Chapter 163:

Fang Fang is in a very good mood today.

She hummed a tune as she strolled through the Wan family mansion’s courtyard, enjoying the flowers and feeling content.

She is not the Tide Listening Building, so the news has not reached her as quickly to inquire about Qiao Shuanglin overturning this matter.

Therefore, in her opinion, the outcome of this matter is already determined.

Qiao Shuanglin was framed twice and later met a tragic death at the hands of an inhuman person, so her friend Fang Fang no longer needs to be restrained.

Recently, she felt a bit unsettled in her heart.

Ever since he found out that Fang Yuan’s life was improving and he even had enough money to buy an old house, and had formed a close relationship with the martial arts expert Qiao Shuanglin, he felt uneasy.

Unfair!

She sacrificed a lot, becoming Wan Ronghua’s mistress, just to gain what she has now.

The Fang family’s shops, the Fang family’s old house… all belonged to the Wan family now, and she naturally had a share in it.

Even though Fang Yuan had hit rock bottom in the past, if it weren’t for the connections left by his father, he couldn’t even secure a job as a heavenly prison guard.

Why did it have to be Fang Yuan, who from a young age gained his father’s favor and received the blessings and inheritance that should have belonged to her as his biological daughter?

Since Fang Yuan bought back the family house, there has always been a voice roaring in her heart.

Watching Fang Yuan rise again step by step on Mount Dong was even more painful for her than losing money.

She just didn’t dare to make any rash move.

Because behind Fang Yuan, there was also Qiao Shuanglin, who stood up for him!

This martial arts master who could kill the Sword Ghost worshipped by the Wan family, even Wan Ronghua didn’t want to provoke him actively… but since both sides had already established enmity, Wan Ronghua had to resort to all means to scheme and plot against Qiao Shuanglin.

And Wan Ronghua’s scheme had already succeeded.

"Even someone like Qiao Shuanglin, who is an accomplished fighter, has to be cautious in the Imperial Capital… Sir’s plan really worked," Fang Fang praised.

"After all, Sir made his fortune from scratch in the Imperial Capital. So what if Qiao Shuanglin has high martial arts skills? Isn’t it easy for Sir to resolve him without shedding blood?"

"However, Sir’s attention has been focused on Qiao Shuanglin recently. How could he find time to deal with someone like Fang Yuan?"

"But it’s actually fine this way… it allows me to personally settle this grudge."

With an idea in her mind, Fang Fang stood up and walked towards the exit.

Wan Ronghua isn’t here today, he left early in the morning.

In her opinion, this is a great opportunity for her.

As Wan Ronghua’s mistress, although she isn’t the main lady, she has enough power to control the servants and maids of the Wan family.

As for how to make Fang Yuan fall… Fang Fang has learned a lot from following Wan Ronghua these years, so she definitely has some ideas.

…………….

In the west of the Imperial Capital.

Fang Fang, who usually plans and strategizes without getting her hands dirty, sees Wan Ronghua sweating nervously as he paces back and forth in the courtyard of a mansion in the west of the city.

There is a large locust tree planted in the courtyard, with lush branches and leaves. It provides shade even during the bright day.

But Wan Ronghua seems to be feeling hot, with sweat on his forehead, and his heart can’t calm down.

"Is Lord Qin still in seclusion?" he couldn’t help but ask the steward beside him.

"Indeed, please wait a moment longer, Mr. Wan." The steward seemed strange, a middle-aged man with an expressionless face. He had a noticeably robust figure, with bulging muscles that pushed his robe high, making people feel intimidated.

But what caught Fang Fang’s attention even more was the man’s very yellow complexion, although not in a sickly way.

Judging by his physique, he didn’t seem like an invalid plagued by various illnesses.

For some reason, Wan Ronghua didn’t dare to meet the steward’s gaze. He instinctively looked away and continued to wait in the courtyard.

Qin Shiqing was not in a hurry.

Because he was a top-ranked martial artist and also an official of the court, he even had some vague connections with the Great Dao Sect.

But Wan Ronghua was truly anxious.

As soon as he learned that Fang Fang’s former handmaids and a few others had fallen into a trap and surrendered themselves to the yamen, he couldn’t sit still anymore.

The young woman, although scared by Qiao Mu’s ghostly tricks, dared not reveal Wan Ronghua’s involvement when confessing to the authorities.

However, since she had already turned herself in, she couldn’t possibly hold back and only reveal a partial truth. Did she think the authorities were fools?

This young woman was just an ordinary person, easily frightened by the yamen’s bailiffs, just like when she encountered Qiao Mu that night. Her mental defenses quickly crumbled, and she spilled the whole truth.

But that’s not important.

Even if the authorities knew that Wan Ronghua was secretly framing Qiao Shuanglin, what could they do?

Wan Ronghua was a wealthy tycoon in the Imperial Capital, a prominent figure who had reached his current position. He supported a wealthy family and couldn’t have achieved all that on his own.

Collaboration between officials and merchants has existed since ancient times.

Even if the Imperial Capital yamen discovered Wan Ronghua’s misdeeds, it would simply require some monetary arrangements from top to bottom.

It’s not a big problem, at most a minor inconvenience, certainly not enough to seriously harm Wan Ronghua.

Wan Ronghua was not afraid of the other bigwigs in Imperial Capital.



Because the bigwigs were all about following the rules.

It was actually the powerful martial artist Qiao Shuanglin, who didn’t follow the rules, that gave him a massive headache.

In the past, Wan Ronghua had twice framed Qiao Shuanglin, always hiding in the shadows and never showing himself directly.

If it hadn’t been for the incident at the market that day, where they happened to witness an inhuman fight, Qiao Mu still wouldn’t have seen Wan Ronghua’s face.

But unfortunately… that young woman revealed his identity.

The authorities knew this was not something to be scared of, but they were afraid that it had already been leaked to another person or group.

"Could it be Qiao’s family? They are so mysterious. Did they force the woman to surrender to the authorities?"

The more Wan Ronghua thought about it, the more uneasy he became.

Ever since he unintentionally got into a conflict with Qiao Shuanglin, he has been thoroughly investigating Qiao’s family.

He discovered that Qiao’s family is very protective and holds grudges.

If a member of Qiao’s family were to die, another elder from the Qiao family would quickly come to their aid.

Picking a fight with someone smaller led to an encounter with someone older.

Provoking an older person led to an encounter with someone even older.

Wan Ronghua initially thought that Qiao Shuanglin, who was ninety years old, was a rare long-lived elder, so he presumed that there wouldn’t be many elderly members in the Qiao family.

Therefore, if Qiao Shuanglin were to die, being powerful enough to easily defeat the martial arts expert from the Wan family, there wouldn’t be too many individuals like him in Qiao’s family.

However, due to caution, Wan Ronghua knew he had to continue hiding himself. Sёarᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Unfortunately, his plans couldn’t keep up with the changes. The confession of the young woman made Wan Ronghua realize that he may have already exposed this possibility.

"They are so disgusting, the Qiao family. Are they shameless? Just because the Qiao family is powerful, they want to fight with me to the end…"

Wan Ronghua muttered to himself while sitting in the hall, enjoying the cool breeze and gazing at the silent sophora tree in the courtyard.

Under the sunlight, the expressionless middle-aged steward with a yellow face was coming out from the backyard.

In the sunlight, the yellow-faced steward’s face faintly glowed, as if there was a subtle metallic luster like copper or iron on his skin.

"Mr. Wan, sorry for the wait. My master has come out from the meditation room."

Qin Shiqing followed closely behind and walked out from inside. His face was also calm as he nodded gently at Wan Ronghua.

"Long time no see, Mr. Wan."

"I apologize for disturbing Lord Qin." Wan Ronghua also smiled and nodded sincerely:

"Lord Qin holds a prestigious position and has reached the first rank of the Spiritual Refining Period in martial arts. It’s truly embarrassing for me to see him working so diligently on his cultivation…"

There were rumors going around that Wan Ronghua had joined the prestigious Great Dao Sect, and although that wasn’t entirely true, Wan Ronghua himself knew it was not far from the truth.

It was true that Wan Ronghua was one of the four wealthiest individuals in the Imperial Capital, but in the eyes of the truly powerful, such as those in the Great Dao Sect, he was merely a sacrificial pig.

That’s why he came here.

If he were to become an official in the court, as a 1st ranked martial artist, he would receive the title of 1st rank martial official.

A martial official is a prestigious title that grants a salary and status, but no real power. It should not be confused with officials who hold actual positions of power.

A 2nd rank official, both in civil and military affairs, was already considered an important figure in the Great Yan government.

Although a 1st rank martial official was lower in status, it still held considerable significance.

Qin Shiqing was deeply devoted to martial arts and had no intentions of becoming an official. He only sought a position to establish his identity, so he settled for a rather low-profile job as the warden of the heavenly prison, a place that suppressed criminals. He rarely had official duties and seldom made any moves.

The heavenly prison was heavily guarded all year round, with martial experts stationed there. No reckless daredevil had ever dared to attack it.

Even the Wuji Association finds it troublesome to reach into the heavenly prison, and can only ask someone like Wei En, the former debtor of favors, to handle it.

So Qin Shiqing is actually very free on regular days, which suits him just fine.

He only needs to come out and keep things in order when dealing with a small number of criminals.

This includes the time when Qiao Zhong was executed at the market.

And one of the reasons why Wan Ronghua came to the Qin Mansion is also for this purpose.

"So, are you worried that Qiao’s family will behave recklessly like Qiao Shuanglin did before, relying on their martial arts skills and forcefully intruding into your mansion?" Qin Shiqing smirked as he looked at Wan Ronghua.

"Lord Qin indeed has keen insight," Wan Ronghua sighed.

"This Imperial Capital is a place of great importance and naturally cannot tolerate Qiao’s family’s audacity. But if Qiao’s family truly dares to take action, they will surely perish, although it might be difficult for my Wan family to stop them."

Both the offerings and the guards of the Wan family are paid to do their jobs.

With Wan Ronghua’s wealth, it is easy to bribe a 3rd rank spiritual refining expert with money, but it is difficult to make someone give up their life.

But Qin Shiqing is different.

On the surface, Qin Shiqing is Qiao Zhong’s executioner, he broke Qiao Zhong’s knee with a kick, which settled their grudge.



However, in secret, Qin Shiqing has a connection with the Great Dao Sect…and this is another reason why Wan Ronghua came here.

"Qiao’s family is very protective, it seems they already have other people in the Imperial Capital, hiding in the shadows…" Wan Ronghua explained carefully, but he didn’t notice a hint of impatience in Qin Shiqing’s eyes.

"Is that all? Afraid of retaliation from Qiao’s family?"

Qin Shiqing’s expression remained unchanged, a half-smile still on his face.

"It doesn’t matter, I will intervene when the time comes." He said calmly and composed.