"The Intendancy Council barged into the garden today, naturally for Mr. Zhou." Ming Qingda glanced at his elderly mother and said gently, "What do you think... should we?"

The Old Madam Ming gave him a cold look, knowing what he meant. Steward Zhou was the chief steward of the Ming family and also the treasurer of the Junshan Society. This person was too important. If the Intendancy Council found him, many inside secrets of the Junshan Society would be known by Fan Xian, and thus indirectly by the Emperor.

Whether for the sake of protecting Ming Garden or for the safety of the Junshan Society, Steward Zhou undoubtedly had to die. But the problem was... The Old Madam Ming sighed softly and said, "You know, this Mr. Zhou was sent to our family by the Eldest Princess. Whether to kill him or not is not our decision to make."

"They're about to search the back." Ming Qingda said expressionlessly, a hint of a cold smile flashing in his heart.

Junshan Society? An organization of that level, how could a wealthy merchant family like the Ming family be involved? Sure enough, now it was like riding a tiger, impossible to dismount. He had always deeply resented the Old Madam Ming's close ties with the Eldest Princess and avoided the Junshan Society like the plague.

The Old Madam Ming slowly closed her eyes and said, "Don't worry. Mr. Zhou should be safe." The old woman suddenly frowned, hesitating, "There's one thing I can't figure out, why is the Imperial Envoy so sure that Mr. Zhou is still hidden in Ming Garden? If they can't find him, how will he explain it to the world?"

Ming Qingda's heart skipped a beat, but a similar look of doubt appeared on his face.

The Old Madam Ming thought for a while, feeling a little tired, and shook her head weakly, her gray hair making her look very old.

"I'm tired." The old woman said with distaste, "Don't let those lackeys of the Intendancy Council disturb my rest."

"Don't worry, Mother." Ming Qingda walked to her side, placed his hands on her shoulders, seemingly preparing to help her up, and said gently, "From now on, no one will disturb your rest."

……

……

The Old Madam Ming turned her head in astonishment and then saw the fleeting hint of guilt, fear, and ferocity in her own son's eyes.

Then her mouth was covered, and a leather cord was tightly fastened around her throat.

The Old Madam Ming wanted to shout, but no sound came out. Her hands were firmly grasped by her own son, and she could only kick her feet forcefully, her small feet flailing about, making a snapping sound.

Infinite terror and resentment flashed in the old woman's eyes as she stared fixedly at the head maid not far from her.

She had countless confidants in the mansion, but none of them were by her side at this moment, she didn't know where they had gone.

The head maid glanced at the Old Madam Ming and slowly turned away.

The leather cord around her throat tightened, and the Old Madam Ming couldn't breathe. Her chest burned with pain, and her eyes began to blur. She knew that everyone had betrayed her, but compared to betrayal, the intense and thick regret and hatred were even harder to suppress, flowing out with her tears and saliva.

"You have to be ruthless."

"Accomplishing great things, of course, requires sacrifices."

All the words rang out again at this moment, striking the old woman's heart along with the ringing in her ears before death.

Her eyes bulged out as she stared fixedly at the... her own son.

Ming Qingda lowered his head and gripped her hands tightly, not saying a word.

Perhaps a long time passed, or perhaps just a brief moment, the old woman sitting upright in the armchair, the Old Madam Ming who had secretly influenced and controlled Jiangnan for decades, let out a muffled sound from her chest. Her body suddenly went limp, her feet dangling weakly under the chair, and there was no more movement.

Old age is a time for rest.

—————————————————————————

The Intendancy Council's search of Ming Garden was not going smoothly. Although no one dared to stop them, Deng Ziyue had already felt the growing anger in the eyes of the people of Ming Garden, and the guards and thugs secretly watching them could draw their weapons and rush up at any moment.

There was naturally nothing gentle about searching a home. They overturned boxes and cabinets all the way, shouted loudly, and entered women's boudoirs. This appearance was indeed very much like a pack of wolves, and it also aroused the hostile emotions of everyone in Ming Garden.

However, Deng Ziyue was not worried. Director Fan would not have sent him into the garden without being sure.

Sure enough, although the people of Ming Garden looked at them with disgust and hatred, no one dared to stop them. It was just that... Ming Garden was too big. After searching for a long time, they had only searched half of the area, and they could not find any trace of that Steward Zhou.

"I want to search the back garden." Deng Ziyue said to Ming Lanshi, the eldest son of the Ming family, who had been accompanying him.

"No way!" Ming Lanshi stared at his eyes and angrily rebuked, "What exactly do you want to do? Do you really think our Ming family is so easy to humiliate?"

The back garden was inhabited by women and relatives, so how could it be searched? Ming Lanshi took the opportunity to vent his anger and angrily scolded the officials of the Intendancy Council. Deng Ziyue, however, kept a straight face and refused to budge. He held the official document issued in Fan Xian's own handwriting, which was stamped with the seal of the Imperial Envoy, giving him sufficient reason to search.

Of course, it could not be done in the name of the Intendancy Council but only in the name of the Imperial Envoy of Jiangnan Road.

The Intendancy Council could not interfere in local affairs, especially not in civil cases. Today's move was a case of putting up a sheep's head and selling dog meat, a borrowed force of Fan Xian.

The two sides confronted each other at the entrance to the back garden. The servants and guards of Ming Garden had been holding back for a long time, and at this time, they could finally not bear it any longer. Dirty words came out one after another, cursing and scolding endlessly. Under the agitation of emotions, the thugs and private soldiers who should have been hiding on the side also showed themselves, surrounding the nearly forty officials of the Intendancy Council in the middle.

Deng Ziyue darkened his face and said coldly, "Young Master Ming, is this a continuation of the search... or are you preparing to defy the Imperial Decree?"

The Imperial Envoy on the road represented the decree of the Emperor. Who would dare to resist even slightly?

Ming Lanshi's face turned green and white, and he gritted his teeth tightly, putting on a look of humiliation and embarrassment. After a long while, he roared angrily, "Search! Heaven has eyes! I don't believe that the Intendancy Council bullies people by relying on their power and will not be punished in the future!"

Deng Ziyue ignored so much, held the hilt of his *pudao*, and stepped into the back garden.

Unexpectedly, after walking less than ten steps, he ran into a person head-on. Although the person was dressed in a maid's uniform, judging from the quality of her clothes and her attire, she was also an important figure in Ming Garden. The maid's face was pale, her eyes were lifeless, and she rushed towards the crowd like a madman who had seen a ghost, shouting vaguely as she rushed, "Dead! Dead! ... Dead!"

Dead?

Deng Ziyue was shocked and felt a sense of ominousness. He frowned and stopped the maid, sternly shouting, "What happened?"

The maid's face revealed the noble temperament she had cultivated in normal times, but at this time, she seemed to be too frightened, and her face was full of panic. She trembled for a long time, unable to say a complete sentence. She just kept trembling in front of Deng Ziyue. If Deng Ziyue had not disregarded the suspicion and grabbed her arm, she would have collapsed to the ground.

The people searching the garden from the Intendancy Council did not recognize this maid, but the people from the Ming family knew her identity. They knew that she was the Old Madam Ming's personal head maid, one of her confidants. At this time, the people of the Sixth Branch were all gathered here, and when they saw her appearance, they could not help but be startled, wondering what had happened.

Ming Lanshi hurriedly snatched the head maid from Deng Ziyue's hands, grabbed her collar, and said, "What's wrong? Who died?"

Deng Ziyue watched coldly from the side, a strange look flashing in his eyes.

The head maid was shaken a few times by the young master and finally woke up. She grinned, but before she could say anything, she first cried miserably, "Waa... Uu... Young Master, Old Madam... Old Madam, she..."

"What happened to the Old Madam?"

"Old Madam... she's gone!" The head maid struggled to say these words, and her head tilted, and she fainted in Ming Lanshi's arms.

Ming Lanshi was struck by lightning and stood there dumbfounded, unable to believe his ears for a moment.

And the disciples of the six houses of the Ming family around him looked at each other even more, widened their eyes, opened their mouths, and remained stunned like countless toads, seemingly not knowing what kind of shocked expression to use to express their inner feelings at this time!

The Old Madam is gone?

The Old Madam is gone!

In the deathly silent garden, after who knows how long, the first cry suddenly erupted, and then the cries rose one after another, like a grand chorus. Cries, wails, and angry curses rose and fell. Many people fell to the ground in shock, unable to stand up no matter what.

The entire Ming Garden was completely shrouded in an atmosphere of shock, grief, and anger.

Apart from Ming Fourth Master in the Suzhoy Prefecture prison, Master Ming followed beside the Old Madam. At this time, there were still the presiding Masters of the other four houses in the area. These four men cried and wailed, pulled away Ming Lanshi's silly body, and rushed toward the back garden, lifting their gowns.

At this time, no one cared about the rules that the back garden could not be entered without permission. Without anyone giving a shout, along with the cloud of cries, hundreds of people from Ming Garden rushed to the back garden, wailing.

At this time, the Intendancy Council officials in the middle of the field looked at each other, becoming the most awkward people. Deng Ziyue's pupils shrank, and he felt the crisis. He had been ordered to come to search the garden today, but he never thought that it would end up in such a situation!

Although it was not yet clear how the Old Madam Ming had died, Deng Ziyue knew that her death was really too wonderful and too coincidental, so coincidental that the Intendancy Council could not avoid taking responsibility.

And at that moment, the expression on Ming Lanshi's face in his peripheral vision made him have some doubts in his heart.

The news of the death of the Old Madam Ming shocked everyone in Ming Garden, and the guards rushed out, to the side of the Intendancy Council, surrounding them, holding weapons and crossbows in their hands, and shining hatred in their eyes.

Deng Ziyue frowned slightly, knowing that an improper measure at this time would lead to a shootout between the two sides, but Director Fan had made it clear before coming that things... should not develop like this.

He made a decisive decision and ordered his subordinates, the officials of the Intendancy Council, to enter the back garden as well. Anyway, Ming Garden was in great chaos at this time, and no one could take care of them, and those Ming Garden private soldiers who were holding weapons and monitoring them could not immediately make a move at the Old Madam Ming's final resting place.

……

……

After walking into the back garden for a long time, following the sound of crying, outside a quiet small courtyard, Deng Ziyue couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart as he looked at the people kneeling on the ground. He glanced and saw in the tall hall, under the thick beam, a person tied under a long white cloth.

An old woman.

The old woman's hands were drooping by her side, her toes facing the ground, swaying in the soft spring breeze in the mid-air. This scene was as eerie as it could be.

Especially her eyes, which she refused to close, were bulging out, and her pupils were filled with blood that she had struggled out before her death, full of resentment and unwillingness as she looked outside.

Coincidentally, she was looking at the Intendancy Council officials outside the courtyard.

Deng Ziyue was shocked by the eyes of the dead person. He hurriedly turned his neck and issued an order, ordering his subordinates to be on high alert and be ready to break out at any time.

The courtyard was full of cries, and a group of descendants were kneeling and weeping blood, kowtowing endlessly.

The Old Madam Ming was dead, and Ming Garden would definitely hold the Intendancy Council responsible for this. At such a moment of intense emotions, no one knew what would happen.

But the way out in the back had already been blocked by the Ming Garden's private soldiers, who were watching them with hatred. If they were to kill their way out, how difficult would it be.

Before long, Ming Qingda and the brothers of the Four Houses, whose foreheads had been kowtowed bloody, took the Old Madam's body down from the beam. The contemporary master of the Ming family suppressed his grief and arranged the relevant funeral affairs, and then led his four brothers out of the courtyard.

No one dared to speak, but everyone stared at the Intendancy Council people outside the courtyard with those eyes.

In his life, Deng Ziyue had never found so many people wanting to eat his flesh. The eyes of the Ming family had nakedly expressed this kind of resentment.

He knew that he could not retreat at this time. Once he retreated, it would bring great risks to the Intendancy Council. If the Intendancy Council people retreated in panic after the death of the Old Madam Ming, wouldn't it be a sign of a guilty conscience?

So he darkened his face, narrowed his eyes, and said, "The Old Madam Ming colluded with Dongyi and committed suicide out of fear of punishment... The funeral arrangements will be postponed pending an investigation into the cause of death."

From the perspective of the Intendancy Council, he had to be particularly tough at this time, but for the Ming family, their ancestor had just died, and the Intendancy Council was about to put the blame of suicide out of fear of punishment on her. No one could bear it.

Ming Sixth Master loved wrestling the most. He was big and burly, and he was also crude in nature. Moreover, he was the youngest son of the Ming family, and he had always been the Old Madam's favorite. His feelings for the Old Madam were also the deepest. Today, his mother suddenly died, and he was feeling sad and angry. When he heard Deng Ziyue's words, he turned around, grabbed a chair, and smashed it over!

Deng Ziyue raised his *pudao* and blocked the chair, with a *tah* sound.

Ming Sixth Master's eyes were red, his facial muscles were twisted, and he screamed, "Come on, beat these conscienceless lackeys to death!"

The guards and servants of the Ming family were waiting for this sentence. In the past six months, they had been oppressed by the Intendancy Council to the point of being unable to breathe. No matter how they tried to preserve themselves, they could not protect themselves. Today, they had even forced the Old Madam to death. Looking at the Intendancy Council officials in the field, they were like looking at vicious dogs who had broken into their home. They were afraid of not being ruthless enough, and everyone shouted and rushed up with weapons, beating them indiscriminately!

From the moment he learned of the Old Madam Ming's death, Deng Ziyue knew that things were going to get out of hand and had his subordinates prepared for battle. Therefore, although the battle was sudden, they were not caught off guard. The people around formed a small defensive circle, pulled out the *pudaos* from their waists, and responded to the battle.

For a time, they could only hear the whistling of the wind, only see the flashing of swords and shadows, and occasionally hear screams, accompanied by the frightened screams of the Ming family women. Ming Garden was very lively today.

There were many people in Ming Garden, and there were indeed a few master instructors among the private soldiers. As soon as they met, many people from the Intendancy Council were injured, and blood was splashed like it didn't cost any money.

However, although the Intendancy Council was not an agency with strong military force, they were, after all, personnel who had received professional training. Although some people were injured, people from the inner circle immediately took over, barely maintaining the defensive circle, and successfully repelled the first wave of attacks from the Ming family private soldiers.

But... how long could they hold on? Ming Sixth Master was almost crazy at this time, shouting desperately.

With a *pah* sound.

Ming Sixth Master received a slap on the face. He turned his head in astonishment and saw his eldest brother's face, which was still sad, but more of it was angry.

Ming Qingda lowered his voice and said with gritted teeth, "Do you want the whole family to die with you?"

Without waiting for the stunned Ming Sixth Master to reply, Ming Qingda kept a straight face and shouted, "Stop for me!"

The voice was not very loud, so many people did not hear it. A hint of excited red appeared on Ming Qingda's pale face, and he raised his voice and shouted, "Do you want to rebel?"

……

……

After all, he was the nominal contemporary master of the Ming family, especially after the death of the Old Madam Ming, the word "nominal" could also be removed. Therefore, at Ming Qingda's order, all the thugs in Ming Garden stopped and withdrew.

The crowd cleared a path, and Ming Qingda walked coldly along this path, walking all the way to the front of the Intendancy Council people.

The Ming family master looked at Deng Ziyue coldly, as if looking at a dying vicious dog.

Deng Ziyue did not show any weakness and sneered, "Master Ming, you ask well... Are you really planning to rebel?"

Ming Qingda's eyes carried a few traces of desolation, a few traces of disdain, but he never said a word. At this time, how could the Ming family cope? Kill the forty Intendancy Council officials in front of him? Then, without waiting for an Imperial Decree from the capital, the Master Fan in Suzhou city and that Governor Xue could mobilize troops at any time to destroy Ming Garden.

But... the other party had forced his mother to death!

All these hesitations and painful mental struggles were reflected on Ming Qingda's face and fell into the eyes of the Ming family and the Intendancy Council officials.

"Big Brother!" Ming Sixth Master cried and rushed to Ming Qingda's side and said, "Mother was forced to death, we can't let these lackeys get out alive."

In fact, after the people in Ming Garden gradually calmed down, they seemed to be able to understand the grief and struggle in the heart of the master. Ming Sixth Master was no exception, but his love for his mother was deep, how could he endure this anger?

"The humiliation and pain you have inflicted on my Ming family..." Ming Qingda's lips trembled slightly, his face was pale, and he stared into Deng Ziyue's eyes and said, "My Ming family will repay it tenfold... As for today, you kneel down and kowtow to the Old Madam to apologize, and I will let you out of the garden."

Ming Sixth Master couldn't believe his ears and said anxiously, "Big Brother, we can't just let it go!"

On the contrary, Deng Ziyue narrowed his eyes, pondered for a long time, and said, "Master Ming, you should know that our Intendancy Council only kneels to Heaven, the Earth, and the Emperor. We won't kneel to anyone else."

Ming Qingda frowned, seemingly mentally exhausted by the continuous shocks today, and he was a little unsteady. He barely supported Ming Sixth Master's shoulder, but he also stopped Ming Sixth Master's impulse. He said with a hoarse voice, "Then... let's perish together."

While speaking, Deng Ziyue always felt that Ming Qingda was looking at his eyes, seeming to want to express some hidden meaning, but he had never been able to figure it out.

Ming Qingda sighed in his heart. He had not expected that the Intendancy Council would be so tough. Faced with this dangerous situation, they were unwilling to make even some superficial concessions.

The confrontation continued, and the situation was on the verge of breaking out.

Among the Ming family's six masters, there were always two smart people. Seeing that the situation was not right, and listening to the four words "perish together" from his eldest brother, they felt a trace of horror. How could a businessman be qualified to perish together with the imperial court? It was like an egg hitting a stone. Putting on this appearance would not make the stone lose anything.

What's more, he was not the Old Madam Ming's biological son. Why should he risk his life? So Ming Second Master and Ming Third Master both came over, making an impassioned and sad face, but they leaned close to Ming Qingda's ear and whispered, persuading Master Ming to put the lives of tens of thousands of people in the clan first, to temporarily endure, and to take revenge for the Old Madam slowly.

Ming Qingda had personally killed the Old Madam, so he was originally guilty. The paleness on his face was not deliberately put on, so in this situation, he had to put on an appearance of being irreconcilable with the Intendancy Council. At this time, with Ming Second Master and Ming Third Master coming forward to persuade him, he felt a little relieved and put on an expression of struggling pain.

I don't know how long they confronted each other, but suddenly they heard a commotion outside the garden, followed by the sound of horses' hooves. I don't know how many people and horses rushed in.

Ming Qingda's heart trembled, and he thought that the Intendancy Council's Black Riders were clearly still in Jiangbei and could not possibly have entered the garden at this time. Who were the people who had come?

……

……

Thousands of soldiers galloped in, with spears lined up, and their military might was awe-inspiring. They immediately separated the Ming Garden's private soldiers from the Intendancy Council officials. For a time, dust rose up and the momentum was compelling.

The people who came were the state troops transferred by the Governor of Jiangnan. They used an urgent order and rushed as fast as they could. They finally arrived before a catastrophe occurred and stood between the two teams of people who were at daggers drawn.

The leader was a Brigade General, who already knew what had happened here. He spoke a few words to Ming Qingda with a solemn expression, wanting to go in and pay his respects to the Old Madam Ming, but knowing that Ming Garden had not yet been prepared, and that the Old Madam Ming's death was too... well, he had to give up.

Along with the Suzhoy troops into the garden was also a member of the Qing Yu Nian (Qing Yu Nian) Group from the Intendancy Council. He approached Deng Ziyue and conveyed the two sentences that Director Fan had said.

Deng Ziyue was inexplicably surprised, thinking that retreating at this time was not a problem. With thousands of state troops here, even if the Ming family wanted to make a move, they would not have the ability. The problem was, wouldn't this confirm the fact that the Intendancy Council had forced the Old Madam Ming to death? He didn't quite understand what Fan Xian was thinking. The best way to deal with it at this time should clearly be to mobilize the Black Riders and take the opportunity to destroy the Ming family under this pretext.

However, the arrival of the state troops both protected the lives of the Intendancy Council officials and prevented the possibility of the Black Riders slaughtering the garden.

As for the cause of death of the Old Madam Ming that Deng Ziyue had been suspecting... only the Suzhoy Prefecture had the right to investigate. The Intendancy Council did not have this qualification, and the political officials in Jiangnan were all from the Ming family, so they would definitely not find any problems. Therefore, he became even more confused. How was Director Fan arranging things? Would he still capture that Steward Zhou? Would he just let things develop like this?

———————————————————————————

In the thick of spring, Suzhoy was covered in silver.

It was not snow, but it was colder than snow.

Almost all the citizens of Suzhou wore mourning clothes, and those snow-white cloth strips were like icy decrees, telling of the Old Madam Ming's kindness and achievements to the people of Jiangnan.

The news of the death of the Old Madam Ming spread throughout Jiangnan almost overnight, and the specific circumstances of her death were passed on by different people, becoming more and more bizarre.

But no matter which version of the news it was, the spearhead naturally pointed to the Intendancy Council. The anger of the people began to accumulate, but for a time, they could not find a channel to vent it. The Intendancy Council's yamen had always been secretive, so there was no grand scene of thousands of people blocking the door to demand justice. The Chinese Garden where the Imperial Envoy was located was heavily guarded, so the people did not dare to demonstrate for the time being.

Therefore, everyone had to wear mourning clothes and use the grief and anger on their faces and the resentful curses in the streets to express their silent protest. This was against the Intendancy Council and against Master Fan.

The Old Madam Ming's mourning hall had not yet opened, so the officials and dignitaries from all over the country who came to pay their respects were temporarily residing in Suzhou.

The entire city of Suzhou was shrouded in that cold atmosphere, completely different from the surrounding spring scenery.

However, Fan Xian did not care about these. His skin was thick enough, his heart was dark enough, and his spirit was strong enough to treat the scene of the whole city wearing mourning clothes as a movie from his previous life. As for the voices of condemnation against him, both overt and covert, he could completely ignore them.

He was sitting on the top floor of the Suzhou branch of Xinfeng Pavilion, which he had reserved, and he was only worried about Haitang in his heart. That day, Haitang had gone to arrest Mr. Zhou of the Junshan Society for him, but had not returned. He wondered if she would be in any danger.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile self-deprecatingly. The only people in this world who could harm Duoduo were those few Grandmasters. He picked up the bowl, ate a few mouthfuls of noodles with a *hula hula* sound, and sighed with satisfaction before saying, "Master Ming, this time I have been tricked by you badly."

Ming Qingda knelt beside him and kowtowed repeatedly, trying to please him, "Your Excellency's thoughts are as agile as a long river, and your aura is as majestic as a mountain. How could you care about these small winds around you?"

……

……

(I'm advertising for Third Young Master's new book, but of course, his book doesn't need me to advertise for it in the first place, haha. The name of the new book is *Qin Emperor*, and the book number is 173050. The link is here: