AWB Chapter 374: Family ruined
Chapter 374: Family ruined
Chapter 374 Family Destroyed and People Killed
When Zhu Youjian learned of Wang Wenzhou's assassination, he was furious. The assassination of a high-ranking official of the Ming Dynasty was a disgrace to the nation. Moreover, Wang Wenzhou was someone he relied on. In order to win over Wang Wenzhou, Zhu Youjian did not hesitate to put aside his pride and sent Wang Wenzhou beautiful women to play with under the guise of selecting palace maids.
Zhu Youjian rushed to the residence of Duke Zhongyi immediately.
Looking at Wang Wenzhou, whose face was pale on the bed, Zhu Youjian felt very heartbroken. Boxin had suffered this misfortune because of the Ming Dynasty!
Wang Wenzhou's babies, including Zhang Jiao who had just arrived in Beijing, all stood by the bedside with heartache, except for Wang Ying, who was not there.
Gao Guilan wiped away her tears and asked with a wronged expression, "Your Majesty, who exactly wants me dead?"
All the babies' eyes were on Zhu Youjian.
Zhu Youjian pondered for a moment and replied, "As I expected, this matter should be the work of the Tartars. You should know what Boxin did in Liaodong. It was Boxin who forced the Tartars to negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, the conditions Boxin offered were very harsh, and the Tartars resented Boxin, which is why they sent someone to assassinate him."
Zhang Jiao said coldly, "Your Majesty, my husband is devoted to the country. You must avenge him!"
Zhu Youjian nodded and said, "Rest assured, my mind is made up. I will no longer negotiate with the Tartars. We will go to war with them."
"Imperial Physician Wen, you all stay at the Duke Zhongyi's residence and take good care of Wang Wenzhou," Zhu Youjian ordered.
"Your Majesty, I obey!" Physician Wen replied hastily.
Zhu Youjian looked at Liu Rushi and said, "Bo Xin and I are like brothers, so I will call you sister-in-law. Don't worry, sister-in-law, I will definitely avenge Bo Xin. If Bo Xin wakes up, I will definitely send someone to the palace to deliver a message."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Liu Rushi quickly expressed her gratitude. She felt there was something very strange about Wang Wenzhou's assassination attempt. Logically, even if the Tartars wanted Wang Wenzhou dead, they shouldn't have assassinated him at this time, given that the Tartars were begging for peace with the Ming Dynasty.
Besides, Huang Taiji has an empress, two imperial concubines, and Dodo's wife, all of whom are being held hostage in his residence. Has Huang Taiji gone mad and wants them dead?
The Ming Dynasty, however, was unwilling to negotiate peace. Wang Wenzhou had been assassinated, and judging from Zhu Youjian's demeanor, he seemed intent on immediately waging war against the Tartars. Liu Rushi felt that this was most likely not the work of the Tartars, but rather the work of the Ming's pro-war faction, the Donglin Party.
Zhu Youjian glanced at Wang Wenzhou on the bed again and said, "I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."
"Respectfully seeing off Your Majesty!" Wang Wenzhou's babies immediately knelt down to see him off.
As soon as Zhu Youjian left, Liu Rushi ordered, "Xiaoqiang, immediately send men to seal off the entire mansion. No one is allowed to leave the mansion without my order!"
"Okay, sister-in-law, I'll take care of it right away!" Wang Qiang nodded.
"Wait! Xiaoqiang, invite Elder Wang Zhixin over, and also have Wang Ying come over. Let's discuss this," Liu Rushi continued.
"Yes!" Wang Qiang knew the seriousness of the situation. If the young master was seriously injured and died, it would be a real problem.
In a short while, the entire group arrived, and Liu Rushi spoke up, saying, "I have a feeling that Wang Wenzhou's assassination attempt was not carried out by the Tartars!"
Wang Zhixin frowned, nodded, and said, "The Tartars want to negotiate, but the assassination of the young master is a disruption of the peace talks. The Tartars couldn't possibly not have thought of this."
Wang Ying turned pale with fright and exclaimed in surprise, "Could it be the Emperor's doing?"
Wang Ying was Zhu Youjian's baby, and she knew him best. When she said this, everyone present was shocked.
Liu Rushi gently shook her head and said, "Logically speaking, my nemesis is deeply favored by the Emperor. Yesterday, the Emperor even sent my nemesis's daughter to play with. If the Emperor wanted to kill my nemesis, he would have many ways to do so and would not resort to such a desperate measure."
"Sigh..." Wang Zhixin sighed and said helplessly, "Young Master has made too many enemies. The civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty wish for Young Master's death."
Liu Rushi said coldly, "At this moment, we should prepare for the worst. What should we do if our enemy is seriously injured and dies?"
Zhang Jiao wiped away her tears and said, "My husband once instructed us that if anything happened to him, we should immediately take the money and go to Shengjing to live as wealthy men in anonymity."
Wang Zhixin said with a wry smile, "Young Master is afraid of making too many enemies, and that after his death, civil and military officials will take revenge on his wife and children."
“No!” Liu Rushi shook her head and said with a wry smile, “When Wang Wenzhou said this, he hadn’t even entered the capital yet; he was still in Hanshan. I think he didn’t think the Ming Dynasty could defeat the Qing Dynasty.”
"Huh?" Wang Zhixin was dumbfounded. How could the young master look down on Daming like this?
Gao Guilan cried out, "Uncle can't die! I haven't even given you a baby yet!"
Liu Rushi said irritably, "Stop crying! Now is not the time to cry!"
Gao Guilan wiped away her tears and said aggrievedly, "Why don't we go and seek refuge with my father! My father has a strong and well-equipped army, he won't treat us badly!"
The children glanced at Gao Guilan with disdain. "If you want to be a traitor, go ahead. We don't want to be traitors!"
Liu Rushi said coldly, "Regardless of whether the Emperor was behind this, he is wary of our enemies. I want to donate all the shares of Hanshan Supermarket and Hanshan Bank to fund the Ming Dynasty's attack on the Tartars!"
"Huh?" Everyone was dumbfounded. Of the three major groups founded by Wang Wenzhou, Hanshan Express was seized by Zhu Youjian, Hanshan Bank was nearly dead due to Zhu Youjian's diversion of funds, and only Hanshan Supermarket remained a golden goose. The children didn't understand why Liu Rushi wanted to donate Hanshan Supermarket as well.
Liu Rushi explained, "Some time ago, I forced my enemy to become a monk so that the Emperor would believe that my enemy had no ambition. If my enemy doesn't wake up, the civil and military officials will definitely take revenge! We are an orphan and a widow, and we can only rely on the Emperor for protection."
Wang Ying said with a wry smile, "No need to worry, my nemesis is lucky and will be fine."
Liu Rushi said helplessly, "The imperial physician said that my enemy has lost too much blood and won't wake up for three to five days. The capital is not Hanshan; we can't give him a blood transfusion here. Moreover, the imperial physician also said that my enemy might not wake up at all. Let's assume the best-case scenario: my enemy will wake up in three to five days. But in these few days, those who have grudges against my enemy will definitely seek revenge. They dare to assassinate even my enemy; what else wouldn't they do? If it weren't for the Emperor's protection, we might end up with our family destroyed in these few days."
Everyone nodded in agreement; that made sense. Wang Wenzhou's father was in Nanjing, too far away to intervene. His father-in-law, Zhang Zhiji, had recently fallen ill and returned to Nanjing to recuperate. As for his other father-in-law, Tian Wan, Old Tian wished Wang Wenzhou were dead. Of course, he would help Wang Wenzhou for his daughter's sake, but he was originally a relative of the imperial family and had no real power. After Consort Tian's death, his influence diminished even further, and even if he wanted to help, he was powerless to do so.
Liu Rushi said coldly, "It's settled then! Xiaoqiang, you immediately send a letter to Hanshan, informing Sheng Lan and Zhang Rong that they must cooperate with this matter no matter what!"
Wang Qiang looked at Wang Zhixin questioningly.
Wang Zhixin nodded and said, "Money can be earned back. Young Master is lucky and will definitely wake up. Once he wakes up, with his money-making skills, what are you afraid of?"