The young clan leader of the Ning family summoned Ning Ze once more, inquiring about the progress of contacting the Mysterious Puppet Master.
Ning Ze, steeling himself, delivered his report.
Bang!
Young Clan Leader Ning Xiaoren, enraged, grabbed the inkstone on his desk and flung it violently.
The inkstone struck Ning Ze’s forehead, immediately drawing blood.
Ning Ze dared not wipe it off, his knees buckled, and he fell to the ground, wailing, "Young Clan Leader, it truly isn’t that I, Ning Ze, didn’t try my best. I truly gave it my all, but that Mysterious Puppet Master is completely unreceptive!"
“My abilities are truly lacking; I genuinely can’t accomplish such a task.”
“You think too highly of me, Young Clan Leader. You severely overestimate me. I lack the confidence and ability to complete such a mission.”
Ning Ze didn’t dare to mention the matter involving Huang Family's Three Ghosts; that was all his own doing.
He had long wanted to throw off this burden of a task. Now that things had reached an utter deadlock, he simply decided to admit his inadequacy openly—this task was beyond him!
“You... you...!” The Young Clan Leader trembled with anger, momentarily speechless at Ning Ze’s brazen evasion.
Leaning back in his chair, he took a long, calming breath, then finally waved dismissively, “Such a simple task, and you can’t even handle it! Very well, I’ll assign it to someone else. Get out! Just looking at you gives me a headache, you useless fool.”
Ning Ze hastily took his leave but was stopped at the door by the Young Clan Leader calling him back.
“Wait!”
Ning Ze’s heart sank as he turned back to bow, “Young Clan Leader, what are your orders?”
The Young Clan Leader softened his tone, “I reviewed the list for this major examination, and Ning Zhuo is on it as well.”
“He ranked 31st this time. As his uncle, do you have anything to say?”
Ning Ze forced a bitter smile, “About Little Zhuo, I too am deeply troubled, Young Clan Leader.”
“The child has grown, thinks he’s self-sufficient now. He argued with my wife and me yesterday after the exam.”
“Sigh, maybe it’s because he lost both parents young, and we haven’t done enough, causing him to be stubborn and solitary. He’s quite unyielding, refusing to take shortcuts or allow us to pull any strings, as it would ‘shame’ him.”
The Young Clan Leader’s gaze sharpened, “Oh?”
“You know well, Ning Ze: Ning Zhuo’s father, Ning Zhong—your own younger brother—was my savior. I promised his parents that I would take good care of Ning Zhuo and support his cultivation.”
“The child doesn’t understand, but don’t you?”
Ning Ze quickly bowed, “Young Clan Leader, I understand your meaning. I’ll return home and urge Ning Zhuo to change his mind.”
“Good!” The Young Clan Leader gave a final ultimatum, “If you fail to handle this trivial matter, you’ll no longer be qualified to hold any purchasing manager position!”
Ning Ze felt as though a heavy stone weighed on his heart. Face darkened, he returned home.
His wife, Wang Lan, gasped upon seeing him, “Husband, what happened to you?”
“Naturally, it was the Young Clan Leader’s doing,” Ning Ze sighed.
His wife spat angrily, “That Ning Xiaoren! If he’s so capable, why doesn’t he recruit the Mysterious Puppet Master himself? Ordering subordinates around—what a display of authority.”
As she complained, she gently applied medicine to Ning Ze’s forehead wound.
The sting of the wound made Ning Ze’s mouth twitch. He snorted coldly, “At least... I finally took the chance to toss away that hot potato.”
“But Ning Xiaoren still gave me another task—to handle the mess with Ning Zhuo.”
Ning Ze briefly explained the situation.
Upon hearing it, his wife’s eyebrows shot up like a ruffled cat’s, “What? We’re really supposed to spend money, pull strings, and find him a position in the family business?”
“No, I don’t agree!”
“How much will that cost?”
“We’ve raised him all these years; it wasn’t easy. Now we have to pay more?”
Her husband sighed, “His time in the academy isn’t much of a cost—only some living expenses. It’s negligible.”
“Besides, his mother left a sum of money before she passed.”
His wife exclaimed, “Are you out of your mind? That money is ours!”
“When Ning Zhuo’s mother lay dying, she held my hand and entrusted me with that money.”
“You were there, as were several elders of the clan.”
“Ning Zhuo’s mother made it clear; that money wasn’t for Ning Zhuo’s upbringing. It was a gift to us!”
“That money should rightfully be ours, to use however we see fit.”
Her husband sneered, “Exactly why we shouldn’t neglect Little Zhuo.”
“I am, after all, his uncle, and he did rank 31st this time. It wouldn’t look good if I didn’t make arrangements.”
His wife, gritting her teeth and raising her brows, adamantly opposed, “Fork over such a large sum? You might as well kill me.”
“That ungrateful little brat, and that greedy Ning Xiaoren, both deserve to rot!”
She turned to her husband and snapped, “Can’t you see? Ning Xiaoren deliberately assigned this to you, hoping you’d bribe him, go through his connections to place Ning Zhuo in the family business.”
“Do you really not understand his motives?”
“He’s petty, heartless, and fickle. Whatever he promised yesterday, he might conveniently ‘forget’ tomorrow.”
“In the past, we thought this relationship would make things easier. Yet, whenever we asked for his help, he either dodged or demanded payment.”
“To get you the purchasing manager role, we sought help from the Young Clan Leader. He charged us three times what others paid!”
“Now, he’s using Ning Zhuo as an excuse to swindle us again.”
“Ha! If he truly felt indebted, why hasn’t he shown any concern for Ning Zhuo over these past ten years? If he truly wished to repay his debt, he’d directly arrange for Little Zhuo to enter the family business. After all, he is the Young Clan Leader.”
“Hypocrite! Such sheer hypocrisy!”
Her husband sighed deeply, “Do you think I don’t know? He made it clear: if I don’t take this opportunity to curry favor and bribe him, he’ll strip me of my manager position!”
His wife was incredulous, “Husband, are you just going to submit? Let him extort our family?”
“You have a son to consider.”
“Ji’er needs resources for his cultivation, yet we can barely provide anything. Even pastries from the Golden Feast Hall are beyond reach.”
Her husband’s face darkened, and he scolded, “Rubbish!”
“Golden silk jade dew cake is not something even the chief steward can snack on casually.”
“Don’t worry; let me think this over carefully.”
Ning Ze was filled with resistance to spending money to pull strings and secure Ning Zhuo’s position in the family business.
Unlike his wife, Wang Lan, who only cared about the expense, Ning Ze’s primary concern was his own dignity.
Ning Zhuo had argued fiercely with him and his wife, being extraordinarily stubborn. Now, Ning Ze was supposed to scramble to secure him a good future—what sort of elder would that make him?
It would feel more like being a servant.