Young Master Jiang was under house arrest in a dignified manner.
His whereabouts could be hidden from others, but it was impossible to hide from the aristocratic families of the seven sects and five families. Originally, no one would take the initiative to poke at his secret return to Chang 'an. However, following his assassination attempt on Yang Fan last night, this layer of window paper had to be poked.
Assassinating Yang Fan was indeed the only way for him to solve his predicament.
On the one hand, the aristocratic families gradually felt that the Succession Hall was too big to handle due to the open and veiled strife between the two sects. To a certain extent, it had already broken away from their control. Therefore, they wanted to set up another spokesperson and divide part of the authority from Young Master Jiang's hands, forming a tripartite structure. The three complemented each other and balanced each other, which could better ensure the stability of the Succession Hall.
On the other hand, the Emperor felt that there were too many forces coveting the Southern Border. She intended to use Yang Fan as the key figure in distributing the interests of the Southern Border. In this way, she could not only avoid the intensification of the conflict between herself and the aristocratic families, but also use the friendship between Yang Fan and the chieftains of the Southern Border to appease them. She could also maximize the needs of the forces standing on her side.
With the two things working together, Yang Fan stood out and became Young Master Jiang's biggest problem.
Yang Fan came with the momentum. He was in line with the Emperor's wishes and the aristocratic families' wishes. He was also the only person who was not opposed by the chieftains of the Southern Border. Other than letting him die, Young Master Jiang had no other solution. Even if he was unparalleled in intelligence, it was impossible to affect the leaders of so many forces at the same time with one clever plan.
After killing Yang Fan, no matter how great the advantage Yang Fan once had, a dead person could no longer pose any threat to him. Of course, Yang Fan's death would certainly set off a great uproar, but compared to the unsolvable predicament, he could still withstand this storm. Therefore, assassinating Yang Fan was no doubt a dangerous move, but it was also a good opportunity for him to reverse his defeat.
However, Yang Fan did not die!
If only Yang Fan did not die, then he would really be like the two prison chiefs bribed by the pirate You Haoyang. Even if Yang Fan hated him to the core, he had to find another opportunity to retaliate. Although he lost again and was forced to divide part of his power to Yang Fan, he might have a chance to fight back after hibernating.
Unfortunately, You Haoyang's smart move had ruined him. Kidnapping a pregnant woman who was ten months pregnant, even the aristocratic families that sided with him had nothing to say. Even the real bandits and robbers would not do such a thing, not to mention these aristocratic families that boasted of 'passing down the family' and 'inheriting benevolence and righteousness'.
The aristocratic families of Shandong were not the only ones in the world. At the very least, this matter could not be hidden from the local bully, the Guan Long family. If this matter was not handled fairly, the aristocratic families of Shandong would lose all their reputation. From now on, they would no longer be able to raise their heads in front of others. The consequences were too serious for them to bear. That was why Young Master Jiang sorrowfully said, "Heaven will kill me, but not because of war!"
Yang Fan, the victim, would never let go of this opportunity to fight back with justice and justice.
Guan Long Group had a rare opportunity to suppress the Shandong aristocratic families, so they would certainly make a big deal out of this matter.
Moreover, the aristocratic families in Shandong were not united. This matter did not concern the gains and losses of all the aristocratic families. On the contrary, if it was handled properly, they would obtain a better spokesperson, and they could confidently eliminate him, a person who had lost his value. They could also pull down the Lu family's ranking, and everyone's status would rise. Would they let go of such a good opportunity?
Young Master Jiang was very clear in his heart that the reason why he was under house arrest now without shedding all pretenses of cordiality was because the aristocratic families had yet to come up with a perfect solution. When that bunch of old fogeys came up with a solution, it would be time to put him on trial.
But Young Master Jiang, who had always been proud and arrogant, was not one to sit and wait for death. He had Butchie and Yang Fan's children in his hands, which was tantamount to controlling Yang Fan. Perhaps after this matter, his reputation would be ruined, but at least he still had the most practical benefits, and he still had the power to fight!
At this point, Young Master Jiang finally abandoned all his narcissism and self-satisfaction, turning himself into a "businessman" who had to compete. He did not want to wait for that group of old men to decide his future. He wanted to leave here, return to Chang 'an, and rely on Fan Yang as his foundation. With the power of the Hall of Succession completely under his control, he would come back to bargain with the aristocratic families.
But would it be so easy to leave? Since the aristocratic families had directly sent their children to block his door, how could they not guard against his escape?
The people Young Master Jiang brought to Chang 'an this time were not his absolute confidants, and the people he sent to the periphery were not. Some of them were confidants of other leaders in the Hall of Succession, and some were from the aristocratic families. They only followed orders, and in reality, they did not know what the headmaster was doing.
Now with the intrusion of the young masters from the aristocratic families, these people were already confused and vigilant. The female assassin who had delivered Butchie was from the Cui family of Qinghe. At this moment, she was puzzled and thought, Headmaster … what is he doing?
The people around Young Master Jiang were not very reliable. If he wanted to escape, he had to keep these people in the dark. But it was easier said than done to hide from so many people!
…
The peddler who sold cakes stood in front of Yang Fan, sweat meandering on his face like a few streams.
He had run in a hurry, was very nervous, and was under a lot of pressure.
Standing in front of him, Yang Fan was neither tall nor short, not fat nor thin, but just standing in front of him, the peddler felt as if a tall towering mountain was in front of him, as if it could fall down and crush him into meat paste. This kind of psychological pressure was too heavy, so as soon as he stood in front of Yang Fan, his sweat rushed out.
"There is news?"
Yang Fan's hands were hanging as he stood in front of him. His fingers were clenched as though he was holding a knife. The peddler raised his sleeve to wipe his sweat. He stammered out, "I … I found out. In Chang 'an … there are a total of ten … one mansions that belong to the Lu Family, and four other properties on the outskirts of the city …"
"Where is Young Master Jiang?"
Yang Fan shouted in a deep voice and scared the peddler. He instantly stopped stammering and crisply answered, "There are three places!"
Yang Fan's eyebrows furrowed and he said harshly, "There are three places?"
"Yes! In the rush, we could not confirm his exact location. We used all of our people, but we only found three mansions that are the most suspicious … "
As the peddler spoke, his eyes lowered slightly.
He felt slightly guilty. They had already found Young Master Jiang's exact location, but they did not dare to directly say it to Yang Fan. Although they fought openly and covertly with Xian Zong, all of their methods were within the rules. Occasionally, there would be some extreme actions, but it was done under the tacit understanding of both parties.
It was different now. Yang Fan might be their ally, but he was still an outsider. Looking at how Yang Fan was acting, it was as though he was about to kill someone. If they told him Young Master Jiang's location, it didn't matter if he led his troops or killed his way over alone. This matter would go out of control. By then, what kind of role would the Hidden Sect play? Would they be helping an outsider?
No matter if it was Yang Fan leading his troops to kill Young Master Jiang or killing his way over alone and getting killed by Young Master Jiang, those weren't the results that they wanted to see. However, Yang Fan was clearly enraged, and they didn't dare to offend him.
Two choices, two results. They were all consequences that they couldn't afford to bear. Shen Mu wasn't here, and no one could make this decision. Thus, he said three places. "Xingning Lane, Jing An Lane, and Perpetual Peace Lane."
One of the three places was real. This way, it wouldn't infuriate Yang Fan. Out of the three places, the furthest one would be the real one. This way, it would give Young Master Jiang ample time to hide.
If Yang Fan wasn't leading his troops over, and Young Master Jiang didn't have to hide, it wouldn't be a problem. These three places were located in the east, south, and west of Chang 'an City. Running one round around all of them would be equivalent to wandering around half of Chang' an City. This amount of time would be sufficient for those aristocratic clans to step forward and mediate.
They had put in a lot of effort, but they already knew that Yang Fan was so infuriated because his wife had been kidnapped. Furthermore, his wife was already ten months pregnant and was about to give birth. It was inevitable for them to feel guilty and didn't dare to look at Yang Fan in the eye.
Yang Fan was burning with anxiety and didn't notice the behavior of this hawker's guilty conscience. He was only worried about not being able to find the place. He couldn't possibly be wandering around Chang 'an City with his saber and barging into every household he saw, right? Yang Fan then asked for the exact location of the Lu family's residence in the three workshops and memorized it before saying, "Thank you!"
Just as Yang Fan walked to the door, Tin Aino slid down from the pillar like a snake. She was wearing a green robe with her sleeves and trousers tightly tucked up. It was obvious that she had long been prepared. It was likely that the deadly things that she hadn't brought with her for a long time were all prepared.
Ah Qian's delicate brows were filled with a murderous aura. In a cold voice, she said, "I'll go with you!"
Yang Fan nodded. The two didn't speak and rushed out side by side.
"Me too!"
Gongsun Lanzhi was wearing a red robe and a red cloak. She carried her big sword on her shoulder and came out from behind a cluster of flowers and trees. She said in a majestic and manly voice, "How can I be left out of such a matter!"
Yang Fan hesitated and said, "Miss Gongsun, this is my family's matter, you …"
Gongsun Lanzhi slammed her big sword on the ground and said in a sonorous voice, "Xiaoman is my junior sister. I am not an outsider!"
Yang Fan took a deep breath and said loudly, "Good! Then … you and I will go together. The three of us will charge into Young Master Jiang's dragon pool and tiger's den! "
Gongsun Lanzhi was overjoyed and said excitedly, "I have already prepared a horse, follow me!"
Aunt Pei was standing at the corner of the long corridor. She was wearing a martial outfit and a black scarf around her neck. Seeing her precious daughter leaving with Yang Fan, she was extremely anxious. She wanted to stop them but didn't know what to do.
In her anxiety, she was a little distracted. When she sensed that someone was already beside her, Aunt Pei was shocked. She turned around and saw her husband, Gongsun Bufan, dressed in a green robe, standing with his hands behind his back and staring at the direction where her daughter left. Aunt Pei heaved a sigh of relief and said to Gongsun Bufan, "Langjun, quickly persuade Lanzhi …"
"Lanzhi is much more sensible than you!"
Gongsun Bufan interrupted her coldly. After a moment of silence, he slowly turned around and said in a low voice, "If you have done something wrong, you should try your best to make up for it. Let your daughter help you. Look after her. You must … come back safely!"
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