Chapter 67: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind-A Imperatriz Viúva Assume o Poder, Tenho Apenas Nove Anos, Do Que Você Tem Medo?(A montanha sem emoções)

Seeing how confident Ning Chen was, the old master was slightly stunned, and then fell into deep contemplation.

A moment later, he suddenly realized the truth, stood up with excitement, and paced back and forth while stroking his beard.

He seemed to have completely forgotten about his limping legs!

"This old man understands, completely understands!"

"I suppose Your Majesty must have already had someone thoroughly investigate Gao Xiu and his son!"

"There must be dirt on Zhao Siwen in their hands..."

Ning Chen nodded: "The Master truly has eyes like torches!"

"Indeed. That Gao Wenbin once drank heavily at the Mianyin Pavilion and openly boasted that Zhao Siwen would soon transfer him to the Ministry of Revenue!"

"Someone asked him at the time how he could be so certain, since being in the same government office violates the regulations!"

"Guess what Gao Wenbin said?"

The old master smiled: "He must have said Zhao Siwen would definitely arrange it..."

Ning Chen praised again: "The old master is truly capable of foreseeing everything!"

The old master rolled his eyes heavily at Ning Chen once more: "At the age of seventy, to be praised by a nine-year-old child!"

"Your Majesty, this is hardly praising this old man; it is simply slapping this old man in the face!"

Saying this, he turned serious again: "Since Zhao Siwen refuses to help them in their desperate hour, the Gao family father and son will inevitably break with him. I'm afraid Zhao Siwen will be enraged and make a move against them..."

Ning Chen smiled: "Rest assured, I have already arranged everything, just waiting for him to make a move against the Gao family father and son!"

The old master was stunned, looking at Ning Chen in shock: "Y-You could even arrange this?"

"Your Majesty, how many factions have you managed to develop during this time?"

Ning Chen smiled. He would never reveal all his cards to anyone, but toward this seventy-year-old man before him, he had long regarded him as a grandfather!

Therefore, he told him without reservation.

Hearing this, the old master looked at Ning Chen as if looking at a monster: "I am impressed, truly impressed!"

"This old man is growing more and more in awe of Your Majesty!"

"At such a tender age, to be able to accomplish so much right under the Empress Dowager's nose, and to develop so many factions— formidable, truly formidable!"

At this point, he sighed with emotion: "I simply never expected that a brothel on the verge of bankruptcy back then could play such a massive role!"

"And that commercial firm is simply a secret weapon!"

Hearing this, Ning Chen suddenly sighed, looking somewhat desolate as he said: "These are all the legacy left to me by my maternal grandfather; I have merely developed and expanded them..."

Hearing this, the old master seemed to fall into memories once more, sighing: "Lord Zhou, the ancestor of the Zhou family, was also an extraordinary figure of his time!"

Suddenly, the old master looked at Ning Chen with a firm gaze and said: "Your Majesty, you have lived up to him, and you have lived up to those who sacrificed so much for you!"

Ning Chen nodded firmly: "Yes, I will not let them down, nor will I let you down, Master!"

The old master stroked his beard and smiled with gratification: "With such strategy and determination from Your Majesty, this old man can rest easy!"

"The sky is high for birds to fly, the sea is vast for fish to leap— Your Majesty, please exercise your talents to the fullest across this magnificent realm!"

"This old man believes that Your Majesty will surely overthrow the Empress Dowager, smoothly take the reins of government, and in the future, fulfill the grand ambitions you once shared with me!"

Just as they were speaking, a knock sounded from outside—three long raps followed by two short ones.

This was Xiao Anzi's secret signal, so Ning Chen immediately said: "Come in!"

Xiao Anzi hurried in and said excitedly: "Your Majesty, Zhao Siwen and Gao Xiu have had a falling out..."

Ning Chen smiled and looked at the old master: "It has taken effect so quickly!"

The old master stroked his beard, bowed respectfully to Ning Chen in the manner of a subject to his sovereign, and then said softly: "May Your Majesty rest and recuperate in peace; this old man can also focus on attending to his own affairs..."

With that, without waiting for Ning Chen's reply, he turned with a smile and left.

Xiao Anzi looked at the receding figure of the old master, then turned to Ning Chen's moist eyes.

Scratching his head, he asked in confusion: "Your Majesty, is the Master just leaving like this?"

"He said he was going to attend to his own affairs—does that mean he won't help Your Majesty anymore in the future?"

Ning Chen smiled and said: "Fool, the affair the Master spoke of is going to find the antidote for me!"

Xiao Anzi was jolted with a start!

He did not notice Ning Chen's final murmured whisper: "Grandfather has already made my affairs his own..."

On the other side.

After returning home in a fury, Zhao Siwen locked himself in his room.

The quarrel with Gao Xiu earlier in the main hall of the Ministry of Revenue lingered stubbornly in his mind.

Just before that.

Upon hearing Gao Xiu say that his son had killed the Marquis of Ning'an's brother-in-law, Zhao Siwen had been so furious he felt smoke coming out of his seven orifices.

Faced with Gao Xiu, who had been pleading desperately for a long time, he couldn't help cursing: "Fool! What are you crying for? Look at who the other party is!"

"That is the Marquis of Ning'an's brother-in-law!"

"Your son killed the Marquis of Ning'an's brother-in-law, and you expect this official to go rescue him? How am I supposed to rescue him?"

"Should I risk my life to save him?"

"Let me tell you, you had better prepare to sacrifice the rook to save the king early on, lest you sink deeper and deeper and drag this official down with you in the end!"

Yet Gao Xiu wept and pleaded: "My lord, you cannot stand by and do nothing..."

"This humble official has only this one son. I beg you! You are the Empress Dowager's trusted confidant; as long as you go and intercede before the Empress Dowager, you can definitely save my son..."

"Your mother's nonsense! Do you think it's that easy to intercede?"

"The last time the young Emperor captured the Marquis of Ning'an's brother-in-law, the Empress Dowager still had to offer apologies and make amends to the Marquis!"

"Besides, this official was just severely berated by the Empress Dowager myself. If I were to go and intercede now, the Empress Dowager would want to skin my heart out..."

"This official cannot help you. You had better make your son surrender himself voluntarily, and then go beg the Marquis of Ning'an yourself..."

Perhaps after pleading for a long time to no avail, or perhaps having thoroughly seen through Zhao Siwen's true nature, Gao Xiu suddenly said in a deep voice: "My lord, are you truly going to leave us to die?"

"This subordinate has only this one son. If you refuse to save him, this subordinate has no desire to live either. When that time comes..."

Zhao Siwen was startled, and said grimly, "When that time comes, what? Who told your son to kill someone who shouldn't be killed? Are you thinking of dragging this official down with you..."

Before he could finish, Gao Xiu slammed the door and stormed out, leaving behind a parting remark: "Lord Zhao, you had better think carefully. Otherwise, if this subordinate does something foolish, don't say I didn't warn you..."

Inside the room.

Recalling these scenes, Zhao Siwen suddenly grabbed the teapot and teacups on the table in a fit of rage and smashed them all onto the floor.

"Damn it, what kind of bad luck have I run into!"

"Why did I get saddled with such damned troubles!"

Saying this, his eyes suddenly turned fierce and sharp as he muttered: "No, that fool Gao Xiu cannot be left alive!"

"Otherwise, who knows what that bastard might do..."

That night, under a moonless, dark sky.

Several figures appeared inside Zhao Siwen's room.

Looking at the men before him, he said in a low voice: "Remember, be clean and quick. Do not leave any trace of evidence behind!"

"It is best to disguise the scene as a suicide or an accident!"

"Is that clear?"

The men answered in unison: "Yes, please rest assured, my lord!"

Zhao Siwen nodded, tossing out a large pouch of silver, and said: "This is merely a deposit. Once the deed is done, tenfold or a hundredfold will be no problem at all!"

Shortly after.

Within a courtyard in the capital, Gao Xiu, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, was pacing anxiously back and forth in his room.

Beside him, his wife was weeping uncontrollably: "What should we do? What should we do now? Are we really going to just sit by and watch Bin'er die?"

"Go and beg Lord Zhao again! Only he can save Bin'er..."

As she spoke, Gao Xiu suddenly roared in anger: "Enough! All you know is crying. What use is it even if you cry your throat out?"

"That old dog Zhao Siwen is a beast who forgets favors and turns his back on people!"

"To hell with all the money I gifted him in the past, and serving him hand and foot! When the young Emperor wanted to execute him, I was the very first to step forward and plead on his behalf!"

"Now that the old dog knows the dead man is the Marquis of Ning'an's brother-in-law, he refuses to help!"

"Fine! Since it's death anyway—"

"In for a penny, in for a pound! Even if my son dies, I'll drag that old dog Zhao down to hell with us..."

With that, he walked straight to the bed, lifted the mattress, and pulled a small account book out of a hidden compartment.

He said bitterly: "I am going to deliver this account book to the Chancellor right now. Since you, old dog Zhao, refuse to save us, I refuse to believe the Chancellor will refuse as well..."

Just as he spoke, several figures suddenly smashed through the window and burst in.

Upon seeing this, the two of them shuddered with fear.

However, before they could react, Gao Xiu's wife had her throat slashed in a flash!

Gao Xiu collapsed to the ground in terror: "W-Who are you people? Could it be that Zhao Siwen sent—"

Seeing the assassin walking step by step toward Gao Xiu without wasting a single breath, raising his blade to hack at Gao Xiu's neck!

Suddenly!

Several short arrows whistled as they pierced fiercely through the window...

A short time later.

A figure hurriedly rushed up to the gates of the Chancellor's estate.

Shouting at the top of his lungs: "I want to see the Chancellor! I want to see the Chancellor! Hurry, go announce my presence..."

Meanwhile, inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Xiao Anzi rushed in once again: "Your Majesty, the man has already reached the Chancellor's estate!"

Ning Chen nodded: "Very good. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!"

"Tomorrow's morning court session will be the time for me to put on a good performance!"

Xiao Anzi said with worry: "B-But Your Majesty, will the Chancellor really move against Zhao Siwen?"

"What if he..."

Ning Chen smiled: "How it turns out will be revealed at tomorrow's morning court..."