Oh no! My grandmother made me shoulder the responsibility for eight households!

Chapter 22 Showing a Little Bit of Talent

In the evening, Lin Chen was in his study planning his birthday banquet when Xiao Yulou hurriedly entered.

"Eighth brother, something's happened."

"What's wrong?"

"The four gate patrol battalions have arrived, saying they want to search the residence," Xiao Yulou said.

"They say they're investigating the stolen goods from last night's burglary, and they suspect they're hidden in our house."

The Four Gates Patrol Battalion, under the Ministry of War, was responsible for maintaining order in the capital.

The commander was a man of Liu Kun, the Vice Minister of War—and Liu Kun was the "Northern Border Quartermaster" mentioned in Lin Fu's confession.

"You came fast," Lin Chen sneered. "Where are they?"

"In the front hall, my sister-in-law is dealing with the situation."

"I'll go take a look."

Inside the front hall, a general in armor was confronting Liu Ruyan.

This man, in his thirties, with a face full of fierce features, was Zhao Hu, the deputy commander of the patrol battalion.

"Madam, I am under orders to search. Please do me the favor." Zhao Hu said in a firm tone.

Liu Ruyan's face was cold:

"Commander Zhao, although the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion is not as grand as it once was, it is still a Duke's residence bestowed by the imperial court. Without an imperial edict or approval from the Ministry of Justice, who would dare to search it?"

"In urgent situations, expediency is necessary!" Zhao Hu said. "Last night's theft involved hundreds of thousands of taels of stolen silver, which I suspect is hidden in your residence. If you refuse to allow a search, it means you have a guilty conscience!"

"You!" Liu Ruyan was so angry that her face turned pale.

"Commander Zhao, you certainly have an air of authority." Lin Chen walked in slowly. "I wonder whose orders Commander Zhao is acting on? Vice Minister Liu of the Ministry of War? Or... Master Cui?"

Zhao Hu's expression changed: "Young Master Lin, watch your words!"

"Should I be careful what I say?" Lin Chen sat down in the main seat.

"Commander Zhao, do you know what the crimes are for defaming and forcibly entering the Duke's mansion? At best, you'll be dismissed and investigated; at worst... you'll lose your head."

"You're trying to scare me?" Zhao Hu sneered. "Lin Chen, do you think this is still the time when your father was alive? Let me tell you, I'm going to search this mansion today! Men!"

More than twenty soldiers poured in from outside the door.

Liu Ruyan drew her sword: "Who dares!"

Lin Chen waved his hand, "Sister-in-law, let him search."

"Eighth Brother!"

"Let him search," Lin Chen said calmly.

"However, Commander Zhao, let's be clear from the start—if we don't find any stolen goods, the people you brought today will probably... all have to leave something behind."

Zhao Hu felt a chill run down his spine from the look in his eyes, but the die was cast.

"search!"

The soldiers swarmed forward.

However, as soon as they dispersed, they heard a series of muffled thuds.

More than twenty soldiers collapsed to the ground almost simultaneously, unconscious.

Only Zhao Hu was still standing.

He looked around in horror—he couldn't see who had done it at all!

"Commander Zhao," Lin Chen stood up and slowly walked to him, "now, do you still want to search?"

Zhao Hu's forehead was covered in cold sweat: "You...you dare to lay a hand on government soldiers?!"

"Soldiers?" Lin Chen laughed. "Trespassing on the Duke's mansion is tantamount to treason. Even if I kill you, it would be self-defense."

He reached out and gently patted Zhao Hu on the shoulder.

"Snap!"

Zhao Hu screamed and fell to his knees, his left shoulder bone shattered.

"Go back and tell Liu Kun," Lin Chen looked down at him, "if he dares to mess with the Lin family again, next time it won't just be his shoulder that gets broken. Get out."

Zhao Hu scrambled away, ignoring the unconscious soldiers.

Liu Ruyan sheathed her sword, saying worriedly, "Eighth Brother, won't this...?"

"Don't worry, sister-in-law," Lin Chen said.

"Liu Kun dared not make a sound. He sent Zhao Hu here to test us. Now that he knows we are on guard, he will not dare to make any moves in the short term."

"But this would offend the Ministry of War..."

"Even if we don't offend them, they won't let the Lin family off the hook," Lin Chen said calmly.

"Rather than passively taking a beating, it's better to take the initiative and draw your sword."

He looked out at the night sky: "Besides... after tonight, Liu Kun probably won't be able to take care of us anymore."

……

Midnight, Tiger Hall in the west of the city.

Deputy altar master Sun Biao was taking stock of this month's "offerings" in a secret room, with the table piled high with gold and silver jewels.

Suddenly, the candlelight flickered.

Sun Biao looked up alertly: "Who?"

A dark shadow drifted down from the beam without a sound.

"The Hall of Yama, 'Shadowless'." The voice was icy.

Sun Biao's expression changed drastically: "People from the Yama's Palace? What do you want?!"

"Elder Bloodhand has given the order," the shadowy figure slowly drew his sword, "that the White Tiger Sect has repeatedly ambushed and killed my disciples. Today, we demand an explanation."

"It's a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding!" Sun Biao said urgently. "We can talk..."

A flash of light appeared.

Sun Biao clutched his throat and fell to the ground, his eyes filled with disbelief.

The shadowy figure placed a token on him—a token from the Blood Fiend Hall of the Yama Palace.

At the same time, three miles away, at the Blood Fiend Hall.

The deputy leader, "Ghost Face," was berating his subordinates: "A bunch of useless trash! You can't even keep an eye on one person!"

Suddenly, he felt a chill on the back of his neck.

A short knife was pressed against his throat.

"White Tiger Sect, 'Black Tiger'." The voice behind him was hoarse. "You killed my Vice Master Sun. Today, blood will be used to pay for this debt."

"Wait! I didn't..." Ghost Face hadn't finished speaking when the knife was already in his throat.

The assassin slipped something into his arms—a waist token from the White Tiger Gate's Fierce Tiger Hall.

After doing all this, the two dark figures disappeared into the night at the same time.

Unbeknownst to them, two rogues were quietly watching everything from the rooftop.

"Mission accomplished."

"withdraw."

That night, the White Tiger Gate and the Yama Palace discovered almost simultaneously that their deputy had been murdered and found evidence left behind by "the other side".

Inside the Fierce Tiger Hall, Zong Kui looked at Sun Biao's corpse and the Yama Palace token, and flew into a rage.

"The King of Hell! This is outrageous!"

Inside the Blood Fiend Hall, Li Feng held the White Tiger Sect's waist token, his eyes brimming with murderous intent.

"White Tiger Sect...how dare they!"

The two families had a century-old feud that was already on the verge of erupting.

Now, the fuse has been lit.

……

The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, West Garden Study.

Yuan Tiangang reported:

"My lord, the plan has succeeded. The White Tiger Gate and the Yama Palace have clashed, fighting three times in the west of the city, resulting in more than twenty casualties."

Both Zong Kui and Li Feng issued harsh statements, demanding that the other side pay in blood.

Li Chunfeng added, "I have already set up an illusion array, and no one will be able to deduce the truth within three days. Even if the array fails after three days, they will still be unable to stop."

Lin Chen nodded in satisfaction: "It's done cleanly."

"Furthermore," Yuan Tiangang said:

"Invitations to the Cui family's birthday banquet have spread throughout the capital. The Second Prince, Zhao Yuan, and Liu Kun will all be attending. Cui Yongnian has specially returned from Jiangnan and arrived in Beijing yesterday."

"They're all here." Lin Chen's eyes flashed with a cold light. "Perfect, let's wipe them all out in one fell swoop."

"What does the Lord intend to do?"

"On the day of the birthday banquet, Mr. Li accompanied me to the banquet, where he seized the opportunity to sneak into the secret room," Lin Chen said.

"Mr. Yuan will lead the Bad Guys to provide backup outside, while simultaneously monitoring the Second Prince's residence and Zhao Yuan's residence. Once successful, they will immediately withdraw."

"Those three hundred Heavenly Guards..."

"We don't need it for now," Lin Chen shook his head.

Just then, a soft knocking sound came from outside the window.

Yuan Tiangang quickly went to check, and when he returned, he had a secret letter in his hand.

"Sent by the Sixth Madam."

Lin Chen opened the letter; it contained only a few words:

"Zhao Yuan secretly met with Blood Hand tonight, suspected of having some scheme. The secret diagram of the Cui family's secret chamber has been obtained and is attached."

On the back of the letter was a detailed diagram of the mechanism, marking the location of the secret room, the arrangement of the formation, and the guards' shift schedule.

There is even a secret passage leading directly to the artificial hill in the back garden of the Cui family mansion.

"Sixth Sister-in-law's gift is quite generous," Lin Chen smiled.

He handed the diagram to Li Chunfeng: "Mr. Li, take a look."

Li Chunfeng examined it carefully, stroked his beard, and said:

"The key to the Nine Palaces Spirit Locking Array is here... The mechanism that requires the Azure Dragon Key to activate is here... The bloodline verification is here... The design is indeed ingenious."

With this diagram, I am 90% confident I can decipher it without alerting the guards.

"Ninety percent is enough," Lin Chen decided.

"Let's proceed as planned. In seven days, at the Cui family's birthday banquet, we... will present Old Master Cui with a grand gift."

Seven days from now, it will be his first real battle since he came into this world.

The opponents are the Cui family, Zhao Yuan, the Second Prince, and possibly even the Yama Palace.

We cannot lose.

We can't afford to lose.

"System," he murmured to himself, "request all currently available resources."

"Ding! Host's current resource list:"

Combat strength: Grandmaster at its peak (hidden)

Top combatants: Yuan Tiangang (half-step Celestial), Li Chunfeng (early Celestial)

Available forces: 100 Bad Guys (Rank 1), 300 Heavenly Guards (Rank 3, not summoned).

Items: 1 Night-Shining Pearl, Dragon Saliva Grass (used), Qiankun Array Plate (deployed), various gold and silver jewelry

Family support: 65%

It's not yet invincible and overwhelming.

But that's enough to get started.