Chapter 248 – The Loyal Confidant (2)
Man Qin was slightly taken aback by the young girl’s fervor. For someone her age, who should be more invested in clothes and makeup, she was remarkably determined.
“Young Miss, what do you intend to do?”
When Man Qin received Ye Zhen’s letter, he somewhat hesitated. Only when he saw Lu Yaoyao with his own eyes did he finally believe that Ye Yiqing had two daughters. But even then he held some doubts, after all, looks are deceptive. However, the aura and conviction she was emanating were gradually forming an impression on him.
“I want to find Father first.” Ye Zhen said softly, “Uncle Man, I believe Father is not dead.”
Contrary to an animated response, Man Qin was quite calm. He was not shocked by the words if anything a glint flitted past his solemn eyes. He had as well hoped the same in his heart, he had found it hard to believe that his master was no more. Rather, he had preferred not to believe it.
“Finding Second Lord … it won’t be easy. We don’t even have concrete evidence if he’s dead or alive, not to mention there’s a vast sea of people out there.” He looked at the girl, wondering if the girl would falter in the midst of hopelessness.
“No matter how difficult, please help me find Father.” Ye Zhen pleaded. She was somehow convinced he was alive and knew in her heart that she would be able to find him if she dedicated herself to the task.
“Young Miss, we will find Second Lord, but how will you handle the Lu Family?” Man Qin queried.
It was one thing to declare enmity, but avenging was quite the contrast. Retribution … revenge … reckoning were words that were easier said than done. How many possessed the courage to see it through? How many had stood ground until they had seen it through? Men wavered, what’s more, a girl? And she was up against two of the most powerful people in the capital with all odds against her.
“Although the Lu Family has been conferred with n.o.bility, its roots are not stable. It is still their business that sustains them all. Uncle Man, do you have any means to make Lu Family’s business collapse?” Ye Zhen said softly.
Ye Zhen was never an impatient person. Even though she was desperately seeking revenge, she also wanted to make sure her every move was right by taking it step by step.
If the Ye Family was still around, she naturally did not need to be this cautious. But what ident.i.ty did she have now? An orphan girl living under another’s roof! As long as her ident.i.ty was not exposed that she was not Lu s.h.i.+ming’s biological daughter, she could still make use of her ident.i.ty to execute her plans.
She had two goals. First, to enter the palace and become a physician, gain the trust of the empress dowager, and then plant the seeds of doubts in Mo Rongzhan towards Lu Lingzhi. She wanted to let the man lose his left and right arm, little by little. The second goal was to handle the Lu Family. As long as trouble arose in their business, the family would be thrown into chaos.
Man Qin did not readily respond. Considering that the Lu Family’s business was deeply rooted, he felt it would not be so easy to deal with Lu s.h.i.+xun.
“Young Miss, you cannot avenge the Ye Family and Fifth Miss overnight,” Man Qin said in a deep voice.
Now that the Ye Family was obliterated, even if she was surnamed Lu, one cannot simply handle a high official, let alone her enemy … the current emperor.
“I understand that it won’t be easy and this would take time, but everyone has weaknesses. I don’t believe that Lu s.h.i.+xun has no weakness. Uncle Man, it is said that an ant can swallow an elephant,” Ye Zhen said in a resolute tone, confidence written on her face.
For a moment, Man Qin was reminded of Ye Yiqing. When his master faced difficulties, he would have the same confident and determined look on his face, sure that he would succeed in achieving his goal as long as he stood firm.
After his moment of silence, Man Qin asked, “What would you like to do?”
Ye Zhen glanced at him, a faint smile emerged on the corners of her lips. “We shall start from the unstable ones. Words are a great weapon, we will use this to our advantage and s.n.a.t.c.h their business for ourselves. Their business has been running for so many years, it is bound to have many rivals. Uncle Man, we can start from here …”
Man Qin silently listened to Ye Zhen as she explained how to deal with the Lu Family’s business in Jinkou City. As word after word fell, his shock deepened further and further. He was unable to fathom how a young girl as such could come up with such a detailed plan.
Did this young miss really grow up in the border town since childhood? Such strategies and opinions … are even deeper than Ye Zhen’s.
He just didn’t know how deeply Ye Zhen had invested this second life to retribution after her death. There was not a waking moment when she thought of anything but the plot to bring down her foes. Her plan was meticulous, in that she understood the nuances of not just the nature of the Lu Family business but also her two main antagonists. Simply put, she knew to hit where it hurt the most.
“Young Miss, I will task someone with finding Second Lord and begin the matter with the Lu Family. You are now the only daughter of our master, we shall obey your orders.” Man Qin dropped down on one knee and formally expressed his loyalty to Ye Zhen.
Ever since the death of their young miss and the execution of the Ye Clan, they had been stoking the fire of vengeance within them. How they had longed to slice the heads of those responsible. It was with mammoth willpower that they had reined in their fury and sat still.
He admitted Ye Zhen’s letter had brought him a ray of hope. The reason why he himself came to see her was that he was afraid … afraid that if he sent anyone else, they might not have the courage to a.s.sess the girl. And a.s.sess, he had wanted badly. He wanted to see if the girl who had been sheltered and raised by the Lu Family, and the one who claimed allegiance to the Ye Family – what was she like? Would she go soft on the hand that fed her, think twice about the bold decision she made or would she have the same fearlessness as her sister, the grit as her father?
Now, he had no such concern. Not only his loyalty but also of those in Jinkou City, all of whom were headed by Man Qin was pledged to this young girl.
Ye Zhen secretly felt relieved. Finally, she was able to convince her former confidant of her ident.i.ty as Lu Yaoyao. Letting them know the truth would not be easy. However, if one yearned to reveal the truth to such loyal confidants, that she is the late w.a.n.g Fei Ye Zhen, she needed some time.