Chapter 131: The Chen Family Council

The reception hall of the Chen family residence in Baiyue Village.

Although it was already night, the hall was brightly illuminated, as brilliant as day. At this moment, everyone present wore a grave expression as they plotted and discussed matters together.

Chen Zonghe, the patriarch of the Chen clan, sat in the uppermost seat. In the guest seat sat Cheng Ke, a prominent Licentiate from Gaochang Town, and below him sat Cheng Ke’s fourth son, Cheng Dingbang, who was renowned as the "Child Prodigy of Qingdu." Next to them was a soft couch upon which lay Chen Wen'an, the eldest son of the Chen family. Though his facial features were refined, he was unable to straighten his back. Seated at the very bottom was Chen Wenju.

Cheng Ke had arrived at the Chen family estate in the afternoon. Given his status and standing, he far outranked the clan patriarch Chen Zonghe, and he would not normally condescend to visit the Chen family. Yet his presence today clearly indicated that something of great importance was at hand.

Cheng Ke took the initiative to speak. "Brother Zonghe, Immortal Master Li promised to return today. Why is there still no sign of him?"

Chen Zonghe hurriedly offered a flattering smile. "Brother Cheng, please do not be impatient. The Immortal Master is a man of his word. Since he set out on his travels and promised to return today, I am sure he will be back before the day is done."

Cheng Ke nodded slightly, though clear dissatisfaction was written across his face.

Recalling the incident at the county academy, father and son Cheng Ke and Cheng Dingbang had been utterly humiliated by Zhou Zhi, leaving them bruised and battered. The two of them had been harboring a tremendous amount of fury ever since. In the past, given Cheng Ke’s status as a Licentiate and his formidable family background, dealing with a mere nobody like Zhou Zhi would have been a trivial matter.

Yet, as luck would have it, Zhou Zhi had exceptionally managed to become a student of Magistrate Chen Guangyao. While Cheng Ke could easily contend with Zhou Zhi, he could not afford to provoke Magistrate Chen Guangyao. Although Chen Guangyao might not have been able to cover the heavens with a single hand in Qingdu County, he was, after all, the county magistrate, and his authority was by no means negligible. With Chen Guangyao backing Zhou Zhi from the shadows, Cheng Ke truly found himself at his wits' end regarding Zhou Zhi for the moment.

Driven to utter helplessness, he had no choice but to pin his hopes on the Daoist priest Li Shun. Since Li Shun had gone out wandering two months prior and promised to return precisely on this day, Cheng Ke had rushed over eagerly to see what methods Li Shun might devise.

After the company sat in silence for a long while without any sign of Li Shun, Cheng Dingbang was the first to lose his patience. Cupping his hands toward Chen Zonghe, he asked, "Uncle Chen, are we really unable to deal with Zhou Zhi without that Daoist priest?"

Chen Wenju chimed in as well, "Indeed, Father! Zhou Zhi is merely a country bumpkin without even a scholarly rank to his name. Can the combined might of us and Teacher Cheng truly not deal with him?"

Chen Zonghe smiled wryly. "You young fellows are still young; you think of matters far too simply. You must not act on rash bravery alone!

"Do you realize that the Zhou Zhi of today is no longer the one of the past? Not only is he on extremely close terms with Lv Xingchuan, but he has also taken Magistrate Chen as his master. By now, his wings are fully grown. If we wish to deal with him, we must devise a foolproof plan.

We either make no move at all, but the moment we strike... heh heh! We must ensure Zhou Zhi is left with no escape from death.

That said, whether we speak of the Chen family or the Cheng family, we are, after all, families of good repute. If we were truly to commit such a deed as taking a man's life, it would hardly be seemly."

At this point, the folds of fat on Chen Zonghe's pale face twitched slightly as he narrowed his small eyes and glanced toward Cheng Ke.

How could Cheng Ke fail to grasp Chen Zonghe's intention? Chen Zonghe was attempting to use a borrowed knife to kill—he wanted to make use of Li Shun. Even as a Licentiate, Cheng Ke could not help but secretly give Chen Zonghe a mental thumbs-up. For the Chen family to establish a firm foothold in Baiyue Village and stand on equal footing with the deeply rooted Yue family, this Chen Zonghe was indeed full of scheming and deeply cunning.

Yet what worried Cheng Ke was whether Li Shun would willingly do the Chen family's bidding and rack his brains to send Zhou Zhi to his death.

Lifting his chin, Chen Wenju spoke with an expression of utter disdain, "Had you listened to my words from the start and dealt with Zhou Zhi promptly, we wouldn't have nurtured a tiger to cause trouble until today, allowing his wings to grow so full.

Damn it all, I never imagined that brat Zhou Zhi would actually amount to something."

Cheng Ke remarked, "To say he has 'amounted to something' is still far too premature. After all, he has yet to attain any official rank. Heh! Come to think of it, his becoming Chen Guangyao's student is both a blessing and a curse. It entirely depends on how the likes of us manipulate the situation hereafter.

Next spring will bring the minor preliminary examinations. The county examination questions are set by the magistrate himself. If that brat Zhou Zhi does not perform poorly, heh! Should the school children of Qingdu County make an issue of him being Chen Guangyao's student, it is far from certain that Zhou Zhi will ultimately succeed. As for Magistrate Chen Guangyao, I imagine he will find himself in an utterly excruciating position by then—it is even entirely possible that he could be stripped of his official post."

Though his words were not fully spelled out, everyone present understood his meaning perfectly. Clearly, Cheng Ke was implying that they could make an issue of things during the upcoming minor preliminary county examinations next spring.

In truth, Cheng Ke was a man of profound depth. By voicing these thoughts today, he had a personal agenda of his own.

Cheng Ke was eager to deal with Zhou Zhi, yet he had specifically come to the Chen family to seek Li Shun's counsel. This risked causing Chen Zonghe to look down upon him. By speaking thus, he invisibly elevated his own status, leading Chen Zonghe to believe that Cheng Ke was fully capable of handling and disciplining Zhou Zhi, but merely disdained to do so himself.

Furthermore, Cheng Ke harbored another motive. Being a Licentiate, he and his son Cheng Dingbang would feel a degree of timidity if they were to stir up massive waves during the preliminary county examinations themselves. Voicing these ideas now served as a convenient way to hint at them to Chen Wenju.

Cheng Ke knew Chen Wenju's temperament all too well; Chen Wenju was a natural seed of disaster. When the time came, letting Chen Wenju execute this plan would allow Cheng Ke to reap the rewards without lifting a finger. From this perspective, Cheng Ke's approach was likewise a stratagem of using a borrowed knife to kill.

Of course, all of this would only transpire on the condition that Li Shun proved helpless and failed to put Zhou Zhi to death. If Li Shun could truly heed Chen Zonghe's commands and find a way to eliminate Zhou Zhi, that, naturally, would be best of all.

Chen Wen'an, the eldest son of the Chen family, spoke with furious indignation, "Regardless of the method used, Zhou Zhi must die! The Zhou family must vanish from Baiyue Village! I cannot bear to let that brat Zhou Zhi draw breath in this world for a single day longer."

Driven by love turned to hatred, this cripple had originally set his sights on Zhou Lüyun. His soul completely captivated, he had single-mindedly desired to take Zhou Lüyun as his wife, only for the Zhou family to reject him without a moment's hesitation. This had plunged him into absolute despair, and by now, his hatred for the Zhou family had long since penetrated to his very bones.

Heh! If one were to say Chen Wenju's psychology was distorted, then this Chen Wen'an was a distortion among distortions.

Just as the group was deeply engrossed in their discussion, the Chen family's elderly gatekeeper suddenly called out loudly from outside the hall, "Immortal Master Li has returned! Immortal Master Li has returned!"

Hearing this, Chen Zonghe and the others rose to their feet in unison. Cheng Ke maintained a gloomy expression; though deeply reluctant at heart, he eventually forced himself to stand up as well.

Draped in a black cloak on the outside, wearing a brand-new Daoist robe underneath, and holding a horsetail whisk in his hand, Li Shun walked slowly into the hall with an air of complete composure.

He cast a calm smile toward the crowd and seated himself in the grand master's chair beside Chen Zonghe.

Chen Zonghe's fat face blossomed like a chrysanthemum as he smiled ingratiatingly. "The Immortal Master has finally returned! The two beautiful women the Immortal Master asked me to find have already been secured, and they are currently in the inner courtyards of the Chen estate. Immortal Master, heh! Tonight shall truly be a night of consummate bliss!"

Li Shun smiled faintly once more and said, "This Daoist thanks Master Chen. Everyone has gathered here so uniformly—surely it is on account of that brat Zhou Zhi, is it not? Rest assured, gentlemen. Although this Daoist has been wandering abroad for a full two months, I have constantly kept the Zhou family under observation from the shadows, waiting for the opportune moment.

To be frank with you all, the opportunity has now matured. I made arrangements just a few days ago, and I dare guarantee that within a month's time, Zhou Zhi will have his head severed by Chen Guangyao!"