The second floor of the Donghu Inn offered a view of Donghu Lake through its opened windows. Savoring the freshest Donghu fish while admiring the lake's scenery was undoubtedly one of life's great pleasures.
"This way, please," the waiter solicitously ushered Zhan Feiyu and Chong Guang to their seats. He placed the teapot on the table and began reciting the menu with practiced ease: "Our Donghu fish is renowned for its exquisite flavor. We have thirty-six ways to prepare it, including Squirrel Fish, Lotus Carp, and the Three Delicacies of White Fish..."
As Chong Guang was about to order the fifth dish, Zhan Feiyu waved the waiter away. "Three dishes and a fish soup will suffice."
"Fatty girl, I ran errands for you, and you're not even letting me eat my fill?" Chong Guang complained with exaggerated drama, popping a piece of pastry into his mouth. "I didn't expect the Huang family to truly live up to the motto 'Healing the World with Medicine'."
"Tell me more," Zhan Feiyu lowered her voice. The private rooms on the second floor were made of wood, and their soundproofing was not very effective.
Chong Guang, who was consuming pastries one by one, gestured with his mouth and leaned back in his chair like a lord, waiting for Zhan Feiyu to serve him.
Zhan Feiyu poured a cup of tea and handed it over, looking at the enjoying Chong Guang speechlessly. "Alright, hurry up and tell me."
"The Huang family has very strict family traditions. The current head of the family is Huang Li's uncle. Old Master Huang has no talent in medicine making; he is responsible for managing the Huang family's medicinal herb business and spends more than half the year traveling. Huang Li's father, however, is dedicated to making medicine..."
Before the investigation, Chong Guang had thought the Huang family, like the Qin family, was outwardly brilliant but inwardly corrupt.
However, after investigating, he discovered that the Huang family members had no great ambitions. Those with talent studied medicine making, while those without followed the Huang family head to manage the medicinal fields and mountains. The clever ones were responsible for acquiring medicinal herbs and managing the Huang family's business, each fulfilling their roles without conflict.
After listening to Chong Guang, Zhan Feiyu frowned in thought. "So, it's impossible to find out who tampered with the Ginseng Nourishing Pill in such a short time?"
"Ten years have passed, and there are eight people in the Huang family capable of making the Ginseng Nourishing Pill. However, none of these eight seem to have any issues at present." Chong Guang had briefly investigated these eight individuals. Even if they had minor flaws, in terms of medicine making, they all adhered to the Huang family's traditions. Deception was out of the question, let alone disregarding human lives.
Zhan Feiyu nodded in understanding. "Then we'll have to resort to other means. If we can't find the culprit, we'll arrest and interrogate Granny Hao."
"Fine." Hearing footsteps approaching the private room, Chong Guang fell silent, waiting for the waiter to bring the dishes.
Huang Li hadn't eaten since last night. This morning, upon seeing the letter sent by Young Master Ming the Third, she had become so enraged that she smashed her breakfast and then lay in bed all morning.
If it weren't for Old Madam Zhang inviting her to meet, Huang Li would never have left her room, as she still hoped to curry favor with Old Madam Zhang to marry Prefect Zhang.
Her steps faltered as she ascended the stairs. Huang Li glanced at the waiter who had stepped aside to the side of the stairs. The rich aroma wafting from the clay pot made the ravenous Huang Li feel her insides protesting. "Granny, bring the fish slice porridge."
"Yes," Granny Lu nodded quickly and imperiously addressed the waiter, "Didn't you hear what my Third Madam said? Hurry up and bring the fish slice porridge. You have no initiative!"
"Hey, no... this porridge..." The waiter looked at the departing figures in bewilderment and stammered, "This porridge was ordered by the guests in the private room."
Unfortunately, Huang Li had already entered the adjacent private room. Granny Lu quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe the table and chairs, then poured Huang Li a cup of tea, and looked towards the door.
Granny Lu once again berated the dawdling waiter, "Why are you dawdling? Hurry up! Can't you see my Madam is waiting?"
"Granny, this porridge needs to be delivered to the adjacent private room," the waiter quickly finished speaking, forcing a smile. "After I deliver the porridge, I'll have the kitchen make another pot for Madam immediately."
Already in a foul mood, Huang Li's beautiful face darkened when a mere waiter dared to defy her. Her sharp voice rang out, "Granny, slap him!"
"Yes, Madam!" Granny Lu readily agreed. Her Madam was angered by Young Master Ming the Third, and if she couldn't vent her anger, she herself would be the one to suffer. This was a perfect opportunity.
The waiter, still holding the steaming clay pot, hadn't even reacted when Granny Lu delivered a fierce slap.
With a crisp sound, the slap coincided with the shattering of the clay pot on the ground. The waiter cried out in pain as the scalding rice porridge splashed onto his hands, instantly blistering them.
"You lowly wretch, how dare you spill the porridge my Madam wanted to drink!" Granny Lu scolded with a venomous, stern face and delivered another fierce slap to the waiter's face. "I told you to throw the porridge away! You've got the guts of a bear, daring to disrespect my Madam! I'll beat you to death!"
Huang Li, who was waiting to eat the porridge, could no longer suppress her rage as she looked at the shattered clay pot pieces and the fish slice porridge dotted with scallions scattered on the ground.
The waiter knew he had offended someone important. He immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowing and begging, "Third Madam, spare me. I didn't do it on purpose."
If Granny Lu hadn't suddenly slapped him, he wouldn't have dropped the clay pot. But now, the waiter dared not argue and ignored the burns on his hands, only pleading for Huang Li to let him go.
Reaching the doorway, Huang Li looked down at the waiter kneeling and begging for mercy, a sinister smile appearing on her beautiful face. "Since you know you were wrong, then kneel properly for this Madam!"
The waiter hadn't understood yet when Granny Lu beside him kicked the shards of porcelain on the ground. Her withered old face was filled with malice. "Didn't you hear my Madam? Hurry up and kneel properly!"
"I..." The waiter stared blankly at the sharp porcelain shards. If he knelt down, his legs would surely be injured, but if he didn't?
Thinking of Huang Li's status, the waiter knelt down trembling. Even though his trousers were thick in March, the porcelain shards were as sharp as knife edges, and blood slowly began to seep out.
Seeing Huang Li still wearing a displeased expression, Granny Lu placed a hand on the waiter's shoulder and pressed down hard.
In the private room, Zhan Feiyu and Chong Guang heard the commotion outside. They assumed Huang Li was arrogantly trying to snatch the fish slice porridge and didn't pay much attention.
However, after the sound of a slap, and now hearing the waiter's muffled groans of pain, Zhan Feiyu and Chong Guang exchanged a look, then both stood up and walked out.
"It's you?" Huang Li looked up at Zhan Feiyu emerging from the private room. Recalling that Zhan Feiyu had previously taken over the Lin Hu Xiao Xuan, she provocatively said, "What a shame about this porridge."
Zhan Feiyu directly addressed the kneeling waiter, "Get up and have them send another portion of porridge."
"Who gave you permission to get up? Keep kneeling!" Huang Li shouted sternly, raising her chin and glaring at Zhan Feiyu. "A mere slut dares to meddle in my affairs? Don't say you don't have the ability; even if you did, how long could you stay in Nanxuan Prefecture? Granny, slap her again!"
Granny Lu deliberately raised her voice in response, "Yes, Madam!"
Unfortunately, before Granny Lu could assert her authority, Chong Guang directly kicked her. Granny Lu, though quite stout, was sent flying into the private room by Chong Guang's kick. With two loud thuds, she overturned tables and chairs before falling to the ground.
"Get up," Zhan Feiyu said to the waiter kneeling on the broken porcelain shards. Looking at the enraged Huang Li, she smiled thinly, "You only dare to throw your weight around with the weak."
"You slut, how dare you mock me!" Huang Li completely lost control and lunged at Zhan Feiyu like a wild beast.
Even before she was married, she had a competitive nature. However, the women of the Huang family all understood some medicine and could make medicine, but Huang Li lacked the patience to learn.
No matter how beautiful her dresses or how luxurious her jewelry, the Huang family girls of the same generation would merely cast a indifferent glance, nod, and then continue reading medical books. If Huang Li caused a scene, the elders would reprimand her.
Therefore, Huang Li could only go to the Qin family to show off. But the Qin family was a scholarly family, and the Qin girls were all talented scholars who could compose poetry at a moment's notice. Even if there were conflicts, when Huang Li arrived, the Qin girls would unite.
Their subtle and sarcastic mockery could make Huang Li so angry she would spit blood, yet she had no way to complain.
After marrying Young Master Ming the Third, Huang Li naturally had to compete with her two sisters-in-law. But the eldest sister-in-law was the senior wife and always emphasized rules. If Huang Li dared to make trouble, family rules would punish her.
The second sister-in-law came from a military family. If Huang Li dared to provoke her, she would be slapped.
More importantly, Young Master Ming the Third did not protect his wife. Thus, Huang Li was like a clown in the Ming family; no matter how much she jumped around, no one paid her any attention.
Never having had her way from childhood to adulthood, now even a young girl dared to give her a cold shoulder. Huang Li's face contorted with anger. Furthermore, she had learned from Madam Qin that Zhan Feiyu was merely a country girl, and she didn't believe a word of her being a disciple of Scholar Gu.
Zhan Feiyu was already looking for a way to interact with the Huang family, and here was a perfect opportunity presented to her.
Zhan Feiyu's body suddenly leaped up, and she unceremoniously kicked Huang Li's leg with her right foot. Although she was not tall, she had trained for several years and possessed considerable strength.
"Uh..." Looking at the fallen Huang Li, Zhan Feiyu guiltily touched her nose and retracted her raised right leg.
"Fatty girl, you're quite ruthless!" Chong Guang, leaning against the door of the private room, gave her a thumbs-up in admiration.
In everyone's sight, the kicked Huang Li fell to the ground. Crucially, she landed face-first into the fish slice porridge. It might not have been very hot, and there were still fragments of the clay pot on the ground.
"This..." The shopkeeper stared blankly at Zhan Feiyu, then at Huang Li, who was lying motionless in the porridge, and muttered with a bitter expression, "What should we do?"
The shopkeeper had already come over. He didn't want to beg for the waiter, but the problem was that he had offended the notoriously violent Third Madam Ming, and the waiter would suffer later.
When Zhan Feiyu stepped forward to intervene, the shopkeeper secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but he never expected the situation to turn out this way.
Looking at Huang Li, who was lying on the ground motionless, Zhan Feiyu tilted her head and tentatively asked, "Third Madam, are you alright?"
"Don't worry," Chong Guang patted Zhan Feiyu's shoulder familiarly. "I saw it just now. At most, her face was scratched by the porcelain shards; she won't have her throat cut. She won't die."
Zhan Feiyu let out a long sigh of relief. "I must copy the words 'Be cautious in your speech and conduct' one hundred times!"
The shopkeeper no longer cared about getting up and squatted down to help the fallen Huang Li. However, upon seeing her face, which was covered in white porridge, and her forehead bleeding, and most importantly, her eyes as cold as if she wanted to kill, the shopkeeper trembled. His hands loosened, and with a thud, Huang Li's face landed in the white porridge again, and her forehead likely hit the porcelain shards. Huang Li cried out in pain.
Zhan Feiyu and Chong Guang looked at the shopkeeper, whose face had turned pale with fright, with immense admiration. This was a truly ruthless person, delivering a secondary injury!
"It wasn't me... I didn't..." The shopkeeper, on the verge of tears, looked at Zhan Feiyu and Chong Guang, who were gloating, with grief and indignation. He was the most wronged.
Two quarters of an hour later, at the Huang Residence.
Worried that Huang Li would cause more trouble and injure herself further, Chong Guang had no choice but to knock her unconscious.
"Esteemed Master, Master, you must seek justice for Third Madam..." Granny Lu knelt in the reception hall, wailing at the top of her lungs, her hair disheveled, her cheekbones bruised, and a bloody nose. At first glance, she looked no better than Huang Li, who had been sent to the backyard.
The shopkeeper stood silently to the side, as did the waiter.
Zhan Feiyu and Chong Guang sat calmly in their chairs. If Zhan Feiyu hadn't glared at him a few times, Chong Guang would probably have picked up his teacup to savor the tea and watch Granny Lu's performance.
"Enough, state your business!" Master Huang, seated in the main position, slammed the table. He knew his niece Huang Li and her accompanying old nanny were not easy to deal with, but this time they had run into a tough opponent.
Fortunately, Master Huang had taken a look. There were only two cuts on her forehead, not too serious. And the Huang family was not short of medicine; they had five or six types of scar-removing ointments.
Granny Lu trembled with fear. Meeting Master Huang's sharp gaze, she dared not wail anymore but shifted all the blame to Zhan Feiyu. "Esteemed Master, she kicked Third Madam and caused her forehead to hit the porcelain shards. Third Madam almost lost her life!"
"Did my daughter bully you?" When Second Master Huang spoke, not only did Granny Lu look stunned, but Zhan Feiyu was also taken aback.
Looking at the conflicted and helpless Second Master Huang, Zhan Feiyu quickly said, "Not exactly, Third Madam..."
Zhan Feiyu recounted the entire incident. Master Huang and Second Master Huang glanced at the waiter, whose knees were covered in blood and whose hands were scalded, with skin seemingly about to peel off. If they had been in that situation, they would have intervened as well.
What kind of woman would be so vicious and cruel? Even if the fish slice porridge belonged to someone else, Huang Li demanding it was one thing, but the waiter merely spoke the truth and was slapped.
If the porridge was spilled, the matter should have ended there. But she insisted on making the waiter kneel on porcelain shards, which was simply inhumane.
"Brother, Li'er has been spoiled by me. You handle this matter; I'll go prepare the medicine." Second Master Huang stood up, cupped his hands in apology to Zhan Feiyu, and then left.
"Second Brother..." The elder Master Huang looked speechlessly at his shirking brother. The second brother had always been kind and benevolent, yet he had such a vicious daughter. It was understandable that he didn't want to deal with it.
After all, Huang Li was the Third Madam of the Ming family. Therefore, Elder Master Huang had his servants take the waiter to treat his injuries and sent someone to deliver a letter to the Ming family. It wasn't that he feared the Ming family would be unhappy afterward, but he didn't want Huang Li to cause further trouble upon her return to the Ming family.
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