freenovelworld Chapter 1994 What? He's also looking for account books?
Chapter 1994 What? He's also looking for account books?
"We've mentioned 'Little Buddha' more than once when we've eaten and drunk together; he's a very eccentric person!"
Shangguan Wuji lit another cigarette with a snap: "This man does things without leaving a trace, without leaving any leverage, and without even leaving any grudges! Because he either doesn't do anything, or he does it to the extreme! He either makes you die, or he makes you so afraid that you dare not hate him! Boss Feng's daughter returned safely, so he couldn't hate her and chose to use money to avoid trouble! Director Fei is dead, so he can't hate him either!"
A long sigh came from behind the screen.
In that sigh, there was understanding, there was solemnity, and even a trace of complex emotion that Shangguan Wuji couldn't understand.
“So, sir,” Shangguan Wuji looked behind the screen, his eyes filled with determination, “you want me to publicly identify the Little Buddha at tomorrow’s wedding banquet. This move is far too risky! It’s not that I’m afraid of death. At my age and in my position, I’ve long since become indifferent to life and death! But what I’m afraid of is that this risk will not only kill me, but may also drag the entire Shangguan family down with me!”
He seemed as if he felt ashamed, and said in a violent tone, "I don't want people to think that I, Shangguan Wuji, the head of the Shangguan family, am the same kind of lowlife as Little Buddha!"
A strange sound came from behind the screen. Shangguan Wuji tilted his head to listen and felt that it sounded like the string of a rosary breaking.
He couldn't guess, but his voice remained heavy: "If the young master retaliates, he won't just target me! My sons and daughters outside, my businesses outside, my connections in the court... and of course, the close family relationships I've cultivated over the years! They could all be uprooted one by one! Sir, the Shangguan family cannot fall, at least not now! I haven't seen Mu Huanying yet, I haven't obtained the account books, and there are too many regrets I haven't resolved!"
Silence fell behind the screen.
This silence lasted exceptionally long.
Even several minutes later, smoke began to rise behind the screen.
Two minutes later, the screen moved and was pushed open, and the gentleman walked straight out.
Shangguan Wuji was overjoyed. He quickly stubbed out his cigarette on the windowsill and went over to properly pour the other person a cup of hot tea.
“Wuji,” the gentleman was already seated across the mahogany tea table, “you’re right, Little Buddha is indeed an anomaly, a variable! But have you considered this question!”
"What's the problem? Please enlighten me, sir!" Shangguan Wuji asked.
"Have you heard about the Red Star Gang Room incident?" the man asked.
Shangguan Wuji was stunned for a moment, then fell into deep thought. After a long while, he pondered and said, "I've heard about it, but most of it is just rumors circulating in the city. All I know is that the old man of the funeral parlor, Cheng Yue, was poisoned and went to ask Li Xiangnan for help... Hiss, sir, do you mean this was Little Buddha's doing? Is he targeting the funeral parlor? Does he have a grudge against the funeral parlor? They deal with the dead, how could they be involved?"
The gentleman shook his head, picked up his teacup, and took a small sip.
Shangguan Wuji was taken aback again, a glint of suspicion flashing in his eyes. "Sir, I don't understand. What does your bringing this up have to do with Little Buddha? And what does it have to do with Li Xiangnan?"
"What if what Young Master is actually eyeing is the Mu family's account books?"
boom!
Upon hearing these words, Shangguan Wuji froze, abruptly standing up with a look of astonishment and disbelief. "He also has his eye on the account books?"
As soon as he said that, he froze, veins bulging on his face, his eyes wide open: "How is that possible? How could he know about the account books?"
The gentleman took another sip of tea unhurriedly, then took out a cigarette from the cigarette case on the table and lit it. "What would you think if I told you that Little Buddha's people had been vaguely involved in the Mu family's fire forty years ago?"
"Forty years ago?" Shangguan Wuji's scalp tingled, a chill running from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He roared, "This... how is this possible?"
"When it comes to Little Buddha, nothing is impossible!" The gentleman shook his head: "Perhaps, Little Buddha is just a title, a kind of inheritance!"
"..." Upon hearing this, Shangguan Wuji's breath almost stopped at that moment. His angry and shocked expression froze on his face and lingered for a long time.
If that's the case, then many things need to be re-evaluated!
The grudges and entanglements that have lasted for decades have suddenly been complicated by the involvement of another force, which has remained undetected from beginning to end. There's a lot more to this than meets the eye.
Before he could react, the man said, word by word, "If the young master has been eyeing the Mu family's accounts for a long time, do you think he won't touch you if you don't provoke him now? Perhaps he has been observing you for a long time, and the reason he hasn't touched you is that he is also using you to get closer to the truth he wants!"
"..." Shangguan Wuji was sweating profusely.
"The ledgers are related to what happened forty years ago," the man continued coldly, "and involve Mu Huanying, countless families in Yanjing, and too many shady things! If the young master is really investigating this matter and looking for what he wants, do you think he will let you go? You are the head of the Shangguan family and one of the main participants in that incident!"
Shangguan Wuji's expression changed completely.
"So what you mean, sir..." he murmured, his voice already trembling with panic.
"So you have no choice." His voice behind the screen was calm to the point of cruelty. "Even if you don't provoke the Little Buddha, he will provoke you! Rather than waiting passively, you might as well take the initiative. At least you can still maintain some control!"
Shangguan Wuji closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and began to think.
"Think about it carefully!"
The man got up, walked to the window, reached out and wiped away the circle on the glass, and looked out at the swirling snow.
When Shangguan Wuji opened his eyes a long time later, there was no more hesitation in his eyes, only a resolute determination to burn his bridges.
“Okay, I understand!” he continued. “I will proceed with the wedding banquet as planned that day!”
"How to do it exactly?"
Shangguan Wuji stood up and went to the window, standing next to him.
“I will apologize publicly and admit that what happened in Nanluoguxiang today was due to my lax discipline!” He pondered slowly. “However, I will also say that I have investigated and found that although those people are servants of the Shangguan family, they have had contact with Little Buddha’s men in recent months!”
“I won’t directly say that this was orchestrated by Little Buddha. That would be too blunt and seem rather fake! I will say that I suspect someone is using the Shangguan family’s name to deliberately sow discord between me and you, Li Xiangnan! And this person might be related to Little Buddha!”
"Why is it possible?"
“Because there is room for maneuver!” Shangguan Wuji explained, “If I said that Little Buddha was responsible for the death, there would be no room for maneuver! But by saying ‘possibly,’ I not only expressed my doubts, but also gave Little Buddha a way out.”
"If he wants to clarify, he can say it's a misunderstanding, that someone is impersonating him. He can then provide proof of his identity to the other party!"
"Considering Li Xiangnan's intelligence, would I, Shangguan Wuji, bother to so blatantly have my own people do such a despicable thing? Wouldn't that be a slap in my own face? He will definitely think it over and will believe me instead!"
“And the word ‘possibly’,” Shangguan Wuji gazed at the snow outside, “will spark all sorts of speculation! The powerful families of Yanjing, the Song, Yu, Jiang, and Mu families, will all be wondering, if what happened today really was done by Little Buddha, why would he do it? Is he targeting Li Xiangnan? Or the Mu family? Or…all of us?”
The gentleman chuckled softly, his smile revealing approval.
"Very good, let's do it that way! Remember, tell us seven-tenths, and leave three-tenths unsaid. Let people guess the rest!"
"Yes!" Shangguan Wuji's mood improved slightly.
"There's one more thing!" The man's voice suddenly turned cold. "Shangguan Wanqing!"
"..." Shangguan Wuji froze.
The man stared at him coldly: "You haven't dealt with it yet."
This is a statement, not a question.
"I...I'll go right now!" Shangguan Wuji opened his mouth.
"Remember this: a woman's compassion will kill us all!" the man warned.
Shangguan Wuji nodded, took a deep breath, and turned to leave the study.
His steps were steady, but his clenched fists were so tight that his nails dug deep into his palms.
He stopped at the door and glanced at the man's back.
"Sir, if Young Master has really set his sights on the ledgers, then... do we still have a chance of winning?"
"Whether we have a chance of winning doesn't depend on how terrifying the Little Buddha is!"
"It depends on how much we want that ledger!"
Shangguan Wuji nodded and pushed open the door to go out.
The corridor was dark and cold.
He walked step by step toward the backyard, each step feeling like he was walking on a knife's edge.
The door was right in front of us.
His daughter was locked inside the door.
What he's about to do might destroy the last vestige of father-daughter affection between them.
But the gentleman is right; a woman's kindness will kill everyone.
He stopped in front of the door, raised his hand, his knuckles hovering an inch in front of the door, trembling slightly.
Then he took a deep breath and knocked.
"Wanqing," Shangguan Wuji's voice echoed in the corridor, cold and resolute, "Open the door!"
"let's talk!"
Inside the door, all was deathly silent.