Wealth is found in danger, and also lost in danger. When sought, it’s one in ten; when lost, it’s nine in ten.

The Chen family has stood firm in the imperial court for hundreds of years, witnessing countless fleeting visitors and gamblers, outlasting many brilliant talents. Their reliance wasn’t on continuous victories, but on being undefeated.

Chen Ji dared to come to Wendantang because he deeply understood that the Chen family’s support for the Crown Prince’s downfall was a forced choice. If there was an opportunity to switch allegiances, the Chen family would certainly not miss it.

Chen Lizun rose and bowed to Chen Gelao, saying, “Father, your son will personally make a trip to the Qi family now.”

Chen Gelao shook his head, “You don’t need to go personally. Just send Chen Huang, who is by your side, and have him go ostentatiously.”

Chen Lizun was startled and responded softly, “Yes.”

After Chen Lizun left, Chen Gelao looked at Chen Ji, “Do you know why I didn’t let your eldest uncle go personally?”

Chen Ji pondered for a moment, “A person of high status speaks late.”

Chen Gelao stroked his beard and mused for two breaths, “Well said, ‘a person of high status speaks late,’ that’s precisely what I mean.”

The saying “a person of high status speaks late” is understood by some to mean that a person of high status thinks carefully before speaking.

In fact, there is another meaning: a villain speaks very quickly when lying, like pouring beans from a bamboo tube, afraid you won’t believe him. A person of high status, however, has their own confidence; they don’t need to rush when speaking, nor do they need to persuade you. Believe it or not.

And now that Chen Ji had been granted a noble title, and with the matter of the Prince Fu leading his horse, the Qi family might not wish for a marriage alliance, but there were still the Hu, Xu, and Yang families. Therefore, sending Chen Lizun would be too grand, almost like forcing a marriage.

Sending Chen Huang, a mere steward, was just right.

Chen Lizhi didn’t want to hear them talk anymore, so he rose and walked out, “Family Head, it’s getting late. You should rest early.”

Chen Gelao slowly said, “Did I permit you to leave?”

Chen Lizhi suddenly turned around, his eyes slightly narrowed, “What more does the Family Head want?”

Chen Gelao didn’t rush to answer but stood up and walked to the east side of Wendantang.

Clad in a crimson official robe, he tremblingly picked up a long sword from a rack, “Everyone knows that this sword is the one our Chen family ancestor carried when he fought alongside Ning Chao Taizu to found the dynasty. The one in the Forbidden City is called ‘Zhenguo,’ and ours is called ‘Zhendan’.”

Chen Lizhi clasped his hands within his official robe, his back straight like a withered pine, as if he was ready to throw caution to the wind, “Old man, all these treasures of the Chen family were originally ours. I know them well; you don’t need to introduce them.”

Chen Gelao shook his head, raising the sword to point at Chen Lizhi, “You don’t know, but this sword broke two hundred years ago. The one before your eyes is merely a re-forging commissioned by that Family Head, Chen Zhongzi, from the famous craftsman Zhou Ye.”

Chen Lizhi was startled, “How is it that I don’t know?”

Chen Gelao casually said, “Among the thirty thousand books in the Kuizhang Pavilion of Xiaoyingzhou, there are Chen Zhongzi’s essays, which record this event. Young people today no longer enjoy reading much, so they don’t know about family affairs, nor national affairs… Do you know why he recorded this?”

Chen Lizhi raised an eyebrow, sat back in his chair, and picked up his teacup, “If you want to say something, just say it.”

Chen Gelao slowly stroked the sword’s blade, “He recorded this to tell future generations of the Chen family that even a sword that guards the founding of the nation can be reforged if broken. There are no insurmountable obstacles in this world, and the Chen family has been reforged time and again in this manner.”

Chen Lizhi no longer concealed his feelings, sneering, “Are you trying to say that your taking over the Chen family’s estate as a concubine’s son also counts as reforging a broken sword?”

Chen Gelao returned to the hall but didn’t sit in the armchair at the head. Instead, he carried the Zhendan Sword and approached Chen Lizhi, “Jingshu, I know that all these years you’ve believed I conspired to kill your father, and you also resent me for colluding with the third branch and the clan elders to seize your Chen family’s estate. Is that not right?”

Chen Lizhi’s thoughts were exposed, and his expression changed.

“Let’s be frank with each other,” Chen Gelao shook his head, “If your father’s incident was my doing, could I have kept you alive until today? Do you perhaps think I lack the ability to completely eradicate a threat?”

Chen Lizhi unconsciously tightened his grip on the armrest.

Now, the second branch’s power had been almost entirely clipped, with only a few lingering contingencies. If Chen Luchí had been determined to cut off the roots, he truly wouldn’t have lived until today.

Chen Gelao suddenly rested the Zhendan Sword on Chen Lizhi’s shoulder. Chen Lizhi’s expression remained unchanged, “What, are you going to kill me here in Wendantang? How will you face our ancestors?”

Chen Gelao withdrew the Zhendan Sword, grasped its blade, and extended the hilt towards Chen Lizhi, “If you want to avenge your father, you can kill me with one strike right now.”

Inside Wendantang, cold light glinted all around.

The sword tip pointed at Chen Gelao, and the hilt was right before Chen Lizhi’s nose.

Chen Gelao no longer had his previous decrepit appearance; he looked like a powerful, ambitious official who manipulated the court.

Chen Lizhi was filled with doubt and uncertainty. Chen Xu was not nearby, and Chen Ji might not even intervene. If he took the sword now, he might truly kill his enemy with one strike.

But his fingers twitched, yet he ultimately did not reach out for the sword.

Chen Gelao smiled, tossed the Zhendan Sword to Chen Ji, “Put it back.”

He lifted the hem of his official robe and sat down in the chair opposite Chen Lizhi, “Since you are unwilling to act, why not listen to me tell you about what happened back then?”

Chen Lizhi coldly said, “Speak.”

Chen Gelao recalled, “That day was Laba. Your father led the Chen clan members to Yuanjue Temple outside the city for blessings and to distribute congee. This was a Chen family custom, not a secret. When he entered Yuanjue Temple and reached the Daxiongbaodian, a young man suddenly rushed over and whispered a few words to him. He then left his guards in Yuanjue Temple to look after his family, and he himself left with four guest officials. I wasn’t the only one who could have tipped him off; dozens of others were present.”

Chen Lizhi ferociously said, “If you can’t find the mastermind, then whoever benefits is the mastermind! My father’s head is still displayed in the Jingchao Imperial Palace. If I don’t avenge this, I won’t have peace day or night, and I’ll have no face to meet him in the afterlife! And you, after my father’s death, encroached upon our family’s estate and rose rapidly through the ranks!”

Chen Ji, holding the Zhendan Sword, walked to the east side of Wendantang, masking his expression.

He had already deduced from various clues that the assassination of the Minister of Revenue that year was orchestrated by his “birth mother,” Lu Shi, but he didn’t realize that Chen family grudges were also intertwined in it.

“I know you had a very deep relationship with your father; I admire that,” Chen Gelao looked up at him, “But at that time, someone went to investigate, and only Lu Jin’s footprints, an outsider, were found at the scene. That day, heavy snow covered the road; this cannot be mistaken.”

Chen Lizhi said gravely, “What exactly do you want to say?”

Chen Gelao asked, “What were the cultivation realms of those four guest officials by your father’s side?”

“One Xundaojing Da Xingguan, three Xiantian.”

“I also thought Lu Jin was the assassin back then,” Chen Gelao asked again, “But have you ever considered, after all these years, has anyone ever mentioned that Lu Jin was a Da Xingguan? Has anyone ever seen him display his strength? In the 27th year of Jianing, a secret rumor from Jingchao said Lu Jin was assassinated. The assassin was merely a Xiantian-level Xingguan, yet managed to stab him in the left leg with one strike.”

But Chen Lizhi scoffed, “You’re trying to fool ghosts! In the 27th year of Jianing, Lu Jin was already a third-rank official. His cultivation had dissipated, so naturally, he couldn’t contend with a Xiantian-level practitioner.”

Chen Gelao shook his head, “That’s why I called it a secret rumor. The promotion decree and the assassination happened on the same day. Someone deliberately confused the public, making them mistakenly believe he was assassinated after receiving the imperial decree. In reality, it was not so. I sent someone to confirm that the assassination was at noon, and the decree was received in the evening at Shenshi… He was promoted to third-rank after the assassination. When Lu Jin assassinated your father, he might have only been a Xiantian.”

Inside Wendantang, Chen Ji stood with his back to the two, placing the Zhendan Sword back on the rack.

He had dealt with a Xundaojing Da Xingguan. Even with Liao Zhong barely clinging to life, he wouldn’t dare say he could definitely kill Liao Zhong; he ultimately relied on Ping Yi.

If Lu Jin were a Da Xingguan, he would never have been assassinated by a Xiantian-level Xingguan. If he wasn’t, then the murderer of the Chen family’s Minister of Revenue was someone else.

On that day, the only one present with the strength to assassinate the Chen family’s Minister of Revenue was the Xundaojing guest official by his side; it couldn’t have been anyone else.

Chen Lizhi gravely said, “But that guest official also died. If he was an accomplice, why would he die?”

Chen Gelao looked at him, “I also borrowed the files from Jiefanlou from the Chief Minister and found that this guest official died dozens of *zhang* outside your father’s sedan, having been stabbed through the heart from the back.”

Chen Lizhi frowned, “A sneak attack?”

Chen Gelao nodded, “Exactly. I suspect this person and Lu Jin were accomplices, but after assassinating your father, he was ambushed and killed by Lu Jin at close range… He trusted Lu Jin very much.”

Chen Ji, with his back to the two, closed his eyes in deep thought.

After Lu Jin defected, he took the head of the Minister of Revenue and fled to Jingchao. When he reappeared, it was two months later.

Why would he do that?

At this moment, Chen Gelao continued, “Do you remember the identity of that guest official? Let me tell you, this person was originally a Qianhu of the Guyuan Border Army, Zhou Che. He was injured years ago and returned to the capital, finding a job under the Chen family.”

Without waiting for Chen Lizhi to speak, Chen Gelao continued, “You know better than I what your father did to Qing Wentao, the General Soldier of the Guyuan Border Army. I don’t know why they would have joined forces, but this matter was definitely not my doing.”

Chen Lizhi’s expression flickered in the candlelight, and he was speechless for a moment.

Chen Gelao slowly stood up and returned to sit in the armchair at the head, “You resent me for taking the position of Minister of Revenue, but if I hadn’t taken it then, who else in the Chen family could have? You? You couldn’t; you didn’t have the qualifications then. Could I just watch our great power fall to others and be slowly devoured?”

Chen Lizhi sneered but did not answer.

“Jingshu,” Chen Gelao said hoarsely, “Family matters, contend but do not break apart. That is why I have tolerated you all these years. You are, after all, a pillar of my Chen family. Chen Ji cannot be a Tangguan, nor can he be a Geghen. This position of Minister of Revenue, I will hand it over to your son, Chen Yu, in the future.”

Chen Lizhi’s face showed surprise, “Are you willing? Why not give it to Chen Lizun?”

“Shaofu is timid and lacks courage; he cannot support our vast Chen family,” Chen Gelao waved his hand wearily, “Go now, I am tired.”

Jingshu was Chen Lizhi’s courtesy name, and Shaofu was Chen Lizun’s courtesy name. Neither Chen Lizhi nor Chen Ji had expected that Chen Gelao actually intended to return the Chen family’s power to the second branch.

Chen Lizhi stood up and bowed, “These years, your nephew has misunderstood the Family Head. I take my leave.”

He turned and stepped out of Wendantang, walking towards Qin Zheng Yuan.

The steward Wang Duo followed slightly behind Chen Lizhi, whispering, “Master, you believed him?”

Chen Lizhi sneered, flicking the sleeve of his official robe, “The old man offered a way down; could I possibly be so impolite? Just you wait!”

At this moment, Chen Xu strode quickly towards them.

Chen Lizhi glanced at him sideways, “What’s wrong, in such a hurry?”

Chen Xu gave him a look and, without turning his head as he passed him, said, “The Qi family, Hu family, and Yang family have all sent people. Qi Xian Shu from the Qi family, Hu Junye from the Hu family, and Yang Zhan from the Yang family.”

Chen Lizhi raised an eyebrow, “What are these people doing at my Chen family in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?”

Chen Xu walked past him, still without turning his head, “Naturally, they are here for Young Master Chen Ji’s marriage.”

Chen Lizhi spat on the ground, “Pah, that kid has become a hot commodity now?”

(End of chapter)