The Zhang family met a tragic end.
The Jiang family severely injured them, and Zhang Shu was castrated by Chen Yuezhi, losing more than half his life. Zhang Father and Zhang Mother were not faring any better. Especially Zhang Mother, who had been the most ruthless towards Jiang Xiao, so Chen Yuezhi showed her no mercy. Nearly all her teeth were knocked out, and she suffered a concussion.
The concubine Zhang Shu had taken was so terrified by the snake that she went mad. She ran around the estate, proclaiming the evil deeds the Zhang family had committed against Jiang Xiao and that they deserved their fate.
However, these were not the most fatal blows. The most critical was that Third Master Xu died of snake venom at their home.
Third Master Xu's family arrested the Zhang family, threatening to make them pay for Third Master Xu's life, and their whereabouts are now unknown.
But Jiang Wan knew that a few days ago, three more bodies had appeared in the mass grave outside Wangling Town.
And Third Master Xu's family was now in deep trouble. The Xu family's downfall implicated all their direct and collateral relatives. The prefect sent people to assist Magistrate Cheng in the investigation, and Third Master Xu's faction was now busy trying to cover their tracks.
It was estimated that there was no hope of salvaging the situation.
The Jiang family's hidden dangers had been completely eradicated.
Jiang Wan was very satisfied with this outcome.
She felt no guilt whatsoever for involving so many people, and even causing the deaths of many, in avenging Jiang Xiao.
After all, those people were not good people. Demons who had harmed so many others, why should they be allowed to live well!
She considered it eliminating harm for the people.
Once Jiang Wan knew that the Zhang family had been wiped out, she no longer concerned herself with the Xu family's affairs. She waited at the inn until the next evening, finally seeing Sun Wang arrive.
Jiang Wan smiled happily, "It seems you've decided to come with me?"
Sun Wang's gaze was firm, "Yes, young lady. I've decided to follow you to Yaoxian, but... can I go a few days later?"
"Why?"
Sun Wang looked a little embarrassed, "I have an old mother at home, and I need to find a way to settle her."
Actually, when Jiang Wan had mentioned it to him the day before yesterday, he had already been tempted. However, upon considering his elderly mother, he became hesitant.
His mother was old and needed someone to care for her. Yaoxian was not close to the prefectural city, and if his mother fell ill, he wouldn't even know.
But the high wages were too tempting to refuse.
In the prefectural city, he couldn't earn three taels of silver in two months. When business was slow, he sometimes only received a fixed monthly salary.
If he went to Yaoxian, he would earn a steady thirty-six taels of silver a year. After two years, he could build a house and get married.
So, he had spent the last two days trying to persuade his mother, and finally succeeded.
When Jiang Wan heard about this, she said, "I have a suggestion. Would you like to hear it?"
Sun Wang quickly replied, "Please, enlighten me, young lady."
Jiang Wan said, "I suggest you bring your mother along. You can rent out your house in the prefectural city and use the rent to find accommodation in Yaoxian, which will surely be better than your current place."
"Once you get to Yaoxian, you probably won't be able to return home more than twice a year. You'll worry about your mother, and she'll miss you constantly."
"It's better to bring her along. Although she won't have trusted neighbors there, feelings can develop over time, can't they?"
Sun Wang's eyes lit up, "Then I'll go home and discuss it with my mother. If she agrees, I'll handle the house and then immediately head to Yaoxian."
Jiang Wan nodded, "Then it's settled. I'll take the cooks back to Yaoxian tomorrow. You hurry and come over. I'll start paying you from the day you arrive in Yaoxian."
This way, Sun Wang would rush to get there as quickly as possible.
As expected, Sun Wang hastily took his leave and rushed home to persuade his mother.
The next morning, Jiang Wan left the prefectural city with several cooks.
With outsiders present, Jiang Wan naturally wouldn't use her special abilities. To get home faster, she chose the waterway.
Traveling by boat was much more comfortable than by carriage. Carriages were too bumpy, and the journey back would leave her feeling unwell for days.
By evening, Jiang Wan and her group arrived at the Yaoxian dock.
Upon arrival, Jiang Wan took the cooks to the inn where Gu Chenzhou was staying. She planned to settle them there first. Although her house looked large, there were no spare rooms for the cooks.
Besides, Jiang Wan didn't like strangers wandering around her home.
As she approached the entrance of an inn, Jiang Wan saw Yuan Bao wiping away tears.
"Yuan Bao, why are you crying?"
Upon seeing her, Yuan Bao seemed to have regained his senses. He rushed over, sobbing, "Young lady, you're finally here. Young master is gone."
Jiang Wan's heart sank, "What did you say? He's gone?"
She had calculated the time for her trip to the prefectural city. Gu Chenzhou's medicine was only supposed to wear off in two more days.
How could he have disappeared so suddenly?
Yuan Bao nodded, "At noon today, young master said he wanted to eat pastries and specified a shop for me to buy them from. When I returned, young master was gone."
As he spoke, he took out a letter from his embrace and handed it to Jiang Wan.
"This is what young master left behind."
Jiang Wan quickly took the letter and opened it. She saw only four words on the letter: Take care, do not worry.
The handwriting was somewhat labored, clearly written by him while enduring the effects of the medicine.
Jiang Wan's face darkened considerably. She strode towards Gu Chenzhou's room.
Everything in the room was as usual, but the young man who could only snort and glare due to the muscle-relaxing pills was nowhere to be found on the bed.
Jiang Wan pursed her lips and sat down by the bed.
There was still a considerable amount of energy left on the bedding.
Jiang Wan thought that she would no longer have opportunities to absorb energy in the future, so she absorbed all of it.
She felt a tightness in her chest.
She had been eagerly anticipating the end of their month-long agreement, so she could calmly collect her money and part ways with him, no longer having to worry.
But now that he was truly gone, why did she feel a sense of unease?
Jiang Wan pondered, thinking it was probably because his running away meant her month-long agreement wouldn't be perfectly fulfilled, making it seem like she had gained an advantage.
That must be it.
She, Jiang Wan, had always been a person of her word. The thousand taels of silver were almost spent, yet she hadn't fully completed the agreement!
This was forcing her to break her promise!
That brat must have been afraid she would trick him and give him another muscle-relaxing pill, so he forced himself to escape, right?
His poison hadn't been cured yet. What if he encountered enemies on the road?
If he were to die because of this, Yan Li would likely not let her rest even as a ghost!
Jiang Wan became more and more agitated as she thought about it.
She said to Yuan Bao, "If he's gone, then he's gone. You arrange for the people I brought back. I'm going home first."
Before Yuan Bao could even react, Jiang Wan had already left.
Returning to the small mountain village, Jiang Wan immediately summoned Little Minion and instructed it to send some companions to track down Gu Chenzhou's whereabouts.
No matter what, she had to fulfill the month-long agreement!
Even if that fellow didn't want to come back, she had to send her helpers to keep an eye on him secretly, so he wouldn't be killed by his enemies within the month.
Once the month was up, she wouldn't even spare him a glance if he begged her to watch over him.
She had expected Little Minion and the others to quickly find Gu Chenzhou's whereabouts, but who knew that the fellow had vanished like a drop of rain into the sea, leaving not a trace.