Chapter 433: Do You Have a Family?

Chapter 433: Do You Have a Family?

Xue Jinchuan opening two taverns here could not possibly be for profit; any discerning person would see that.

Therefore, this could only mean that the Xue family had some ulterior motive.

Logically speaking, Nan Heng's death or disappearance was no longer a secret in Great Shun. If it weren't for the Empress and the Chancellor still being in power, the Xue family would likely have fallen from grace long ago.

Especially the Empress—now that Nan Heng was dead, she no longer had any leverage to seize power. At this point, the Xue family sending Xue Jinchuan to open taverns in Northwest made Mo Jiuye suspect something more.

This wasn't just a thought that occurred to Mo Jiuye. Tang Mingrui, after hearing so much, couldn't help but consider the same possibility.

After all, he had been in contact with the Mo family for a long time and understood certain things.

"Ninth Brother, do you think it might be the people from Jin Fresh Building causing trouble?

They must have come to Northwest to set up their taverns and would have made inquiries beforehand among their peers.

I'm also in the tavern business, and if Boss Jin can find out about my collaboration with the Mo family, it wouldn't be difficult for Jin Fresh Building to do the same.

And the one who framed me for hiring assassins is from Jin Fresh Building. Their goal is to cut off the Mo family's income."

The Mo family's long-term sources of income were known to him to be the sale of dolls and cold rabbit meat.

Tang Mingrui's words echoed Mo Jiuye's thoughts.

However, he knew more than Tang Mingrui did.

The Empress was shrewd, and his father, Xue Qing, who held the position of Chancellor, was even more calculating.

Nan Heng's mysterious disappearance at the upstream of Salt Lake coincided with their arrival there during exile.

Although no one knew they had arrived there at the time, after such a long investigation, Peng Wang had already returned to the Imperial City with the escort officials.

With many people involved, it was possible that someone with ulterior motives might have extracted useful information from them, even if they hadn't obtained concrete evidence.

Jin Fresh Building opening in Northwest was likely an attempt by the Xue family to find clues about Nan Heng, or perhaps they had already guessed something and wanted to avenge him.

The reason Jin Fresh Building went to such lengths to frame Tang Mingrui was to cut off the Mo family's income, forcing them to seek new opportunities to earn money.

Once the Mo family, with its large household, lost its income, they would undoubtedly worry about their livelihood. The Xue family would take advantage of this to gather information and might even try to eliminate Mo Jiuye.

The reason for this was simple: with Mo Jiuye around, they dared not rashly appear to investigate the Mo family.

After all, Mo Jiuye was renowned in the Imperial City for his martial prowess, a man whom even a hundred assassins couldn't touch.

Or perhaps, they only wanted to investigate secretly without alarming anyone.

In any case, regardless of the reason, Mo Jiuye had to take the opening of Jin Fresh Building in Northwest seriously.

Especially since the return of all the Mo family men was no longer a secret in Xiling Village. Anyone with a keen interest could easily find out the details.

From what Tang Mingrui said, Jin Fresh Building had been operating in the state capital for a few days, and their people had likely already started their actions.

On one hand, they framed Tang Mingrui to cut off the Mo family's economic resources, and on the other, they sent people to Xiling Village to gather information about the Mo family.

Mo Jiuye wasn't particularly worried about this, as such matters were bound to happen sooner or later.

Even if it weren't the Empress's relatives, others would surely step in.

In short, the Mo family would find it difficult to live a peaceful life in Northwest in the future.

Fortunately, several of his brothers had already made many bombs, waiting for Seventh Brother to return with the subordinates from Southern Region to form an army for the Mo family.

When the time came, he wouldn't mind engaging in a desperate battle with those who didn't want the Mo family to live in peace.

Of course, now that the Mo family was reunited and he was about to become a father to two children, he couldn't recklessly risk his life.

This was just Mo Jiuye's bottom line. As long as those blind fools didn't provoke the Mo family, he would prefer to live a simple life of farming from dawn till dusk.

To verify his analysis, Mo Jiuye spoke a few words to Tang Mingrui and then returned to the yamen.

Tang Mingrui, anxious about the watermelon business, didn't go home immediately but called for several carts to head to Xiling Village.

After all, Meng Huaining only required him not to leave Yuncheng, and Xiling Village was within the boundaries of Yuncheng. A personal visit wouldn't violate his orders.

He didn't need to worry about selling watermelons, as he had already laid the groundwork during the early sales of muskmelons. He just needed to set the price and have his people sell them.

Mo Jiuye believed that to find a breakthrough in this matter, Wang Lin needed to tell the truth, and he also wanted to ask Chen Wu about the appearance of the man who impersonated Boss Tang.

The bailiffs knew that Mo Jiuye was the future brother-in-law of their magistrate, so his arrival was not obstructed.

Mo Jiuye smoothly entered the court.

At that moment, Wang Lin was being tortured, his hands clamped in a rack, causing him to scream in pain.

In Mo Jiuye's view, it would be difficult for anyone without extraordinary willpower to remain so resolute.

But no matter how he looked at Wang Lin, he didn't seem like a man of such strong character.

There was only one possibility: Wang Lin must have some leverage in the hands of others.

To confirm his suspicions, Mo Jiuye approached him.

"Wang Lin, do you have a family?"

Upon hearing the word "family," Wang Lin's expression changed instantly. The pained grimace on his face turned into one of tension and stiffness.

Seeing his reaction, Mo Jiuye knew he had asked the right question.

Your family is now in my hands. If you still wish to conceal anything for that person, not only will you suffer, but your family will also not be spared.

You may endure your own torment, but you won't even have the luxury of a swift death. The agony of being slowly tortured is something most people cannot bear, I imagine."

As he spoke, Mo Jiuye couldn't resist adding a touch of intimidation.

Meng Huaining and Mo Chuhan were unsure what game Mo Jiuye was playing, but they both clearly saw the change in Wang Lin's expression, knowing that Mo Jiuye's words had hit their mark.

Thus, the two of them remained spectators, leaving the stage to Mo Jiuye.

Mo Jiuye merely wanted to probe and see if there were any weaknesses held against him.

The most common scenario was the detention of family members as leverage.

He pressed his advantage, "If you truly don't care about their lives, I can leave right now."

With that, Mo Jiuye turned and made a show of leaving.

Seeing this, Wang Lin became anxious, dragging his battered body to the ground and bowing fervently.

"Sir, please, have mercy. Spare my old mother and daughter; they have never done anything to harm others. If you let them go, I will tell you everything I know."