Chapter 56: Jiang Yu Awakens

Old Master Fu: [I don’t know which fool will inherit the family business.]

Fu Zhengnan: […The news may not be true.]

Old Master Fu: [What the authorities release is the truth! Don’t follow such examples.]

Fu Zhengnan: [Mm.]

A few minutes later, Old Master Fu, who had been gossiping in a chat group with his comrades, received a phone call from the police.

“Old Fu, it seems like Mr. Fu is… dating a girl overseas. He’s transferred a lot of money, and we’re worried… could he have been scammed?”

The officer didn’t explicitly say Fu Zhengnan was involved in a “pig-killing scam,” but Old Master Fu immediately understood the implication.

Well, just moments ago, he had wondered which fool it was.

Turns out, it was his eldest grandson.

Though he wanted a granddaughter-in-law, this was definitely not the kind of granddaughter-in-law he had in mind!

Without a word, Old Master Fu grabbed the phone and started grilling the officer:

“Explain yourself! Where did all that money go?”

“If you can’t clarify, then stop being the CEO of the Fu Corporation and hand it over to a professional manager. I don’t think you understand how to handle it!”

Fu Zhengnan remained silent for a moment.

He simply replied, “Bought things.”

Then, he sent Old Master Fu a few pictures of the luminous pearls, the glass lanterns, and some of the paintings Jiang Qingqing had made.

Old Master Fu, already fuming with anger, looked at the pictures Fu Zhengnan had sent.

His mood immediately improved.

All these fine things were only worth a billion?

Worth it, truly worth it!

“What nonsense announcement! I’m going to talk to them.”

Fu Zhengnan stopped him, “No need. These things… the origins are hard to trace. Just leave it as it is.”

Old Master Fu thought for a moment before relenting, “Then bring them all back. I want to see them in the old house tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

After dealing with Old Master Fu, Fu Zhengnan dialed another number on his phone, instructing someone to take those items and send them to the auction house.

Only the items he had sent to Old Master Fu remained, along with all of Jiang Qingqing’s paintings.

---

Xu Zhou had sealed off the city.

But there were still a few people from the Prime Minister’s Mansion and the military inside the city.

They looked at the sudden appearance of pigs and hens in the military camp and quickly sent word to those outside the city.

Liu Yi threw a secret letter onto the table in front of his aides.

“So, this is what you call an empty city? You’re starving them?”

The aides picked up the letter. They recognized the words on it, but couldn’t make sense of it.

Why, despite them cutting off all supply routes to Xu Zhou, were materials still appearing in the city? No wagons had entered the city.

Could it be there’s a secret passage?

“Prime Minister, do we have the city’s defense map? Perhaps there’s a secret passage.”

“Otherwise, how could materials enter the city in such large quantities without any noise?”

Liu Yi’s gaze turned sharp, his killing intent growing.

They still had the audacity to mention the city’s defense map.

“The city defense maps are in the hands of the Jiang family. When I planned to kill the chicken to scare the monkey and kill Jiang Younian to force the Jiang family to hand over the defense map, you all stopped me.”

“Now you’re asking me about the defense map?”

The person asking was a recently hired aide who didn’t know about the previous events.

Quickly, he knelt, “I was wrong.”

Seeing that Liu Yi was about to summon the guards to kill this person, an experienced aide stood up.

He whispered something into Liu Yi’s ear.

Liu Yi’s anger visibly dissipated.

“Reward him!”

Recently, Tianqi had already started training his troops, and it wouldn’t be long before they coordinated with the Su family’s army to take down the Jiang family.

Before that, however, they needed to weaken their morale.

Suppress their spirit.

---

The next day, the people of Xu Zhou discovered something strange.

There were many dead bird carcasses scattered on the streets.

Each of the creatures was round and plump, yet strangely their bodies were still warm. Their eyes were rolled back, and fresh blood dripped from the corners of their mouths. They must have just died.

Some curious children ran over and grabbed one to play with.

They tossed it in their hands and didn’t notice anything unusual.

This made the townspeople suddenly have an idea: they could take them home, roast them, or make soup.

“I have a cloth bag, let’s collect some.”

Once one person took action, many others followed suit. By the time the sun hadn’t even risen, the streets were already spotless.

The bodies had all been divided among the people.

---

In the Prefecture of the Inspector

Jiang Yu had already woken up.

His mother sat by the bed, looking at her pale-faced son, tears welling up in her eyes from the pain.

But still, she slapped him hard across the face.

“You fool! Knowing it was a trap, why did you still go in? It’s fine that you died, but you left the prince alone in this cannibalistic Xu Zhou! What did you think you were doing?!”

She was furious deep down.

Not only was she angry that he had been so foolish with his own life, but also that he had put Jiang Qingqing in such danger.

“You should have brought her back safely to the capital!”

Jiang Yu’s mind was still in a haze. His days of unconsciousness left him unaware of the current situation.

When he saw his mother, he even thought he had entered the underworld.

As for all the things his mother was saying, he couldn’t process any of it.

“Mother?”

A sharp pain struck his heart. Had he really died? Why else would he see so many of his family members—his mother, his four brothers, and their wives?

“Where’s father? And the uncles?”

His mother, too angry to respond, had his elder brother answer instead.

“They’re still in the military camp. Last night, the prince brought a lot of livestock and some divine medicine. We were all busy until dawn before we could rest.”

Jiang Yu was confused. Did the underworld have an army?

Did the Jiang family naturally lead troops?

Before he could figure things out, the door opened, and Jiang Qingqing entered wearing a golden gown. The beaded and glass ornaments on her head swayed with her every step, the slight movement sending ripples.

This was the new “skin” Fu Zhengnan had chosen for her last night.

The moment Jiang Yu saw Jiang Qingqing, he immediately got excited and propped himself up on the bed, sitting up. He stared at her in disbelief.

“Princess, how are you…?”

For the first time, Jiang Yu hated his own weakness.

Now, seeing Jiang Qingqing in the underworld, it meant she had been harmed as well!

Jiang Yu’s eyes immediately reddened, and he couldn’t hold back his tears.

Jiang Qingqing looked at him with a confused expression.

What was going on?

Why was he so emotional?

She reached out and handed him the medicine in her hand. “Take this. You need to take heart-protecting medicine for half a month.”

The warmth from her fingertips spread into Jiang Yu’s hand. Without thinking, he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him.

What was happening? Why was her hand warm?

He opened his arms, wanting to embrace Jiang Qingqing.

The Jiang family members standing nearby were all stunned. With Jiang Qingqing’s lack of resistance, they thought the two of them must have already privately decided to be together.

Otherwise…

Why was Jiang Yu so indifferent when he saw his family? But the moment Jiang Qingqing arrived, his eyes turned red.

Jiang Yu’s second sister-in-law was the first to react. Regardless of the situation, she knocked on Jiang Yu’s hand and scolded him, “You shameless brat! What are you doing in front of everyone?!”

Jiang Qingqing didn’t seem to be bothered much by it.

She slowly withdrew her hand, as if guessing something, and furrowed her brows as she said, “Jiang Yu, don’t tell me you think you’re dead now? We’re in the underworld?”