Palace Fighting Naive Concubines’ Ascent to Power
Chapter 642: The Lian Family Case

Chapter 642: Chapter 642: The Lian Family Case

The issue lay in the insatiable nature of human greed, just like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. After the Guo family grew in influence, they did not change their ways; their insidious desires only intensified, now encroaching upon the Lian family.

Guo Neng’s grandfather had always been troubled by the fact that the Guo family’s position in the tea industry was attained through cunning rather than steady, thorough work. He was acutely aware that without a proprietary tea recipe, the Guo family lacked a firm foundation, making their status ephemeral like castles in the air, or a mirage reflected in a mirror. He knew that if one day they lost the support of the Xue family’s power, they were bound to fall.

Therefore, after the Guo family expanded their tea business, his grandfather tirelessly searched among the folks for a tea recipe that met their conditions.

The requirements were extremely stringent. First, the tea made from the recipe had to be delicious. But that was not enough; it had to be evaluated by a tea tasting master and ranked as a premium tea, ensuring that once it was introduced to the market, it would be widely sought after by tea lovers;

Second, such a tea could not be well-known to the world. The fewer people who knew about it, the better. Only then could it truly become "Guo family’s tea recipe". A recipe that already belonged to someone else would attract too much attention and, even if they went to great lengths to acquire it, it would not truly be seen as the Guo family’s in the eyes of the public;

Last but not least, the owner of this premium tea recipe had to be powerless and insignificant, preferably a commoner without connections at court, so that if negotiation failed, they could forcefully seize it and claim it as their own. If the owner was related to the Imperial Family, belonged to one of the noble families, or came from a family with high-ranking officials in the capital, they were completely untouchable.

All three conditions were indispensable; meeting just one would have been easy, but fulfilling all three was nearly impossible.

Not to mention whether such a superior tea recipe even existed, and if it did, how could it remain hidden in some deep forest, unknown to others? If it really were hidden away like that, the Guo family would likely spend their entire lives searching to no avail.

At the same time, a family in possession of such a superior tea recipe would have already risen to prominence thanks to it and would undoubtedly seek out powerful patrons for protection. Just like the Guo family’s competing tea businesses that had established themselves with their own recipes and had protectors behind them, this was why they were generally unshakable.

The three conditions were exceedingly strict, so much so that Guo Neng’s grandfather still hadn’t found a tea recipe that could become "the Guo family’s tea recipe" until his death. On his deathbed, he revealed his life-long wish and the Guo family’s predicament to Guo Neng.

Given the Guo family’s stature in the tea community, if they had been willing to settle down and dedicate themselves to research, they might well have developed a tea recipe of their own. However, the Guo family was accustomed to seizing what they wanted through force; developing their own recipe posed too great a risk, and it was not as appealing as taking one by force.

Following his grandfather’s wishes, Guo Neng continued the search until, seven years ago, he became the head of the Guo family and, during a business trip to the south, a turn of events occurred.

During a gathering, the conversation turned to tea, and Guo Neng’s attention was piqued by the mention of a tea by an inconspicuous merchant. Afterward, he had someone find the tea referred to by the merchant, and upon tasting it, he found it to be extraordinary indeed, which stirred his interest. He then sought out the small merchant for a detailed inquiry.

The merchant, who had a keen eye, noticed the interest of Guo Neng, an Imperial Merchant, and described the Dew Tea in great detail. He even offered to introduce the Lian family, who produced the Dew Tea, to Guo Neng.

The merchant was none other than He Fuchang, the Head of the He family.

After learning about the Lian family’s background, Guo Neng grew truly interested but maintained a composed facade. He first secretly commissioned a tea ceremony master to evaluate the tea, concluding it to be of the finest quality. He then thoroughly investigated the background of several generations of the Lian family and discovered that the Dew Tea was only known to the people in the local town.

Guo Neng was ecstatic, for the Dew Tea he had stumbled upon by chance unexpectedly met all three conditions his grandfather had demanded. It was like finding what one had searched for without effort after wearing out iron shoes. He was determined to acquire this tea at all costs!

The subsequent actions were quite straightforward: a combination of threats and temptations, along with every possible means.

He operated from the shadows, hiring people to maliciously suppress and slander the Dew Tea, tarnish the reputation of the Lian Family, and besiege them from all sides. However, despite the ferocious rhetoric, their actions were of little consequence, as the head lady of the Lian Family neutralized each threat.

He then made a move to let down their guard; he had He Fuchang offer them a significant profit to buy their tea plantation, without mentioning the recipe, only tempting the Lian Family to hand over complete control of the tea to him. He promised to make it renowned and sell it all over the world, splitting the profit fifty-fifty.

If this deal was successful, his scheme would be seventy to eighty percent complete. He would then have control over the Lian Family, and gradually devour them until he had the tea recipe in his hands.

In the interim, thinking that the Lian Family was wavering, he showed his sincerity by meeting with them in person. In the end, the Lian Family agreed amiably to sell him thirty percent of the annual Dew Tea production. Ostensibly, they had agreed to his request, but in reality, they had brushed him off with a soft knife, treating him like any ordinary tavern or tea seller purchasing tea from the Lian Family. They did not agree to let him sell the Dew Tea, nor did they offer him the plantation or the recipe.

At this point, Guo Neng lost his patience and ordered He Fuchang to apply pressure, along with the local County Magistrate. In a combined effort, they directly demanded the Dew Tea plantation and recipe; applying both carrot and stick, but they still failed to acquire the recipe.

In his frustration and embarrassment, he decided on a drastic course of action, colluding with the He family and the County Magistrate to frame and intimidate the Lian Family. They threatened to return the Lian Family’s good name in exchange for the Dew Tea recipe. However, he hadn’t anticipated their stubbornness; even facing near death or exile, they stood firm, refusing to yield the recipe.

In the end, Guo Neng conspired with the County Magistrate to exile all five members of the Lian Family, securing control over them to extract the tea recipe at any time.

Such was the full story of the Lian Family case.

Hearing this, the Emperor was both shocked and angry, asking why there were only five family members when there should have been six?

The Shadow Guard replied that the youngest daughter of the Lian Family, owing to her playfulness, had escaped the calamity. By a twist of fate, she learned of the county government office’s public trial and, blending into the crowd, witnessed her relatives being severely beaten on the stand. She was hastily hidden away by neighbors who had discovered her.

After hiding for many days, the little girl eventually left the safety of her neighbors to follow her exiled family. Later, it was heard that Guo Neng, upon discovering the girl’s escape, dispatched assassins to find her. Her ultimate fate was a tragic death by drowning, and even her body was recovered, hence only five members of the family were exiled.

The Emperor’s heart ached terribly. How much suffering had his Little Concubine endured to miraculously escape death and survive until now, causing such a change in her temperament, to the extent that she had forgotten the most painful memories?

At a tender age, amidst a family tragedy, the happiness of her family of six was shattered in a blink of an eye under her very eyes. She had even witnessed the vile acts in the government office herself. No wonder she seemed so indifferent on the stand at Huaqing Palace when framed by Beauty Li, offering no defense.

At the time, he thought she was just being stubborn, but he had no idea that these dark aspects of humanity had long been etched into her subconscious. Her relatives had been wrongfully persecuted, yet the county officials who should’ve been upholding justice were actually accomplices. How could she possibly trust them?