366 Defeating Them One by One
Marquis Sui Ning was rendered speechless and didn’t know how to answer him.
To be honest, after this incident, for once, he wanted to stand on his second son’s side.
The main reason was that the Lin family had really underestimated him and didn’t take him seriously at all.
They wanted to monopolize the benefits, but when something bad happened, they came crying to them and wanted the Zhou family to take the blame. How could that work?
At first, he only thought that the Lin family and the Gu family were just profiteering. Who would have thought that they would be so bold as to try to fraudulently claim military merits?!
This mistake had already been made, so how could they fix it?
However, he couldn’t say it out loud. After all, the Lin family was his in-laws. Not only was his wife, but even his eldest son’s wife was related to the Lin family.
With such a relationship, how could they sever ties so easily?
He could understand why his eldest son was so angry.
It was because his eldest son was involved in more things. Previously, even with the Lin family’s support, his eldest son was outshone by his second son. Now that the Lin family had collapsed, his eldest son was in an even more precarious position!
Now, his eldest son’s position as the heir was in great danger.
“You unfilial son!” Before Marquis Sui Ning could say anything, he heard a miserable scream outside the door. He saw Madam Sui Ning, whose eyes were red and swollen from crying, rush in with her pale and haggard eldest daughter-in-law. She was surrounded by a group of women.
Mrs. Zhou naturally heard Zhou Hengchang’s words. Other than her useless eldest son, she only cared about her maiden family.
Her father had passed away early on, so she returned to the Lin family with her mother since she was young and grew up in the Lin family. Later on, the Lin family arranged a marital alliance with the Zhou family and married her to Marquis Sui Ning.
Her life had been smooth-sailing, so she was even more grateful to the Lin family for taking care of and helping her. Therefore, when she heard Zhou Hengchang treat the Lin family like this she couldn’t suppress her anger anymore and rushed forward to slap Zhou Henchang.
“Don’t forget that the Lin family’s blood flows in your body! You heartless thing, you’re so cold-blooded! How could you bear to do such a thing, you bastard?!”
Madam Zhou cursed Zhou Henchang as she cried. If not for the maidservants who quickly came forward to stop her, she would have slapped Zhou Hengchang twice.
“Did I force the Lin family to violate the law? Did I force the Lin family slaughter more than a thousand villagers just to expand their influence and increase their military achievements in exchange for greater military merits? Did I ask the Lin family hire useless soldiers all these years and profiteer military supplies?
Mother, at least be reasonable!
If not for the fact that I have the Lin family’s blood flowing in my veins, do you think the Lin family would have been so domineering in the north all these years?
Don’t think that the Lin family is full of good people.
The traitor who had instigated my brother into using hemp leaves had already been interrogated. It was the Lin family’s doing!
“Although they’ve been submissive and respectful to my father and you all these years, they’ve actually been dissatisfied for a long time. They can’t wait to wipe out our entire family so that they can replace us!”
Although Zhou Hengchang knew what his mother would do now, he still stood rooted to the ground and took her slap. Then, the corners of his lips curled up as he said sarcastically, “Are you still thinking about relying on the Lin family to help my brother stabilize his position?
Why are you so delusional?
The Lin family are too greedy and will never be satisfied. They will only think of ways to devour the entire Zhou family!
For example, did they tell my brother anything about what they did this time?
Also, when they instigated my brother to poison the soldiers to get them addicted, did they tell him the consequences of doing so?
What do you think the Zhou family relied on to obtain their current status in the north? A marriage alliance with the Lin family?
What a joke!
The Zhou family was able to survive until now because of the deterrence of the Zhou family’s army! The Lin family didn’t give that idea to my brother to help him rise to the top, but to completely destroy the Zhou family’s foundation!
Mother, the reason you’re still standing here and shouting hysterically is because the Zhou family’s army is still around and hasn’t been destroyed by my brother and father’s incompetence!
Therefore, I advise you to stop here.
“I’ll quickly think of a way to disassociate the Zhou family from this. At the very least, when this matter is reported to the Imperial Court, our family will be able to escape this cakamity. If you continue to cause trouble, I can’t guarantee the consequences.”
Zhou Hengchang’s tone was very indifferent, which immediately angered Zhou Wen. However, this time, she didn’t have the chance to vent her anger.
Because before she could speak, she was stopped by Marquis Sui Ning.
His wife was insensible, but as the Marquis, he knew very well if what Zhou Hengchang said was true or not. Of course, what attracted his attention the most was Zhou Henchang’s last promise.
“Hengchang, can you really guarantee that our family can escape from this mess?”
From the beginning to the end, this was the only thing Marquis Sui Ning cared about.
As long as he could confirm that this matter would have nothing to do with the Zhou family, he would still be the dignified Marquis Sui Ning. He would still be able to enjoy all the wealth and glory he had now!
As for the Lin family and the Gu family, what did their lives have to do with him?
“Father, you know that I’ve never made promises that I can’t keep.” After so many years, Zhou Hengchang had already known how to deal with the people in his family.
To be honest, his father was biased, but he wasn’t biased towards his arrogant brother, Zhou Hengyuan, but himself.
The reason he rushed over with his brother after this matter had blown up wasn’t because he was unwilling to see his in-laws get implicated, but because he was worried that this disaster would affect the Zhou family and his peaceful life.