Part 4: The Raven's Network
After securing Li Junce's commitment to provide escort, Mont Mentiel went to his small study. Inside, a genuine "Raven" was waiting to report on his work to his Lord.
The Raven is often associated with death, ill omen, and war, such as being the messenger of the God of War and a portent on the battlefield. But at the same time, it also represents wisdom, knowledge, mystery, and creativity.
This perfectly matched Mont Mentiel's personality, and his wisdom was supported by this group of Ravens—the intelligence network passed down by successive Lords of Raven.
The report concerned the Black Sheep Lord and the former Lord.
In the past, Mont Mentiel had not conducted an in-depth study of Cheng Mubai's background or personality, relying mainly on surface impressions for his judgment. On the surface, Cheng Mubai was the classic representation of a useless noble: a man who achieved nothing and possessed the typical greedy nature of a mediocre aristocrat.
The decline of the Black Sheep Duchy's power seemed to confirm this.
However, just as Mont Mentiel's own protective color was that of a cowardly military leader with an incompetent Raven Army, who was to say that Cheng Mubai was not creating a protective color to avoid being seen through?
If he were to be fatally blindsided here, Mont Mentiel, the Fox, would become the greatest joke in the Empire's history of ambition.
Therefore, a deeper report on Cheng Mubai was the most important task Mont Mentiel had assigned to his network of Ravens.
The best answer would be that Cheng Mubai was simply Cheng Mubai, just a simple, worthless scion as he appeared on the surface.
As the investigation deepened, a key figure emerged before Mont Mentiel's eyes: the former Black Sheep Lord, Cheng Mubai's uncle, the sixty-four-year-old Cheng Dongqing, who became a variable Mont Mentiel could not overlook.
When his eyesight became permanently lost due to a severe eye disease, Cheng Dongqing resolutely withdrew from the throne of power, yielding the Black Sheep Lordship to his nephew, Cheng Mubai. He then built a secluded manor in a corner of the grand Ducal residence for his retirement.
Since his retirement, he spent his days having attendants read books and newspapers to him, appreciating music, and sharing travel experiences with travelers.
If Cheng Dongqing, now sixty-four, had not abdicated, he would have been fully capable of restraining the words and actions of the Dragon Fang Lord and the Silver Wolf Lord. But if that were the case, Mont Mentiel might not have had room to maneuver in this current Assembly of Lords.
"Why did he yield the Lordship to his nephew and live in seclusion…" This became the question that occupied Mont Mentiel's mind.
Because, if he rashly carried out the plan to kill Cheng Mubai, would it potentially provoke the true intellect behind Black Sheep, Cheng Dongqing, to personally intervene?
What would Cheng Dongqing's position—his true position—be?
All of this would affect the development of the entire game.
Core secrets within the Lord's family were not easily accessible to the Ravens. The fact that they managed to uncover the key figure of Cheng Dongqing already proved the Ravens' exceptional capability. Fantasizing about easily acquired intelligence exists only in fairy tales.
The rest was the challenge for Mont Mentiel, testing his ability to pierce the heavy fog and see the truth.
"Perhaps the stupidest solution is the best solution. Sometimes, throwing a heavy stone into the water is the best way to break the deadlock."
"As for how the situation will evolve, it depends on who has prepared more backup plans. That person will have the advantage."
Within the entire intelligence report was one inconspicuous piece of information: Cheng Dongqing's "young" wife—though young, she was already a mature woman in her thirties—had left the capital residence yesterday to return to the territory.
And this young wife, before marrying Cheng Dongqing, was already known for her scandalous reputation. She was originally a Countess, but after her Count husband died, she inherited his estate and promptly married the old man Cheng Dongqing.
The small details the Ravens managed to gather suggested that this old woman and Cheng Mubai had a murky, ambiguous relationship.
The timing of sending this "inconvenient" old woman back to the territory was quite intriguing.
"Perhaps, some things are not that complicated." Mont Mentiel continued to fall into his own thought process. It seemed he would be sleepless again. For a wise man, the most painful thing is that once the train of thought begins to turn, it cannot be easily stopped. Thoughts shuttle back and forth, weaving layers of confusion—a pain exclusive to the wise.