Volume 3, Chapter 348 – What I Want Is All of the Chi Family

Another morning arrived.

The small courtyard where Lu Zhuxin stayed remained as calm and uneventful as ever.

Ever since Chi Jingwen had placed her under house arrest inside the Chi Residence, she had not done anything out of the ordinary.

Chi Jingwen kept a close watch on her, and Lu Zhuxin did not even have a spare moment to slip to the abandoned house in the back courtyard to check on the little wolf.

Fortunately, the little wolf was well-behaved enough. She had not caused any trouble over these past few days despite her absence.

Beihe Commandery remained under lockdown. On the surface everything appeared calm, yet everyone could sense that this was merely the stillness before a storm. All it would take to shatter that stillness was a single catalyst.

Lingxiao Sword Sect was waiting, and the Chi family was waiting too, though what the two sides were waiting for was not the same thing.

And the busiest person among them all was neither the Chi family head at the center of the storm nor Wei Qingyu, who was tasked with investigating the case. It was Chi Xiyan, the eldest daughter of the Chi family.

It had been a long time since Lu Zhuxin had seen Chi Xiyan.

Had she not been able to keep track of Chi Xiyan’s whereabouts through her foxes, Lu Zhuxin would have started to wonder whether the girl had already slipped away.

She left early and returned late every day, and seeing her even once was a difficult thing.

That was also, of course, because Chi Jingwen did not allow Lu Zhuxin to leave the courtyard.

Wei Qingyu and Chi Jingwen seemed to have reached some kind of private agreement between themselves.

Lingxiao Sword Sect had made no moves, and Lu Zhuxin could understand that, since the sect master Jiang Hongliang had not yet emerged from seclusion.

But the fact that Chi Jingwen, the family head, had also made no significant moves was a little strange.

“Lingxiao Sword Sect is practically on the verge of wiping out the Chi family, and that old fox is this calm?”

“Could it be that Wei Qingyu has promised him something?”

Lu Zhuxin rubbed her chin. Thinking back on how frequently Wei Qingyu had come to the Chi family to probe for information these past few days, while Chi Jingwen had shown no reaction whatsoever, there was perhaps something to that possibility.

That composure of his might well be the confidence of someone with a card up their sleeve.

“Then again, all that happened was that one Lu Guan died. The Human Empress would not allow Lingxiao Sword Sect to actually wipe out the entire Chi family.”

“For the Human Empress, the demon clans of the Demon Territory are already watching from all sides. Pointless internal conflict like this does nothing but harm.”

And for Lu Zhuxin personally, whether or not the Human Empress intended to protect the Chi family, it would not affect her plans either way.

The Chi family conquest line was already down to its final step.

And yet, right at this last step, Ming Zhaoxi had to come jumping out to make trouble.

The moment she thought of that red fox, she could not stop the crease from tightening between her brows.

“Ha…”

Lu Zhuxin drew a slow breath. She walked to the doorway.

Beyond the courtyard gate stood armored guards with blades at their sides.

After Chi Jingwen placed Lu Zhuxin under house arrest, these guards had kept watch outside her courtyard day and night without break. Together with the formation set up inside the courtyard, it was called protection but was in truth surveillance.

Seeing Lu Zhuxin approach, two of the guards each stepped forward, crossing their blade hilts to bar her way.

“Second Young Miss, please stop!”

Lu Zhuxin jutted her lip out and glared at the two guards with clear indignation. “Just how long are you planning to keep me locked up? I want to see Elder Sister Xiyan! Let me go see her!”

One of the guards blocking her path said, “Second Young Miss, these are the family head’s orders. Please do not make things difficult for us.”

Lu Zhuxin’s expression was full of grievance. Her eyes burned with anger, but her voice had taken on a tearful edge. “Why? Can anyone tell me what wrong I have done… Why do you have to keep me locked up like this?!”

As she spoke, glistening little tears began to spill from the corners of her eyes, one by one.

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The two guards, seeing this, could not help but feel a little flustered.

They had worked in noble households long enough to have seen every sort of difficult, domineering, and unruly young master and young miss imaginable. One who simply burst into tears like this was a rarer sight entirely.

“Second Young Miss! The eldest young miss has been very busy lately. She simply doesn’t have time to see you. There’s nothing we can do!”

Lu Zhuxin knew perfectly well that Chi Xiyan was busy.

Normally, playing the part of Chi Muxue, she should not have been acting this impulsively.

But after Ming Zhaoxi went and kidnapped Song Shiyuan, the last of her already-thin patience had been used up entirely.

She had no interest in continuing to sit here playing the obedient little girl.

Chi Jingwen suspected her identity, the Human Empress suspected her origins. Within the entire Chi Residence, the only person who had not questioned who she was was Chi Xiyan.

Since no one was going to believe her identity anyway, why should she keep expending so much effort to be that well-behaved girl?

At this point, all she needed was Chi Xiyan’s trust. As long as Chi Xiyan still believed in her, everyone else was irrelevant.

…

On the streets of Beihe Commandery.

Chi Xiyan’s brow was drawn into a tight knot, her eyes filled with a worry too deep to dispel.

And beneath it, suppressed fury.

She clenched her fist slightly. Spiritual energy surged out, and the calling card in her hand was crushed to powder.

“The Chi family has always been kind to those around us, building goodwill with every noble household in Beihe Commandery. I had thought that, considering the bond we have shared over the years, they might do us this one small favor…”

“Ha… it seems I overestimated the worth of those ties.”

Her palm opened, and the ash slipped from her fingertips.

“Never mind. Merchants chase profit. To seek advantage and avoid loss is simply human nature.”

“The Chi family is in trouble right now. It’s only natural that they would be wary.”

“If I were in their position, I would have made the same choice.”

The attendants around her did not dare make a sound.

Everyone could feel the heavy, suppressed weight radiating from the eldest young miss.

Chi Xiyan raised her head and looked up at the clear sky.

The sunlight was bright, yet it did nothing to lift the shadow from her eyes.

The Chi family was facing the greatest crisis in its history of centuries. It was like a storm blotting out the sun, with not a single ray of hope visible anywhere.

“There is one family left.” Chi Xiyan said. “Which one is it?”

“Young Miss, it’s the Chen family,” the attendant answered carefully.

“The Chen family?” Chi Xiyan’s brow furrowed. There was a vague familiarity to that name.

Right, she remembered now. It was the family Nanny Qin had mentioned. The Chen patriarch had favored a concubine-born daughter and neglected the legitimate heir, and the result was that the entire household had fallen into the hands of an unremarkable girl born of a concubine.

Chi Xiyan could not even recall when she had added this small family to her list of households to visit.

But after having run across the entirety of Beihe Commandery these past few days, there was no one else left to call upon.

Chi Xiyan let out a quiet sigh at the thought.

“The Chen family, then. Let’s go take a look.”

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“Yes, young miss. The Chen family is this way.”

Without holding out any particular hope, Chi Xiyan arrived at the Chen family estate and had her attendants present her calling card.

She looked up at the residence before her.

The Chen family was also a household of merchants.

The state of a merchant household’s affairs could be read in the condition of the estate and in the bearing of the servants within. What Chi Xiyan found was that the Chen family was nothing like the sorry state she had imagined.

Quite the opposite. The concubine-born girl whom Qin Qingfen had dismissed as beneath notice had been running the Chen family rather well.

On the way over, she had also passed several of the Chen family’s shops. They could not compare to the Chi family’s standing as the leading house, but they were already considered quite decent within Beihe Commandery.

Before long, the personal maid of the Chen young miss came out to receive Chi Xiyan and led her inside.

In the reception hall of the Chen family estate, Chi Xiyan met the unremarkable concubine-born young miss of the Chen family.

The person who was now running the Chen household.

“My name is Chen Tingting.” The beautiful woman smiled with warmth, her eyes curved like threads of silk, her dress bright and lively. She looked very much like a human-shaped fox.

“Miss Chi, this is our first time meeting, isn’t it?”

“It is…” A trace of subtle unease flickered through Chi Xiyan’s eyes. “I apologize for calling without prior notice. I have come to ask a favor.”

It truly was her first time meeting this Miss Chen.

She had only learned of the Chen family’s existence not long ago.

“Ha ha…” Miss Chen laughed with easy delight. “Miss Chi is quite an interesting person. This is our first meeting, and the Chi family and Chen family have never had any dealings with each other.”

“I wouldn’t have expected you to come in and make a request right off the bat.”

Having it pointed out so directly like that, even Chi Xiyan felt her composure slip just slightly. She managed a wry smile. “I apologize, Miss Chen. It’s just that the Chi family has run into some difficulty. I had no other choice…”

“I know,” Chen Tingting said. “Miss Chi, I already understood your purpose the moment you arrived.”

“I have also been watching the events that have befallen the Chi family these past few days.”

A flicker of light passed through Chi Xiyan’s eyes. “Then Miss Chen’s meaning is…?”

But just as a sliver of hope began to rise in Chi Xiyan, Chen Tingting shook her head. “Miss Chi, before I answer that question, I have a few questions of my own for you.”

“What?” Chi Xiyan was puzzled.

Chen Tingting continued, “Though I have never met you in person, I have long admired you from afar. I have been hearing about your efforts throughout Beihe Commandery these past few days.”

“Only, I find myself curious. Everything you have been doing, what is it for?”

Chi Xiyan’s brow creased. “What do you mean by that, Miss Chen? I am the eldest daughter of the Chi family. Everything I do is for the Chi family. Could it be that I’m doing it to bring harm to the Chi family instead?”

“That’s not the answer I’m looking for, Miss Chi.” Chen Tingting’s smile remained steady. “You may not know much about me. I came from a place of rough origins and have seen all manner of people in my time.”

“I have also seen many people like you.”

“Running yourself ragged in pursuit of goals set for you by others. Pouring everything you have into them.”

“And right up until the very end, never once knowing what you yourself truly want.”

“Going through life in mediocrity, ending up alone.”

“Never knowing joy, suffering all your days.”

“Miss Chen, what is the meaning of this?” Anger flashed in Chi Xiyan’s eyes.

She looked the woman before her up and down.

The woman was not much older than Chi Xiyan.

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Chi Xiyan knew she had come from a brothel and had long since grown accustomed to the ugliness of the world.

But what was this woman trying to say? Did she think Chi Xiyan was like the wretched people who wasted away in those establishments, lost in a haze of shallow pleasures?

“Miss Chen, we don’t know each other very well, do we?” Chi Xiyan said with a furrowed brow. “If you had intended to refuse from the start, you could have simply declined my calling card and spared us both the meeting.”

Chen Tingting let out a soft laugh. “Fair enough. I did overstep.”

“I apologize to you, Miss Chi.”

“Even so, I still want to know. All that you have done these past few days, was it for the Chi family, or for yourself?”

“Or rather…” Chen Tingting half-closed her eyes, a dim and unreadable light shifting in the depths of her gaze. “Was it for someone?”

Chi Xiyan’s brow tightened.

She could not make sense of what this woman was trying to do.

Was there any point to asking these questions?

Everything she had done, from beginning to end, had only ever had one purpose.

“I am doing it for the Chi family.”

To take back the Chi family.

The Chi family should have been her mother’s legacy. It had been in Chi Jingwen’s hands for far too long.

Everything she had done was for her mother’s inheritance.

Everything in the Chi family belongs to me. How could I allow it to be destroyed?

Chen Tingting heard this, and the smile on her lips softened slightly. “Are you truly doing it only for the Chi family?”

Chi Xiyan said steadily, “Miss Chen’s perspective is a little narrow.”

“I am doing it for the Chi family.”

“To me, what the Chi family holds is not merely wealth.”

Chen Tingting looked surprised. Something seemed to come to her, and her expression suddenly gentled.

“You’re right. I was the one being narrow-minded.”

“Miss Chi is far more greedy than I imagined.”

What Chi Xiyan wanted was everything the Chi family had. And the Chi family had more than money. It had people.

That, perhaps, was the kind of answer her liege would have wanted.

Chi Xiyan was truly a greedy merchant.

“Merchants have always been greedy, haven’t they?” Chi Xiyan paused, then asked, “So, is that the answer you were hoping to hear?”

“Ha ha.” Chen Tingting laughed lightly. “Miss Chi’s answer is certainly interesting.”

“Though I wonder if Miss Chi has ever heard this saying.”

“The heart is never satisfied, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant.”

Chi Xiyan’s gaze darkened further. “It seems I made the wrong choice in coming here today.”

“If Miss Chen has no intention of helping, then why waste both of our time?”

With that, Chi Xiyan turned to leave.

“Wait, Miss Chi.” Chen Tingting called out to stop her.

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Chi Xiyan looked back, her expression cool.

“It’s not that I don’t want to help, Miss Chi.” Chen Tingting said. “You should be well aware of how serious the trouble facing the Chi family is right now.”

“Colluding with the demon clan. Causing harm to Lingxiao Sword Sect’s sword cultivators. If both of those charges are proven, the combined weight of every noble household in Beihe Commandery together wouldn’t be enough to hold it off.”

“The Chen family only runs a modest little business. We cannot afford to get tangled up in trouble of this scale.”

Chi Xiyan shook her head. “I am not asking the Chen family to get involved in any of this. I only wanted the Chen family to help me with Muxue…”

“Miss Chi!” Chen Tingting cut her off. “Let go of that illusion.”

“The person who can save the Chi family has never been in Beihe Commandery.”

“Rather than seeking help within Beihe Commandery, you should be looking beyond its borders.”

“Even if you manage to prove the Chi family is innocent, Lingxiao Sword Sect will not let them go.”

“After all, behind Lingxiao Sword Sect stands Immortal Venerable Qingzhi herself.”

“So please, think carefully. Who is still out there with the power to save the Chi family?”

“…” Chi Xiyan fell silent.

She found the whole encounter strange. This Miss Chen had been strange from start to finish.

What was she actually trying to accomplish?

She could not work it out.

Still, she also knew that today’s visit would not yield any real outcome.

“Miss Chen.” Chi Xiyan said. “Thank you for your counsel today. Should we have the chance to meet again, I will certainly return to offer my thanks in person.”

Chen Tingting smiled. “There’s no need for that.”

…

Chi Xiyan left the Chen estate.

The attendants around her could keenly sense that the weight pressing down from the eldest young miss seemed even heavier than before.

Chi Xiyan let out a long, slow breath. “It’s over. Let’s head back to the Chi Residence.”

What Chen Tingting had said, Chi Xiyan had not been unaware of herself.

She had never counted on these fair-weather acquaintances to lend the Chi family a hand in a moment of crisis.

After these past few days, she had not dared to expect much from them at all.

Yet what had Chen Tingting been trying to hint at just now?

Chi Xiyan had a vague sense that she had almost grasped something. That woman had very clearly been speaking with some specific intention behind her words.

After a little while.

Chi Xiyan returned to the Chi Residence.

A guard came hurrying over to meet her.

“Eldest Young Miss, you’re finally back.”

“The second young miss is insisting on seeing you.”

“She’s been crying and carrying on at the gate and refuses to get up!”

“What?” Chi Xiyan’s face registered genuine surprise.