Chapter 16
For the next several days, the entire Imperial City remained in complete turmoil.
The atmosphere was tense.
Suspicious.
Explosive.
First, four grandsons of the Dong family were assassinated.
Then the very next day—
two grandsons of the Dugu family died as well.
The moment those incidents happened, both families immediately entered a state of extreme alertness.
Every member traveled with guards.
Every meal was inspected.
Every servant was investigated.
Even family dogs were probably questioned twice before entering the courtyard.
And honestly—
that caution saved many lives.
Because during the following days—
both the Dong and Dugu families suffered three more assassination attempts.
Fortunately for them, this time the assassins failed.
Mostly.
Only two guards died.
Several others were injured.
One unlucky guard lost three fingers and his dignity after jumping into a fish pond while screaming, "THE ASSASSIN IS FLYING!"
The assassin was not flying.
He had simply jumped from a wall.
But the guard insisted till the end that he had seen "a black-clothed bird demon."
The strangest part, however, was not the attacks.
It was the assassins themselves.
Whenever the Dong family somehow managed to corner or capture an assassin—
the assassin would suddenly melt into water.
Literally.
One moment there would be a masked killer.
The next moment—
splash.
Just water.
One Dong elder had even tried stabbing the puddle afterward out of pure anger.
Another elder shouted:
"Check if the water is still breathing!"
Meanwhile—
the Dugu family suffered something even more terrifying.
Whenever they cornered an assassin—
the assassins exploded.
Not normal explosions either.
No blood.
No flesh.
No bones.
Nothing.
Just—
BOOM.
Then smoke.
Then confusion.
Then several people screaming:
"MY EYEBROWS!"
The first time it happened, the Dugu family thought the assassins carried hidden explosives.
The second time, they suspected poison.
The third time—
they started wondering whether they had offended mountain ghosts or angry ancestors.
One servant even resigned immediately.
When asked why, he replied with a pale face:
"I can fight humans."
"I cannot fight people who explode into air and leave no corpse."
"That is above my salary."
At this point, both families understood one thing clearly.
Someone was targeting them deliberately.
And whoever it was—
they possessed terrifying methods.
Naturally, suspicion spread rapidly.
The Dong family suspected the Dugu family.
The Dugu family suspected the Dong family.
And both families heavily suspected—
Prime Minister Yan Pei.
Because no matter how they looked at things—
Yan Pei benefited the most from their conflict.
Yan Pei himself quickly realized this as well.
Someone was intentionally trying to make him the enemy of both great families.
And the worst part?
The plan was actually working.
So after several days of chaos—
Yan Pei decided to settle matters personally.
He invited both family heads to a private tea house meeting.
Inside the tea house.
The atmosphere was extremely awkward.
Dong Jihao drank tea coldly.
Dugu Hai stroked his beard silently.
Yan Pei smiled politely while internally suffering enough stress to lose another five years of lifespan.
"Everyone…"
Yan Pei spoke calmly.
"We are all being manipulated."
Dong Jihao snorted.
"Oh?"
"Then perhaps Prime Minister Yan would kindly explain why all clues point toward you?"
Dugu Hai narrowed his eyes.
"Especially when your people seem very active recently."
Yan Pei almost cursed aloud.
"These are misunderstandings!"
But before the conversation could continue—
a servant suddenly rushed into the tea house in panic.
"Prime Minister!"
"Something terrible happened!"
Yan Pei frowned deeply.
"What now?"
The servant swallowed nervously.
"Young Master Yan Jun…"
"…has taken over several businesses belonging to the Dong and Dugu families."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Dong Jihao slowly placed down his teacup.
Crack.
The cup shattered in his hand.
Dugu Hai's expression became murderous instantly.
The servant continued trembling.
"The Dong family's western coal mine has been occupied…"
"And more than sixty percent of the Dugu family's salt businesses have also been seized…"
"…by Young Master Yan Jun."
At that moment—
both family heads slowly turned toward Yan Pei.
Their eyes looked as if they wanted to eat him alive.
Yan Pei himself froze.
For the first time in years—
the great Prime Minister genuinely felt his vision darken.
Meanwhile—
far away inside the Yan residence—
Yan Jun stood proudly with his chest puffed out.
Like a child waiting for praise after setting half the kitchen on fire.
"Father's worries should naturally be solved by the son!"
Yan Jun laughed proudly.
"Father!"
"You were trying to suppress the Dong and Dugu families, right?"
"So I helped!"
"With the help of my new friend, we already took over their businesses!"
Yan Jun looked incredibly pleased with himself.
"At this rate…"
"In less than three months, I'm sure I can seize all their businesses!"
Yan Pei stared at his son silently.
Very silently.
For several moments—
he said nothing.
Then suddenly—
his expression changed.
"Wait."
Yan Pei narrowed his eyes dangerously.
"Your new friend?"
Yan Jun nodded proudly.
"Yes!"
"He's amazing!"
"He gave me many ideas!"
"He even said great men must strike while their enemies are weak!"
A cold chill ran down Yan Pei's spine.
"Where is this friend now?"
Yan Jun blinked.
"…Eh?"
Only now did he realize something strange.
That mysterious friend—
had disappeared.
No servants saw him leave.
No guards noticed him.
No records existed.
It was as if the person had vanished into thin air.
Yan Pei's face slowly turned pale.
Very pale.
Because he finally understood something terrifying.
Someone had not only manipulated the Dong and Dugu families.
Someone had also manipulated his idiot son like a puppet.
And worst of all—
that person had successfully dragged all three great powers into mutual hatred.
Yan Pei slowly sat down.
Cold sweat covered his back.
For the first time in many years—
the Prime Minister felt genuine fear.
Far away, inside an inn room—
Ryo calmly drank tea while reading examination notes.
The system looked at him with complicated emotions.
"Host…"
"…you are truly evil."
Ryo calmly turned a page.
"No."
Then he smiled faintly.
"I'm simply helping everyone become closer."
The system: "..."
Even demons would probably ask Ryo for advice at this point.
Chapter End
[The author here : well i know I haven't been uploading for past few days not because i wanted to but because i was busy. I went to work early morning & come back home after 9 pm. The work was also tiering so i fall asleep right after dinner. Today i post the chapter half heartedly because of tiredness. There will be some problems but i will re-uploade it next time. Till then sorry 😓]