Chapter 69

Nima, can you guys not be so exhausting when you talk?

Yang Rui found that his intelligence seemed to be insufficient. After listening for a long time, he still didn’t understand how Yang Shouwen could help Old Army Commander Gai, or why Old Army Commander Gai would refuse. From the surface of their conversation, he could understand everything. But upon deeper thought, he couldn’t figure out what their true intentions were. For a moment, Yang Rui felt very lost.

Old Army Commander Gai laughed happily, but Yang Shouwen seemed very calm.

He sat upright, his hands placed on his knees, and just quietly watched Old Army Commander Gai without saying a word.

Old Army Commander Gai laughed a couple of times, then suddenly stopped.

He looked at Yang Shouwen, and Yang Shouwen looked back at him. The two of them seemed to turn into two stone statues, neither speaking nor moving, just sitting quietly and staring at each other, their gazes becoming increasingly confrontational.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense.

Yang Rui, who was feeling thirsty, picked up the water bowl, ready to take a sip of honey water.

But the sudden heavy atmosphere made him feel at a loss. With a mouth full of water and the water bowl in his hand, he looked at Old Army Commander Gai, then at Yang Shouwen, and gulped down the water.

Yang Shouwen and Old Army Commander Gai suddenly turned their gazes to Yang Rui.

Yang Rui was startled and timidly said, "Should I not have drunk the water..."

Yang Shouwen immediately laughed, and Old Army Commander Gai also laughed.

"Brother Wenxuan, to have a son like this is indeed enviable."

Old Army Commander Gai sighed, then changed the subject, speaking in a solemn tone, "I believe Nizi must have noticed something outside just now."

Yang Shouwen nodded, "In fact, the situation with my father is very similar to that of Old Army Commander."

"You mean..."

Yang Shouwen said, "There are people who are restless, wanting to disrupt the hard-won peace in Changping."

After finishing, he paused and continued in a solemn tone, "I believe Old Army Commander can see that those people outside were not just randomly opposing you. My father once said that since Old Army Commander took charge of Changping, he has been fair in rewards and punishments, and his subordinates have been very obedient. But now so many people have suddenly come forward, and Old Army Commander must realize the complexity of the situation."

Old Army Commander Gai pondered for a moment and nodded, "Nizi is right. There are people inciting the people below, wanting to replace me. I have been in charge of Changping for seventeen years, and I have encountered similar situations countless times. But this time, the situation is more intense... a bunch of scoundrels, forcing me to choose to pay a ransom to avoid disaster. If there were no one supporting them, I would have dug out their eyes. Today, killing Dongmen Jiu was just a temporary measure. Peace Alley is the most profitable area in Changping County, and the other seven坊 heads will certainly fight for the benefits of Peace Alley.

I also want to take this opportunity to catch my breath, figure out who is against me, and then make plans."

Yang Shouwen said softly, "In the entire Changping County, the number of people who can move you, Old Army Commander, can be counted on one hand.

The County Magistrate, the County Deputy, my father, and the Clerk Lu. My father would never be against you, and I can assure you of that. The County Deputy has been bedridden for many years and might die at any time... and his roots are not in Changping, so he has no reason to cause you trouble. Therefore, the people who are against you are either the County Magistrate or Clerk Lu. What do you think?"

Yang Rui, standing beside him, drew a deep breath and looked at Yang Shouwen in shock.

My brother, how can you say such things?

Old Army Commander Gai was silent for a moment and then nodded, "If Brother Wenxuan were to be against me, he wouldn’t need to go through such trouble. He could have just kept me in jail for a longer time, and my inn would have been completely destroyed.

In fact, Brother Wenxuan only kept me in jail for three days, which is neither too long nor too short, so it couldn’t have been him.

As you said, the people who are against me now can only be the County Magistrate and Clerk Lu. But I don’t understand why they would target me, a lowly scoundrel, who can’t possibly affect the big picture."

The room fell silent again.

After a long time, Yang Shouwen said, "Old Army Commander, the situation in Changping is far more complicated than you and I can imagine...

It seems there are also traitors around my father, but we don’t yet know the background of the person behind the scenes. Given that my father has been in charge of Changping for thirteen years and still gets manipulated, it shows that the person is quite formidable.

This is also why I came to see you tonight... I can represent my father and promise you that we will try to support you as much as possible, as long as you don’t overstep. In return, if there are any unusual activities or suspicious people or events in Changping, I hope you can inform me, so we can support each other."

So, this is the chess game my elder brother is playing.

Yang Rui finally understood Yang Shouwen’s intentions and looked at him in surprise.

His brother’s mind was indeed beyond his comprehension.

It turns out that there are so many dangers around Father, and I follow him every day without noticing anything...

At this point, Yang Rui was finally convinced.

He no longer had the desire to compete with Yang Shouwen, feeling that there was much to learn from his brother.

Old Army Commander Gai looked at Yang Shouwen, "How can I trust you?"

"Hehe, Old Army Commander, you’re wrong. I don’t need you to trust me; you just need to trust my father.

Father once told me that you are a good man. He also said that when he first came to Changping, you helped him. The conflicts between my second brother and Gai’s second brother are just childish games, not to be taken seriously. The reason Father acted against you was not out of real anger... hehe, you know, as one gets older, one cares more about face."

Yang Shouwen said with a smile, making Yang Rui blush.

Old Army Commander Gai suddenly burst into laughter, pointing at Yang Shouwen, "Nizi, I don’t trust Yang County Magistrate, but I trust you more."

"Oh?"

"Let’s cooperate as you suggested."

Old Army Commander Gai stood up and extended his hand.

Yang Shouwen didn’t hesitate, stood up, and extended his hand, clapping hands with Old Army Commander Gai three times, sealing the agreement.

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Old Army Commander Gai and Yang Shouwen chatted for a while longer, and then Yang Shouwen got up to leave.

However, Old Army Commander Gai didn’t see him off, but had Gai Jiayun represent him and escort the Yang brothers out of the inn.

By this time, it was already past the hour of the Pig.

Unconsciously, Yang Shouwen had stayed at the inn for over an hour.

Outside the inn, there were still some ruffians gathered, but their numbers were clearly much fewer than before.

The street was also much quieter. Gai Jiayun walked in front, and the Yang brothers followed behind.

As they approached the坊 gate, Gai Jiayun suddenly stopped.

A ruffian carrying a box approached and handed it to Gai Jiayun.

Gai Jiayun smiled at Yang Rui and said, "Second Brother, I have been wrong before, don’t blame me. This is my apology."

"Ah?"

Yang Rui was confused and took the box.

"What is this?"

"Open it and see, won’t you know?"

Gai Jiayun chuckled, and Yang Shouwen smiled.

Yang Rui, still confused, opened the box. Under the moonlight, when he saw what was inside, he couldn’t help but scream and dropped the box on the ground. A bloody human head rolled out of the box, bounced twice, and landed at Yang Shouwen’s feet.

"What are you doing!"

Yang Rui was furious and shouted loudly.

Yang Shouwen kicked the head, recognizing it as Yang Lao San’s.

"Yang Lao San is dead?"

Gai Jiayun, who dared to joke with Yang Rui, but not with Yang Shouwen, quickly bowed and said, "In response to the elder brother, Yang Lao San had long been in cahoots with Dongmen Jiu. After Father killed Dongmen Jiu today, he was no longer useful."

Yang Shouwen nodded, "Dispose of the body properly, and don’t cause any more trouble.

In the next few days, you should honestly perform your duties. If there are any issues, I will have Second Brother find you."

"Yes!"

Yang Shouwen finished speaking and dragged the indignant Yang Rui toward the坊 gate.

"Big Brother, don’t pull me, I’ll fight him!"

"Alright, alright, stop being silly... you can’t beat him."

"Who says I can’t beat him? Even if I can’t beat him, I’ll kick him a few times to vent... he used my name to commit crimes before, and now he scares me with such a big head. I, I, I’ll fight him."

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