A middle-aged woman was washing clothes near a well. Her age showed on her face and her hands which were continuously moving were calloused. Other ladies were also washing clothes there. The sounds of wet clothes being smashed against the washboard rang out in a harmony.

The youth watched on looking for someone specific. Once he found her, he left his place and went to a nearby tree before lying down under its shade. He waited.

He closed his eyes and thought about what to do. Li Yan and Li Fen were going to leave tomorrow. As the Patriarch’s butler, Butler Yu also needed to go. Some of the Elders were going to go as well. It would take at least 7-10 days to get to the nearby Goldleaf Town. So, the rebellion might just happen 2 days after their departure since they’re already far enough that even if they were to come back right away, they wouldn’t be able to reach here in time.

Wait! The boy sat up. What’s stopping them from ambushing Mistress’s party on their way to the town?

“Ugh!” he scratched his head. This seemed to have a big chance of happening. But unlike some of the things he could do, there was nothing he could do here.

He looked towards the ladies washing clothes. Qing Cui’s mother Qing Yanyan was also one of them. He would’ve asked her to take Qing Cui elsewhere during the rebellion but on second thought, he can’t think of a way to persuade her without revealing anything about the rebellion; which in turn would lead to a whole other set of problems.

He sighed. He got up and dusted himself off. The youth thought deeply as he walked around the estate. In the first place, whether or not the rebellion will be happening is still unclear. Though the atmosphere is steadily growing tense I still can’t be sure. So, I have to plan everything out in a way that even if the rebellion doesn’t happen, it won’t seem out of place.

The difficulty level of everything seems to have gone higher! Unlike before, his plans need to be even more precise. Jeez! If I can just get the Second Young Miss out of the house, Qing Cui will go with her and I can send Aunt Qing with them under a pretext. I thought I would ask the Mistress to take the Second Young Miss with her but now that would be sending her to the lion’s den!

He walked over towards Li Fen’s room as he walked. Should I ask Wang Clan for help? This was a viable option. Wang Meimei and Li Chyou’s brotherhood or, should I say, sisterhood was very well-known to all the three clans.

And due to them being members of the sect, they gained enough sway within their own clans. So much so that Wang Meimei strong-armed the Wang Clan into breaking their cooperation with the Murong Clan and forging one with the Li Clan. More likely would be that the Wang Clan already wanted to back out of their deal with the Murong Clan and Wang Meimei’s words were just the tipping point. But what the actual truth is still unknown to him.

Now, the bond between Li Clan and Wang Clan was solid. That was in terms of benefit, there was only a sliver of friendship between them. There are never eternal friendships only eternal benefits.

“I actually can. Doesn’t Wang Meimei have a younger brother?” he recalled, “He’s only 2 years older than the Second Young Miss. I can arrange a playdate for them.”

He clapped his hands, “Okay! That’s the matter with Aunt Qing, the Second Young Miss, and Qing Cui finished!”

As for the rest of the servants and ordinary people…I can only save them if the City Lord helps. In his six years here, he had learned more about the structure and practices of Xi Kingdom and Huangye Town as well[1]. In every town and city, there will be a City Lord who actually handles all the administration work of their town or city.

Huangye Town also has a City Lord. But he seldom appears in public. As for why the Clans have more power than the City Lord, this is actually false. To equate Huangye Town’s situation to our modern town, the City Lord is like the government of a country while the Clans are like the top commercial brands of the country.

The power of the Clans comes from their constant dealings with the common people and how their trade has a huge influence over the townspeople’s lives. The City Lord’s power is only a last resort. He has the power to stomp on the clans but he’d rather not do it since it’ll have more negative consequences than positive.

“Even if the Clans have power, I don’t think the City Lord will allow the Clans to openly murder their own people in his streets,” the youth thought everything through carefully. “Then all I have to do is just let the servants and ordinary Li Clan members escape the estate. Then the Eagle Wings’ will take care of it.”

Just like how there is police in the modern world; Eagle Wings are the law enforcers of the Xi Kingdom. And each town or city’s Eagle Wings is under the order of its City Lord.

“Ugh, should I include the Yellowleaf Forest as an escape plan?” the youth felt a headache coming. The Yellowleaf[2] Forest was located east of Huangye Town which was close to the Li Clan Estate. The reason why he didn’t know this before was that the forest was forbidden to ordinary people.

And that was because Deviant Beasts prowled everywhere there. Deviant Beasts were Qi-strengthened beasts. They had Beast Cores which was a bit like the Dantians in humans but unlike the latter, the former could be harvested. Their bones and furs can be used to make weapons and armor whilst their flesh was good for your cultivation.

“Why do I have to get information in such a dumb way?[3]” he grumbled and stood in front of Li Fen’s door.

He raised his hands up and knocked on the door, “Mistress, it’s me!”

“Come in!”

He opened the door, stepped in, and closed it behind him. He then turned around and asked Li Fen who was lying on her bed, “Mistress, do you require me for anything more today?”

“Hmm,” she touched her chin, “I suppose not but-” she looked at him with a smirk, “You’re only asking just because you want to laze about, aren’t you?”

“No, not at all, Young Miss!” he hastily denied it.

“Hah! Who’re you trying to fool?” she snorted. “Are you done packing my bags?”

“Yes!”

“Then do whatever you want,” she waved at him dismissively.

“Thank you, Mistress!” he bowed. “Mistress, I propose we arrange a sort of meeting between the Second Young Miss and the Wang Clan’s Young Master."

When she looked at him menacingly, he hurriedly waved his hands and continued, “Not for a romantic purpose but more as a play date!”

“A play date, you say?” she stroked her chin contemplatively.

“Since Mistress isn’t taking the Second Young Miss with her and First Young Miss isn't here, she’ll undoubtedly be a bit upset. I propose we foster a friendship between her and the Wang Clan’s Young Master just so she can take her mind off her departure.”

“That’s true,” she nodded in agreement, “she always stops eating if she gets too upset. The maids can’t help but complain a bit.”

“And it might help in the future if Mistress has to leave again!”

She stared at him for a while before slowly smiling, “It seems you can still do your duties as a butler. Fine, we’ll go with your advice! I’ll send a letter to the Wang Clan. Go now!”

“Thank you, Mistress!” he bowed once again and left the room. He closed the door behind him and sighed. As expected, the best way to fool someone is to play according to expectations!

He steadily made his way to his room. Inside, he took one of the books from the shelves and sat on his desk. He opened the book; inside it was filled with his handwriting. Lines and lines of notes about herbs and poisons were scribbled in the book. He looked, page after page until he found what he was looking for. He found five poisons he needed and two herbs he needed to buy. He opened the drawer in his desk and took out a hefty pouch. Inside were silver taels, the money he had remaining after buying herbs and various poisons.

“This should be enough,” he shook the pouch which made a clinking sound. He leaned back in his chair. The second hardest part is done, I believe. It went quite smoothly. Now, let’s really start working!