Chapter 394: Black Mud Beneath The White Frost In the City
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"The Overwatch Council charged into Ming Garden like this today because of Mr. Zhou," Ming Qingda glanced at his elderly mother and said evenly. "Do you think we should…"
The old Ming matriarch looked at him coldly. She knew what he meant. Housekeeper Zhou was the main housekeeper of the Ming family, and he was also the account's master of the Junshang Conference. He was too important. If they let the Overwatch Council find him, many of the Junshang Conference's secrets would be known to Fan Xian and, through him, the Emperor.
Regardless of whether it was for the protection of Ming Garden or the safety of the Junshang Conference, housekeeper Zhou had to die. However, there was a problem. The matriarch sighed gently and said, "It's not like you don't know, but Mr. Zhou was sent to us by the Eldest Princess. Whether or not to kill him, it is not our decision to make."
"The search is about to reach the back," Ming Qing said without expression, but a cold smile flashed through his heart.
Junshang Conference? How was an organization at that level something a wealthy and large merchant family like the Ming family should be implicated in? As expected, now that they were past the point of no return, they couldn't get rid of it even they wanted to. He always had a deep prejudice against the old matriarch binding them so close to the side of the Eldest Princess. As for the Junshang Conference, he found it even more necessary to avoid.
The old matriarch slowly closed her eyes. "Relax. Mr. Zhou's safety shouldn't be a problem." The old woman suddenly furrowed her brows and said hesitantly, "There is one matter I still don't understand, why is the imperial envoy so certain that Mr. Zhou is still hidden in Ming Garden? If he doesn't find him, how will he explain it to the world?"
Ming Qingda's heart thumped. A similar look of confusion rose on his face.
The matriarch thought about it and felt a bit tired. She shook her head weakly. Her white hair clearly showed her age.
"I'm tired," The old woman said irritably. "Don't let those Overwatch Councils thugs disturb my rest."
"Relax, mother." Ming Qingda walked to her side and placed both his hands on her shoulders. He seemed to be getting ready to help her stand, in an even voice, he said, "No one will disturb your rest ever again."
…
…
The old matriarch suddenly turned her head back and saw guilt, fear, and malevolence appear then immediately disappear from the eyes of her trueborn son.
Then her mouth was covered with a leather rope wrapped tightly around her throat.
She wanted to cry out but could not make a sound. Her hands were held tightly by her own son. She could only kick with her small feet. They kicked randomly and made clapping sounds.
Endless fear and anger flashed through the old woman's eyes. She stared intensely at her female servant not far from her. She had countless trusted and aides in the manor, but at this moment, none of them were beside her. She didn't know where they had disappeared to.
The female servant glanced at the old Ming matriarch and slowly turned her body around.
The rope at her throat became tighter and tighter. The matriarch could not breathe. A fiery pain was in her chest. Her eyes began to fade. She knew everyone had betrayed her. However, compared to the betrayal, the strong and thick sense of remorse and hatred were even more difficult to suppress. It flowed out with her tears and the saliva from her mouth.
"You have to be more ruthless."
"To succeed in great matters, of course, there needs to be a sacrifice."
All of these words suddenly rang out again, accompanying the ringing in her ear, just before death attacked the old woman's heart. Her eyes bulged. She stared intensely at her trueborn son in front of her.
Ming Qingda lowered his head unwaveringly. He grasped her hands and didn't make a sound.
Perhaps a long time passed, or perhaps it was only a short instant that passed, but the chest of this old Ming matriarch sitting in the grand wheelchair, who controlled Jiangnan from the shadows for decades, gave a muffled thump. Her body suddenly became soft. Her feel dangled lifelessly below the chair and did not make any movements.
When people were old, they should rest.
…
…
The Overwatch Council's search of Ming Garden was not going smoothly. Although no one dared to obstruct them, Deng Zi Yue could feel the anger in the gazes of the people growing stronger and stronger. Furthermore, the guards and hired thugs staring and waiting in the shadows could pull out their weapons and rush up at any moment.
There was no nice way of searching the home. All along the way they overturned tables and chests, and berated everyone in stern voices to return to their rooms. They appeared to have the imposing manner of an evil predator and incited a sense of enmity among everyone in Ming Garden.
However, Deng Zi Yue was not worried. As Commissioner Fan had told him to enter the garden, he must certainly be confident. As expected, although the people looked at him with loathing and hatred, no one dared to obstruct him. However, Ming Garden was too big. After looking for a while, they had only searched half of it and had not found any trace of housekeeper Zhou.
"I am going to search the back garden," Deng Zi Yue said to the young master of the eldest branch, Ming Lanshi, who had been beside him the entire time.
"No!" Ming Lanshi stared intensely at him and harshly said. "What exactly do you want to do? Do you really think the Ming family is so easily dishonored?"
In the back garden lived the woman and relatives. How could it be searched? Ming Lanshi used this as a pretext to kick up a fuss and angrily cursed out the Overwatch Council officials. Deng Zi Yue set his face and refused to budge even a single step. In his hand he held a document written in Fan Xian's own hand on which was the imperial envoy's seal. It was sufficient excuse for a search.
Of course, he couldn't search in the name of the Overwatch Council, he could only do it in the name of the imperial envoy of Jiangnan.
It must be noted that the Overwatch Council was not allowed to be involved in local governmental affairs. They were particularly not allowed to judge civil matters on their own authority. The outing today was a move of hanging a sheep's head while selling dog meat. It could be said that Fan Xian was borrowing soldiers.
The two sides faced off in front of the door to the back garden. The Ming Garden guards had resisted for a long time and couldn't resist anymore. Obscenities flowed out as they cursed endlessly. Under the impassioned emotions, the hired thugs and private soldiers that were supposed to stay hidden at the sides emerged and completely surrounded almost 40 Overwatch Council officials in the center of the yard.
Deng Zi Yue darkened his face and said coldly, "Young master Ming, are we to continue searching…or are you prepared to resist the imperial edict?"
When the imperial envoy was out, they represented the Emperor's wishes. Who dared to resist an edict?
Ming Lanshi's face turned green then white. He tightly gritted his teeth and acted sufficiently humiliated and embarrassed. A moment later, he roared in an angry voice, "Go search! The heaven has eyes! I don't believe that the Overwatch Council won't have retribution in the future for bullying others through force!"
Why would Deng Zi Yue pay attention to all this? With his hand holding the hilt of his simple knife, he stepped toward the back garden.
Unexpectedly, he had not gone 10 steps when someone came rushing out straight into him. He saw the person wore the outfit and accessories of a servant. Based on the quality of her clothing and appearance, she was also an important person in Ming Garden. This girl's face was deathly pale, and her eyes were lifeless. She charged toward the crowd crazily like she had seen a ghost. She cried out indistinctly, "Dead! Dead! Dead!"
Dead?
Deng Zi Yue felt his heart jump and some kind of inauspicious omen. He frowned and stopped the girl. In a severe voice, he asked, "What happened?"
There was a trace of the haughty air of a large family on the girl's face, but right now she seemed to have been overly shocked. Her face was a mask of distress and terror. She trembled for a long time and couldn't say a complete sentence. She could only shake uncontrollably in front of Deng Zi Yue. If he had not ignored taboo and grabbed her arm, she would probably have collapsed to the ground already.
The Overwatch Council people searching the garden did not recognize the girl, but the Ming family people knew her: she was the old matriarch's personal servant and one of her confidantes. Suddenly, everyone from the six branches gathered around. Seeing her expression, they couldn't help being scared and wonder what exactly had happened.
Ming Lanshi urgently grabbed the girl from Deng Zi Yue's hand. Holding onto her collar, he asked, "What's wrong? Who died?"
Deng Zi Yue stood at the side and watched with cold eyes. A strange light flashed through his eyes.
The girl servant was shaken by the young master a few times before she finally regained her senses. Her mouth cracked open. Before she could say anything, she first burst into mournful tears. "Young master, the old matriarch…the old matriarch, she…"
"What happened to the old matriarch?"
"The old matriarch…she's gone!" The girl servant struggled to finish her sentence, then her head tilted and she fainted in Ming Lanshi's arms.
It was like Ming Lanshi had been struck by lightning. He stood there in a daze. For a moment, he couldn't believe his own ears.
The members of the six branches around him all looked at each other with wide eyes and wide mouths, frozen like countless frogs. It seemed they did not know how to use a shocked expression to express their current inner feelings.
The old matriarch was gone?
The old matriarch was gone!
The yard remained deathly silent for a long time. The first cry suddenly exploded out and was followed by rising cries. It was like a grand chorus of singing. The miserable cries and sobs rose and fell in succession. Many people sat down in shock, unable to stand up again no matter what.
Ming Garden was enveloped in an atmosphere of shock and sorrowful rage.
Other than the Fourth Ming master in the Suzhou prison and Master Ming, who was beside the old matriarch, masters from the four branches were present. These four men cried and sobbed. Pushing aside the dazed Ming Lanshi, they lifted their long gowns and charged into the back garden.
Instantly, no one cared about the rule of not entering back garden without permission. No one had to give a cry for the hundreds of people who had appeared in Ming Garden to rush into the back garden accompanied by sobs.
The Overwatch Council officials present looked at each other and had become the most awkward group of people. Deng Zi Yue's pupil constricted and felt a sense of crises. When he had accepted his orders and came to search the garden today, he never thought that it would turn into such a situation.
Although they didn't know how the old matriarch had died, Deng Zi Yue was sure that she had died too miraculously and coincidentally. It was so ingenious that the Overwatch Council wouldn't be able to avoid the responsibility if they tried.
A moment earlier, he caught sight of Ming Lanshi's state of mind, which made more questions arise in the depths of his heart.
The old Ming matriarch's death had shocked everyone in Ming Garden. The guards all rushed out and charged to the Overwatch Council's side. With weapons and bows in their hands, they enveloped the Overwatch Council. Hatred flashed in their gazes.
Deng Zi Yue furrowed his brows slightly and knew that if they made one misstep right now, it would end in a fight. However, before they came, the commissioner had explained clearly, things…shouldn't have developed like this.
He made a prompt decision and ordered his subordinates to enter the back garden. Ming Garden was in a state of chaos, so no one had the time to care about them. Furthermore, those Ming Garden private soldiers holding weapons and watching them would never attack in the place where the old Ming matriarch had died.
…
…
They walked in the back garden for a long time. Following the sounds of crying, Deng Zi Yue saw the ground covered with kneeling people outside of a quiet little garden. He couldn't help feeling a chill in his heart. Sweeping his gaze around, he saw in the large central room, below the rough roof beam, a long white sash with a person hanging from the end. It was an old woman.
The old woman's hands hung by her side. The points of her feet pointed toward the ground, and she swayed in the air with the gentle spring breeze. The scene was just as creepy as it seemed, particularly the pair of bulging eyes that refused to close. The eyes were bloodshot from her final struggle before death and looked out full of hate and dissatisfaction.
Coincidentally, they looked straight at the Overwatch Council officials outside the garden.
Deng Zi Yue was arrested by the sight of the dead person's gaze. He quickly turned his head and ordered his subordinates to be prepared to break out at any moment.
The sound of crying filled the garden. The descendants knelt across the ground, sobbing their eyes out and endlessly kowtowing.
The old Ming matriarch was dead. Ming Garden would certainly hold the Overwatch Council responsible for this debt. With emotions in the crowd running so high, no one knew what would happen. However, the path of retreat had long been blocked by the private soldiers, who watched them like predators with eyes full of hatred. If they were to kill their way out, it would be difficult.
Before long, Ming Qingda, whose forehead was already bleeding from his kowtowing, removed the old matriarch's body from the roof beam with the help of his four brothers. He forcefully suppressed his sorrow and made the related arrangements for the funeral, and then led his four brothers out of the garden.
No one dared to talk. Everyone used their exit to stare at the Overwatch Council officials outside.
Deng Zi Yue had never had this many people want to devour him. The Ming family's gaze already expressed this kind of hatred clearly. He knew that right now they could not retreat. Once they retreated and news of it got out, it would bring great danger to the Overwatch Council. If the moment the old Ming matriarch died, the people of the Overwatch Council fearfully retreated, what was this but an act of a guilty conscience?
He set his face and narrowed his eyes. "The old Ming matriarch colluded with Dongyi and committed suicide for her crimes…temporarily pause the funeral arrangements. After her cause of death has been determined, then proceed."
From the perspective of the Overwatch Council, he had to appear particularly unyielding at this time. For the Ming family, the old ancestor had just died and the Overwatch Council had already accused her of committing suicide for her crimes. No one could endure this.
The Sixth young master loved to wrestle and was a big man with a crude personality. Adding to the fact he was the youngest of the Ming children and always the best loved by the old matriarch, he also had the strongest feelings for the old matriarch. His mother had just suddenly died. In his moment of sorrow and rage, when he heard Deng Zi Yue's words, he turned around, grabbed a chair, and began to bring it down on him.
Deng Zi Yue lifted his knife and blocked the chair with a clunk.
The Sixth young master's eyes were red, and the muscles in his face twisted. In a sharp howl, he said, "Come, beat this group of heartless hired thugs to death!"
The Ming family guards were waiting for this order. In this half year, they had almost been suffocated by the Overwatch Council's suppression. No matter how they bowed and scraped, they were unable to protect themselves. Today, they had even forced the old matriarch to death. Looking at the Overwatch Council officials present, it was like looking at evil dogs that had charged into their home. The crowd roared and rushed forward with their weapons, fearing that they would not attack fiercely enough. Clangs and bangs ran out in the chaotic fight.
From the moment he found about the old matriarch's death, Deng Zi Yue knew that things were going to go wrong and had warned his subordinates to be prepared to do battle. Although the battle came suddenly, none of them were caught off guard. The people of the Fourth Bureau formed into a small defensive circle and pulled out the plain knives at their waists, ready to do battle.
For a while, only the sounds of the wind could be heard, and only the light flashing off the swords and knives could be seen. Occasionally, there was a fresh tragic cry accompanied by the scared screaming of the Ming family women.
Ming Garden had the advantage of numbers. Within the private soldiers, there were a few aces and masters who showed their faces. Many of the Overwatch Council were injured, and blood flowed like it cost nothing.
Although the Fourth Bureau was not a martially powerful yamen of the Overwatch Council, they were, after all, people who had received professional training. Although people were injured, they were immediately replaced by those within the circle. They barely managed to maintain the defensive circle and successfully repel the Ming family's private soldiers' first wave of attack.
But…how long could they last? The Sixth young master was about to go crazy, yelling with all his strength.
There came the light sound of a slap.
The Sixth young master's face received a slap. He turned his head in shock to see his eldest brother's still sorrowful but more so rage-filled face.
Ming Qingda lowered his voice and gritted his teeth. "Do you want the whole clan to die as well?"
Not waiting for the shocked and dazed Sixth young master to reply, Ming Qingda set his face and yelled, "Everyone, stop!"
His voice was not loud and so many people did not hear. Spots of red appeared on Ming Qingda's pale face and he raised his voice to a roar, "Do you want to rebel?"
…
…
After all, he was the Master of this generation in name. After the old matriarch's death, the words "in name" could be removed. Under Ming Qingda's order, all of the thugs in Ming Garden stopped and retreated.
The crowd parted to make a path. Ming Qingda coldly followed the path and walked forwards until he reached the Overwatch Council officials.
The Master of the Ming family looked coldly at Deng Zi Yue like he was looking at an evil dog waiting to die.
Deng Zi Yue did not appear weak at all and smiled coldly. "Master Ming, you asked a good question…are you really going to rebel?"
Ming Qingda's gaze carried a trace of coldness and disdain, yet he still did not say anything. At this time, what response could the Ming family make? Kill the 40 officials of the Overwatch Council in front of them? Without even needing to wait for an edict from Jingdou, Sir Fan junior sitting Suzhou and Governor Xue Qing could mobilize troops at any moment and wipe out Ming Garden.
But…the other party had forced his mother to death.
All of these doubts and painful internal struggles appeared on Ming Qingda's face, and it was all seen by the Ming family and Overwatch Council officials.
"Brother!" The Sixth young master rushed crying to Ming Qingda's side. "They forced mother to her death. We can't let these dogs leave alive."
After everyone in Ming Garden had gradually calmed down, they seemed to all understand the difficulty and struggle in the Ming Master's heart. The Sixth master was not an exception. The mother and son relationship ran deep. How could he endure this anger?
"The humiliation and pain you have brought to the Ming family…" Ming Qingda's mouth trembled slightly. His face was deathly pale as he stared at Deng Zi Yue's and said, "The Ming family will return in tenfold…as for today, kneel and ask forgiveness from the old matriarch, and I shall let you leave the garden."
The Sixth young master could not believe his ears. He urgently said, "Brother, you can't let it go just like this!"
On the contrary, it was Deng Zi Yue standing opposite who narrowed his eyes and said after a moment of thought, "Master Ming, you should know that the Overwatch Council kneels only for the heaven, the earth, and the ruler. We do not kneel for anyone else."
Ming Qingda furrowed his brows. His spirit seemed to have taken a major hit after today's repeated attacks. He stood a bit unsteady and barely managed to hold onto the Sixth master's shoulder, which also prevented the Sixth master from acting rashly. In a hoarse voice, he said, "Then…the good and bad will burn together."
As they were talking, Deng Zi Yue felt the gaze with which Ming Qingda looked at him seemed to be trying to signal some kind of deep hidden meaning, but he couldn't figure it out.
Ming Qingda sighed in his heart. He had not expected the Overwatch Council would be so unyielding to not be willing to make any superficial concessions even in the face of such a dangerous situation. The confrontation continued. It could explode at any moment.
There were always a clever figure or two of the six masters. Seeing that the situation was not right and hearing their eldest brother words, they felt a trace of alarm. As merchants, what right did they have to burn alongside the court? To smash a rock with an egg, putting on this appearance would not make the rock lose anything.
Furthermore, they weren't trueborn sons of the old Ming matriarch. Why should they pay with their lives? So, the Second master and Third master both came around. They put a sorrowful expression on their faces and leaned close to Ming Qingda's ear to urge the Ming Master to put the tens of thousands of lives in the family first and temporarily endure it. They had to slowly plan for the revenge for the old matriarch.
Ming Qingda had personally killed the old matriarch, so he already had a guilty conscience. The paleness of his face was not purposely enacted. In the current situation, he had to act like he and the Overwatch Council could not live under the same sky and the two powers could not co-exist. Now that the Second and Third masters had come out to persuade him, he felt a bit more at ease and put on an expression of a painful struggle.
No one knew how long the confrontation went on when suddenly there was a clamor outside of the garden. Following it was the thundering of hooves and countless riders as their horses crashed in.
Ming Qingda's heart stuttered, thinking, the Overwatch Council's Black Knights were clearly still in Jiangbei, so they couldn't have charged into the Garden right now. Who were the newcomers?
…
…
Thousands of soldiers and their horses swept in with spears as dense as a wooded forest and an impressive military might. Immediately, they separated the Ming family's private soldiers and Overwatch Council officials. For a moment, the dust rose and the grandeur was imposing.
The people who had come were the provincial soldiers the Jiangnan governor had mobilized. Using an urgent order, they had rushed as quickly as possible and made it before the disaster began. They stood between the two groups, who had their swords drawn and bows drawn.
The leader was an experienced general. He had already heard what had happened. With a serious expression, he exchanged some words with Ming Qingda. Originally, he wanted to enter to pay his respects to the old matriarch, but he knew that Ming Garden was not ready, so he could only drop the subject.
Along with the provincial military entering the garden, there was also a member of the Qinian Unit of the Overwatch Council. He moved closer to Deng Zi Yue's side and relayed the two sentences the commissioner had said.
Deng Zi Yue was surprised. It wasn't a problem to retreat right now. With thousands of provincial soldiers' present, even if the Ming family wanted to make a move they wouldn't be able to. The problem was if they did so, did they not make true the fact the Overwatch Council had forced the death of the old Ming matriarch? He did not understand what Fan Xian was thinking. The best response was clearly to mobilize the Black Knights and use this as an excuse to completely wipe out the Ming family.
However, the arrival of the provincial military protected the lives' of the Overwatch Council officials, but they also prevented the possibility of the Black Knights massacring the garden.
As for Deng Zi Yue's suspicions about the cause of the old matriarch's death…only the Suzhou government had the authority to investigate it; the Overwatch Council did not have this authority. However, all of the government officials in the Jiangnan region belonged to the Ming family, so they were certain not to find any problems. He was even more confused. Just what arrangements had the commissioner made? Were they still going to capture housekeeper Zhou? Was he just going to allow the situation to develop like this?
…
…
It was the depths of spring, yet Suzhou was covered in silver adornments and plain wrappings. It was not snow, yet it was colder than snow.
It seemed like all the people of Suzhou were wearing mourning. Those strips of snow-white cloth were like strands of imperial orders, speaking of the Ming family matriarch's benevolence and contributions to the Jiangnan people.
The news of the old Ming matriarch's death seemed to spread throughout Jiangnan in a single night, and the specific circumstances of her death spread through the mouths of different people and became stranger and stranger.
Regardless of which version of events they heard, the blame was all squarely pointed at the Overwatch Council. The anger of the people began to converge, yet they could not, at the moment, find a channel through which to vent it. The Overwatch Council yamen had always been secretive, and so temporarily there hadn't been the heroic scene of tens of thousands of people sealing the door and demanding justice. As for Hua Garden where the imperial envoy lived, it was heavily guarded. The people, for now, did not yet have the daring to demonstrate there.
Thus, everyone could only wear mourning and use the sorrow and anger on their faces, and the hate-filled cursing in the marketplace, to express their silent protest. This was against the Overwatch Council as well as against Sir Fan junior.
The old Ming matriarch's mourning hall had not yet opened, so the officials and nobles from various places who had come to offer their condolences were temporarily living in Suzhou.
The entire city was enveloped in that cold atmosphere and was at odds with the surrounding spring scene.
However, Fan Xian did not care about this. His skin was thick enough, his heart black enough, and his spirit strong enough to be able to pretend the entire city wearing mourning was a movie from his previous life. As for those voices that cursed him from the shadows and in the light, he was able to prevent them from entering his ears.
He sat in the top floor of the Suzhou branch of the Xinfeng Restaurant that he had booked. In his heart, he only worried about Haitang. She had gone in his stead to apprehend Mr. Zhou of the Junshang Conference and had not yet returned. He didn't know if she had run into danger.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help giving a self-mocking laugh. In this world, the only people who could hurt Duoduo were those Great Grandmasters.
He picked up his whole bowl and slurped up some noodles before giving a satisfied sigh. Then, he opened his mouth to say, "Master Ming, I've really been wretchedly played by you this time."
Ming Qingda knelt at his side, repeatedly kowtowing, and fawningly said, "Sir's thinking is as agile as the Yangtze River, and your power is as lofty as a mountain. How could you care about such a tiny breeze around you?"