Upon returning to his residence, Jiang Shaoxing went straight to the rightmost room in the courtyard.
This room was originally used to store miscellaneous items, but it has now been cleaned up. However, because it has been kept dark for many years, it appears quite gloomy.
In the empty room, there was a chair with a severed rope hanging from it, indicating that someone had originally been tied up there.
But now this person is blindfolded with a white cloth and huddled in a corner, covered in wounds.
His hands were tied behind his back, and he was trembling uncontrollably.
Jiang Shaoxing waved his hand, and three burly men dressed as guards entered the room. Two of them helped the man in the corner up and then put his hands into the hanging rings on the horizontal bar.
"Who...who are you people? I am the son of the Minister of Works! It's not too late for you to release me now!"
The blindfolded man, panting, fearfully introduced himself.
The room reeked of blood, and all his senses were rendered useless, leaving only endless fear amplified within him.
He didn't even know why he had been brought here.
He had narrowly escaped once before, but he never expected that he would be caught and brought back before he could even leave the courtyard.
However, no one paid him any attention. At Jiang Shaoxing's signal, the guard who had been motionless lowered his head, picked up the leather whip that was soaking in salt water, and began to whip the man vigorously.
The whip struck the person with the force of a whistling wind, easily tearing their skin and flesh. Then, the salt water on the whip seeped into the wound, bringing a second round of torment.
Within half an hour, the man was beaten to the point of near death.
Jiang Shaoxing raised his hand slightly and lowered his voice, saying, "Of course we know you are the son of the Minister's family, which is why we specially invited you to be our guest. But if you refuse to listen to our politeness and insist on taking the punishment, then don't blame us for being polite first and then resorting to force."
After he finished speaking, he left with his guards, leaving Lu Yuan hanging in mid-air, wailing and crying in despair.
Stepping out of the house, Jiang Shaoxing looked at the guards: "Are you all aware of my rules?"
The three guards exchanged glances, then lowered their heads in unison, their voices trembling slightly as they said, "We know, young master, rest assured, we will not divulge a single word."
I don’t know when it started, but the young master often selects a few guards in the mansion to do his work. At first, when this job didn’t fall to them, they were quite resentful. After all, this was a good thing to gain face in front of the master, and who wouldn’t want it?
But after they witnessed firsthand the vicious dog the young master brought back from the royal gardens kill a poorly performing guard, they all gave up on the idea.
The gruesome, blood-soaked corpse served as a constant reminder of just how ruthless and cold-blooded this seemingly handsome and refined young man was.
As their respect for him grew, so did their fear of him.
They feared his capricious nature, and even more so his tyrannical and arbitrary methods.
Having obtained the answer he wanted, Jiang Shaoxing put on a cool smile again and turned to go to his study.
As is customary, he should be playing chess with his father at this time.
...
When Yu Qinglan waited for Zhu Jiayu, she remembered Jiang Shaoxing's words, "Sister."
She hadn't had much contact with Jiang Shaoxing, but they had met several times, so she could naturally tell what kind of person he was.
Over the years, she had never seen Jiang Shaoxing be so close to anyone.
She couldn't help but glance at Zhu Jiayu a few more times, and before Zhu Jiayu could speak, she couldn't help but ask, "Miss Zhu... are you old acquaintances of Young Master Jiang?"
However, before Zhu Jiayu could answer, she pursed her lips and said, "Never mind, I shouldn't have asked. It's Miss Zhu's private matter. I was being presumptuous."
Zhu Jiayu then felt like laughing.
As soon as she had this thought, a smile appeared on her face.
Yu Qinglan frowned, but did not speak.
In Zhu Jiayu's eyes, Yu Qinglan was a typical daughter of a noble family—raised from childhood by rules and regulations. Even when she sometimes forgot the rules and etiquette and did things that were out of line, she would quickly remember her status and return to the established framework. This was the shackle she had to bear as a daughter of a noble family, and it was also the pride that supported her.
Therefore, even though she was curious about Zhu Jiayu and Jiang Shaoxing, she would actively suppress such curiosity because of the teachings she received since childhood.
Zhu Jiayu explained to her, "We are not old acquaintances, but we have some kind of connection."
Yu Qinglan glanced at her in surprise, seemingly not expecting her to answer her question. However, she quickly suppressed her surprise, realizing that they had been out for too long and if they didn't go back soon, the people in the study would probably come looking for them.
"In that case, let's hurry back," Zhu Jiayu said.
The two returned along the same route, only to be told by the maid that the young ladies had waited for them for a long time and had spontaneously arranged to go for a stroll in the garden.
So Yu Qinglan led Zhu Jiayu back to the nearby Zhilan Garden, and sure enough, they saw the group of women. But as they approached, they heard a girl's shrill voice say something malicious:
"I don't think Zhu Jiayu is anything special. Although she has some knowledge and is an extraordinary commoner, how long can she last? Even though she has climbed up to the Xiao family, don't forget that the old tutor and the old lady of the Xiao family have no children."
"After the two of them pass away, won't the fame and wealth they have accumulated all belong to the second and third branches of the Xiao family? Zhu Jiayu is a woman from another family, with no relation to the Xiao family. What can she possibly gain?"
These words were incredibly hurtful. Yu Qinglan couldn't help but glance at Zhu Jiayu, already pondering whose side she should take if the two sides were to fight later.
But it didn't end there. Someone else followed up on the girl's words, seemingly expressing regret but actually gloating:
"If you ask me, the most tragic ones are Grand Tutor Xiao and his wife. It's bad enough that they have no offspring, but they've already raised a daughter for the Zhu family for nothing. Now, are they going to raise a granddaughter for the Zhu family too? They've worked so hard all their lives, only to have it all come to fruition for someone else. If I were Grand Tutor Xiao, I'm afraid I wouldn't have the face to meet the ancestors of the Xiao family when I get to the underworld."
"It would be better to hand over the resources we hold to the second and third wives sooner rather than later, so that when we pass away, we won't have to worry about who will be there to mourn us, right?"
Sixteen or seventeen-year-old girls have already begun to understand human relationships and the ways of the world. The reason they can say such things today is simply because they are taking advantage of the fact that the first branch of the Xiao family has no heir and is destined to decline, while the second and third branches are at the peak of their rise. They want to curry favor with Miss Sun, Xiao Ruiying, who comes from the second branch.
But what they didn't know was that Xiao Ruiying knew her great-grandmother would also be coming to the Yu residence today. Hearing their words, Xiao Ruiying quickly distanced herself from them: "Sisters, what you're saying is getting more and more absurd. Our second branch has never had such thoughts!"
Zhu Jiayu walked over at this moment, looking at the group of people who had spoken with a cold smile: "What a wonderful argument!"
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