"Did you hear that Inoue Kaoru's wretched daughter has returned?" In another room of the Inoue Family, two men sat facing each other. The thinner one spoke anxiously, "The person you sent failed to kill that little bitch!"

"Inoue Ki! Do you think I don't want her dead?" Inoue You's eyes flickered, "The core power of the Inoue Family is controlled by that Undying Great Elder; what can I do? Besides, didn't you also send people to kill her? How can you blame just me?"

Inoue Ki tapped his fingers on the table, frowning as he said, "That's all too late now. With Inoue Sakura back, the Great Elder will certainly use her as an excuse to crush us. We had agreed to deal with the Great Elder together first before settling our own scores!"

Inoue You said indifferently, "Don't worry, we still have a common enemy! But... this Inoue Sakura is indeed a problem, we must eliminate her first. Then, the Great Elder won't have an excuse to interfere with the Clan Leader's election!"

"So we…" Inoue Ki made a throat-slitting motion, "as long as she is dead, all will be resolved!"

"You think the Great Elder is a vegetarian!" Inoue You stroked his chin, a sinister gleam in his eyes, "Murder isn't feasible, if we're caught, we'll be put in a difficult position... We only have one option now, that is to insist that Inoue Sakura is not Inoue Kaoru's daughter. Only then can we legitimately…"

Just then, a white paper crane suddenly appeared in the room, fluttering in midair before landing in front of Inoue Ki and Inoue You.

"The summoning command from the Great Elder!" The two men exchanged a look, an idea sparking in their minds.

Inoue Family's meetings were always held at the family hall. Upon entering, Inoue Ki and Inoue You realized that most of the high-ranking members of the Inoue Family had already arrived.

"Steward Bo, did the Great Elder give any instructions?" Inoue Ki leaned back in his chair and asked the steward standing beside the main seat.

Since the Great Elder's legs were disabled, his orders were generally conveyed through the steward.

Steward Bo only glanced indifferently at Inoue Ki before saying, "The Great Elder will be here himself soon. He will tell you about it in person."

What! The Great Elder himself is coming! Everyone sat up straight involuntarily.

Since the disability of the Great Elder, he rarely left the attic; in the past twenty years, he had appeared only once when the Clan Leader was assassinated. But today, unexpectedly, he appeared again!

"This Undying old man, he really cares about that wretch!" Inoue Ki gritted his teeth internally.

With a creak, the door opened, and Inoue Sakura walked in, pushing a wheelchair. It was indeed the Great Elder sitting in it.

The wheelchair was pushed to the head seat, and the Great Elder glanced around, those who met his gaze involuntarily lowered their heads.

Inoue You and Inoue Ki were no exception, due to the penetrating gaze of the Great Elder.

"Cough! Cough!" The Great Elder coughed and then said, "Today I have gathered you all here regarding the life and death matters of our Inoue Family. The former Clan Leader was assassinated, and until now, the murderer has not been caught, which is a disgrace to our Inoue Family! To think that our Clan Leader could be assassinated, has turned our Inoue Family into a joke across all of Fusang!"

The crowd lowered their heads, their faces flushed with shame.

"But what hurts me more is, at the time when our Clan Leader was killed, when we need unity and resolution, some people, for their own selfish interests, committed acts that undermine the overall interests of the Inoue Family, which I absolutely cannot tolerate!" The Great Elder spoke sternly, "Although Kawao had no sons, he still has a legitimate daughter. A country cannot be without a king for a day, nor can a family be without a leader. Therefore, I have decided to appoint Inoue Kaoru's daughter, Inoue Sakura, as the Clan Leader of the Inoue Family to stabilize the current chaos in our family. What do you think?"

Everyone was shocked, no one had expected the Great Elder to lay his cards on the table so straightforwardly, catching them all off guard.

"Great Elder, isn't appointing a Clan Leader a bit hasty?" At this point, an elderly man with white hair stood up and said, "Currently, the Inoue Family is facing internal and external troubles, hence, the chosen Clan Leader must have the capability to restore glory to the Inoue Family, I worry…"

The one who stood up to oppose was the Fifth Elder of the Elders Council, who had an ambiguous relationship with Inoue You, a fact well-known to everyone present!

"Oh? You mean to oppose Inoue Sakura becoming the Clan Leader?" The Great Elder said coolly, "Then propose your candidate!"

The Fifth Elder stroked his beard and said, "Great Elder, I am not opposing Inoue Sakura's selection as Clan Leader, but she has just returned from Huaxia and knows nothing about the Inoue Family's affairs. How about we first select an Acting Clan Leader, and once Miss Sakura is capable of carrying the family's responsibilities, we officially pass on the position of Clan Leader to Miss Sakura, wouldn't that be better?"

"Exactly, the Fifth Elder's proposal is prudent; that's how it should be!" Other attendees brightened and agreed.

Acting Clan Leader? The Great Elder's brow slightly furrowed, then he nodded slightly, "The Fifth Elder is correct, I was being impatient! Let's give Inoue Sakura some time to adapt. So, I propose appointing Inoue Ki as the Acting Clan Leader of the Inoue Family. After a year, once Inoue Sakura has familiarized herself with internal and external affairs of the family, then we can transfer the position of Clan Leader to Inoue Sakura. How does that sound?"

The Fifth Elder's smile seized; he did not expect the Great Elder to compromise so quickly. He also didn't expect his own proposal to unintentionally benefit Inoue Ki!

This doesn't make sense, could the Great Elder be... A chill ran through the Fifth Elder's heart. A plan to expel the wolf while swallowing the tiger? So that's it!

The Fifth Elder instantly realized this was the Great Elder's way to dissolve the alliance between Inoue Ki and Inoue You. Indeed, he was cunning.

Inoue You's brows also furrowed tightly, he too realized the Great Elder's intentions, a flash of anger passing through his eyes.

But the happiest person in the room was none other than Inoue Ki himself! Acting Clan Leader? Who didn't know that once you became the Acting Clan Leader, becoming the Clan Leader was just a matter of time?

"If I became the Acting Clan Leader, and then married Inoue Sakura, wouldn't I rightfully become the Clan Leader?" Inoue Ki looked at the immensely charming Inoue Sakura, a smug look flashing in his eyes.

Compared to Inoue You, Inoue Ki was somewhat blunt and lacked the depth of cunning that Inoue You possessed; he hadn't even realized this was a trick by the Great Elder. Instead, he felt quite triumphant!

The elders who supported Inoue Ki, however, felt a sinking feeling in their hearts. If Inoue Ki accepted the position of Acting Clan Leader now, wouldn't he become a mere pawn in the Great Elder's hands? This was absolutely unacceptable!

"All right, let's vote now!" The Great Elder did not give anyone time to argue and spoke directly.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.