"That old man has finally relented."
"Mute!"
"Brother, what are you afraid of? After today, our Wei Household won't necessarily have to put up with the Yuchi Household's attitude."
"Today isn't over yet!" The tall man's face was stern as he warned the young men beside him, "Don't get too cocky. Opening the Ghost Temple requires the approval of several high priests. There aren't many people in the capital with that kind of influence. Without Master Yuchi, there would be no chance."
"If it weren't for the old man's stubbornness, how could we have fallen behind by a year?" A woman's voice said coldly from the side, "Brother, don't you harbor any resentment? Why are you being so serious? It's only right that he secured this opportunity for us today."
The burly man remained silent for a few moments after hearing this, and a grim and ugly expression appeared on his face, which bore a resemblance to Wei Gongcheng.
He is Wei Gongyu, the next heir appointed by the Wei Household!
As the designated heir of the Wei Household, he has experienced the most changes in recent years while following the head of the Yuchi Household family. Originally, the old head of the Yuchi Household was the leader of the Imperial Guard, and he followed the old head of the Yuchi family to serve as the deputy general of the Imperial Guard Yuchi. He was a prominent figure in the capital. However, since the rise of the Ghost Temple, the head of the Yuchi Household was unwilling to be blessed and was pulled further and further away from other families. Now, not to mention those dukes' mansions, even people from some second- or third-rate families are showing off their power in front of them.
If things continue like this, following the Yuchi Household might mean we won't even get a drop of soup.
"Back then, Wei Gongcheng, that illegitimate son, was making a name for himself in Jiangnan. The patriarch should have arranged for most of our Wei Household members to go there. But what happened? The old patriarch insisted that sending so many people there would arouse the emperor's suspicion, and he forced us to stay here. Jiangnan was a great opportunity, but our Wei Household gave it up just because of a single word from the patriarch. And what did he give us in return?"
"Exactly!" another member of the Wei Household quickly agreed, "With just one word from his patriarch, that illegitimate son monopolized such huge profits over there. How much did our Wei Household give up? How many scornful looks did our Wei Household suffer this past year? Only now are they willing to let us join this Ghost Temple. I think he's senile."
"Alright, we're outside, it's not good if someone hears us," Wei Gongyu, glaring at the group.
The group remained silent, but their eyes betrayed their disapproval. If the Yuchi Household Wei Household refused to listen after receiving the blessing, they would not put all their eggs in one Yuchi Household.
Wei Gongyu naturally knew what his cousins thought, but he actually agreed with them. Back then, Wei Gongcheng's illegitimate son had tied himself to Chen Qing and soared to great heights. He should have brought huge benefits to the family. They had inquired a lot about him in Jiangnan. That lowly illegitimate son was now quite something. He was one of the Underworld in the six major cities of Jiangnan, and his status was even above that of the thousand-year-old Shen Family family.
Moreover, the position of Underworld is incredibly magical, possessing immense power. Not only is the family respected in the mortal world, but it can also secure huge benefits for the family in the underworld. If handled well, it could completely transform the Wei Household into a truly top-tier family, instead of the vassal they are now.
But this opportunity was thwarted by the old man from the Yuchi Household, and several elders of the Wei Household were nearly driven mad with anger.
Now, they have repeatedly refused His Majesty's blessing from the Ghost General, and they are watching others feast on the spoils. This incompetent family, I really don't know how the Wei Household could have been so blind as to choose such a family to rely on.
If it weren't for the pressure exerted by several vassal families, the old patriarch might have continued to cling to his useless reputation and remain incompetent. In that case, the Wei Household might have really called on other families to break away from the Yuchi Household.
"Regardless, we must secure this blessing first. We've fallen behind by more than a year; we can't afford to be complacent."
"Hmph, it's that old man again."
"Alright, enough complaining," Wei Gongyu scolded again. "Once you're in, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future."
The others pursed their lips upon hearing this, not daring to refute their elder brother's eloquent words. Where would they find so many opportunities? Now that they were a whole year late, they would definitely miss the great war against the north in the spring. Without military merit, they would likely fall further behind and could only watch. If a war broke out with Jiangnan in the future, their Wei Household might be valued because of Wei Gongcheng's status in Jiangnan.
In the crowd, a tall, thin man kept his head down and didn't say a word from beginning to end. Looking at his brothers who shared the same blood as him, he felt extremely ashamed.
The Wei Household's family traditions have deteriorated to this point, completely losing the integrity that the Old Wei family head once possessed. They are now a group of despicable and ignorant people. The matriarchs of the Wei Household's various branches have truly raised the Wei Household's descendants to be utterly unruly after the older generation died in battle.
Putting aside the fact that the Wei Household's current status is all thanks to the Yuchi Household, without the Yuchi Household's intervention, which of you disciples would have been able to enjoy the privilege of having a Ghost Temple opened on your own?
The head of the Yuchi Household was worried about the side effects of being possessed by the Ghost General, but no one appreciated his concern and even blamed the old patriarch for not letting them go to Jiangnan.
It's ridiculous. Wei Gongcheng was promoted by the old patriarch, but he was almost persecuted to death by the mistress in his childhood. After his legs became crippled, he was ridiculed and insulted by the Wei Household. Otherwise, why would he have sought refuge with a poor scholar like Chen Qing?
Now that they've achieved great success, do you really think that people in Jiangnan will automatically support the Wei Household?
He had no idea what was wrong with these guys' brains.
He sighed inwardly. The old patriarch was right. The matriarch of the Wei Household was of despicable character, no different from a shrew. The children she raised were all short-sighted and stupid. If he were to marry in the future, he would definitely marry a well-educated girl from a scholarly family.
Of course, this is on the premise that the old patriarch secretly gave him this task.
"Are those people the old general arranged reliable?"
Inside the Yuchi Household's inner hall, Mu Hongqing frowned slightly as he looked at the arrangements made by the Yuchi Household head. Such a big matter was entrusted to a group of young people; the old family head certainly had a big heart.
According to their speculation, if there is a rebellion this time, it must start from within. Even if it is not the Zhang Family of Duke of Ying, it will be other deputy generals who actually control the military, who will place people from vassal families in, and then approach the most suspected family under the pretext of family defection, to secretly gather information.
In Mu Hongqing's view, this method was barely acceptable. At present, the various grievances of the Yuchi Household's vassal families against the Yuchi Household have spread throughout the capital. From the perspective of ordinary people, the Yuchi Household's actions are indeed foolish enough, and it is normal for their forces to want to find another way out.
At this time, it is perfectly reasonable to pledge allegiance to another family. In the past, families that could not stand on their own would wander among various families, siding with whichever family was stronger, and this has always been the case.
Using this as a pretext to approach those families makes it less likely to arouse suspicion, and it also greatly increases the chance of being tempted by hidden forces.
The reason is simple: the vassal families of the Yuchi Household have fallen behind by a year, and they will miss out on the great battle after the New Year. At this time, if they want to catch up with other families, they need a special path. Although the path of rebellion is dangerous, it is a complete shortcut!
The vassal families of the Yuchi Household, especially the Wei Household, are extremely greedy and short-sighted, making them easy targets for bait. There is a high probability that the spies planted by the Yuchi Household head will also infiltrate the family.
Overall, the method itself isn't the problem; the key is finding a reliable person.
"Mr. Mu, please rest assured," the head of the Yuchi Household stroked his beard and smiled. "In this life, in terms of talent, I am far inferior to people like Lu Ming and His Majesty. In terms of scheming and manipulation, I am completely incomparable to Duke of Song or Xiao Mingyue. But when it comes to judging people, I am still quite confident."
These words surprised Mu Hongqing slightly. You know, this old fellow from the Yuchi Household is mediocre in other aspects, much less so than the previous heads of the Yuchi Household. But he is quite shrewd when it comes to judging and employing people. He made good use of Yuchi Feihong son, Wei Gongcheng, who was only eight years old at the time, was also discovered and given important positions by him in advance. Even when the Yuchi Household later sided with Emperor Xiao Household, this old fellow seemed to be quite good at judging and selecting people.
"Those vassal families are quite disorganized now, but there are still a few promising young talents, especially in the Wei Household. Besides Wei Gongcheng, there is another person whom I value no less than Wei Gongcheng."
"Oh?" Seeing the other party's confidence, a dark glint flashed in Mu Hongqing's eyes. "In that case, this junior will await good news!"