Ways To Be Powerful

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

“Let me guess the exact amount of this high price. Is it ten thousand?” Ye Qingtang said with a smile.

The four people from the Qin Luo Pavilion narrowed their eyes. Although they did not confirm verbally, their silence gave Ye Qingtang an answer.

Ye Qingtang smiled and continued. “It really is ten thousand? I didn’t think that the Great Elder of the Ye family would be so petty to give you all only ten thousand gold.”

The Great Elder of the Ye family?

The four men initially thought that Ye Qingtang was stalling time on purpose, but they did not expect that… not only did Ye Qingtang point out their identity, but she even knew that the person who hired them was the Great Elder of the Ye family.

At that instant, the four men’s reactions turned slightly weird.

“Little thing, what do you actually want to say?” the leader asked coldly.

Ye Qingtang replied, “Nothing much. I just think that given the capabilities of the four of you, a reward of ten thousand may be a bit too low. Isn’t the Great Elder’s payment of only ten thousand gold a look down on your abilities? How about this: I’ll give you forty thousand gold to get rid of the Great Elder.”

The four men were startled by Ye Qingtang’s words.

Forty thousand gold?

Wasn’t that four times the price the Great Elder offered!

The four men exchanged glances and did not easily believe Ye Qingtang’s suggestions. Their leader said, “Young Lady Ye, I know your identity. However, don’t take us as fools and trick us. We are very clear of the situation in the Ye family. Given you and your father’s position in the Ye family, I’m afraid you don’t even have ten thousand, much less forty thousand…”

Ye Ling, who was behind Ye Qingtang, was on his guard as well. He merely took Ye Qingtang’s actions as an act of stalling time and knew that the man’s words were true. With his and Ye Qingtang’s situation, there was simply no way to get forty thousand gold.

However…

Ye Qingtang gave a faint smile. After looking at them in the eyes, she took out bars of gold from her space ring and placed them in front of the four men.

In the blink of an eye, a total of twenty thousand gold bars were stacked before the four men. Under the moonlight, the gold bars sparkled in brilliance and blinded the four men’s eyes.

Although the Qin Luo Pavilion had taken on quite a few cases, the rewards were at most a few thousand gold. The offer of ten thousand gold by the Great Elder of the Ye family was already the highest paying request they accepted in recent years.

Yet, unexpectedly…

Young Lady Ye offered such a high amount and was really able to pay it.

“There is twenty thousand here. Treat it as my deposit. As long as you get rid of the Great Elder of the Ye family, I will automatically pass you the remaining twenty thousand.” Ye Qingtang looked up at the four hesitant men.

In her previous life, she did not know about the Great Elder’s scheme and did not have enough money to buy over these assassins. But now… everything was different.

She wanted the Great Elder to have a taste of his own medicine and to experience how it felt to be targeted by hired assassins.

Initially, the four assassins were a little hesitant. However, seeing so much gold piled in front of them, they exchanged glances at once. A shrewd expression flashed across the leader’s eyes as he faked a heavy tone,

“The Qin Luo Pavilion has its own rules. Since we accepted the order, how could we change it so casually? If this goes out, wouldn’t it ruin the Qin Luo Pavilion’s reputation?” the leader said, but his words had much less murderous intent than before.

Ye Qingtang smiled. “I am aware of the Qin Luo Pavilion’s rules and respect all of you. If you help me to get rid of the Great Elder and assist my father in regaining his authority, the Ye family will remember this favor and will definitely return it in the future. How can this return of favor be measured with merely ten thousand gold?

Ye Qingtang’s words stumped the four men

The Ye family was one of three greatest family clans in Lin Town, and its possessions were unfathomable. To the three great family clans, ten thousand gold was indeed just a drop in the bucket.

They merely had a monetary deal with the Great Elder. But if they took on Ye Qingtang’s request, not only were they able to get forty thousand gold, but the Ye family would also owe them a favor in the future. What they could earn in and out was not just a tiny amount!

Instantly, the four people from the Qin Luo Pavilion weighed the pros and cons quickly. When they turned to look at Ye Qingtang, the murderous intent in their eyes before was replaced with a smile.

“We understand what Young Lady Ye means. We’ll accept your request! Rest assured, since we accepted your request, we’ll carry out your order.” The black-clothed men who were initially out to kill Ye Qingtang were now full of smiles as though they changed their faces.

“I’ll trouble you all, then. The Ye family won’t forget your help today,” Ye Qingtang said with cupped fists.

“Rest assured Lady Ye, we will get rid of the Great Elder now.” Then, the four men left together and headed for their new target—the sinister Great Elder of the Ye family.

After the four of them left, Ye Ling, who had been beside Ye Qingtang this whole time, finally opened his mouth.

“Tang Tang, you…” Ye Ling looked at his daughter with a weird expression. He originally thought that he would definitely die today, but unexpectedly, Ye Qingtang was actually able to turn the situation around and even got the Great Elder in a fix.

“Don’t worry, father. I’ll never allow anyone to harm you ever again.” Looking at Ye Ling who was safe and sound, she felt the guilt from her previous life fading away.

“I know that the Great Elder has evil intentions and was plotting to snatch the position of the family master away, but I did not expect… he would actually be this vicious and hire someone to take my life.” Ye Ling frowned as a mix of emotions surged within him.

“The Great Elder is far more evil than others. Since second uncle is ending his seclusion tomorrow, he was deeply afraid that second uncle and you would join forces. Thus, he wanted to get rid of you in advance,” Ye Qingtang said.

Ye Ling sighed and shook his head. “The four people from the Qin Luo Pavilion were strong, but the Great Elder isn’t weak himself. Plus there are many guards around him. I’m afraid…”

Just as Ye Ling’s words left his mouth, a noisy hubbub was suddenly heard in the courtyard, and a faint smell of blood diffused in the wind.

Ye Ling and Ye Qingtang exchanged glances and headed towards the courtyard immediately.

Fighting sounds came directly from the courtyard that the Great Elder stayed in. Outside the courtyard laid many dead bodies, and the guards that were originally guarding outside the Great Elder’s courtyard had all died.

“To be able to kill so many people around the Great Elder in such a short time, the people from the Qin Luo Pavilion are indeed skilled.” The more Ye Ling looked, the more fearful he became. Had Ye Qingtang not rush there in time, the person lying in a pool of blood would have been him.

Ye Qingtang took a look and did not say anything. Just as she was about to enter the courtyard with Ye Ling, she suddenly saw the miserable-looking Great Elder flying away from a side of the courtyard. The people behind the Great Elder initially wanted to chase after him but slowly stopped in their tracks upon seeing Ye Qingtang.

“The Great Elder is still powerful and managed to escape, but rest assured Young Lady Ye. We will be on guard here tonight. As long as the Great Elder returns, we will definitely take his life,” the leader of the group said.

Looking at the miserable situation in the courtyard, Ye Qingtang, however, shook her head and replied, “You all have already helped me to vent my anger. Thank you for the trouble today.” Then, she handed the remaining twenty thousand to the four men in black.

“It’s not early anymore, you all can return. I, Ye Qingtang, will remember this favor received from the Qin Luo Pavilion. As for the Great Elder, I will deal with him subsequently.”

It would be best if she could use the four men to get rid of the Great Elder. However, if that was not possible, Ye Qingtang did not dare to let the four of them stay on the Ye residence any longer as it would not be worth it should the Great Elder find an opportunity to push the responsibility of hiring assassins onto her.

Furthermore, if the four men were here, it would not be possible for the Great Elder to return to the Ye residence.

As the time the four men spent on the residence increased, troubles would be created instead.

Upon receiving the gold and hearing Ye Qingtang’s words, the four men naturally did not have any intention to stay any longer. They thanked Ye Qingtang immediately and flew away.

When the four men from the Qin Luo Pavilion left, Ye Qingtang’s eyes turned cold as she looked at the corpses that filled the courtyard.

These guards were originally servants of the Ye family and should be loyal to Ye Ling. Yet, they turned their backs on the family master and became the underlings of the Great Elder. Today, the Great Elder intentionally transferred the guards away from her father’s courtyard to allow the assassins from the Qin Luo Pavilion to kill Ye Ling.

Ye Qingtang was not the slightest saddened over the death of the group of unfaithful guards.

“Father, it’s not early anymore, and we still have to fetch second uncle tomorrow. You should return early and rest,” Ye Qingtang said with a smile. From the start, she had not expected the four men from the Qin Luo Pavilion to be able to kill the Great Elder since he was skilled and, thus, not an opponent that could be easily dealt with.

However, after the incident today, the Great Elder may not have the opportunity to harm Ye Ling anymore. With the Second Elder ending his seclusion tomorrow, she wanted to see how the Great Elder was going to start a commotion!

Only until late night when the Great Elder finally received news of the four assassins’ departure from the Ye residence, the Great Elder returned gloomily.

Up until then, he still could not understand why the Qin Luo Pavilion’s assassins he hired to kill Ye Ling suddenly turned to kill himself. If not for the fact that he was powerful enough, he would have died in their hands.

The more he wondered, the stranger it became. Not knowing the cause of the change, he could only put down the matter temporarily and prepare to further investigate it in the days to come.

Now that the Qin Luo Pavilion went against the agreement, Ye Ling could not be killed, and as such, the Great Elder would not be able to push any blame onto the Second Elder.

When he thought of that, the Great Elder could not help but frown. However, looking at the disorderly mess in his courtyard, he remembered something.

Assassinating the family master was a crime punishable by death, and assassinating the Great Elder of a family clan was similarly a crime punishable by death!

Ye Ling had been poisoned, and his days were numbered. Even if he did not die today, he would not have many days left. The real trouble was the Second Elder.

He would definitely not let the Second Elder and Ye Ling join hands.

The Ye family was sooner or later his!

The second morning, Ye Qingtang woke up, changed her clothes, and then headed for Ye Ling’s courtyard to find him and fetch the Second Elder together.

But when Ye Qingtang entered Ye Ling’s courtyard, he was nowhere to be found. She immediately asked the servants for Ye Ling’s location.

Only then did she realise…

The Great Elder actually pushed forward the time to fetch the Second Elder. After receiving the news, Ye Ling did not react much, but he did not want to wake Ye Qingtang, who was still sleeping. Thus, he headed for where the Second Elder was in seclusion in along with the Great Elder ahead of time.

Upon receiving the news, Ye Qingtang was stunned. Without wasting any time, she went straight to take a horse and rode quickly to where the Second Elder was in seclusion in.

In her previous life, Ye Ling lost his life the night before the Second Elder ended his seclusion. When Ye Qingtang was still mourning the death of her father, the Great Elder forcefully brought her to fetch the Second Elder. Then, Ye Qingtang still thought of finding out her father’s killer with the help of her loving second uncle once he ended his seclusion. However…

Just as the Second Elder just stepped out of the stone door, the Great Elder immediately ordered people forward to kill the Second Elder after condemning him for murdering the family master.

Helplessly…

The Ye Qingtang in the previous life was ignorant and completely did not know what happened. Furthermore, she had little ability and was not able to react due to the shock from the Great Elder’s actions. Even if she wanted to save the Second Elder, the Great Elder paid no heed to her words, ordered people to guard her from a side, and killed the Second Elder in front of her.

Up to this day, Ye Qingtang still vividly remembers the image of the Second Elder dying before her eyes.

Ye Qingtang took a deep breath and cleared her mind as she continuously increased the horse’s speed.

She did not expect the Great Elder to head there in advance.

If she remembered correctly, not only did the Great Elder personally invite people there to welcome the Second Elder’s ending of seclusion, but he even made Ye Xun invite a few Elders from the Duan family. It was obvious that he had set his mind on killing the Second Elder the moment he ended his seclusion!

Ye Qingtang accelerated and rode at full speed.

At the Ye family’s area for seclusion outside Lin Town, there were many people gathered.

With hands behind his back, the Great Elder looked at the tightly shut stone door with a cold gleam in his eyes.

“Great Elder, the Second Elder should be out in a while,” Ye Xun, who was standing beside the Great Elder, said with a smile.

The Great Elder gave a slight nod as his gaze swept across Ye Xun and landed on Duan Tianrao, who stood next to her. Today, Ye Xun, as Duan Tianrao’s fiancée, had invited a few Elders from the Duan family over on the basis of the Great Elder’s punishment of the Ye family betrayer.

The Second Elder’s ability was good, and the Great Elder was not fully confident that he could take down the Second Elder. Thus, he invited the Elders from the Duan family not only to frighten the Second Elder but also to serve as witnesses after the execution of the Second Elder for his crime.

Whether the Second Elder committed a crime was not important to the Duan family.

Now that Ye You was a direct disciple of the Yunxiao Sect Sec Master, it was natural that the Duan family viewed the Great Elder with greater importance. Furthermore, Ye Xun was close to the Great Elder. As such, the Duan family was willing to give face to the Great Elder.

“Thank you for coming today, Elders,” the Great Elder said with clasped hands.

An Elder from the Duan family replied, “Don’t worry. The Duan and Ye family are both part of the three greatest family clans in Lin Town and have friendly relations. Now that such an incident has happened in the Ye family, the Duan family is happy to help. We can also make use of this incident as a preventative wake-up call for those harboring evil intentions.”

The Great Elder smiled. “As the Great Elder, I must’ve made a mistake in my management for such a scandal to break out in the Ye family.”

“Why would you say that, Great Elder? You have already done very well. Although you’re an Elder, it’s impossible for you to take care of everything perfectly. Moreover, you almost lost your life because of this. How could you be blamed for this? Seeing that your complexion is pretty good today, I guess the injuries you sustained are not that serious?” asked a Duan family Elder.

“I am still fine, merely some abrasions only,” the Great Elder said slowly as he looked over at a Ye family carriage at a side. After seeing Ye Ling coming down from the carriage, the Great Elder did not say anything much as he stared at the tightly shut stone door.

After alighting from the carriage, Ye Ling frowned as he saw the few Elders of the Duan family beside the Great Elder.

Today was the day when the Second Elder of the Ye family would end his seclusion, what were the Duan family’s Elders doing here?

“Great Elder, these Elders from the Duan family…” Ye Ling said with a frown.

The Great Elder responded coolly, “Previously, the Second Elder went into seclusion in order to make a breakthrough. Our friends from the Duan family have about the same level of strength as the Second Elder. They are here today to find out whether the Second Elder has indeed succeeded in making a breakthrough and perhaps even learn from the Second Elder’s experience.”

“Thank you for your hospitality,” the Duan family’s Elders smiled as they made courteous exchanges although their tone was rather lacking in respect for a family master, making it seem perfunctory.

The Duan family was clearly aware of the situation in the Ye family. Although Ye Ling was still the family master of the Ye family, the changing of the person in position was merely a matter of time.

They would rather be on friendly terms with the Great Elder than with Ye Ling.

After all…

Backing the Great Elder was Ye You who entered the Yunxiao Sect!

Ye Ling sensed that something was off, but the few Elders from the Duan family and the Great Elder had no intention of speaking further. Moreover, Ye Ling saw Duan family Elders’ superficial attitude towards him, and he knew that he would not get any answers even if he asked.

Furthermore…

Ye Ling was annoyed with the Duan family over Duan Tianrao’s initiation to break the engagement. Now that he saw Ye Xun and Duan Tianrao publicly appearing together, he was even more unwilling to say anything further.

At that instant, Ye Ling felt that it was a good thing for Ye Qingtang to not come today lest she gets upset when she sees Ye Xun and Duan Tianrao together.

In the state of silence, the tightly-shut stone door slowly opened, and a gust of cold air escaped from the opening gap.

When the stone door was completely opened, a tall figure slowly walked out from the stone door. It was an elderly man over fifty years of age, but his tall and straight posture did not make him look old at all. His firm and good-looking features emitted a healthy glow. If one were to ignore the faint wrinkles on his face, it would be hard to guess the real age of this person before them.

The Second Elder of the Ye family stepped out steadily. Although he was only wearing a simple top, his disposition was unable to be covered.

The moment the Second Elder looked up, surprise filled his eyes briefly as he saw that apart from the Ye family, people from the Duan family were there as well. However, he was not too concerned.

Before he went into seclusion, Ye Qingtang and Duan Tianrao were engaged. Thus, although he was surprised by the Duan family’s visit, he did not think much about it.

When Ye Ling saw the Second Elder walking out of the stone door, his heart that had been suspended in midair for a long time finally settled down gradually. He immediately went forward to speak to the Second Elder, but a figure beat him to it.

The Great Elder suddenly stood in front of the Second Elder. At that instant, there was not a hint of emotion on the Great Elder’s face. With a slight frown, his eyes sharpened as he looked at the Second Elder, and he ordered coldly, “Take the Second Elder down!”

Ye Ling and the Second Elder were both stunned by the Great Elder’s words.

Just when Ye Ling and the Second Elder were still in a shock, a group of guards that came with the Great Elder went forward and locked the Second Elder’s arms.

“Great Elder, what is the meaning of this!” The Second Elder frowned in confusion.

“Great Elder, what are you doing?” Ye Ling’s face sunk as he looked at the Great Elder.

There was no emotion on the Great Elder’s face. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he looked past Ye Ling and straight at the Second Elder. “Last night, four assassins barged into the Ye residence in an attempt to kill me and the family master. Do you know about this, Second Elder?”

The Great Elder’s question shocked Ye Ling.

The Second Elder, who was completely unaware, frowned slightly. He looked worriedly at Ye Ling, and after verifying that Ye Ling was not injured, he said in a low voice, “I have been in seclusion for many days and do not know about this incident. There are people in Lin Town who actually dare to offend the Ye family?”

“Don’t know about this incident?” The Great Elder suddenly scoffed. “In the whole Ye family, there are only three people who can exercise control: you, the family master, and I. If the family master and I died, and given that the Young Lady is still too young, who do you think… will be able to gain power and exercise control in the Ye family?”

Though the Great Elder was asking, everyone knew what he was implying in his words.

If the Great Elder and Ye Ling died, the position of power in the Ye family would naturally fall into the hands of the Second Elder.

The Second Elder’s expression darkened. “Great Elder, what do you mean by that?”

“Second Elder, the Great Elder’s meaning is very obvious. A clever person like you would surely understand?” Ye Xun looked at the Second Elder helplessly with a frown and continued. “Second Elder, do you really not understand or are you acting like you don’t? The Ye family has always treated you fairly, and you hold the respectable position of an Elder. My father had such deep respect for you, but it turns out that you are too greedy.”