After midnight

Su Ziling was unhappy, but his unhappiness did not mean that he had encountered any difficult problems. On the contrary, with the guidance of his master Zhou Licheng, he clearly felt that he had made a lot of progress, and the problems that had troubled him before were well solved.

He felt unhappy, not because of anything, but because of a person, or rather, that person was Anyan. Of course, Anyan himself did not provoke him.

But he keenly noticed that An Yan was suppressing his emotions. There seemed to be something wrong with An Yan since Song Hongtian's death.

Ever since Song Hongtian died, especially after listening to Yin's explanation, An Yan felt something was wrong when he knew that Song Hongtian's death was not so ordinary. Thanks to this, Yin has been missing for the past few days.

Everyone was concerned about Song Hongtian's death, and what kind of situation would come after his death. Only An Yan, Su Ziling felt intuitively, was concerned about something very strange, as if it was something that could not be explained, just like the mystery that An Yan always had.

Su Ziling felt very frustrated because he couldn't understand these things.

"Why don't you take a break first? Or do you want to experience the pain of being hit with a stick more often?" Zhou Licheng stopped and suddenly said to him.

Su Ziling was so smart that he immediately realized that his master was very dissatisfied with his current state. He quickly approached and asked, "Master, what do you think of Song Hongtian's death?"

"People are born, grow old, get sick and die. There is no special view on this."

"What if Song Hongtian's death is not that simple?" Su Ziling couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Everything happens for a reason. Zi Ling, are you upset because of Song Hongtian's death?"

No, Su Ziling understood very well. Although he hated him, the feeling of great joy soon faded away. To him, Song Hongtian was dead and it had nothing to do with him. What he cared about was what An Yan was worried about, and he should know these worries.

"Even the closest people are not obligated to tell you everything, not to mention that you are just a little kid now. Get ready and start practicing."

When Su Ziling dragged his exhausted body home, An Yan left him a meal as usual. While he was eating, he watched A Jiu sitting on the sofa reading a professional book.

"Ajiu, where did your master go?"

"I don't know. Master didn't tell me, but Master said he would be back as soon as possible."

"Oh." Su Ziling couldn't help but think, they got close so quickly.

The summer night was cool and breezy. After 8:30, An Yan took the two kids out for a walk. This time, Su Ziling hurriedly followed. Usually, he hardly participated. He would eat at home, rest for a while, and then go to bed. Otherwise, his energy would not be able to keep up with the training during the day.

"Why, you're not staying at home today?" An Yan asked him.

"Yeah." Su Ziling answered vaguely.

They went out together, and Xiao Su and Ajiu quickly abandoned the two adults and ran and made noises in front. Su Ziling looked at them and felt that although there was a big age difference between them, it didn't seem to hinder their communication at all.

But the one next to him... Su Zi glanced at An Yan with no resentment. An Yan hadn't said a word since he left the house, and he didn't care whether the two little guys in front of him would run too far. He raised his head and looked up at the sky, walking at his own pace, as if he was really the only one out for a walk.

"An Yan." Su Ziling stopped.

"Hmm?" An Yan turned around and waited for him to speak.

"You haven't been quite right lately. Are you still thinking about Song Hongtian's death?"

Su Ziling was rarely serious. He was serious about many things, but not this serious. His serious expression when he said this made An Yan think he was angry, but An Yan still avoided answering.

"Not really."

What does it mean to not count?

Su Ziling was really emotional now, and this emotion was a little subtle. He was a little dissatisfied, but it seemed that he shouldn't be dissatisfied. So he restrained himself and continued to ask: "Are you wondering if Song Yu will become the head of the family?"

"Song Yuhui's."

This affirmative answer and tone surprised Su Ziling for a moment, and immediately dispelled the bad mood that had just accumulated in him. "Are you so sure?"

An Yan nodded. "The Song family is far from being as chaotic and disunited as it appears. Even if the elders want to fight for power, they have to look at the current environment. Whoever is in power now will have to face the situation of the Revolutionary Army and the Lu and Lin families joining forces. If one of them fails, the blame for the collapse of the Song family will fall on him. None of the elders of the Song family are stupid. They attach great importance to this."

"Also, even after the Song family split up, its internal industrial structure is still very stable. Song Hongtian firmly holds the economic lifeline and political relations of the Song family, and Song Yu can definitely inherit it well. As long as the bait Song Yu throws out this time is big enough and good enough, the obstacles he encounters will easily fall apart."

"If the Song family wants to truly change, unless a dark horse emerges and uses the emerging economy to defeat the existing model, those who blindly follow the old path will not be able to compete with Song Yu."

After An Yan finished speaking, he saw Su Ziling staring at him without saying anything, which made him feel a little awkward. He asked, "What's wrong?"

"I think you are very capable, but this cannot explain your abnormal behavior these days." Since An Yan's words made sense, he would not worry about this matter, and Su Ziling continued to attack.

"What's wrong with me?"

"Logically speaking... you seem to be no different from usual, but you've been daydreaming more and more, and you're always hunching your back, not as relaxed as before. Also, you've been pursing your lips more and more, and when Xiao Su and A Jiu were arguing next to you, you didn't smile much..."

"Okay." An Yan interrupted him quickly, fearing that Su Ziling would reveal more details that would scare him.

"So, what are you thinking about?"

"I was thinking this might be a good opportunity. Don't you think the clarion call for war stopped abruptly? Song Yu and Song Hongtian have completely different styles of doing things."

Without giving Su Ziling a chance to think, An Yan walked towards the two people who were lying in the bushes doing something unknown. It was really terrible. It was really difficult to hide yourself in front of someone you spend every day with. Fortunately, An Yan had many ways to fool Su Ziling.

An Yan stretched lazily, thinking that perhaps he had indeed been a little nervous recently, but it was still far from the time when those monsters would be released.

"Ajiu, Xiao Su, what are you doing hiding behind the bushes?" An Yan walked closer and called out to the two of them, and Su Ziling caught up with them from behind.

"Dad, look, it's a cricket." Xiao Su jumped up happily, holding high in her hand the pitch-black cricket with its antennae stretching and retracting. Jiu pulled her over, holding a bigger one in his hand.

"Xiao Su is so awesome, he's not scared at all."

The cricket chirped with difficulty. Su Ziling watched the little insect for a while before losing interest. He turned around and looked around the small park. He had never been here before.

This small park is just around the corner. Turn right after you leave the villa area. It is shaded by green trees and covers a large area. There is an open-air stage and a lotus pond, and there are many flowers and plants. Among them, a bronze statue of a galloping horse stands in front of Su Ziling. But what really caught Su Ziling's attention was a tall display screen next to it.

"An Yan, what is that?" Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Su Ziling asked An Yan for confirmation.

"Ah, it's just what you think, a TV that can play videos. But just like the hanging window uses the power of movement, the TV here also uses power related to electricity. It can't be promoted on a large scale yet. Right now it's mainly used to broadcast news."

"Is that so?" Su Ziling was not very disappointed. He had already made up his mind about this strange world.

After last night's discovery, Su Ziling paid special attention to other electronic screens when he went out the next day. Not to mention, he actually found some, one of which was set up on the road he had to take to get to his master's house. However, it was set up far away next to the square across the street and was overlooked by him.

That night, when he passed by there on his way home, the screen was scrolling a piece of news: The elders' meeting ended at five o'clock this afternoon, and Song Yu was confirmed as the new head of the Song family.

Su Ziling stopped, stood by the road and looked carefully for five minutes, then continued running forward. An Yan was always right, and this was not always a good thing.

Lin Xuanfeng and Zhou Chen arrived at Xidu the night before the elders' meeting. Under the thick night, the streets of Xidu were even more deserted. They tried their best to avoid being seen, and quickly entered Lu Xian's house, and were then led into the study by the old housekeeper.

"You two are here to discuss business, right?" Lu Xian asked.

Lin Xuanfeng and Zhou Chen nodded at the same time.

"Business needs to be discussed slowly. Besides, it's already dark. Let the butler take you two to rest. An old man like me can't be as active as a young man."

At this point, Lin Xuanfeng and Zhou Chen could not say anything more. The housekeeper knocked on the door again and appeared at the door waiting, so the two looked at each other and walked out again.

Not far after they walked out, they were about to go down the stairs to the guest room on the first floor. At this moment, Lu Li came up and passed by them. Lin Xuanfeng watched Lu Li's back as he walked away, guessing that he was going to Lu Xian's study. He walked down the stairs with a look of worry on his face, just like Lin Nuan had quietly disappeared some time ago, and they had not received any news that Lu Li had left Xindu.

The guest room, for two people each, was right next door. Lin Xuanfeng threw back the quilt and went to sleep.

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast, the two were invited to Lu Xian's study.

Lu Xian's desk was clean and tidy, and the documents were not spread out yet, which meant that he was going to concentrate on dealing with this matter today. The three of them sat on the sofa beside them, and wisps of smoke came out of the brewed tea water.

"Just tell me what you want," Lu Xian said.

"The revolutionary army wants the two pieces of land owned by the Lu family in Beizhong and Beicheng." Zhou Chen said.

"The Lu family's land is never bought or sold."

"No, it's not a sale, just a long-term lease. As far as I know, the Lu family has not developed those two pieces of land for so many years. And we are not renting all of them, just a small part. When our project is completed, the market price of the surrounding land will definitely rise. Then you will make a lot of money no matter what you do."

"Of course I know this. I also know that your revolutionary army's actions need to be covered with the cloak of our Lu family, so it is not as simple as renting. I know what you want to do, but I don't care what you want to do. What I care about is the interests." Lu Xian picked up the cup and took a sip of tea.

He knew what the revolutionary army wanted. The undeveloped lands of the Lu family in Beizhong and Beicheng were all in the corners of the town. The location was too important. What could be done in a remote location? Build hanging windows and take over Beizhong and Beicheng. However, these two cities could not be taken as easily as Beiguan.

It was normal for Song Hongtian to not take Beiguan seriously. Although it was adjacent to Jiudu and was known as the gateway to the northern cities, it was also very easy for the Song family to counterattack from Jiudu and Beizhong. So after the revolutionary army occupied Beiguan, the first thing they did was to build a hanging window to establish a connection with Xindu.

The same logic applies now that they want Beizhong and Beicheng.

Thinking of this, Lu Xian couldn't help but sigh. Song Hongtian was arrogant because he looked down on the emerging forces. He thought the revolutionary army had only occupied a city, but the subsequent actions of the revolutionary army were obviously more than that.

If Beiguan, Beizhong and Beicheng were connected, the Song family would suffer a great loss. Nowadays, the Song family's business development in Beiguan has been declining, and the political relationship has long been eliminated. It's a pity that when Beiguan Xuanchuang Station was first established, it did not receive enough attention from Song Hongtian. Now, Song Yu is busy fighting for power within his family and has no time to take care of Beiguan. Therefore, Beiguan, which seems to be a live chess piece, is already a dead chess piece for the Song family.