The command medallion was solid gold, and its surface was carved with lightning bolts.
When they saw it, Gao Yunting and his confidants were visibly astonishing. This medallion was the symbol of the family head!
Carrying it meant that you were the head of the Gao Family! Everyone from the elders to the ordinary clansmen had to obey whoever held this medallion.
Gao Yunting was astonished; his dad had always carried the medallion. Why did Cai Renfei have it?
He was from the Cai Family. He was just a guest; there was absolutely no way his dad would give him the command medallion.
“Where did you get this?” The atmosphere grew tense as he faced Cai Renfei. His confidants sensed the tension in the air and shifted their positions to surround Cai Renfei.
The situation didn’t look optimistic for him. Cai Renfei wasn’t one of their clansmen. Gao Yunting was well within his rights to accuse him of theft and execute him on the spot.
“Young Master Yunting, I already said I came to join your cause.” Cai Renfei smiled calmly but didn’t explain himself. Instead, he carefully put the medallion away. “Do you know why I told you to hold onto that twenty percent of the resources? I actually got that medallion from Gao Ruilong.”
When he heard that, Gao Yunting involuntarily trembled, and his mind buzzed with shock.
He got it from Gao Ruilong? Doesn’t that mean Father chose Gao Ruilong to inherit his position?
“That’s impossible!” Gao Yunting roared, eyes bloodshot. He was the true heir of the Gao Family! His mother was the family head’s lawfully wedded first wife, and from a young age, he’d been raised to become the future head of the family.
His father had spent years paving his way ahead and helping him build up power. He himself had worked hard to become the future head of the family.
However, a few dozen years ago, his mother fell ill and passed away, and his father married and had Gao Ruilong. Since then, the family head’s attitude toward his eldest son had grown ambiguous. They no longer discussed the matter of inheritance. His father had even secretly started building up Gao Ruilong’s forces.
Gao Yunting saw all of this, but said nothing.
However, he was already almost forty years old. He’d waited almost thirty years to inherit his father’s position, but now Cai Renfei was telling him that the family head’s medallion was in Gao Ruilong’s hands?
“That’s impossible, this isn’t possible…..” He seized Cai Renfei by the neck. As Gao Yunting squeezed furiously, Cai Renfei’s face turned purple from lack of oxygen, and his hands relentlessly battered Gao Yunting’s arms.
Bang!
Gao Yunting flung Cai Renfei to the floor, where he lay curled up for a long time before rising to his feet and saying, “He already has the medallion. It’s up to you to believe me or not.”
“You’re just stirring up discord, aren’t you? If Gao Ruilong really received the medallion, why would he give it to you?” Suddenly, his expression darkened. “I know you’ve never known a mother’s love and hate my father for stealing your mother away. Am I right? But if you want to use this sort of method to cause unrest in the Gao Family, well, all I can say is that you’re too naive!”
When Cai Renfei heard that, he smiled indifferently and said, “Young Master Yunting, if you don’t believe me, forget it. As for how I got my hands on the medallion, you can investigate…. Gao Ruilong is throwing a banquet at this residence. I slipped in while he was drunk and stole the medallion. Why? I did it to convince you to trust me. I said it earlier; this is proof of my sincerity, yet you’ve shown me no sincerity of your own. In that case, let’s just pretend I never showed up here. If you don’t say anything about me stealing the medallion, I won’t tell anyone about the resources.”
With that, Cai Renfei no longer hesitated. He pushed the door open and left. Gao Yunting watched for a while, his expression dark, then called him back. “Why do you want to help me?”
Thanks to their shared mother, ever since Cai Renfei arrived at the Gao Family estates, Cai Renfei had stood with Gao Ruilong. Over the past half year, with Cai Renfei’s help, Gao Ruilong had humiliated Gao Yunting in front of their father several times.
This sudden defection made it difficult for Gao Yunting to trust Cai Renfei’s intentions.
“It’s not that I want to help you,” said Cai Renfei. “I will inherit the title of head of my own clan. I’m sure you already know that our Cai Family inadvertently provoked someone we couldn’t afford to offend. That’s why they sent their younger generation here to take refuge with your Gao Family.”
Cai Renfei’s expression darkened. “As the future head of the Cai Family, I naturally have to consider my clan’s wellbeing. Your Gao Family is obviously more than strong enough to protect our Cai Family, so I need to choose between you and Gao Ruilong. In the past, I wanted to stand with Gao Ruilong, but he… he humiliated me, and even insulted my mother. I’ll return the medallion without him ever realizing it was missing. As for you, Young Master Yunting, watch yourself.”
Cai Renfei silently turned and left Gao Yunting’s residence. The room immediately fell silent.
After a lengthy pause, Gao Yunting’s trusted confidants couldn’t help but ask, “Then what should we do?” They’d been raised as Gao Yunting, the future family head’s confidants, and when he led the family in the future, would definitely stand by his side.
But now Cai Renfei was telling them that the family head had given his medallion to Gao Ruilong!
“Do you want us to go ask the family head indirectly?”
Gao Yunting’s heart was in turmoil. He said earlier that Cai Renfei was just trying to sow the seeds of discord, but in truth, he’d only said that as a test. In his heart, he truly feared that his father had passed the seat of family head to Gao Ruilong.
Especially Cai Renfei’s last few words. They cast away all of his doubts.
He and Gao Ruilong had always stood opposed to each other. If Gao Ruilong took over the family, he’d be in huge trouble…..
As opposed to just waiting to die, wasn’t it better to…….
“Go investigate and see if Gao Ruilong has held any banquets over the past few days. If he has…. Let’s just hold onto the resources.”
Gao Yunting had already made up his mind. There was no need to ask any more questions or find out why.
If you won’t treat me properly, don’t blame me for being unrighteous!
Little did they know, Cai Renfei, who’d only just left Gao Yunting’s residence, was grinning wickedly.
He reached into his pocket and took at the medallion, the one Gao Yunting thought belonged to the family head.
With a squeeze, he crushed the medallion into a ball of iron, which he tossed into the pond.
At the same time, he chuckled playfully.
“Gao Yunting absolutely took my words to heart. Now all I have to do is push a little and he’ll inevitably rebel. When that happens, all I have to do is push the blame onto Ye Zichen’s shoulders. All of this is under my control!”
He hated both Ye Zichen and the Gao Family, but given his strength, he was no match for either of them. In that case, why not set them against each other and reap the benefits himself?
“What Gao Family? What Ye Zichen? You’re nothing but playthings in the palm of my hand!” With a sinister laugh, Cai Renfei looked up to the sky. “I’m truly looking forward to that day!”
