Xiong San had beaten Sheng Mingjian into a pulp, leaving him completely unconscious.
But he was still furious, and he figured Liang Mingcheng wasn’t much of a good guy either!
So he grabbed Liang Mingcheng and gave him a beating too.
Unfortunately, Liang Mingcheng was just too weak and couldn’t take a hit. After just a few punches, he was seeing stars and collapsed to the ground.
After knocking both men out, Xiong San still had a knot of anger in his chest and was wondering if he should do something else.
Just then, Miss Qingdai showed up, followed by seven or eight beggars.
He thought it was a bit strange that she had brought so many beggars along.
Then he noticed that the beggars seemed very off—underneath their filthy hair, their eyes were bloodshot red.
Their breathing was rapid and heavy, like wolves that hadn’t eaten for years and had suddenly spotted their prey…
Xiong San’s scalp went numb. He understood…
He instinctively felt a clench in his rear end and sidled away a bit…
When it comes to being ruthless, the lady is really something!
But is this really okay for the lady, though…? He is her own son after all…
He couldn’t help but feel that the Sheng family was just plain weird!
Brother and sister didn’t act like brother and sister. Mother and son didn’t act like mother and son…
The older brother had hired someone to ruin his sister’s virtue, and then the lady turned the tables on him using the same method…
Sheng Mingjian totally deserved it, though!
Still, if I’d known the lady cared so little about her own son, I wouldn’t have held back earlier. I should’ve at least broken two of Sheng Mingjian’s ribs…
Just then, Miss Qingdai handed over a stack of banknotes and a small bag of loose silver.
“They voluntarily took some stimulants to liven things up. They’ll probably be at it all night. Keep an eye on them and make sure nobody gets killed…
“Keep half of the banknotes for yourself, and split the rest among them tomorrow morning. Tell them to go as far away as possible.
“Once this is over, lie low for a while. Your family will be taken care of—”
Xiong San nodded. This was the first time he’d ever received such an assignment, and he was at a complete loss for words.
He watched as Miss Qingdai hoisted the seventh young miss over her shoulder. Right before she left, she gave the order.
“Go on now! Make sure you treat those two young gentlemen well—”
Xiong San shuddered, scrambled up a nearby tree in two or three moves, and got as far away from the group on the ground as he could.
Because he saw those beggars pounce on the two men on the ground like tigers lunging at their prey…
Sheng Mingjian’s and Liang Mingcheng’s clothes were torn to shreds, revealing their pale skin…
And soon, that pale skin was covered by dark, greasy hands…
Then came two bloodcurdling screams—
Sure enough, within seconds, their mouths were stuffed with stinky socks…
But the birds in the forest were still startled and flapped away in a panic…
Xiong San was terrified too!
Heavens above, did I commit some terrible sin in my past life? Is this my punishment—having to witness such a scene in this one…
He felt like he wouldn’t be able to sleep a single good night for the next month…
On the other side, Qingtian seemed to hear the sound of a vengeful ghost and jolted awake.
The first thing she did upon waking was look for her young miss. She saw her lying not far away, unconscious, with blood on her face…
The sight nearly scared Qingtian out of her wits.
She crawled over on all fours, stretched out a trembling hand, and checked her young miss’s breathing.
Only when she felt the warmth of air moving against her finger did she start breathing again herself.
Then she noticed that aside from being a little dirty, her young miss’s clothes were intact. Qingtian felt a surge of relief.
She hoisted the young miss onto her back and headed back. Luckily, she was found by the others not long after.
Once Qingtian reunited with the group, she felt more at ease.
She sent two fast walkers ahead to the mansion to report to the lady.
Then she bandaged her young miss’s wounds while having the rest of the group make a stretcher to carry the young miss toward the capital…
By the time Huang Yaning was brought back to the Sheng mansion by Sheng Minmin, it was already dark.
The mansion’s physician examined her and said the head wound was just superficial, but because she had suffered a major shock, she might not wake up for a while—
Everyone in the mansion came to visit except Sheng Yong and Sheng Mingjian.
Sheng Mingzhu and Sheng Mingbo had sparkles in their eyes, and the smiles at the corners of their mouths were almost impossible to suppress.
They might as well have written “happy” all over their faces. Sheng Mingyi, on the other hand, had a deep, unreadable look in his eyes.
Everyone else looked more or less worried.
As for Sheng Yong—he was busy with official duties and staying at the palace these two days…
Sheng Minmin figured that was exactly why Sheng Mingjian had chosen today to make his move on Huang Yaning.
Harm others, and you harm yourself.
Sheng Minmin didn’t send anyone to notify Sheng Yong either.
“Auntie, please don’t worry too much. Cousin is blessed by the heavens. One night’s sleep, and she’ll wake up tomorrow…”
Sheng Minmin heard Xian’er’s gentle voice and saw her comforting her.
She smiled softly, reached out, and patted Xian’er’s head—so soft.
Worried?
No, not at all.
Instead, she felt a kind of indescribable calm and joy in her heart.
Because this time, she thought Huang Yaning might finally get a real taste of some of the feelings she had experienced in her past life.
Even though Huang Yaning had endured plenty of hardship during her time in Peach Blossom Village, the Feng family there were, in Huang Yaning’s heart, her “enemies” to begin with.
You don’t hold expectations for your enemies.
But Sheng Mingjian was different. In her past life, Sheng Mingjian had been the son she was most proud of.
Even if Sheng Mingjian had disappointed her in this life, that love wouldn’t disappear so quickly.
This time, letting Huang Yaning truly experience her own beloved son’s methods…
What would Huang Yaning feel?
She couldn’t wait to see how Huang Yaning would face Sheng Mingjian once she woke up.
That night, some people in the Sheng mansion slept soundly, while others couldn’t sleep at all.
The two who suffered the most were Gao Shan and Jing Xing.
They more or less knew what their master had planned to do that day. But the seventh young miss had come back, while their master hadn’t—
By now, the city gates were already closed. The master of the house wasn’t home, and they couldn’t very well go to the lady for help…
So they could only pace back and forth in their room, restless and anxious, enduring the entire night.
Early the next morning, Gao Shan and Jing Xing rode out of the city on horseback.
When they found Sheng Mingjian, they were absolutely horrified and nearly fell off their horses in shock…
They hurriedly changed him into their own clothes and brought him back to the capital.
But they didn’t dare go back to the mansion. Instead, they carried Sheng Mingjian to some unknown little clinic. The clinic’s physician examined Sheng Mingjian’s “injuries” and turned pale.
He told them to take Sheng Mingjian to Renxin Hall or some other large clinic—he couldn’t treat this…
How could Gao Shan and Jing Xing dare to take Sheng Mingjian to a busy clinic?
If anyone found out he had suffered this kind of injury, the shame would be unbearable—absolutely unbearable.
They begged the physician desperately and pulled out a large-denomination banknote. Only then did the physician reluctantly accept Sheng Mingjian as a patient.
But the physician laid out the hard truth upfront: Sheng Mingjian’s “wounds” had deteriorated too severely. If his fever didn’t break today, they should take him away immediately—
And even if the fever did break, he added, there was no guarantee that the affected area would ever function properly again.
