“You’ve got guts!” Gu Shuang finally regained consciousness, groggy and in pain.
He spat out a mouthful of blood and fixed Tang Qiyun with an icy glare. “But… you’re asking for death!”
“Second Young Master, please don’t get involved in this…” Father Ye finally snapped out of his daze and turned to Tang Qiyun. “The north has the First Army Corps…”
“As I recall, little Shaohua is your daughter, isn’t she?” Tang Qiyun looked at Father Ye.
Father Ye was stunned.
She was his daughter, yes…
But… the Ye family had three exceptionally accomplished children. Ye Shaohua had always been little more than an afterthought.
Tang Qiyun had already dismissed Father Ye. His expression growing even colder, he used his cap to pat Gu Shuang’s face, then tossed the cap aside as if it were now too filthy to keep.
His gaze toward Gu Shuang was dripping with contempt. “Picking on women? In my eyes, you’re nothing but a pile of dog crap!”
“So what? In this world, whoever has the bigger fist makes the rules!” Gu Shuang thought of his father and shot Tang Qiyun a terrifying look. Having suffered such a huge loss for the first time, his expression twisted with fury. “Everyone in the north knows my name, and no one would dare be this reckless. You’re something else! Just wait—the Tang family will be surrounded by three army corps!”
Accustomed to throwing his weight around in the north, he’d made no effort to restrain himself in Shanghai.
After all, she was just a woman. He didn’t think Shanghai would make a fuss over something so trivial.
“Young Master.” The Gu family’s chief of staff helped Gu Shuang into the car. “How are you feeling?”
“I’ve never taken a beating like this in my life. Go call my father—tell him to mobilize the army corps and march on the Tang family. I want Tang Qiyun to suffer a fate worse than death!” Gu Shuang let out a cold laugh. “Who doesn’t know by now that the Gu family rules the north? Even Tang Feng has to tread carefully!”
**
The news that the northern overlord’s son had been beaten to the ground in Shanghai sent shockwaves through the city.
This incident was bound to affect the relationship between the north and the south.
“Still no word from the Tang family?” Father Ye asked the deputy general beside him.
The deputy general shook his head. “The telegram has been sent.”
That meant they weren’t getting involved.
With that in mind, he made a decision. “Prepare some silver dollars and have her come to the study.”
The deputy general understood perfectly well that “her” referred to Ye Shaohua.
Father Ye looked at her thoughtfully—for the first time, he brought Ye Shaohua into the study where she’d never been allowed before. “Take these silver dollars.”
Once she was inside, he pushed a bag of silver dollars toward her without further ado. “Aunt Hong says she can’t bear to part with you, so take her with you. Leave Shanghai as soon as you can, and don’t let the Gu family find you. If they do catch up, don’t send anyone to me for help.”
Although it was Tang Qiyun who’d thrown the punches, Father Ye knew from the Tang family’s refusal to intervene that this matter would ultimately fall on Ye Shaohua’s shoulders.
Ye Shaohua looked at her father in this life and said nothing.
Every world had its own brand of absurdity.
In her previous two worlds, the fathers would have been cursing Gu Shuang’s name to his face.
But this world was different. Not only did her parents have three other children, but she’d never been by their side. Even worse, simply by being born a woman, she would forever be dismissed as unimportant.
Ultimately, it was the fault of this era.
The tragedy of her predecessor’s previous life had many causes—not just the Ye family or the Tang family, but the times themselves were a driving force behind it.
Ye Shaohua didn’t take the silver dollars. Instead, she simply instructed Aunt Hong to gather her belongings and leave.
Father Ye was genuinely surprised that Ye Shaohua hadn’t begged him to stay. But it was only a passing surprise.
Right now, all he could think about was how to keep the disaster Ye Shaohua had brought upon the Ye family from spreading.
When Ye Shaohua came out, she happened to run into Ye Junwan outside.
Ye Junwan hadn’t yet had the chance to tell anyone about seeing Ye Shaohua at the banquet—and now Ye Shaohua was leaving the family home.
“Leaving” was just a polite way of putting it.
Everyone knew she was actually being kicked out by Father Ye.
Before coming home, Ye Junjin had seriously told her to stay on Ye Shaohua’s good side. At the time, Ye Junwan had reluctantly agreed. But now, seeing Ye Shaohua like this, she couldn’t help but feel a bit smug.
“Second Sister,” Ye Junwan said, eyeing Ye Shaohua with feigned concern, “where are you going now? Back to Jinling? But even though Jinling is relatively safe, it’s too close to Shanghai. I’m really worried that…”
Ye Shaohua glanced at Ye Junwan but didn’t answer.
Ye Junqing, whose military position hadn’t been restored yet, was desperate to keep his distance from Ye Shaohua.
Hearing his sister’s words, he immediately pulled Ye Junwan aside. “That’s enough! Why are you bothering with her so much?”
Aunt Hong followed Ye Shaohua out, her face etched with worry—until she spotted a red-flag car already waiting at the street corner. She was utterly dumbfounded.
**
“What are you planning to do about this?” Tang Feng summoned Tang Qiyun as soon as he learned of the incident.
His expression was grave.
This wasn’t just about two people’s personal grudge—it concerned the relationship between the north and the south.
A war breaking out now would benefit no one, especially with foreign powers waiting to take advantage of the chaos.
Tang Qihang stood beside Tang Feng, looking at Tang Qiyun with undisguised impatience. Before Tang Feng could speak, he cut in directly, “Tang Qiyun, I understand you’ve never served in the military before, but now that Father has brought you back, can you please behave? The Gu family came to Shanghai to form an alliance, not to start a war. And you beat their only son to a pulp? Are you deliberately trying to get back at Father? Don’t you think we have enough internal and external troubles as it is?”
From the moment Tang Qiyun had returned, Tang Qihang had looked down on his younger brother.
Not for any particular reason—just that he felt his own experience and status, having served under Tang Feng and gained significant influence in the army, made him superior.
Now, this clueless younger brother had gone and done something this foolish.
“This is Shanghai, not some backwater village you grew up in!” Tang Qihang concluded.
Tang Feng frowned but didn’t interrupt. Still, he didn’t quite agree with Tang Qihang’s harsh tone.
His two sons were very different—the elder was calculating and scheming, with no shortage of devious tactics.
The younger one, however, had a temperament much like his own. In Tang Feng’s view, if something like this had happened in his younger days, he would have reacted much the same way as Tang Qiyun.
But… the consequences would be equally hard to bear.
“I’ll take responsibility for the fallout,” Tang Qiyun said, his expression unchanged since he’d returned to the Tang household. He held his cap in hand, standing ramrod straight. “If there’s nothing else, I need to go back and take a bath.”
“A bath?” Tang Feng was so taken aback by his son’s bizarre response that he couldn’t find his words for a moment.
The fire is already singeing your eyebrows, and you’re telling me you need to take a bath?
Even if this was his own son, Tang Feng felt like grabbing a whip and giving him a good thrashing.
“Mm,” Tang Qiyun said, having come mainly to say this to Tang Feng, and turned to leave. “I’m heading to my room. As for Gu Changsheng, I’ll handle it myself.”
With that, he disappeared past the doorway.
Tang Qihang watched Tang Qiyun’s retreating figure, a sneer curling involuntarily on his lips.
You’ll handle it yourself?
