It was just that the Feng and Hua families had encountered some trouble in their business dealings at the time, so both she and Feng Shan had shifted their focus.
She barely had time to accompany her own biological children, let alone the outsider Feng Jin Hao.
Assigning Concubine Guo to take care of him was also done with care.
She was gentle and good-tempered. Although she was not very literate, she had no vulgar habits. It was just a pity that she lived for too short a time.
If she knew that the child she had raised was now trying to destroy the entire Feng family with his own hands, how heartbroken she would be in the afterlife.
After a moment of regret, Hua Shi was a decisive person. If one was soft-hearted in business, one would ultimately perish.
It was the same when dealing with Feng Jin Hao.
"Sever it yourself. I will handle your funeral arrangements properly."
A clear tear streamed down Feng Jin Hao's cheek. At this moment, he didn't know if it was relief or something else. He felt that everything was about to end, whether he let go or not, everything had to, and should, come to an abrupt halt.
When he opened his eyes again, he no longer had any emotions.
"I can die, but I want to be buried beside my parents. My fate with them in this life was too shallow; in the next life, I still want to be their son."
"Alright."
This request was not excessive. Even the most wicked person would want to be buried with their loved ones after death.
So Hua Shi agreed to his request.
Then, leaving a bottle of medicine, she turned and left.
Feng Jin Hua felt a pang of reluctance, but she also knew that betraying and framing the Feng family, and being granted a whole corpse and preserving her reputation, was already the last bit of dignity her mother had given him.
So, gritting her teeth, she followed and left.
Until the last moment of his life, Feng Jin Hao slowly recalled the scene when he first came to the Feng family as a child.
Feng Shan had once held him in his arms and doted on him, and Hua Shi had cared for him when he was ill. All of this had become locked away memories due to his own obsession.
And those amplified emotions, resentment, hatred, and dissatisfaction... all vanished at this moment.
An hour later, a servant reported that the Fourth Young Master had suddenly fallen ill and passed away.
Hua Shi's hand, clutching a handkerchief, tightened slightly, then she said calmly.
"Arrange the funeral for the Fourth Young Master. Handle everything according to the rules, and bury him in a good location next to his parents' graves."
"Yes!"
The "mother-son affection" of half a lifetime thus settled with Feng Jin Hao's death, but the secret investigation into Ling Gui Kingdom and the Azure Flame Flower was not over.
If Feng Jin Xu's guess was correct, it seemed that the Crane Feather family's ambitions extended beyond just Ling Gui Kingdom.
It was likely that sending the Azure Flame Flower to the capital through the second branch was just the first step. Once Madam Feng was under their control, Cui Tou would have her find a way to send this flower to the backyards of officials' residences.
In just three to five years, a large portion of the powerful families in Dong Du City would be under their command.
At that time, the Great Jin would be controlled by the Crane Feather family with no effort.
Controlling the Great Jin was equivalent to controlling the surrounding neighboring countries.
Then, Ling Gui Kingdom would truly be the most powerful nation, and the Crane Feather family would be the true rulers of this world! Such ambition, such calculation, was indeed a formidable and interconnected scheme.
The Wei family thought they had bought Feng Jin Hao and could destroy the Feng family, but in the end, they discovered that they were merely pawns being manipulated.
It was truly laughable.
"Madam, the investigation into the Azure Flame Flower will be entrusted to you. This matter must be handled with extreme caution, as the Crane Feather family is not to be trifled with."
"My lord, rest assured. I already have considerable evidence. It won't be long before the Crane Feather family's spies in Liangzhou are uprooted."
He naturally trusted Hua Shi's methods and capabilities.
Now, all his attention was focused on the mine. The memorial submitted had already been sent to Dong Du City, and they would likely send people to take over soon. Before that, all business related to the mine needed to be settled clearly.
Doing business with the government was the most troublesome.
He did not want to be involved. Since he decided to withdraw, he wanted to withdraw completely and cleanly.
Even if the imperial court wanted to cause him trouble in the future, there would be no trace to be found.
As expected, when the news reached Dong Du City, Emperor Qi was pleased. The annexation of the mine meant another layer of power for him. The Feng family had foresight, but the Wei family did not see it that way.
Along with the news of the mine's submission, there was also the news of Feng Jin Hao's death. Duke Wei did not need to think to know that the second branch must have discovered something, which led to his death.
Whether the Wei family was implicated was still unknown. Their influence in Liangzhou was now far less than before.
Xiao Ji and Feng Shan were indeed old foxes. Under the guise of rebuilding Liangzhou, they had investigated many hidden operatives throughout the region. Under various pretexts, some were imprisoned, some were expelled from Liangzhou, and some were even directly conscripted into the army for hard labor.
All his years of planning and arrangements in Liangzhou were wasted.
Therefore, Duke Wei was uncertain at this moment about the underlying intention behind the Feng family's surrender of the mine.
Thus, he incited people in the court to obstruct the Feng family.
In the end, it all boiled down to the Feng family's intentions not being pure, and the Emperor should be extremely cautious not to fall into their trap.
This, instead, angered Elder Xu greatly.
"If they submit, you accuse them of impure intentions; if they don't submit, you accuse them of arrogance. You say everything, yet I haven't seen any of you contribute during the Southwest flood! I heard that Minister Wang has taken two beautiful concubines, and Minister Zhang held a grand banquet for his mother's birthday!"
Those who had been righteous were so rebuked by Elder Xu that they dared not even raise their heads.
Because what Elder Xu said was all true. If Emperor Qi investigated them thoroughly, whether their official positions could be saved was another matter, but their lives might be in danger.
Rolling his eyes, Elder Xu had the utmost contempt for these sycophantic and bullying rats.
Yet they could still get by in court, which was simply a case of officials protecting each other.
Instead of thinking about doing practical things for the people and the Great Jin, they spent their days framing this person or slandering that person, their methods even more unsavory than those in the inner chambers.
With Duke Wei absent from court, ordinary individuals could not contend with Elder Xu.
Prime Minister Bai remained silent, but he did not come to the aid of those who had lost face, indicating his thoughts.
Emperor Qi sometimes appreciated Elder Xu's straightforwardness, as he spoke many things that he, as Emperor, could not say.
However, at other times, he felt Elder Xu was too blunt and, on many occasions, did not show him, the Emperor, due respect.
As was the case now, Emperor Qi harbored some reservations about Elder Xu, but it was inconvenient to express them.