The First National Preceptor of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 404

Are you sure it's Xu Tian?

Duan Hong immediately nodded hard and said, "There was someone who hit me very hard, it should be Captain Qin who is next to Xu Tian."

Duan Lun sneered twice and said, "How could my Duan family produce such a cowardly and unfilial descendant as you? I have been in officialdom for decades and have never suffered such a great loss. Moreover, you are a military general, yet you were tied up in a room and beaten by a mere brat named Xu Tian. Where do you put my face?"

Duan Hong immediately kowtowed several times, while Duan Lun calmed down and narrowed his eyes coldly.

"Have you properly secured the batch of gold I asked you to hide?"

A servant brought over a cup of hot tea, and Duan Lun took a sip, which calmed his anger considerably.

Duan Hong was taken aback for a moment, then nodded and said, "Uncle, I know how important this matter is, so I'm personally escorting it. No one will find out."

Duan Lun sneered and said, "I'm afraid not. This morning I went to the county government's treasury to check, and guess what? The 300,000 taels of silver have somehow flown back into the treasury."

"If it wasn't that someone tracked you down to your hidden treasure location and took the silver back, then someone stabbed you in the back."

Duan Hong immediately realized what was happening.

"Uncle, are you talking about Hou Wen? Absolutely not. Hou Wen may have the intention, but he doesn't have the guts. I'll send someone to Goryeo Mountain to check on that batch of silver right away."

At this moment, the Minister of Works was furious. He had just received a letter, and the silver hidden inside had already disappeared.

Duan Lun stood up, his white beard trembling with anger, and then stomped hard on Duan Hong's face.

"I trusted you so much, but if I were to hand this family over to you, it would be better to hand it over to Xu Tian. At least Xu Tian could at least get a whole corpse. If it's in your hands, it'll probably die without even a whole corpse."

Duan Hong knew the seriousness of the matter, but something still felt off, so he said, "Did Uncle send Hou Wen to deliver the letter today?"

Duan Lun hadn't expected there to be another floor, so he sat down again.

"This morning you said the treasure map I gave you was lost and asked someone reliable to come and get it."

Duan Hong was now a bit confused. The map had indeed been lost once, and he had sent someone else to retrieve it. What exactly happened? He had a feeling that this was related to Hou Wen.

"Uncle, this matter is not that simple."

Upon seeing this statement that Hong still found himself confused, he immediately kicked him in the chest.

However, the old man, who was over seventy years old, was naturally no match for the young Duan Lun in his prime. He felt a cramp in his leg, but he endured it and smashed the teacup in his hand onto Duan Lun's forehead.

"You good-for-nothing! You've been tricked and you don't even know it! Luckily you're just a second-rank general. If you were to take over the Duan family's position in the future, you would have killed them all."

How could I have been so blind as to choose you as the next successor of my Duan family? You are ruthless but lack wisdom; such a person will only be used as a tool by others in the future.

From now on, you are no longer needed to interfere in clan affairs. From this day forward, you have no further connection with the Duan family. Unless your life is in grave danger, the Duan family will not offer any assistance.

Duan Hong immediately grabbed Duan Lun's leg and said, "Uncle, I'm your own nephew. If you don't entrust these matters to me, are you going to entrust them to your cousin?"