Chapter 388 : Righteousness

Although the story of the Xu family stuffing their pockets with soldiers’ blood had been widely spread, the Xu family did not admit it. The head of the Xu family came forward to righteously say that their family’s money was all earned from their legitimate business; he even put out the word that malicious slander of their family would definitely get retribution. The Xu family was indeed doing business, and they were very profitable. As to whether it was a legitimate business and they did not enrich themselves, it was unknown. With Qin Zhao acting as their talisman, no one would dare to investigate the Xu family either.

As for the rumours that Xu Shi was living in brocade garments and jade meals and spending her days arrogantly extravagant, she could not admit that it was impossible. The hearsays were true, for example, in the crab feast, when she invited a dozen wives of senior officials to participate. Of course, a dozen women could not have eaten two baskets of more than a hundred crabs. Many of them were given away as favours by Xu Shi.

With Xu carrying such a reputation, it was inevitable that Qin Zhao would be dragged down with her. Without Qin Zhao’s indulgence, Xu Shi would not have had the capital to live as she did.

Xu Shi was so angry that she gritted her teeth and said, “It’s Han Shi. It must be Han Shi. This sl*t! I want her to die horribly.” This matter was definitely planned by Han Shi.

Mama Gong also did not expect Han Yuxi’s retaliation to be so ruthless, which not only put her own Madam where the wind and waves were the highest but also managed to pull the General and Xu family into the water. “Madam, please hold this anger for now.” Unless one could strike a blow against such a person, all those other little tricks couldn’t be used, which would only ruin themselves instead.

Xu Shi nodded. “I will settle this debt with her sooner or later.”

The person Qin Zhao sent to investigate the news came back and reported, “General, the person who deliberately released the news was Eldest Miss Fu.” That person was a little hot pepper.

Qin Zhao was surprised and asked, “How could it be her?” In fact, rather than saying that Han Shi was the mastermind behind this matter, it should have been Yun Qing. He wanted to use this incident to ruin the Xu family and his reputation in order to reach the highest position. T

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The reporter replied, “Answering General’s question, it is indeed the Eldest Miss Fu.”

Qin Zhao waved his hand, signalling the man to withdraw, then asked his aide, Mr Xia, “What does Sir think of this matter?” Qin Zhao felt that Fu Qingluo had been personally used as a gun. T

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Mr Xia knew everything about the development of this issue. “General, this woman, Han Shi, is too scheming. It may seem like a mere fight between women, but it has pulled you, General, and the Xu family into the water with it. This time, we must properly resolve the lower-level soldiers’ request to change their bedding and uniforms. I’m just afraid that if the Xu family makes any careless mistake in the future, it will definitely implicate the General.” He knew very well what kind of shameful behaviour the Xu family had and how they would be in trouble sooner or later; they would indeed implicate Qin Zhao then. T

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Mr Xia used to be Marshal Qin’s most trusted aide and continued to stay to help Qin Zhao in remembrance of his kindness. It was just a pity that Qin Zhao was not like Marshal Qin, and there were many things that Qin Zhao did that Mr Xia couldn’t see eye to eye.

Qin Zhao’s expression changed, questioning, “Sir, this matter is truly Han Shi’s handiwork and not Yun Qing’s?” He still had more faith in Mr Xia.

Mr Xia said, “General should know very well what kind of nature Yun Qing has. He won’t bother to use this kind of tactic.” Yun Qing was an open and honest man. He would not use such devious tricks.

Qin Zhao thought for a while and finally nodded in agreement with Mr Xia’s opinion. “When I was in the capital, I only knew that she was not liked by her elders and was somewhat cold in nature, but I had not inquired that she had such a heart, nor did I know why Song Guifei had given her to Yun Qing?”

Mr Xia pointed out, “This woman has been married to Yun Qing for just over half a year and has already dismantled the image we had created of him as a brutal and bloodthirsty man.” Nowadays, the military camp praised Yun Qing as a good man who loved his wife and cared for his family. Although some people also said that Yun Qing had been henpecked, it was soon drowned in everyone’s praises towards him. As a soldier, Yun Qing spent most of his time in the barracks and was seldom at home, so his wife took care of all the big and small issues at home. Therefore, if he didn’t treat his wife better, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself! This was why Yun Qing loved his wife and family, which undoubtedly struck a chord with them.

Qin Zhao did not say anything.

Mr Xia continued, “Then there is the matter of Han Shi’s founding of the school. General, you should not underestimate this. This is not just to earn a good reputation in life. These children will be Yun Qing’s biggest help after they all are well trained.” His meaning was simple; they couldn’t let this woman stay alive.

Qin Zhao, however, disagreed with this statement. As far as Qin Zhao was concerned, if there were no Yun Qing to support Han Shi, she wouldn’t have been able to shake things up. Therefore, the most crucial thing was to get rid of Yun Qing. If Yun Qing was dead, Han Yuxi couldn’t jump around and rise.

How could Mr Xia not know it was best to eliminate the root of the problem, that was Yun Qing? But the Marshal said before he died that only with Yun Qing’s presence could Yu City be safe and sound. If Yun Qing perished, Yu City would probably fall into the same fate as Tong City.

Marshal Qin was very wise and intelligent, but even the smartest man had his weakness. Qin Zhao was his grandson and his only grandson at that. Mr Xia knew full well that Qin Zhao had colluded with the Song family and that they were people with wolves’ hearts and dogs’ lungs, but he could not deal with Qin Zhao ruthlessly. Originally, Mr Xia wanted to shift power to Yun Qing slowly, and Marshal Qin knew Yun-jing’s nature. Even if Yun Qing took control of the Northwest Army, he would not deal with Qin Zhao for Marshal Qin’s sake. Unfortunately, God’s plan was not as good as man’s. He did not expect Qin Zhao to take credit for Yun Qing’s merit and never thought that he would die because of this.

When Qin Zhao saw that Mr Xia did not speak for a long time, he asked, “Why is Mr Xia not speaking?” Mr Xia was a talented person, but not loyal enough to him. There were many things that Mr Xia wouldn’t say unless he asked, not to mention taking the initiative to offer his advice. T

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Mr Xia remarked, “General, it’s not that easy to kill Yun Qing.” Ever since Yun Qing emerged, the Song family had wanted to eliminate him. They had used poisons and beauty ploys and even paid off his close guards to assassinate him at a huge cost, but unfortunately, they were unsuccessful. So, getting rid of Yun Qing was more than ten times harder than wiping out Han Shi’s life.

Qin Zhao responded, “There will always be a way.” His grandfather protected Yun Qing in the past, or else Yun Qing would have died long ago. Speaking of this, he couldn’t help but resent the dead old man. Obviously, he was the real grandson, but the old man treated Yun Qing even better than the way he treated him, his own grandson. What was even better now was that Yun Qing had the ability to fight for his seat.

After sending Mr Xia away, Qin Zhao muttered coldly, “Old fool.” He knew very well that it was not that Mr Xia did not have a way to deal with Yun Qing, only that he was unwilling to do so. He did not want to use Mr Xia, but finding a trustworthy and talented aide was not an easy feat.

When Mr Xia returned to his courtyard and looked at his wife, who was sewing clothes for him, the thought of leaving Yu City, a place rife with trouble, came to his mind.

Lin Shi put down the needlework in her hand and softly greeted, “You’re back! I will make a pot of tea for you.” Although the couple was nearly ten years apart, they had an excellent relationship.

After taking a sip of tea, Mr Xia put down the teacup and said to Li Shi, “When spring starts, you should take the children back to your mother’s house for a while.” Lin Shi’s maiden home was in Ganzhou City, more than half a month’s journey from here.

Lin Shi’s face paled as she asked, “What’s going on? Has something happened?”

Mr Xia lowered his voice and said, “The weather in Yu City will undergo a great change soon, and this place is no longer safe.” Qin Zhao’s talent and resourcefulness were pretty good. For example, Qin Zhao knew that finishing Han Shi off this time would only treat the symptoms but not the root of the cause, which was Yun Qing’s existence. Once he disposed of Yun Qing, Han Shi wouldn’t be able to jump around and rise. However, the only issue he had was that he wasn’t good at fighting and always lost more battles than the ones he won. According to Marshal Qin, Qin Zhao didn’t have the material to be a Commander-in-chief*. But how could a garrison Commander-in-chief who was unable to fight in a battle maintain this position? As it happened, Yun Qing was very good at engaging in battles. Even if he was too straightforward, upright and not good at calculating, he won more than he lost. Besides, the casualties under his command were not too massive. *Confused

Mr Xia initially thought that it would take at least five years for Yun Qing to suppress Qin Zhao and that five years was enough time for him to get away peacefully. However, Han Shi’s presence was a variable that made him think that it would not take that long, but at most, three years for Yun Qing to rise to the top position.

After hearing her husband’s explanation, Lin Shi was a little unconvinced and asked, “That’s impossible, right? Is Madam Yun that powerful?” She had also heard about the rumours outside.

Mr Xia laughed bitterly. “That’s just a conservative estimate on my part. The depth of Madam Yun’s mind is definitely not comparable to ordinary people.” Not only was she adept at calculating, but she also had a long-term vision. Having such a helper was like a godsend to Yun Qing.

Lin Shi frowned. “But, isn’t the Song family trying to suppress Yun Qing? No matter how powerful Madam Yun is, can she beat the Song family? I’ve heard that if it weren’t for Song Guifei’s dirty tricks, Madam Yun would have married the current dynasty Tanhua gentleman. If she was so smart, how could she have been given to Yun Qing?” One shouldn’t be fooled by the fact that Yun Qing was now praised as a good husband, but at that time, he was the most unpopular bachelor in Yu City. Not only was he average-looking, but more importantly, he had a reputation for being fierce and a face that could scare people.

Mr Xia’s face changed after hearing what had been said by his wife. He previously judged that with Han Shi’s aid, Yun Qing would be able to pull down Qin Zhao in three years at most. But just listening to his wife’s words made him realise he had made a mistake. Since Qin Zhao could form an alliance with the Song family, Yun Qing could also do the same with the Yu family. Han Shi’s dage, Duke Han, was already close to the Yu family, and with him pulling the strings to make a bridge between the two families, they would soon reach a consensus. The power of the Yu family and the Song family was on par. Once Yun Qing allied with the Yu family, the Song family could no longer suppress him. In less than two years, Yun Qing would be the commander-in-chief of the Northwest.

Thinking of this, Mr Xia smiled bitterly. He could not tell Qin Zhao about this, or else Qin Zhao would really have to kill Yun Qing. The Old Marshal lifted up Yun Qing to suppress Qin Zhao when he was alive because he knew that Yun Qing could protect Yu City well. Mr Xia was worried that Yun Qing’s death would genuinely become what the late Marshal had said, where Yu City would become the second Tong City. For the sake of righteousness, he couldn’t speak of this matter.

Mr Xia said to his wife, “After the New Year, you will send a message to your mother and ask her to send someone to pick you up in the spring. Don’t return without receiving a letter from me requesting you to do so. Remember?” They should also place their children in Lin Shi’s maiden family house. Yu City was too dangerous. Those who connected with influential people here wouldn’t have put their children by their side.

Madam Lin Shi nodded her head in a daze. “I remember.”