AWB Chapter 2113 Backstabbing
Chapter 2113 Backstabbing
Mu Huanying's gaze, like two cold searchlights, slowly moved toward Hou Wanjin, a bald old man in the corner of the crowd who was trying to shrink himself in and blend into the wall.
When Hou Wanjin met that gaze, he shuddered as if he had been branded with a hot iron, and his already sallow face became even more ashen.
He instinctively wanted to hide behind Yan Qinghe and Zong Wangshan, but found that his two colleagues were already in dire straits and had quietly distanced themselves from him, afraid of being implicated.
"Hou Wanjin," Mu Huanying's voice was devoid of any warmth, "among the five lower-ranking families, why was your Hou family mentioned last? It's because your Hou family is the most righteous and the most pragmatic!"
These words are laced with sarcasm; they sound like a compliment, but are actually incredibly cutting.
Hou Wanjin naturally understood the implication of those words. His lips twitched, and he forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Sister Mu... you flatter me. My family is truly a poor, declining family, unworthy of such high praise! Our Hou family... has always been kind to others; it's all thanks to my brothers for supporting me..."
"Be kind to others?"
Mu Huanying gave a cold laugh, the mocking smile on her lips deepening. "You certainly know how to lie low, waiting for five years!"
Upon hearing this, Hou Wanjin's expression changed. He knew that his crimes were about to be exposed. He couldn't help but swallow hard and subconsciously raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
"In the spring of 45, twenty-four ships of goods temporarily stored by the Mu family at the Tongzhou Wharf, including furs, medicinal herbs, and mountain products transported from outside the Great Wall, were seized by armed personnel who claimed to be inspectors of smuggling!"
At this point, Yan Qinghe and Zong Wangshan unconsciously exchanged a glance.
"At that time, the Yan family, the Zong family, and even your Ye family among the five lower families all got wind of the situation to some extent, and each of them secretly plotted to get a share of the pie!"
"You, Hou Wanjin, are quite something. On the surface, you're on friendly terms with Yan Qinghe, Zong Wangshan, Qian Houjin, and others, discussing countermeasures and agreeing to work together to smooth things over and get rid of the docked cargo ships. Then you'll split the profits according to how much you contribute!"
Mu Huanying paused deliberately at this point, her gaze sweeping over Yan Qinghe and Zong Wangshan, whose expressions had suddenly changed.
The two seemed to recall some unpleasant past events, and their gazes toward Hou Wanjin suddenly became suspicious and uncertain, even carrying a hint of anger at being fooled.
“However,” Mu Huanying’s voice suddenly turned cold, like an icicle piercing a veil of pretense, “you, Hou Wanjin, have secretly taken a different path!”
"Sister Mu!"
Upon hearing this, Hou Wanjin dared not let Mu Huanying continue. Instead, he hurriedly took a step forward, shaking his head with pleading and resentment in his eyes, "I beg you, please don't..."
"Brother Hou! Calm down!" But Du Xingyue seemed to know that he would stop Mu Huanying from continuing, so he waved his hand, and his eight bodyguards instantly formed a wall, blocking him out of the door.
"With me here today, no one can lay a finger on Sister Mu!" Du Xingyue said coldly.
"..." Hou Wanjin's face fell. He tried to push away the eight Vajra Warriors, but he was instantly surrounded and trapped in an iron hole, unable to move. He felt utterly desperate.
"Hmph, Hou Wanjin, do you dare to do it but not admit it?" Mu Huanying sneered.
Hou Wanjin's face fell, and he subconsciously looked at Yan Qinghe and Zong Wangshan.
Sensing something, Zong Wangshan frowned and shouted, "Old Hou, what have you done?"
Hou Wanjin did not answer.
Yan Qinghe's brows suddenly furrowed. He guessed what had happened and looked at the surrounded Hou Tuzi in disbelief.
"You—behind your good brothers Yan Qinghe and Zong Wangshan!" Mu Huanying pointed at the two of them and shouted, "You went to the head of the water police in charge of this matter at the time, not to bribe him, but to report him!"
"You provided so-called 'conclusive evidence' to accuse the ship of carrying contraband opium, and implied that the real owner of the shipment had an unclear relationship with the Yan family and even the Ye family."
"The condition is that after the goods are confiscated, your Hou family will keep 50% of the proceeds from the sale, and the rest will be divided between the water police and their leaders!"
"What?!" Zong Wangshan was the first to explode upon hearing this. He was already irritable, and now his eyes were bloodshot. He turned sharply to Hou Wanjin and said, "Fuck you, you bald Hou! How many connections did I pull back and how many gold bars did I spend on that batch of goods back then! And you dare to stab me in the back!"
Yan Qinghe's face was also ashen as he stared intently at Hou Wanjin, his eyes flashing with the cold light of betrayal.
"So it was you who did this! I was wondering how twenty-four ships of cargo could suddenly be confiscated!"
Although Ye Ruyan did not speak, her eyes were filled with contempt and hatred as she looked at Hou Wanjin.
The internal rifts within the Lower Five Factions were already there, and now that Mu Huanying had publicly exposed this sordid affair of double-crossing from back then, the rifts deepened even further, and the fragile alliance between them vanished instantly.
Hou Wanjin's face was deathly pale, and his lips trembled as he said, "Slander! This is blatant slander! Mu Huanying, you'll fabricate any lie you want to sow discord between us brothers!"
"Sowing discord?"
Mu Huanying snorted coldly, pulled out a yellowed, charred piece of letter paper from her notebook, and showed it to everyone.
"This is the draft of the secret letter you wrote to the head of the water police back then. It was secretly hidden by a literate maid in your household, who was planning to blackmail you!"
"It clearly shows the final distribution of the spoils, as well as the key points of the report! The maid later escaped after failing to extort money and ended up in Tianjin! Ten years ago, when I was investigating this matter, she found me and exchanged this for two hundred yuan! The records are all here with me!"
The proof is like a mountain!
Even secret letters!
Hou Wanjin was struck as if by lightning. He staggered backward and crashed into the wall. Snow from the roof pelted down his neck, making him scream in pain, but he could no longer speak.
He thought his actions were secret, never expecting that the letter he burned in his study would be picked up and preserved by a maid in the mansion. He also never imagined that such evidence would eventually end up in Mu Huanying's hands!
The other four members of the Lower Five Fakes looked at Hou Wanjin with a gaze that had changed from initial sympathy for his plight to hatred that wished they could tear him apart.
They then realized why, despite their hard-won investigation into where that priceless shipment was docked, nothing ever came of it, and all the distribution costs they had invested were wasted.
And why do unexpected changes occasionally occur in many subsequent events?
It turns out they were stabbed in the back by their own people, who then ate all the profits!
"Hou Wanjin, you bald Hou, you fucking deserve to die!" Zong Wangshan was so angry that his nostrils were practically steaming.
But Mu Huanying had no interest in watching the dogfight. Her gaze, heavier with each passing moment, fell upon the representatives of the last four families who had been trying to remain calm, but whose foreheads were already dripping with cold sweat.
Chen Wang Lu Han was a member of the fifth rank in the imperial examinations from a prominent family in Yanjing.
Compared to the opportunistic and cunning schemes of the lower five families, the encroachment of these four families on the Mu family's assets back then was more direct, more massive, and more...deeply rooted!
"Chen Nianyao—"