Sheng Mingjian felt like he had just had a nightmare.
A really, really terrible nightmare.
He, someone who was usually so proud and gifted, actually dreamed that a group of beggars… violated him.
That dream was too horrible, too disgusting, and way too real.
He could almost still smell the beggars’ stench—body odor, bad breath, and all sorts of other nasty smells.
This dream was a million times more disgusting and terrifying than anything Sheng Mingjian could have ever imagined.
He wanted to call for help, but no sound would come out.
In the dream, Sheng Mingjian felt absolutely hopeless.
“Help… me…”
Suddenly, he heard his own voice.
He could make a sound?
Then, he opened his eyes.
The first moment he opened his eyes, Sheng Mingjian felt overjoyed.
He thought he had finally broken free from the nightmare and woken up.
But immediately, his body and brain were flooded with sharp, stabbing pains.
It hurt.
It hurt so much.
It felt like his body had been split right down the middle.
And the center of the pain was in that place he couldn’t even bring himself to talk about.
“No…
“That can’t be…”
He muttered to himself. It was just a nightmare.
None of this was real.
“Young master, you’re finally awake—”
Gaoshan and Jingxing, who had been keeping watch by the bed all night, were overjoyed to see Sheng Mingjian wake up.
The young master had been asleep for an entire day and night. If he hadn’t woken up today, the doctor from the clinic was about to kick them out.
They really had no idea what to do next.
They felt like prisoners about to be sent to the executioner’s block, but then suddenly saw a glimmer of hope.
“What… happened to me?
“Where… is this?”
Sheng Mingjian gripped Gaoshan’s hand tightly and asked.
Only then did he realize how hoarse his voice sounded. And when Gaoshan and Jingxing heard his question, their smiles froze on their faces.
“Speak—”
The unease in Sheng Mingjian’s heart grew stronger and stronger. He wanted to sit up, but the moment he lifted his upper body just a little, a bone-chilling pain shot through his lower half.
It hurt so much that his face twisted in agony, and he collapsed back heavily onto the bed.
“Young master, please don’t get upset. You’re safe now…”
“What… happened to me…”
Sheng Mingjian asked, word by word, feeling like he was on the verge of breaking down completely.
Gaoshan and Jingxing exchanged a glance, seeing the fear in each other’s eyes. But they also knew this was something they had to face sooner or later.
Gaoshan gritted his teeth and told him everything they knew.
——-
Early the next morning, as the first light of dawn began to glow, Huang Xianjing woke up.
Actually, she hadn’t really slept much the entire night.
She had moved a wicker chair over and kept watch by her cousin’s bedside all night long.
Every time she closed her eyes, she’d jolt awake again almost immediately.
Seeing her cousin still pale-faced, with her brows slightly furrowed, and still unconscious, Huang Xianjing grew more and more worried.
Her cousin had been in a coma ever since she returned to the mansion and hadn’t woken up yesterday either.
Yesterday, her aunt had invited an imperial physician. The physician said her cousin had suffered such a huge shock that she seemed trapped inside her dreams.
After giving her cousin acupuncture, the physician warned that if she woke up today, she would be fine.
But if she still didn’t wake up today, she might end up… mentally unstable in the future.
Just thinking about that outcome made Huang Xianjing feel dizzy, and cold sweat started beading on her body.
She had no idea what exactly happened to her cousin during this trip.
Master Sheng wasn’t home, and her aunt was so worried about her cousin’s health that she didn’t have the heart to investigate.
Anyway, the whole mansion was in total chaos right now.
Every moment, Huang Xianjing prayed that her cousin would wake up soon.
Just then, the door creaked open from the outside.
Qingtian and Dujuan each walked in carrying a tray.
“Miss Huang, I’m going to feed miss some ginseng soup—”
Huang Xianjing nodded and slowly got down from the wicker chair. As she did, she felt her limbs go a little weak.
“Miss, you’ve been up all night. Please have some bird’s nest porridge—”
Dujuan helped her and tried to persuade her. Huang Xianjing didn’t have any appetite at all.
But seeing the dark circles under Dujuan’s eyes and the worried look on her face, she nodded.
She forced herself to eat half a bowl of bird’s nest porridge at the round table.
“You should go rest now. Send Hongdou over—”
Dujuan pressed her lips together as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she said nothing and left.
After a while, as the sky grew bright, the others in the mansion finished their breakfast and came over as well.
Everyone looked deeply worried. Even Sheng Mingzhu put away her smugness from the day before, pretending to be genuinely concerned about her “Seventh Sister.”
In the middle of this “sorrowful” atmosphere, Sheng Mingjian arrived.
He was carried in on a stretcher.
His face was covered in bruises and swelling.
If it weren’t for Gaoshan and Jingxing standing beside him, no one would have recognized the person before them as Sheng Mingjian.
“Big Brother, what happened to you?”
Sheng Mingzhu was the first to rush over, asking with a mix of urgency and concern.
Everyone quickly noticed that Sheng Mingjian was acting very strangely today—because he didn’t even give Sheng Mingzhu a kind look.
Well, this was like seeing the sun rise from the west.
Then, everyone also noticed that Sheng Mingjian was clutching a sword tightly in his hand.
“Big Brother, what are you trying to do?”
Sheng Mingshu was the first to react, stepping in front of Sheng Mingjian and his group.
“Get out of my way—”
Sheng Mingjian’s eyes instantly turned dark and venomous, like a snake. His voice was rough and unpleasant, a far cry from the usual elegant young master persona.
He gave off a very dangerous vibe.
It sent a chill down everyone’s spine.
But Sheng Mingshu didn’t step aside. Instead, he took a step forward and said seriously,
“Seventh Sister is unconscious. Since you’re also injured, Big Brother, you should go back and rest.”
“Who do you think you are? How dare you order Big Brother around?
“Just because the servants call you ‘Fourth Young Master,’ you really think you’re something special?
“Get out of the way, now!”
Sheng Mingbo stood behind Sheng Mingjian and spoke rudely to Sheng Mingshu. Sheng Mingzhu also moved to stand with them.
Meanwhile, Huang Xianjing and Sheng Mingli stood beside Sheng Mingshu.
The long-standing illusion of peace between the legitimate and illegitimate children in the Sheng mansion seemed to be ripped apart in that instant.
“I’m telling you one last time, get out of my way—”
Sheng Mingjian said, word by word.
If Sheng Mingjian had seemed unfamiliar and dangerous just a moment ago…
Now, with bloodshot eyes, a hideous expression, and looking like he wanted to devour someone, he seemed more like a man possessed by an evil spirit.
The servants in the room had long since fallen to their knees in terror. Several of the concubines had faces as pale as paper.
“Big Brother, what do you want to do to Seventh Sister? If you don’t explain yourself, you should really just go back and rest—”
Sheng Mingshu’s gaze was firm, without a trace of fear.
Huang Xianjing was the same. Although Sheng Mingli’s body was trembling slightly, he still stood his ground and didn’t move away.
The legitimate children and the illegitimate children stared at each other. Neither side was willing to back down.
The atmosphere in the room was extremely tense. The servants hardly dared to breathe.
