Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2614 Atonement for Crimes 77.0
"And what is the reason for that?"

“Yes, so why is that? Logically speaking, your father’s relationship with him is different from yours.” Jin Miaomiao looked at Boss Luan. “Although you think it’s an employer-employee relationship, Master Falian tells your father many things, but not you. Those past events with the Empress Dowager, and some of his own past experiences, are only discussed with your father. Their relationship is more like that of friends who can confide in each other, but with you…” She sighed softly, “it is indeed a manager-employee relationship.”

“That’s right, silencing you was something he did without hesitation, and it’s perfectly reasonable and logical.” Seeing Boss Luan looking at him, Xue Ruitian raised an eyebrow and said, “Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong? As your employee, you were captured by us. To prevent you from saying anything you shouldn’t have, he didn’t hesitate to kill you. But your father and the Liu family head are different. For Master Falian, he watched them grow up. To him, they were more like teachers, friends, and fathers. Even if they knew things you didn’t know, it wouldn’t warrant killing you to silence you, unless…”

“Unless what?” Boss Luan shook his head slightly. “There’s no unless. He’s just too paranoid.” He gave a wry smile and said, “In his mind, there are only two kinds of people under his command: useful and useless. Useful people can live, but useless people don’t need to live. If those useless people gossip everywhere, it’s a big problem for him. So, only the dead can’t talk nonsense, can’t make him worry, and can truly put his mind at ease.” He paused here, looked at everyone, and continued, “Even the Empress Dowager thinks the same way.”

"How to say?"

"When he learned of the Empress Dowager's death and found my father, he was indeed very excited and grief-stricken. For a moment, I felt as if he was about to follow her. But slowly, as he recounted his past with the Empress Dowager, I don't know if it was just my imagination, but he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief from his deep grief."

“If that’s the case,” Shen Cha thought for a moment, looked at Shen Haolin and Xue Ruitian, then at Jin Miaomiao, winked at them, and said, “there might be another possibility.”

“Yes!” Shen Haolin nodded. “They knew Master Falian’s true secret, and in order to prevent this secret from being revealed, they silenced him.”

“And this secret is extremely important, concerning Master Falian’s personal safety. Even though they kept their promise and didn’t tell anyone about it,” Shen Cha said, looking at Boss Luan. “No one, including Boss Luan, Madam Luan, and Patriarch Liu, mentioned it, but Master Falian was still very worried, which is why he killed him.”

“This is probably the biggest one.” Jin Miaomiao nodded. “This secret should be a bit more serious than his Forget-Me-Not Powder.”

"What secret is even more powerful than the Forget-Me-Not Powder?" Hearing their words, Boss Luan was taken aback, gently shook his head, and said, "Is it related to his background?"

"That's most likely the case." Shen Cha thought for a moment. "Have you heard your father say anything about it?"

“No, I’ve never heard my father mention it,” Boss Luan sighed. “After we arrived in Jiangnan, I asked my father why we should listen to a person of unknown origin when we could just listen to the Empress Dowager. Although this person saved me and my brother, and although he has a good relationship with the Empress Dowager, we have no connection with him, so why should we obey him? My father said that Master Falian is an experienced and knowledgeable person, and following him will surely not lead us astray. But I didn’t like to hear that. Yes, Master Falian has made the Qinglian Sect very successful and prosperous, but that has little to do with us. Doing business isn’t about being a charlatan; his methods won’t work here. But no matter how I inquired about Master Falian’s background, my father remained silent, only saying that he was a remarkable person and that our relationship with him would only benefit us.”

"that's it?"

"Yes, that's all. I tried to pester him, but I was punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall all night, and I was never allowed to mention it again." Boss Luan sighed. "From what you're saying, my father and father-in-law knew his background, his true identity, or rather, they knew who he really was, so they were silenced, right?"

"If there's no other reason, then this is the only one."

"So what exactly is his background?" Boss Luan spread his hands, about to speak, when he suddenly coughed violently, almost unable to breathe.

Jin Miaomiao stood up, walked over, gestured for him to open his mouth, and put a pill into his mouth.

"Hold it in your mouth, don't swallow."

Boss Luan instinctively closed his mouth, suppressing the urge to cough, and put the pill in his mouth.

"We don't know the answers to those questions you want to ask either. If you're willing, try to live until the day we catch Master Falian. Then you can ask him in person and get all your questions answered. How about that?"

Boss Luan couldn't speak, but he nodded slightly when he heard Shen Cha's words.

After a while, the intense coughing finally subsided, and Boss Luan breathed a long sigh of relief.

Jin Miaomiao gestured with her chin towards him, indicating that he should extend his hand. She took his pulse and nodded gently.

"It's alright, not too hot." Jin Miaomiao patted both hands and said, "You can add some cough medicine to your medicine. It's not serious, don't worry."

"Alright!" Boss Luan nodded and looked at Shen Cha. "I will definitely try my best to live on, thanks to General's good wishes. I want to ask him why we treated him sincerely, but in return we received a knife that was meant to cut us."

"If you have this spirit, you can survive."

“Yes!” Boss Luan thought for a moment and said, “As for him, I really have nothing more to say. I’ve told you almost everything I know.” He looked at Shen Haolin, Shen Cha, Xue Ruitian and Jin Miaomiao, “Is there anything else you want to ask? If it’s something I know, I won’t hide it from you.”

"This," Jin Miaomiao thought for a moment, "You just mentioned that the Empress Dowager went to the East Palace and took over the East Palace's business, and you also mentioned that Master Falian brought Ciji Hall to Xijing City. Later, you talked about how your family and the Liu family came into contact with the Empress Dowager and Master Falian, but you didn't mention how the two of them developed their relationship."

“It’s not that I didn’t mention it, it’s just that Master Falian and my father didn’t discuss this part. Probably because they knew about what happened afterward. However, they did mention that since the Empress Dowager entered the palace, they would meet every three or six months. The meeting place was the royal temple outside Xijing City, but no one knew the more specific location.”