The old madam sobbed as she was taken away.

Wan Zeng came in after handling Madam Wu.

“Master, she has been sent away.”

The Duke of An clenched his fists tightly.

After a long pause, he looked up and took out a packet of medicine from a hidden compartment in the table.

“Go yourself, brew this, and deliver it.”

Wan Zeng hesitated for a moment, then took the medicine packet with a calm expression, closed the door, and left.

As soon as he stepped out, a figure leaped down from the ceiling beam.

The newcomer smirked. “I never expected the esteemed Duke of An to be betrayed by his own family one day.”

The Duke of An sat down wearily, his face cold. “Say what you have to say, or get lost!”

The man in black chuckled. “I’m just finding this interesting. After all, I did save your life. Show some respect to your savior.”

Interesting?

What a grand way of saying he was just here to watch a show.

“I heard the Duke of Han’s household is preparing for another wedding. Now that is interesting.”

The man in black paused, his expression darkening.

He said coldly, “The Chen family has gone missing. His Highness will be arriving in Shengjing soon. You’d best not stir up any more trouble these days—otherwise, even His Highness won’t be able to save you.”

The Chen family had disappeared!

The Duke of An’s face changed drastically.

“You said the Chen family wouldn’t return to the capital!”

“His Highness has done his best.” No one knew what method the Chen family had used to escape His Highness’s pursuit.

“If the Chen family returns, we’re finished! Li Ping was taken away by them—if he talks, we’ll all be exposed!”

The Chen family had been driven out of Shengjing back then to make things easier for His Highness.

If they returned, everything they had done would be for nothing.

The man in black cast him a lazy glance. “Do you think His Highness wouldn’t have prepared for this?”

“What do you mean?” The Duke of An was full of doubt.

The man in black smirked. “Since they can’t be found, let them enter the capital openly. Can they bear the crime of defying an imperial decree?”

At the Jiang residence.

The family sat around the table, eating.

Madam Chen picked up some greens and placed them in Jiang Yuanxi’s bowl. The little one frowned unhappily.

Taking advantage of Madam Chen’s distraction, she picked up the greens and stuffed them into the mouth of a black snake.

The greens almost got lodged in the snake’s throat.

The black snake slithered out of Jiang Yuanxi’s sleeve, coiled at the corner of the table, and dry-heaved.

“What’s wrong with him?” Jiang Yuancheng asked curiously, watching the snake nearly throw up its gallbladder.

Jiang Yuanxi’s eyes flickered. “Preg—pregnant!”

The book said pregnancy made you like this.

The black snake’s eyes widened.

Did she ever bother drafting her lies?

He was male—male!

Everyone at the table had strange expressions.

Madam Chen immediately saw through her daughter’s lie.

Just to avoid eating greens, this little one could make up anything.

She placed another serving of greens in Jiang Yuanxi’s bowl and stared at her firmly.

Under her mother’s oppressive gaze, Jiang Yuanxi reluctantly took a bite.

【Ugh, disgusting! I’m a mighty war god of the celestial realm—why am I eating vegetables? I want meat! Big, juicy chunks of meat!】

Everyone continued eating, pretending not to hear.

Jiang Fengyuan wiped his mouth after finishing his meal. “The Duke of An woke up in time and handed Madam Wu over to the Ministry of Justice. This way, he distanced the Duke’s household from the matter.”

Jiang Yuansheng set down his chopsticks. “He’s quick-witted, but this has stirred public outrage, and even the noble families are involved. It won’t be so easily pacified.”

Madam Chen sighed. “What a pity for those young women, ruined by Madam Wu. With such disfigured faces, who would dare to propose marriage to them now? Even those who are already married will be looked down upon by their husbands’ families.”

They had received no justice, and surviving from now on would be even harder.

Jiang Yuanyuan spoke up. “I consulted the best doctors in Shengjing—they all said it’s not an ordinary poison. It can’t be cured.” The most they could do was slow the decay of their faces.

【Heavy metal poisoning. They can’t cure it, but I can.】

Jiang Yuansheng hesitated. “If there’s a remedy that can heal them, it would be a great act of merit.”

【It’s easy! Just use Zhiwu Grass… like this. Twice a day, and in three days, they’ll see results. Their skin will be smooth, delicate, and flawless.】

【Huh? Why is Third Brother on the ground again?】

Jiang Yuanfan furiously scribbled down notes, filling three pages.

After all this training from his sister, he had developed excellent handwriting—and his writing speed was even more impressive.

While Jiang Yuanxi was confused, Madam Chen placed a duck leg in her bowl, successfully distracting her.

Her eyes lit up, and she eagerly reached for the meat with both hands, gnawing at it happily.

After the meal, Chun Zhi brought in a group of people.

“Madam, these individuals have been carefully selected. Their backgrounds are clean, and they have no past wrongdoings.”

There were sixteen of them—six women and the rest men.

Madam Chen glanced at them and nodded in satisfaction.

Then she turned to Jiang Yuanxi. “Yuanxi, what do you think of these people?”

Jiang Yuanxi, with a long strip of dried meat in her mouth, was using both hands and feet to try and bite off a piece—but it wouldn’t budge.

Her little face scrunched up in frustration.

She was unhappy, very unhappy. She needed to vent.

Her gaze shifted to the newcomers.

She stopped in front of one of them and held out her hand.

“Give me money!”

Wang San was startled. “W-what money?” He fidgeted nervously.

“Give me money,” Jiang Yuanxi repeated.

“I—I don’t have any money! I’m just a laborer. Please, Miss, have mercy!” Wang San knelt and kowtowed. He never expected a rich young lady to ask him for money.

Madam Chen frowned. “Yuanxi, don’t cause trouble.” These people came from poor backgrounds, barely able to feed themselves. She had chosen them out of pity, intending for them to serve her parents when they returned.

【No money? Your fortune is dim, but you suddenly came into a large sum recently. If you found money, shouldn’t we split it?】

“This money isn’t rightfully yours. We should divide it.”

Sweat formed on Wang San’s palms.

Impossible—how could she know? It had to be a coincidence.

“I-I really don’t have money!”

“Stingy!” Jiang Yuanxi huffed.

She turned away. “If you don’t give me any, you’ll suffer a bloody disaster. And not just you—your whole family will die because of you.”

Wang San’s head snapped up.

He had indeed recently obtained three hundred taels—more money than he had ever seen in his life.

“Miss, I really have no money!” Wang San refused to admit it.

As soon as he spoke, Jiang Yuanxi noticed the black aura around his forehead darken even more.

People were greedy.

But was a little money really worth losing everything?

“Alright then.” Jiang Yuanxi sighed.

If he chose this path, she couldn’t save him.

Fate was set by one’s choices—the cause you sow determined the effect you reaped.

Madam Chen, experienced in the ways of the inner court, immediately realized something was wrong.

After the group left, she found an excuse to dismiss Wang San.

That night, Wang San returned home, frustrated and confused.

Had he really been fired just because he refused to give money? Others didn’t give money either!

A bunch of hypocrites!

And that little girl—how dare she curse him? Rich girls really had no manners.

As soon as he stepped inside, a man in black appeared, sword in hand.

“Did you complete the task?”

Wang San’s legs trembled. “N-no… they threw me out.”

A flash of steel. Blood sprayed.

“Useless.”

Moments later, a small child squeezed through the door.