Chapter 187: Chapter 186: After and Before
Morning.
"You seem like you should be going to the newspaper office."
"Don’t want to."
"You’ve changed. Ah, people are really like that, once they get something, they don’t cherish it. You promised to work and support me, but now you’re turning your back on me..."
"I! Right! Now!" Qing Lan kicked him with each word: "Legs! Are! So! Weak!"
Le Yu clicked his tongue and shook his head, "You should practice combat technique now, your condition is so poor..."
"I have been practicing; Xiangxue Sea makes us train a pretty simple simplified combat technique every day, just for this... but it’s my first time!"
"Who hasn’t?"
"I don’t believe it."
"You actually don’t believe what the abstinence Grandmaster said."
"Alright, I believe it. Since it’s everyone’s first time, let’s keep sleeping."
"Is it really that exhausting?"
"You’d understand if you were a woman."
"If I get the chance, maybe I will understand."
Qing Lan: "?" As she typed out that question mark, she clearly didn’t think she had a problem herself but believed the person in front of her had an issue.
"Fine." Le Yu sat up, "Then you keep sleeping. I’ll send someone to the newspaper to say something. I guess I’ll be back in the afternoon; you can eat whatever at noon, and in the afternoon we can go to Damo Stone Street and eat and drink—"
"Come and sleep with me a bit longer."
"Not sleeping. I need to give Qin Le Yin a response."
"That really pretty red-haired person?"
"He’s a man, come on, are you jealous of even this? No, no, no?" Just as Le Yu wanted to get out of bed, his body shivered, stiffly turning his head to look at Qing Lan hiding in the blanket with her red cheeks.
"Didn’t you say you were exhausted?" Le Yu lamented, "You just don’t want to work, right."
"I already said, Xiangxue Sea taught us a combat technique..." Qing Lan shyly said, "Aside from maintaining the figure and boosting endurance, it also greatly enhances recovery ability, as Xiangxue Sea does business like this after all..."
Le Yu was a bit frightened, "If every day is at this intensity, I suspect I’d really have to sleep till afternoon to recover."
"No, don’t worry; I know my limits, leave it to me."
"I feel like our roles have switched..."
"Young master, you’re speaking words I don’t understand again." Qing Lan laughed secretly, "Young master, you’ve really gotten much happier."
"Actually, it hasn’t changed. I was this happy playing cards with you before, but you’re not meticulous at all, ruined me a lot..."
"Stop talking."
...
...
Heming Court.
Qin Le Yin was thoughtfully watching Le Yu adding goji berries to honey Five-Flower Tea, chuckling softly, "So Jing Young Master likes adding goji berries? I remember there wasn’t this seasoning before, was there?"
"The path to longevity lies in health preservation," Le Yu responded without blinking, yet Qin Le Yin still watched him with a teasing smile, making Le Yu somewhat unable to maintain face, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Qin Le Yin shook his head and smiled, "Does Jing Young Master have the habit of taking a bath before going out?"
Le Yu’s eyebrows twitched, "You can see through this?"
"Didn’t see it, smelled it. Given your strong cologne scent... looks like you were busy for quite a while this morning."
"Yeah, yeah, I usually train combat techniques in the morning," Le Yu casually talked, quickly changing topics, "By the way, where’s your sister?"
"Why? Do you want to see her?" Qin Le Yin said, "If Jing Young Master still wishes for a family bond between Jing and Qin families, I welcome it infinitely. But... Yueshi is my sister after all, you at least have to welcome her with the status of a legitimate wife..."
"Stop, stop, stop. I’m just worried your sister might suddenly jump out and chop me."
"When you’re with me, you don’t need to fear."
Le Yu instinctively dragged his chair away from Qin Le Yin.
This red-haired guy speaks weirdly, has a large family, and strong power; Le Yu felt like he’s a lamb in a tiger’s den this time.
Qin Le Yin didn’t mind his actions at all, leisurely sipping tea, "If she really appears, the first person she would cut is me, her own brother, not you, Jing Zhengwei."
"You siblings have quite a bond."
"Qin Family’s deep sibling affection is celebrated in Xuanzhu, thank you, Jing Young Master, for your appreciation."
While they were chatting back and forth, Qin Yueyang, wearing a black cross white shirt, knocked on the door, "Brother, they have arrived."
Qin Le Yin said calmly, "Let them in."
Before long, the living room was full of capitalist villains.
"Where are the others?" Luo Zhen sat heavily, looking at the other five, "Where are Zhao, Zhou, Fang, and Li?"
"They only plan to send collateral family members to the negotiation group," Qin Le Yin said.
"A wise choice, a short-sighted decision," Quan Xin took his black thick double-headed dragon pen, spinning it and sneering.
Just as Qin Le Yin guessed, after the Silver Blood meeting ended, each association head returned, lay in bed and thought, then quickly figured out the Ting Family’s infinite matryoshka doll stratagem, and they were left with only two choices:
Send a direct lineage member, could die, could return and take over the family, maybe even become Silver Blood president.
Send a collateral member, could die, could return and be swayed by the Ting Family, impossible to become Silver Blood president.
But being swayed by the Ting Family has one prerequisite: all would send collateral members, then the Ting Family forms an alliance with these members, internally and externally conspiring to seize assets from each association.
If half the associations send direct lineage heirs and they come back alive, the Ting Family may not be able to renew presidency, even unable to sway other associations’ collateral members—everyone strives for benefits; relatives and the family have no deep blood feud, only when the Ting Family holds absolute advantage would collateral members consider colluding out of greed.
However, if the Ting Family can’t even continue as president, collateral members naturally become faithful family pawns, hoping to retire early by showing loyalty.
Upon analysis like this, the lower-ranked several associations started to think: If the top five associations all send direct lineage heirs, will they benefit from sending theirs too?
No!
Even though they are all in the top ten, ninth can’t compare to first.
Whether their direct lineage heir can return alive aside, even with Linhai Army commander’s recognition as Silver Blood president, the top five associations simply wouldn’t comply!
A president with insufficient strength is just a tool for the top five associations!
So Zhao, Zhou, Fang, and Li’s four associations understood too, sending direct lineage heirs, likely to die, if they return alive, can only lead the family—but direct lineage heirs are the next patriarch anyway!
However, sending collateral members, regardless of life or death, doesn’t matter, as the Ting Family’s scheme will be solved by the top few associations; just as ’if the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up.’
Although it makes sense like this, everyone in this room was still displeased—you’re not joining us in hardship, you’re done for!
After all, Silver Blood’s younger generations are quite familiar, the top ten’s direct lineage heirs forming their own clique, usually inviting each other for meals, leisure activities with male/female companions.
But here we are risking our lives, while you’re sheltered by the family enjoying the gains!
These years of friendship through wining and dining, wiped clean!
Quan Xin and Luo Zhen cursed those people fiercely, Lan Jianbo calmly said, "Alright, talk business now. Qin Le Yin, why did you call us over, what’s the plan?"
"Naturally to prepare for the day-after-tomorrow’s negotiations," Qin Le Yin said, "You wouldn’t be joining the negotiation group based on the assumption of a ’successful assassination,’ right? If so, I admire your noble conduct."
Le Yu sipped tea on the side, casually asking, "’Failed assassination’ leading to negotiations, I can understand; but if there’s actually a ’successful assassination,’ can we possibly discuss a plan to leave the camp alive?"
Before Qin Le Yin could reply, Luo Zhen sarcastically said, "There’s always been a plan to leave the camp alive, right?"
"You agree, Ting Zhaozhao, Lord Second Young Ting?"
Since entering, Ting Zhaozhao, who had been quiet, ignored Luo Zhen’s provocation, glanced around, and calmly said, "I know you have many questions for me, but I believe we need to establish a shared understanding first—"
"I’m also a victim."