Girl, There's Something Wrong With You - Chapter 11

The enemy has successfully raided the home, and the old clan leader is rushing to the battlefield.

As for the Cheng family, who are completely unaware of this, they are currently embroiled in some kind of strange internal turmoil and unrest.

The root cause, of course, is the “algorithm incident” that persisted until last night.

People have been going to the testing grounds one after another and found that the new algorithm is not as bad as rumored on the forums.

The majority of these people are talented individuals in their thirties and forties, being at the eighth or seventh grade, and they constitute the backbone of the family’s strength.

As a result, the reputation on the forums is starting to reverse accordingly.

As for those who continued to insist on “anti-Jinu,” they gradually found themselves isolated as more and more real-world evidence emerged.

So, some people have thought of resorting to “tattling,” showing how human creativity in scheming often aligns unexpectedly.

If you keep praising Jinu, I’ll tell the clan leader and have you all thrown out!

But at this critical moment, another bombshell news suddenly struck the forum: the algorithm textbooks in the clan have been changed!

To revise the textbooks, it’s indeed necessary for Second Elder Cheng Qingyuan to nod in agreement. So, does this mean that the new algorithm proposed by Ji Nu has received validation and approval from Second Elder Cheng Qingyuan?

Furthermore, could Second Elder be openly contradicting the clan leader? Is the faction that supported Cheng Qinghe a few years ago, the ‘Royalist Faction,’ now staging a comeback? The internal clan discourse is in uproar.

As a concerned senior within the clan, it should have been his immediate duty to reassure everyone, but strangely, there was no response…

The reason is none other than what the outside world suspects—there is indeed intense conflict among the clan’s senior members at this time.

“I don’t agree with the decision regarding Mind Steel Seal,” Cheng Qingyuan stated bluntly.

“The options you gave him, either to leave or to be sealed to ensure absolute security, were both acceptable to us originally.”

“However, reality doesn’t align with our initial estimations. Cheng Jinyang is not only someone with great potential in bloodline, but he’s also proficient in algorithms and possesses a natural talent for computational innovation.”

“If the former is mainly about his personal combat strength superiority, then the latter… undoubtedly, will greatly benefit the overall strength of the Shendu Cheng Clan. We cannot afford the consequences of losing him.”

“The relationship between him and the royal princess is unclear,” Cheng Qingxin said calmly.

“So, if we use the Mind Steel Seal on him, can we sever his relationship with the princess?” Cheng Qingyuan asked.

“At least we can prevent the Cheng family from being implicated,” Cheng Qingxin said solemnly, “Don’t forget our route issue! This was a decision made before our father retired!”

“Yes, the route closely follows the aristocracy,” Cheng Qingyuan persisted.

“But don’t forget, why should only the Five Great Clans represent the aristocracy? The Yanshi Yu clan could also…”

“Qingyuan! Be cautious!” Cheng Qingxin’s expression immediately changed, and the surrounding core members also tensed up.

After the Southern Migration of the aristocracy, to stabilize the fervent sentiments of the entire aristocratic class, Emperor Sima Rui relinquished most of the political power originally held by the Sima clan.

Most of it was seized by the Five Great Clans, with the Taiyuan Wang clan being the most dominant, hence the saying “The Wangs and Mas share the world.”

In order to regain power, the current emperor, Sima Shao, married a woman from the Yanling Yu clan and relinquished most of his remaining power, instantly elevating the Yanling Yu clan to a powerful extended family.

[T/N: Actually in a previous chapter the author said the current emperor’s name is Sima Rui. But now saying Sima Shao. I don’t remember which one is real, so I translated as it is said in the chapter.]

This move also attracted a large number of dissatisfied aristocratic families within the Five Great families system, and in recent years, they have begun to rival the Five Great families, sharing the influence over the aristocratic class.

Using a political perspective to describe, the political faction led by Wang Maohong of the Taiyuan Wang family is following the gradual elimination of imperial power, akin to an aristocratic republicanism.

On the other hand, the faction led by Yu Wengui of the Yanling Yu family advocates for a more moderate constitutional monarchy, aiming to retain and limit imperial power while utilizing it for their own benefit.

Of course, there’s no inherent superiority in either political path; it mainly depends on the overall situation. For example, the Shendu Cheng family, being closely associated with the Sima family, would naturally benefit from the influence of the imperial family.

It seems like being preempted by the Yanling Yu clan and missing the best historical opportunity, coupled with the fear stemming from blood relations, compelled the choice to align with the Five Great families. It’s a matter of fate and circumstance, with little room for intervention.

The suggestion from the clan elder Cheng Qingyuan to switch allegiance to the Yanling Yu clan might sound feasible, but in reality, it’s a flawed idea.

The Yanling Yu clan doesn’t need the allegiance of the Cheng clan, which could erode trust with the Five Great families, particularly the Cui and Lu clans, ultimately leading to the downfall of the Cheng clan within the aristocratic circles.

Therefore, when this statement was made, Cheng Qingyuan also felt unreliable and wanted to try to remedy it.

But he heard the clan leader Cheng Qingxin say decisively:

“Following the main route of the Five Great Families was a strategy set by my father during his reign, and it cannot be easily changed. If Cheng Jinyang cannot produce evidence of cutting ties with the royal family, there is no need to discuss this matter further!”

With a resounding statement, tying “granting Cheng Jinyang the seal” and “adhering to the Five Great Family Route” tightly together, even those who originally wanted to speak up for him couldn’t say a word…

What, are you speaking up for Cheng Jinyang? Do you support him getting involved with the royal family? Do you want to go against our path?

It’s a bit cheeky, but that’s how political campaigning goes; since the clan leader has seized the moral high ground, no one else has anything to say.

At this moment, news came from outside the clan’s territory: Cheng Jinyang has arrived.

And he’s accompanied by Princess Nankang.

Now everyone truly has nothing to say.

Cheng Jinyang… you’re digging your own grave!

So, everyone quickly sent someone to the back door to secretly welcome Cheng Jinyang and the princess, making sure no one else saw them.

In the Cheng family’s territory, Cheng Jinyang was feeling a bit nervous. After all, the last time his princess sister brought him here, the reactions from the Cheng family were quite obvious, and this time it would surely be even more unfriendly.

However, if he refused his sister’s goodwill and ventured into the Cheng family’s territory alone, it would be like walking into a lion’s den.

If he were swarmed by people, tied up, and tortured for 24 hours to force him to accept the seal, who could he turn to for justice?

So the chain of suspicion goes like this: in the absence of communication, you suspect me, and I suspect you, leading both sides to lean towards assuming greater malice towards each other…

Upon reaching this point, Cheng Jinyang took out the note marked with “B” given by Miss Wang and unfolded it. It read:

“If you have already accompanied the princess to the Cheng family’s territory, the clan members will greet her as if facing a major enemy. Use this as a reminder to the princess to arm herself fully and prepare for battle.”

Cheng Jinyang: ???

The people of the Cheng family’s territory are very nervous, and if sister Xinnan also arms herself, won’t that escalate tensions further?

Does Miss Wang hope for us to engage in conflict?

As he hesitated, Princess Nankang stared at the note in his hand with surprise and asked, “What’s wrong, Jinyang?”

Cheng Jinyang hesitated for a moment, recalling how “Sister Xinnan” had sent him money every month, taken him clothes shopping, confided in him about her relationship with his parents, and even brought him to the Cheng family’s ancestral land, pressuring the family to accept him as a member, and so on.

Suddenly, he made up his mind and handed her the note in his hand.