Chapter 356 - 339: Rules 2

Chapter 356: Chapter 339: Rules 2

"Establishing rules is easy."

Chen Li muttered to himself, "The hard part is making people follow them."

What does the Court rely on?

It relies on soldiers and weapons, prisons and punishments—a machine of violence built from tens of thousands of Constables, soldiers, and Officials.

If you don’t comply, someone will make you.

What do the Sects and Noble Families rely on?

They rely on lineage, resources, and protection.

If you don’t follow the Sect’s rules, they will expel you, take back your Cultivation Technique, and sever your future prospects.

But what about those reclusive masters without vast forces behind them?

Those hidden cultivators who only take two or three disciples?

How do they ensure their rules are followed, let alone passed down?

Chen Li’s pupils constricted.

’The Cultivation Technique!’

’Create a Cultivation Technique and brand your own understanding of the rules onto its fundamental operating Law.’

’Anyone who practices this technique, from the moment they set foot on this path, will unknowingly replicate and abide by the creator’s rules within the very source of their power.’

’So that’s how it is...’

A flash of understanding lit up Chen Li’s eyes.

But then another question arose. ’What about my Five Grains Qi Storage Technique?’

’Why did the runes only appear after I broke through the Guiyuan Pass and my Inner Qi transformed into Primordial Qi?’

’Why didn’t it have inherent rule imprints at the Low Tiers, like the Celestial Fragrance Scripture?’

Chen Li fell deep in thought.

There were two possibilities.

First, it could be because it was a system reward.

A Cultivation Technique bestowed by the system might transcend the common rules of this world.

Second, the master who created the Five Grains Qi Storage Technique might have long since passed away.

The Cultivation Technique they left behind would have lost the guidance and maintenance of its source, causing the rule imprints to gradually dissipate.

Which of these two theories was closer to the truth?

Chen Li couldn’t be sure.

He needed more samples.

...

「That afternoon, in the bamboo courtyard.」

Chen Li slowly opened his eyes, a faint, almost imperceptible golden gleam receding from his pupils.

A familiar aura approached from the distance, rapidly heading toward the small courtyard.

’Shouheng?’

With a flicker of thought, Chen Li rose and pushed the door open. ℯ

He sat down on the stone stool in the center of the courtyard, as if just taking a routine break.

A moment later, the sound of hooves stopped outside the courtyard, and a dust-covered Chen Shouheng strode in.

Seeing his father in the courtyard, he clearly froze for a second, a look of astonishment flashing across his face.

"Father? You didn’t go into the mountains for your Cultivation today?"

’Knowing Father’s personality, he should be cultivating in that Primordial Qi-rich ravine deep within Mirror Mountain at this hour,’ Chen Shouheng thought in surprise. ’Why does it seem like he was waiting for me specifically?’

"Just resting for a moment."

Chen Li gave a slight nod, his gaze landing on his eldest son’s worried face. "You came in such a hurry. What is it?"

Chen Shouheng immediately recounted everything that had happened over the past few days.

The mysterious intervention of the Tan Family; Jian Chen of the Celestial Sword Sect storming the courtroom and forcing the return of one million taels of silver under the pretense of it being stolen silver; Governor Zhao Yuanhong’s hint at a peaceful division of the spoils, leading to him bidding on the second and third sets of properties; the cooperation with the Cao Family; and his wife Shuwei’s deduction, based on everyone’s movements, that the mastermind was most likely in control of the Jiangzhou Government Office...

He reported every last detail.

"...Father, that’s the general situation. Our family now needs to pay 1,470,000 taels. We only have 1.3 million taels of silver on hand, leaving a shortfall of 170,000 taels. And the ten-day deadline is fast approaching."

Chen Li listened quietly, not saying a word from beginning to end.

"Hmm."

Only after Chen Shouheng had finished did Chen Li reply with that single word, then ask in return, "What do you plan to do next?"

Chen Shouheng had clearly thought this through. "I plan to take 1.2 million taels of silver from the family’s funds and borrow another three hundred thousand taels from the Cao Family. That will give us 1.5 million to pay for the auction and secure all the properties. After the Commandery Magistrate’s Office returns the amount exceeding the Sun Family’s debt to them, our family can use the Sun Family’s IOU that we hold to claim that money. We can then repay the loan to the Cao Family."

After listening, Chen Li neither agreed nor disagreed. After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, "Have you personally seen the Official Tribute Contract the Cao Family wants to sign?"

Chen Shouheng was taken aback and answered instinctively, "Not yet. Miss Cao said we would discuss the terms of the contract after the partnership is finalized."

Chen Li sighed softly and asked his second question. "Have you figured out what the Cao Family truly wants from helping you like this? Do you understand their motive?"

Chen Shouheng froze again. He opened his mouth, but in the end, he lowered his voice, lacking confidence. "That... I haven’t quite figured it out yet."

"You haven’t figured out anything at all."

Chen Li’s voice was still calm, but it carried an invisible pressure. "Then why did you dare to agree? And what makes you so sure the Cao Family genuinely wants to help our Chen Family and isn’t harboring ulterior motives?"

These three consecutive questions were like a bucket of cold water, instantly cooling most of Chen Shouheng’s excitement.

He opened his mouth, trying to defend himself, but as the details of his interactions with Cao Wenxuan flashed through his mind, he realized he had no answer to his father’s questions.

After a moment of silence, he tried to organize his thoughts and said uncertainly, "Father, I have been foolish. But I speculate that what the Cao Family is after might be related to the soaring prices of silkworm cocoons and raw silk."

"If the Court truly needs a massive amount of silk, and the Jiangzhou Textile Bureau is consistently buying it at the official price of fifteen taels per bolt, then once the market price far exceeds the official price, there’s a huge profit margin. The Cao Family probably wants to use this opportunity to control the supply and make an exorbitant profit."

Chen Li’s gaze was like a torch as he stared at his eldest son. "Then let me ask you this: the Cao Family has immense financial resources. If they see the potential profit in silk, why can’t they just hire their own artisans and run the weaving business themselves? Why must they prop up a potential competitor, especially our family, now connected to the Zhou Family they once conspired against? Aren’t they afraid our success would empower the Zhou Family to one day strike back?"

"This..."

Chen Shouheng was suddenly at a loss for words, and fine beads of sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.

He had been completely captivated by the immense temptation of swallowing the Sun Family’s assets and hadn’t considered this question at all.

’That’s right, why would the Cao Family do something that helps another at their own expense?’

At this thought, a chill shot up Chen Shouheng’s spine and spread through his entire body. Cold sweat streamed down his back, instantly soaking his inner shirt.

Chen Li saw his son’s reaction and understood. He sighed softly. "Shouheng, if our Chen Family were still that small household from years ago, with just a few people living off one or two hundred mu of poor farmland, I might have praised you for your boldness."

"The barefoot aren’t afraid of those with shoes. Taking such a risk to gamble for wealth... I wouldn’t have said a word against it. Fortune favors the bold, while the timid starve—it has always been so. Besides, with what little we had back then, we wouldn’t have even caught the Cao Family’s eye."

His tone gradually grew heavy. "But now, our family’s assets have grown. Our accumulated wealth is nothing like it was before. In some people’s eyes, we’re a juicy piece of meat. Why would they genuinely help us grow stronger, only to raise a tiger that could turn on them?"

"What’s more..."

Chen Li’s tone grew more forceful. "You said it yourself, the Liyang Commandery Magistrate’s Office and the Jiangzhou Government Office might be involved. Do you know how deep these waters run? Have you seen clearly how many factions are involved?"

"In a chess game played by these old foxes from the officialdom and the great Noble Families, what makes you think you can emerge victorious and reap all the benefits while being surrounded and schemed against by a pack of tigers and wolves?"

Chen Shouheng’s expression was conflicted. His father’s words were like ice water poured over his head, sobering him up considerably.

But when he thought of the huge potential losses versus the seemingly attainable profits, he felt a surge of unwillingness and said through gritted teeth:

"But, Father! If we don’t accept the Cao Family’s partnership, we can’t afford to take all of the Sun Family’s assets with just the silver we have on hand. That’s fifteen thousand mu of fertile land, and the Official Tribute Contract with the Textile Bureau... Are we supposed to just give it all up?"

He grew more agitated as he spoke. "It’s a shortfall of three hundred thousand taels of silver. Even if we don’t borrow from the Cao Family, it would be worth exchanging gold for it. If we give up the partnership and only buy two of the property sets at a high price, won’t we lose even more?"

"And what about the one thousand taels of gold we used to bribe Zhao Yuanhong? That’s equivalent to two hundred thousand taels of silver! No matter how wealthy our family is, we can’t afford to be bled like this."

Seeing his son’s eyes redden slightly from agitation, Chen Li slowly shook his head.

"Shouheng, you’ve developed tunnel vision. You’ve been blinded by the profits right in front of you."

He looked at his eldest son calmly and asked, word by word:

"Who told you that the Chen Family *has* to swallow all of the Sun Family’s assets?"