Chapter 1: Someone has died!

The wife of General Wude is frail and sickly, and having recently caught a cold, the household summoned Hua Lin, a newly hired physician, to treat her.

The General’s mansion is a place of great pretension; being their physician requires not only writing prescriptions but also brewing the medicine.

Hua Lin, overwhelmed after a few days of rushing about, requested permission to bring his female apprentice into the mansion to assist him.

Yue Tang is that apprentice.

In the evening, while she was brewing medicine in the courtyard of the main house, the eldest young master, He Xu, who had just returned home in a hurry, caught sight of her.

He immediately forgot that he had been in a rush to find his wife, Madam Zhang, to discuss a matter of utmost importance. He stopped in his tracks, pushed aside the osmanthus branches that were obstructing his view, and asked with glowing eyes, "Who is that?"

"She is the female physician that Dr. Hua brought in today. Her surname is Lin, Lin Xiuying. She’s a young widow." The servant couldn't help but glance at the woman in the courtyard as well.

He Xu involuntarily descended into the courtyard and used his folding fan to lift Yue Tang’s chin.

Yue Tang’s gaze traveled upward, stopping when it swept across a hideous, foot-long scar on his forearm. "Eldest Young Master."

He Xu was quite surprised. "How did you know I am the Eldest Young Master?"

Yue Tang’s lips curled slightly, her gaze moving further up. "The Madam said the Eldest Young Master is very formidable."

He Xu was overjoyed and laughed heartily. "To think you are such a sensible and witty young lady!" After examining her face carefully, he added, "At such a flower-like age, why are you a widow?"

"Men have short lives; there is nothing to be done about it."

"Tsk, tsk—" He Xu became even more brazen. He moved his fan to the side of her face and forced her to look straight at him. "You have such a delicate, watery look. Since that dead ghost is gone, don't you find the nights lonely and hard to sleep?"

Yue Tang caught the fan between two slender fingers, twirled it with a flourish, and then opened it to fan herself lightly. "And what if I do? Your wife is in the room right now; aren't you afraid?"

Her movements were fluid and graceful. Though she was a woman, she carried a certain dashing air that was indescribably unique.

He Xu’s temper flared. "Don't mention that tigress! If she dares to say a word about the person I want, I’ll have her kicked back to the Zhang family this instant!"

Yue Tang raised her lips and glanced sideways behind him, saying nothing.

"You surnamed He!" The eldest daughter-in-law, Madam Zhang, was already trembling with rage under the veranda behind them. Her face, fleshy and broad, was twisted by fury. She rushed over and grabbed He Xu by the collar. "Try kicking me out and see what happens!"

He Xu was caught off guard and pulled to the ground. Embarrassed and furious, he snapped, "Are you crazy?!"

He then slapped Madam Zhang across the face, spinning her halfway around.

For the past few years, Madam Zhang had been accustomed to having her way in her husband's home. She never expected him to show such ferocity, yet she dared not use force against him, so she turned on Yue Tang instead. "You shameless slut! You dare to seduce a man right in front of me? I’ll tear you to pieces!"

Yue Tang calmly closed her fan and took half a step back.

He Xu, who had rushed up, intercepted Madam Zhang’s assault. As she lunged, he grabbed her and dragged her toward the main wing. "You still dare to act crazy here! See how I deal with you!"

Madam Zhang screamed and cursed all the way, the cries of "slut" echoing one after another.

Yue Tang dusted off her sleeves and lowered her head to add firewood to the stove.

Hearing the commotion, a maid walked out of the room. "The Madam asks what is wrong with the eldest daughter-in-law?"

Yue Tang entered the room, bowed to Madam He, who was lying on her side on the bed, and stepped forward to remove the silver needles from her head. "The Eldest Young Master just asked me to serve the Madam’s medicine well, and I don't know why the eldest daughter-in-law became so angry. This is my fault. Tomorrow, I will ask my master to send someone else."

Madam He’s expression turned cold upon hearing this. "Pay her no mind! She makes a scene at every turn; she has shamed the men of this family!"

She then looked at Yue Tang. "It’s only been a day, and my headache is much better. It seems Hua Lin was not exaggerating; you have learned some real skills.

"Just listen to my orders and ignore everything else."

Yue Tang nodded, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Yes."

...

Having cast all caution to the wind, Madam Zhang stood in the main wing, pointing at He Xu and cursing him bitterly.

"If my father hadn't risked his life to save you back then, would you be alive today? If you dare to have any crooked thoughts, I will immediately have that Lin slut beaten to death with sticks to show you!"

"Enough!" He Xu slammed the table. "You always use that trivial matter to hold me down. Do you know why the Heir sought me out just now?

"They have news of Wei Zhang, and the Heir has entrusted this task to me!

"As long as I kill Wei Zhang, the Marquis will surely promote me greatly. When that time comes, let alone hitting you, even if I divorce you, your Zhang family wouldn't dare do a thing!"

Madam Zhang was stunned, her expression of rage shifting into a strange look.

"Wei... Wei Zhang? You mean the retainer of Princess Yongjia, that fish that slipped through the net—he’s been found?"

Hearing "Princess Yongjia," He Xu, who had been riding high, suddenly paused. He then gritted his teeth and looked at the long scar on his arm—

This scar was a full foot long. At the time, the wound was an inch deep, the flesh turned outward, and he had nearly lost his arm. Even three years later, though the scar had long since healed, the raised, purple lump of flesh still looked shocking.

"If you know, why ask!"

He swallowed hard, pulled down his sleeve with a sour expression to hide the lingering fear in his heart.

Madam Zhang fell silent as well.

The couple fell into a heavy silence, both captured by the fear that crawled up from the depths of their hearts like a venomous snake.

Three years ago, the late Emperor’s long-standing illness took a turn for the worse. It was then that the He family suddenly received a secret order, instructing them to join the Zhang family in leading a hundred assassins, disguised as bandits, to lie in ambush in the dense forest outside the city at midnight.

Their target was Princess Yongjia, who was rushing back to the capital upon hearing of the Emperor’s critical condition.

That night, the forest ran red with blood. Corpses lay scattered around the carriage, eerie and terrifying, like hell itself.

The first to die were the Princess’s nannies, maids, and then her guards.

After that, it was Princess Yongjia’s child, who was only three months old.

The child had been held by the Princess, who was fighting with her sword. During the escape, the Princess was stabbed in the back, the infant fell, its swaddling clothes caught on the saddle, and then it was pierced by their swords.

The dying child was carried out of the forest by a horse that had gone mad with fright.

It was a dense forest in the wilderness; amidst the fighting, one could hear the howling of wolves in the distance.

A fresh, bloody infant was exactly the kind of delicacy the wolf pack would fight over.

Even three years later, the earth-shattering cry of grief that Princess Yongjia let out when the child fell still echoed clearly in He Xu’s ears!

The child’s death made her, wielding the imperial-bestowed Lingquan sword, fight back with even more madness. He Xu retreated step by step, his mask torn off by her, and then he was stabbed by her!

The first sword pierced his shoulder.

The second was his arm.

She was wrapped in boundless hatred; every move was cold, sharp, and vicious! Every inch she advanced carried the determination to tear them into a thousand pieces!

He Xu had only heard that Princess Yongjia was well-read in her youth and that Prince Duan had hired the best teachers for her, but he had never imagined that this golden-leafed noblewoman, who never appeared in public, could be so ruthless and brave when killing!

If not for Madam Zhang’s father rushing in to support them, he would surely have become a wandering ghost under her sword!

...And the intervention of Madam Zhang’s father was the very reason Madam Zhang had been able to throw her weight around in the He family for the past three years.

"Eldest Young Master, Young Madam, dinner is served."

The door was knocked at that moment.

The couple was startled, both trembling.

As the food was placed on the table, Madam Zhang closed the door again. With trembling hands, she poured He Xu a cup of wine and served him various dishes, only then regaining some of her composure.

"You’ve been tracking that Wei fellow for three years. Since the Heir has specified the route this time, there must be something to it! You should go as soon as possible. Once he is killed, we can all rest easy!"

After the deed was done back then, both the Zhang and He families received large rewards. When Madam Zhang married, her father gave her a portion of the reward money he had received, and also quietly gave her a large box of jewelry taken from the Princess’s carriage.

The blood in the cracks of that box hadn't even dried, but the jewelry inside was truly beautiful and precious—all crafted by the finest artisans in the capital, adorned with countless gems and pearls the size of pigeon eggs. Many of them Madam Zhang couldn't even name, but she couldn't bear to part with them.

Wei Zhang was a loyalist to the Princess. If he were truly still alive, he would definitely seek revenge for Princess Yongjia!

Only by killing Wei Zhang as soon as possible and ensuring that everyone belonging to Princess Yongjia was dead could they continue to live such a good life and enjoy their wealth in peace!

After a few cups of wine, He Xu’s mind began to relax.

That night, the heavily wounded Princess Yongjia, unwilling to be captured, turned and jumped off a cliff.

At the bottom of the cliff, this golden-leafed noblewoman, who had been pampered by the world, had one side of her face smashed to a pulp, all her bones broken, becoming a pile of mush.

To avenge that sword wound, He Xu had even used his blade to gouge out her eyeballs—he swore to the heavens that even if she became a ghost, she would never find the path to revenge!

This time, as long as he killed that Wei fellow and removed a long-standing thorn in the side of his superiors, he would be able to hold his head high in front of the Zhang family!

Thinking of this, He Xu felt even more cheerful and tilted his head to down another cup.

But tonight, the wine seemed unusually strong. The previous cups were fine, but this one was hard to swallow.

His stomach churned. He beckoned to Madam Zhang, wanting her to bring the spittoon.

However, a fishy sweetness surged up first, turning into a pillar of blood that erupted from his open mouth!

The bright red blood splattered all over the floor!

Madam Zhang jumped off the heated brick bed with a scream!

He Xu wiped his mouth in a daze, then fell straight forward. With the second pillar of blood spraying out, he did a somersault off the bed and rolled under the footstool!

Madam Zhang let out a blood-curdling scream: "Someone, help!"

The servants rushed in at the sound, and then everyone froze at the door!

They were all laborers; when had they ever seen such a gruesome scene?

Screams erupted one after another throughout the room!

Two older servants steadied their nerves, their hearts pounding as they stepped forward to check He Xu’s breath. In the end, they too sat down on the floor, scrambling backward

"It’s a life!—The Eldest Young Master is dead!"