Pei Tong truly didn’t know what to do.

He had come to interrogate Pei Yan.

Yet it turned out Pei Yan wasn’t wrong—his father had instead become the one at fault.

What standing did he still have to interrogate Pei Yan?

Pei Tong didn’t want to divide the clan.

Although he had grown up in the capital since childhood, he had known very early on that his clan members were in the south, his roots were in Lin’an. If one day he encountered difficulties outside, he could still seek help from his clan members, he could still return to Lin’an.

But Pei Yan was forcing him to make a choice.

He was like someone standing at a crossroads, not knowing which way to go to reach his destination.

Pei Yan could see it clearly now.

This nephew of his simply had no opinions of his own.

When Pei Yan was this age, he had already decided to become a capital official, and moreover to become a great official whose name would be recorded in history. He even had his own plans for what kind of life he would lead in the future, what kind of wife he would marry, and how he would raise his son.

Of course, now he was a hundred and eight thousand miles away from what he had previously imagined, but this didn’t mean he had no plan for his future life.

His Elder Brother’s greatest failure might have been his inability to cultivate in his two sons the ability to live independently!

Otherwise, how could such a grown man still be so confused about east, south, west, and north after being bamboozled by a few words from others!

Pei Yan curled his lips disdainfully, thinking that if this dragged on, there would be no conclusion even by next year. He didn’t mind—when he used to engage in verbal battles with court colleagues, he often went without eating or drinking. His mentor had even joked that he should be made a censor.

But Yu Tang couldn’t do this.

He had noticed that every day after her afternoon nap, she would eat half an apple or pear, and in the afternoon she would occasionally eat two pieces of pastry.

Yu Tang had been accompanying him all afternoon today without a proper opportunity to drink tea or eat pastries.

It was already approaching dinner time—they couldn’t let everyone go hungry because of Pei Tong’s matter, could they?

Pei Yan decided to cut the Gordian knot. He said to Pei Tong, “In that case, when Maternal Uncle from the Yang family arrives, let him help you figure out what to do! Once you’ve discussed it, we’ll invite Lord Gu over to talk. Gu Shi, what do you think?”

The grievances between the Pei and Yang families were a tangled mess—regardless, those who should know and those who shouldn’t know all knew now. Gu Chang was different. Pei Yan didn’t want Gu Chang to know about Pei You providing the Third Imperial Prince with two hundred thousand taels of silver or passing intelligence to the Third Imperial Prince—some matters, the more people who knew, the harder it was to keep them secret. Even if it meant silencing people through death, too many deaths would also be troublesome.

Gu Xi immediately stood up and said, “I’ll remember that!”

She had no choice but to remember!

Walls have ears. No matter how close she was to her elder brother, she wouldn’t dare tell him about this matter that could exterminate nine generations of the Pei family! What if her brother told Yin Shi? The aunt of the Yin family was famously devoted to her maternal family. If the Yin family knew, the Zhang family would know, and the Li family might also know… The Pei family would be in too much danger.

Previously, she had thought about moving out of the Pei family after her husband passed the imperial examinations, both to enjoy life as a couple and to gain some benefits by flying the Pei family descendants’ banner. But looking at it now, Pei Tong was even more foolish than she had imagined—not only believing Yang Grand Master’s words but also being incited to challenge the family elders. If it were her, she would have long ago found a way to obtain the evidence Yang Grand Master mentioned and presented it to the family elders as a pledge of allegiance to gain more benefits and resources.

Perhaps this was her fate!

Li Duan, whom she had admired, lacked backbone, and Pei Tong, whom she had married, was equally weak.

Gu Xi felt like she was standing under a scorching sun—if she couldn’t find a way to locate some shade, no one would care whether she was hot or getting sunburned.

She bit her teeth, her expression respectful, but her hands clenched tightly into fists as she said, “Since I’m a daughter-in-law of the Pei family, naturally I’ll listen to the family elders in everything. As for my brother, I don’t want him to worry about me. Some matters—it’s enough for our own family to know.”

This was a guarantee that she wouldn’t tell Gu Chang.

Pei Tong was stunned, as if only now seeing Gu Xi clearly.

Although she liked to curry favor with the powerful and was skilled at reading the wind, it couldn’t be denied that she was clever and willing to swallow her pride.

Such people usually fared very well in large families.

Not like his mother, who insisted on maintaining her airs and wouldn’t come down from them, even creating an incompatible relationship with Grandmother like fire and water.

Pei Tong lowered his eyelids.

Pei Xuan and Second Madam nodded with relief. Second Madam even said warmly to Gu Xi, “It’s good that you can think this way! No matter how good your maternal family is, it’s still your parents’ and brothers’ home. You’ve married into the Pei family and will bear and raise children in the Pei family—you are your children’s support, and this is your home from now on. As for your brother, you should take care of what needs caring for and provide aid where aid is needed, but you must maintain a proper measure as you’re doing now.” She even sighed, “Previously I thought you were still somewhat immature—it turns out I misjudged you. At life and death moments, you know how to choose. We parents only worry that you won’t live your own lives well. If your mother-in-law were still here and heard you say this, she would be so happy!”

Gu Xi was very surprised.

She had previously thought she was doing quite well, but in Second Madam’s eyes, she was still too “immature.”

Clearly, in her conduct and dealings with others, she hadn’t made people feel she was perfect in every way.

Gu Xi looked toward Yu Tang.

Yu Tang stood beside Pei Yan, her hand still held by Pei Yan. She wanted to return to her seat and sit properly, but Pei Yan looked unwilling to let go. Yu Tang could only helplessly continue letting Pei Yan hold her hand, continuing to stand by his side.

Did she really do that well?

Gu Xi sneered inwardly.

Probably not!

If she were Second Madam, she could pick out a whole pile of Yu Tang’s faults…

As Gu Xi was thinking this, a young servant came in to report that Yang Grand Master and Gu Chang had both arrived and, following Pei Yan’s orders, had been invited to drink tea in the reception hall.

Without thinking, Pei Yan had someone invite Yang Grand Master over: “Explain the situation to Lord Gu and say it’s an urgent matter—we apologize for imposing on him to wait a bit longer.”

The young servant responded and left.

Pei Tong asked nervously, “Really, really dividing the clan?”

Only for matters like dividing family property or dividing the clan would maternal uncles all be invited over.

Pei Yan snorted coldly without responding.

Naturally, the others wouldn’t speak either. As for what they were thinking, no one could control anyone else.

Soon, Yang Grand Master hurried straight in.

Although he tried hard to conceal it, his face still revealed some smugness and satisfaction.

Pei Yan held him in even lower regard.

With Yang Grand Master’s bearing, Pei Tong had actually followed along with his nonsense—he truly didn’t know whether to praise Yang Grand Master as deeply scheming or scold Pei Tong for his incompetence and inability to judge people accurately.

He wasn’t polite. After inviting Yang Grand Master to sit down and waiting for the maids to serve tea and pastries before withdrawing, he got straight to the point about the purpose of inviting Yang Grand Master this time.

The more Yang Grand Master listened, the more his expression collapsed. Finally, looking shocked, he didn’t speak for quite a while.

Even if Pei Tong was foolish, he knew he had botched this matter.

His lips twitched, and he called out “Maternal Uncle” in a voice as small as a mosquito’s buzz, looking pitifully at Yang Grand Master as if wanting him to rescue him from fire and water.

Yang Grand Master saw this and cursed inwardly.

Whether it was the matter of the two hundred thousand taels of silver or the Second Imperial Prince’s assassination, he not only knew about them but was Pei You’s accomplice. He just hadn’t expected that Pei You had been poisoned to death by his own father.

Pei Yan didn’t care about him. He asked coldly, “My father killed my elder brother—do you have any objections?”

When a father wants his son dead, the son cannot refuse to die.

It was just that such confused fathers were rare. As for something like the Pei family’s situation, if word got out, others would only say Old Master Pei was decisive and calmly resolute. If they didn’t pin a “unfilial” hat on Pei You’s head, they could be considered good people who weren’t kicking him while he was down.

Beyond his shock at the cause of Pei You’s death, Yang Grand Master felt more worry.

Logically, no matter which family had such an incident, they should hide it away, yet the Pei family had spilled everything before him like beans from a bamboo tube. What did the Pei family mean by this?

Did they want the Yang family to board the Pei family’s boat too?

The Yang family wanted to form a marriage alliance with the Pei family precisely because they wanted to share honor and disgrace with the Pei family, didn’t they? After the Pei family flatly refused, they suddenly told him this secret that everyone would desperately want to hide as deeply as possible.

What was Pei Yan trying to do?

If he was scheming against the Yang family, what goal was he trying to achieve?

Yang Grand Master went from previously being confident to now being at a complete loss.

He couldn’t help but look toward Pei Xuan.

Wanting to discover something from the expression of this honest man, Pei Xuan.

But to his disappointment, not only was Pei Xuan expressionless, the way he looked at him was full of wariness.

Yang Grand Master smiled bitterly inwardly and could only follow Pei Yan’s words, saying thoughtfully, “You say my brother-in-law’s death is related to Old Master—do you have any evidence?”

Pei Yan had always looked down on the Yang family’s attitude of pretending not to see even when shown a coffin. Now seeing Yang Grand Master using the same old trick again, he was too lazy to beat around the bush with him and said bluntly, “If you’re unwilling to believe it, then just consider that my Elder Brother died of sudden illness. It’s just that your nephew, having listened to your words, suspects I harmed my Elder Brother. Now there are two paths to take. First, you can go accuse me. However, to borrow your phrase, you’d better have evidence—otherwise I’ll counter-accuse Pei Tong of ‘defying his elders.’ Second, if you have no evidence to prove I harmed Elder Brother but can’t get past this hurdle in your hearts, then let Pei Tong divide out and live separately. That is, what I just mentioned—dividing the clan.” After speaking, he glanced at the water clock and said, “I’ll give you one hour to make your decision quickly. Either Pei Tong, you and your maternal uncle go straight out heading west—the Court of Judicial Review’s office is that way. Or ask Yang Grand Master to leave the flower hall heading east to help Pei Tong clearly inventory his property, and I’ll immediately invite someone to preside over the family division.”

When he spoke, his expression was extremely stern and his tone extremely resolute, giving people the feeling that he would do what he said.

In fact, he had always been someone who did what he said, so no one dared take his words lightly.

This moment was especially so.

Pei Yan stood up abruptly, glanced coldly at Pei Tong, and said, “Not one person here is idle, and we can’t just wait around. Pei Tong, you husband and wife can discuss it with your maternal uncle while eating dinner! Second Brother, let’s go receive Lord Gu—we can’t have invited Lord Gu over only to leave him sitting on a cold bench without anyone even hosting him for dinner, can we? A’Tang, you accompany Second Sister-in-law and A’Dan and the others for dinner to prevent any long-tongued servants from frightening the children!”

With both inviting Grand Madam’s maternal family and preventing people from listening and spreading gossip, the household servants would certainly whisper amongst themselves privately.