Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 212 - 168: The Mask

Chapter 212: Chapter 168: The Mask

Xu Yuan returned to the courtyard that Bai Zhao had prepared for them, and Xu Xinyao was sitting in front of the pavilion in the courtyard, speaking quietly with Ran Qingmo.

However, as soon as Xu Yuan pushed open the door, Xu Xinyao immediately stopped talking as if she didn’t want him to hear.

As Xu Yuan walked over, he asked with a smile,

"What are you two discussing?"

Xu Xinyao stood up and smiled with a slight bend in her eyes,

"The secret talks of girls’ inner chambers, you want to know too, Third Brother?"

"I do."

Approaching them, Xu Yuan casually sat down and placed the box that contained the human skin mask on the table, saying cheerfully,

"Of course, I do. Ran Qingmo, what were you just talking about?"

Ran Qingmo, who had been wearing a somewhat puzzled expression, hesitated briefly and then shook her head,

"Xinyao told me that we can’t tell you."

"Oh?"

Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "What’s so secretive..."

"Ahem!"

At this point, Xu Xinyao cleared her throat to change the subject and smiled with a tilt of her eyes,

"Third Brother, what’s inside this box?"

"...."

Xu Yuan didn’t delve deeper into what the two women had just been whispering about but whispered to the Saint’s Remnant Soul inside him, "I’ll seal you for a moment," and then proceeded to seal the five senses of the Saint’s Remnant Soul.

He opened the box and said in a low voice,

"Human skin masks. You and I will each take one to wear during the negotiations."

"What?"

Xu Xinyao looked at the two compartments in the box, her expression somewhat surprised, "Wear a mask?"

Xu Yuan picked up a teacup from the stone table, poured himself a cup, and drank it all in one gulp,

"Father’s idea."

At these words, Xu Xinyao’s eyes revealed a moment of contemplation, but then she asked anyway,

"Why?"

Xu Yuan put down the teacup and tapped his fingers lightly on the stone table, not answering immediately but continued,

"In addition to that, Father also transferred the command of the forty thousand Black Scale Army to me, and according to Yuan Hao’s intention, as long as I am willing, I can order him to wipe out the Myriad Manifestation Sect unconditionally."

"...."

Ran Qingmo blinked her eyes in confusion.

Xu Xinyao frowned slightly and said in a low voice,

"Third Brother, why are you telling me this?"

She didn’t believe that her Third Brother would tell her this just to seek her opinion.

Xu Yuan let out a long sigh and said softly,

"I want to ask you, what exactly happened with Second Brother’s death?"

In all the plotlines of Cang Yuan, the Second Son of the Prime Minister’s Mansion, Xu Chang’an, had never appeared, so Xu Yuan could not obtain any useful information from them.

And this life’s news of the Second Brother’s demise was something he suddenly learned one day while indulging in revelries at the Hook Bar, which prompted him to hurry back to the mansion.

Originally, as a profligate, it was impossible for him to touch upon these matters, but Xu Xinyao had already returned from her studies, and given her status at the time, she should have known some insider details.

At the mention of "Second Brother," Xu Xinyao was taken aback, then her beautiful eyes dimmed for an instant, and she asked somewhat puzzled,

"Third Brother, why are you suddenly asking about this?"

Xu Yuan did not respond immediately, but asked,

"I have some speculations in my mind, so I want to ask."

Xu Xinyao pondered for a moment and then said in a low voice,

"Regarding this matter, Eldest Brother had asked Father, but Father did not say much, only that he blamed himself. When Eldest Brother pressed for answers, Father seemed to get a little angry, and then Eldest Brother left the mansion straight away."

"...."

Xu Yuan’s brows furrowed more and more tightly upon hearing this,

"What did Xu Changge go off to do?"

Xu Xinyao shook her head,

"Not sure."

Xu Yuan continued to inquire,

"Are you sure Father got angry because Eldest Brother persisted in his questions?"

Xu Xinyao thought carefully and then said softly,

"Not exactly angry, just very stern."

Having said that,

Xu Xinyao saw Xu Yuan’s expression becoming complex and asked in a gentle voice,

"Third Brother, does Second Brother’s death have anything to do with what’s happening now?"

"No."

Xu Yuan replied with a complex tone, "However, I think I know who was behind Second Brother’s death."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xinyao’s beautiful eyes widened in surprise, and her delicate hands clenched slightly,

"Who..who is it?"

"Everyone."

"Ah?"

"...."

Xu Yuan took a deep breath, glanced at the human skin mask on the desk, and said word by word,

"Everyone outside our Prime Minister’s Mansion."

"....."

Xinyao listened to these words, a hint of confusion appeared in her beautiful eyes,

"Everyone?"

Xu Yuan looked down at his own palms,

"Second Brother’s death was likely because he was too sharp."

Xu Xinyao’s eyes carried a hint of confusion,

"Too sharp? But isn’t Big Brother even sharper?"

"Xu Changge?"

Xu Yuan leaned on the wooden railing behind him,

"Xu Changge’s martial cultivation is too high. Ten years ago, he was already Primordial; we family members are not quite clear about his current level of cultivation. To kill him, outsiders would need at least two or three who have achieved Mortal Transcendence to be sure.

"Moreover, Xinyao, compared to Big Brother, those people are actually more afraid of Second Brother."

"....."

Xu Xinyao’s puzzlement between her beautiful eyes grew.

Xu Changge was renowned throughout the world, while Xu Chang’an was only somewhat famous.

Xu Yuan sighed and asked,

"Xinyao, you should remember what Second Brother was doing before, right?"

Xu Xinyao thought for a moment and said,

"After Second Brother returned from his travels, it seems like he was always with Father...."

Xu Yuan nodded,

"Yes, when he returned from his travels, you hadn’t come back yet. I have always been in the Imperial Capital, so I’m aware. Many important guests, even Old Master Hua Hong and Aunt Lou Ji, were all being liaised with by Second Brother...."

Upon hearing this, Xinyao already understood what her third brother meant,

"Third Brother, are you saying that Father wanted to groom Second Brother to succeed him?"

Xu Yuan remembered the silhouette that was always holding a stick in front of him,

"After all, Second Brother has always been the one who liked to reason the most since he was young."

After speaking, it was quiet for a long while.

Ran Qingmo bit her lip, wanting to say something comforting to Xu Yuan, but couldn’t speak.

Xu Yuan took the human skin mask out of the box,

"Now, everyone under the heavens hopes that our Prime Minister’s Mansion will decline, so Second Brother had to die. With his death, there is not a single person in our family who can take over Father’s position.

"You’re also aware of the structure within our Prime Minister’s Mansion; it basically revolves around Father alone. If he can’t suppress the people below, it’s very easy to fall apart."

"But isn’t there still Big Brother?"

Xu Xinyao asked softly.

In her mind, aside from Xu Yuan, both her brothers were invincible.

Xu Yuan pictured Xu Changge in his mind and shook his head in denial,

"Big Brother... he can’t do it.

"He might be able to suppress the people below, but his disposition is too indifferent, and he’s too unaware of how to bide his time. At most, he could only become the next maternal uncle. If he took over the Prime Minister’s Mansion, it would most likely gradually decline.

"This is probably why Father was helpless in the beginning."

"The Sects, the powerful families, even the Emperor in the golden throne, they all want Second Brother dead."

What the world fears is not Xu Changge; what it fears is the Prime Minister’s Mansion producing another Xu Yinhè.

With that,

Xu Yuan put on the human skin mask.