Chapter 596 - 336: Mountains and Rivers Ask Not of the 4 Seasons!

Showing weakness. Being weak. Whether subjective or objective, the Xiao Family would inevitably attract covetous eyes and endless trouble.

Just like the Jing State Liu Family and the Zhu Family—where Zhu Hao and Zhu Lingchuan belonged—attacking the Xiao Family openly and in secret. Just like the Shu State Governor’s Office, the Capital Commandery, and the Inspectorate Office, pretending to comply but secretly undermining the Xiao Family in matters big and small. Even the majority of the Court Officials over in the Capital Prefecture did not stand on the Xiao Family’s side.

Chen Yi had a vague idea of the reasons behind this, but he was still missing the main factor. Or rather, he had always overlooked the thoughts of one person—the reigning Holy Emperor.

In this world, after all, imperial power was mandated by heaven. The Holy Emperor reigned supreme in the Imperial City, overlooking the world, and a single word from him could determine the life and death of all people. So, did the Xiao Family’s current predicament have anything to do with the Monarch in the Imperial City of the Capital Prefecture?

The answer was self-evident.

If he stood on the Xiao Family’s side, even if he only spoke a word of justice, the Xiao Family’s situation would be much better than it was right now. In this light, it made perfect sense that the White Tiger Guard was scheming against Shu State, intentionally or unintentionally creating disputes to cause trouble for the Xiao Family. Chen Yi even figured out the reason why he and Chen Yunfan were targeted by the White Tiger Guard.

—To manipulate the Xiao Family through his hands.

—To control Shu State through Chen Yunfan.

"A person as proud and knowledgeable as ’me,’ suppressed for five long years, finally breaking free. Even if ’I’ am just a live-in son-in-law, I would probably treat this as a lifesaving straw, wouldn’t I?" Chen Yi thought silently. He would, definitely.

"So I became the ’Fledgling,’ which is why in the very beginning, the White Tiger Guard was so eager for me to gain a firm foothold in the Xiao Family," Chen Yi mused.

"It was only after I became an Instructor at Guiyun Academy, leading the White Tiger Guard to mistakenly believe I had started scheming to take over the Xiao Family, that they finally laid low.

"As such, Ge the Third’s departure was not for that sum of silver, nor was it out of fear of his identity being exposed. It was simply an inevitable retreat after accomplishing his mission.

"But later...

"Heh, the Jiangnan Prefecture Chen Family and the White Tiger Guard should both be Blades in the hands of the reigning Holy Emperor. My brother and I are the double-edged tip of that Blade.

"The one far away in the Capital Prefecture gripped the hilt, stabbing it straight into the land of Shu State.

"This game of chess... is truly majestic and imposing."

A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of Chen Yi’s mouth, yet his eyes remained exceptionally calm. Specks of fluorescent light flickered in his pupils, like chess pieces dancing across a board. As the stars shifted and swapped places, a few inconspicuous little pieces appeared on the board. They were far from the cluster in the bottom-left corner that represented the southwestern Shu State, yet a single piece was enough to establish dominance, looking like a giant ruling its own domain.

The first sat at the "Tianyuan" center point—the current Holy Emperor of the Great Wei Dynasty, along with his court ministers.

The second occupied the bottom-right corner representing the southeast. This piece represented the Jiangnan Prefecture Chen Family.

The third, occupying the star point in the top-left corner, represented the Ji State Trading Company.

The fourth consisted of several pieces in the top-right star point, distinct in black and white as if two armies were facing off against each other, though no specific names were assigned to them.

Aside from these, a few scattered pieces orbited around these star points. There was the elder Sun Fu who had traveled far to Jinling, Duke Qian Zhang Xuan who held the fort in Guangyue Prefecture, as well as the Left King’s son Asutai and Fu Wanqing, who were deep in the heartland of the Barbarian Race. Though scattered, they populated the colossal chessboard in Chen Yi’s mind—one that stretched tens of thousands of miles across the Nine State and Three Prefectures of the Great Wei Dynasty—making it seem less empty.

Chen Yi "looked" at the nascent chessboard in his mind. The smile on his face gradually faded, and his gaze shifted to the Spring Lotus Garden.

Under the heavy, overcast sky, a torrential downpour raged. The flowers, plants, and trees withered further under the assault, but the Golden Carp in the pond were unusually active. They thrashed about with a SPLASH, sending water spraying in all directions.

"Mountains and rivers never ask for the seasons; their flourishing and withering are left to fate," Chen Yi murmured in his heart.

He broke into a smile again, turned his head to look at Xiaodie, and said, "Prepare some tea and snacks. Your Young Master is going to make final preparations for the Annual Examination."

Xiaodie naturally nodded in compliance. Seeing the smile on Chen Yi’s face, she also relaxed. "Young Master, if you say the Master is fine, then he will definitely be fine. Hehe."

Chen Yi patted her and scolded jokingly, "I’m not an Immortal. How would I know so much?"

At best, he was a half-immortal. A half-immortal? Tsk, wasn’t that title much more interesting than "Dragon Tiger"?

After the two returned to the wooden building, Chen Yi dried himself off and went to the study, grabbing an ancient tome to leaf through. However, his mind was not on the book. He was still sorting out and deducing the matters concerning Shu State and the Xiao Family.

After this incident with Liu Hong, Chen Yi had made some gains after all. And the gains were not small. Aside from figuring out the schemes of the reigning Holy Emperor, the Jiangnan Prefecture Chen Family, and the White Tiger Guard in Shu State, he had also acquired several other things.

—Provisions, silver coins, the Celestial Sect, and the Xiao Family.

First, there should be about five hundred thousand *shi* of provisions left, hidden in Lin Village by Liu Lang and the others. They were of no use to Chen Yi, so he figured he would find a chance to "sell" them to Elder Master Xiao later.

Second was the two million taels of silver coins obtained from the General. It seemed like a lot, but the Hundred Herbs Hall’s upcoming expansion would require money everywhere. With such drastic expenditures, even this amount might be stretched thin. However, it should be enough to support their expenses in Shu State.

Next were the disciples of the Celestial Sect who had joined the Hundred Herbs Hall. After the Five Poison Sect incident, Chen Yi had clearly distinguished who was close and who was distant. He could let Wang Ji arrange their positions according to the situation.

And finally, the Xiao Family.

In fact, the reason Chen Yi had chosen to only watch from the sidelines regarding Liu Hong’s visit to Elder Master Xiao was because he had his own plans. He wanted to use Liu Hong to force Elder Master Xiao into abandoning his tolerant approach—or at the very least, make him stop being so naive as to expect "others" to consider their old ties with the Xiao Family.

Otherwise, if the family remained as soft and weak as a toothless tiger, how could he justify lending them a helping hand?