Chapter 191: You Are Born to Be the Family Head

"We are now exposed in the open." Chen Wuji said solemnly.

"No matter how much you have speculated and inferred, this is an indisputable fact. Qin Zan Hong…… and I indeed have some relation, a relatively close one. But, when it comes to matters of life and death, I will not completely trust her unless she truly becomes one of us."

"San Shu, Jiu Shu, we must always prepare for the worst."

Chen Wuji's words made Chen Bushi somewhat surprised and also greatly relieved: "We have been making this preparation all along, for many years. It's just that we haven't yet prepared to resist the Court; that's what I really want to tell you."

Chen Wuji stared at Chen Bushi with a blazing gaze: "To save me, you could let the Chen Clan become outlaws at once, yet you stand by and watch other branch lines be bullied, beaten to death? Is that the difference between the main line and the branch lines?"

"Yes!" Chen Bushi's reply was straightforward and ruthless.

"In the Chen Clan, anyone can die except you! Don't keep calling me hidebound; this is the law of our ancestors, and countless Chen Clan sages have verified it throughout history. The Chen Clan hasn't always been ruled by the main line; there have been struggles and internal chaos."

"But the final result is that only the main line can control the Chen Clan; no one else can. You might find it laughable, but you don't know that the esteemed recommended man, Laborers, even when you were a fool, never denied your status as Family Head, nor even considered becoming Family Head himself."

"When the main line is down to just you, you are already the Family Head; you don't need anyone's acknowledgment—you simply are!"

Chen Wuji heavily exhaled a mouthful of turbid air that weighed like a mountain on his chest, sat down on the large stone slab at the shrine's gate, and suddenly wanted a cigarette.

He's clearly wearing the guise of a fool, yet he now bears the lives of the entire clan?

"If something happens to the main line, the branch lines will surely suffer; have you worked out a countermeasure?" Chen Wuji asked in a muffled voice.

"Yes." Chen Bushi sat down with Chen Wuji: "As long as you don't interfere, the situation can at least temporarily stay as is; gaining a bit more time lets us accumulate a bit more strength."

"Especially now, those profit-making ventures you hold are crucial to the clan's current situation. The caravan I mentioned earlier is our own people."

Chen Wuji glanced at Chen Bushi: "Then why didn't you say earlier that the iron pot doesn't make money?"

"They do make money; the caravan will be in contact with Yang Tiejiang these days." Chen Bushi said.

Chen Wuji's mouth twitched: "If you weren't my third uncle, I'd really give you a few punches. Regarding these matters, what need do you have to hide anything from me? Finding me is no easier than finding Old Yang."

"You need time to grow." Chen Bushi said casually.

Chen Wuji: ……

Clearly the other person is only in his thirties, yet he's ended up like this.

Chen Luozi suddenly laughed and said: "Lao San, you don't want to say it, but it seems you've already said most of it. I've said before that Wuji is smarter and braver than we thought. You've been clever all your life, yet it seems you can still misjudge."

Chen Bushi glared at Chen Luozi, somewhat annoyed: "I'm not blind; I know what kind of person this kid is. But being the Family Head of a declining clan isn't easy; his carefree days are few."

"Ah?" Chen Luozi, a bit embarrassed, wiped his face: "Forget it, I just farted."

Chen Wuji tilted his head, looked at Chen Bushi, and said seriously: "Being Family Head, I can do your work too, can't I?"

Chen Bushi: ……

Chen Luozi clapped and laughed heartily: "Excellent, Wuji, I think that's a great idea."

Chen Bushi's face darkened a bit.

Chen Wuji stopped laughing and said seriously: "I won't ask about other matters, but regarding the example you previously gave, my suggestion is still to kill that county magistrate and then have someone annex his fields. Doing so might not cause trouble, but at least it could give our clansmen a temporary sense of security."

He had been preparing to blow up Lu Jinglve, yet Chen Bushi hesitated when dealing with the county magistrate.

If that guy knew his true thoughts, he'd probably be scared to death.

His courage still isn't bold enough.

"You see, you still can't help wanting to intervene, but what you say also makes sense; I'll take care of this." Chen Bushi nodded, "As for other matters, I'll discuss them with you tomorrow in detail; we've said this much, and there's indeed nothing left to conceal."

"Letting those bad things stay as they are isn't because I'm cold-hearted; it's because the Chen Clan needs an honest facade to buy time and accumulate strength. Otherwise, when we reach the mountains, only more people will die."

"Although the Dayu Dynasty is constantly embroiled in internal strife, if the Chen Clan shows any sign of movement, they can still easily slap us to death; the Chen Clan is now too weak, weak enough to withstand no storm."

"The Chen Clan can become outlaws, but cannot truly become bandits!"

Chen Wuji felt a heavy weight in his heart, as if he had eaten a pile of indigestible stuff that bloated his stomach, squeezing his heart to the point of making breathing difficult, with a feeling of gas stuck in his chest that he couldn't exhale fully.

He collapsed onto the stone slab, arms crossed behind his head, "It seems many people in Yunan City know our background."

"No need to pay attention to them; they're not different from us, except we once stood higher and were more noble." Chen Bushi said disdainfully, "After all, we were once called the cornerstone of the state, the protectors of this land, while most of them are guilty."

Chen Wuji stared unblinkingly at the brilliant Star River overhead.

Probably the most beautiful thing in this era is the Star River overhead—it hangs low, even showing other colors, gorgeous and splendid, seeming almost unreal.

"San Shu, we need to find a way to turn them into our own people." Chen Wuji suddenly said in a low, wistful tone.

Chen Bushi was somewhat surprised: "You want to win them over? That's not easy; those who come to Yunan have all sorts of reasons, but each carries a major burden, so they're proud and wouldn't deign to report us to the Court; after all, in some respects we're the same."

"But for the same reason, they also disdain to work with us and become our supporters."

Chen Wuji shook his head: "I mean everyone in this city—not just them, but officials and commoners alike."

Chen Bushi opened his mouth, then remained silent for a moment.

"Not possible?" Chen Wuji, receiving no answer, looked up and asked.

Chen Bushi, speechless, laughed and scolded: "You brat, what grand dream are you chasing? Never mind other things—do you have silver? This requires a huge amount of silver."

"I thought it'd be something else; just earn it slowly." Chen Wuji said casually.