Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 97: Ninety - s Family Night Talk (Combined Volume)_2

Chapter 97: Ninety Chapters Family Night Talk (Combined Volume)_2

With these thoughts, he took a deep breath and Xu Yuan asked with certainty:

"Father, is what Tianyan said true?"

Xu Yinhe’s deep voice was unhurried: "Which matter?"

"Naturally, the matter regarding the Tianyuan Sword Sect." Xu Yuan said.

Xu Yinhè chuckled with an almost imperceptible smile:

"Changtian, you didn’t mention this matter just now."

"I surmise that you already know, Father."

"Oh? How do you surmise?"

"Xu Changge refrained from attacking Ran Qingmo twice."

Ran Qingmo had obviously made this matter known before.

For decades, a lineage of officials from the Prime Minister’s Mansion had been persistently presenting memorials to the Imperial Court to regulate the Sects, and certain policies that were never implemented ended swiftly, which had long created a "cry wolf" effect among the Sects.

Therefore, even though Ran Qingmo was privy to it, she could live.

Because it was very difficult for the Sects to believe her word alone.

But if she were to die now, especially in the hands of the Prime Minister’s eldest son, it could very likely arouse the suspicion of the Dayan Sects. Would they suspect that the Prime Minister’s Mansion was silencing her?

After all,

everyone knew that the head of the Sword Sect’s cherished disciple seemed to be looking for evidence.

Pausing for a moment, Xu Yuan asked again:

"Father, I have other ways to handle the matter of the Tianyuan Sword Sect. May I have an opportunity?"

Hearing this, a sharp and elusive look flashed through Xu Yinhe’s eyes.

Xu Xinyao, that girl, seemed to have said similar words to him before she left the Imperial Capital.

She, too, wanted an opportunity, a peaceful opportunity.

Exhaling a murky breath, Xu Yinhe’s tone took on an authoritative gravity without anger:

"Changtian, do you understand what this opportunity you seek represents?"

Xu Yuan’s heart tightened, and after a quiet two seconds, he said:

"I understand."

Inside the Prime Minister’s Mansion study, threads of sandalwood fragrance wafted through the air.

Time ticked away,

and Xu Yinhe tapped his fingers lightly on the memorandum before him, silent for a long time, then he sighed:

"Changtian, Xinyao had also asked me for this opportunity in the past, but I cannot give it."

Cannot give it, not he did not want to give it.

Is the Prime Minister’s Mansion powerful?

The rumors that circulated among the market and the court—like "Without the Prime Minister’s approval, no decree could leave the Golden Luang Hall"—were evidence of its past glory.

Beyond that,

the wealthy Tian’an Commerce Assembly, the Tian’an Martial Hall that spread across the Dayan municipalities, and the Black Scale Guards, who were even more terrifying than the Imperial Court’s Secret Investigation Department, were all proof of the Prime Minister’s Mansion’s once paramount influence.

Even so, the lessons from more than a decade ago were still fresh in memory.

The world changes, the Prime Minister’s Mansion is not what it used to be, but everything they do still walks on thin ice.

Therefore,

Xu Yinhe declined the request of his third son, just as he had once declined his adopted daughter Xu Xinyao.

The room fell into silence, but the refusal did not come as a surprise to Xu Yuan.

Destroying the Sword Sect was no trivial matter, not something as simple as picking up and then putting down a teacup on the desk.

After a millennium of accumulation, the Dayan Sect had become an immovable behemoth, a suffocating behemoth, where a single mistake could lead to utter defeat.

After a prolonged silence,

"Father..."

"Changtian," Xu Changge suddenly spoke up at that moment.

Xu Yuan looked in response.

Xu Changge gently shook his head at him.

Xu Yuan merely smiled at his elder brother upon seeing this.

He realized that his father and brother seemed to have misunderstood something.

He was not Xu Xinyao, and he certainly wouldn’t be as idealistic as his younger sister.

The intention of the Prime Minister’s Mansion to destroy the Sword Sect and Ran Qingmo’s responsibility to protect the Sect seemed irreconcilable.

Yet there was clearly much room for maneuver.

Because,

Ran Qingmo only wanted to protect the Sword Sect, but how she protected it was not her concern.

After smiling, Xu Yuan composed himself and continued:

"Father, the opportunity I ask for won’t affect your plans, and I’m not giving the Tianyuan Sword Sect a way out, but rather another choice."

Xu Changge’s gaze flickered for a moment, apparently understanding Xu Yuan’s meaning, and he sighed lightly, no longer speaking.

He did not think highly of his third brother’s idea.

Xu Yinhe’s voice remained low and unhurried:

"Are you intending to use that girl Ran to broker cooperation between the Sword Sect and me?"

"Hmm, that’s the general idea."

"A fanciful thought," remarked Xu Yinhè.

Xu Yuan, seeing this, was not discouraged:

"I know you must have tried before, Father, but at that time, you didn’t have Ran Qingmo as a bridge, did you?"

The Sects were not a unified block; if they were, even the power of the Prime Minister’s Mansion would not be sufficient to fight them.

But in the plot of the past life, after the Tianyuan Sword Sect was destroyed, many Sects chose to defect to the side of Dayan’s Prime Minister.

Since these Sects could defect, why couldn’t Tianyuan Sword Sect do the same?

"Heh..."

Listening to his third son’s words, Xu Yinhè let out a low, soft chuckle.

After a few moments of silence,

Xu Yinhè suddenly asked with implication:

"So, the reason you previously told your brother that you wanted to go out was because you wanted to do this?"

"That’s part of the reason."

Xu Yuan didn’t deny it, but after a pause, he spoke aloud, "Besides, Changtian also wants to see the vast world."

Hearing this, Xu Yinhè suddenly sighed:

"I did not agree to your sister’s request at first, but I did permit her to travel the world. Changtian, do you know why that is?"

Xu Yuan recalled the relevant memories in his mind.

After leaving the Imperial Capital, Xu Xinyao traveled, made friends, and acted to reward virtue and punish vice.

Three years on, although not as widely acclaimed as her eldest brother Xu Changge, by now, she had gained some reputation in the vast Dayan Territory.

And with the reputation, the deeds she did naturally spread far and wide.

Just like in Xu Yuan’s memory from his previous life, this younger sister traveled between various forces within Dayan Territory, mediating conflicts in her own way.

An action both laughable and respectable.

After a brief contemplation, Xu Yuan said softly:

"Just like with your petition to reform the Sects, Xu Xinyao is your adopted daughter, and what she does out there can to some extent represent the stance of the Prime Minister’s Mansion. Through such mediation, you can to a certain degree lull those Sect families."

Upon hearing this, Xu Changge at his side gently shook his head with an inscrutable look.

The next moment, Xu Yinhè softly corrected:

"That’s the result caused by your sister, not the cause."

Xu Yuan was somewhat puzzled:

"Hmm? Then why..."

"Because it was her own choice."

"..." Xu Yuan.

Standing in front of the study’s window sill, gazing at the Imperial Capital, Xu Yinhè spoke softly and earnestly:

"Changtian, all four of you siblings are free to choose your own paths in life. Whatever you choose, I will do my best to help.

"Previously, you chose to indulge in worldly desires, and I could provide you with those things.

"But your current choice is one that I find difficult to assist you with.

"Changtian, are you sure you want to choose this path?"

"...."

Startled, Xu Yuan smiled wryly amidst his complex feelings:

"Of course."

"Heh..."

Xu Yinhè smiled, but suddenly his tone shifted:

"Changtian, can you tell your father what exactly has caused such a dramatic change in you?"

At that question,

Xu Yuan opened his mouth to speak, but Xu Changge cast a discreet glance at him first.

Under that look,

the space around Xu Yuan seemed to solidify instantly, and an overwhelming pressure bore down on him like a collapsing mountain.

Feeling discomfort, Xu Yuan turned his head without thinking and glared at Xu Changge, cursing:

"Xu Changge, are you out of your mind?"

"....."

Xu Changge stared at Xu Yuan for two seconds, and gradually an embarrassed smile appeared on his handsome face as he nonchalantly raised his hand to brush off non-existent dust from his green robe.

As the pressure vanished,

breathing returned to normal, and Xu Yuan snorted and looked away, taking a deep breath, his heartbeat steady as ever:

"Father, there’s not much else to it, just that after gaining the Innate Taoist Body, I’ve come to understand a few things."

"What have you come to understand?" Xu Yinhè murmured softly.

Gazing through the window sill at the full moon hanging in the night sky, Xu Yuan said:

"The opinions of mediocrities only trouble the mediocre. Bullying the weak to satisfy one’s self-esteem is truly laughable. With my current physique and capabilities, I now have the qualifications to do some of the things I want to do."

Under the quiet night moon,

Xu Yinhè’s lips curved into a smile:

"If that’s the case, then go ahead and do it. Once this matter is over, your brother will give you the Soul Ring. That’s the limit of how I can help you."