Chapter 79: The Law of the Ancestors [Seeking Follow-up Reading]

At noon, the town of Xujia was filled with black smoke. Blast furnaces were standing like a forest below, and the sound of iron pounding spread from the sheds on both sides of the long street.

"Young Master——"

"Young Master——"

Amid the greetings, the horse galloped past and finally arrived in front of a large stone fort in the center of the town.

"The young master is back, open the door quickly——"

The soldiers on the parapet turned around and shouted, and then the drawbridge in front of the fort was lowered, and the ten-foot-high cast iron gate slowly opened.

"drive--"

The long whip was waving, and the horse stepped forward. The soldiers along the road moved to the left and right sides of the road, and only gathered together to discuss after the former had gone far away.

"Master, why do you look so gloomy today? Is someone going to be in trouble?"

"Maybe there's another blind ranger? Four or five blast furnaces have been melted in the past six months. There are always people who come without asking beforehand."

"Why are you talking about this? If you don't mind living a long life, your last name is Xu too, right?"

"..."

In front of the green-walled mansion, Xu Shenghong pulled the reins off his horse, handed the whip to the servant who came over and said:
"My father didn't go out, did he?"

"No, the clan leader is admiring the flowers in the backyard."

Xu Shenghong felt relieved for a moment and then went straight to the backyard. Although it was winter, the temperature became warmer as he went deeper into the garden. He went all the way to the backyard garden, where colorful flowers were blooming in full bloom in this winter day.

"father--"

He walked behind a middle-aged man who was squatting on the roadside and trimming branches, and whispered, "I asked someone, and it seems that the crossbows that appeared in Beijing a few days ago were the ones produced by our family."

There was a loud sound of shearing in front of me.

Xu Shenghong frowned and continued, "Then Dongfang Mingqi went to the Beijing Camp and had a conflict with the Zhao family. The reason should be here. Dad, we can't find out anything, right?"

"It's out of the way."

The current Xu clan leader Xu Yisheng stood up and said:
"Even if we find out, what can we do? We are not the only one doing this kind of business in Guanzhong. Qianlu Villa, Baibingfang, who wouldn't sell it privately?"

This is the truth, but family members know their own business. Xu Shenghong reminded him in a low voice: "Don't forget, the Zhao family also has the batch of goods we gave them. If they are also found out——"

"The Zhao family wouldn't be that stupid."

Xu Yisheng said confidently, "If something like that is found out, anyone would know that they have ulterior motives. But I heard that there are still people in the court who pity Zhao Yanjun. That means they haven't found anything."

After his analysis, Xu Shenghong felt much more at ease.

"Now I'm afraid that Dongfang Mingqi will come and cause trouble for us."

Xu Yisheng glanced at his son and said, "He is even more domineering than you, and he has the support of Wanren Mountain behind him. Zhao Yanjun's grandson said he would beat him to death, and nothing happened."

Being called domineering, Xu Shenghong did not feel the slightest bit dissatisfied. Instead, he felt a bit jealous and fearful of the man his father was talking about.

His family background is already prominent enough, but he can only be the king in his own town. But that man is different. Not only is he good at martial arts, but his backing is even stronger. He has been abusing the capital city recently.

I heard that even the Empress and the Holy Queen were severely bullied by him.

Thinking of this, Xu Shenghong's jealousy grew even stronger, and even the worry he had when he first heard the news dissipated a little:
"He can't do anything to us in the capital, right? We have hundreds of men in our family and thousands of foot soldiers in our warehouse. Even the county chief has to bow and call you Sir when he sees you. How can he reach here?"

The more Xu Shenghong talked, the more he felt he was getting the idea.

He found that Dongfang Mingqi was indeed a powerful dragon, but it seemed very difficult to hold the local snake of the Xu family accountable. If he just gave orders in Beijing, no one here would pay attention to him. If he took people out of Beijing - the other side had so many enemies, would he take the risk?
Seeing his son, who was so worried when he came, return to his old ways, Xu Yisheng felt helpless and started to do the opposite of what he did:
"People like Dongfang Mingqi act out of the ordinary and are hard to predict. He also has a large number of lackeys under his command. Although our family has a lord and has been in business for many years, we will still be in trouble if we mess with him."

Xu Shenghong also thought of the Xifu's 'Chao Tianshu'. The spark in his heart was extinguished, and he frowned: "What should we do? We can't keep worrying like this, right?"

"Let's wait and see if he causes any trouble for our family."

At this point, Xu Yisheng thought for a moment and changed his words:

"Forget it. Go get the dragon blood iron from the warehouse and have someone cast it into a lance in the underground furnace. Make it more exquisite. Send someone to deliver it to the capital after a while. Add a large sum of money to the envoy to make him say some soft words. He is a person of soft character. Seeing that we have given in, he should not cause trouble again."

Xu Shenghong was immediately unwilling to accept the news: "Dad, didn't you say that you would keep the dragon blood iron for me to make armor?"

"You are not worthy!"

Xu Yisheng looked at him with a look of disappointment: "You have practiced martial arts for ten years, but you are still not even a martial arts master. What's the point of having such good armor? It's just a sheep's dung ball, but look at Dongfang Mingqi! He is four or five years younger than you, but he is like a little chicken even when fighting a grandmaster!"

"..."

Xu Shenghong's chest was heaving with anger, but he couldn't say anything. Practicing martial arts requires hard training in the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer. It's not as fun as practicing with women.

After saying these harsh words, Xu Yisheng felt a little regretful at this moment. He sighed and his tone softened a bit:

"With Keqing keeping the family safe, I don't expect you to be like Dongfang Mingqi. If you were to be like him, you wouldn't last long. I will be satisfied if you can be safe and sound."

Xu Shenghong did not feel relieved after hearing these earnest words, but his eyes flickered: "Dad, did they contact you again?"

"Don't ask, don't get involved. Our Xu family is different from them. We just need to do our business honestly."

As he spoke, Xu Yisheng walked up to him and lowered his voice a bit: "The end of the year is coming, have you decided on the characters for the next part?"

"Don't worry, I won't let you down on such an important matter."

Thinking of something, Xu Shenghong smiled and said, "Ten men and ten women, I have already selected them."

Xu Yisheng nodded and said with satisfaction: "The Ten-Year Grand Ceremony is related to the quality of the Earth Fire Tempered Soldiers. This is the lifeblood of our Xu family, and there can be no mistakes. Your father has only been the clan leader for a few years. If you perform well, it will be legitimate for your father to support you in the future."

"I know, Dad—"

"Go."

After the conversation, Xu Shenghong walked out of the backyard and waved to call the housekeeper.

"Young Master."

"What is that family doing in town now?"

Xu Shenghong's words were vague, but the housekeeper understood and answered, "The elder one is forging iron, and the younger one is making teapots in the teahouse. Now there are only these two people in that room."

Xu Shenghong smiled even more when he heard this and said, "Take a few people and bring the kid back."

"..."

The butler hesitated for a while and said, "Master, according to clan law, you can't—"

"What nonsense!"

Xu Shenghong glared at him and said, "Talk about clan law? In the future, you and I will be the clan leader?"

"..."

(End of this chapter)