Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“It was undeniably Big Brother Zhou who purged the poison for him, how could he say it was someone else? Has his conscience been eaten by dogs?”
In a fit of anger, a fountain of blood spurted from Yang Zixi’s mouth, and she fainted. Only Zhou Donghuang’s timely intervention to support her prevented her from falling to the ground.
“Young Mistress!”
Aunt Mei’s expression changed.
“Young Mistress Ren, why don’t you arrange a place for Zixi to rest for now,” Zhou Donghuang said as he supported Yang Zixi. Ren Jiapei had been scared pale by the suddenness of the scene before her.
Ren Jiapei was, after all, only a young lady, and it was normal for her to be scared. She hurriedly accepted Zhou Donghuang’s suggestion and led Zhou Donghuang and the others out of the receiving chamber.
Ren Jiapei did not bring them towards the guest rooms, but to the compound where she stayed. “This is where my mother lived apart from my father, and this is where I have been staying since I returned. There are many rooms, and you all can stay here with me from now on. This way, I can take even better care of Sister Zixi.”
While Ren Jiapei was speaking, she allowed Zhou Donghuang to carry Yang Zixi back to her room as there had not been time to prepare the other rooms.
“Big Brother Zhou, is Sister Zixi okay?”
Standing by the bed, Ren Jiapei looked worriedly at Zhou Donghuang, who had just laid Yang Zixi down on the bed.
“She’s fine, Zixi just suffered a psychological attack caused by the state of her vital energy; she’ll be fine after resting for a while.”
Zhou Donghuang shook his head and led the way out of the room. “Let her have a good rest for now; no one should disturb her.”
“Understood.”
Ren Jiapei and Aunt Mei followed him out as he instructed.
As for Fu, he was helping several servant girls of the Ren family to prepare some other rooms, and Aunt Mei went off to help once she came out of the room.
“Big Brother Zhou, you purged the poison that the patriarch of the Yang family Yang Yunji was suffering from and not Xiao Chen?”
After making sure that Yang Zixi was in no danger, Ren Jiapei let out a breath as her curiosity overcame her and she questioned Zhou Donghuang.
“Why? Don’t you believe what Zixi said?”
Zhou Donghuang smiled casually, not showing any displeasure that the young lady doubted him. Firstly, he was not a petty person, and secondly, he liked the young lady’s personality and was favorably disposed towards her.
“I definitely believe what Sister Zixi said, but I’m just surprised.”
Ren Jiapei smiled awkwardly.
“When Zixi brought me to the Yang family to examine Yang Yunji, Xiao Chen had just examined Yang Yunji and said that he was powerless to help.”
Zhou Donghuang said indifferently, “After that, I spent four days helping Yang Yunji purge the poison. Yang Yunji announced to the public that it was Xiao Chen who purged him of the poison, and Xiao Chen was accepted into the Shi family after this incident… I believe that Yang Yunji, Xiao Chen, and the Shi family have agreed on a mutually beneficial arrangement. If I’m not wrong… Zixi’s expulsion from the Yang family should also be a part of this agreement.”
As he finished, a cold gleam flashed across Zhou Donghuang’s eyes. To him, this matter was inconsequential.
However, he could not overlook the fact that Yang Yunji had hurt Yang Zixi because of this, and thus, he could not stand by idly.
Moreover, Yang Zixi had rejected Shi Yu in the past had not been expelled from the family by Yang Yunji, but this time, he really had expelled her.
He had a feeling that Shi Yu had no small part to play in this.
…
In reality, it was soon proven that Zhou Donghuang had guessed correctly.
The next day after Ren Jiapei returned from outside, she called Zhou Donghuang and Yang Zixi over together, her pretty face unusually serious.
“Big Brother Zhou, Sister Zixi.”
Ren Jiapei said in a low voice, “Today, the Shi family gave one of their medicine shops near the city center to the Yang family, and the Yang family is in the process of taking it over. Besides that, the big medicine shops owned by the Yang family have put on sale a good number of new elixirs and potions, and these new elixirs and potions are not something that the inferior-level medicine master of the Yang family has the ability to formulate.
“The most important thing is that… the exact same elixirs and potions went on sale concurrently at the Shi family’s medicine shops. If I’m not wrong… those elixirs and potions should all be the work of that Xiao Chen, one of the ten great medicine masters of the Chu royal city.”
Ren Jiapei paused and hesitated before continuing, “Besides that, I have gotten someone to find out some things from a direct relative of the Shi family who is very close to Shi Yu. Shi Yu himself is responsible for Xiao Chen joining the Shi family… Shi Yu personally told that direct relative of the Shi family that the Shi family gave the Yang family a shop in return for Patriarch Yang announcing publicly that Xiao Chen purged Yang Yunji’s poison, thus helping to raise Xiao Chen’s status in the Chu royal city.
“The price Xiao Chen has to pay is… joining the Shi family for three years. Besides that, to reward Shi Yu for orchestrating Xiao Chen’s inclusion into the Shi family, Shi Hao of the Shi family promised to give the Yang family some formulas, which would take the business of the Yang family’s medicine shops to the next level.
“And the price the Yang family has to pay is… for Sister Zixi to marry Shi Yu!”
Ren Jiapei paused and looked at Yang Zixi.
Yang Zixi’s fists were tightly clenched, and her body was trembling. She never imagined that her first uncle would go behind her back and make this sort of arrangement with the Shi family.
“Of course, if Sister Zixi stubbornly refuses to marry, the Yang family would only have to expel Zixi from the Yang family, and the Shi family would still give the Yang family those formulas. This was also Shi Yu’s idea… because he intended to appear before Sister Zixi after no one takes her in when she is expelled from the Yang family, making himself appear as her last straw of hope and thus lay claim to Sister Zixi from then on.
“The Shi family junior who came to the Ren family earlier looking for me was also sent by him… the only thing was that he did not imagine that I would still take Sister Zixi in,” Ren Jiapei continued.
“Shi Yu!”
A cold gleam flashed across Zhou Donghuang’s eyes, and he knew then that his guess was correct. It was him who had landed Zixi in this situation.
He suddenly could not help feeling a sense of remorse in his heart.
“There’s one more thing.”
Suddenly, Ren Jiapei looked at Yang Zixi, her expression instantly turning serious again. “It’s about… Third Master Yang.”
“Third Uncle? What about Third Uncle?” she asked anxiously.
A sense of dread crept into Yang Zixi’s heart at Ren Jiapei’s expression, and her expression changed as she spoke.
“Third Master Yang is dead.”
Ren Jiapei sighed.
“Third Uncle… is dead?”
Yang Zixi’s face was pale, and she stared in shock for a moment with bloodshot eyes and asked in a low voice, “Sister Jiapei, do you know when Third Uncle died?”
“On September 13th…”
Ren Jiapei was referring to September 13, 1228 of the Ziyun Era, which was also the day when Zhou Donghuang performed the second round of acupuncture on Yang Yunji to purge the poison from his body.
“From what that direct relative of the Shi family said, Shi Yu told him… at that time, Yang Yunji agreed to expel Sister Zixi from the Yang family, but Third Master Yang refused. He was killed with a single punch from the patriarch of the Shi family, Shi Hao. After Third Master Yang died, Yang Yunji still… still thanked Shi Hao for helping him… clean out his house.”
As she finished, Ren Jiapei’s speech slowed down, and she took a careful look at Yang Zixi. “Zixi, your third uncle, he… he did not abandon you.”
“Third Uncle!!”
Yang Zixi threw her head back with a shrill wail of grief. Blood rushed to her eyes and blood flowed from her tightly clenched fists; blood also dribbled from the corners of her mouth from clenching her teeth too hard.
Swoosh!
A cold gleam flashed across Zhou Donghuang’s eyes as he immediately rose from his seat and said to Yang Zixi, “Zixi, come with Big Brother Donghuang… today, Big Brother Zhou will take you to the Yang family and the Shi family and get justice for you!”
The Yang family?
The Shi family?
They were just ants in Zhou Donghuang’ eyes.
Zhou Donghuang’s sudden violent outburst had given Ren Jiapei a fright, and she smiled bitterly. “Big Brother Zhou, I know you are fighting for Zixi, but that Yang family, Shi family…”
“So what of them?”
Zhou Donghuang smiled coldly, spite and condescension on his face.
“The Yang family is a grand family, and although they are among the lowest grand families, they have a level-six adept of the Qi-gathering in charge, Patriarch Yang Yunji of the Yang family.”
Ren Jiapei continued patiently, “The Shi family is a tycoon family, and although they are also among the lowest tycoon families, they have a level-eight adept of Qi-gathering in charge. Besides that, there are the many level-seven adepts of the Shi family, including Shi Hao.”
Ren Jiapei paused here, and Zhou Donghuang swept a gaze over her and asked, “Are you done?”
“Big Brother Zhou, you…”
Just as Ren Jiapei was beginning to feel puzzled, not knowing where this youth before her was getting his self-confidence from, Zhou Donghuang had already lifted his right hand and proceeded to press down hard on the stone table beside him.
Pong!!
There was a loud sound, and the entire stone table trembled. It seemed to be transformed into a heap of stone powder, crashing to the ground in a cloud of dust.
“This…”
Ren Jiapei stared wide-eyed, completely dumbfounded, and only regained her wits after a long while.
The shock of the sudden loud sound had brought Yang Zixi back to reality, the expression of grief frozen onto her face. She too looked at the heap of stone powder before her in astonishment.
“Cough… cough…”
Finally, Ren Jiapei absentmindedly spat out a wad of saliva as she recovered, looking at the youth before her as though she had seen a ghost.
The youth was tall, his clothes were whiter than snow, and his handsome face bore only a trace of delicateness. His eyes were deep and unfathomable, making it impossible for anyone to read him.
The most important thing was this: This youth looked only sixteen or seventeen years old at most.
If she had not witnessed it with her own eyes, she would not have believed even if she was beaten to death that such a youth could reduce the stone table in her courtyard to this state with just a single slap of his palm.
Even if her father, the patriarch of the Ren family and a level-six adept of the Qi-gathering, could destroy the stone table with a slap, he probably would not be able to reduce it to this state.
Now, the stone table was transformed into fine powder, and not a single piece was intact. Just thinking about the strength required to turn it into this state was truly fearsome.
“Zixi, come with Big Brother Zhou.”
Zhou Donghuang called out to Yang Zixi again and strode out of the courtyard towards the main entrance of the Ren family mansion.
“Big Brother Zhou… is actually this powerful?”
Yang Zixi regained her senses, and her previously dull eyes finally lit up again as she rose from her seat and followed after Zhou Donghuang.
