She Holds the World After Being Reborn
Chapter 427 - 426: Wipe Out the Family Line, Willingly So

Chapter 427: Chapter 426: Wipe Out the Family Line, Willingly So

Hao Ren coughed awkwardly in the face of Qin Xiao’s questioning.

Exchanging a glance with his senior brother in midair, Hao Ren felt he still needed to respect the Commandery Princess’s wishes.

The Commandery Princess was on a private visit incognito; as her subordinate, he definitely couldn’t expose her identity.

Hence, Hao Ren could only keep his mouth shut.

Seeing this, Qin Xiao grew even more furious, his eyes filled with contempt, "Hao Ren, is she really the support you’ve found for yourself?"

A mere woman, no matter how wealthy, could she be greater than Grand Tutor Qin?!

Did Hao Ren have his brain pinched by a door when he left the house?!

He can’t even do the math!

He wanted to say something more, but his movement suddenly pulled at his wound, and pain almost brought him to tears.

In principle, he had taken care of everyone in the Governor’s Office; who could have been neglected to strike such a vicious blow!

Twenty heavy strikes, almost costing him his life!

"What support?" Yan Wanqing asked indifferently, looking down at Qin Xiao kneeling on the ground, "If Master Qin has a good memory, just sign the document quickly and don’t delay my wife from retrieving her belongings."

As she spoke, Yan Hongzhao placed the paper in front of Qin Xiao, "Just press your handprint."

"I’ll press nothing!" Qin Xiao, frustrated and enraged, grabbed the paper and tore it up completely, and not satisfied with that, he stuffed it into his mouth.

Just as he chewed a couple of times, he saw Yan Hongzhao calmly take out a stack of papers.

"No problem, there’s plenty more. Master Qin should vent, it’s only right. If it’s not enough, I’ll have someone copy more."

Qin Xiao’s mouth was stuffed full, and at this moment, he felt like a complete joke.

"If Master Qin regrets it, that’s fine too, my wife will just go out to the streets and alleys to announce that you can’t afford to lose, it’s no big deal, just a little embarrassing," Wanqing said with a light, blooming smile.

To deal with a rogue, one must use even more roguish methods.

Qin Xiao was easy to handle.

He had opened more than a dozen gambling houses, big and small, in Luzhou County, and made his fortune from them. If Yan Wanqing really had someone shout it out, not only would Qin Xiao lose face, but Tianxiang Gambling House would no longer have customers in the future.

As a businessman, Qin Xiao was very clear about this.

Yan Wanqing’s move hit him right where it hurt as a businessman.

That’s why, at the Gambling House, he made such a public spectacle, and today at the drill field, almost the entire county saw him lose to her.

At the thought of this, Qin Xiao could not help but sob in pain.

"Oh, Master Qin is crying," Yan Wanqing remarked with genuine curiosity, "You didn’t cry when you were being flogged just now. Why are you crying now?"

Qin Xiao cried even louder.

Just now, his life was in jeopardy. It was merely pain.

But now, Tianxiang Gambling House was his life, and Yan Wanqing was asking him to give it away. Who wouldn’t cry in this situation?

"Stop crying and sign quickly," Yan Hongzhao had no patience for such sentimentality. Seeing Qin Xiao start to cry, he simply found the man to be a sore loser, a wimp who cried after defeat, whining like a woman, which was irksome. Therefore, his voice became colder, tinged with a hint of ruthlessness.

Qin Xiao, merely a businessman, had never seen a general’s imposing manner. Startled by Yan Hongzhao’s intimidation, he hiccuped.

Without thinking, he directly lifted his hand, pressed the red clay seal, and stamped his handprint on the paper.

By the time he came to his senses, Yan Hongzhao had already risen and collected the paper with the handprint.

It was already too late to try to snatch it back.

Qin Xiao was utterly ruined.

"Qin Xiao, now that you’ve lost the Tianxiang Gambling House, the person backing you is likely plotting how to kill you. If you confess to this official right now, I’ll ensure that the Governor’s Office protects your life day and night," County Magistrate Hao Ren took the opportunity to say immediately.

At this moment, Qin Xiao felt as if the sky had collapsed on him.

"I’ll confess, I’ll tell you everything."

Upon hearing this, Hao Ren immediately had someone record the confession at his side.

Yan Wanqing nodded to Hao Ren and stood to one side with her entourage.

She had no intention of leaving just yet.

There was no harm in listening while she had nothing better to do.

Qin Xiao spilled everything about the shady dealings behind the Tianxiang Gambling House. More than just the lives of the croupier siblings were on his hands; there were also two or three dozen other lives, large and small.

Most were slaves who had sold themselves to him, and some were commoners who disobeyed him.

As for the case of the missing girls.

Qin Xiao refused to say another word.

He only said that he was in charge of transporting them. He never inquired about where these girls came from. As long as the traffickers brought them, there were special people who would draw portraits of the girls and then have others deliver them to various places.

Whoever was interested, Qin Xiao would then ensure the girls were taken to the appropriate place, and later someone else would pick them up.

Such transactions had gone on smoothly for over twenty years.

"That croupier’s sister, someone took a fancy to her, but the boy wasn’t willing. He came to me to beg for mercy, but how could I oppose the people above me for the sake of a female slave? So I did not agree, and then the croupier said he was going to report me to the authorities..." What happened next, everyone knew.

Qin Xiao had someone kill them to silence them.

During the time when they were planning to send the sister away, she fought to the death, disagreeing vehemently, and the two sides had a fierce conflict. The sister even threatened Qin Xiao, saying that if she were to rise to power later on, she would definitely kill him.

Qin Xiao, fearing that such a chaste woman going out would cause trouble for him, had someone drug her with Pear Blossom Intoxication and faked a suicide by hanging.

The tragic truth behind the siblings’ ordeal was just as so.

"Why did you choose to use Pear Blossom Intoxication?" Ji Yuntai, who had remained silent until now, asked.

Qin Xiao, his face a picture of defeat, answered any question asked, "He said that Pear Blossom Intoxication was a poison developed by the County Magistrate. I figured if I could use this poison to kill the girl, I would have leverage over the County Magistrate if there was an investigation later."

It was this kind of reasoning.

Originally, it was a foolproof plan.

But who would have thought that a Yan Wanqing would suddenly appear, bent on winning two out of three rounds with him.

She completely disrupted his entire plan!

But he also blamed himself for underestimating a woman, for being overconfident and complacent, which ultimately led to irreversible consequences.

Qin Xiao chuckled bitterly, "I’ve said everything I should and shouldn’t. Hao Ren, you’ve been an official for so many years, and you have a reputation in Luzhou County. We’re neighbors, and I truly advise you not to pursue the missing girls case. The people involved are not something a minor official like you can handle. When your Hao Family was destroyed, only you were left as a male heir, and you’re still not married. You should be careful not to end up with your family line being wiped out just for the sake of what you call a good reputation."

The extermination of the Hao Family?

Upon hearing these words, Yan Wanqing slightly raised her eyebrows.

What was this about?

On the bench, Hao Ren maintained a stern expression, "You need not worry about me; as the parental official of Luzhou County, the disappearance of more than a hundred girls during my term has already been my dereliction of duty. What can the hidden force that manipulates everything do to me? As long as I can bring them back home, even if the Hao Family is wiped out, I’ll be content!"