But whatever the case, it was a good thing; whatever the other party's purpose, Old Master Chen gladly gave his consent, and in the years that followed, the Chen family did indeed secure a very solid standing among the aristocratic families thanks to that marriage alliance.

Yet so many years had passed since, and the other side had never made contact again — not even a letter. This left Old Master Chen somewhat disappointed. Had they come to regret it?

But whether they regretted it or not, Old Master Chen did not dare go and demand an accounting from them. After all, the gulf between an aristocratic family and an ancient sect was no small thing — it was the gulf between an ant and an elephant.

Uneasy as he was at heart, Old Master Chen wore the look of a man who held the world in his palm. Whether the ancient sect had contacted the Chen family again, only Old Master Chen himself knew. That others had not seen it did not mean it had not happened; so long as Old Master Chen betrayed no flaw, they could only err on the side of belief.

"Jingjing is right. You were young then, when the Chen family made that alliance, but we of the older generation all know of it. And why has the Yu family head not moved against the Chen family all these years? For that very reason!" Liu Zhenhu spoke up. "The Yu family has its doubts about such things too, but the alliance did truly exist back then, so everyone now errs on the side of belief. If one truly offended an ancient sect — never mind the Yu family, even the hidden Yu family behind them would be no match for an ancient sect!"

Liu Tianyi and Liu Tianli nodded, sighing helplessly. It seemed the Liu family's loss of its aristocratic title was already a foregone conclusion.

"Damn it! If Qiu Lingshan of the Song family had not suddenly broken through to the peak great consummation of the late Yellow rank, the Song family would have been one of those stripped of their title this time. But she broke through — and then married into the Yu family!" Liu Tianli stamped his foot in indignation.

"Jingjing, what did you mean by bringing up Wei Zhao?" Liu Tianyi was steadier than Liu Tianli. Knowing that their earlier ideas were all unworkable, he turned his gaze to his niece.

"Uncle, Father, it is really quite simple." Liu Jinghan smiled faintly. "We should look for the cause at the root of the matter. On what grounds did the Kang family rise to aristocratic rank?"

"Was it not the support of the Wu and Xiao families?" said Liu Tianli.

"Father, the support of the Xiao and Wu families is only the surface of it. If the Kang family itself lacked the capital and the strength to rise to aristocratic rank, then even the Yu family could not have arbitrarily ruled in favor of their promotion, could they?" Liu Jinghan shook her head. "What the Kang family relies on is nothing more than those miracle medicines — wound salve, deluxe wound salve, beauty-and-skin-nourishing wound salve, and the like. But Wei Zhao has all of them! He even has a life-extending detox pill far more potent than theirs! I think that if we could enter into a partnership with Wei Zhao and become his sole agent, then in future we would control the distribution of these miracle medicines! Anyone who wanted to buy them would have to go through the Liu family — and with that, our standing would rise as surely as a boat rises with the tide."

"Hmm... what you say makes sense. But our Liu family may be willing to be Wei Zhao's agent — Wei Zhao may not be willing. Whoever takes on the agency is the one who gets rich; the Yu family wanted it too, and was refused..." Liu Tianli said, somewhat troubled.

"Father, everything has two sides. An agent can make money, and an agent can also make no money! Our Liu family can be an agent that makes no money! We hand over every cent of profit from the agency, keeping nothing back, and bear the operating costs ourselves!" Liu Jinghan said. "Moreover, we will make no decisions in any matter concerning the agency — all authority goes to Wei Zhao!"

A strange light flickered in Liu Tianyi's eyes; he had not expected his niece to hit upon such an idea. In this way the Liu family would become an unpaid laborer, gaining not a shred of power or profit, and having to sink in a great deal of manpower and money besides. On the surface, the Liu family lost heavily; but in truth, what the Liu family gained was a name — and, more than that, an excellent relationship with Wei Zhao. Should trouble come to the Liu family in future, they would have Wei Zhao to turn to.

Liu Zhenhu nodded in approval as well. This granddaughter's ideas were always so unexpected! To position the entire Liu family as Wei Zhao's "underling" — bold, perhaps, but once it succeeded, the returns would be beyond imagining.

Liu Zhenhu had long since seen that Wei Zhao was no ordinary man; and now, having left the Yu and Xiao families with one dead and two wounded, Wei Zhao had displayed his strength all the more.

And the Liu family, at this very moment, was seeking breakthrough and transformation. To define themselves as Wei Zhao's "underling" might well be a good way out! It looked like a lowering of status, perhaps, but was the Yu family anything other than an underling before the hidden Yu family? And take the Xiao family, so pleased with themselves of late — were they not the underlings of the hidden Pi family?

So whether an underling cuts a fine figure depends entirely on the strength of the one at the head. If Wei Zhao was a man who did not even deign to regard the hidden families, then the Liu family would become an aristocratic family standing above even the Yu and Xiao families!

Of course, all of this rested on conjecture and on a gamble. No one knew whether there was a greater power behind Wei Zhao, and no one knew whether Wei Zhao would go further still.

Liu Tianli understood his daughter's words as well, but fell into deep thought. After a long while he said, "Jingjing, that Wei Zhao may look very strong, but he is, after all, the sworn enemy of the Yu family. If our Liu family willingly lowers itself, that amounts to standing on the opposite side from the Yu family. If Wei Zhao can settle the Yu family, well and good — but what if he cannot? I hear his enemy Jin Wudi, to avenge his disciple Ma Zhu, has already applied to the Hidden Family Arbitration Association for permission to leave seclusion and seek Wei Zhao out. He is an Earth-rank expert! A being without equal. I fear that before we have time to rejoice, Wei Zhao will be killed by Jin Wudi!"

"Yes, Jingjing, this is a perilous gambit — succeed or perish! As things stand, the worst our Liu family faces is being pushed out of the ranks of the aristocratic families; we would lose nothing, only the glory we once had. But if we throw in our lot with Divine Physician Lin and it fails, the Liu family will face a joint attack from the Yu family and the other aristocratic families — and then we will be hard put even to preserve the Liu family!" Liu Tianyi voiced his own worries.

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