Pawning lifespan, starting from a low-level martial arts world to transform into a dragon.

Chapter 85: Another Invitation to Zhou Yun'e, a Warm Welcome (Seeking First Subscription)

The next morning, Chen Ye arrived at Zhou's Medical Clinic on time.

The clinic owner had clearly received Zhou Yun'e's instructions. Upon seeing him enter, he personally bowed and led him upstairs to the second floor.

It's still the same clinic facing the street.

However, unlike last time, tea and refreshments had already been prepared in the room and placed on the table, indicating that preparations had been made in secret.

Chen Ye sat in his previous seat, closed his eyes, and waited patiently.

After a while, familiar footsteps came from the stairwell, getting closer and closer.

The door opened, and Zhou Yun'e, whom we hadn't seen for a long time, walked in wearing a veil.

After entering the room, she closed the door behind her, removed her veil, and revealed her delicately made-up face.

Today she wore a dark blue long dress, with slender shoulders and a graceful waist. Her figure was tall and voluptuous, like a ripe peach, and you could not tell that she had given birth.

Compared to the last time we met, the trace of her former haggardness had faded considerably, and she had gained a more composed air about her.

Chen Ye rose and greeted her: "It's been a few days since I last saw you, Madam. You look much better than before."

Zhou Yun'e sat in the main seat with a smile on her lips. Without exchanging pleasantries, she went straight to the point and said, "I have made progress on the matter you asked me to investigate."

Chen Ye's expression turned serious, and he sat up straight, saying, "Please explain in detail, Madam."

"Let's start with the First Madam. I had someone carefully examine the recent flow of her money and discovered that she had secretly acquired several private properties outside, including shops, estates, calligraphy and paintings, antiques, and savings. The shops and estates are registered under the name of a distant relative of the Lu family, while the calligraphy and paintings, antiques, and savings are hidden in other secret locations."

Zhou Yun'e rested her arm on the long table and leaned her body towards Chen Ye.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chen Ye caught a glimpse of her fair wrist peeking out from her slipped sleeve, and could smell the faint scent of rouge emanating from her. He couldn't help but find it amusing.

He pretended not to notice Zhou Yun'e's little scheme and sat up straight, asking, "Where did all this silver come from?"

"It all came from the Feng family's accounts," Zhou Yun'e said softly. "On the surface, it was for the manor's purchasing expenses, but in reality, it changed hands several times before ending up in her personal pocket. Feng Bainian knew nothing about it."

Chen Ye nodded slightly.

This coincided with his guess.

The eldest son's family could not have been able to run rampant in the mansion for so many years without relying solely on the official allowances.

However, it is puzzling that these private assets were placed in the hands of the Lu family.

"As the matriarch of the Feng family, why would the First Madam, who has managed the household for so many years, entangle her private property with the Lu family?"

Zhou Yun'e was also puzzled and asked doubtfully, "It is indeed strange. Although the Lu family is one of the thirteen prefectures in the capital, the Feng family's social standing shouldn't be so obsequious. Besides, the Lu family might not even be interested in this little bit of property."

"What about the Guo family?" Chen Ye asked in turn.

Zhou Yun'e revealed a playful smile and said, "This eldest young mistress is even more interesting, even more despicable than I thought. She doesn't have the ability to manage the family's businesses like the first madam, but she has secretly embezzled quite a bit. Using the name of the eldest young mistress, she has secretly taken shares in several businesses and receives dividends every year."

"She didn't keep a single penny of the money she had saved over the years; she gave it all to her family."

After listening, Chen Ye chuckled softly, "What a fool."

"He really is a fool." Zhou Yun'e covered her mouth with her sleeve and laughed along. "That's precisely why I feel more confident about our affair. So, what are your plans next?"

After speaking, Zhou Yun'e said no more, but sat up straight, picked up her teacup, took a sip, and quietly waited for Chen Ye's response.

Chen Ye went through the two pieces of intelligence that Zhou Yun'e had found in his mind, and after a moment's thought, he said, "Madam, now that we have figured out their background, I have an idea."

Zhou Yun'e put down her teacup and looked at his face: "Go on."

Chen Ye said, "Guo is greedy, short-sighted, and impulsive. Her biggest hope now is that the eldest son, Feng Rong, can be released from confinement and regain his right to inherit the family headship."

"If she still holds onto this idea, she will never take the risk and reveal any weakness to us. Therefore, we must put an end to this idea and make her believe that Feng Rong will never be able to get out again."

Zhou Yun'e's eyes lit up, thinking Chen Ye's words made a lot of sense, but then she thought again and asked suspiciously, "Now there are rumors in the clan that Feng Bainian is trying to let things slide, so the Guo family probably won't believe the rumors we've spread, right?"

"That would be best if Feng Bainian said it himself. If one person says it, she won't believe it, so two or three people tell her at the same time that Feng Bainian intends to choose another successor. Then, with so many voices, she won't be able to disbelieve it."

Zhou Yun'e seemed to be deep in thought, then smiled serenely.

"If we could really convince her that Feng Bainian intends to choose another heir, she definitely wouldn't sit still. Although she is the eldest daughter-in-law of the eldest son's family, she comes from a humble background and has little influence in the household. If Feng Rong loses his hope of succession, she and her child will probably have a harder time in the household than I do."

"That makes sense," Chen Ye said calmly. "People are prone to making mistakes when they're anxious. Especially someone like her who's greedy and lacks shrewdness, once she feels her support is about to crumble, her first thought will definitely be to secure a way out for herself."

Zhou Yun'e nodded gently: "She's already secretly saving money, but it's not going to amount to much yet. If you push her any further, she'll only try harder to amass wealth for herself."

"So, we need to give her another way out," Chen Ye said with a slight smile. "Let her know that Madam Guan has a lot of private property outside, some of which is registered under the names of distant relatives of the Lu family, and some of which she can directly take for herself."

A flash of understanding crossed Zhou Yun'e's eyes as she realized Chen Ye's thoughts: "Given her personality, if she gets this news, she'll definitely have ulterior motives. If she can get her hands on the First Madam's private property, it will be enough for her to live on even if Feng Rong loses power in the future. Besides, as long as she does it discreetly, the First Madam will probably have to suffer in silence and won't dare to bring this matter up."

Chen Ye added, "At that time, her alliance with the First Madam will collapse on its own. The two women will start biting each other, and we might even get to see a good show."

After listening quietly, a smile gradually appeared on Zhou Yun'e's lips: "Your scheme is quite ruthless."

"A gentleman is not one who hates petty people, and a true man is not one who is ruthless." Chen Ye said calmly, "Since they want to kill me, how can I let them get away with it? In this game, we either don't play it at all, or we play it to the bitter end."

Chen Ye did not say that he had no intention of letting either of them go.

He cannot rest easy until they are dead.

Zhou Yun'e was silent for a moment, then looked up at him: "How can I cooperate with you on this matter?"

"Madam only needs to do two things," Chen Ye said, holding up two fingers. "First, find a reliable person and tell them to incite a few elders who are dissatisfied with Feng Bainian, to create momentum, so that at least the Guo family will think that the mansion is really going to reconsider the successor."

Secondly, let her know that the First Madam has considerable private property outside the home, worth a lot of money. You need to follow this lead and dig deeper, ideally getting this property right to Guo's doorstep.

Zhou Yun'e pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded: "Neither of these matters is difficult. I have a few people who can move around in the inner quarters, so they can be handled without attracting attention."

Chen Ye said, "We'll plan our next step after the Guo family makes a move."

Zhou Yun'e picked up her teacup, her gaze scrutinizing Chen Ye, and said meaningfully, "Won't you use your scheming against me someday?"

"My wife and I are allies; we share both glory and loss."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye chuckled and placed his hand on Zhou Yun'e's soft hand, gently stroking it to comfort her: "I would never scheme against Madam."

Zhou Yun'e showed no intention of dodging.

She stared at him for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "If you finish what you need to do in the Madam's room first, then you can come and sit in my courtyard."

As if he understood, Chen Ye smiled and said, "I hope you won't mind the trouble when the time comes, Madam."

Zhou Yun'e rose and gave a slight curtsy, the hem of her dress trembling slightly with the movement, and said, "When the time comes, I will certainly welcome you with open arms."

Seeing that the two had finished their discussion, she did not linger any longer. She stood up, picked up her veil, put it on to cover her face, and pushed open the door to go out.

The footsteps faded away along the stairs and soon disappeared completely.

Chen Ye sat alone in the room for a while, and only after he was sure that he had missed Zhou Yun'e did he put down his teacup and stride out of the room.

Before leaving, the clinic owner thoughtfully handed over the packaged medicine.

After leaving the clinic, Chen Ye strolled leisurely through the markets of the capital city before returning to the Cui residence.

In the following days, he kept an eye on Cui Kan's studies while also burying himself in martial arts practice.

Zhou Yun'e was more resourceful than he had anticipated. She quickly won over several disgruntled elders in the Feng family and launched an attack on Feng Bainian, gradually gaining momentum.

Seeing that the time was right, Chen Ye left the Cui residence and headed straight for the area south of the city where the caravans patrolled.

The headquarters of the patrol caravan was located in a chaotic horse market in the south of the city.

Two gang members sat chatting idly in front of a street-facing shop with a faded old sign.

The air was thick with an indescribable stench of horse urine, and horse manure was everywhere on the ground, with no one cleaning it up.

It was completely different from what Chen Ye had imagined the gang's headquarters to be.

The two leisurely gang members at the entrance were somewhat puzzled to see Chen Ye dressed like this in this filthy place, without any henchmen behind him.

Chen Ye ignored what these people thought and said, "I'm looking for your Chief Zuo."

"The gang leader is inside, please follow me, sir." A gang member hurriedly bowed and led him inside.

Upon entering the backyard, Chen Ye saw Zuo Dongxi shirtless, squatting in the yard washing a blood-stained machete.

The ground was covered in sewage and smelled foul, causing even Chen Ye, who was usually indifferent to his surroundings, to frown.

Upon seeing Chen Ye arrive, Zuo Dongxi was taken aback for a moment, then quickly threw the knife into the bucket, hastily pulled on a cloth shirt draped over a bamboo pole, and grinned, "What wind blew Brother Chen to my run-down place?"

As he spoke, he kicked aside the clutter at his feet, chose a slightly cleaner spot to sit, and had someone quickly bring over two long benches.

Chen Ye sat down on the bench without any formalities and said, "There's something I need to trouble you with, Brother Zuo."

Zuo Dongxi dried her hands, sat down next to him, put one foot on the stool, and said, "Go on."

"I need you to go to the Feng family and ask your ex-wife to do something."

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