HCB Chapter 2008 Whoever holds the key to everyone's fate
Chapter 2008 Whoever holds the key to everyone's fate
Shangguan Wuji reached out and touched the words carved on the wall. Each word, filled with hatred and a certain emotion, seemed to be engraved on his heart, a pain he could never forget from those years.
He looked up, surveyed the cellar, and then turned to look at his last child.
All alone, a single daughter.
Looking into the airtight cellar, as if knowing that the other party could no longer escape his grasp, all his vigilance suddenly dissipated as he entered the cellar!
Shangguan Wanqing looked at her father and noticed that something was wrong with the expression on his face.
There is reminiscence, bewilderment, grief, and pity, and much more.
Why does my father have that expression?
She frowned and looked at the wall where he had been standing!
There are words there?
She tilted her head, seemingly lost in thought.
"There are some things you're better off not knowing!" Shangguan Wuji said coldly.
Wanqing's thoughts were interrupted. She deliberately moved her shackles, making them rattle. "Father, are you really afraid that I'll go and inform Li Xiangnan again? In this state, I'm afraid I can't even go to the surface! I can't go anywhere!"
"..." Shangguan Wuji scrutinized his daughter's attitude, noticing the fluctuation in her emotions, and suddenly said triumphantly, "Of course, you can't go anywhere!"
“So, Father,” Shangguan Wanqing deliberately reminded him, “what did you mean just now? If the ledger isn’t a ledger, then what is it?”
"Hehe! It's no harm in telling you!" Shangguan Wuji stopped in his tracks, his voice suddenly becoming excited, as if he possessed inexhaustible power when talking about the account book. "The account book records more than just the Mu family's income and expenditure; it's a book... something that has lived for over a hundred years!"
Has he lived for over a hundred years?
Wanqing didn't understand.
How can the word "alive" be used to describe something?
But she detected an almost reverent solemnity in her father's tone.
“Starting from the Guangxu era, all the shady transactions, alliances, secrets, and accounts among the major families in Beijing were recorded there!”
Shangguan Wuji turned around, the light from the lantern illuminating half of his face, while the other half remained hidden in shadow. "What did each family's ancestors rely on to rise to power? What do they hold against whom? Who secretly allied with whom and betrayed whom... it's all recorded!"
Shangguan Wanqing was shocked!
Therefore, this ledger is indeed extraordinary!
But Shangguan Wuji wasn't finished speaking.
"Is it just an account book? Wanqing, it's the lifeline of the powerful families of Yanjing for the past century, a sword hanging over the heads of every family! Whoever gets it holds the key to everyone's fate!"
"..."
Shangguan Wanqing felt a chill run down her spine upon hearing this.
She finally understood.
Why was Father so fascinated by that ledger? Why was it related to the fire that destroyed the Mu family's house years ago? Why has this search continued for decades?
That was no ordinary ledger.
That's a book... capable of upending the entire power structure of the aristocratic families in Yanjing!
Just as Shangguan Wanqing thought the account book was already so valuable, she suddenly caught a glimpse of her father Shangguan Wuji's face showing a momentary agitation and ferocity.
"Do you think it's only used for recording secrets?"
Shangguan Wanqing was startled again and asked in confusion, "Isn't that right? This ledger has another purpose?"
"Secrets are only its most basic function!"
Wanqing noticed that when her father said this, his expression became one of longing and anticipation, as if the account book, besides being a secret, truly had ninety percent of its functions that made it so coveted by everyone!
She doesn't understand!
Having mastered these secrets and key weaknesses was enough to make the powerful families of Yanjing submit!
Isn't that enough?
This is already an incredible benefit!
"What is that? What use is it?" Wanqing's voice trembled.
"..." Shangguan Wuji chuckled lightly. Two seconds later, the spark had already lit up in front of him, and soon a puff of smoke was blown out by him.
Seeing that her father was avoiding the question, Shangguan Wanqing questioned, "So, that's why you're targeting Li Xiangnan, because he might know the whereabouts of the account books? Or is it simply because he's Mu Huanying's grandson?"
"Li Xiangnan's identity is far more complex than it appears!" Shangguan Wuji warned. "His relationship with the Mu family and with that ledger is much deeper than we imagine! I've told you, you're my daughter, and I don't want you to get too involved! You're only safe if you stay away from all this. If you help him, you're going against the entire Shangguan family and the powerful families of Yanjing. Even if I let you go, others won't! Anyone could go crazy if they didn't get that thing!"
He knelt down in front of his daughter, the light from the lantern shining on his face from below, making his usually dignified face appear sinister and eerie.
“It’s not too late for you to turn back now!” His voice sounded like he was genuinely coaxing an ignorant child. “Tell your father, did you tip us off? Did you tell Li Xiangnan about our plan? What else do you know? Tell me, admit it, and your father won’t hold anything against you! You can continue to be the eldest daughter of the Shangguan family! After all this is over, your father will find you a good marriage and give you a grand wedding!”
Wanqing looked at her father's face, which was so close to hers.
She had been looking at this face for nineteen years.
From the awe-inspiring presence I looked up to as a child, to the distant distance I felt as an adult, and now to the cold indifference I feel looking down upon.
She suddenly smiled, a very soft smile, but in it was a resoluteness that Shangguan Wuji had never seen before.
“Father,” she said, her gaze passing over his shoulder to the wall where he had just stood, “those words, were they left by my older brother and sister?”
Shangguan Wuji was stunned. Caught off guard by his question, his face contorted with shock, and he angrily slapped her across the face.
“You bastard! Have I ever given you any face? Time and time again, you’ve tested my limits! Yes, those are what your older brothers and sisters left behind, evidence of your disobedience! Do you want to end up like them, stuck in this cellar forever?”
"I've never met such a stubborn child! Do you want to be the next one to die in this cellar?"
His voice was utterly cold, devoid of any fatherly affection, as if the daughter before him were merely a stranger, a pawn to be used and discarded at will.
Shangguan Wanqing staggered from the blow and fell into the dry grass on the ground. She propped herself up, her face still burning with pain.
She took a few breaths, her eyes filled with sorrow, and spat out a mouthful of blood onto the ground.
“Father, you are so cruel to your own children, how much more so to me, who is not your own? You already knew the answer, so why do you keep questioning me? You just want me to submit to you so you can control me…”
"Bastard!"
Bang!
Enraged, Shangguan Wuji lunged forward, grabbed Shangguan Wanqing by the neck, and slammed her against the cold wall, roaring, "Who told you all this? Speak!"