This Qingyan flower might have been cultivated by the Heyu family, with the purpose of controlling the entirety of Linggui Kingdom.
From royalty down to the common folk, if everyone were to be used by them, then Linggui Kingdom would naturally become the Heyu family's possession.
This would also explain why the Iron King Eagle Squad had previously detected a faint, peculiar scent on the people of Linggui Kingdom.
That scent was approximately the same as the Qingyan flower scent that had once been on his mother.
Linggui Kingdom was located near Liangzhou. It would be much faster for Uncle and the others to investigate this matter, and perhaps the mole within the Feng family's second branch could also be exposed.
The speed of communication from the Ding Wang Manor was naturally not to be underestimated. Soon, the letter was delivered to Feng Shan.
After reading it with a solemn expression, he handed it to his wife beside him. Madam Hua took it and her eyes were filled with coldness.
"I knew pursuing the matter of the Heyu family would not be wrong. As for who it is, I suppose it's self-evident."
Feng Shan had already understood Madam Hua's implied meaning.
However, he couldn't understand why that person would do such a thing.
"Generosity breeds gratitude, but too much can breed enmity. Isn't this an eternal truth, my lord?"
That person had instigated so many things behind their backs, not only bringing disaster upon their second branch but also nearly implicating his elder brother's family. At this moment, Madam Hua wished she could lash out immediately.
But Feng Shan did not respond.
Madam Hua did not urge him either. Having been married for many years, Feng Shan always needed time to think things through on his own when making a decision, so Madam Hua gave him ample space.
After a long while, when Feng Shan spoke again, his initial incomprehension was gone. "Madam, please handle this matter. There's no need to report back to me. Everything must be for the benefit of the Feng family."
"Yes, my lord."
Feng Shan's leg injury had not fully healed, and coupled with the matter of submitting the mine's yield, he was already overwhelmed. Therefore, it was most appropriate to leave this matter to Madam Hua to handle.
As soon as Madam Hua left the room, she summoned a trusted subordinate, whispered a few words to them, and then the subordinate quickly disappeared into the courtyard.
Not long after, Feng Jin Hao heard that Uncle Zhuang, who was by his side, had been arrested.
The other party had not concealed their actions at all, apprehending the man and taking him away directly. No one knew where he had been taken.
When the report came from his subordinates, Feng Jin Hao felt a flicker of panic, but it quickly subsided.
He had been causing trouble behind their backs for so long. If Feng Shan and Madam Hua hadn't discovered it, he himself would have found it ridiculous.
Uncle Zhuang was the person who had given him the most warmth over the years, aside from Concubine Guo Shi. Therefore, no matter what, he could not give up on him.
Thus, after making arrangements for many matters, he walked alone into Madam Hua's courtyard.
At this moment, she was seated high in the main hall. Below her was Feng Jin Hua, glaring at him fiercely, seemingly having learned everything.
He didn't care how this "brother," with whom he had never been close since childhood, viewed him.
He got straight to the point and asked.
"Where is Uncle Zhuang?"
"Why keep the belongings of someone who betrayed their master? His legs have been broken, his tongue cut out, and he's been thrown out to fend for himself."
Madam Hua said this without any change in her tone, as if in her eyes, she was merely dealing with a kitten or puppy.
Feng Jin Hao clenched his fists, looking at Madam Hua, wishing he could rush forward and tear her face apart.
"Considering we raised you, tell us, why did you frame our Feng family like this?"
Upon hearing this, Feng Jin Hao suddenly burst into wild laughter. The Feng family, "us," these words had never included him.
He had once strived to become the fourth young master everyone admired, but now, he wished the Feng family would perish this very moment to quell the hatred in his heart.
"Feng Jin Hao, you are truly ungrateful! Father took you in out of pity for your orphaned state, providing you with food, clothing, education, and even supporting your travels. Look at what you've done to Father! What have you done to the Feng family?"
Feng Jin Hua, from his perspective, could not understand his actions at all.
He was a prime example of repaying kindness with enmity. Although he wasn't very close to this fourth brother, he had never caused him trouble.
Unfortunately, what Feng Jin Hua saw as kindness was poison to Feng Jin Hao.
"Raising me like a cat or dog was merely to showcase your so-called benevolence. You left me with the concubine and never looked after me. Even when I made mistakes, you never reprimanded me. Did you truly consider me family?"
Hearing this, Madam Hua laughed in anger.
"What, giving you good food, drink, and clothes was wrong? You should have been left to wander the streets, is that it?"
She completely failed to understand what Feng Jin Hao meant.
He had been provided with generous material conditions, and now he expected them to offer him affection?
Her own three children had been raised by wet nurses. Where did Feng Jin Hao get the idea that they should have been by his side day and night!
At this moment, Feng Jin Hao deeply understood the meaning of "it's useless to say more when you don't see eye to eye."
In their eyes, he was an ungrateful wretch. But no one knew that in his youth, he had often stood by the courtyard gate, hoping and waiting to see Feng Shan or Madam Hua pass by, so he could tell them about what he had learned recently.
But all that was in the past.
One day, two days, one year, two years.
The only ones by his side were Concubine Guo Shi and Uncle Zhuang. He only saw the two heads of the Feng family and the matriarch at banquets during festivals.
At some point, the seed of obsession fell into his heart and began to take root and sprout.
The death of Concubine Guo Shi further intensified this obsession.
They were all people forgotten in this grand mansion, as insignificant as dust, unheeded.
Therefore, he wanted to stir things up, to scheme, to cause chaos. Only by seeing them all in pain could his own unplaceable suffering find a cathartic release.
"It's useless to say more now. Since you already know it was me, then proceed. It's just one life, after all."
He was completely indifferent. He had struggled through life without enjoying it or being valued. Such an end was something he had foreseen long ago.
If the Feng family were to fall because of his schemes, he wouldn't necessarily be happy.
A place he both loved and hated, a group of people he both resented and cherished, had shaped the first half of his life. He lived a painful existence.
Therefore, death held no fear for him; rather, it was a release.
Madam Hua, having been in the business world for so many years, naturally could not tolerate such transgressions.
Feng Jin Hao's actions had crossed her bottom line. She had not failed to nurture this child she had taken in.