Chapter 910 - 385: Haikou Tremors (Part 2)
Zhou Shu speculated that the person who collected so much evidence for the Imperial Censor to impeach him must be Luo Shao. Only Luo Shao would be capable of gathering evidence of his crimes in such a short time, and wouldn’t fear offending the Zhou Family, determined to bring him to ruin.
Zhou Shu felt a pang of regret. Last time, when he had someone abduct Yueyao, Marquis Jingning’s Luo Shao had no reaction. He assumed Luo Shao didn’t value Yueyao, thinking that Yueyao was merely taken in by the Old Marquis on a whim, and even if he abducted Yueyao again, the people at Marquis Jingning’s Residence wouldn’t care. But seeing Marquis Jingning’s ruthless and accurate strike now, he realized that Luo Shao actually values Yueyao greatly; otherwise, he wouldn’t spend so much time gathering evidence to bring him down.
Zhou Shu let out a long breath. He had always heard that the current Marquis Jingning, Luo Shao, was decisive in killing, cruel, and extremely trusted by the Emperor, a leader of the younger generation. If Luo Shao made a move against him, he really didn’t stand much of a chance.
Zhou Shu had great confidence in himself, but he also knew his own limits. He was a merchant, and even possessing wealth comparable to a nation, he was still just a businessman. Luo Shao, on the other hand, was a close associate of the Emperor, a powerful minister, their status worlds apart; he certainly couldn’t defeat Luo Shao.
Lowering his head, Zhou Shu thought a lot and immediately summoned Ah San, instructing him to send his wife and children away from Haikou overnight.
Ah San was shocked: "Master, what happened?" Only during the calamity that could wipe out a household would a family be sent away. During the day, everything was fine; why suddenly send the family away now?
Having followed Zhou Shu since childhood, the two had risked life and death together many times. It could be said that Ah San was Zhou Shu’s most trusted person, and Zhou Shu didn’t hide from Ah San: "There are charges from the Imperial Censor accusing me of bribing officials in Haikou, listing numerous crimes. The Emperor has already appointed an imperial envoy to thoroughly investigate this matter, and the envoy is already on the way." Whether the evidence of impeachment was real or fake didn’t matter; what was important was that now Luo Shao wanted him dead, and the Zhou Family surely wouldn’t care about him anymore.
Ah San’s face changed drastically: "Is it the work of the Zhou Family?"
Zhou Shu shook his head and said, "No, it should be the work of Marquis Jingning." Walking in Haikou, wanting to keep one’s hands clean is absolutely impossible, and most of the matters in the charges of the Imperial Censor are probably true. Usually, one might ask the Zhou Family to intervene to buffer a bit, but now with Luo Shao above watching, Zhou Xi was also furious with him over the abduction of Yueyao and gave up on him because of this. With the imperial envoy arriving this time, he estimated it would be very difficult to escape, so he had to prepare everything before the envoy arrived.
Ah San’s face looked dire: "Master, you mean Marquis Jingning already knows it was you who abducted Lian Yueyao?" If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be surprising for Luo Shao to make a move against his master.
Zhou Shu nodded his head slightly.
Ah San felt a bit defeated. Merchants don’t fight with officials; they might reign in Haikou, but to someone like Marquis Jingning, they were no more than ants. If Marquis Jingning wanted to destroy them, they were doomed.
Zhou Shu sneered: "To catch me, let’s see if they have the ability." His only weakness was his few children, but now he had received the news in advance, he had enough time to send all his children away.
Zhou Shu had an island, which was not within the Great Yuan Dynasty’s maritime domain, and the island was rugged with significant geographical advantages. Zhou Shu initially valued this geographical advantage, spending years and considerable Silver Coin to renovate it, in case one day he couldn’t survive in the Yuan Dynasty, it would serve as the final stronghold. Luo Shao had already set the killing move, and wouldn’t stop without seeing blood. Therefore, he had to send his children to the island. Without worries, he could fight these people.
Ah San looked at Zhou Shu and said: "Master, if you promise me you’ll never go looking for that woman again, I’ll send the mistress and children to the island. If you don’t promise me, I’ll stay by your side." That woman was unlucky; if the master went looking for her again, he would surely court disaster.
Zhou Shu showed a bitter expression: "Don’t worry, I won’t go looking for her again." The General’s Mansion was not like the Vice Minister’s Mansion; the General’s Mansion was heavily guarded, and once there was a disturbance, Haikou’s military camp would reinforce the troops, and no amount of people would be enough for them to kill; by then, he’d surely be at his own peril.
Ah San was still uneasy, saying: "Master, even if you don’t think for yourself, you must think for the children! If anything happens to you, how will they survive?" If anything happened to Zhou Shu, the wealth wouldn’t protect the widow and orphans, their lives would even be in danger.