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Chapter 754 The Saint is Cruel and Merciless (9)

Chapter 754: The Saint is Cruel and Merciless (Part 9)

Since the emperor wanted the Duan family to pay money openly or secretly, Duan Jingwu had no choice but to accept this order. However, since he was the one who was responsible for disaster relief, Duan Jingwu naturally wanted to bring all the victims under his command and enhance the Duan family's reputation among the people.

The Shen family had established the country less than twenty years ago, and their control over the country was far from sufficient. The aristocratic families occupied a large amount of land and also maintained private soldiers.

Although the Duan family was a family of military commanders, they were not short of money. Duan Jingwu's mother was born into one of the wealthiest merchant families in the south. As an only child, she received half of the family's fortune as a dowry when she married.

Duan Jingwu had also lived a life of luxury since he was eight years old. However, his father had forbidden him from indulging in material desires, forcing his wife to store valuables in the warehouse. He was also not allowed to have any beautiful maids among his servants, and was mostly looked after by two servants. When the Duan family went out, their words and actions did not appear extravagant, so that outsiders would think that the Duan family had a decent and noble character.

But those who knew the Duan family well, such as the emperor, knew how wealthy the Duan family was. When they invaded the country, their level of arson, murder, and looting was no less than that of the Shen family. He was also taking this opportunity to weaken the Duan family's power.

Duan Jingwu also wanted the Crown Prince to share some of the pressure, and he didn't really want to squander the family fortune. The Crown Prince wanted to cultivate his own reputation and wouldn't let his future consort's reputation surpass that of the legitimate heir.

When the Crown Prince heard the news, he was indeed furious. Why did his father give Duan Jingwu this opportunity to gain prestige? Wasn't he afraid that Duan Jingwu would take advantage of the opportunity to make money and subjugate the victims?

But the prince did not take the disaster relief matter into his own hands in the court as Duan Jingwu had expected, because the prince went directly to see his father, the emperor. Shen Kang naturally would not hide the truth from his only son and told him the truth.

The Crown Prince suddenly realized, "Father is wise. This is a perfect opportunity to not only solve the problem of disaster relief and food supplies, but also to test the Duan family's background and see if they are truly loyal to you."

"Everyone in the court is putting on an act, but I really don't think I know what they're thinking behind the scenes. Humph. My son, I plan to send the loyal and brave Marquis Zhuang Xingwei to wipe out the remnants of the previous dynasty."

"The Crown Princess will be delighted to know that her brother has been entrusted with such an important task. Thank you, Father, for your appreciation of the Zhuang family."

"The old Loyal and Brave Marquis passed away unexpectedly three years ago. He observed three years of mourning. Now it's time for him to take over and work for me."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. Marquis Zhongyong's martial arts skills are no less than Duan Jingwu's. He will definitely return victorious."

The Crown Prince returned to the Eastern Palace and told the Crown Princess about this. The Crown Princess was of course very happy. Although she was worried about her brother, she thought that even if he couldn't win, Duan Jingwu could escape back, so there was no reason why her brother couldn't.

The imperial edict arrived at the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery’s mansion that same day.

Mingli visited Zhuang's mansion that night. Those who could be entrusted with important tasks by the dog emperor were naturally his confidants, that is, those who had a grudge against her Ming family. Back then, the Zhuang family followed the Shen family into the palace and were the running dogs of Emperor Shen.

As for the previous Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery, he was of course dealt with by someone she sent to devise a plan. The claim that he died from a recurrence of an old injury was just a fig leaf for the Zhuang family.

In fact, he died in the struggle between the concubine and the wife in the backyard. The wife felt that her daughter was already the Crown Princess and could not tolerate a concubine around to be an eyesore. She wanted the concubine dead and accidentally poisoned the master. Mingli felt that this was a good death for him.

For the sake of the Crown Princess and her own life, Old Lady Zhuang concealed the truth, killed the concubine, and created an accident in which the master died in the concubine's bed.

Of course, this way of death was kept secret by the banker, and of course some other families also got wind of it and knew that the Marquis died in an ignominious way.

Zhuang Xingwei was supposed to lead troops to war, but was confined to his home for the sake of mourning. He watched Duan Jingwu get promoted and become famous while his own family gradually declined. He couldn't help but feel jealous of the Duan family. Now that he heard the good news, the whole family was celebrating.

Mingli watched everyone in the Zhuang Mansion from a secret corner and confirmed that Zhuang Xingwei posed no threat to her. He couldn't even find her trace, which meant that his martial arts skills were just so-so and not worth mentioning.

She could enter the study whenever she wanted. The security was lax and the secret compartments inside were easy to find. She had read all the important letters and account books.

It was too easy to explore the Zhuang Mansion at night, so Mingli decided to go back and rest. However, before leaving, she heard something funny.