FID – Chapter 741

Chapter 741: Every Step Was Calculated

“Can’t give you any pointers,” the man said flatly, though his expression and tone didn’t match.

“Why?”

“I only give pointers to assassins.”

Cold sweat trickled down Liu Zhiqiu’s forehead.

Du Juan quickly dragged her mischievous son back down and leaned in closer. “Honglian, Qinglian is a doctor. What about you? You wear black all the time. You’re not really an assassin, are you?”

The man paused for a moment. “No.” He was the master of assassins.

On the other side, Liu Dalin and Chen Xiulan joined the conversation. “Back when Qinglian stayed with us for such a long time, we never saw you. Why didn’t you show up back then?”

“Yeah, if you had come out sooner, we’d have known each other earlier,” Chen Xiulan nodded. Then she added, recalling past events, “And we wouldn’t have been so terrified on that boat trip.”

The elderly couple nodded in agreement. “Come to think of it, we’ve never seen you in our Xinghua Village. It’s a beautiful place—clear mountains, clean waters, and good, honest folk. Even the things we grow in the village taste better than what you can buy outside.”

“I’ll visit someday,” Xue Honglian replied, his voice slightly dry.

“That’s settled then! Next time, you and Qinglian come together! And don’t you dare hide away!”

Liu Yusheng didn’t even know what to say anymore.

If Xue Qinglian was coming, how could Xue Honglian not come?

Had Grandma and Grandpa forgotten that they were actually the same person…?

When Feng Qingbai walked in, the first thing he saw was the little girl holding her forehead and groaning softly.

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, but in the next moment, his eyes turned sharp.

The person sitting on the chair across the room suddenly shot toward him like an arrow, attacking without warning.

The Liu family: “…”

They started fighting again.

Every time Honglian saw Axiu, it was like two blades clashing. Neither could feel satisfied without a fight.

Glancing at the two blurring into shadowy figures as they fought outside, Grandma Liu calmly instructed the kitchen to prepare lunch. By the time they were done fighting, the food would be ready to serve.

Meanwhile, Liu Zhiqiu dragged Little White Lotus outside, following the fighters with wide, glowing eyes.

“Brother Zhiqiu, can you even see what’s happening?” Liu Muqiu asked. She was already feeling dizzy just from watching.

“Sort of. You don’t get to see something like this often. Nobody knows exactly how skilled Feng Qingbai is, and it’s rare for him to meet an evenly matched opponent. Not watching would be a huge loss!” He grinned, determined to pick up as much as he could by observing, though he had to admit that most of the time, even he could barely follow the action.

Noticing the girl beside him, he casually pulled a few orchid leaves from the flowerbed and handed them to her. “If you’re bored, you can weave some flowers or go chat with Grandpa and Grandma inside. Just call me when it’s time to eat.”

“Okay.” Liu Muqiu smiled softly, her eyes curving like crescent moons. She settled onto the flowerbed behind him, quietly playing with the orchid leaves as she kept him company.

She knew that very few things could genuinely interest him, and martial arts was one of them.

“Nannan, are you just going to let them keep fighting? They might keep at it until nightfall,” Fu Yuzheng quietly asked Liu Yusheng in the main hall.

If anyone could stop those two from tearing it up outside, it would be their family’s Nannan.

Liu Yusheng glanced outside and smiled. “It’s fine. They’ll stop when it’s time to eat.”

Right now, the two outside were no different from little kids squabbling in the village.

Xue Honglian always wanted to settle things whenever he saw Feng Qingbai, and Feng Qingbai was the kind of person who wouldn’t let anyone provoke him without crushing them.

They were perfectly matched—neither giving an inch.

Before long, the food was ready, and Grandman Liu, as used to this as she was back at the Liu family courtyard, called out, “Time to eat! Hurry up, everyone! Wash your hands and grab your bowls and chopsticks!”

The two who had been fighting on the roof of a side courtyard instantly separated and, in perfect synchronization, turned and leapt toward the main hall.

Fu Yuzheng’s lips twitched. It was exactly as Nannan had said—once it was time to eat, they stopped fighting.

During the meal, Xue Qinglian, who had been knocked unconscious earlier, woke up.

Everyone then witnessed the rare sight of one person battling against himself… for food.

After the meal, the elders went to rest, leaving the younger ones to gather together and discuss the matters of the court.

“I heard about what happened today,” Liu Zhixia said. “If it weren’t for your accumulated authority, those letters alone might not have been enough to hold the situation together.”

The power struggles within the court were far from simple.

When Feng Qingbai returned, he had swiftly executed two imperial guards’ commanders, sending a powerful shockwave through the court. Later, in the Yangxin Hall within the palace, he killed two more squads of imperial guards in front of the Empress Dowager without even blinking. 

Calmly but ruthlessly, he forced the Empress Dowager to issue an order to have three of her closest confidants beaten to death, delivering a second, even deeper warning to the court.

When Feng Qingbai suddenly made his move in court, the officials—already shaken twice—were on edge, terrified that they might be the next to face his blade. That fear was what allowed Feng Qingbai’s carefully laid plans to succeed.

From the moment he arrived in the capital, every step he took was like a move on a chessboard, part of a meticulously calculated strategy.

A flawless plan, with no room for error!

Such cunning and depth of foresight left Liu Zhixia in genuine admiration.

Feng Qingbai spoke calmly, “Only by striking first could I ensure that you and Elder Yang would be cleared of any accusations in the shortest time possible. Had we given Minister Zuo time to present so-called evidence—real or fabricated—you both would have been branded as traitors, with no chance of overturning it.”

Just like how, after Feng Qingbai produced evidence—whether real or not—Minister Zuo was thrown into prison as a rebel.

Some things were so dangerous that even the slightest association with them could prove fatal.

“So, by first framing Minister Zuo as a traitor, you dismantled his accusations against Elder Yang and my brother without needing to investigate any further. His claims simply fell apart,” Liu Yusheng remarked with admiration.

Feng Qingbai turned slightly, smiling warmly at his little girl. Since he had promised to protect her, how could he ever let her down?

“Minister Zuo has been dealt with, but what about that Empress Dowager who suddenly emerged from the palace?” Liu Zhiqiu frowned. 

She was the one who issued the imperial decree to have my brother executed, right? How dare a woman of the harem overstep her bounds like that?

This time, the Empress Dowager had suffered a loss, but moving forward, she would likely retaliate even more fiercely against both his brother and Feng Qingbai. 

The situation was far from optimistic.

“Beyond her status, she poses no real threat,” Feng Qingbai said calmly. “But precisely because of that status, even though I know she was involved in the emperor’s confinement and the slander against loyal officials, I can’t openly confront her—nor can I even speak about it.”

That was what troubled him the most.

In Nanling, filial piety was of utmost importance. No matter the truth, juniors were forbidden from speaking ill of their elders.

The royal family was no exception.

The Empress Dowager was different from the former Dowager Consort Liu. Consort Liu had only been a concubine, while the Empress Dowager had once been the legitimate wife of the late emperor—the former empress who had once ruled the inner palace with authority.

He couldn’t touch her lightly.

“This isn’t a major problem either. The harem is not supposed to interfere in politics. As long as she doesn’t disrupt the court, she won’t cause much damage. The real concern is if she teams up with powerful ministers and becomes another Consort Liu,” Liu Yusheng said.

Feng Qingbai lowered his gaze, lightly tapping his forefinger on his knee. “In that case, we’ll cut off her path to becoming another Consort Liu.”

He had just brought down Minister Zuo, and he absolutely would not allow an Empress Dowager to rise up and rival the imperial faction!

That night, when the city was deep in slumber, the man tried to sneak quietly into the young woman’s boudoir again—only to be blocked by a shadowy figure.

“Do you want to fight?” Feng Qingbai raised an eyebrow.

The man was silent for a moment, then said in an emotionless tone, “I’m leaving. Next time we meet, we will still be enemies.”

“You helped the Liu family once. One day, I’ll repay you by sparing your life.”

“Arrogant words! Who knows which one of us will come out on top! Hmph!”