Chapter 657: Three Bargaining Chips

Chapter 657: Three Chips

Cui Wenjing’s always impassive expression finally showed a hint of strangeness. He looked Zhao Changhe up and down for a long while, with a kind of wonder that said, how could a brat like you see through me so thoroughly?

Had he already foreseen the outcome back when he lent the sword, and was already thinking about adapting to the new era? Then what was he doing now, and what were the debates about offense and defense?

Who would dare make such a judgment? Yet Zhao Changhe dared.

Even Cui Yuanyang was propping her chin, thinking, who exactly is Brother Zhao in love with? It seems you don’t understand Father as much as I do…

And since you came here, the words you’ve said to me don’t add up to even one percent of what you’ve said to Father…

But strangely, that understanding was real.

Long, long ago, Cui Wenjing had once said: “I, Cui Wenjing, admit I am unworthy of the Qinghe Sword. How many in the Cui family have any self-awareness? The divine sword’s spirit departed—they never think why, but instead use the petty intentions the sword most detests as chips in the struggle for power. Even if the sword’s spirit still lingered, it would weep!”

If others were unworthy because of their scheming, he, Cui Wenjing, was actually quite decent. But why did he also admit he was unworthy of the Qinghe Sword?

Because deep down, he knew the Qinghe Sword was not a legacy for a single family or surname. The ideal the divine sword represented fundamentally clashed with the ideal of their hereditary clan. His own little patch of land—what his son-in-law called “not that advanced either”—was unworthy of Qinghe.

Even though his actions were more upright than others’, he could not resonate with Qinghe’s spirit. As long as this consciousness of a single family and surname persisted, it would always be at odds with Qinghe. His children had gained recognition only because they happened to be doing things to protect the country and the people. But that was not the Cui family’s norm. They might be recognized for now, but they would lose it later, or in the next generation, or the one after that… Losing Qinghe was only a matter of time.

Cui Wenjing had long been considering what the family would do without Qinghe.

He loved watching pavilions and flowing water, often gazing for an entire day. He wasn’t watching the water; he was watching a world that seemed unchanged but had long since become different.

This was a great upheaval unseen in a millennium, with gods and demons awakening. Any next moment might bring earth-shattering change, and in that upheaval, Qinghe had no place.

His white hair might not be due to his body.

“A single sword can protect your family at most. To restore the old balance, you’d need all four swords. Uncle, do you think the four families can do it?” Zhao Changhe said slowly. “They can’t. One sword per family, in the end, is just a token of inheritance. What’s the difference from the Divine Phoenix Sect’s legacy? Maybe even worse… Even if you’re given the same treatment as before, can you keep it? Likewise, what use is a promise from that unknown god? Is that god from northern Myanmar?”

Cui Wenjing: “…”

“Since you also see me as a god’s representative, then we’re all weighing chips on the same scale. Let’s lay them out one by one. First, on restoring the Qinghe Sword, I can offer a promise equal to his. Is that fair?”

“Fair.”

“Second, the new dynasty promises to keep Uncle’s former title of Marquis of Ji, hereditary and perpetual, lasting as long as the state. In return, you bear no original duties or powers—only a nominal fief, collecting money for nothing. In short, as long as this court exists, the Cui descendants will have a meal to eat.”

Cui Wenjing was taken aback, then heard Zhao Changhe continue: “We only guarantee that one meal. As for your own rights, you’ll have to fight for them yourselves. With such a solid family foundation and preparations ahead of everyone else, you’re already ahead of the world, riding the wave. I don’t understand family management, but Uncle should. If you can’t seize this opportunity, then what’s the point of the Qinghe Cui? Would you really have the face to coast through life, relying on a sword? If so, you won’t fall today, but tomorrow—I believe Uncle knows that well.”

Cui Wenjing swallowed the words he was about to say.

He had indeed wanted to ask: what about future power?

But thinking about it, he had little face to ask. If future generations were unworthy, why should the ancestor worry so much? A gentleman’s legacy ends after five generations. Ensuring a meal is enough.

No matter how grand others’ promises were, Cui Wenjing knew in his heart they couldn’t be kept.

But this kind of thing wasn’t enough for him alone to agree.

The vast family, the groups that could feast with their eyes closed under the old system, would not accept such a future. They would only cling to promises others might never fulfill, dreaming of preserving past glory.

Your son and daughter are promising—so you don’t care about the rest?

You have a title to pass down—what about others?

Sometimes Cui Wenjing felt… very tired.

If the family were an empire, then even a man of mere martial prowess like Xia Longyuan couldn’t make the entire vast world system follow his steps. Now, Cui Wenjing faced the same problem. Some things had to be smashed before they could be rebuilt; top-down implementation was very difficult.

He said wearily, “Not enough.”

Zhao Changhe tilted his head and looked at him for a while, then suddenly said, “Uncle, do you know something?”

“What?”

“On my way here, I was ambushed.”

Cui Wenjing was startled and frowned deeply.

The assassination itself was trivial—not even enough to fill Zhao Changhe’s teeth—but what it reflected was very interesting.

The assassination was aimed at the envoy. Zhao Changhe couldn’t be sure if the order came from Cui Wenjing, so he didn’t directly bring it up. But now, seeing Cui Wenjing’s attitude—clearly weighing both sides, haggling over chips—it was unlikely he would order the assassination of the court’s envoy at this point. So the order wasn’t from him.

If not from him, then who was sabotaging his bargaining?

The Wang, Yang, and Li families? Or others within the Cui family?

On the short road from the capital to Qinghe, other families might not have had the chance to intervene. The Cui family’s control wasn’t that weak. So the most likely culprit was someone within the Cui family.

If it was a Cui family member, did that mean that besides Cui Wenjue, a new faction had emerged within the Cui family? Before the patriarch had made a decision, they had already leaned toward someone else and tried to force the patriarch’s choice through assassination?

Cui Wenjing was highly opinionated and not easily swayed by a few words, but others were different. Once they accepted another option, they would inevitably fear that the patriarch’s feelings for Zhao Changhe might lead to an undesirable bias, so they would try to nip this in the bud.

Zhao Changhe smiled. “This proves two things. First, the other side knows their promises might not hold, even knows they’ve been bluffing all along. They don’t have the confidence to compete with me for Uncle’s favor head-on, so they have to resort to dirty tricks. On this point alone, Uncle can already tell them to get lost…”

Cui Wenjing smiled. “True.”

“Second, I’m in great danger now. The other side knows I’ve arrived in Qinghe, and they will definitely come to kill me. Once I’m dead, all troubles are gone.”

“So? You want my help?”

“No, Uncle only needs to pretend you know nothing.” Zhao Changhe’s voice turned cold. “Some people are no longer loyal to you, Uncle… Of course, to you, it might not yet count as betrayal, and it might be hard to handle. So let me handle it. Since they plotted to assassinate me, they must pay the price.”

Cui Wenjing narrowed his eyes and said nothing.

Zhao Changhe said flatly, “Since we’re treating this as a game of gods and demons, we need to act like gods. This is the first divine war. Talk is useless; in the end, it comes down to whose fists are harder… Uncle finds it hard to decide, but they want to help you decide, and I want to help you too. Uncle can just wait for the outcome before speaking—strength is the third chip.”

Cui Wenjing stared hard into Zhao Changhe’s eyes. Zhao Changhe met his gaze calmly. The atmosphere, which had been a clash of tongues, a mutual display of conditions, and a mutual understanding, suddenly turned tense and hostile.

Cui Yuanyang didn’t even understand what was being said. She only caught that Zhao Changhe was in danger here, that a god or demon would come to kill him, and then the atmosphere suddenly became like this…

Her heart leaped, and she blurted out, “Dad…”

Cui Wenjing suddenly spoke: “Yuanyang, go tell the clan elders that your father is unwell. Have Wenwei and the others host the Prince of Zhao for lunch. Don’t you go accompany him either. A girl about to be married should not see her groom before the wedding, according to custom. Who’s like you, rushing to the city gate to meet your husband? Have you no shame? Is our Cui daughter so unwanted? Ridiculous!”

Cui Yuanyang: “?”

How did he suddenly start scolding me out of nowhere…

She looked to Zhao Changhe for help, but he only smiled slightly. “Yuanyang, go prepare for the wedding. I told you, I won’t elope with you—I’ll only marry you with all due honor.”