Shen Tang hit the nail on the head.
Xie Qi's expression nearly shattered into crumbs. His eyes darted about as he awkwardly lowered his head even further. He knew he could not hide it from his lord, but he had not expected her reaction to be so swift. At the very first meeting, she had already exposed his scheme. "It's a family disgrace. I've made a fool of myself before you, my lord."
He gave an awkward little laugh, not daring to look Shen Tang in the eye.
Aristocratic lineages occasionally produced a few naive traitors, but never had one of those traitors been the head of the household. If not for the Xie family's mess being too enormous, Xie Qi, the nominal head of the Xie family, would not have decided to smash the pot and break the dishes. He simply could not keep things under control. He had no choice!
As it happened, his lord wanted to seize the meat from the aristocratic families' mouths.
Xie Qi steeled his heart and bluntly offered a suggestion that shocked everyone present. They had made the first move, so they could not blame him for making the fifteenth!
But—
What he had not expected even more was that Shen Tang could infer most of the truth from only a few scraps of information. "The Shi Cang couple haven't dealt with clan affairs for many years, and everything has been managed by several Clan Elders in their place?"
Xie Qi nodded. "Yes."
Shen Tang said, "Those Clan Elders are problematic?"
Xie Qi: "..."
Shen Tang asked with concern, "Have thieves appeared within the family?"
Xie Qi: "..."
Seeing him fall silent again and again, Shen Tang knew she had guessed correctly.
Aristocratic clans were much like a tree.
The main lineage was