People like Mr. Gao could only be used once.
He lived alone in a small courtyard north of the city.
He wasn't one of Master Qiao's men. He came from the Northern Capital.
After Chen Liangxuan explained the situation, Mr. Gao held up two fingers. "Two things. First, now that we've made our move, we need to send word to the Northern Capital. The next phase of our plan must begin at once."
"The message has already been sent."
"Second, the weather's perfect today, but I'll need five lives to cast the spell." He stressed, "They must be lives belonging to people of the Imperial Ming!"
"Fine."
Master Chen agreed without hesitation.
The servants of Chen Manor had spent two full days treading carefully, but they still couldn't escape their fate.
The master went out and, upon returning, seized on some flimsy pretext as soon as he stepped through the door. In a fit of rage, he had five servants beaten to death one after another!
The front courtyard reeked of blood. Even the heavy rain couldn't wash the smell away.
Only a few of the old stewards in the household harbored suspicions, but none dared speak openly: all those beaten to death this time were people of the Imperial Ming.
Jiaozhi Province had been conquered for over a hundred years. The local people had already been Ming-ified; they spoke Chinese and wrote in Chinese characters. Yet the people of the Imperial Ming and the natives still received very different treatment in certain respects.
This was especially true under a retired Imperial Ming official like their master. In the past, he had clearly treated the servants differently, and it was always the local people who were punished.
But this time... why?
A carriage rolled into River Worker Alley.