Master Dong stepped into the main hall, the anger and sorrow on his face completely gone, replaced by a dark, grim expression.
“Father.”
Lady Dong’s voice came from outside the door. She had arrived so abruptly that she hadn’t even changed out of her brightly colored clothing. She hurried in, looking surprised.
“That wretch is dead?”
Seeing his daughter like this and hearing those words made Master Dong’s fury boil over. He raised his hand and slapped her hard across the face.
Lady Dong was stunned by the blow.
“Father, what are you doing?” she cried, clutching her face.
Master Dong pointed a trembling finger at her.
“This is all your fault!” he shouted. “All because of you!”
Lady Dong had been pampered since childhood and had a naturally fiery temper. Now that she came to her senses, she flailed her arms and stomped her feet.
“If I’d wanted to harm him, would I have waited until now?” she shouted back defiantly.
“You might as well have killed him earlier—it would’ve saved others from being harmed now,” Master Dong said in a low, stern voice.
“Father,” Lady Dong snapped, “Who have I harmed, huh?”
“You harmed Xu Maoxiu, and then Xiang Qi. Next, it’ll be our entire family!” Master Dong roared.
At the mention of Xu Maoxiu, Lady Dong calmed down and could no longer stay angry.
“Father, have you lost your senses from rage?” she asked.
Master Dong flung his sleeve and sat down heavily, his expression growing even darker.
“Father, what exactly happened?” Lady Dong asked. “Is Xiang Qi really dead?”
“He’s really dead,” Master Dong replied.
“How did he die?” Lady Dong pressed.
Master Dong looked up at her. Even upon hearing that her husband was truly dead, his daughter showed no hint of sorrow on her face—only a sense of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
Master Dong felt as if all the strength had drained from his body.
“It wasn’t you who caused it,” he said, shaking his head. “It was me.”
Lady Dong grew even more confused.
“Father…” she called softly.
“I should never have agreed to let Xiang Qi marry into the family out of spite,” Master Dong said, shaking his head with a bitter smile. “As expected, decisions made out of anger always come back to bite you.”
As he spoke, he glanced at Lady Dong, who looked like she was about to ask more questions, and gestured for her to sit down.
“Si-niang,” he said, “It’s not the mistake that matters—it’s whether there’s still a chance to make things right. Right now, our Dong family is at a life-or-death crossroads.”
Life or death?
Lady Dong’s eyes widened.
“Father, did you beat Xiang Qi to death? And in front of everyone?” she asked. “How could you be so reckless?”
Though a son-in-law’s status was low, the law was clear: to kill an adopted son without cause was a capital offense. Of course, in private, family or clan punishments were often overlooked—as long as no one reported it to the authorities. But that didn’t mean you could just beat someone to death in broad daylight, in the middle of the street.
“He wasn’t killed by me—he was murdered by someone else,” Master Dong said.
“What? Who would dare do that?” Lady Dong cried out. “They won’t get away with this! I’ll go change right now, call my brothers, and we’ll go cry in front of their door! We’ll make sure they can’t stay in the capital another day!”
Master Dong let out a snort of laughter.
“You still think they won’t get away with it? It’s us they’re not going to let off!” he said. “She shot and killed a street thug, drove Zhu Wu to suicide, scared Dou Qi’s whole family into fleeing the capital, and gained Tai Ping Residence, Immortal’s Abode, Yichun Hall one after another… And do you even know who originally owned that Yichun Hall?”
Lady Dong, stunned by the string of names and talk of killings and deaths, blankly shook her head when asked.
“Secretariat Editor Liu,” Master Dong said. “Others might not know, but we businessmen certainly do. Liu’s reach was long and hidden, and yet someone snatched his property away from him—no…”
He paused mid-sentence.
“No, no… Yes, that’s right. That must be it. Liu’s illness was too strange…” he said, muttering rapidly.
“Father, what’s wrong with you now? Are you muddled from anger?” Lady Dong frowned.
Could her father really be so heartbroken over the death of a mere son-in-law that he’d started speaking nonsense?
“There’s nothing wrong with me—I’m very clear-headed. If you provoke this person, the only outcome is death,” Master Dong said, drawing a deep breath. “This time, we’re in serious trouble. At first, I wasn’t sure—but now that Xiang Qi is dead, I’m certain: he’s the one who secretly reported Xu Maoxiu and the others.”
Lady Dong’s eyes widened—this part she understood—and she immediately sprang to her feet.
“I knew it was that damn wretch…” she shouted.
“Xiang Qi may have been the one who made the secret report, but it was you who started all of this!” Master Dong roared. “If you still won’t listen to me carefully, the next one to die will be you!”
Lady Dong clutched her chest, staring wide-eyed at her father.
“A cursed entanglement,” Master Dong exhaled and said. “If you hadn’t been so infatuated with Xu Maoxiu, Xiang Qi wouldn’t have harbored such deep resentment and lost control, doing what he did. Even so, at first it was just a petty act of revenge. But by some cruel twist of fate, it got into the hands of a powerful enemy who turned it into a full-blown retaliation. No wonder the people at Tai Ping Residence struck back at Xiang Qi with such vicious force.”
Lady Dong felt as if she were in a fog—still confused.
Just like that? Someone could be killed just because another said so?
“One person?” Master Dong let out a cold laugh, raising his hand and flipping it over, palm up and down. “The people under Tai Ping Residence have more than one life on their hands!”
Only then did Lady Dong understand the meaning behind that earlier string of names and deaths Master Dong had recited—her face grew even paler.
“Father, are you saying… that girl killed Xiang Qi?” she asked. “Didn’t you say Xiang Qi fell to his death?”
That girl?
A delicate, soft-spoken beauty who looked like she’d be blown over by a breeze?
Kill someone?
“I don’t want to know whether it was her or how she did it, and I won’t go digging for answers. All I need to know is—in her eyes, we’re all people who deserve to die,” Master Dong said.
“Then what do we… what do we do now? Go… go beg her for mercy?” Lady Dong asked, her expression turning slightly panicked.
If her father had said someone wanted to kill them at any other time, she would’ve just assumed he was drunk. But now, because of Xiang Qi’s strange and sudden death, she had no choice but to believe it.
“Beg her? That would only get us killed faster!” Master Dong said.
“Then what should we do?” Lady Dong asked anxiously.
Master Dong fell silent for a moment in thought.
“Go change your clothes now. Take your brothers and go cry over Xiang Qi’s death,” he said.
Lady Dong froze—why was he suddenly bringing this up again?
“Father, why cry over him now?” she protested. “He’s the one who got us into this mess!”
“We’re not crying for him, we’re crying for ourselves,” Master Dong said, beckoning her to come closer. “Start by crying in front of Zhang Damao’s shop. Xiang Qi died right outside their door, so they’ll be seen as the murderers. Once the crowd on the street hears enough, move the crying to the magistrate’s office…”
“Father, is this really the time to be extorting money?” Lady Dong cut in.
“You fool,” Master Dong scolded. “All you ever think about is money! What matters now is that we insist Xiang Qi’s death was an accident. That girl needs to believe we truly had no idea what was going on—that everything was a complete accident to us! We know nothing!”
Lady Dong finally understood and quickly agreed, rising to her feet.
She hurried to the door, but paused and turned back.
“Father… if she’s that powerful, then Brother Xu will be okay, right?” she asked.
Master Dong looked at her, his expression grave.
“He’d better be,” he said. “Otherwise, the Dong family will be utterly destroyed—no home left, no corpses even spared.”
Lady Dong lowered her head and turned around, taking a deep breath.
“My poor husband!”
A sharp, sorrowful wail rang out across the courtyard.
Yudai Bridge, the Cheng residence.
A knocking sound echoed by the wall. A maid looked up, already a bit annoyed.
“So annoying!” she muttered.
A young man’s head popped up over the top of the wall.
“Hey, I came to thank you,” Duke Jin’an said with a smile.
Cheng Jiao-niang looked up at him.
“I drank your medicinal tea, and in just a few short days, I recovered,” Duke Jin’an said.
“So… are you going to pay me a consultation fee?” Cheng Jiao-niang asked.
Duke Jin’an burst out laughing.
“There’s no need to talk about money between friends,” he said.
Who’s your friend?
The maid frowned.
“But I brought you this,” the young man said with a smile, showing a hint of pride as he took out a porcelain jar.
Jin Ge’er stepped forward and carefully caught it, holding it out to Cheng Jiao-niang.
The maid opened the lid, and a faint fragrance wafted out.
What is this? Just tea.
Miss doesn’t drink the teas from outside anyway…
“Osmanthus,” Cheng Jiao-niang said, looking up at the young man on the wall. Though her voice was calm, there was a hint of surprise.
What is osmanthus?
The maid was puzzled.
“It’s very fragrant, right?” Duke Jin’an smiled. “It’s tea made from osmanthus flowers.”
Fragrant tea?
How could you even drink that? Wouldn’t the floral scent overpower the true flavor of the tea?
The maid couldn’t help but look down at the porcelain jar.
“I can tell from your choice of snacks that you must be quite particular about food and drink,” Duke Jin’an smiled. “This fine thing, you’re sure to like it.”
“Thank you,” Cheng Jiao-niang said, giving the young man on the wall a slight smile.
“How have you been lately?” the young man asked, leaning on the wall.
“Not so well,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied.
Duke Jin’an’s expression flickered.
That nosy fellow was about to ask more questions again…
Could it be that Miss told him everything without leaving out a single word?
The maid couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous.
Was this young man’s background…?
“There are some things I just can’t bring myself to say,” the young man said, his tone serious instead of his usual teasing. “Though I call myself your friend, I may not be able to help you with anything, so I don’t dare make empty promises.”
Ah…
The maid stared at the young man in surprise.
She had never seen anyone so clearly refusing help, yet making it sound as if they were the one being troubled.
She really didn’t know what to say.
“You already asked, and I’ve already answered. What else is there to say?” Cheng Jiao-niang said.
How have you been? Not so well.
Is that all?
The maid glanced again at Cheng Jiao-niang.
After a moment of hesitation, she turned and took the porcelain jar into the main hall. After all, she never understood what these two were talking about anyway, so she might as well get on with her own work.
“Do you think you can handle it this time?” Duke Jin’an asked.
“I can still give it a try,” Cheng Jiao-niang replied.
“Then go ahead and try. If it doesn’t work out in the end, there’s still me,” Duke Jin’an said, nodding as he looked at her. “You saved my life once; I’ll repay you with mine.”
The maid shifted her gaze to Ban Qin.
“That guy really is just a decorative pillow—always sweet-talking Miss, but when real trouble comes, he can’t even say a kind word,” she said.
“Think about it—he’s someone who nearly lost his own life. Besides, if he could truly help as he wished, why wouldn’t he dare even meet Miss at the front gate?” Ban Qin whispered.
It’s said he avoids the main entrance not because he fears harm to himself, but because he fears harming Miss’s reputation.
Someone who is cautious even about meeting others—if he rashly tries to help, he might only cause more trouble instead of solving anything.
The maid glanced again; the young man on the corridor no longer wore a smile. Instead, his expression was solemn.
“Actually, what he said in the end was quite serious,” she smiled again.
‘I’ll repay you with my life.’
As long as there’s life, everything is still possible.
