275: Chapter 275 A Win-Win Situation

"Patriarch." Seeing Qian Ninghe on the main seat, the steward of the Qian estate said respectfully.

Qian Ninghe nodded slightly and replied, "I summoned you here because there is a matter to attend to. This matter concerns the Face of my Qian Clan, so it must be handled properly."

"Patriarch, please speak. This old servant will certainly get it done," the steward of the Qian estate promised.

Qian Ninghe did not answer immediately, but instead handed the intelligence in his hand to the steward, then spoke, "Read the contents on this first, then tell me your opinion."

Taking the intelligence, the steward carefully examined it.

As the steward of the Qian estate and a person close to Qian Ninghe, how could he not understand Qian Ninghe's thoughts?

He glanced at Qian Ninghe and said in a deep voice, "Patriarch, before this old servant expresses his thoughts, may I ask you a question?"

"Speak." Qian Ninghe looked deeply at the steward and spat out a single word.

The steward took a deep breath before speaking his mind, "Patriarch, do you wish to stop the advancement of the yuanhong phase ii pre-sales, or do you wish to directly resolve the Pei Clan?"

"How do these two methods of resolution differ?" Qian Ninghe did not answer, but instead asked in return.

The steward said slowly, "If you only wish to stop the Pei Clan from pushing forward with the yuanhong phase ii pre-sales, then Patriarch only needs to clearly express your stance. I believe the various Great Families of Jinhuai Prefecture would never dare to disregard the Patriarch's Face for such a meager profit. At that time, not only would the yuanhong phase ii pre-sales come to a complete halt, but these Great Families would also claw back their pre-sale funds."

Qian Ninghe only thought for a moment before realizing the feasibility of this method. It was true that Jinhuai Prefecture was divided into two major camps, but that did not mean the Great Families in the Chen Clan and He Clan camps would dare to offend the Qian Clan, unless the Qian Clan bullied them directly.

Of course, this did not mean this method was without counter-measures.

If the Patriarchs of the Chen Clan and He Clan were willing to step in, then his, Qian Ninghe's, Face would naturally be useless.

However, this possibility was almost non-existent.

Qian Ninghe nodded, signaling his agreement, "Continue."

"And if the Patriarch wants to directly resolve the Pei Clan, then we must do the opposite," the steward said.

Qian Ninghe asked, puzzled, "What do you mean by that?"

The steward lowered his head slightly, cold light flashing in his eyes, "As far as this old servant knows, in order to push forward the yuanhong phase ii pre-sales, the Pei Clan set a delivery deadline early on, which is March of next year. If the Pei Clan fails to complete the delivery on time, they will need to compensate the pre-buyers. The longer it is delayed, the higher the compensation. If we can just delay it by one month, this compensation will be enough to plunge the Pei Clan into an irrecoverable situation."

"Therefore, Patriarch, not only must you not stop the Pei Clan, but you must also actively participate in the yuanhong phase ii pre-sales. By then, not only can my Qian Clan resolve the Pei Clan, but we can also use this to intervene in the affairs of Yuanhong Trading Market and bring Yuanhong Trading Market into my Qian Clan's pocket."

Having said this, the steward revealed a chilling smile on his Face.

Qian Ninghe stood up, walked over to the steward, and patted his shoulder, "This plan is excellent. If this plan succeeds, I, the Patriarch, promise to reward you with a divine power transformation potion."

"Thank you, Patriarch, for your great kindness. This old servant will certainly do his utmost to handle this matter well." Hearing about the divine power transformation potion, the steward looked excited and hurriedly bowed in thanks.

For any third-rate Family, a divine power transformation potion was a strategic-level resource, let alone for a house servant like him.

Qian Ninghe instructed, "Do not publicize this matter; just carry it out in secret. Do not let the Chen Clan and He Clan know in advance, lest it disrupt the layout."

"Patriarch, rest assured, this old servant understands," the steward replied.

After the steward left, Qian Ninghe summoned the Family scouts to inquire about intelligence regarding yuanhong phase ii.

After confirming there were no errors, Qian Ninghe's mood improved quite a bit.

In fact, his original plan was to stop the yuanhong phase ii pre-sales.

Using power to suppress others was the most direct and fastest way to achieve his goal.

But this did not mean that using power to suppress others was very appropriate.

This was just like the unspoken rules of a certain circle.

Using power to suppress others was turning an unspoken rule into an explicit one.

For the development of a Great Family, the disadvantages of this far outweighed the advantages.

Firstly, having a bad reputation and making many enemies—if the Family remained strong, it might be fine, but the moment any sign of weakness appeared, it would easily lead to everyone pushing when the wall falls.

Secondly, it was possible to kick a steel plate. Once trapped in such a situation, even if one were killed in the open, the Imperial Court's punishment would not be too severe.

This was like the disputes between Great Families; the Imperial Court did not allow them on the surface, but in reality, it turned a blind eye.

After all.

The Imperial Court was always established by the Imperial Clan to maintain its own rule, not to ensure peace between the Great Families.

Of course, there was another, more violent method, which was to secretly assassinate Pei Qingyun. But unless it was a last resort, Qian Ninghe would not adopt such a method.

In Qian Ninghe's eyes, the Pei Clan was, in the end, just a chess piece in the game between the two major camps.

Firstly, the conflict between the two sides had not reached that point. Secondly, that was almost equivalent to showing one's hand.

The Pei Clan was not worth the Qian Clan taking such a risk.

By comparison, the superiority of participating in the Yuanhong Trading Market plan was obvious.

This would not only strengthen the Qian Clan but also eliminate the Pei Clan, this chess piece, achieving the best of both worlds.

...

Half a month passed in a flash, and the time arrived at the end of the month.

The yuanhong phase ii pre-sales work had also completely ended, and all the shops were sold out; this was much smoother than Pei Qingyun had imagined.

This also made him somewhat surprised.

Based on Third Elder Chen Zexi's reaction and the situation with Yuanhong Phase I, he did not think the Qian Clan would just let it go.

He had long been prepared for the Qian Clan to intervene.

Yet half a month passed, and the Qian Clan had made no moves. This allowed him to not only complete his layout but also do so several days ahead of schedule.

But this did not make him let his guard down.

Everything was proceeding according to plan.

The people had been invited, and he could not turn back.

Several days earlier, Pei Dinglong and Pei Dingming had already arrived in Wuyang City.

Due to the secretive nature of this trip, Pei Qingyun did not specifically have anyone host them to display their status.

After meeting, Pei Qingyun had the two of them separately settled in Yuanhong Trading Market and Jinhuai Prefecture City.

The arrival of the two Grandmasters, apart from ensuring the progress of the yuanhong phase ii work, was more for the safety of the clansmen.

After all, no matter how strong he alone was, he still lacked the ability to use a Clone to be everywhere at once.

If the Qian Clan were to make a move against the Pei Clan, the Pei Clan would inevitably suffer heavy casualties.

Every clansman was related to the family luck.

Normal casualties actually did not have much impact on the family luck.

Pei Qingyun had long discovered this through the attribute panel.

The Pei clansmen were not all children of Luck.

Over these few years, there had naturally been casualties among the Pei clansmen; some died of illness, others died in accidents.

As for the guards, scouts, and secret guards associated with the Pei Clan, that went without saying.

However.

The family luck had never shown a decline; it was just that the rate of growth varied.

But if many people died, Pei Qingyun did not believe the family luck could remain stable and not decline.

Compared to a little expenditure of money, what he cared more about was the lives of his clansmen.

In addition, he could also use this method of borrowing people to foster the relationship between the two families.

Interests were the foundation, true, but fostering relationships was also necessary.

Interacting, interacting—there must be giving and taking.

In the eyes of outsiders, this might be suspected of clinging to someone more powerful.

Pei Qingyun never denied this point.