You Promised to Be an Idle Son-in-Law, How Could You Become a Land Immortal? Chapter 124: Heaven’s Will is on My Side

Chen Yi’s unexpected late return this ti had likely truly worried the people of the Xiao Mansion.

So much so that when he ca out after washing up and changing his clothes, Xiao Wan’er couldn’t help but say a few words.

She started by explaining, "When Guanli and Huatang returned tonight, they waited and waited but saw no sign of you, so they ca to find ."

Then, she distanced herself from the decision: "I figured you’d be fine, but Wuge was a little worried, so I was the one who sent Huatang and the others to look for you."

Xiao Wuge: ???

Xiao Wan’er ignored his look and continued with a reminder:

"Next ti, rember to stick to the main roads. After all, you haven’t been out of the mansion many tis, and you’ve always had the mansion’s Personal Guards with you. It’s easy to get lost wandering the streets and alleys at night."

As she reached the end, her tone was tinged with a bit of lingering fear.

"If sothing had happened to you, how could I have explained it to Second Sister? After all, I was the one who sent you to Hundred Herbs Hall."

Chen Yi agreed to it all, acting obedient and docile.

At a ti like this, saying anything else would only displease those who were concerned about him.

The best thing to do was to remain silent and smile.

Before long, Xie Tingyun and Shen Huatang returned. Upon seeing him, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

But upon learning that he had gotten lost in unfamiliar streets and alleys, Xie Tingyun, with her straightforward and carefree personality, said bluntly:

"Young Master-in-law, you’re not familiar with the roads in the Prefecture City. It’s best if you go out less."

Chen Yi smiled and nodded, but his eyes looked toward Xiao Wan’er.

’See? I told you I should just stay in the mansion.’

Xiao Wan’er naturally understood the aning in his eyes. She gave a rare roll of her eyes and turned her head away, refusing to look at him.

"It’s so late. Let’s eat first."

Chen Yi grinned and imdiately picked up his chopsticks, digging into a bowl of rice.

He had been too active tonight and was so hungry his stomach felt like it was stuck to his spine.

Even Xiao Wan’er, Xiao Wuge, Xiaodie, and the others ate more than usual, perhaps due to the emotional rollercoaster they had been on.

Only Pei Guanli, who had long known about Chen Yi’s Martial Arts Cultivation, was completely unfazed.

Earlier, while waiting for Chen Yi to return, she had been the least worried of them all.

After dinner.

The group dispersed.

Xiaodie and Xiao Wuge returned to their rooms to rest.

Chen Yi, anwhile, took a teapot to the pavilion to enjoy the sumr night’s breeze.

Perhaps because it had been a long ti since he’d co here this late, the Golden Carp seed to rember him. They leaped and splashed, their tails flinging water all over him.

"Holding a grudge, are we?"

"Just you wait..."

Chen Yi chuckled and cursed under his breath, his mood finally relaxing completely.

Martial Arts were, in the end, the art of killing.

He had understood this from the mont he began his Cultivation and had long since prepared himself ntally.

Besides, the person he had killed tonight was soone like Liu Jing. He could just consider it ridding the world of a pest.

However, Liu Jing dying in Shu State at this ti would likely change the course of so events.

Even if the people from the Imprisonnt Departnt or the Liu Family didn’t trace it back to him, they would still suspect the Xiao Family.

There was no doubt about this.

After all, the Xiao and Liu Families had just had a minor clash.

Although it was rely an initial probe by the Liu Family, and apart from the deaths of Qian Kuan and his n, neither side had suffered significant losses.

But at a ti like this, for the Sixth Young Master of the Jing State Liu Family to die in Shu State...

...the developnt of events would surely exceed the expectations of those in the know.

’The Xiao Family and the Liu Family should have tacitly downplayed this matter...’

Chen Yi watched the Golden Carp in the pond while slurping his tea.

His face was calm, but his mind was already a storm of crashing waves.

On an invisible ga board, he picked up and put down white stones from the box, one by one.

The positions of the Heizi shifted unpredictably as he deduced several possibilities.

’The worst-case scenario is that this becos the fuse that ignites a war between the Xiao and Liu Families.’

’The next worst is that the Xiao Family bows its head slightly, joins forces with the Imprisonnt Departnt, and finds the person who killed Liu Jing—which is .’

’After that, the Liu Family could accept their loss and proactively retreat, temporarily burying this grudge and waiting for an opportunity to make a coback.’

’And the best outco would be for the Xiao and Liu Families to shake hands and make peace...’

However, Chen Yi knew in his heart.

If the Jing State Liu Family wanted to use this as a pretext, then Liu Hong, the Left Envoy of the Shu State Governor’s Office, was the sharpest Blade in their hands.

Although the Jing State Liu Family had previously been dissatisfied with how Liu Hong handled the Linglan Pavilion incident, they were all still Lius at the end of the day.

Whether it was the Lius of Shu State or the Lius of Jing State, if they wanted to deal with the Xiao Family, they had to support each other.

’So, if the Xiao and Liu Families really do go to war in the future, the key will be Liu Hong.’

While labeling Liu Hong with the identity of a "Heizi," Chen Yi recalled what he had recently learned about the political situation in Shu State.

The Shu State Governor’s Office, the Inspectorate Office, and the Capital Commandery each had two envoys.

Nominally, the Left Envoy was the head and the Right Envoy was the subordinate, but their official ranks were the sa.

The Governors were both Junior Second Grade, in charge of a prefecture’s civil administration and taxation, with the Revenue Departnt and the Household Registration Bureau under them.

This system was designed to allow the Left and Right Envoys to counterbalance each other.

However, in the current Shu State Governor’s Office, the Right Envoy, Yang Ye, was old and about to retire to his hotown, giving him the air of soone who no longer cared for political affairs.

Therefore, Liu Hong, who was in his pri, effectively reigned supre in the Governor’s Office.

’I must put so pressure on Liu Hong.’

’Otherwise, with no one in Shu State to check his power, he poses too great a threat to the Xiao Family.’

After a mont of thought, Chen Yi placed the most crucial white stone on the board.

It was—the Right Envoy of the Shu State Governor’s Office, Yang Ye!

An old man on the brink of retirent, originally completely unrelated to this affair, was about to beco the key piece that would determine the outco of the conflict between the Xiao and Liu Families.

With a rough plan in mind.

Chen Yi put down the teapot, let out a long breath, and stood up to look at the night sky.

He saw a thick bank of dark clouds appear beneath the once-bright full moon.

Imdiately after, raindrops began to fall—PATTER, PATTER—on the pavilion roof.

Chen Yi raised an eyebrow slightly. ’It seems heaven is on my side.’

Under the cover of the rain, the aura in that courtyard, along with any tracks he left after coming from Hundred Herbs Hall, would all be washed away.

If this wasn’t the will of heaven, what was?

After standing silently for a mont.

Chen Yi put away the teacup and returned to the wooden building to rest, a few thoughts surfacing in his mind:

’Getting Yang Ye to side with the Xiao Family will be difficult, but not impossible.’

’I’m afraid I’ll have to spend so ti getting closer to Li Huai’gu.’

There was no other way. To move Yang Ye, this chess piece, going through Li Huai’gu was the most direct thod.

After all, his wife was Yang Ye’s adopted daughter.

However, the fastest way to influence Li Huai’gu was through his teacher—Mr. Yue Ming of Guiyun Academy.

At this thought, Chen Yi couldn’t help but grimace as if he had a toothache.

After going around in circles, he seed to have returned to the one question he had been avoiding for the past two days—

whether or not to accept the Instructor position at Guiyun Academy.

’It seems I don’t have a choice in the matter anymore.’

...

Just after 3 a.m.

The sky above Shu State Prefecture City bood with continuous thunder, and flashes of lightning illuminated the night, one after another.

But in the torrential downpour, a pedestrian’s vision was still blurred and obscured by the curtain of rain.

In a residence about five li from the Dingyuan Marquis’s Mansion.

A group of more than a dozen Imprisonnt Officers, wearing Raincoats, long Blades hanging from their waists, and rain boots on their feet, were busy working in the downpour.

"Damn it all! This rain could’ve co earlier or later, but it just had to pour nonstop at a ti like this."

A slender Imprisonnt Officer walked through the courtyard, reminding his colleagues to carefully avoid the central area.

"Everyone, pay attention! Don’t ss up the footprints."

"It’s already a ss. If you all keep trampling all over the place, how the hell am I supposed to investigate this case?"

The surrounding n cursed back good-naturedly and didn’t cause any more trouble.

Instead, they hurried into the main hall and cupped their hands in a salute to a woman inside who had taken off her Raincoat and was dressed in red brocade.

"Lord Hundred Households, your subordinate has already questioned the surrounding residents. None of them saw any suspicious individuals pass by last night."

"Only one person heard a disturbance from this direction, but because they were too far away, they thought it was just soone arguing."

The woman in red grunted in acknowledgnt. Her gaze remained on the five corpses in the hall as she circulated her True Essence to probe the surrounding fluctuations in Spiritual Qi.

But too much ti had passed, and she found nothing.

However, the corpses themselves offered so clues.

"The killer was decisive, and every blow was fatal. His Cultivation and Technique are clearly far superior to these people’s."

"Middle Three Grades, or... at least Upper Seventh Grade."

"Additionally, he is skilled in Palm Technique and Body Technique, and possesses great Power."

"He should be a tall, sturdy person with powerful muscles and bones. The Pile Skill he practices must be of a high grade."

The woman in red had soone record her findings, then she went up to the top-floor study.

She glanced past the two sickly old n and looked at Liu Jing lying on the floor, letting out a soft "Huh?"

She squatted down to observe him closely for a mont, then felt Liu Jing’s neck, her brow furrowing slightly.

"The killer had a grudge against this man."

Hearing this, a nearby Imprisonnt Officer asked in confusion, "Lord Hundred Households Fang, how did you determine that he had a grudge against these people?"

The woman in red stood up, her eyes scanning the surroundings as she spoke:

"The killer crushed his throat first before killing the others. He clearly wanted him to live for a few monts longer."

She paused, then looked at the Imprisonnt Officer and said grimly, "And being alive at that mont would only have been more painful."

The Imprisonnt Officer’s face lit with understanding, and he imdiately began to flatter her, "As expected of Hundred Households Fang, renowned throughout the Shu State Imprisonnt Departnt."

"Just tell us what to do."

The woman in red pondered for a mont. "First, investigate the identities of these people."

"Judging from their clothing and the decor here, they must have so background."