Why did you provoke me?

Hou Yulin looked at Yu Meng sitting opposite him. He reached out and touched the jade pendant hanging around his neck, then took it off and placed it on the table.

"This is the key and token to a secret treasure trove."

Yu Meng didn't reply, but calmly looked at him.

Hou Yulin continued, "I heard from Uncle Han that your guild hall also takes on external assignments."

Yu Meng gave a soft "Mmm".

"I want to exchange this treasure for your help with my grandfather."

"Are you trying to entrust us with something?" Yu Meng asked softly.

"I've never done any of this before, I've never been exposed to it before," Hou Yulin said in a very soft voice.

"If I accept the request, could you please go and check on my grandfather? I'm very worried about him."

"Of course," Yu Meng replied affirmatively.

Hou Yulin pushed the jade pendant in front of Yu Meng. "Then it belongs to you."

Yu Meng tapped the table with her finger. "You said this is a treasure trove, but do you know anything about what's inside?"

Hou Yulin shook his head. "I've worn this jade pendant since I was a child, and I thought it was just an accessory. But when we were fleeing from the first battlefield, Uncle Han told me about it."

"I'll have someone verify the details of this treasure. Are you really sure you want to use it to get information about your grandfather, and not something else?"

Hou Yulin looked at Yu Meng with some confusion. "What do you mean by 'other'?"

Yu Meng sighed. "For example, treating your grandfather."

"Is that okay?" Hou Yulin asked excitedly.

Yu Meng gave him a second look. "Do you know why I was willing to make medicine for Butler Han when he came to me?"

Hou Yulin didn't know why the conversation about his grandfather suddenly turned to making medicine for him.

Hou Yulin shook his head directly.

"When Butler Han came to see me, he was very sincere. He didn't hide anything; he even told me about the investigation he had conducted on me."

Hou Yulin lowered his head.

"I'm sorry, Teacher Yu."

"Now, can you tell me your real purpose?"

"I want revenge." Hou Yulin said these four words through gritted teeth.

"That's more like it. So, who is your target for revenge? Your second uncle, the Wang family members who are colluding with your second uncle, or someone else?"

"For now, I've only considered my second uncle and that Wang family member. Teacher Yu, are there any others?"

"According to my intelligence, yes. The first battlefield is not currently under the control of the Wang family."

"Is it that complicated? Teacher Yu, I haven't thought that far ahead. I just want to drive my second uncle's family out and then kill the Wang family members who colluded with my second uncle." Hou Yulin's cold tone was filled with deep anger.

Yu Meng looked at the distorted face of a boy in front of her.

"Between your second uncle and that member of the Wang family, who do you hate more?"

"I hate them all, but I hate the Wang family more," Hou Yulin answered quickly. Clearly, he had already considered this answer many times in his mind.

Yu Meng looked at him seriously. "But it was your second uncle who poisoned your grandfather, and it was also your second uncle's men who chased you on the front lines. Why don't you hate him? Is it because of blood ties?"

"But if it weren't for the Wang family's instigation, my second uncle probably wouldn't have done these things."

Yu Meng nodded. "I sent a message to Secretary Wu. You can sign the contracts for these commissions with him."

Hou Yulin stood up and bowed slightly to Yu Meng. Then he left.

Yu Meng frowned slightly as she watched Hou Yulin leave.

Her intention was not to have Hou Yulin sign the power of attorney, but to introduce him to the Jia family.

But after this conversation, she dismissed the idea. If that was his thought, then as the next heir of the Hou family, Yu Meng felt that the Hou family was doomed.

According to Yu Mengfa, Secretary Wu is very efficient.

Hou Yulin was also pleased. Steward Han had only asked him to use the treasure to secure a place for himself. But now he had used the treasure to do so much more, and he believed that if Uncle Han were here, he would be very pleased.

Secretary Wu entrusted this matter to Jingyi, instructing him to select a few people to meet with Jing Ancheng in Kyoto and complete the mission together.

After Secretary Wu dealt with the matter, he went to Yu Meng's office.

"Uncle Wu, what do you think of Hou Yulin and the Hou family?"

"Sigh, he's just a spoiled kid who suddenly faced a huge change. It's already quite good that he's done this much." Secretary Wu's words were very objective.

Then he laughed, "Actually, it would be much better for him to depend on you than for him to choose now."

"Uncle Wu, do you think that, given Butler Han's intelligence, he might have told him how to choose before he died?"

Secretary Wu countered, "If it were you, would you listen to a housekeeper?" Then, realizing her mistake, she quickly added, "I was just using a metaphor, not referring to Teacher Yu."

"I am not him, so I don't know. What are your thoughts on the Hou family?"

This time, Secretary Wu didn't answer immediately. Instead, he pondered for a moment before looking up at Yu Meng. "In my opinion, if a family can have a son kill his father, then the relationship between that father and son is already extremely bad. Putting aside the question of who is right and who is wrong, objectively speaking, their family's rules are definitely not fair."

"Uncle Wu, your request is a bit too high."

"Teacher Yu, the consequence of unfairness is that some people will have extreme thoughts. For example, that second uncle."

"Then tell me, if we manage to revive Old Master Hou, is it necessary for us to try and win over the Hou family?"

Secretary Wu didn't quite understand Yu Meng's idea. So he looked at Yu Meng with a puzzled expression.

Yu Meng had no choice but to explain, "In the First Battlefield, the dense forest has disappeared, and its value has now dropped to its lowest point. That force will withdraw sooner or later. I want the Jia family to take over the First Battlefield. What do you think?"

"Great!" Secretary Wu exclaimed without even thinking.

"If the Jia family can take over the first battlefield, then that battlefield will become our guild hall's back garden."

"Initially, I wanted to cooperate with the Hou family, but Hou Yulin's choice made me hesitate. He is not yet a qualified leader."

Secretary Wu fell silent. "If we push the Jia family to the forefront, their current strength isn't great, and they might not be able to hold out. You want to find another family to cooperate with the Jia family?"

Yu Meng nodded, "That's right. I considered the Hou family first, but now I've rejected that idea."

"What about the Zhou family?" Secretary Wu asked in a very low voice.

"Not considering it."

Secretary Wu shut his mouth; he shouldn't have asked. If the Zhou family were capable, Yu Meng wouldn't even consider the Hou family.

"Let me think, who else could do this?" Secretary Wu racked his brains quickly. This was a fantastic opportunity; they couldn't miss it.

Yu Meng smiled again at his expression. "Uncle Wu, don't worry. This force has just been taken over and won't leave so soon. You can take your time to think it over."