How Chen Yunfan chose.
Chen Yi had not calculated it too carefully. There were no more than two outcomes.
Either Chen Yunfan would take Zhu Hao of the Commander's Office's evidence of guilt and submit it to the Imperial Court, exchanging it for a soaring rise through the clouds.
Or he would turn a blind eye and become a Zhuangyuan who regarded power and influence as dung.
Chen Yi could accept either outcome.
It would only mean he would have to work harder in the future—if Chen Yunfan became the blade the Imperial Court wielded against the Xiao Family, then he would cut down the one holding that blade.
As for who that person was... Chen Yi had his suspicions.
It was no more than the Pavilion Master of the White Tiger Guard, the Chen Family of Jiangnan, or His Majesty sitting upright upon the throne.
Fortunately, there was still time, and he was still in Shuzhou.
Once the chessboard in his mind took shape and gathered momentum, Shuzhou might not become an impregnable iron plate, but anyone who wished to lay hands on it would have nowhere to hide.
After circling around and around.
The sun had set, and dusk had fallen.
Only then did Chen Yi stroll leisurely back to the Xiao Family.
As he reached the entrance, Xiao Wan'er's carriage entered the gates alongside him.
Chen Yi saw that Xie Tingyun and Shen Huatang were driving the carriage, so he stopped and stood to one side.
While waiting to return to the inner residence with Xiao Wan'er, he looked toward the gatehouse and feigned ignorance as he asked Third Steward Lu Guan, Wang Lixing, and the others:
"I haven't seen Uncle Gui in several days. Is he no longer in the residence?"
Lu Guan wore a bitter