“But what about that Han fellow…”
The old steward trailed off, clearly hesitant. After all, the people who had killed the two individuals were Han Mo’s subordinates. If the bodies were handed over now, how could the Pu family, with all their influence, possibly remain silent?
“Lord Han comes from a prestigious background. This minor trouble won’t be beyond his capabilities. We can also take this opportunity to see just how capable this Lord Han truly is!”
Qian Lang sneered, then calmly raised his head and spoke.
“Understood!”
Hearing this, the old steward immediately grasped his intention. He said no more, bowed to Qian Lang, and slowly withdrew from the room. It seemed Qian Lang had regained his usual composure. Just as Han Mo himself had said before, his potential partners had many choices, but in the same vein, the Qian family also needed to assess whether Han Mo possessed the qualifications and ability to become their partner.
After waiting outside the Qian mansion for over half an hour, Pu Kaishan finally saw the Pu family servants, all of them bruised and swollen. Furthermore, lying on stretchers behind them were two stiff corpses.
“What is the meaning of this?”
Pu Kaishan’s face instantly darkened. Although the eight great families were constantly competing amongst themselves, their rivalry had never escalated to the point of taking lives. This kind of direct killing, followed by the return of the bodies, was unprecedented.
“For the specifics, sir, please ask your own people. I believe they will know better than anyone! Oh, and my young master says, considering that your family has suffered a death, their transgression today will be temporarily overlooked. However, the account between the Qian and Pu families is far from settled!”
With a cold parting shot, the old steward, without even glancing at Pu Kaishan’s expression, strode back into the Qian residence. Watching the vermillion gates close before him, Pu Kaishan’s face was ashen.
“What are you all standing around for? Do you want to be more of a disgrace?”
These men, who were supposed to be by Pu Jinshan’s side, not only failed to protect him but were also beaten into such a sorry state. At this moment, Pu Kaishan truly felt a pang of disappointment.
***
“My lord, the Pu family people have taken their men away. Should we continue to follow?”
In the inn, Jiang Yan quietly approached Han Mo and spoke in a low voice.
“Recall our men. There’s no need to follow them anymore. I believe they will come to us!”
Han Mo smiled, speaking nonchalantly.
“But this is their territory, after all. Should we have our brothers…”
Regardless, Mingzhou City was still the Pu family’s territory. At this moment, Jiang Yan was genuinely concerned for Han Mo’s safety.
“Don’t worry. Precisely because this is their territory, they won’t dare to act rashly! However, we can have our brothers pack up. Since our identities have been exposed, there’s no need for us to hide here anymore! Let’s go, we should move to the imperial posthouse!”
The inn’s environment was quite decent, but compared to the imperial posthouse, it was undoubtedly inferior in every aspect. More importantly, Han Mo was an official of the imperial court. Staying at the posthouse would offer better safety and appear more legitimate.
“But my lord, they have suffered deaths this time. If they really escalate the matter…”
Jiang Yan spoke while looking at Han Mo with concern.
“I only fear they won’t escalate it enough. Even if they don’t, I intend to make this matter bigger, the bigger the better. If this matter isn’t blown out of proportion, how can we uproot the Pu family!”
Among the eight great families, the Pu family could be considered an absolute exception. Because within these eight families, everyone else was a native-born Song person. The Pu family, however, hailed from beyond the borders. Although they had settled in Quanzhou through the spice trade, Han Mo firmly believed the saying, “Those who are not of our kind will have different hearts.” Moreover, according to the original history, wasn’t it precisely the Pu family that delivered the final blow to the Southern Song Dynasty? Although retribution came a bit late, the punishment of men of the family being slaves for generations and women prostitutes for generations was considered the punishment of later Hua Xia emperors. Since a rift needed to be created within the circle of the eight great families, the Pu family was naturally his best choice.
“Yes!”
Seeing Han Mo’s confident demeanor, Jiang Yan could only comply and slowly turned to leave the room. After hastily packing his belongings, Han Mo swaggered into the imperial posthouse. Ordinarily, given his status, as soon as he appeared, all the officials, high and low, in Mingzhou City should have come to pay their respects. After all, he represented the Southeast Six Routes Pacification Commission. These local officials should have sought to curry favor with him. However, when Han Mo actually revealed his whereabouts, these officials collectively fell silent. Even Governor Li Yueyang directly put up a sign claiming illness. No matter who came, he was merely gravely ill and unable to rise. Instead, Wang Bing, the moment Han Mo appeared, immediately mobilized fifty soldiers from outside the city to attend to Han Mo.
“Just for these few Wokou? Are all of you dead men? To seek justice for them? What are they? For a few Wokou, like dogs, you’d put my eldest son at risk!”
In the Pu family mansion, after interrogating the servants, Pu Kaishan was furious. He had initially wondered why Pu Jinshan had directly clashed with Han Mo. After all this talk, it turned out it was because of these few Wokou!
“However, these people said that as long as the eldest son saved them, they were willing to offer all their family’s land as a gift…”
A young servant by Pu Jinshan’s side said softly.
“Land in Wokou! What use is land in Wokou? To feed pigs?”
The more he spoke, the angrier Pu Kaishan became. Others hadn’t been to Wokou, but he had. He had personally witnessed the impoverished state of Wokou. Compared to the foundations they had built in Mingzhou and Quanzhou, the land in Wokou was nothing!
“Get out, all of you get out!”
Having learned all the details and reviewed the information on Han Mo that they had painstakingly acquired, Pu Kaishan was truly at a loss. He truly didn’t know how he was going to explain this to the family head…