The Later Three Kingdoms: Slaying Deng Ai, and Reviving the Han Dynasty

"What did you say?!?!" Lu Ming and his sister Lu were shocked and speechless.

Lu Ming reacted swiftly, his face immediately flushing red, and he shouted sternly, "According to Han law, abducting another man's wife is punishable by beheading. Does the King of Beidi not fear death?"

The young eunuch glanced at the man sideways and sneered, "Which prince has ever been killed for abducting another man's wife? Besides... was she even a married woman?"

"Take him away." The young eunuch turned and said to the halberd-wielding warrior behind him.

"Yes." The two halberd warriors bowed and immediately stepped forward to arrest Lady Lü, but dared not be rude.

Lu Ming's face immediately turned ashen. The Liu family had ruled for four hundred years, producing many tyrannical rulers and feudal lords. But unless things went too far, the court was unwilling to investigate. After all, they had their pride.

Moreover, Liu Chen was a prince.

Unless it was treason, Liu Chen would probably be forgiven for ordinary crimes.

Besides, the eunuch is right. His sister is now a widow... and so on.

Lu Ming was instantly jolted awake, a possibility occurred to him, and he shouted sharply, "Did the King of the North send someone to kill Zicheng?"

"Brother!!!!" Lady Lü was utterly panicked. Upon hearing Lü Ming's words, she froze, completely dumbfounded. Had the King of the North killed her husband because of her beauty?

"Slandering a prince is a capital offense. But considering you are the princess's brother, I will pretend I didn't hear it." The young eunuch's face twitched, and he glanced at Lü Ming with a forced smile.

Two halberd warriors, one on each side, lifted Lü Shi up and carried her out.

Lu Ming's face was ashen, and his hand holding the sword trembled uncontrollably. He barely managed to hold back from drawing it.

"Brother, brother, don't worry about me. Don't worry about me!" Madam Lü realized what was happening and turned back, her voice filled with sorrow. She knew she was in deep trouble; she had killed her husband, and she couldn't let her brother die too.

Hearing his sister's call, Lü Ming's face grew even more grim. After thinking for a moment, he immediately left the living room and departed from the He residence.

The He family mansion is now under the control of the Northern King's soldiers, but the soldiers have not stopped Lü Ming from leaving.

Lady Lü was stuffed into a covered carriage and, under the protection of soldiers, eunuchs, and palace maids, was sent to Chengdu.

The young eunuch sat down in He Sui's study and summoned all of He Sui's stewards.

The stewards, suddenly confronted with a great change, felt either fear or unease, and huddled together, trying to gain some sense of security from their companions.

"Don't be afraid. The Northern King's orders to me are simply to take Lady Lü away and settle He Sui's assets. Doesn't he have no sons? His assets belong to Lady Lü. Once Lady Lü becomes the Northern King's consort, won't He Sui's assets become the Northern King's?"

"And I also know that He Sui is a very hypocritical person. Much of his wealth is not publicly disclosed. You are all his stewards, so you must know this. Tell me about his wealth, both public and private."

The young eunuch sat in the main seat and spoke with a smile.

He Sui was already dead, and Lady Lü had been taken away. How could the stewards dare to resist? They immediately spilled the beans, vying to reveal He Sui's assets.

One hour later.

The stewards were taken away. The young eunuch held a scroll of bamboo slips in his hand, on which was written He Sui's family property.

Among them, He Sui's family property included 3,500 mu of farmland.

There are 120 households in Menghu.

There are twenty shops in cities such as Chengdu and Luocheng.

Most of them are grain and oil shops.

A soy sauce workshop.

Two breweries.

In addition, He Sui also used his henchmen to plunder property. There were five powerful figures like Zhao Jiang of Guangdu.

These powerful figures, relying on He Sui, plundered land and property in the area, and acted lawlessly.

Many respectable families were forced to flee or become refugees.

"What a fine scholar. He may appear pure and innocent, but he's actually more ruthless than a bandit." The young eunuch clicked his tongue after examining him.

"He Sui, He Sui. What's the use of accumulating so much wealth if you don't even have a son? Now it's all benefiting our King." The young eunuch shrugged, handed the bamboo slips to a soldier, and sent them back to Chengdu.

Liu Chen already knew about Zhao Jiang's situation and was dealing with it simultaneously. He was unaware of the other four powerful figures.

The young eunuch assumed that once the bamboo slips were delivered, Liu Chen would handle them.

Immediately afterwards, the young eunuch and the steward of the Northern King that he had brought with him discussed how to manage He Sui's property.

The He clan wielded considerable power in the area, coupled with He Sui's influence. Taking over He Sui's entire fortune wouldn't be easy.

But they weren't afraid. What powerful clans or famous scholars would dare to truly fight the King of the North in a real battle?

The real contest takes place in the imperial court.

As long as the powerful figure of the Northern King remains in power, no matter how influential He Sui is, his wealth and beautiful wife will all fall into the Northern King's hands.

..........

Guangdu.

Zhao Jiang's manor.

Inside the living room.

Zhao Jiang knelt in the main seat, with his two brothers Zhao Heng and Zhao Wu sitting on his left and right sides respectively.

The three brothers all looked very serious.

Not long ago, Zhao Jiang set his sights on the Yang family's land, but the deal fell through. The Yang family surrendered the land to the King of the North.

The Northern Kings are truly not to be trifled with.

This matter was infuriating and made them very unhappy, but it wasn't a big deal; that's just how the world is.

Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp.

There were plenty of small fry like the Yang family. After that, they began looking for candidates and selected three families. They planned to use the same method to acquire the land from these three families.

As a result, He Sui died.

The three brothers were thugs, henchmen. Despite their ruthless demeanor, they wouldn't have dared to act without He Sui's backing.

Now that He Sui is dead, they not only dare not take action, but also worry about future troubles.

They disregard human life, they seize land, they run rampant in the countryside, and they act lawlessly.

"The most important thing now is to find someone else, otherwise we brothers will be doomed," Zhao Jiang said in a deep voice after taking a deep breath.

"What you say is true, brother." Zhao Heng nodded, then suggested, "Brother, He Sui is Qiao Zhou's disciple, and Qiao Zhou is a great Confucian scholar from Yizhou. Why don't we secretly contact Qiao Zhou?"

"Precisely because Qiao Zhou is a great Confucian scholar, he probably looks down on us," Zhao Wu said worriedly.

"How will we know if it will work if we don't try?" Zhao Heng retorted.

Zhao Jiang nodded and said to Zhao Heng, "That's right. Brother, I'll leave this matter to you."

"Yes, brother." Zhao Heng nodded, stood up with his sword at the table, and was about to take action.

"Clatter, clatter, clatter." A steward rushed in, pale-faced and distraught, saying, "Master, a group of men has surrounded us, led by the county magistrate."

"What did you say?" The three brothers' expressions changed drastically.

Immediately afterward, Zhao Jiang drew his long sword from his waist and said sternly, "Break through immediately!"

He didn't even ask how many people were outside; he only knew that once he and his two brothers were arrested, they were doomed.

"Yes."

Zhao Heng and Zhao Wu, their faces ashen, nodded in unison. The three brothers then drew their swords and, together with several followers, broke through the encirclement to the north.

As a result, they were shot to death by arrows as soon as they left the manor.

The three Zhao brothers, who had wreaked havoc in the village and acted lawlessly, were all eradicated.

The land and wealth were annexed by Liu Chen, the King of the North.

When the news spread, the people were overjoyed.