Replace me as the top scholar? Go talk to my Marshal Grandpa!

Wang Defa stood at the back of the crowd, remaining silent.

He watched as his clansmen surrounded Wang Yuanshan, shouting, insulting, and shoving him, his expression constantly shifting.

At first, he was angry, but as that anger subsided, his mind started to work.

He suddenly thought of a question.

Why did Wang Yuanshan do this?

This problem is like a pebble dropped into calm water.

Wang Defa's mind raced.

suddenly!

He seems to have figured something out!

If the father hadn't started this live stream and hadn't taken the initiative to expose those crimes, what would have happened to them if Wang Xian had made her move?

Wang Xian is now the number one genius in the Great Xia Dynasty. The Yan Emperor himself said that he has the potential to become an emperor. His future is bright, and he also has the Wang family of the capital city behind him!

If he were to personally take action to severely punish the Xingquan Wang family, no one could stop him.

At that time, the Xingquan Wang family will only have one path left: to be uprooted!

But now?

The father voluntarily confessed to all the crimes!

He confessed to crimes that had not yet been discovered by the outside world, trampling his own reputation and that of the Xingquan Wang family into the ground, and pleading guilty in front of tens of millions of people.

In this way, Wang Xian won't be in a difficult position!

He no longer needs to struggle between "savior" and "fairness and justice".

His father has already done the hardest part for him!

and so……

This is their only way to survive!

Wang Defa, who thought he had figured everything out, suddenly had a bright idea in his eyes.

"Stop arguing!!"

Wang Defa suddenly raised his head, his voice so loud it startled everyone in the main hall.

Everyone turned to look at him.

He strode into the middle of the crowd, waved his hand forcefully to push aside those who were insulting Wang Yuanshan, then turned around, faced the room full of confused and angry faces, and took a deep breath.

"You're mistaken! Father didn't do this to kill us; he was saving us!"

"He's saving his entire family!"

The hall fell silent for a moment.

However, the next moment, Wang Zhengye let out a cold laugh.

He took a step forward, stood in front of Wang Defa, looked him up and down, and a sarcastic smile played on his lips:

"To save the family?"

"Big brother, are you talking nonsense?"

He pointed to the door, his voice cold and piercing: "Father deliberately exposed crimes that hadn't been discovered before, and you call that saving the family? What a joke!"

He paused, then took another step forward, staring intently into Wang Defa's eyes, his tone filled with undisguised sarcasm:

"Big brother, you're really something else."

"After you became the head of the family, we did all the work for you; you never had to do any of the dirty work."

"Your name isn't on the list of criminals now, so of course you're not in a hurry."

"You're here spouting nonsense and gloating, do you think you're exceptionally clever?"

Wang Zhengye was truly going all out.

He's finished anyway.

He was involved in every single one of those crimes, and once they were exposed, his life was over.

Therefore, he no longer cared that Wang Defa was his elder brother and the current head of the family.

He peeled off that layer of skin completely!

Wang Defa's expression changed.

He could feel the gazes of those clansmen sweeping back and forth between him and Wang Zhengye.

Approach it with skepticism and scrutiny!

But he didn't get angry.

He gritted his teeth, suppressed the rising anger in his heart, and forced himself to calm down.

"Do you think Wang Xian would have let us off the hook even if Father hadn't done this live stream and hadn't confessed?"

His voice deepened, each word emphasized, "No!"

"Wang Xian is now in a morally ambiguous position, caught in a dilemma."

"If he doesn't punish us, people will say he's protecting and condoning us, and that he's ungrateful."

"If he punishes us, people will say he doesn't care about past relationships."

"But my father took all the blame upon himself and took on all the most difficult parts."

"In this way, Wang Xian will no longer be in a difficult position."

"He only needs to 'act according to the law,' and as for the severity of the law, isn't that up to him to decide?"

"The father's voluntary confession freed Wang Xian from that dilemma."

"Only by taking responsibility and accepting trial can we have a way to survive."

He paused, glanced around at the silent faces, and emphasized his words:

"Do you think it's better for Wang Xian, who's been put on hold, to personally uproot us?"

"Or should we plead guilty ourselves, help Wang Xian out of his predicament, and then, out of consideration for our past relationship, he might punish him outright but protect him in secret?"

The hall remained quiet for a while.

Then someone looked up, and their eyes lit up.

Someone muttered "Yeah," someone slapped their thigh, and someone let out a long sigh of relief.

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" An older member of the tribe was the first to react, his expression quickly shifting from anger to realization, and then from realization to admiration.

He turned to look at Wang Yuanshan, gave him a thumbs-up, and raised his voice even louder than when he was cursing:

"Master, your move was brilliant! We were all confused just now and almost misunderstood your good intentions!"

"Yes, yes, the patriarch is truly farsighted!" another quickly chimed in. "We're all slow learners, we haven't figured it out, and we're just making a fuss over nothing. Patriarch, please don't take it to heart!"

"I knew it! How could the patriarch harm us? He's saving us!"

The people who were just pointing their fingers at Wang Yuanshan and cursing him were now all smiles, praising him as if they wanted to elevate him to the heavens.

However, a few people remained standing still, their faces ashen.

Wang Zhengye, Wang Feixiang, and several other members of their clan with heinous crimes had dark clouds over their faces, and their eyes were filled with resentment and anger.

They know it all too well.

Wang Yuanshan's move did indeed give some people a way out.

But what about the rest of them?

Those who committed serious and numerous crimes would have no chance of survival even if Wang Xian reduced their punishment!

Wang Feixiang forcibly abducted women and instigated beatings. Wang Zhengye acted as an accomplice in the Chaofan Bureau, doing countless dirty jobs for the Wang family.

These things cannot be easily forgotten.

Their fate won't be much better than before!

"Why should I!" Wang Feixiang suddenly roared.

His eyes were red, and his face was still swollen and bruised from the injuries. He looked like a wild beast driven to the brink of despair.

He pointed at those praising Wang Yuanshan, his voice hoarse: "You've got a lot to say! What about saving the family! What about a way to survive! You survived! What about us?"

"I did all those things! I was the one who sent people to block the door! I was the one who sent people to beat people up! Now you say that confessing will get me a place to live, but what about me? What am I supposed to do?"

Wang Zhengye also stepped forward.

He walked up to Wang Defa, pointed at his nose, his finger almost poking the tip of his nose, and said angrily:

"Brother, you make it sound so easy!"

"Your hands are clean, you've never been involved in those things, so of course you have a way to survive!"

"But what about us?"

"We've done so much dirty work for you, and now that things have gone wrong, you're pushing us out to take the blame while you wash your hands of everything. How can you live with yourself?"

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, spitting all over Wang Defa's face:

"Let me tell you, you think we can save you with our lives? No way!"

"If we're going to die, we should all die together! Why should you live while we have to? That's not fair!"

"Yes! That's unfair!" Wang Feixiang shouted as well.

Those clansmen who had no way out all surrounded him, their faces contorted with rage, their necks red as they roared, trapping Wang Defa and those clansmen who wanted to protect themselves in the middle.