Joy of Life: Starting by clinging to the eldest princess's coattails!

Chapter 54 Surround the Ming family!

The following evening, at the lakeside cottage.

A lake breeze wafted in through the open window, bringing in damp air. Wu Feng was pondering over a game of chess when a soft knock sounded at the door.

"Enter."

Chen Youliang pushed open the door and came in, carrying an inconspicuous wooden box.

He closed the door behind him, placed the box on the table, and said, "Lord Wu."

Wu Feng shifted his gaze from the chessboard to the box, but remained silent.

"This is a 200,000 tael silver note," Chen Youliang said in a low voice. "The Ming and Cui families originally intended to bribe Prefect Xie."

Wu Feng's lips twitched: "So Prefect Xie instructed you, Treasurer Chen, to bribe me with these two hundred thousand taels?"

Chen Youliang shook his head: "Prefect Xie originally wanted to return it. But... I don't want to."

He looked up at Wu Feng, "So I took it and wanted to hand it over to Lord Wu. I think... Lord Wu definitely has a way to solve this."

Wu Feng stared at him for a few seconds.

This guy has more cunning than Wang Ganju.

"Okay, leave it to me." Wu Feng reached out, pulled the box in front of him, opened it, and glanced at it.

A thick stack of silver notes, neatly arranged. He closed the box, his face expressionless.

Chen Youliang was surprised.

That's two hundred thousand taels.

Even royalty would be stunned by the sight of so much silver.

But Wu Feng remained remarkably calm.

In that instant, he thought of his employer.

The owner was happy when he first earned such a large sum of money, but he never showed any greed.

He now understood why his employer had chosen to cooperate with Wu Feng.

"There's one more thing," Chen Youliang continued, "Lord Wu, you told us to keep an eye on Xiao Jian and his group, so we've had people following them the whole time."

"Oh?" Wu Feng looked up. "What did you find?"

"Our men discovered," Chen Youliang's voice deepened, "that Xiao Jian, Ma Xiongjian, and Hu Jinlin accepted a banquet hosted by the Ming family tonight."

Wu Feng narrowed his eyes slightly.

The temperature inside the room seemed to drop a few degrees.

Chen Youliang felt a chill run down his spine as he sensed the coldness emanating from Wu Feng.

"Have Prefect Xie come over here." Wu Feng's voice was soft, but it made people's hearts tighten.

Chen Youliang immediately bowed: "Yes, Lord Wu."

He left, and his footsteps quickly disappeared outside the courtyard.

Almost simultaneously, Shuying emerged from the shadows, sword in hand, and looked at Wu Feng: "You want to kill Xiao Jian and the other two?"

Wu Feng shook his head: "It's not just the three of them."

Shuying frowned: "In that case, we don't have enough manpower."

"You don't need to lift a finger." Wu Feng stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the lake surface shimmering white in the moonlight. "This time, I plan to wipe out the Ming family as well."

Shuying paused, then said, "The Ming family is considered a powerful clan in Jiangnan. Should we ask His Highness's opinion on this matter first?"

"No need." Wu Feng didn't turn around. "I originally wanted to play it safe and eliminate them later. But now it seems there's no need to wait. Keeping them around will make Suzhou unstable."

There was another reason he didn't mention: while Emperor Qing was still unconscious and no one could stop Li Yunrui, now was the best time to deal with the Ming family.

Shuying stopped speaking.

"Shuying," Wu Feng turned around, took out Li Yunrui's jade token and the imperial edict from his pocket, and handed them over, "Take this, go out of the city now, go to the Suzhou camp and ask General Xu to send troops tomorrow to surround the Ming family. Don't let a single one of them escape."

Shuying took it; it was icy cold to the touch.

"Tell General Xu," Wu Feng added, "that one-third of the money seized from the Ming family should be given to the Suzhou camp."

Shuying's eyes flickered, and she clasped her hands in a fist salute: "Shuying understands!"

She turned and walked away quickly, her figure soon disappearing into the night.

Wu Feng looked back at the lake and let out a soft breath.

It seems.

My return to Kyoto will have to be postponed.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Xie Yu arrived very quickly.

In less than half an hour, he hurriedly arrived at the lakeside cottage, wearing a dark cloak over his official robes, with sweat still on his forehead.

"Lord Wu," Xie Yu said, bowing respectfully with a solemn expression.

Chen Youliang had clearly informed them of the situation.

Wu Feng didn't mince words: "Prefect Xie, do you have evidence of what the Ming family has done over the years?"

Xie Yu nodded, took out an oil paper package from his pocket, and placed it on the table: "It's all here. All the crimes combined, killing three generations of your family... that's enough."

Wu Feng opened the oil paper package, inside which was a thick stack of testimonies and account copies, with neat handwriting and clear entries.

He looked up and glanced at Xie Yu.

This prefect had planned this all along.

"Alright." Wu Feng put away the evidence. "Thank you for your help tonight, Prefect. Tomorrow, I request the cooperation of the Prefect's office."

Xie Yu bowed: "This humble official understands."

He didn't linger any longer and took his leave.

Wu Feng sat in the room for a while, put the chess pieces back into the chess box one by one, and blew out the lamp.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Wu Feng was still sound asleep when he was suddenly shaken awake.

He groggily opened his eyes and saw Shuying standing by the bed, but her expression was... strange?

"Shuying," Wu Feng said, his voice hoarse with morning grumpiness, "His Highness didn't ask you to supervise me getting up early, did he?"

Shuying's face darkened:

"Lord Xiao Wu, you'd better get up quickly. General Xu has already surrounded the Ming family's house with his men. When I arrived, he had already broken down the Ming family's door, and now I guess... they've already started ransacking the house."

"What?!" Wu Feng instantly snapped to attention, sitting bolt upright. "So fast?!"

Shuying remained silent, but couldn't help but complain in her heart.

That's a third of the Ming family's wealth. Anyone in that situation would be anxious.

Wu Feng didn't dawdle any longer. He immediately got out of bed, washed up and changed his clothes, and hurriedly took Shuying to the Ming family's ancestral home.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

At this moment, the Ming family was completely dumbfounded.

The heavy, vermilion-lacquered gate was smashed open, scattering splinters of wood all over the ground.

Fully armed soldiers filed in, their footsteps, shouts, and the clanging of armor filling the air.

Supported by two maids, Old Madam Ming emerged shakily from the inner courtyard, wearing only an outer robe and with her hair still disheveled.

Her face was deathly pale as she looked at the courtyard full of soldiers, her voice trembling, "What...what is going on? What has my Ming family done?!"

Ming Qingda followed behind her, his clothes disheveled, both shocked and furious: "Whose soldiers are you? What right do you have to trespass on my Ming family property? I demand to see the Prefect!"

A general in armor strode over; it was General Xu of the Suzhou camp.

He glanced at the Ming family members and said coldly, "I'm acting on orders. Arrest the entire Ming family; leave no one alive!"

"By imperial decree?" Old Madam Ming's vision went black, and she almost fainted.

Has their rebellion been discovered? But they didn't rebel!

Why did the sky fall down when I woke up?

The soldiers pounced on the Ming family like wolves and tigers, binding and imprisoning everyone in the household. Cries and pleas for mercy echoed throughout the courtyard.

When Wu Feng arrived, this was the chaotic scene he witnessed.

Just then, General Xu saw Wu Feng.

He immediately came over with a grin, rubbing his hands together, and said, "Lord Wu, everything's taken care of. You should keep your word, right?"

Wu Feng: "..."