son, don't mess around

At midnight, the darkness enveloped Linjiang City, but the Chen Mansion located in the central area of ​​the north of the city was still brightly lit.

These days, the Chen family has been keeping a very low profile, almost never seeing visitors. Outside the Chen residence, it was even more deserted, with no one to be seen.

But even so, the people in Linjiang City still criticized the Chen family and were furious. If it weren't for the Chen family's reputation, they would have been visited by the angry people long ago.

What people say is scary, let alone the Chen family, which has now fallen into the sewer and is hated by everyone?

Even if the Chen family still has its heritage as an aristocratic family, how can they resist the growing public sentiment and the people who have long harbored resentment against them over the years?
It was already late at night, and this most prosperous city in the south was gradually falling into darkness and silence.

But the Chen Mansion is still shrouded in a shadow.

Chen Hongsheng sat in the study, looking at the letters on the table, his brows furrowed and his face solemn.

It's even a bit ugly!
Today, he is facing internal and external troubles.

The public pressure from the people of Linjiang City was extremely unfavorable to his Chen family. He underestimated the influence of those unruly people.

As the head of the Chen family, Chen Hongsheng never took those unruly people seriously. As a large family with a history of dozens or hundreds of years, it has long been out of the ordinary class, and ordinary people are nothing more than ants in his eyes.

But now, these low-level ants have caused considerable impact on his Chen family.

As the matter fermented these days, the Chen family's business suffered a big blow. In addition, the matter was getting bigger and bigger, and the news had already spread, even to the capital.

This had a very bad influence on his Chen family, and also gave the Chen family's hostile families a lot of leverage over it.

The Chen family can have such an influence in Linjiang City, and the power behind it cannot be underestimated. But at the same time, the Chen family has made many enemies over the years. If public opinion is allowed to continue to develop, his Chen family will sooner or later have big problems.

Under such circumstances, even the Chen family began to attack him!
Although Chen Hongsheng is the head of the Chen family, he cannot fully represent the Chen family. The interests of the entire Chen family cannot be decided by him alone.

Under such circumstances, the elders in the clan finally could not sit still and stood up one after another.

Their purpose was very clear. They did not want public opinion to continue to ferment and expand, and they did not want the Chen family to turn against the Lin Wang Mansion now.

They hoped that Chen Hongsheng would negotiate with the Lin Wang Mansion for the sake of the family's interests and try his best to handle the matter well.

Thinking of this, a hint of coldness flashed across Chen Hongsheng's face.

These old guys are short-sighted and only care about their immediate interests. They were the ones who initially determined that the Lin Wang Mansion was in danger and blatantly colluded with the court. Now that things have gotten out of hand, they are the ones who dare not offend the Lin Wang Mansion and are the ones who are scared again.

A bunch of timid old guys, why don't they just enjoy their retirement peacefully, now they come out to make decisions. Although they didn't say it explicitly, their words were full of hints and threats... If Chen Hongsheng couldn't handle this matter well, they could also find someone else to handle it!

The purpose is to take his position as the head of the family!

Chen Hongsheng knew very well that these people were still eyeing his position.

Thinking of this, Chen Hongsheng showed a sneer on his face.

They have no idea what the real purpose of the Prince Lin's Mansion is!
Do they really think that if they let Chen Hongsheng give up Chen Junru and ask for peace and surrender to the Lin Wang Mansion, the Lin Wang Mansion will let the Chen family go, protect the Chen family, and let them sleep peacefully again?
How simple is it!
The purpose of the Lin Wang Mansion from the beginning to the end was his Chen family. The attitude of the Lin Wang Prince had never changed from the beginning to the end... He came for the Chen family.

To be precise, it should be aimed at the aristocratic families like them!

And the Chen family happened to be the first to stand out!

Thinking of this, Chen Hongsheng's face became more gloomy. Under such internal and external troubles, all the pressure fell on him, the head of the family.

How could he not know?

With the strength of the Chen family, it is impossible to compete with the Lin Wang Mansion. The only thing the Chen family can rely on is the influence of the family and... the deterrence from the court.

But, these are too illusory!

If the Linwang Mansion really attacked his Chen family, the Chen family would have no power to resist. The entire Linjiang City was under the control of the Linwang Mansion, how could their family turn things around?

The reason why Prince Lin's Mansion has been slow to act is simply because it has not yet found any evidence against the Chen family and is wary of the influence of other families.

Although the Prince of Lin acted rashly, he was very clear about this point and did not act recklessly.

No matter what, he has to be wary of the influence of the family.

Therefore, at least for now, the Chen family is safe.

But the current dilemma facing the Chen family still exists.

The imperial court wanted to reduce the power of the feudal lords, but it had not yet taken action. After the new emperor ascended the throne, he was busy dealing with internal affairs and had no time to deal with this matter for the time being. On the other hand... there had been no news about the Prince Lin for a long time!

Chen Hongsheng narrowed his eyes slightly, this was his only chance!
He was betting that Prince Lin was in serious health condition, or even...was dying!
Or maybe, that Prince Lin had already been assassinated not long ago...

If this is true, the difficulties facing the Chen family will be easily solved.

While thinking, Chen Hongsheng looked out the window and saw that it was already dark.

He slowly stood up, opened the study door and walked into the courtyard. The moonlight fell on the courtyard, and the summer evening breeze was a little hot.

Chen Hongsheng stood in the courtyard, but he still felt a little uneasy. This was an instinctive premonition that was hard to describe.

But this made Chen Hongsheng extremely alert. He called the servants and asked about the security situation of the mansion. After confirming that there was no problem with the security of the mansion, he was relieved.

Ever since the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly God Cult broke into the Chen Mansion and almost threatened his life not long ago, Chen Hongsheng has been very wary of this. He redeployed the Chen family's guard forces and mobilized a large number of experts to be deployed inside and outside the Chen Mansion to protect his safety.

Thinking of the Tianshen Sect, Chen Hongsheng's face darkened again.

Last time he guessed that there was a conflict within the Tianshen Sect, this was almost certain.

Chen Hongsheng sent people to try to contact the Tianshen Sect, hoping to take the opportunity to win over this group of forces, but received no response.

Under the capture of Lin Wangfu, the Tianshen Sect has suffered heavy losses recently and its whereabouts have become more secretive. At the same time, the Tianshen Sect also put the blame on the Chen family.

In fact, many of the Chen family's children have been threatened these days! This has made many people in the Chen family feel terrified and uneasy.

A small cult organization actually dared to threaten their aristocratic family. Obviously, this has violated the bottom line of many people.

However, Chen Hongsheng was still afraid of the mysterious leader and the saint whose martial arts were equally unfathomable. In addition, the Chen family was in a precarious situation and did not have much energy to tangle with the Tianshen Sect.

In the courtyard, Chen Hongsheng still felt a little uneasy, as if he had anticipated that something big was about to happen. The depressing atmosphere weighed heavily on his heart.

Why does it feel this way?
Could it be that something happened to Junru?
Thinking of this, Chen Hongsheng's eyes suddenly focused.

He had already sent someone to secretly escort Junru out of Linjiang City, and everything was ready. If nothing unexpected happened, Junru should have already left the city and headed north along the path.

Could it be that something unexpected happened?
Thinking of this, Chen Hongsheng's eyes condensed and he called the servant again. But before he could ask, something unexpected happened in the mansion.

A burst of hurried footsteps sounded, and a servant ran in from outside the courtyard, his face terrified, and he stammered, "Master, no, it's not good..."

"I, our house is, is surrounded!"

"what?!"

Hearing this, Chen Hongsheng's pupils suddenly shrank. Surrounded? !
He suddenly raised his head and looked outside the yard, and soon realized that the place outside the mansion not far away, which should have been pitch dark, was now brightly lit by fire.

"Who dares to surround my Chen family?!"

Chen Hongsheng's voice was low and a little angry.

"Yes, it's the people from Prince Lin's Mansion..." The servant's face turned pale, knowing that something was wrong, and he spoke tremblingly: "Prince Lin's Mansion has surrounded us... They want to see you, Master!"

"Someone from Lin Wangfu?!"

Chen Hongsheng's face suddenly became extremely gloomy, and there was a hint of astonishment in his eyes.

In the middle of the night, people from Prince Lin’s Mansion surrounded Chen’s Mansion?

What is the purpose? !

At this moment, the uneasy premonition in Chen Hongsheng's heart almost reached its peak.

It turns out that this is the problem!

Is the Lin Wang Mansion finally going to take action against his Chen family? !

Even Chen Hongsheng, who was as steady as a rock, couldn't help but feel a little confused at this moment.

However, he did not panic, and quickly calmed down. He glanced outside the courtyard and asked in a deep voice, "Prince Lin is here too?!"

The servant's face turned pale and he shook his head, "No, no, I didn't see Prince Lin. The one who came was the commander of the guards around Prince Lin..."

Hearing this, Chen Hongsheng narrowed his eyes slightly, put his hands behind his back, and said expressionlessly: "Let's go and take a look!"

……

Outside the Chen residence, the atmosphere was tense.

It was dark at night, but soldiers were already standing outside the gate of Chen's mansion, glaring at them covetously.

The lights were on, and torches illuminated the entire gate of the Chen Mansion. Dozens of Chen Mansion guards gathered outside the gate. At this moment, their faces changed drastically, and they were terrified and uneasy, staring ahead vigilantly.

And just as darkness shrouded them, countless densely packed figures appeared in their sight. In the pitch-black night, countless fully armed guards in black armor appeared in their sight.

To be precise, they should be called soldiers!

Compared to the expert guards recruited by Chen Mansion, the guards in black armor of Lin Wang Mansion were obviously more disciplined. Their eyes were firm and indifferent, and their momentum was like a rainbow, like soldiers who had fought on the battlefield, with an invisible killing intent in their bodies.

Make a decision!

These densely packed black-armored formations surrounded the gate of Chen's residence, making it impossible to get in or out. The murderous aura filled the sky and earth, and the atmosphere on the field became extremely tense.

How could these guards outside the Chen Mansion have ever seen such a scene?
At this moment, his face changed drastically and he felt horrified!
These martial arts masters seemed so insignificant in front of such well-disciplined and murderous soldiers!
Just when the atmosphere was tense to the extreme, the door of Chen's house finally opened slowly. Chen Hongsheng stepped out of the door and looked outside.

When he saw the densely packed, murderous figures in front of him, his heart suddenly sank.

The person is not good!
Lin Wangfu, what do you want to do? !

His expression remained unchanged, his eyes fixed on the figure in black tights who was at the front of these black-armored guards.

The other party was also staring at him, his eyes were piercing, sharp and aggressive!
"Commander Lin, why are you bringing so many people to my Chen family in the middle of the night?!"

Chen Hongsheng spoke in a low voice.

Lin Qingqing took a step forward, stared at him, and shouted loudly: "By order of His Highness, I invite Master Chen to go to the palace for investigation!"

"Under investigation?!"

Chen Hongsheng's face was gloomy, and he stared at Lin Qingqing coldly: "I don't know what crime I have committed that requires your Highness to come to my Chen family to arrest someone in the middle of the night?!"

"Isn't it clear in Master Chen's mind?"

Lin Qingqing placed one hand on the long sword at her waist and looked up at Chen Hongsheng and the two guards with impressive auras standing beside him.

Chen Hongsheng stared at her: "I really don't understand. You came here in the night and put on such a show. You must give me a reasonable explanation?!"

As he spoke, Chen Hongsheng's tone sank: "Although my Chen family is not as good as the Lin Wang Mansion, it is definitely not an existence that can be bullied casually... Aren't you afraid of arousing public anger by your actions, my prince?"

I have to say that Chen Hongsheng is indeed not a simple person.

As soon as he said this, his aura was obviously much stronger than Lin Qingqing's. For a moment, he suppressed her aura a lot.

But Lin Qingqing was not afraid at all. She knew very well the purpose of His Highness. He came here tonight to target Chen Hongsheng.

"Master Chen, do you really want me to say it in public?"

Lin Qingqing raised her head slightly and stared at Chen Hongsheng with a sneer on her face.

Chen Hongsheng stared at Lin Qingqing's confident expression and felt increasingly uneasy.

What does she know?
So confident?

"Master Chen, do you really think you have done it perfectly?"

Lin Qingqing sneered: "Do you really think that you can get away with it by blaming the Heavenly God Cult?"

"Master Chen, do you think that I can't find out about it in the Prince's Mansion?"

After hearing this, Chen Hongsheng's expression suddenly changed, and he stared at her intently: "Where is Junru?"

"What did you do to him?!"

How could Chen Hongsheng not realize what was happening at this moment? !

Junru, something happened again!
"Master Chen must know best how he is, right?!"

Lin Qingqing sneered: "I came here today on the orders of His Highness to ask Mr. Chen to go to the Linwang Mansion. Please cooperate with me, Your Highness, and don't make things difficult for me!"

She said please in her tone, but there was no hint of politeness.

silence!

The surroundings fell into an eerie silence, but the atmosphere was still tense!
Chen Hongsheng stared at Lin Qingqing, his expression constantly changing. Cold, fierce, murderous... at this moment, it was reflected vividly on his face.

long silence.

"Good, good, good!"

Chen Hongsheng shouted "good" three times in a row, his face stern: "I still underestimated your highness!"

"What do you think, Master Chen?"

Lin Qingqing ignored Chen Hongsheng's reaction. She came here tonight to take Chen Hongsheng back.

As for how to bring it back?
His Highness did not say it explicitly, but Lin Qingqing already understood what he meant.

Chen Hongsheng glanced at the guards from the palace who were surrounding the Chen Mansion tightly. He knew in his heart that they were here with ill intentions and full of murderous intent!

He might have to go to the Prince Lin's Palace tonight!

...(End of chapter)