lives cultivating military fields in the Northwest, never to return without a summons, and having to eat cornbread and dig wild vegetables to survive, made Fu Zhi Qiao want to laugh out loud.
"Ginkgo, let's go back."
Old Man Fu, have you seen what happened to Fu Mingjie and Fu Wenyang?
*
Because of the confiscation of the Fu family's property, Xie Zhuo stayed in Yuzhou for a few more days.
The day of returning to Beijing was postponed again and again, until finally the time came when I had no choice but to leave.
The group chartered a Fujian-style boat to set sail.
Xie Zhuo wore a white, dark-patterned, narrow-sleeved long gown with a matching gold-threaded auspicious cloud pattern around his waist, from which hung a piece of fine black jade, exuding an innate sense of nobility.
He sat lazily at the table, his fingers seemingly casually stroking the thumb ring on his thumb. His gaze drifted to the pedestrians on the shore. He was about to return to the capital to report, which meant he would be separated from Fu Zhi Qiao for some time again.
He, Min Kunzheng, and Imperial Physician Gao traveled back to the capital by waterway, while Fu Zhiqiao took a carriage back to Qingzhou. The two of them didn't even have a chance to travel together.
Wang Qianxin reminded him, "Your Highness, prepare to set sail."
"Wait!" Xie Zhuo stood up abruptly. "You guys go first, wait for me at the next ferry crossing."
Wang Qianxin was completely bewildered. Min Kun, who had just seen Xie Zhuo hurriedly disembark and leave, couldn't help but ask, "Where is the young master going? Isn't he going back to the capital with us?"
“Lord Min,” Wang Qianxin bowed to him, “the Crown Prince said he has urgent business to attend to and needs to leave for a while. He asked us to wait for him at the next ferry crossing.”
"Okay, okay."
After Xie Zhuo disembarked, he rode away on a fast horse.
On the other side, after Cheng Yexuan helped Fu Zhiqiao inspect several shops and estates in Yuzhou, the three of them embarked on their journey back to Qingzhou.
Fu Zhiqiao found a comfortable position and leaned back on the soft couch. The epidemic control in Yuzhou was over, and the people of the second and third branches of the Fu family had received their due punishment. This trip had been quite fruitful.
The carriage was halfway out of the city when suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves sounded behind it.
Upon seeing that the person who came was Xie Zhuo, Cheng Yexuan consciously walked away two zhang away.
Fu Zhiqiao, sitting in the carriage, was unaware of what had happened and asked, "Why did you stop?"
"It's me."
Upon hearing Xie Zhuo's voice, she paused for a moment, covered her mouth and chuckled, then shrank into the corner, trying to minimize her presence.
As soon as the carriage curtain was lifted, Xie Zhuo tossed a small box over.
Fu Zhi Qiao: "?"
She hurriedly caught it, but before she could even open it, she heard Xie Zhuo's voice: "Don't give it back to me this time."
Through the carriage curtain, Xie Zhuo stared at her intently, his deep affection and infatuation conveyed without reservation, making Fu Zhi Qiao feel as if she were about to be devoured by him.
Xie Zhuo's gaze was too intense, and Fu Zhi Qiao was the first to look away.
Xie Zhuo said, "A Qiao, take good care of yourself. We'll see each other again soon."
What's going on? Fu Zhi Qiao was a little confused, holding the box. She didn't move for a long time until Xie Zhuo's figure disappeared from her sight.
Upon opening the box, inside was the seven-tailed phoenix hairpin that she had returned.
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