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

Chapter 138 Emperor Qing: How can you expect me to calm down?!

It was late at night, past midnight.

The light was still on in the study in the backyard of the prefectural government office.

Wu Feng sat in a chair, his embroidered spring knife beside him, and closed his eyes to rest.

Footsteps came from outside the door.

Xie Yu pushed open the door and came in, still carrying the night wind from outside. His official robes were a little wrinkled, and his face showed fatigue, but his eyes were bright.

He walked up to Wu Feng, cupped his hands and said, "Lord Wu, all those I noticed before, and those you discovered today, in Suzhou City have now been captured and are imprisoned in the yamen jail."

Wu Feng opened his eyes, his face calm.

He looked at Xie Yu and asked, "Who coordinated with Qiu Wuhua and Darba?"

Not long ago, when he received a message from Chen Pingping via carrier pigeon saying that someone had been sent, he had already ordered Qingyutang to keep an eye on suspicious people in the city.

Qingyutang has been operating in Suzhou for many years, and many merchants in the city are involved with Qingyutang.

However, Qingyutang has not found Qiu Wuhua and Darba in the past few days, so he does not believe that no one in Suzhou City is cooperating with the two.

Xie Yu's face darkened, and he lowered his voice: "It's the Gu family."

Wu Feng's eyes turned cold.

Xie Yu continued, "The Gu family has secretly made contact with higher-ups, and this matter is also related to the Xia family's water fortress."

Gu Family, Xia Family Water Village.

Wu Feng tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of the chair.

The three major families of Suzhou, the Su family and the Cui family, each have their own share in the business of the three major workshops.

The Gu family's offer was not as substantial as that of the Su and Cui families, and they were unable to secure a sales share from the three major workshops. Consequently, the Gu family's standing in Suzhou began to decline.

Perhaps that's why the Gu family is taking a risk in an attempt to break through their current predicament.

As for Xia Family Water Village —

It's likely that they felt they had an advantage in the waterways of Suzhou, and it's also possible that Xia Qifei, the eldest son of the Ming family, was involved, which is why they got involved in this matter.

But no matter what, now that he has made his choice, he is determined to destroy both the Gu family and the Xia family's water stronghold!

"Do the Su and Cui families know about this?" Wu Feng asked Xie Yu again.

Xie Yu shook his head: "We haven't found anything yet, but some members of the Su and Cui families have done some outrageous things, and we brought them all back this time."

"Su Peisheng, the head of the Su family, and Cui Guoming, the head of the Cui family, each sent 500,000 taels of silver, stating that they had all given up on the family members who had been arrested."

Wu Feng said calmly, "They're smart enough to know what's good for them."

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the night.

"Send General Jiang to the Xia family's water stronghold and wipe them out." His voice was calm. "A bunch of water bandits, do they really think they're worthy of being seated at the table?"

Xie Yu immediately cupped his hands in greeting: "Understood."

Wu Feng turned around: "Take me to see the Gu family."

"7

Xie Yu nodded: "Lord Wu, please follow me."

The prefectural government's prison.

The cell was dimly lit, and the air was thick with the dampness and the smell of blood.

Torches were stuck in the wall, their flames flickering and casting dim light and shadow on the bluestone floor.

The direct descendants of the Gu family were imprisoned separately in two cells.

Some looked calm, while others were terrified, huddled in a corner trembling.

Gu Qingshan sat on a pile of hay against the wall, his face ashen, but his eyes had regained their calm.

He didn't expect Li Yunrui to be so decisive, giving them no room for argument, and directly overturning the table and arresting everyone.

Just then, footsteps came from outside.

Gu Qingshan looked up at the prison cell door.

Zhao Bantou led the way, carrying a lantern. Wu Feng's figure appeared in the dim light, with Xie Yu following behind him.

The two stopped in front of the cell.

Wu Feng looked calmly at Gu Qingshan through the cell bars.

"Isn't it good to be alive?"

Gu Qingshan raised his head, his voice slightly hoarse: "Lord Wu, you jest. The Su family and the Cui family have obtained the sales rights for the goods from the three major workshops. With one gaining and the other losing, do you think my Gu family still has room to survive in Suzhou in the future?"

Wu Feng looked at him, his expression remaining calm.

"With the Gu family's resources, they can still live very well even without the businesses of the three major workshops."

"Let me guess, you made such a risky choice because you thought I would be afraid that your superiors wouldn't take action, or—you thought that even if I did take action, I would still leave room for your family?"

Gu Qingshan did not deny it.

"I did have that thought," he said, "but I didn't expect Professor Wu to be so decisive and ruthless, leaving no room for compromise."

Wu Feng looked at him, his tone gradually turning cold.

"I am not Ye Qingmei. My principle is that as long as I have the power, I will eliminate any threat at all."

Gu Qingshan's expression didn't change much after hearing this.

He simply stared at Wu Feng for a few moments, then closed his eyes.

"The victor is king, the loser is villain; why should Lord Wu say such things now?"

Just then, soft footsteps could be heard outside the cell.

Chunmei walked in from outside.

Wu Feng nodded.

He glanced at Gu Qingshan, who had his eyes closed, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

Chunmei's voice came from behind, calmly: "Bring the person out and take them to the lakeside cottage."

Gu Qingshan opened his eyes, and a hint of fear finally flashed in them.

Two days later.

In the morning, in Kyoto, at the Imperial Palace, in the Imperial Study.

Emperor Qing sat on a soft couch, holding the intelligence report about Suzhou that Eunuch Hou had just presented to him.

As he watched, the expression on his face changed from calm to shock, and then from shock to disbelief.

All the major and minor factions in Suzhou City that did not side with Li Yunrui were completely eradicated.

Including the two county magistrates, the Gu family whom he secretly recruited, and the Xia family's water fortress?!

Furthermore, the imperial court was not informed, and the emperor was not given any face whatsoever!

Emperor Qing slammed his hand on the low table next to him.

"presumptuous!"

He roared, his voice echoing throughout the imperial study.

"Li Yunrui! How dare she!"

"Does she even respect me anymore?!"

"Is she planning a rebellion?!"

Eunuch Hou was already trembling with fear. He knelt down with a thud, his forehead pressed to the ground, his voice trembling: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger—"

Emperor Qing stared intently at Eunuch Hou with eyes that seemed to blaze with fire.

"How can you expect me to calm down?!"

He stood up, walked a few steps in the imperial study, then stopped, turned around and stared at Eunuch Hou.

"Princess Li Yunrui is slapping me in the face!"

Eunuch Hou knelt on the ground, not daring to raise his head or say anything.

Emperor Qing's chest heaved violently.

After a few breaths, he took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and said in a deep voice, "Issue an edict summoning Prime Minister Su, the Minister of Revenue, the Minister of War, and the Minister of Personnel to see me immediately!"

Eunuch Hou scrambled to his feet, his voice still trembling, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

He bowed and quickly left the imperial study, his footsteps soon disappearing into the corridor.

Only Emperor Qing's heavy breathing remained in the imperial study.

He stood by the window, gazing at the lake outside, his eyes filled with a terrifyingly gloomy expression.