destiny eternal calamity

Thinking of this, Li Wei quickly got out of bed, grabbed the keys, and headed straight for the underground parking garage.

[Host currently possesses 600,000 taels of silver. Would you like to recharge it all?]

"yes!"

[Ding! Congratulations, host, on your first single recharge exceeding 100,000! Reward: 10000 recharge points.]

[Current recharge points: 610200]

Looking at the huge sum of money in the recharge points, Li Wei felt a surge of confidence.

He stuffed the dozen or so deeds and a thin booklet from the basement into his pocket and returned to his room.

"Whether it's the Prime Minister's residence or any potential rivals of Lin Peiyao, they're probably all watching this spectacle of fighting over the inheritance in front of the mourning hall."

"The Prime Minister's mansion wants me to hand over the gray assets that Lao Deng was in charge of operating before his death, and then completely eliminate me, the orphan who may have some inside information, and then frame these stupid relatives, arrest them all, and then try to slowly transfer the assets to new white gloves to ensure that they are clean."

"On the other hand, they must be hoping that my fiancé, the most beautiful woman in the capital, will die as soon as possible. Although he may have offended the Prime Minister's family by plotting to kill Old Deng, the two sides are now on the same side."

"Old Deng has left me with a lot of potential dangers in his pursuit of advancement."

"But I have a system. Whether it's this 600,000 taels of silver or these contracts, they will all be the resources for me to reach the pinnacle of martial arts and change my destiny!"

Silent all night.

The next day, Li Wei went to visit the Lin residence early in the morning.

Standing in front of the Lin residence, Li Wei gazed thoughtfully at the vermilion gate.

After the gatekeeper announced his arrival, Lin Yishui personally came out to greet him.

Li Wei and his father-in-law hadn't seen each other for a long time, and his father-in-law looked sleep-deprived, with dark circles under his eyes.

"Alas, Brother Li's accident has truly broken my heart as his old comrade-in-arms! I haven't been able to come and offer my condolences yet, not because I don't want to, but because military affairs are too complicated and I can't easily get away. I hope my dear nephew won't worry too much."

"Not at all, how could I blame my father-in-law? I was just worried that he might be too busy with other matters and delay this matter, which would damage his reputation, so I came to remind him."

Their conversation was so sour it made your teeth ache.

Li Wei felt that this marriage was probably going to be difficult.

When he spoke of his father-in-law, he paid special attention to Lin Yishui's expression, and the other man seemed somewhat embarrassed.

That's why his later remarks sounded somewhat sarcastic.

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen Peiyao since I visited relatives in Longnan County eight years ago."

Li Wei didn't mince words and directly hinted that Lin Peiyao should come out and meet him, as he wanted to see how she would react.

If Lin Peiyao also acts this aloof, then it's better to call off the marriage.

After hearing Li Wei's hint, Lin Yishui's expression became even more awkward.

"My daughter... my daughter has taken a female martial arts practitioner as her master and is currently away learning martial arts; she is not at home."

"..."

She ran away? Good heavens, the daughter of a powerful fifth-rank official in the capital, not even married yet, ran away with some江湖人 (jianghu people).

In this feudal society that upheld the traditional virtues of obedience to husband and wife, if her husband's family found out about this and it got out, Lin Peiyao's reputation would be ruined, and she might even be jilted.

No wonder Lin Yishui was so embarrassed that he didn't dare to go to the Li family to mourn.

"That rebellious daughter! It's also my fault for not raising her properly, sigh!"

Lin Yishui had a completely nonchalant expression on his face.

Anyway, your daughter has run away, and you can't conjure her up again. If you want to break off the engagement, then go ahead and do so.

"I see. It's so hard not to see Sister Peiyao. I heard she's been named the most beautiful woman in the capital. I wonder if she's been pursued by any lecherous suitors?"

Li Wei's words to his elders were somewhat rude, but now that the Lin family had lost his fiancée, it was reasonable for him to speak more harshly.

Is he suspecting that his daughter has eloped with someone?

Lin Yishui was shocked and didn't know how to clear his name. He cursed his rebellious daughter hundreds of times in his heart.

And it might not necessarily be a case of injustice. Lin Peiyao has been away for more than half a year. What if she really brings back a frizzy, blond-haired guy?

If such a shameless act were to occur, the Lin family would never be able to hold their heads high in the capital again.

Seeing Lin Yishui's wide-eyed, surprised and angry expression, Li Wei wondered if he had misunderstood something.

"What I mean is, when Peiyao was still at the manor, were there any people harassing her?"

Li Wei now feels that Lin Yishui is a complete idiot. He may have good character, but his brain is really rigid.

He probably never imagined that Li Anguo's death might be related to jealousy or rivalry.

Of course, it's also possible that it really doesn't matter.

"Let me think... Yes, there is. The Crown Prince came to the residence several times before, and kept saying that he wanted to see Pei Yao."

"It's also my fault. On the day I took office in the capital, some colleagues invited me to dinner. I brought my family along, but I didn't expect that the Crown Prince was the one who organized the dinner. He wanted to win me over. As a result, he saw Pei Yao."

"It was after that Pei Yao's reputation as the most beautiful woman in the capital spread."

"Peiyao had actually become an apprentice a long time ago, but she had been learning her skills at home before."

"I guess she left with her master because she couldn't stand the prince's harassment."

It was actually Prince Longming!

This bastard, he's over thirty and has several kids, yet he's eyeing his eighteen-year-old fiancée.

Li Wei was speechless for a moment.

"Does your father-in-law know who Pei-yao's master is?"

Lin Yishui briefly recalled and replied:

"I don't know. Pei Yao's master is very mysterious. She has extremely high martial arts skills, but she never reveals her name and only tells us to call her Wuming (Nameless)."

"She was wearing an iron mask and was very tall... but her figure clearly indicated that she was a woman."

"If she weren't a woman, why would I have let her personally tutor Pei Yao? I just never expected that she would end up running away with Pei Yao."

"This might be a good thing. Since her master is a master, Pei Yao should be safe with him. If she stays here, the Crown Prince might do something wicked."

Li Wei offered some words of comfort, saying that he felt Lin Yishui was indeed being a little too nervous.

There's no way around it; in this feudal society, if something like this happens, normally the man would definitely make a scene.

Lin Yishui's emotions finally stabilized after being comforted by Li Wei, and he followed Li Wei to the Li residence to pay his respects to his old friend.

After offering incense, Lin Yishui looked relieved. He must have been struggling with this matter for the past few days, but he should be able to get a good night's sleep tonight.

"Crown Prince..."

After Lin Yishui left, Li Wei pondered silently.

Lin Peiyao's admirers were more troublesome than he had imagined.

In the current court, the Crown Prince does not seem to be the most powerful heir, but this is only relative to the more powerful Fourth Prince.

For someone like him, the son of a deceased official with no connections whatsoever, the other party could kill him with a single finger.

It's time to find a new backer.

After all, he still had his pledge of allegiance.

Li Anguo isn't stupid; how could he not leave a way out for the Li family?

Not to mention how much of the Li family's businesses were acquired by misappropriating funds from Tian Shang Yun Jian and then using the operating profits to cover the losses.

Even regarding the matter of acting as a front man for the Prime Minister's residence, Li Anguo was quite cautious.

Li Anguo instructed Uncle Xu, who was in charge of the matter, to write down the time and amount of each silver transaction, the physical characteristics of the people from the Prime Minister's residence, and the intricate interpersonal relationships between the Prime Minister's residence and the people in the heavens and clouds.

This booklet, along with the other contracts, was currently being kept on Li Wei's person.