Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 218 - 173 Choice_2

Chapter 218: Chapter 173 Choice_2

"Changtian, can I take it that you think I intend to hand over the Prime Minister’s Mansion to you, instead of your elder brother?"

"...."

Ah?

This tone from his father drained Xu Yuan of certainty.

All those were but conjectures before.

Perhaps, his father simply wanted him to serve as a deputy to assist Xu Changge?

The moment hesitation began to rise, Xu Yuan quashed it.

The structure of the Prime Minister’s Mansion was such that there could only be one main hand at the top; the second in command could be Lou Ji, Hua Hong, or even any member of the aide team, but it could never be one of them, the two brothers.

Getting him involved with hands-on work and familiar with the subordinates would merely turn Xu Changge into a puppet; such a structure could never maintain a stable center of power.

If his father truly did that, it would be laying a trap for future internal conflict.

They might not be competing in their own generation, but what about their descendants, or the generations after them?

With that thought, Xu Yuan no longer hesitated and voiced his judgment:

"Father, you may understand it that way."

Upon hearing this firm response, Xu Yinhè laughed, a rarity:

"Heh... you’re not wrong. Are you willing?"

Xu Yuan let out a long breath, his father was actually testing him on such a matter:

"Father, right now, I’m more curious to know if Xu Changge is aware of this?"

"He knows." Xu Yinhè glanced again at his eldest son across from him.

Xu Changge’s face bore a smile of relief.

To speculate from limited information and to stand by his stance under his father’s interrogation.

Not bad.

And at this moment, Xu Yuan’s voice rang out again:

"So Xu Changge has no objections?"

Xu Yinhè did not answer directly but said meaningfully:

"Changtian, the Prime Minister’s Mansion is decided by your father."

"But my brother’s opinion is significant." Xu Yuan persisted unusually on this matter.

"...."

Hearing this, Xu Yinhè watched Xu Changge’s expression with a smile and replied softly:

"Mmm... there shouldn’t be any, you also know what your brother is like, but how did you deduce it? Just from the two painted skins I sent you?"

Xu Yuan sighed, his tone a mix of resignation:

"I know Xu Changge too well. The basis of my judgment is more about his stubborn temperament. Over the years he has been in charge, there must have been numerous conflicts with Aunt Lou Ji and the others, right?"

"...." Xu Changge’s eyes twitched.

"...." Xu Yinhè glanced at him indifferently.

"...." Xu Changge sighed silently.

Xu Yuan was right.

Lou Ji and Wu Zigeng, who managed the Tian’an Martial Hall, nearly came to blows with him over the year-end funding allocation in the Prime Minister’s Mansion, and there were countless confrontations over the table and in word.

But Xu Yuan hadn’t finished speaking yet, he continued on:

"To outsiders, Xu Changge may seem impressive, but to those old friends of yours, Father, he is probably nothing more than an inexperienced youngster."

"....." Xu Changge.

"And also the type who likes to put on airs and boss others around. I don’t know about the rest, but with Aunt Lou Ji’s temperament, she probably can’t stand him."

"...."

"And also, Xu Changge’s attitude..."

"Changtian."

"...." Xu Yuan immediately went silent.

"Your brother will come out to meet you when you return to the Imperial Capital to finalize your engagement."

"...." Xu Yuan.

"...." Xu Xinyao was trying hard to suppress her laughter next to him.

Suddenly, the atmosphere grew tense.

In the end, it was Xu Yinhè who brought the conversation back on track:

"Alright, Changtian, did you come to me just to confirm this matter?"

Xu Yuan cleared his throat softly and spoke in a low voice:

"Ahem, there are two other matters, one minor and one major."

"Oh?" Xu Yinhè raised his tone slightly.

"The minor issue is that I want to ask you for a favor, Father." Xu Yuan, his voice low, glanced at Xu Xinyao beside him: "There’s a boss from the Pingshui Gang in Wanxiang City who has come to know of my identity..."

At this point, Xu Yuan left his thoughts unspoken.

After listening carefully, Xu Yinhè asked:

"You want to save his life?"

"Yes." Xu Yuan nodded, candidly stating, "I think he has quite a bit of talent; it would be a pity for him to die like this."

Xu Yinhè did not immediately answer the question, instead, he sat on the cushion, carefully savoring the spiritual fry tea sent from Tianshan.

After a long pause,

he finally spoke slowly:

"Changtian, are you the one who wants this, or is it Xinyao?"

Xu Yuan asked with slight hesitation:

"Is this... important?"

"Very important."

"....."

Xu Yuan considered seriously but his answer was ambiguous:

"Father, many people’s achievements are limited by their platforms. I think that Bai Zhao’s potential is far from being fully realized."

"So, is it that you appreciate his talent?" Xu Yinhè asked.

"Yes." Xu Yuan nodded and briefly explained the reasons for his judgment.

"....."

After hearing the narrative, Xu Yinhè didn’t agree or refuse but instead made a meaningful statement:

"Changtian, if that person is truly clever, he wouldn’t make things difficult for you."

...

...

...

Noon,

In the western part of the city, the manor of the Pingshui Gang’s leader, the main house.

The room was quiet, sunlight streamed through the open door and window lattices, dust danced and fluttered in the light, and on the table in the center of the room was a simple but cozy meal that had already been eaten.

A middle-aged man with partly grey hair stood at the doorway, his gaze tenderly watching his daughter hop and skip her way towards the outer courtyard, then he looked sideways at the woman beside him.

Under the sunlight, the woman’s features, though she was the leader of the Pingshui Gang, seemed somewhat plain, yet Bai Zhao looked at her with great tenderness.

When she was a teenager and first came to this Wanxiang City, she took him in, and he worked in her meat shop. When they got married, she insisted on not letting him become a son-in-law at the sacrifice of her life. Thirty years had passed in the blink of an eye.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

The woman’s voice sounded very gentle.

Bai Zhao shook his head and said with a smile:

"It’s nothing, you look just as beautiful as when you were young."

"Talking nonsense in broad daylight, not embarrassed?"

The woman rolled her eyes, not coquettishly, but Bai Zhao liked it, smiled, and said in a low voice, "Qu’er, there will be someone to meet you after you and Qingqing leave the city this time."

The woman looked at her husband next to her and saw something unusual in his eyes:

"Is something wrong?"

Bai Zhao smiled, seemingly unconcerned, and spat out two words:

"Avoiding disaster."

Twenty years of mutual support made Bai Zhao know he couldn’t hide from her, so it was better to be upfront.

The woman asked, but it was evident that this was not the first time they had to "avoid disaster":

"Is it serious?"

Bai Zhao shook his head:

"Not very, but for the safety of you and Qingqing, it’s still best to leave the city ahead of time. I’ll come in a couple of days, and maybe we can return after a decade or so."

Upon hearing this, the woman didn’t say much, just gently smiled:

"Qingqing and I will wait for you outside the city."

Bai Zhao looked at the back that was no longer svelte due to the years, shook his head with a smile, prepared to turn and close the door to go back inside, but ultimately hesitated, biting his lip:

"Zhang Qu."

"...."

The woman walking in the courtyard turned around, puzzled, looking at the doorway where her husband stood:

"Say everything all at once if you have something to say."

Bai Zhao was very serious:

"These years, thank you."

"..."

The woman paused slightly.

The sunlight in the courtyard was suddenly so bright that she couldn’t see him clearly standing in the shadows.

Her eyes darted around involuntarily and, while turning away, she spat out:

"Nerves, Qingqing and I will wait for you outside the city."

"..."

Bai Zhao didn’t respond but watched silently as she left. Then he slowly turned back towards the doorway, meticulously starting to tidy up the scattered dishes and bowls on the table.

Indeed, every time it came to this, she would hide her worries well.

Just like when they started out, she helped him stitch up wounds while scolding him.

After tidying up carefully, he silently sat in the master’s chair, looking around the luxurious room they had fought for their entire lives, and he sighed:

"In the end, it amounts to nothing..."

As he said this,

Bai Zhao envisioned the previous scene of his family eating together here and smiled:

"Perhaps it doesn’t amount completely to nothing..."

He ignited a roll of cigarette with a lighter, smoke curling up, as Bai Zhao slowly drew a short dagger from his waist.

His hands were steady, but through the gleaming blade of the dagger, he could see his own lips trembling slightly...