Xuan Kong City.
A manor located in the western part of the city.
The manor was luxuriously decorated and magnificent, exuding an imposing aura of nobility at first glance. This was the ancestral seat of the Elton family. From a humble dwelling in the beginning, as the family grew, they acquired adjacent lands. By the generation of Fuhua Elton, the Elton family had finally reached its current scale.
In terms of wealth, few in the entire Kingdom of Tatu could compare.
However—
Such a prominent clan was now deserted, with no visitors in sight.
“How is it, still no contact with the Patriarch?”
The family ancestral hall.
A man with white hair at the temples gazed intently at the haggard middle-aged man before him. The latter’s wristband still displayed the voice call page, but there was no response for a long time.
“No news,” the haggard middle-aged man said, raising a hand to his forehead and looking at the spirit tablets in the ancestral hall. “I hope the ancestors of the clan can protect the Patriarch’s safety. If anything happens to him, our family will truly collapse.”
“Alas.”
The man with graying temples also sighed deeply.
“Some people within the clan have started showing signs recently, and the atmosphere within our family is quite tense. Fortunately, the soul jade tablets of the Patriarch and the young lady are still intact, which means they are safe for now, but…”
“Pity the young master.”
“Indeed.”
The two influential figures in the clan sighed sadly.
Last year, when Fuhua Elton felt the pressure from the royal family, he decisively commissioned high-priced soul jade tablets for all core members of the clan, to be enshrined alongside their ancestors in the ancestral hall.
The purpose of this was to alert the clan.
If a jade tablet broke, the clan members would be informed. Then, any messages received from those whose jade tablets had broken could be ignored, and preparations could be made for what was to come, so as not to be caught off guard.
Not long ago, the relationship between the royal family and the Elton family became increasingly strained.
Under the deliberation of the various influential figures, Fuhua Elton fled the royal city of the Kingdom of Tatu, and Roni Elton was also included in the escape plan. As long as the two of them were alive, the Elton family would still have hope.
After Fuhua Elton and Roni Elton departed, the task of maintaining the ancestral hall shifted from clan attendants to the influential figures of the clan.
They watched the jade tablets of these two individuals day and night.
After countless nights filled with worry and trepidation, another morning arrived, and they discovered that someone’s jade tablet had shattered.
The shattered tablet belonged to the young master of the clan.
They all knew that this young master, who was almost the same age as Roni, had been by Patriarch Fuhua Elton’s side. The shattering of his jade tablet meant that Fuhua had met with misfortune.
Fortunately, the intact jade tablets brought some relief to the influential figures of the clan.
“Great Elder, what should we do now?”
The man with white hair at his temples frowned deeply. Although he looked old, he was not yet forty years old and was the youngest elder in the entire Elton family, holding the fourth position among the elders. His current state was due to days and nights of worry.
“The Patriarch cannot be contacted, and we cannot just sit here and wait for our doom.”
“While that may be true, how can I make a decision in the current situation?” The Great Elder’s brows were tightly furrowed. “When the Patriarch left, he entrusted the clan’s affairs to us two. The other elders are not privy to this, which means…”
The Great Elder did not elaborate further, as saying it would be too hurtful.
“Clan affairs have always been deliberated in the Elder Council. If we were to usurp authority now and inform them of the Patriarch’s transfer of power, aside from whether they would feel disheartened, the most important thing is whether they would believe us.” The Great Elder murmured with a focused gaze. “Who can guarantee that they won’t suspect that we are trying to seize control of the Elton family during the Patriarch’s absence? Or, if there are indeed some people with ulterior motives among them, and they seize this opportunity to incite unrest, wouldn’t the situation become even more passive? The clan would fall into chaos.”
“The problem is, it’s already chaotic!”
The Fourth Elder, with white hair at his temples, had bloodshot eyes filled with worry.
“Haven’t you seen it? Some people in the clan have already started contacting members of the royal family, especially the leaders among the collateral branches. They have been in frequent contact with royal officials, maintaining a very ambiguous relationship. Last month was the settlement period for the collateral branches, and it has been delayed for a month. Yet, they have not submitted their accounts. When our people went to urge them, they kept making excuses. Do you not find this problematic?”
“I am aware of this…” the Great Elder sighed.
The collateral branches contacting members of the royal family and not submitting their accounts to the main family – their intentions could be easily inferred.
“Although the wavering of the collateral branches will have some impact on our main family, it will not be a fatal blow.”
The Great Elder’s intentions were clear.
He wished to preserve the main family.
While Fuhua Elton was away, he would do his utmost to ensure the safety of the main family. As for the other collateral branches, if they were disloyal and sought to attach themselves to others, he would let them be. At this point, losing a limb was not a major concern.
“Alright, you believe this won’t affect the overall situation, then… what about the Chief Financial Officer?”
Suddenly, the Fourth Elder’s expression grew grim.
“The Chief Financial Officer?”
The Great Elder, standing in the ancestral hall, his face changed dramatically.
“The Chief Financial Officer’s most favored son has just sent people to our clan,” the Fourth Elder said with a ashen face. “The messenger was relatively polite, saying he was ‘inviting’ you to meet him below the city. He used the word ‘invite,’ but judging by the messenger’s demeanor, it’s clear they don’t come with good intentions.”
“Why would he suddenly send someone?”
The Great Elder clenched his fists, his brows knitted together.
“The Chief Financial Officer and we have always been like wells and rivers, never interfering with each other. For his son to suddenly send people now… Could it be that the royal family is truly preparing to strike a death blow to our Elton family? Don’t they care what the common people will think of them?”
“If the royal family wants to move against us, it’s very simple.”
In this regard, the Fourth Elder held a different view, shaking his head with a cold laugh.
“If they truly wanted to move against us, they would simply frame us with a fabricated charge. Who would know the truth or falsehood? I, however, believe that this young man sending people to us is not acting on his father’s or the royal family’s behalf.”
“You mean to say, he simply wants to extort a sum from us.”
“A sum that will make us hurt,”
The Fourth Elder said, clenching his fists tightly.
“Great Elder, be prepared. I fear we are truly going to suffer a severe blow this time. If we endure this bite from him head-on, our Elton family will be stripped to the bone, if not utterly destroyed.”