Night fell,

Mo Zhening personally escorted Bai Jiu’Er out of the manor. After some polite exchanges, Bai Jiu’Er boarded the carriage and slowly departed.

The carriage gradually disappeared into the night,

Mo Zhening turned and walked back into the residence. Beside him was a middle-aged man in an embroidered uniform—this was Tian Ji, the current Patriarch of the Tian Family, who by blood was Mo Zhening’s elder cousin.

"Brother, what do you think of Ninth Sister’s proposal?" Mo Zhening asked.

Tian Ji pondered for a moment and said, "If Miss Jiu’Er’s information is accurate, it might be worth a try."

With that, Tian Ji took a deep breath and said, "Now, we don’t have many options left. The Dragon King clearly favors the Eldest Young Master, but we cannot give up. If we give up, the Tian Family will be finished, and you, Fourth Young Master, will be confined for life, or perhaps even worse... Once the Eldest Young Master seizes power, he won’t allow us, potential threats, to remain."

Mo Zhening narrowed his eyes slightly. "Things have come to this. How could I back down? Since I refuse to retreat, I must advance. I want to see just how biased Father can be."

Tian Ji’s tone deepened, "But, Fourth Young Master, about what Miss Jiu’Er said..."

"Not to be wholly trusted," said Mo Zhening. "I don’t believe she’s schemed for so many years just for the sake of posthumously clearing a dead man’s name. If that’s all, she wouldn’t need to exhaust herself maneuvering within Beidou Bang. With the energy she now commands, helping me is enough for me to clear her name,

After all, back then, who defamed the Bai Family throughout the Martial World? It was the Liu Family. My mother and the Tian Family have never harbored any resentment against the Tian Family. If I restore her Bai Family’s reputation, it changes nothing for me or the Tian Family."

Tian Ji nodded and said, "So, you believe Miss Jiu’Er has another agenda?"

Mo Zhening smiled faintly. "After all, in the end, she’s just a woman. At best, she wants to support Xiaoliu in ascending. She had no hope before, so she hid her intentions. Now that she sees a sliver of possibility, she hopes my struggle with Eldest Brother will leave us both wounded, and Xiaoliu will have a chance to emerge."

Tian Ji frowned. "So, do we still work with her?"

"Why not?" Mo Zhening said. "She’s only a woman in the end, easily blinded by what’s in front of her. She believes if my fight with Eldest Brother ends in mutual destruction, Xiaoliu will have a chance. In reality, that’s impossible.

All Xiaoliu relies on right now is Pingyang Prefecture and those black markets Ninth Sister controls. Pingyang Prefecture is out in the open, with an obvious weakness—just Gu Zhan. And the black markets in Ninth Sister’s hands, once exposed, are nothing to worry about. How could Xiaoliu possibly emerge?"

Tian Ji’s brow furrowed. "So you mean, take care of them together?"

Mo Zhening nodded. "Since Ninth Sister wants me and Eldest Brother to fight to the death, I’ll play along. She won’t stand aside. When it comes to a true life-and-death struggle, should we win, would Xiaoliu be more troublesome than Eldest Brother and the Liu Family? To be exact, the only outsider to handle is Gu Zhan!"

...

In the night, the carriage moved on slowly.

Bai Jiu’Er sat inside, eyes half-closed, her stunningly beautiful face shrouded in a faint haze. She gently stroked the fat cat in her arms and let out a soft sigh. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

A sword-bearing maid slipped into the carriage, whispering, "Miss, word just came in—Eldest Young Master’s faction has suddenly changed their stance, jointly recommending Young Master Gu Zhan as Squad Leader of the Kaiyang Sub-Branch."

Bai Jiu’Er opened her eyes, looked at the cat in her arms, and said quietly, "They intend to lure the tiger from the mountain."

The maid hurriedly asked, "Should we respond?"

"It’s pointless now," Bai Jiu’Er replied softly. "Ah, I foresaw Gu Zhan would upend Pingyang Prefecture, but I didn’t expect the disturbance would be so great. He’s been dragged into this whirlpool for no reason. I truly owe him."

The maid was silent for a moment, then said, "Then, Miss..."

Bai Jiu’Er shook her head slightly. "I once thought I could watch over him as an elder, but now it’s clear—he needs no one’s protection. If Xiaoliuzi aligns himself with him, so be it. What I set out to do is nearly done. What comes after depends on their own choices. I’ve marked this prison for myself for twenty years—that’s enough!"

The maid was stunned. "I thought your goal was to help Sixth Young Master take over Canglan City."

"I did, once," Bai Jiu’Er said calmly. "But I gave up. Xiaoliuzi lacks ability, and I am not like Yang Yuzhi—a person who can command storms with a turn of the palm. In the end, I am only a woman.

In truth, when Xiaoliuzi kept hiding in Pingyang Prefecture, unwilling to come out, that’s when I gave up. My abilities are limited, so all I wanted was to clear my aunt’s name."

The maid asked doubtfully, "Then you shouldn’t have sought out the Fourth Young Master today. If you approached him, he’d certainly believe you intend to support Sixth Young Master."

Bai Jiu’Er spoke softly, "That’s exactly what is needed—only then would he dare to risk everything. Otherwise, with Mo Zhening’s temperament, he’d never fight to the death unless forced into a dead end,

I went to prompt the Tian Family to push Mo Zhening. The Tian Family has no path of retreat left. They’ve long desired to gamble, only to miss opportunity after opportunity for lack of Mo Zhening’s resolve. Now they have nowhere to retreat, I’ve presented them with an opening; they’ll corner Mo Zhening and force him into a do-or-die battle."

The maid nodded in sudden understanding. "I understand, Miss."

"Ah," Bai Jiu’Er sighed once more, frowning slightly. "It’s just that Gu Zhan is far too unpredictable. If only he were a little more ordinary, I could have taken him far from this troubled water. But now, I’m in no position to make any decision for him."

...

Pingyang Prefecture, Kaiyang Sub-Branch.

A squad of Embroidered Uniform Guards rode in, kicking up clouds of dust and came straight to the manor at the entrance to the Kaiyang Sub-Branch.

Leading them was Gu Zhan,

These days, he had personally led the Embroidered Uniform Guards to hunt down members of the Five Great Sects everywhere. Only today had things finally settled down. Even so, not much of a stir was left—most of the Five Great Sects’ leadership had been killed, and the rest could cause no more trouble.

Just as he dismounted,

a Steward hurried over, saluted with clasped fists, and said, "Lord Gu, you’ve finally returned. Someone from headquarters is here—they want to see you!"

"See me?" Gu Zhan asked in confusion. "Who is it?"

The Steward said, "They’re from the Elder Council. They bring your appointment, assigning you as Squad Leader of the Kaiyang Sub-Branch!"

Gu Zhan’s brow furrowed.

The Steward lowered his voice, "Besides the Elder Council’s envoy, there are also people sent by Miss Jiu’Er!"