Protect Our Patriarch

Chapter 4 – The Patriarch is too fierce

“Eldest nephew, you absolutely cannot do this.” Wang Dinghai tried to dissuade him, “Liu’s family head is 40 years old and highly experienced.”

“Zhe’er, you’re too impulsive.” Gongsun Hui was also slightly flustered, “The patriarch’s status is honourable, and he is the family’s pillar……”

They would be happy to see him fight Liu Yongzhou. After all, the Liu brat was way weaker than Wang Shouzhe. But it would be too risky if he challenged Liu Shengye directly.

However, the nervous Liu Shengye was sweating away in secret. Fortunately, the Wang clan still had a reasonable generation. They should be able to persuade the young patriarch of the Wang clan to not fight with him.

A death duel between two commanders of two armies would certainly turn things upside down.

What’s more, Liu Shengye had lived a comfortable, luxurious, and good life for many years. He had not fought for a long time. The battle of life-and-death was not a joke.

“Eldest mother, sixth uncle.” Wang Shouzhe interrupted them, “The patriarch is but a member of the family.

“Every family member has the right and obligation to shed one’s blood and lay down’s one life (for a just cause), for the survival of the family. Moreover, ancestor Longyan…”

At the end of the sentence, Wang Shouzhe’s emotions were somewhat agitated and sad, as if he was about to explode in repression. He wanted to say more but he abruptly swallowed those words.

“Shouzhe!” Wang Dinghai panicked, and hurriedly asked in a whisper, “Ancestor Longyan, she can’t be…”

“Don’t worry, she’s fine.” Wang Shouzhe’s face was slightly pale.

“It’s just that my heart aches for our ancestor who has sacrificed her entire life for the family. It’s time for us, the juniors, to stand up and bleed.”

However, what he said seemed to be a cover-up.

Then, Wang Shouzhe turned and stared at Liu Shengye, “Liu Patriarch, since our families have many conflicts, why not take this opportunity to settle all the grudges?

“We will both sign a life-and-death duel agreement. The loser withdraws from the Anjiang fishing grounds, and the family will not pursue the matter.”

There was a sense of determination in his words.

“Good, Patriarch Wang is indeed a courageous young upright hero!”

“Since there’re conflicts between the two families, it’s best for the two patriarchs to fight it out and settle the grudges.”

Naturally, the crowd of onlookers thought it was great to watch the excitement. It was perhaps a once in a lifetime opportunity to see two patriarchs personally battling it out in a life-and-death challenge.

Immediately, they clamoured for the battle to commence!

“F****! Why is this kid acting like a hungry wolf? He was evasive.. could it be… the rumours were true… so, the situation has changed.”

Liu Shengye quivered, frowned, his brain cells churned, and he quickly came up with a plan.

He changed the subject and showed an amiable expression, one that had served him well as a businessman.

“My nephew, speaking of your father, we’ve been friends for many years. It’s not too much to call you my nephew, right?

“Our three noble families have been in Ping’an town for many years, and we’re all villagers, so we should support and care for each other. After all, it’s such a minor conflict.”

“Patriarch Liu, are you saying you’re prepared to compensate my sixth uncle and pay his medical expenses?” Wang Shouzhe narrowed his eyes and sneered.

Compensation for medical expenses?

Liu Shengye’s face turned black, but he was skilled at hiding a knife within a smile.

His smile became even more amiable, “Conflicts between villagers are inevitable, but since it’s Yongzhou’s fault this time, we’ll have to acknowledge it.

“Here’re 30 pieces of Qian gold, a token of reparation for Brother Dinghai.”

After that, Liu Shengye took out three gold banknotes worth 30 pieces of gold and stuffed them into Wang Shouzhe’s hands with a smile.

“Everyone says nephew is a dragon and phoenix among men, and your potential is as good as ancestor, Longyan in her prime. In the future, you’ll be the pillar of our Ping’an town.”

30 pieces of Qian gold?

Wang Shouzhe knew this was a huge sum of money. He took them as soon as he saw them.

He also smiled and said, “Patriarch Liu is the real pillar of our Ping’an. Shouzhe has just assumed the position of patriarch and will have to rely on the Liu family head to take good care of me.”

Absolutely!

Liu Shengye laughed twice before leaving the deep-water dock with his family generals and Liu Yongzhou.

When the crowd of onlookers saw that the patriarchs didn’t really fight, there were sighs of regret and sighs of relief, as if they had missed some great drama. Slightly disappointed, they dispersed in groups of twos and threes.

“My nephew is amazing!” Wang Dinghai exclaimed, as if he had been relieved of his anger.

Pleased, he added, “In just a few words, he turned the situation around and made that old fox, Liu Shengye, apologise willingly.”

On the other hand, Gongsun Hui didn’t look happy, but looked rather worried.

“Sixth uncle, madam, since we’re here, so why don’t we get on sixth uncle’s boat and have a look around?” Wang Shouzhe smiled, “I’ve never been on my uncle’s boat before.”

“Great idea. Let’s do that. Let’s have a good time.” Wang Dinghai said happily, “I’ll demonstrate some fishing skills later.”

As he was about to board the ship, Wang Shouzhe beckoned a few of his generals to his side and whispered to them. The generals understood, saluted, and dispersed to carry out their duties.

Then, Wang Shouzhe and Gongsun Hui walked with Wang Dinghai to the deep-water berth.

At the same time.

Outside the Dingpu Ferry port, the young and arrogant Liu Yongzhou looked embarrassed and said, “Patriarch, we agreed to bite a chunk of flesh off Wang’s body. How did it end up with us making amends?”

“Yongzhou, you’re still too young.” Liu Shengye was calm, smiling as he walked with his hands behind his back, “As the saying goes, that was then, this is now.

“In this situation, we should not take the initiative to provoke the Wang family. We should be careful everywhere we go to avoid clashing with them.”

“Patriarch…” Liu Yongzhou was slightly angry and flabbergasted.

“From my deductions, the old bitch Wang Longyan will soon be dead.” Liu Shengye narrowed his eyes and said with a pearl of wisdom, “Now, the Wang family is like a sick tiger which is about to die. This is the most dangerous time.

“If we push too hard, we might cause the other party to backlash crazily. Although I, Liu, am not afraid, I don’t want to profit the Zhao family.”

Wang Longyan!

The name was like a poisonous thorn in Liu’s throat. As long as she was still alive, Liu wouldn’t dare to completely fall out with the Wang clan.

“Patriarch, is this true?” Liu Yongzhou was excited.

“I guessed that when Wang Longyan didn’t even come out of her seclusion for such an important event as the change of the Wang patriarch.”

Liu Shengye laughed coldly, “I see that the new clan head, Wang Shouzhe, was so impatient that he wanted to fight me to the death.

“He wanted to take one last risk in a time of crisis, and that confirmed about 70 to 80% of my speculation.

“Hahaha, how can I do what he wants? If it’s fast, she would be dead within two or three years. If it’s slow, it’ll take four or five years. Once Wang Longyan is dead ……”

“Patriarch? It’s going to take that long?” Liu Yongzhou was slightly confused.

“What do you know? Can the rise and fall of a family be achieved overnight? My Liu family has been waiting for so many years. Can’t we afford to endure for just a few more years?”

Liu Shengye waved his sleeves and climbed into the carriage with the support of the family’s general, “What’s more, our Liu family still have a lot of preparation to do before Wang Longyan dies.

“Yongzhou, you must remember you must not clash with the Wang clan without my order, or else you’ll be punished with the family law!”

“Yes, Patriarch.” Liu Yongzhou held his anger, but he was helpless and could only respectfully sent off Liu Shengye.

It is said that Wang Shouzhe asked several generals to stay at the wharf to perform some tasks, and boarded Wang Dinghai’s medium-sized fishing boat “Dinghai” together with Gongsun Hui.

The medium-sized fishing boat was about eight or nine zhang (1 zhang = 3.33m) long and two zhang wide, all made of wood.

It was a sail-powered vessel, judging by its high mast and sails.

Wang Dinghai ordered his shipmen to sail out of the port. He enthusiastically wanted to introduce the boat’s facilities to Wang Shouzhe but Gongsun Hui solemnly said, “Zhe’er, sixth uncle, let’s go to the stern and talk.”

The two men followed her as instructed, while the boat swayed and gradually sailed out of the deep-water port. 

“Alas~ Zhe’er, you’ve gone a bit too far today.” Gongsun Hui sighed and said, “Old ancestor Longyan has sacrificed her entire life for the family, the hardships and toil involved are innumerable.

“How can you be full of nonsense to insinuate that she was ……, and said all that before a crowd? You’ve also just dispatched the family generals to spread rumours!

“Your actions today will certainly reach the ears of the clan elders, and those elders will inevitably reprimand you.”

“This ……” Wang Dinghai was flustered, “Fifth sister-in-law, what should we do then? The elders won’t censure Shouzhe, would they?”

The old ancestor Longyan wasn’t only the family’s pillar, but she was also the clan’s bulwark. Naturally, Wang Dinghai was in awe of her.

“Sixth uncle, calm down, calm down.” Wang Shouzhe smiled calmly, “The clan elders are all elders, I believe they’ll understand after they know the reason.

“Madam, Iet me ask you, how much longer does old ancestor Longyan have?”

“Zhe’er, how can you be so disrespectful to ancestor Longyan? We can’t make such inappropriate comments…

“Madam, as Patriarch, I naturally must consider the development of the entire clan’s interests in a holistic manner.”

Wang Shouzhe interrupted Gongsun Hui, “If I can’t even ask how long more the old ancestor will live and be kept in the dark, how can I plan for the future development of the clan?

“If that’s the case, I’m afraid that I, Wang Shouzhe, will not be suitable for the position of patriarch, so it’s best to get a replacement as soon as possible!”