Conspiracy

"Damn it!"

With a sweep of his hand, An Changde knocked the tea set from the table onto the floor. He was so furious he could barely breathe, his face flushed red and his chest heaving violently. The thought of An Ziran having resolved the crisis made him pound the table again in resentment.

The loud bangs startled both the first and second households. When they entered the hall, they saw shattered pieces and spilled tea all over the floor.

Wu Zhi cherished this tea set most. She immediately cursed, "An Changde, are you courting death? Even if you're angry, you can't take it out on the tea set. Do you know how expensive this set is?"

The blazing anger in An Changde's chest was immediately doused by more than half. Looking embarrassed, he realized that in his fury, he had forgotten this patterned tea set was his principal wife's favorite. She usually treasured it so much she could hardly bear to put it down. If not for showing off and preventing every guest who came to their home from looking down on them, she would never have been willing to take it out.

Seeing that he knew he was in the wrong, Wu Zhi snorted coldly, walked over, and planted herself in a chair. "Tell me. What happened to make you so furious?"

She knew her husband would not lose his temper for no reason. Something major must have happened; otherwise, he would already have been arguing with An Changde by now. Her tea set could not have been smashed for nothing.

"Isn't it all because of Chang Fu's good-for-nothing son..." An Changde had just begun cursing when he suddenly saw Wu Zhi signaling him with her eyes. Only then did he notice Zhang Wanqin from the second household still standing there. She was a quiet and well-behaved woman, always silent and still, so people often overlooked her. What they were about to discuss truly could not be known by too many people, including the second household. He said to her, "Wanqin, go see whether Mingrui has completed today's assignment. If he hasn't, help me keep an eye on him."

Zhang Wanqin was quiet by nature, but she was not dull-witted. The moment she heard his words, she knew he did not want her to hear what came next. She said nothing, merely replied obediently, "Yes, husband."

Then she left.

Watching her retreating figure, Wu Zhi gave a cold sneer. Although she disliked Zhang Wanqin, there was nothing she could do about it, because An Changde was rather fond of her. Apart from her gentle nature satisfying Changde's masculine vanity, there was also her second son, An Mingrui. He had become a xiucai at only fifteen. Though he had failed the provincial examination, he was only nineteen now and still had plenty of opportunities ahead of him.

By comparison, her own son, An Yaozong, was a helpless Adou who could not be propped up. Just like An Ziran in the past, he only knew how to eat, drink, and play, with absolutely no interest in studying. Wu Zhi had always hated that he refused to strive for better, but neither beatings nor scoldings had any effect. Besides, she could not bear to hit her own son. If she beat him too badly, she would only end up heartbroken herself. Otherwise, how could Zhang Wanqin and her son have had the chance to strut about before her? Just wait. She would never allow Zhang Wanqin and her son to climb over her head one day.

"What did that little bastard An Ziran do this time to make you so angry?"

Wu Zhi drew back her wandering thoughts and asked. After all, she was a woman of the inner household and should not show her face in public, so she still did not know about An Changde going to see the county magistrate.

An Changde immediately told her the entire sequence of events. He had originally intended to tell her only after the matter succeeded, so that she could be happy. He had not expected the plan to fail. That brat An Ziran had actually been willing to bring out the An Family's debt notes. This was something he had never anticipated.

Wu Zhi sprang to her feet, her face full of disbelief. "What did you say? That brat truly gave up such a huge sum of money, and even reduced the rent charged to those tenant farmers from seventy percent to forty percent? Could your information be false?"

Even she could not believe An Ziran would be so generous. Her first thought was that An Changde had been deceived.

"How could it be false? The people of the entire county are talking about it now. They're even calling An Ziran a living Bodhisattva, completely forgetting how Chang Fu exploited them when he was alive!" The mention of it infuriated An Changde. The An Family's reputation had improved now, making it even harder for him to obtain the An Family.

"When did that little bastard become so clever? How could he bear to do it?"

Wu Zhi was somewhat anxious. If An Ziran gave away all the An Family's property, then even if they obtained the An Family in the future, it would be nothing but an empty shell. What use would it be? It would be a complete mess, and they might even lose money instead.

"No, no. We must think of a way to seize control of the An Family as soon as possible. Only then can I rest easy."

"Does Madam have a solution?" An Changde knew that now they could only rely on his wife's maternal family. The county magistrate of Anyuan County had already been extremely reluctant when he agreed to help last time, afraid that An Ziran would use the connections his father had cultivated during his lifetime to cost him his official hat. If no more powerful figure stepped forward this time, he likely would not help again.

"Just wait. I won't let that brat have an easy time." Wu Zhi wore a calculating expression.

An Changde immediately felt reassured. With his wife's maternal family taking action, he refused to believe An Ziran could escape this time.

[The competition begins the day after tomorrow, December 1st. I hope everyone will throw their olive branches my way, okay?

Hehe, hurry and say okay!]