Chapter 160
Xi Ning hurriedly shook his head."I might try to persuade Yao'er again about whether to choose Cheng Bai."
The snake beastman said, "You yourself are unwilling to marry someone you don't love, how can you force your brother?"
"...It's not forcing, just persuading..." Xi Ning smiled. "Anyway, the problem is solved now. How long will you need this time?"
Hearing this, the snake beastman's gaze softened considerably. "A month. This is the last time. After a month, I won't need to go into seclusion anymore."
"Really!" Xi Ning was overjoyed.
The snake beastman said, "However, this time is especially crucial. For this entire month, absolutely no one must come to disturb me, otherwise I will be in great danger."
"Alright, rest assured." Xi Ning agreed.
"..." Having learned some hidden secrets, Zhao Shan's heart surged with emotion as he quietly left the spot on tiptoe and headed straight back to his original place.
As soon as he entered, Zhao Yu went up to meet him and asked, "How did it go?"
Zhao Shan pulled Zhao Yu to kneel on the spot. "Father, this time the city lord may not let things go with a simple punishment."
"What do you mean?" Zhao Yu asked.
"Xi Yao is pregnant. The child is Yuan Heng's. Xi Ning plans to have the two marry and is preparing to find a role for Yuan Heng to keep him in Ning'an City." Zhao Shan said, then turned to look at Zhao Yu. "The city lord intends to make Yuan Heng the deputy city lord."
"What?!" Zhao Yu stood up abruptly. Zhao Shan hurriedly looked behind him and pulled Zhao Yu down. "Father, keep your voice down."
Zhao Yu's face was full of anger as he lowered his voice. "Is that boy Xi Ning trying to take advantage of this to remove me from my post and give it to that ancient beastman?"
"Not only that. Xi Ning intends to not use anyone from our Zhao family except for Zhao Qi."
"!" Zhao Yu was furious. "That brat Xi Ning is trying to drive our Zhao family to death."
"Father, we cannot just sit and wait for death." Zhao Shan said with a dark expression.
"?" Zhao Yu looked at Zhao Shan in confusion.
Zhao Shan lowered his voice. "A few days ago, what Xiang'er told us, father, do you still remember?"
"Xiang'er..." Zhao Yu recalled that ger who called him father after having his eyes gouged out and tongue cut off, and remained silent for a long time.
For a moment, the hall was utterly quiet.
Inside Zhao Xiang's courtyard.
Pan Shulin retreated several steps in shock,only stopping when the table behind him blocked his retreat.
Fine sweat had already beaded on his forehead, and his whole body was covered in a cold sweat.
"You mean to say... your eyes and your tongue were done by City Lord Xi Ning's men?"
Zhao Shan nodded.
"..." Pan Shulin knew Xi Ning doted on Xi Yao, but he had never imagined Xi Ning's methods could be so cruel and underhanded.
He had people act secretly himself, while on the surface he kept dragging the Zhao family along to find the culprit... playing the Zhao family for fools!
Pan Shulin now realized that this Ning'an City belonged to Xi Ning. If City Lord Xi Ning wanted to take revenge on someone, it was as easy as turning over his hand. Xi Ning was not Xi Yao. Xi Ning had fought and crawled his way to the city lord's position. He had a thousand underhanded ways and methods to deal with a person.
Pan Shulin now felt immensely thankful that he had always acted steadily and cautiously in the past, leaving no loopholes, and had never let City Lord Xi Ning discover he had schemed against Xi Yao. Otherwise, his fate would only be worse than Zhao Xiang's.
However, he wasn't in a good position now either. If he were caught by Xi Ning now, it would still be a miserable end.
Pan Shulin was lost in thought when he saw the servant staring straight at him. "My young master says he knows you plotted against him before. He knew about the ger in the pavilion sending the letter. Later, you incited him to kill those gers, all actually to silence them."
"..." Pan Shulin pressed his lips together. "So you know now. What do you want to tell me by saying this?"
Zhao Xiang wrote something. The servant glanced at it and said, "The young master says, for now we should first deal with the Xi family together. As for these past matters, young master wants you to repay with money."
This person really loves money as much as life itself.
Pan Shulin felt slightly relieved. "If we can survive this calamity, money is easy to discuss. You want to deal with the Xi family, but that's the city lord. How can just you and I deal with him?"
Zhao Xiang shook his head and wrote another passage. The servant read it and said, "Young master says, besides us, there is the entire Zhao family."
"?" Pan Shulin was stunned: Is this saying Zhao Yu would rebel?
"Has your father agreed?" Pan Shulin asked.
The servant said, "The young master says he will agree."
Pan Shulin lowered his eyes and pondered for a long while. "But even with all the Zhao family guards combined, it's not certain we can move against the city lord."
The servant said, "I have already inquired about these matters. Cheng Li previously sent people to find Xi Yao; many beastmen haven't returned yet. Now he himself is punished with confinement. Cheng Bai, although skilled, has never managed the Cheng family's beastman guards, so he is not a major concern. The beastmen in the city right now are like a sheet of loose sand. Zhao Qi doesn't have many people under him. The two merchant hall masters have not returned. If we are to deal with loose sand and Zhao Qi's men, we can win."
"But there's still my brother's men." Pan Shulin said.
Zhao Xiang and the servant fell silent. Pan Shulin suddenly understood the purpose of Zhao Xiang saving him.
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