Chapter 499 Let's Talk in Silence

The courtyard was crowded with people. Apart from the old steward, who was loyal to his former master and had watched Zhang Chengxuan grow up and leave, no one sided with him.

Master Zhang looked at everyone indifferently, then turned and entered the mourning hall.

He stood on the ground, silently looking at the coffin, with no intention of going forward to offer incense or burn paper money.

“Zhang Chengxuan, since you are unwilling to acknowledge him as your father, why did you take his things?”

Zhang Yaoming slashed at him with his sword, "You're just an ordinary person. If you weren't after his money, why did you come back! You hypocritical scoundrel, you emptied the warehouse and left us to starve?"

He pointed at the Taoist priest and said fiercely, "Go and stop him. He can only have two boxes of the storeroom's contents at most."

Zhang Yaoming's mother, Madam Yu, softened her tone considerably, forcing a smile as she said, "Yes, I know you hate the Zhang family, and we are not without responsibility for your mother's death. But you are a cultivator; are you really going to just stand by and watch your family starve to death?"

The Taoist priest looked at the woman who had spoken. This woman, who had driven his mother to her death, had a wolfish ambition hidden beneath her glamorous exterior.

He chuckled, "Don't you have enough gold and silver treasures that you've secretly hoarded? Even if we kick you all out of this house, you'll still live a life of luxury."

"However, I advise you not to stop me. If I take them away, these things might still be able to stay. But after a while, everything you have will no longer belong to you. This dream is about to end. Wake up."

As he spoke, the Taoist priest instructed the steward again, "Move everything away, don't leave a single thing behind. Leave behind half a year's wages for all the servants, and I will take the rest with me. The beggars outside the city and the soldiers on the border need this money more."

The weathered-looking steward looked at the Taoist priest with confusion, "Child, do you really want to do this?"

"Indeed, Uncle, please do as you say. If anyone dares to obstruct you, just kick them out."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a child ran over, hugged the Taoist priest's leg, and bit him hard.

If it weren't for the Taoist priest's thick clothes, his thighs would have been gnawed raw by now.

The sons, grandsons, daughters-in-law, and daughters, all dressed in mourning clothes, stood up and began to criticize Zhang Chengxuan.

"How could you treat us like this? Taking away our family property means our whole family is doomed!"

“Zhang Chengxuan, this is our territory. You, a stinking Taoist priest, think your father’s words are imperial edicts. So what if you have gold and silver? You’re capable if you can walk out of Guancheng alive.”

"Men, gather everyone in our courtyard and seize him!"

Zhang Yaoming would rather die than let him take away so much gold and silver.

If they leave behind an empty shell, the Zhang family's world will collapse.

If they take the land deeds and house deeds with them, won't they have to tighten their belts to make ends meet?

Their family is used to living a life of luxury and acts like they own the place in Guancheng. Over the years, they have offended countless people.

Without money, they would be worse off than even their distant relatives, and those who had climbed the social ladder through their connections would surely turn around and laugh at them.

When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. If he had known that Zhang Chengxuan would return and the old man would hand over all his property, he should have hired an assassin to kill him on the road.

The funeral hall was noisy. A woman knelt in front of the coffin, complaining and crying, blaming the person sleeping in the coffin for being foolish and not caring about the life or death of his own family for the sake of a rebellious son.

Song Chunxue was so annoyed by the noise that her head was buzzing. She couldn't help but cover her ears and walk behind her senior brother.

He lowered his voice and said, "Can we even get out of here today? So many people will fight us to the death. Money is more important to them than their lives."

The Taoist priest looked at Zhang Yaoming's mother, who was sitting at the table, tapping her fingers lightly on the surface as she looked at him.

"No rush. At worst, I'll put the gold and silver into my Qiankun bag and fly away with you."

Yes, her senior brother's Qiankun bag can definitely hold more than hers. Even if she throws out the worthless things inside, it can still hold several boxes of treasures.

With that thought in mind, Song Chunxue straightened her back and began to look forward to that scene.

"Quickly go and invite our uncles, cousins, and other cousins ​​over. We can't let this stinking Taoist priest cause trouble. How will we face people if word gets out? Bring more men with you."

As soon as Zhang Yaoming finished speaking, she was stopped by her mother, Madam Yu.

“Wait, there’s no need for such a fuss,” Madam Yu stood up and stopped the man, her gaze falling on the Taoist priest. “Tomorrow, let me speak with your brother alone.”

"My brother?" Zhang Yaoming felt uncomfortable. "I don't have a brother. Apart from my cousin, I'm the eldest in the family!"

The Taoist priest looked at Zhang Yaoming with a half-smile, "I don't have a younger brother either. My mother only gave birth to me."

Madam Yu watched as the Taoist priest slightly raised his chin; even at this point, she still maintained a haughty and superior demeanor.

"May I speak to you in private?"

The Taoist priest relaxed his brows and said, "Alright."

Song Chunxue said anxiously, "Don't let yourself get tricked."

"Don't worry, they wouldn't dare." The Taoist priest looked at the steward and said, "Pour my junior brother a cup of tea."

"Yes." The butler gestured, "Please come with me, Master Song."

The housekeeper knew how to handle people; Song Chunxue went to the side room amidst the envious gazes of everyone.

Just to be on the safe side, she smelled the tea before drinking it and didn't detect anything wrong, but she still didn't want to drink it.

Perhaps someone was guiding her, and there was something wrong with the tea.

The steward asked in confusion, "Is the tea in the manor not good? What kind of tea would you like to change, Daoist Master?"

“It’s not that the tea is bad. We’re just venturing into a dangerous place on our own, so how could we not be on guard? After all, I offended someone last time. I trust the steward, but I don’t trust anyone else.” Song Chunxue smiled slightly. “Thank you for your trouble. You can go ahead and do your work. I’ll just sit here.”

A short while later, a teenage girl walked in.

She was dressed in white, and although she was not yet of marriageable age, judging from her figure and face, she was sure to be a beauty in the future.

Her face held a composure and wisdom beyond her years.

"You're my uncle's junior brother?" the girl asked curiously. "Why aren't you Daoist partners?"

Song Chunxue looked at her calmly. This child didn't seem to have any ill intentions, but children are actually better at pretending than adults imagine.

"It's for no particular reason. We are just fellow disciples. Daoist partners are similar to husband and wife. A man and a woman can travel together, but they don't necessarily have to be husband and wife."

She tilted her head curiously, "You don't like my uncle?"

Song Chunxue ignored her, saying, "You're still young, don't ask such nonsense."

“I’m fourteen this year, not young anymore. I know my father and grandfather have wronged my uncle, but I still want to ask the Taoist priest to persuade him.” As she spoke, the girl, dressed in mourning clothes, knelt in front of her.

Song Chunxue never expected that such a young girl would know how to put pressure on her.

She quickly pulled her up and steadied her, saying, "It's not that I don't want to help you, but I've chosen to pretend I don't know. My senior brother clearly said that the money wouldn't stay with the Zhang family for long anyway. Haven't you thought about why?"

The girl's watery eyes flickered as she stared directly at Song Chunxue, as if she were lying.

“If you don’t trust them, you can go find other fortune tellers. They can definitely tell you something.” Song Chunxue walked out. “Instead of me persuading my senior brother, you should persuade your family to do less evil and cultivate themselves more, so that they don’t wait until disaster strikes to repent.”