A month after Zhang Ziwei's death, another misfortune befell the Zhang family. Their eldest and second sons were, for the first time ever, lured into a gambling den and incurred massive debts.
The Zhang father, wielding a stick, beat his two sons ferociously, shouting in exasperation, "I'll beat you to death, beat you to death, you two prodigal sons..."
The two sons lowered their heads in shame, enduring their father's scolding.
That day, after finishing their work, the two brothers were walking home. Behind them, four men chatted softly, "I won two taels of silver today, how much did you guys win?"
"My luck was bad, I only won one tael."
"I only won one tael too. Just one more tael and I'll have enough saved to buy a house. Then, my brother and I will be homeowners, and we can win enough for a wife. Wouldn't that be a life of leisure?"
...
Hearing their conversations from behind, the brothers exchanged glances. Thinking of their family's predicament, their wives' complaints, and the hardships of life, they felt a flicker of desire. If they could win one or two taels a day like these men, what worries would they have about not living a good life? They decisively turned around, took out the little money they had, and treated the four men to a meal.
After a satisfying meal, the four men, along with the two brothers, led them through winding alleys to a gambling den. In the beginning, the brothers won quite a bit of silver. Before they even entered the den, they had thought that if they could win two taels, it would be like a pie falling from the sky, and they should stop immediately. When they truly won so much with such ease, their hearts swelled with ambition. They thought they were on the verge of becoming rich, so how could they possibly stop so soon?
Things did not go as planned. Soon, all the silver they had won was lost. The brothers then tried to recoup their losses, but they sank deeper and deeper. After signing a few IOUs, they were thrown out of the gambling den by the staff.
They stumbled home, afraid to mention anything to their families. Lying in bed, they thought of many solutions, but none worked. They could only watch helplessly as the gambling den's people showed up at their door.
The Zhang father looked at the menacing group and, upon hearing their purpose, the scene unfolded.
"If you want to discipline your sons, do it behind closed doors. Just tell me, can you repay the silver?" Wang Wu, accustomed to such scenes, spun a dagger in his hand and asked casually.
"Even if you took my old life, I couldn't repay it," the Zhang father said truthfully. Their entire family relied on doing odd jobs for others. They had also suffered a misfortune some time ago and hadn't been able to go out much, barely making ends meet. Where would they have any savings?
"Our gambling den's rule is either one leg or one hand. Make your decision and let's settle this." As soon as the man finished speaking, the brothers trembled in fear. "Father, save us! We know we were wrong. We will never do it again. If our hands or legs are broken, we won't be able to go out to work. How will the family survive then?" Zhang Laoda quickly pleaded for his father's help.
"Is it possible for one person to bear the burden?" The Zhang father looked at the burly man leading the group and inquired.
"Of course, it is. You can discuss among yourselves who the person will be, but be quick about it." They had seen too many cases of favoritism and were used to it.
"Father, absolutely not!" Zhang's second son cried out in alarm. His elder brother was the eldest son, and it was likely he who would be the unfortunate victim.
"Second son, your father has no choice. I can only sacrifice you." The Zhang father made up his mind, disregarding the pleas and tears of his second son's entire family.
Soon, cries of agony echoed, and the Zhang father couldn't help but weep tears of sorrow.
From then on, the Zhang family knew no peace. Zhang's second son had lost a hand and a leg. He could no longer go out to work, and the family had lost a strong laborer. All the financial burden fell on Zhang Laoda. The second branch of the family constantly picked fights with the first branch, believing that the first branch owed them. They no longer shared the household chores, leaving the first branch in misery. They did the most work and received the most scoldings, yet could not speak out.
In the capital, Yun Duo closed her eyes in despair. That fall had injured her foundation. Jiang Yu showed no mercy, plunging her into hopelessness. Her son was also in such a state, and she was utterly disheartened.
Upon hearing the news of his mother's death, Jiang Chen planned to gather all his forces for a final counterattack. However, as soon as the plan began to be implemented, it was interrupted by Jiang Yu. As a Marquis, nothing in his residence escaped his notice. In the past, when the mother and son were healthy, he had turned a blind eye to their actions against Jiang Feng. But when he decided to intervene, everything was already under his control.
Wu Caiwei clearly felt that she was being followed. At first, she thought it was Jiang Chen's people. After several probes, she realized they were targeting her. This was rather interesting.
In a secluded alley, four masked assassins blocked the two exits. It looked like a certain death situation. It seemed the other party did not intend for her to see the next sunrise.
The four charged at her with their swords. Wu Caiwei swiftly drew a soft sword from her waist and, to the assassins' surprised gaze, swung it towards them.
As soon as the sword was unleashed, she knew the quality of her opponent. The assassins immediately became extremely vigilant, facing the challenge with full alertness.
After dealing with the last assassin, Wu Caiwei sheathed her sword. She took out a corpse-dissolving powder from her怀, and soon only a puddle of water remained on the ground. Originally, she had wanted to keep one alive to interrogate who had sent them. However, during the fight, she discovered they were death warriors, from whom she could learn nothing. She promptly killed the last one with a sword.
Although Wu Caiwei did not fear danger, the feeling of not knowing where the enemy was coming from was truly unpleasant. Upon her return, she informed Jiang Feng of the incident and asked him to mobilize all his forces to investigate. To her surprise, the other party's cleanup operation was extremely thorough, and nothing was found.
Life moved forward peacefully. Wu Caiwei and Jiang Feng were occasionally invited to the Marquis's mansion by Jiang Yu to foster their relationship.
Occasionally, Wu Caiwei still encountered assassination attempts. The assassins grew in number with each attempt, and the situations became more perilous. Yet, whenever she tried to investigate, she found no leads. Jiang Feng was very worried and assigned many guards to follow her.
Yunshan County. A luxuriously decorated carriage stopped in front of Qiu Ze's medical clinic. A young gentleman, with a pale complexion and constantly covering his face as he coughed, alighted from the carriage. His attendant looked anxious.
Qiu Ze saw that he was of noble birth and immediately stepped forward respectfully. He took the gentleman's pulse carefully, pondered for a moment, prescribed a medicine, and personally prepared it.
This time, there were no mistakes from Lei'er. Although the young gentleman's life was saved, his illness not only did not improve but worsened, leaving him bedridden.
The town was relatively remote, and the young gentleman's current condition could not withstand the hardships of travel. The servants had no choice but to split into two groups, heading to the prefecture capital and the county town to offer substantial rewards for doctors to come to Yunshan Town.
When the doctors arrived, they all said that the illness had been delayed and could no longer be cured. Even with prescriptions, they were merely prolonging his life.
Ultimately, the young gentleman, just like in his previous life, closed his eyes in Yunshan Town. When his family arrived, they believed Qiu Ze had delayed their son's treatment and stormed into his clinic with their servants.
Qiu Ze looked at the utter chaos in his clinic, unsure where to even begin cleaning. What shocked him even more was the fierce look in their eyes as they left.