Chapter 85: Are You Willing to Gamble?

Zhao Mansion

Since being impeached by Lu Desheng and demoted to a lower rank, Zhao Wenkuan had been out of favor with Emperor Kang Cheng. Naturally, he was not included when the Emperor, accompanied by his trusted ministers, went on an incognito visit to Hongsheng Restaurant. On the other hand, the Xie family, having lost a Minister of the Ministry of Justice, seemed to have gained favor with the Emperor, who then took Xie Mingtang along.

He could have gone himself, but decided against it. He didn’t want to risk being accused of spying on the Emperor.

Being unable to be present filled him with regret. So he stayed at home, waiting.

The news that Fan Quan had been dismissed by Lu Desheng and rejected by the Emperor, even after Zhang Yong’s personal recommendation, reached Zhao Mansion immediately. Zhao Wenkuan promptly changed clothes and prepared to visit the Xie Mansion.

At that moment, a maid from Lady Luo’s side came to invite him to the courtyard of his fourth son, Zhao Bin. She said that Zhao Bin had received news from Hongsheng Restaurant and was having a fit of rage. She asked Zhao Wenkuan to go see him.

Zhao Wenkuan was annoyed. In recent days, his son had been throwing a tantrum almost daily. His initial concern had turned into impatience.

“I’m going out for a while. I’ll go see him when I get back. Ask Madam to persuade him.”

When Zhao Wenkuan arrived at the Xie Mansion, he found his son-in-law, Xie Zhan, waiting for him.

The two of them moved to the meeting hall to talk.

After the servants served tea and left, Zhao Wenkuan silently observed his son-in-law.

He could sense that the Xie family was undergoing a subtle shift in power.

After their joint recommendation of Lu Desheng failed and the Xie family lost the position of Minister of the Ministry of Justice, his future son-in-law had become more assertive. He was gradually taking over the Xie family’s authority, while Xie Mingtang quietly retreated behind the scenes. This was actually a good thing, as Xie Zhan was his son-in-law and their relationship was close.

After Xie Zhan signaled for him to state his purpose, Zhao Wenkuan couldn’t wait to say, “A Zhan, I know the outcome of Hongsheng Restaurant, but is there really nothing we can do about the Lu family?” The two families had joined forces, yet they had been repeatedly slapped in the face by a mere fifth-rank official. Zhao Wenkuan couldn’t accept it. Not to mention the resources the Zhao family had exchanged to get the Xie family involved. The outcome was too disappointing.

“This outcome was expected, Zhao Father knows this.”

“You’re smart, think of another way. A Bin is your brother-in-law. He lost a leg because of Lu Songli and Qin Sheng, and they humiliated him in such a way, and we can’t do anything about it! I know this is my incompetence as a father, but it’s also a blow to your face, isn’t it?”

Xie Zhan rubbed his forehead. “Firstly, we have already clashed with the Lu and Qin families over Zhao Bin’s matter, and we lost.” At least for now, they had lost. The Xie family had even lost a Minister of the Ministry of Justice for this. As for the future, he didn’t want to start a conflict for now.

Zhao Wenkuan immediately interjected, “We lost once, we have to win back a bigger one!” Everything will be back to normal!

Xie Zhan coldly rejected his suggestion. “I have decided to cease hostilities with the Lu family and will not actively fight against the Qin and Lu families again. The Lu family has agreed.”

He was mature and rational enough, just as his grandfather had praised him: he was a natural politician.

Those in power should have a grand vision, not just focus on the loss of a city or a piece of land. They need to see the big picture. If a battle has already been lost, don’t dwell on it, especially avoid constantly pouring resources into it. Otherwise, it will become a quagmire, a pit that will drag the family down completely.

As the head of the family, it is a decision-making ability that every qualified head of the family should possess to cut losses in time, abandon the pawn to protect the king, and make choices.

“What?” Zhao Wenkuan couldn’t believe that Xie Zhan had reached such a consensus with the Lu family so quickly.

“Also, we need to face the reality that our enemies are not weaker than us.”

Xie Zhan’s words were cold, but also realistic, like a bucket of cold water poured on Zhao Wenkuan’s head, sobering him up.

“If we continue to fight them, it’s very dangerous. Don’t forget the saying, ‘When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits.'” The lesson learned from the past is still fresh in our minds. Besides the Lu family, our Zhao and Xie families have other political enemies.

Zhao Wenkuan remained silent. Intellectually, he could accept Xie Zhan’s decision, but emotionally, he found it hard to swallow.

“Father Zhao, don’t forget, you have other sons. Are you really going to drain the Zhao family’s resources for the sake of Zhao Bin, who is now useless?”

Zhao Wenkuan fell silent.

They had lost this time, but there will be another opportunity to fight back next time.

However, it’s unwise and insane to waste resources for the sake of face. It took a lot of effort to build the family to where it is today.

For a big family like theirs, face is important, but not the most important. When choosing between strength and face, the core value is always strength.

It’s unwise to consume one’s strength for the sake of face. Face can be earned back through strength, but without strength, face will never be regained.

“When we fight the Lu family to the point of mutual destruction, it’s also the most dangerous time for our two families. Are you willing to gamble?” After analyzing the pros and cons, Xie Zhan gave Zhao Wenkuan the choice.

Zhao Wenkuan sat in the meeting hall for a long time, finally giving up on his insistence to trouble the Lu family.

Before leaving, Xie Zhan handed him his investigation of Zhao Mansion’s backyard.

Zhao Wenkuan took it, lowered his head, and looked at it. His face turned red and white.

Xie Zhan concluded, “If the Zhao family had sent Zhao Bin to a manor or a distant place for recuperation earlier, perhaps his condition would be better now.” Zhao Bin was basically ruined. The Zhao family could only support him, but it was impossible to expect him to contribute to the family, except for having children.

However, his words might not be true. With Lu Songli’s ruthless nature, even if Zhao Bin was sent far away, she could still send people to torment him until he broke down.

Encountering this kind of person was truly a huge disadvantage for their two families.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wenkuan paused for a moment before turning and leaving without looking back.

Xie Zhan knew his words were a bit like hindsight and felt like a cold shower to the Zhao family, but he was really dissatisfied with how the Zhao family handled this matter.

Zhao Wenkuan returned to the Zhao Mansion in a rage. Ignoring the greetings from the servants, he went straight to the main courtyard, found Madam Luo, and scolded her.

Bang! He slammed the table, shaking the room. “How did you manage this backyard? Look, have a look, anyone can reach into our back house! Are you a pig? Didn’t you notice anything?”

When his future son-in-law handed him the investigation results and saw the sieve-like Zhao family backyard, he was pointed out by his own son-in-law that anyone could stick their hands into his family’s backyard. Zhao Wenkuan felt like he had lost all face. He wished there was a crack in the ground for him to crawl into!