But after thinking it over, I immediately understood. This child was Jiufang Yu's youngest son, and he had never lacked affection. Ordinary desires naturally could not satisfy him, so it was only reasonable that he wanted to fight for what he could not obtain.
And what was it that Jiufang Lin could not obtain? It was the position his father occupied, and when his father would relinquish it; it was the challenge of not being the first heir in line after his father's abdication. On top of that, with the Jiufang Household split into three parts, how was he supposed to reunite the three realms under one banner? One challenge after another—enough to drive him completely mad.
Recruiting Jiufang Gong was only the first step. Framing Jiufang Jin, dragging Jiufang Ye into the mire, and even borrowing the Shengtu Household as a blade—all of it was Jiufang Lin's statecraft. His schemes were truly terrifyingly deep.
Watching Jiufang Ye stand there in a daze, his expression still shaken to the core by this revelation, I clearly felt sympathy for him. After all, growing up in such an environment meant that familial affection was usually a blood-soaked affair. Either someone schemed against you, or you schemed against someone else.
"It seems we were all wrong. Jiufang Lin is the true mastermind behind the scenes. As for Jiufang Jin and your Third Uncle, and Tao'er, who is still your good niece, you owe them an apology." I gave a bitter smile.
Jiufang Ye came back to his senses and nodded heavily. "Brother Xia, Lin was close to me from childhood. I never thought that the person closest to me would be the most terrifying when he chose to hurt me. He murdered his father and harmed his brother, and was even willing to