Chapter 508 - 301: Even My Own Father Won’t Do
Chapter 508: Chapter 301: Even My Own Father Won’t Do
Left with no other choice, Ning Yu and Niu Mountain could only nod with apologetic smiles.
Lin Zhong ignored the two buffoons. He shot Chun Ying a meaningful look before hoisting Lv Jiunan’s corpse over his shoulder and darting away.
Chun Ying understood his unspoken message. After a moment of hesitation, she instructed Ning Yu and Niu Mountain to continue standing guard, then turned and walked to the study.
Taking a moment to calm her Heart Spirit, she raised a hand and knocked on the door. "Young Master."
"Come in."
Chun Ying pushed the door open and stepped inside, catching from the corner of her eye that Chen Yunfan was bent over his desk, writing something. She turned to close the door behind her.
"Young Master, Uncle Zhong came to see you about..."
Before she could finish, Chen Yunfan interrupted her in a flat tone. "Do you truly not know why he came here carrying Lv Jiunan’s corpse?
"Chun Ying, don’t think that just because you are a White-robed Minister and slightly smarter than others, you can secretly interfere in my affairs."
Though his tone was indifferent, the words struck fear into Chun Ying’s heart. Having served Chen Yunfan for many years, she was intimately familiar with his temperament. The calmer Chen Yunfan appeared, the greater his internal displeasure. Conversely, if he scolded her outright, it usually meant the matter wasn’t too serious.
With these thoughts in mind, Chun Ying knelt down and bowed. "Please forgive me, Young Master. I... I..."
"Are you also going to claim that you were just following orders? That you didn’t intentionally hide it from me?"
"Yes..."
Chen Yunfan briefly raised his head, his expression as calm as still water, before looking back down to continue writing. "Stand up and speak. I don’t care for all this kneeling and bowing here."
Once Chun Ying hesitantly got to her feet, he continued, "Tell me, what exactly are my father and you White-robed Ministers scheming?
"Sending me to Shu State—am I really supposed to take over Yang Ye’s position as the Right Governor?"
He had completely dismissed Chen Yi’s earlier joking remark about this. But thinking about it now, there was actually a damn good chance it was true.
Chun Ying asked hesitantly, "Young Master, you... you know everything?"
Chen Yunfan paused, his brows furrowing slightly, but he simply gestured without looking up. "Continue."
"I... I don’t know the specific plans of the Master and the Lord White-robed Minister either. I only have my suspicions. The position of Right Governor that you mentioned... is not impossible."
"Are there other positions? Let me guess.
"The two Commanders of the Capital Commandery are in the prime of their lives, so there shouldn’t be any vacancies there for the time being.
"The Inspectorate Office? That’s possible. Tang Zixing, the Inspector General, won’t be moved, but the Vice Envoy... it’s a possibility.
"Next would be the Prefectural Magistrate’s Office. Liu Si is a two-faced backstabber, so I presume he won’t win Shangguan Huan’s favor; nine times out of ten, he’ll be replaced as well.
"As for the remaining positions, they are even lower than my current rank as a Fourth-grade Assistant Governor, so there is nothing worth discussing."
As Chen Yunfan finished speaking, he also wrote the last character. He picked up the piece of paper from the desk and blew on it to dry the ink. "I’m guessing it’s the Capital Commandery, isn’t it?"
Hearing this, Chun Ying’s expression changed slightly. "How... how did you guess that?"
Chen Yunfan finished drying the ink on the paper, folded it neatly, and slipped it into an envelope with a snort. "Other than the Commander-in-Chief, what other official position can influence the Dingyuan Army?
"Even the Governor’s Office cannot openly interfere with the military affairs of the Three Towns, let alone a Government Office like the Inspectorate Office, which can only file petty complaints."
He set down the envelope, leaned back in his chair, and looked at Chun Ying with an indifferent expression. "Chen Yi marrying into the Xiao Family is probably part of your scheme as well, isn’t it?"
Chun Ying’s eyes widened slightly. She knelt down again, lowering her head and not daring to speak. Although it was just his speculation, it wasn’t far from the truth. Naturally, she didn’t dare to say anything more, lest Chen Yunfan figure out even more.
Seeing her reaction, Chen Yunfan chuckled self-deprecatingly. "It seems I am right.
"I knew it. Although Mother has some of the arrogance that comes from being born into the Cui Family, she has always treated us brothers equally since we were young.
"Why would she deliberately target Brother Yi for no reason? So this is why.
"Thinking about it now, before Father went to the Western Regions, he probably finalized everything with you White-robed Ministers, Second Uncle, and even the clan elders.
"We brothers genuinely thought that Brother Yi had made some terrible mistake to incur Mother’s fury."
SMACK!
Chen Yunfan slammed his palm onto the desk, glaring icily at the kneeling Chun Ying. "What exactly are you all scheming?!"
Chun Ying’s body flinched. Biting her lip, she shook her head. "Young Master, please forgive me. I truly do not know..."
"You don’t know? Heh, fine! Very well!" Chen Yunfan’s lips twitched, forming a peculiar smile. "Since that is the case, I won’t make things difficult for you."
He hadn’t expected that his earlier speculations would be so close to the truth. Even less did he expect that both he and Chen Yi had been played by their own family. Back then, he had even felt that his situation was better than Chen Yi’s and wanted to show off in front of him. Little did he know, both of them were just meat on someone else’s chopping block.
And the crucial point was that this "someone else" was his own biological father!
After venting his anger, Chen Yunfan seemed to have figured things out. He let out a long breath and said, "I’d really like to see what tricks my father, Second Uncle, and you White-robed Ministers have up your sleeves."
He then tossed the envelope forward. "It’s for my father. Send it to him.
"Don’t give me any excuses about how long the journey takes. I know you have the means."
Chun Ying looked at the letter by her knees. After a moment of hesitation, she reached out, picked it up, and bowed. "I will get it done right away."
Chen Yunfan waved his hand, his interest entirely depleted. "Get out."
After Chun Ying left the study with her head bowed, Chen Yunfan’s expression immediately turned into one of distress. He began to grumble to himself, "Has my father gone senile?
"With Brother Yi’s exceptional talent, what was he thinking, sending him to marry into the Xiao Family?
"If it were someone else... Fourth Brother... no, that glutton would eat the Xiao Family into poverty.
"Old Liu... would be even worse. He spends all day traveling and enjoying the scenery. If he really became Xiao Jinghong’s husband, wouldn’t he be strung up and whipped?
"Second Sister and Third Sister are girls..."