Unrestricted Dao Lord

"Elder Guan, what’s really going on between the Third Branch and the First Branch?"

"Also, what has my older brother’s situation been like this past year in the Su Family?"

Zhang Su asked two questions in a row.

Elder Guan glanced at Zhang Su, then sighed and explained in detail, "Actually, the young master’s situation in the First Branch is quite good. He and the young mistress are very much in love. The master of the First Branch has been in poor health these past few years, so he’s basically handed over all of the First Branch’s business to the young mistress."

"On the surface, the young mistress is in charge, but in reality, she listens to almost everything the young master says. He is the one who’s basically managing all of the Su Family’s First Branch business. And in the past year, he has managed the business exceptionally well."

"However, the more outstanding the young master becomes, the more dissatisfied the other two branches of the Su Family are. The Su Family has three branches in total, with the First Branch holding the main authority. The Second Branch has few members and no remarkable individuals, so they were marginalized within the family long ago."

"The problem lies with the Third Branch. The First Branch only has one daughter, the young mistress. Originally, after the master of the First Branch passed away, the Su Family’s business was supposed to go to the Third Branch. But then the young master married into the Su Family, and the crucial thing is, he’s doing a great job. This is equivalent to snatching away the Third Branch’s chance to take control of the Su Family, so they’ve been targeting the young master at every turn."

Elder Guan’s explanation was very clear.

Zhang Su understood immediately.

The current situation in the Su Family was a conflict between the Third Branch and the First Branch.

The Third Branch wanted to control the family business. Since the First Branch had few members and only one daughter, the Third Branch had a chance.

But his older brother marrying into the First Branch had shattered the Third Branch’s hopes.

’Wouldn’t the people of the Third Branch hate my older brother to death for that?’

No wonder Su Mulan, the Second Miss of the Third Branch, had shown such intense hostility when she saw him outside the main gate earlier.

Now, Zhang Su understood everything.

This was rather different from what Zhang Su had imagined.

Zhang Su had thought his older brother was enduring humiliation and living a frustrated, unfulfilled life in the Su Family.

He hadn’t expected that wasn’t the case at all.

His sister-in-law, eager to dote on her husband, had willingly handed over the First Branch’s power to his older brother.

And his older brother was quite capable, too.

He now basically controlled the First Branch’s business and was its de facto leader.

His words carried immense weight in the First Branch.

His situation was quite good.

The only trouble, perhaps, was the Third Branch’s constant opposition to his older brother.

"Elder Guan, can I go take a look?"

Zhang Su asked.

Even though it was at the Su residence, and even if his older brother got into a fight with the Third Branch, it probably wouldn’t turn into anything too serious.

But Zhang Su still wanted to see for himself.

After all, seeing is believing.

This was the perfect time to see what his older brother’s situation in the Su Family was really like.

"Well..."

Elder Guan thought for a moment, then finally nodded. "Second Young Master, you are an Outer Disciple of the Guiyuan Sect. That status carries some weight. Perhaps you can even help the young master. Please, follow me..."

Zhang Su nodded.

So, his younger sister, Zhang Lingyi, stayed behind in the courtyard.

Zhang Su then went with Elder Guan to the Su Family’s meeting hall.

...

The Su Family’s meeting hall.

Servants from the Su Family’s Third Branch and First Branch were in a tense standoff.

Su Qianhe’s face was grim.

Although Zhang Chen’s clothes were a bit disheveled, he was otherwise unharmed and even maintained his elegant and refined demeanor.

He looked just like a gentle scholar.

How did he look anything like a live-in son-in-law?

"Su Qianhe, what are you doing? Believe it or not, I’ll break your legs!"

Just then, an furious voice came from outside the hall.

Su Zhenzhen stormed in aggressively.

Behind her followed a group of servants and guards from the Nursing Home.

The moment he saw Su Zhenzhen arrive, Su Qianhe’s previously arrogant expression immediately deflated.

His eyes darted about nervously.

"Sister Zhen, it was Zhang Chen who went too far..."

Su Qianhe argued defensively.

"Hm? What did you call my husband?"

In front of Zhang Chen, Su Zhenzhen was always gentle and sweet, but in front of others in the Su Family, her presence was overwhelming—the true lady of the Su Family’s First Branch!

Before she was married, Su Zhenzhen was known as the "Female Zhuge" of the Su Family.

Basically, many of the decisions made by the master of the First Branch were actually masterminded by Su Zhenzhen from behind the scenes.

If Su Zhenzhen weren’t a woman,

unable to appear in public to support the Su Family, how would the Third Branch have ever gotten any ideas?

Su Qianhe had been afraid of Su Zhenzhen since they were children.

In the past, Su Zhenzhen had been the "big sister" of the Su Family, full of authority.

Su Qianhe swallowed hard and said cautiously, "It was... It was Brother-in-law who went too far."

Hearing him use the title "Brother-in-law," Su Zhenzhen’s expression softened slightly.

She hurried forward, took Zhang Chen’s hand, and asked in a low voice, "Husband, are you alright? If Su Qianhe dared to hit you, I’ll break his legs!"

The hall fell silent for a moment.

You could hear a pin drop.

Everyone in the Su Family knew Su Zhenzhen was a "husband-doting maniac." If anything happened to Zhang Chen, she would definitely erupt.

Zhang Chen smiled faintly. "I’m fine. It wasn’t Qianhe who hit me. There was just some conflict between the servants, it’s nothing. Besides, it’s just a business dispute, nothing serious."

Su Zhenzhen’s expression relaxed a little more.

She turned and stared coldly at Su Qianhe. "Qianhe, tell me, what was so important that you had to argue with your brother-in-law?"

Su Qianhe’s eyes darted around, but he remained silent.

However, the Second Miss of the Third Branch, Su Mulan, couldn’t stay quiet.

She spoke up immediately, "Sister Zhen, you were recovering from childbirth, so you don’t know about the business. In the last month, our Su Family business has run into a lot of trouble."

"For some reason, our Su Family transport convoys have been attacked several times this month, resulting in lost goods and heavy losses. Shouldn’t someone be held accountable for these losses?"

Su Zhenzhen frowned.

At this moment, Zhang Chen spoke up. "It’s alright. I’ve made preparations this time. It’s a feint. The cargo has been split into three routes. One is protected by the Su Family guards as usual, one is going by water, and the last one has been entrusted to the Zhenyuan Escort Agency."

"This time, nothing should go wrong."

After hearing this, Su Zhenzhen nodded. "Husband’s arrangements are very reasonable. Do you have any other objections?"

"Hmph, Sister Zhen, our Third Branch just received news. Here, take a look. The cargo protected by the Su Family guards and the cargo on the water route have both been hijacked."

Su Zhenzhen took the report.

Indeed, it stated that the cargo on the water route and the goods escorted by the guards had all been stolen.

"Husband, this..."

Su Zhenzhen hesitated as well.

"Zhenzhen, don’t worry. Both the water route and the guarded route were just empty shells. The real cargo wasn’t on either of them."

"In fact, because both of those routes were hit, it only confirms my suspicion. Someone is targeting our Su Family!"

Zhang Chen said calmly.

His words were filled with confidence.

Although he didn’t know any Martial Arts, he came from a scholarly family and had been a reader since childhood.

He had been managing the Su Family’s business for a year, and everything had been in perfect order without any trouble.

He had that kind of confidence!

"Who knows if something will happen to the cargo escorted by the Escort Agency? Besides, the cargo is so valuable this time. If it’s stolen, our Su Family’s business will be in huge trouble."

"I’m already engaged to Jiang Cheng, and the Jiang Family is a Martial Arts Family. If we had entrusted the escort to the Jiang Family, they could have guaranteed the cargo’s safety no matter how many people were watching."

Su Mulan said coldly.

Su Zhenzhen now understood.

The Third Branch’s real goal was to hand over the cargo escort business to the Jiang Family.

Over time, this would allow the Third Branch to gain control over the Su Family’s business affairs.

"The Zhenyuan Escort Agency, I know of it. Its Chief of the Escort, Li He, is known in the Jianghu as ’Ghost Head Saber’ and is quite renowned. Since he is personally escorting the cargo this time, there shouldn’t be any problem."

Su Zhenzhen said slowly.

"Is that so? Sister Zhen, if the cargo really does get stolen, then how about your First Branch hands over the Su Family business for our Third Branch to take over?"

Su Mulan’s words caused the entire hall to fall silent.

Su Zhenzhen’s eyes were fixed on Su Mulan.

Then, she shifted her gaze to Su Qianhe and asked in a cold voice, "Qianhe, is this the opinion of your Third Branch?"

Although Su Qianhe was a little intimidated, he still braced himself and replied, "Sister Zhen, what Mulan said is what our Third Branch means."

"I understand."

Su Zhenzhen turned, grasped Zhang Chen’s hand, and said calmly, "Husband, are you confident?"

"I am."

"Good, then I believe in my husband! However, business is not child’s play. Regardless of whether the cargo is stolen this time or not, the Su Family’s business should be managed by the First Branch!"

"As for you, Third Branch, if you have an opinion, you can keep it to yourselves!"

"And you, Su Mulan. You are only marrying Jiang Cheng, not having him marry into our family. You will be part of the Jiang Family in the future. What right does an outsider like you have to interfere in my Su Family’s affairs?"

As soon as she said this, both Su Qianhe and Su Mulan were stunned.

Immediately after, Su Mulan’s face flushed red, her chest heaving.

She was furious to the extreme!

Ever since her engagement to Jiang Cheng, she had been praised and fawned over everywhere she went. When had she ever been reprimanded so bluntly?

Just at that moment, two figures walked in from outside.

One was the slightly stooped Elder Guan.

The other was a young swordsman in a white shirt, holding a long sword.

Zhang Chen turned around.

When he saw the figure of the young swordsman, his eyes suddenly widened.

His usual calm and composed expression vanished in an instant.

A look of excitement appeared on his face.