Chapter 3702 — Two Pieces of Intelligence

Li Zhengming, who had been standing silently to one side, glanced at Zhong Yongliang in some surprise. His worries were identical to Zhong Yongliang's—only, given his standing, he had no right to speak up in front of Xu Lingchong at all. He had never expected Zhong Yongliang to voice them on his behalf.

At this point Meng Jueming chimed in as well: "Junior Brother Zhong has a point. The Tri-Layered Pavilion has always placed great importance on newcomers. If a newcomer were killed, it would very likely bring the higher-ups of the Law Enforcement Hall down on us directly. No matter how cleanly we covered our tracks, I fear some loose end would still give us away and bring disaster down on our heads."

In truth, Meng Jueming's words were purely a calculation for his own sake. After all, Xu Lingchong had said this in front of everyone present, and if he truly did conceive the notion of assassinating Wei Zhao, Meng Jueming could not possibly remain uninvolved. When that time came, the Law Enforcement Hall might not dare to move against Xu Lingchong, but he himself would certainly be cast out as a scapegoat—and that would be a death with no burial ground.

"Rest easy. I won't resort to such a low move unless there's absolutely no other way. So all of you, put your minds to it—how can we make our little junior sister Lan'er loathe Wei Zhao?" Xu Lingchong swept his gaze over the group.

Deep as his backing ran, word of assassinating a newcomer would not merely cost a life; it would stain the reputation of the entire Tri-Layered Pavilion of the Northern Isle. If things truly came to that pass, even his own grandfather would have to strain every resource to shield him.

Unless there was no other choice at all, Young Master Xu would never stoop to such a foolish act.

The group frowned and racked their brains for a while, until the most seasoned of them, Meng Jueming, suddenly clapped his hands. "I've got it! I've thought of a fine plan!"

"Out with it," Xu Lingchong urged at once.

Shangguan Lan'er was the wife he had long since earmarked for himself. Though he had not yet won her over, how could he tolerate her consorting with a nobody like Wei Zhao? The sprout had to be nipped in the bud at the earliest opportunity!

"Young Master Xu, you said it yourself just now—the reason a pampered little princess like Miss Shangguan takes an interest in a grassroots commoner from the secular world like Wei Zhao is that she has never met anyone of his kind before, and so her curiosity is aroused. Isn't that so?" Meng Jueming said, deliberately drawing out the suspense.

"Quite right. Go on," Xu Lingchong nodded.

"As the saying goes, once a woman's curiosity is stirred, her fall is not far behind. By any measure, a young gentleman of your caliber, Young Master Xu, could crush a penniless nobody like Wei Zhao—but it's precisely a woman's curiosity that lets such nobodies turn the tables and come out on top! So if we want to strangle this dangerous sprout in the bud, the key lies in snuffing out Miss Shangguan's curiosity!" Meng Jueming declared with an air of great profundity.

Xu Lingchong mused it over. "Interesting. Then tell me, how do we snuff out her curiosity? We can hardly toss her into the secular world, can we?"

"Heh heh, there's no need to go to the secular world. Snuffing out Miss Shangguan's curiosity is actually very simple—we need only let her see the true, ugly face of that penniless nobody Wei Zhao! Didn't Junior Brother Kang say just now that this fellow was forever philandering wherever he went back in the secular world? We need only expose his lecherous, fickle true colors in front of Miss Shangguan, and everything will unravel of itself!" Meng Jueming said with a complacent grin.

"I never expected you to have a trick or two up your sleeve, Old Meng! You're a real talent!" Xu Lingchong's estimation of Meng Jueming rose several notches at these words. Until now, the man had been no more than a marginal figure in his eyes, dispensable at best. But after hearing this speech, he suddenly realized that this Meng Jueming actually had a decent head on his shoulders.

Buoyed by Xu Lingchong's praise, Meng Jueming was beside himself with delight. He had been racking his brains to cling to this thick thigh of a patron, and now at last he had won recognition.

"Then tell me—how do we make Wei Zhao show his lecherous, fickle face in front of our little junior sister Lan'er?" Xu Lingchong pressed on.

With a cunning smile, Meng Jueming at once presented the plan he had been brewing in his mind, as though laying a treasure at his master's feet.

When Xu Lingchong had heard it out, he could not help clapping his hands and laughing. "A splendid scheme! I'll leave this matter in your hands, Old Meng. That Lu Bianren of your Azure Cloud Pavilion is already settled to be sent packing. Once this is done, I'll put in a word upstairs and have you take his place as Third Pavilion Master of the Welcome Pavilion!"

"Thank you for your favor, Young Master Xu!" Meng Jueming was overjoyed on the spot. Third Pavilion Master of the Welcome Pavilion—that was the position he had dreamed of for years. A managing senior brother was merely bottom-rung, but as Third Pavilion Master he would be a genuine high-ranking figure of the Welcome Pavilion.

"But let me be blunt with you first: only if you handle this matter neatly will I put in that word for you."

Xu Lingchong paused, then added as a reminder: "Also, your qualifications are no great obstacle to taking the Third Pavilion Master's seat, but your strength—peak early-stage Foundation Establishment—is too poor. You'll need at least mid-stage Foundation Establishment. If you fail to meet that hard threshold, no amount of people speaking up for you will do any good. Lu Bianren's fate is already settled, but it will likely be several months before he is actually sent packing. That stretch of time should be enough for you to break through!"

"Young Master Xu speaks the truth. I will spare no effort—I absolutely will not let you down," Meng Jueming nodded repeatedly.

The post of Third Pavilion Master of the Welcome Pavilion, though it seemed to carry little authority and matter little, was quite otherwise—because the Tri-Layered Pavilion had always valued its newcomers. Anyone with a stint in the Welcome Pavilion on his record would naturally come into the view of the higher-ups, and so long as he committed no grave error, his future prospects were bound to be boundless.

In fact, more than half of the Tri-Layered Pavilion's current elders had at one time served as chief or deputy pavilion master of the Welcome Pavilion. The post was effectively a key reserve pool for the Pavilion's future high leadership.

For that reason, appointments to and removals from the chief and deputy pavilion master posts of the Welcome Pavilion had always been handled with extreme caution. Not only did the elders within each pavilion of the Tri-Layered Pavilion have to reach a consensus, but when opinions clashed sharply, the matter would even be raised for open deliberation at the Council of Elders.

In such a process, one's connections naturally mattered a great deal, but there was at minimum one hard requirement: one's strength had to reach mid-stage Foundation Establishment or above. Otherwise, if one's strength could not overawe the newcomer stewards below, how could one command respect even seated as Third Pavilion Master?

The group talked on for a while longer, patching and filling gaps until Meng Jueming's so-called fine scheme had been shored up into something flawless, and only then did they disperse. Little did they know that with two insiders like Zhong Yongliang and Li Zhengming planted right there in the room, no matter how brilliant the scheme, once turned against Wei Zhao it was doomed to be riddled with holes.