After the family banquet was over, the guests dispersed.

Although there were some twists and turns, everything was generally peaceful and it could barely be considered a "host and guest having a great time."

Late at night, in the study of the head of the Gu family.

Shangguan Ce and Gu Shouyan sat across from each other, making tea and talking by candlelight at night.

The two grew up together and practiced together since childhood. In addition to being the heads of the family, they are also old friends.

Although the Shangguan family is stronger than the Gu family, the gap is not too big.

Gu Shouyan is slightly older than Shangguan Ce.

Both of them have lived for hundreds of years, gone through ups and downs, and have both calculations of interests and deep friendship.

Gu Shouyan had an upright temperament and always spoke out when something happened. He said in a deep voice:

"You want to take back all Shangguan's business?"

These businesses are all located in some monastic industries near the border of Qianxue State, which were originally managed by the Gu family.

Shangguan Ce nodded, "The Shen family paid a high price, and I transferred it to them. Compared with our Shangguan family operating it by ourselves, we can earn 20% more profit."

Gu Shouyan sneered, "Is the Shen family so kind?"

Shangguan Ce said: "Whether you have good intentions or not, your interests are here."

"What benefit?"

Shangguan Ce shook his head, "That can't be said."

Gu Shouyan sneered, "What other benefits can there be? It's just spiritual stones, elixirs, connections... Oh, and the quota for the four major sects?"

Shangguan Ce remained silent.

Gu Shouyan continued to make tea by himself and fiddled with the tea leaves in the tea can.

Shangguan Ce's eyes narrowed slightly and he sighed, "The Shen family should have also come to see you, but you rejected them flatly?"

Gu Shouyan said "hmm".

Shangguan Ce said: "This is a gesture of goodwill, Brother Gu, even if you don't accept it, you should still give some room for change..."

Gu Shouyan said with a cold face, "Those villains from the Shen family are useless."

Shangguan Ce shook his head, "In front of an aristocratic family, we only talk about interests and not morality. You must put morality aside before doing anything, otherwise it will be easy to act on impulse and delay the development of the family."

"If you don't tell me, don't tell me. That's your business, but don't teach me how to do things." Gu Shouyan had a strong temper.

Shangguan Ce probed: "Then the Shangguan family's business..."

Gu Shouyan waved his hand, "Take them all away. Originally, your Shangguan family's wife was taking care of them. If you want to take them back, just tell her."

"Most of the monks in my Gu family are from Tao Tingsi. They are not good at running businesses. These monastic properties are only used to supplement the family income. They are tasteless and it is a pity to throw them away. They also have to trouble that girl Wan'er. It is not worth it. .”

Shangguan Ce breathed a sigh of relief.

Gu Shouyan didn't want to pay attention to him, he just made tea by himself, looked at the steam of tea, and concentrated his attention. Obviously, he didn't take these gains and losses seriously.

The room felt a little dull for a while.

After a long time, Shangguan Ce's eyes darkened slightly and he sighed:

"The Gu family... there will be trouble."

Gu Shouyan was surprised when he heard this and raised his eyebrows.

He and Shangguan Ce grew up together, and he knew exactly what kind of virtue Shangguan Ce was.

This man is selfish, sophisticated and self-interested.

But if it doesn't involve his own interests or those of the Shangguan family, he can also be considerate and speak more frankly.

So even though he disliked Shangguan Ce's virtue and felt that he was too scheming, Gu Shouyan still had a good friendship with him after so many years.

After all, with his level of cultivation and status, there are only a few monks left who can really speak a few words and chat for a while.

Gu Shouyan asked: "Who is causing trouble for my Gu family? The Shen family?"

Shangguan Ce still shook his head, "You know everything I said, but I can't say anything you don't know."

Gu Shouyan was very disappointed, so he poured himself a cup of tea and drank it slowly.

He didn't let Shangguan persuade him.

Shangguan Ce could only take matters into his own hands and poured himself a glass.

The tea tastes a bit bitter and astringent, so it is not considered a good tea.

But Gu Shouyan likes to drink this taste.

Shangguan Ce didn't like it very much, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he drank the tea silently, looked at Gu Shouyan's white hair on his temples, and sighed slightly:

"Brother Gu, a man is capable of bending and stretching..."

"There are so many aristocratic families above who show their goodwill to the Gu family. As long as you give them a little face, the Gu family will not... still cannot be promoted to the fifth rank."

Gu Shouyan glared, "What kind of face? Do they want me to give them face? They want my power in the Gu family to give them face! They want Daolv to give them face!"

"Does the power belong to my Gu family?"

"Does Daolv belong to my Gu family?"

"The power of the Taoist court, the authority of the Taoist law, is taken from the way of heaven above, and from the common people below. How can I, the Gu family, be so virtuous and capable that I dare to take it as my own and use power for personal gain?"

Shangguan Ce had a headache, "There are some things that others can do, but you, the Gu family, can't do it? Are you, the Gu family, just a noble person?"

"It doesn't count as noble," Gu Shouyan said with a stern look on his face, "I'm happy with it."

Shangguan Ce suddenly lost his temper.

Gu Shouyan glanced at Shangguan Ce and found that his old friend, at least at the moment, was not so careless and really cared about him, so he sighed:

"You are obsessed with fame and fortune. You know better than me about fame and fortune, but this matter is actually far from as simple as you think."

"Over the years, my Gu family has had Patriarch Dongxu, and he already has a fifth-grade background..."

"Although some of the aristocratic families hate my Gu family to the core, there are also some who have a close friendship with my Gu family. No matter how popular they are, they will not be reduced to the point of being isolated and helpless."

"Even several times, I have stepped one foot into the threshold of the fifth level, but I was still unable to go further due to many constraints."

Gu Shouyan said in a low voice, "Is it child's play for a real Daotingsi fifth-grade family?"

"My Gu family abides by the laws of Taoism. Too many people don't want my Gu family to take this step forward."

Shangguan Ce frowned slightly.

"Furthermore," Gu Shouyan muttered to himself, "do you think that if I accept the overtures from those aristocratic families and collude with them, they will accept me as the Gu family?"

Gu Shouyan shook his head, took a sip of tea, and continued:

"If I don't accept their overtures, then my Gu family will be a wild wolf."

"Even if they are tigers and leopards and want to eat my Gu family, they still have to worry about my Gu family fighting back and tearing off a few pieces of flesh."

"And if I take advantage of them, then I, Gu family, will become a dog!"

"On the surface, they may be polite, but secretly, they look down on me even more."

"When I encounter some ugly things and they throw a bone, I will bite it and clean up the aftermath for them."

Gu Shouyan's face was stern, his eyes were like swords, and he snorted:

"Are they worthy of this group of silverfish?"

"Even if my Gu family is risking their lives to bite off the meat from their bodies and eat it, I won't beg for mercy and lick the bones they throw at me!"

Shangguan Ce thought for a moment, then shook his head and sighed:

"Brother Gu, you are still a little extreme. My Shangguan family can advance and retreat together with the Gu family, and they also..."

Gu Shouyan said with a strong expression: "If you go to the official policy and accept the Shen family's overtures, you will be able to have good relations with the Shen family, because you are essentially the same kind of people."

"And I'm not."

"You and I have never been the same person."

Shangguan Ce was startled, his eyes slightly cold, but not annoyed.

Gu Shouyan continued:

"The head of the family is like this, and so is the family."

"Your Shangguan family and Shen family have prosperous industries, and they all rely on profit. As for my Gu family, working in Daotingsi, the fundamental reason is to rely on the 'roots' to build a family."

"If the Shangguan family suddenly talks about 'root bones', I'm afraid they will die in the blink of an eye."

"Similarly, if my Gu family doesn't care about the 'roots', even if it is strong for a while, it will only be destroyed in a matter of seconds."

Shangguan's strategy was slightly lost.

He always thought that his elder brother had a tough temper, was rigid in his behavior, and did not know how to adapt.

But I didn't expect that he was not as stubborn as he appeared.
To be continued...