……

However, Wang Shouzhe knew that this naive lad probably didn’t have a clue.

As the legitimate son who was obsessed with cultivation and fighting, he wouldn’t normally concern himself with the outside world.

And the insiders of the Zhao’s Clan wouldn’t blatantly advertise themselves as villains.

Moreover, good and evil are not absolute adjectives.

From the perspective of the Zhao’s Clan, they were merely striving for more survival space for themselves, albeit by any means necessary. The world is inherently cruel and competitive.

Wang Shouzhe said indifferently, “Using unscrupulous means to infringe upon and swallow the interests of the innocent will naturally invite disdain.”

“Aren’t you also using unscrupulous means to infringe upon our Zhao’s Clan?” Zhao Dingteng pointed at Liu Yuanrui with a naive face, “He said your scheme kills invisibly.”

“Zhao’s Clan is not innocent. It was you, Zhao’s Clan, who first broke the rules and made us enemies,” Wang Shouzhe said calmly, “Secondly, if it weren’t for your Zhao’s Clan’s constant wrongdoings, long-term encroachment on the interests of the innocent, and offending too many people, my plan wouldn’t have caused such a stir. Ultimately, if a noble family is not upright, it will eventually be destroyed.”

Wang Shouzhe was not afraid of his plan being exposed, because it was a righteous force that Liu’s and Zhao’s Clans could not resist. With their reputation, even if they wanted to become good people again, the common people wouldn’t believe them.

“So… can our two families still be friends?” Zhao Dingteng’s naive face looked a bit troubled, “I don’t want to be a bad guy.”

“No.” Wang Shouzhe said calmly, “Once some things are started, there is no turning back. You’ve had your meal, hurry home. Your father is currently discussing with your great-grandfather how to eliminate me.”

Huh?

Zhao Dingteng looked shocked, you can even calculate this?

In the end, Zhao Dingteng left with a disappointed face. He couldn’t understand why he couldn’t choose to be a good person.

After Zhao Dingteng left.

Liu Ruolei also sighed and said, “This naive Zhao is also pitiful. Being born in a certain clan, he is destined to bear the indelible mark of that clan.”

“That’s why we need to become stronger.” Wang Shouzhe also said with emotion, “Only true strength can break free from shackles and control our own destiny.”

“Break free from shackles? Control our own destiny?” Liu Ruolei murmured softly, her eyes slightly stirring.

“Uh…” Wang Shouzhe suddenly had a bad feeling. This future sister-in-law was at a rebellious age. Wouldn’t it be helping the tyrant if he instilled this kind of idea in her?

Immediately, Wang Shouzhe’s face became serious and he said sternly, “But the reason why we humans are called a civilized world is because we have a complete society. All our actions need to be responsible for ourselves and others. Take me for example, I want to become stronger just because I want to protect the people around me, protect the people I care about.”

“Mm~ Thank you, Brother Shouzhe. I understand.” Liu Ruolei suddenly looked radiant.

?

Wang Shouzhe was dumbfounded, what are you thanking for? What do you understand?

At this moment.

Liu Yuanrui bowed deeply and said, “Brother Shouzhe, my sister and I have been staying at Wang’s Clan for quite some time. It’s time for us to leave.”

Wang Shouzhe stiffened, even Yuanrui noticed?

Immediately, Wang Shouzhe also bowed without hesitation and said, “Since Yuanrui is eager to return, I won’t keep you.”

He was also afraid in his heart. If the Liu siblings stayed here any longer, this future sister-in-law who was in her rebellious phase might cause some trouble.

“Why are we leaving? Brother, I haven’t had enough fun yet.” Liu Ruolei looked displeased.

Oh my, my little aunt! Liu Yuanrui moaned inwardly. If we stay any longer, something might happen.

Immediately, Liu Yuanrui’s eyes became serious, “Ruolei, you can’t be so willful. Your Brother Shouzhe, as the Clan Leader, has too many things to deal with.”

“It’s okay, Brother Shouzhe can go busy.” Liu Ruolei said innocently, “I can play with Sister Luo Yi, Sister Luo Miao, and Luo Qiu and Luo Jing. Let me tell you, Sister Luo Miao is so fun, she spilled all the embarrassing things Brother Shouzhe did when he was a kid.”

Upon hearing this.

Liu Yuanrui shivered all over, almost crying.

Sister, sister, you like the sisters of Wang’s Clan so much, are you planning to stay here? If something really happens, how am I going to explain when I go home?

Didn’t you say before you came that you were going to teach your future brother-in-law a good lesson for your sister? How come in the blink of an eye, you’ve gotten yourself involved?

Soon, Liu Yuanrui, trembling with fear, had already imagined a drama of love and hate, sisters turning against each other.

What to do? What to do?

“Well, Yuanrui is right.” Wang Shouzhe also said, “In the next few days, I will be very busy here, I’m afraid I really won’t be able to take care of you.”

“Alright.”

Although Liu Ruolei was a little unwilling, she heard Wang Shouzhe’s hint to leave and said unhappily, “Brother Shouzhe, after you finish your work, you can visit Liu’s Clan. If my sister can’t entertain you, I can do it for her.”

“Well… let’s forget about it.” Wang Shouzhe declined, “I haven’t married your sister yet, and it’s not appropriate for me to visit Liu’s Clan casually. I’m afraid it will have a bad influence.”

This was the unspoken rule and etiquette among the Basalt noble families.

Just like Wang Shouzhe’s future brother-in-law Chen Fangjie, if he kept coming to Wang’s Clan, he would probably be kicked out by Wang Shouzhe after one or two times.

Therefore, even when Chen Fangjie came to help Wang Shouzhe with his work, he did not step into Wang’s Clan to avoid being seen as an impatient playboy by the people of Wang’s Clan.

“Alright then, after Brother Shouzhe marries my sister, there won’t be so many restrictions.” Liu Ruolei said with a regretful face, “Brother Shouzhe, keep the courtyard where I’ve been staying for me, don’t let anyone else live there.”

Wang Shouzhe broke out in a cold sweat.”This little lady, she really plans to stay in the Wang’s Clan for a long time, huh? But I can’t refuse her request, so I have to say, ‘Alright, I’ll arrange it later.’”

Liu Yuanrui, standing by the side, felt like shedding tears.

Why does it seem like our Liu’s Clan’s legitimate daughter is going to be given away as a buy-one-get-one-free deal?

…

Almost at the same time, within a hidden manor.

Here, the elders and high-ranking members of the Liu and Zhao Clans gathered. The two ancestors sat in the main seats, their faces extremely grim.

They had gone to cause trouble in the Wang’s Clan with full confidence, but unexpectedly, they ended up losing soldiers and generals, utterly humiliated. What’s worse, the reputation of the Liu and Zhao Clans had been completely ruined by Wang Shouzhe, causing the people to lose faith in them and become a laughingstock.

“Brother Zhide,” Zhao Bojun, the ancestor of the Zhao Clan, said with a serious face, “Given that Wang boy’s methods, he will surely strike us relentlessly. At this critical juncture of life and death, our two clans must put aside our suspicions and face the difficulties together.”

“Indeed, that boy is formidable,” Liu Zhide said gravely, “But he has underestimated the foundation of our two clans. Brother Bojun, isn’t your Zhao Daoyuan close to advancing to the Spirit Platform Realm?”

Zhao Bojun’s face stiffened, then he laughed heartily, “I knew I couldn’t hide this from Brother Zhide. But isn’t your Zhao Shenghao also close to achieving something great?”

Zhao Daoyuan and Liu Shenghao, both were clan members with exceptional talents, walking the path of the Spirit Platform.

Not all clans would always fully cultivate their Clan Leaders. Sometimes, for the sake of long-term interests, they would prioritize those with better qualifications.

Just like the Wang’s Clan, they had also once focused on cultivating Wang Xiaohan.

“Alright, let’s be frank with each other,” Liu Zhide said, “We, our two clans, will spare no expense to buy those auxiliary materials, allowing Daoyuan and Shenghao to break through to the Spirit Platform Realm. As long as we have one more ancestor in the Spirit Platform Realm, even with Gongsun Man and Wang Long Yan protecting him, we can still confidently kill Wang Shouzhe. By then, the Wang’s Clan will be like a pack of dogs without a leader, what is there to fear? They will be at our mercy.”

After this incident, their number one target had become Wang Shouzhe.

“But before that, we need to sign a hundred-year co-development contract to avoid mutual suspicion.”

“Indeed, our two clans jointly control Ping’an Town. Let’s act quickly and strive to make a breakthrough within a month.”

After the alliance.

The Liu and Zhao Clans seemed to have gone silent, showing no signs of activity. Meanwhile, the Wang’s Clan was expanding the Zhuwei Lake project on a large scale. The three clans seemed to have entered a brief period of peace.

However, a dangerous undercurrent was brewing beneath the surface.

One day.

Not far from Dingpu Ferry.

There was a small, elegant manor named “Summer Garden” because of the lotus flowers planted in the large pond.

This season was the blooming period of the lotus flowers. The pond, covering an area of no less than two hundred acres, was filled with blooming lotus flowers.

A winding plank road led to the center of the pond, where a bamboo house built on round logs stood – “Lotus Listening Pavilion”.

On this beautiful day.

Living in the Lotus Listening Pavilion, enjoying the night breeze, admiring the bright moonlight and the enchanting lotus flowers, listening to the continuous croaking of frogs, was indeed a pleasant and elegant experience.

Unfortunately, the Lotus Listening Pavilion was only suitable for living in this season.

This villa, which cost the Liu’s Clan a lot of money and effort to build, was originally intended to please a noble lady from the Lei’s Clan of the Celestial Family.

However, it now belonged to “Goddess” Zhong Luoxian.

Tonight, the moon was bright and the wind was high.

Two noble sons, dressed in cloud-patterned brocade, were sitting cross-legged on the second floor of the Lotus Listening Pavilion, drinking a fine spirit tea – “Red Lady”, and casually chatting about some anecdotes.

A beautiful woman with an ethereal temperament was serving the two noble sons, and her eyes occasionally fell on the younger and more handsome of the two.

“Brother Chen, have you been bored lately?” The young man in the brocade uniform was Wang Shouzhe, the current head of the Wang’s Clan. He sounded a bit impatient, “Don’t come to my Ping’an Town for no reason, it’s not a good influence.”

Wang Shouzhe was a bit drunk. He had just sent away his clingy aunt. He hadn’t had a peaceful day for two days, and now his future brother-in-law was here to bother him. Life was not peaceful.

“Not really.” The other one was naturally Chen Fangjie, the young clan leader of the Chen’s Clan in Donggang. He said with a thick face and a smile, “It’s just that you’ve been planning this big show for a long time, and I played a villain in it. I feel a bit regretful if I don’t come to see the end.”

“I heard that you made a big splash in the Wang’s Clan’s main house, beating the Liu and Zhao Clans to a pulp and sending them running,” Chen Fangjie said, “I missed the first big show, and I don’t want to miss the second one. I don’t understand why you don’t want me to participate in the final act? Don’t worry, I’m just here to watch the fun, I don’t want any benefits.”

Wang Shouzhe was speechless. His future brother-in-law insisted on joining in the fun with a thick face. It wouldn’t be good to drive him away, would it? Well, if you like the feeling of “envy, jealousy, and hatred”, I’ll indulge you.

Wang Mei, no, “Zhong Luoxian”, who was serving on the side, covered her mouth and laughed softly. Her voice was soft and sweet, “Master, before the main show begins, would you like me to perform a prelude to boost your mood?”

Prelude?

“Cough, cough~” Wang Shouzhe, who was drinking tea, almost choked to death.

“Zhong Luoxian” and Chen Fangjie both looked at Wang Shouzhe with strange eyes. It’s just a prelude, why is he reacting like this?

“Cough, cough~” Wang Shouzhe coughed even harder. Alright, he admitted that his thoughts were much more “advanced” than these people. It seemed that his brother-in-law and Wang Mei were still very innocent.

Suppressing his strange emotions, Wang Shouzhe asked seriously, “Wang Mei, what kind of prelude have you prepared?”

“Master, please call me Luoxian.” She pretended to be angry and gave Wang Shouzhe a sideways glance. Then she took out a jade flute, “I’ve been extremely bored these days, so I learned this flute-playing technique. On this long and boring night, let me play a tune on the flute to boost your mood.”

…