They bully men and women, committing all sorts of evil deeds.
He had ten concubines in his household, seven of whom were seized by force, and the last concubine was only thirteen years old.
Yunhu Lake used to be the property of the Xu family. In fact, Yunhu Lake is not a natural lake. It was artificially excavated by the Xu family ancestors after they bought the land.
Later, the head of the Xu family felt that sharing happiness was better than enjoying it alone, so he opened Yunhu Lake to the people of Yulin so that they could also go to the lake to play. However, the fish raised in the lake belonged to the Xu family's business.
Unexpectedly, after Tong Mingshan took office as the prefect, he wanted to buy Yunhu for three hundred taels of silver, but the Xu family refused.
Although Yunhu Lake is man-made, it still covers an area of more than 300 acres. It is located in the suburbs of Yulin, in an excellent location with good water quality and abundant aquatic products. How could it be sold for only 300 taels?
Not long after, when some people went to Yunhu Lake to play, there were incidents of children falling into the water and drowning.
At first, everyone thought it was just an accidental mistake by the child, but later someone witnessed a human-like monster in the lake dragging the child into the water.
At the same time, the Xu family began to suffer a series of mishaps, with members falling to their deaths in all sorts of strange places: some fell into the lake, some fell off the carriage, and some tripped and fell on the rocks by the roadside.
Rumors began to circulate that the Xu family had offended the Water God, which was why they were suffering this retribution.
With the master's household experiencing a series of misfortunes and various rumors circulating, the maids and servants in the mansion dared not stay any longer and all ran away.
In the end, the once luxurious Xu family mansion was no longer inhabited, and the only surviving members of the Xu family, Xu Jinling from the second branch and Xu Dayi, the eldest son of the Xu family patriarch, disappeared.
Yunhu Lake thus came under Tong Mingshan's control, and the Xu family's entire fortune also fell into Tong Mingshan's hands.
After reading the information, Su Ruojin's lips curled into a cold smile. What kind of coincidence could there be in this world? What water ghost, what water god? She would never believe it.
If you try to convince her to believe in water gods and water ghosts, she'd rather believe it's all a scheme orchestrated by Tong Mingshan to gain control of the Xu family.
"An Yi, are you confident that you and your Dark Alliance members can rescue Xu Jinling and his nephew from the prefectural prison?"
If she, as the Regent's Consort, wanted Tong Mingshan to release Xu Jinling and his nephew, there would be no problem. However, that would alert the enemy, as she had not yet found her third brother.
She didn't have time to deal with Tong Mingshan, so she could only take the most direct approach.
After all, the uncle and nephew had been hiding for so long, so it could be said that they were indirectly imprisoned because of him.
“General Su recently went missing in Yulin, and security in Yulin is tighter than before. I need to make some arrangements,” An Yi objectively analyzed.
If all ten bodyguards were present, this would be a minor issue, but now there's only one bodyguard, plus the Dark Alliance members, so manpower is insufficient and planning is needed.
"Alright, I've written the effects of these poisons on the bottles. Use them as you see fit." Su Ruojin understood that An Yi was right, so she didn't urge him and simply gave him some poison.
An Yi accepted the medicine without hesitation, as it would be much more convenient to have the princess's medicine.
After arranging for An Yi to investigate Liu Mengru's background again, it was already late at night, and Su Ruojin felt a wave of drowsiness wash over her.
Fortunately, the baby is still quite far along and she's not overweight. Plus, the clothes from this era are relatively loose, so there's no need to worry about being recognized for now.
Su Ruojin had people investigating Tong Mingshan, and her own information was also sent to Tong Mingshan's desk.
"Zhao Ruojin, seventeen years old, is from the capital. She came to Yulin to visit relatives and is currently staying in room number three of the east wing of the Yunlai Inn. No special identity has been found. Her maid has a medical certificate and she is accompanied by a guard."
For Su Ruojin, obtaining a fake travel permit was a simple matter.
Tong Mingshan looked at the information on the desk. The surname was Zhao. As far as he knew, there were no prominent families with the surname Zhao in the capital.
People who can't even afford a room the size of the "天" (tian) character at Lianyunlai Inn must come from ordinary families.
The maid has a medical license, so she might be the daughter of a doctor at a clinic. It's quite normal for a doctor's daughter to have a guard and a licensed maid accompany her when she goes out.
Since that's the case...
"He Zhong, invite Miss Zhao to our residence tomorrow."
Upon hearing Tong Mingshan's words, He Zhong, as Tong Mingshan's confidant, naturally understood and chuckled, "This humble servant congratulates you in advance, sir, on acquiring another beauty."
Tong Mingshan reached out and tapped He Zhong on the head, laughing and scolding, "You think you know everything?"
He Zhong didn't dodge, and replied with a smile, "Please rest assured, sir, I will send the eleventh concubine to your room tomorrow."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com