In the end, Zhuge Qing left with a belly full of doubt and confusion.
He couldn't figure out whether he had overestimated Zhuge Xuan's ambition, or... underestimated his cunning.
That almost perfect, disheartened posture was so real that he couldn't find a single flaw. But the more so, the stronger the unease in his heart became.
He didn't believe that a person who could lay such a shocking killing trap and play the old and cunning Zhuge Ming in the palm of his hand would really be content with mediocrity and remain silent from then on.
There must be a mystery in this that he hadn't seen through.
Watching Zhuge Qing's back as he walked further and further away, finally disappearing around the corner of the courtyard gate, Zhuge Xuan, who had been closing his eyes to rest, slowly opened them.
His eyes, which were originally dim and lusterless, were now as clear as if they had been washed. Where was there half a trace of dejection and despair?
"Young Master, why did you refuse him?" Uncle Quan finally couldn't help but ask the doubt in his heart. "Although the Seventh Elder usually keeps a low profile, he is not without a foundation in the clan. If we can get his help, it should be... for your future actions..."
"It would save a lot of effort, wouldn't it?" Zhuge Xuan took his words, his tone flat.
He picked up the white stone on the stone table that he had been pondering for a long time, and gently placed it on an inconspicuous position on the board.
Pa.
The crisp sound of the stone being placed echoed in the quiet courtyard.
"Uncle Quan, the biggest taboo when playing Go is to be eager for success," he said leisurely, looking at the board. "A seemingly insignificant 'isolated stone,' if it rashly connects with the surrounding stones before the time is right, not only will it fail to strengthen itself, but it will also expose its intentions too early, attracting a frenzied siege from the opponent, and ultimately ending in a complete loss."
Hearing this, Uncle Quan was lost in thought. He cast his gaze upon the board and saw that the white stone the Young Master had just placed was in an extremely subtle position. It was far from the main battlefield in the center, and there were no friendly stones around to support it. It looked lonely, as if it could be eaten by the lurking black stones at any moment.
"The me right now is this 'isolated stone'," Zhuge Xuan's voice carried a calmness that saw through the whole situation. "In everyone's eyes, I am already a cripple with no threat. This protective coloring is my most valuable asset at the moment. For Seventh Uncle to come to my door at this time, it is called an alliance, but in reality, it is a probe."
"He wants to tie this 'isolated stone' of mine to his war chariot. If he wins, he can certainly get a share of the pie; but if he loses, the first one to be pushed out as a scapegoat will inevitably be me, this 'Clan Head's legitimate son' who has no power but is at the center of the storm."
"This is a business that guarantees a win without any risk. He has played his cards well. How can I let him get his way so easily?"
Hearing this, a layer of cold sweat seeped from Uncle Quan's back.
He had only seen the "pros" of allying with the Seventh Elder, but had completely failed to see the "cons" hidden behind it. The Young Master's vision had far surpassed simple power struggles, and he was standing on a higher, more macroscopic level, overlooking the direction of the entire game.
"Then... are we just going to keep waiting like this?" Uncle Quan asked.
"Wait?" Zhuge Xuan smiled. "I never like to wait passively."
He stretched out his finger and gently tapped on the huge blank area on the board that had been vacated due to Zhuge Ming's downfall.
"Uncle Quan, you tell me, if such a large piece of fat meat falls on the ground, how many hungry wolves will it attract?"
Uncle Quan followed his finger and looked, pondering, "The Second and Fourth Elders are in a favorable position, they will surely want to get the biggest piece. The other elders will not be reconciled either. And those branch families... I'm afraid they have long been unable to hold back."
"That's right," Zhuge Xuan nodded. "There are too many hungry wolves and too little fat meat. What will happen?"
"Fighting... killing each other," Uncle Quan's eyes warmed, as if a puzzle piece had finally clicked into place.
"Exactly," a cold arc formed at the corner of Zhuge Xuan's mouth. "They will soon discover that they cannot swallow this piece of fat meat alone with their own strength. So, they will start to... look for allies."
"And what will I, this seemingly harmless cripple who bears the halo of the 'Clan Head's legitimate son,' be in their eyes?"
Uncle Quan's breathing suddenly stopped!
He finally understood! He finally understood why the Young Master had refused Zhuge Qing!
The Young Master... was not waiting passively at all!
He was... waiting for the highest bidder!
He deliberately showed a detached attitude to make everyone lower their guard against him. He refused the first visitor, Zhuge Qing, to send a signal to everyone—I, Zhuge Xuan, have lost my spirit and have no intention of fighting. None of you should bother me.
In this way, when those hungry wolves were fighting to the death for benefits and reached a stalemate, they would involuntarily remember that in the Zhuge Clan, there was such a special existence.
A chess piece with no strength, but with unparalleled "legitimacy" and "symbolic meaning"!
At that time, it would not be him looking for others to form an alliance.
But those people, who would come crying and shouting, with rich bargaining chips, to beg him, to ask him to come out of seclusion, to stand for them, and to become the... source of legitimacy for their struggle for power!
At that time, the initiative would be completely in his hands!
How far-sighted, how insidious this move was!
"Uncle Quan," just as Uncle Quan was still immersed in his immense shock, Zhuge Xuan's voice sounded again.
"Go and do three things for me."
Uncle Quan immediately came to his senses and bowed, "Young Master, please give your instructions."
"First," Zhuge Xuan's voice became low and clear, "withdraw half of the guards in my courtyard. As for the reason... just say that I am a cripple now and no longer need so many people to serve me, and it can also save some expenses for the clan."
Uncle Quan was stunned to hear this, but immediately understood the Young Master's intention. This was to carry "showing weakness" to the end!
"Second," Zhuge Xuan continued, "you personally go to the storehouse and take out all the precious medicinal pills and artifacts that Father has previously bestowed upon me. Then, in my name, send them to Third Grandfather to recuperate. Remember, this matter should be done in a low-key manner, but it must also be 'coincidentally' known to some interested people."
A quick shimmer flickered through Uncle Quan's gaze, there and gone like a struck match.
This move could not only win the hearts of the remaining members of the Third Elder's faction, but also show the Young Master's "benevolence and filial piety" to the outside world. At the same time, it could further corroborate his posture of "having no intention for power, just wanting to be a good person." Killing three birds with one stone, it was brilliant to the extreme!
"As for the third thing..."
For an instant, something bright and unknowable passed through Zhuge Xuan's gaze, gone before anyone could name it.
He took out a seemingly ordinary black jade pendant from his bosom and handed it to Uncle Quan.
"Find an absolutely reliable death warrior we have planted in the Wang family. Have him find a way to 'inadvertently' leave this jade pendant... in the study of the Wang family's Young Master, Wang Teng."
"Remember, it must be done without anyone knowing. Apart from you and him, there must be no third person who knows."
This time, Uncle Quan was completely dumbfounded.
He could understand the deep meaning of the first two things.
But this third thing... what was its purpose?
A jade pendant?
Wang Teng's study?
What effect could these two seemingly unrelated things have when connected?
He looked at the jade pendant in his hand, which was cool to the touch and had no spiritual energy fluctuations, only some simple cloud patterns carved on it, and was completely puzzled.
However, Zhuge Xuan did not give him any explanation.
He just turned his gaze back to the Go board and said softly in an almost dreamlike voice:
"On the chessboard, it's a bit too boring to have only our own people fighting."
"We have to... find an opportunity to drag our opponents into the water as well. It's more lively to play together, isn't it?"