Chen Jie listened to this and laughed, "Good, very good. Since Brother Ni has agreed, thereâs nothing more to say. When Sister Huaâs child is born, weâll exchange the annual post, and from then on, our two families will form a close alliance."
After saying this, everyone was happy. Third Miss Hua said, "Weâve been talking for a long time, and I havenât seen Yunjinâs child yet?"
Su Yunjin said, "The child just had milk and is napping."
Third Miss Hua said, "Then let the men talk about menâs affairs, letâs go see the child and have a private chat."
Upon hearing this, Su Yunjin said, "Alright, then weâll chat in the inner room."
The two women then left, and as they walked away, Chen Jie looked at Ni Wenjunâs somewhat haggard face and said, "Brother Ni, whatâs wrong with you?"
Ni Wenjun sighed and said, "Ah, itâs a long story."
Seeing Ni Wenjun like this, Chen Jie said to Cuiju behind him, "Tell the kitchen to prepare some small dishes and wine, Iâll drink a bit with my brother."
Cuiju immediately complied.
At this moment, Chen Jie said to Ni Wenjun, "Come on, Brother, letâs find a place to have a drink."
With that, Chen Jie led Ni Wenjun to the pavilion in the back garden, where drinking had a unique flavor.
The two sat down, and shortly after, the kitchen had prepared the wine and dishes.
The Chen Residence kitchen never extinguished its fire; as long as there was a task, meals were served at any time, and the kitchen did not only serve Chen Jie but also provided for the over five hundred people in the entire residence.
Very soon the wine and dishes were ready.
Chen Jie took out a jar of two-year-old strong liquor and poured a cup for Ni Wenjun, who really enjoyed Chen Jieâs strong liquor.
At this time, Chen Jie and Ni Wenjun clinked glasses, and then Chen Jie inquired about what had made Ni Wenjun so stressed.
Ni Wenjun frowned and shook his head, "Ah, what else could it be but Xu Shouhui and Zhao Pusheng?"
Chen Jie asked what happened.
Ni Wenjun said that ever since Xu Shouhui returned from Wushan, he had become erratic and increasingly unscrupulous in his actions. Once, he even went so far as to buy over two hundred little boys from disaster-stricken people and had them castrated collectively.
More than a hundred kids died on the spot. Ni Wenjun couldnât stand it and got into a fight with Xu Shouhui, but Zhao Pusheng took sides and accused him, Ni Wenjun, of plotting a rebellion.
In the end, they brought out Old Peng, who also thought Xu Shouhui went too far and criticized Xu Shouhui a bit. Xu Shouhui at the time sincerely admitted his mistake, but secretly he was still capturing children.
Because of this, my men got into a fight with Zhao Pushengâs people, and then, you wouldnât believe it, I was going to tell Old Peng. Old Peng was investigating who was capturing the children, and guess what happened?
Chen Jie asked, "Was it your people capturing the children?"
"Yes, you guessed right. When I found out, it turned out to be my people. I was almost furious to death at the time..."
Ni Wenjun spoke with exhaustion, as if sending him to the battlefield might not have been as distressing. After all, acting on impulse and avenging oneâs grievances doesnât require much thought, and for Ni Wenjun, this might be considered a reward. But dealing with internal intrigue had made Ni Wenjun feel unprecedentedly weary.
"Ah, Iâm so tired every day. Jiu Si, to be honest, Brother, I might not be cut out for officialdom. If it werenât for Bai Mosheng, whom you sent to strategize for me, Brother might not have held it together until now."
Chen Jie listened to these words and said, "Brother, if youâre truly not suited for officialdom, wandering the Jianghu carefree and becoming a great hero is the life Brother should lead."
"Indeed! If it werenât for helping brothers maintain stability, I wouldnât have continued. I canât play with those bastards; theyâre disgusting."
Ni Wenjun cursed, and Chen Jie said, "Brother, hang in there. The situation in the world wonât hold for long. Once chaos ensues, Brother will have his time of joy."
Ni Wenjun said, "Joy, Iâm afraid I wonât last until then, getting infuriated by Xu Shouhui and his people."
Chen Jie replied, "Xu Shouhui and his followers wonât last long. Itâs said that if you wish for someone to perish, you must first make them go mad. What theyâre doing now is gradually eroding their standing in Old Pengâs heart. When the day comes that theyâve lost all their luster, and Old Peng can look at them with an ordinary mind, thatâs when theyâre due for downfall."
Upon hearing this, Ni Wenjun remarked, "Old Peng is obsessed with them. When can he view them with an ordinary mind?"
Chen Jie, hearing this, laughed, "Soon, Brother Ni, didnât you say Old Peng criticized Xu Shouhui this time?"
"Yes!"
Ni Wenjun said, and Chen Jie continued, "This kind of thing definitely wouldnât have happened before. But today, he started to criticize Xu Shouhui. What does that indicate?"
Ni Wenjun said, "It indicates that Old Peng has started to not blindly trust Xu Shouhui anymore?"
Chen Jie replied, "Old Peng isnât a fool. Over such a long time, he should have gradually seen Xu Shouhuiâs true nature; itâs just that Old Peng didnât want to believe it."
"Donât rush. Take it slowly. Old Peng wonât disappoint us."
Ni Wenjun, upon hearing this, said, "Thatâs good, I really hope Old Peng will realize soon and harshly handle that bastard. Now I just get more and more furious looking at him."
Chen Jie, upon hearing this, said to Ni Wenjun, "Brother Ni, you should work on your temper. Didnât I send Bai Mosheng over there? If you donât want to do some of the underhanded things, let Bai Mosheng handle them. Heâs quite experienced in that area."
This wasnât unfounded by Chen Jie; Bai Mosheng had followed Liu Laoguai in Mianshui County, playing mind games with Nan Batian.
Although from the current perspective, the internal struggle in Mianshui County seemed somewhat amusing, back then it also honed Chen Jiusiâs skills in scheming and manipulating. Nan Batian and Liu Laoguai were also formidable figures in their own right.