The moment Madam Gu said this, Yingzi was instantly furious. But angry as he was, what could he do in a setting like this?

The item, though he had found it and brought it here himself, ultimately still belonged to the Gu family. And he had already handed it over to Madam Gu — how she chose to use it was her own business. If Madam Gu wanted to give it to a six-year-old child, was Yingzi supposed to fight a small child for it in front of everyone?

It wasn’t only Yingzi who found himself in a difficult spot — Doctor Hua was at a loss too, with no room to offer any advice either way.

If Doctor Hua wanted to advise against it, how would he even put it? Say the child’s illness wasn’t serious, but that Madam Gu’s injury was urgent?

The thing was, though that six-year-old’s illness was minor, in the eyes of Jiang Chen and his wife, and in the eyes of the Gu couple, it was a matter of great importance!

Doctor Hua wasn’t foolish enough to offend Jiang Chen and his wife at a moment like this. He chose silence.

Seeing Doctor Hua say nothing, Yingzi could only pin his hopes on the family head, Gu Jun!

But just as Gu Jun was about to speak up, Madam Gu covered his mouth. “I’ll be fine. Give it to Yuan’er. While it’s fresh, the effect is strongest — this will surely benefit him when he cultivates the Gu family’s internal energy in the future.”

“Wife… it’s rare to come across such a fine medicine, and your health can’t afford this loss!” Gu Jun looked troubled.

“Husband, Yuan’er is still so young. You can’t have this old bag of bones fight with our Yuan’er over it! That little one is still sick, hasn’t even woken up yet — what if the fever burns something out?” Madam Gu asked worriedly.

Gu Jun knew his wife’s temperament, and with this reasoning thrown at him, he found himself at a loss for how to argue further.

Yingzi stood to the side, anxious but with no standing to speak. He wanted to but couldn’t find the words, so he shot a resentful glare at Jiang Chen and his wife instead.

This was exactly the moment when they should have been the ones speaking up!

If they truly had any filial devotion, they should have firmly refused to let Madam Gu give up the herb — only then would they have had any standing to say anything else.

But Jiang Chen had already lowered his head, pretending to have heard nothing at all, while Gu Meiting sat in silence too, not saying a word, not even glancing at her mother.

It was only then that Yingzi suddenly understood — this was all a scheme. From the moment Jiang Chen saw the Blood Spirit Grass in his hand back in the storehouse, Jiang Chen must have already planned this whole thing out.

Otherwise, how could a man who’d stayed silent through the entire tongue-lashing from Gu Jun suddenly speak up and ask Doctor Hua about the herb’s effects!

He had done it on purpose — deliberately letting Madam Gu learn of the herb’s benefits, deliberately maneuvering her into giving it to his son!

What a hypocrite, what a vile little schemer!

“Wife…” Gu Jun tried to persuade her again, but Madam Gu had already taken in her daughter and son-in-law’s reactions, and with a helpless, wry smile inside, she said, “Doctor Hua, quickly take the medicine to Yuan’er while it’s still fresh.”

“Yes!” Doctor Hua, though seething inside, had no choice but to obey.

It was only once Doctor Hua had taken the Blood Spirit Grass and was about to leave that Gu Meiting finally dared to speak. “Mother, actually Yuan’er isn’t in any real danger. Such a rare medicine… you should keep it for yourself.”

Madam Gu glanced at the still-silent Jiang Chen, then simply waved her hand. “I’m tired. All of you go back. Yingzi, take good care of Beiyue. Once I’m able to leave my bed, I’ll come see him.”

Gu Meiting didn’t push further, putting on a show of reluctance as she looked pitifully at her father.

Gu Jun let out a helpless sigh and waved for everyone to withdraw.

Jiang Chen was the first to leave. Yingzi quickly caught up, snorting derisively beside him as he pushed ahead to leave first.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Chen said quietly, “My thanks, Guard Yingzi.”

This bastard!

Anger surged up in Yingzi’s chest. He was about to turn back, but in the end he held himself in check and strode away without another word.

If he hadn’t left quickly, there was no telling what he might have done!

“Bang!”

Back at the main residence, Yingzi kicked the door open with brutal force, startling Physician Gu, who hurried out from the inner room. “What happened?”

“I’m furious! Jiang Chen and his wife are far too scheming!” Yingzi shouted angrily, with nowhere to vent his rage, and slammed a fist straight into the door, punching a huge hole right through it!

“What exactly happened? Wasn’t everything fine just now?” Physician Gu asked, confused. Yingzi had delivered the medicine himself — what could have gone wrong?

Only then did Yingzi angrily recount the whole affair to Physician Gu, who flushed red with rage as he listened.

“Tell me, wasn’t Jiang Chen doing that on purpose! He must have already known the herb’s effects, which is why he deliberately got Doctor Hua to say it out loud!”

“And the most infuriating part is Madam Gu! I see now she’s no kind, gentle mother at all — she’s just a pushover! Constantly caving to that Jiang Chen family!”

“Why doesn’t she ever consider that the medicine would benefit our master too! If she wanted to give it away, shouldn’t it have gone to our master?”

…

The angrier Yingzi got, the more worked up he became, and Physician Gu, listening, grew furious himself, rubbing at his chest repeatedly. “That was a treasure! Just given away like that… sigh… if only we’d known, we wouldn’t have yielded it!”

“If only we’d known, if only we’d known — if only we’d never come to the Gu family in the first place!” Yingzi was practically driven mad with anger.

Physician Gu kept shaking his head, gasping for breath. Having lived so many years and seen so many people, this was truly the first time he’d ever encountered such a shameless couple!

And it was also the first time he’d witnessed such a doting “good mother”!

“Old Gu, write up a list — anything useful, put it all down. I’m going to go empty out that entire storehouse right now, and see how they manage to take it from us then!” Yingzi said furiously.

Physician Gu shot him a look and sighed helplessly. “Yingzi, in the end, we’re still servants here. Whatever Jiang Chen and his wife may be, at least right now they’re half the masters of this household — do you understand?”

“I understand. If I didn’t, would I have let that treasure fall into their hands!” Yingzi said unhappily.

“Yingzi, right now what we lack is a proper standing — a legitimate status. The moment our master wakes, the moment he accepts the Gu family, we’ll have the right to speak. It’s just a few more days — bear with it!” Physician Gu counseled earnestly.

“Bear with it! The moment our master wakes, the first thing we do is throw that Jiang Chen family right out on the street! I’m so angry!” Yingzi sighed repeatedly.

That very night, just as Yingzi and Physician Gu were about to go to sleep, Doctor Hua came quietly knocking at their door.

“Doctor Hua, so late…”

Before Physician Gu could finish, Doctor Hua quietly handed over a small bowl of blood-red medicinal broth. Physician Gu was startled the moment he saw it. “This… this… Doctor Hua, you shouldn’t have!”

This was exactly the Blood Spirit Grass, crushed and boiled into a broth — at least half a stalk’s worth by the look of it. Doctor Hua had secretly kept it back and brought it here!

If anyone found out, his position as the family’s personal physician would be finished!

“Shh… Physician Gu, Madam secretly ordered this. The medicine’s in my hands — how much of it there is, only we know. Madam said not a soul is to know about this,” Doctor Hua said in a low voice.

Physician Gu’s heart warmed at once, but looking at the broth, he hesitated to take it.

“Physician Gu, hurry and give it to the young master while it’s still warm. Madam, she… it’s hard, being the elder. The eldest young lady is her own daughter after all, and that child is her own grandson. An elder always dotes on the little ones. And with Jiang Chen’s face to consider as well… so she had no choice but to…”

Doctor Hua didn’t need to explain further — Physician Gu understood completely. He said helplessly, “Doctor Hua, why does Madam bother? A married daughter is like spilled water — Madam should know better than anyone where the eldest young lady’s heart truly lies. This constant yielding of hers… anyone who didn’t know better would think she was genuinely afraid of Jiang Chen!”

Doctor Hua shook his head repeatedly. “Physician Gu, even though there’s no one in the Gu family who can currently match Jiang Chen’s internal energy, a family as prominent as the Gu family wouldn’t truly fear one man like Jiang Chen. It’s just… whatever else, the eldest young lady is still Madam and the Master’s own flesh and blood. If they don’t tolerate Jiang Chen, and this marriage falls apart, who suffers in the end but the eldest young lady? And who loses face but the Gu family?”

Physician Gu understood. What a great family valued most of all was its reputation. No matter how much hardship Madam Gu endured, she still had to think of Gu Meiting, still had to preserve the Gu family’s face — she absolutely could not allow Gu Meiting to tarnish the Gu family’s name!

“On behalf of the young master, my thanks to Madam,” Physician Gu said flatly, finally accepting the broth.

By now the wind had grown fiercer and fiercer. Doctor Hua didn’t linger and hurried off.

That night, neither Physician Gu nor Yingzi slept — partly because of that bowl of medicine from Madam Gu, and partly because the wind raged wildly all night, howling and roaring.

By the time dawn had not yet broken, the whole mountaintop was already in an uproar.

Yingzi made some inquiries and learned that a hurricane, the kind seen only once in a hundred years, was approaching. The servants were all busy reinforcing the buildings and tying down trees, preparing for the disaster to come.

The main residence where Jun Beiyue lived sat at the highest point of the Gu family estate, exposed with nothing to shield it, facing the wind head-on. But unlike the east and west wings, which were built halfway up the mountainside, this residence was constructed on the flat ground at the very peak — the most solid ground on the whole estate.

For now, the rain had not yet arrived; only fierce gusts of wind swept past, growing more and more frequent.

Standing on the stone terrace of the main residence, one could see far off that the harbor of Liuxian Island had already been completely closed. Out on the vast ocean, towering waves crashed and dark clouds gathered — the sheer power of nature was enough to inspire awe in anyone who watched for long.

Physician Gu and Yingzi could never have imagined that, out on that same raging, wind-tossed sea, a lone ship was struggling forward against the ocean storm, fighting its way ahead!

How could there be a ship out there?

This was hurricane season, after all — even the most seasoned fishermen wouldn’t dare set sail!

Who could be so bold, and where could they possibly be headed?

The entire ocean was as dark as midnight, thick clouds hanging low, pressing down as though about to crush everything beneath them!

On the deck, a woman in black combat attire stood with her feet planted shoulder-width apart, hands clasped behind her back, standing firm and upright against the wind.

There weren’t many aboard the ship — just one group of mercenaries, plus her, nine people in total.

Who else could be so audacious, if not Han Ziqing?

Her men were working hard to keep the ship balanced, battling the fierce waves, every face grim with focus, showing no trace of fear.

As for her, she showed no sign of alarm at all. At that moment, she held a compass tightly in her hand, eyes closed as she faced into the wind, sensing its direction, listening for the storm’s position…

A hurricane was what people in the modern world called a typhoon — more precisely, a tropical storm. Even in the modern era, once a vessel was caught at the center of a tropical storm, it would face devastating cross-waves, with consequences too dire to imagine.

The hurricane itself wasn’t the terrifying part — what was terrifying was its eye, which had to be avoided well in advance!

Suddenly, Ziqing opened her eyes and said coldly, “The waves are rising steadily from south to north, the pressure is dropping rapidly, the air is thick with moisture — heavy rain is coming! The hurricane is due south, and it’s closing in on us!”

Though not a professional, she did have experience sailing the seas.

“Master, do we retreat, or…?” Guxi asked hurriedly.

The reason they had set out alone in the first place was that no one had been willing to take them out to sea — they would have had to wait a full two months before departure was possible. Two months was too long for their master to wait, so without a second word, she had bought a ship and set out to sea on her own!

If their master dared to come, how could they not dare as well?

“Bring a basin of water!” Ziqing called out at once.

Shiliang quickly brought over a basin of clear water. Ziqing reached in and stirred, creating a whirlpool that spun counterclockwise.

In this unnamed era, even though the compass functioned normally, Ziqing still had to be cautious — who knew whether she might have crossed over to some entirely different planet!

In a storm like this, any error in direction would send them straight into disaster!

The whirlpool spun counterclockwise — which meant her geographical knowledge still held true here!

“East!” Ziqing ordered at once.

This hurricane, approaching from south to north with no landmass to obstruct it, would inevitably curve toward the southwest under the influence of the Coriolis effect. Only by heading east could they hope to escape it in time!

And they had to keep at least two hundred nautical miles from the hurricane’s eye!

“East, full speed ahead!” Ziqing shouted, leaping nimbly down onto the deck and diving straight into the helm room to take control of the wheel.

The wind grew stronger and stronger, the waves rose higher and higher, and before long, the lone ship was swallowed up in the raging storm.

Yet not far away, amid waves piling ever higher, another ship pressed forward against the wind and waves, appearing and disappearing in the chaos.

The whole ship was crewed by seasoned, experienced sailors, all working in a frantic rush. The captain in the helm room wore a grave, unsmiling expression — the atmosphere aboard the ship was strained to the breaking point!

Yet, of all places, out on the deck, allowing the ship to pitch and toss violently beneath him, a man stood as steady as a mountain, hands clasped behind his back. His purple robes and silver hair whipped wildly in the wind, utterly unrestrained, entirely unmoved by the waves crashing toward him, his calm, deep eyes fixed steadily eastward…

Three days later, once the dark clouds dispersed and the rain finally ceased, the seas grew calm once more.

Such was the vastness of the ocean — after so massive a storm, it left not a single trace behind, as though nothing had happened at all.

On the calm sea, the ship slowly sailed on toward the southwest. Had it not been for the storm, Ziqing would surely have already reached Liuxian Island by now!

At that moment, she stood on the deck, gazing toward the southwest. It had been a month now since she’d had any news of Jun Beiyue. Would there be a joyful surprise waiting for her the moment she set foot on Liuxian Island?

Meanwhile, on Liuxian Island, the aftermath was devastating. The hurricane’s eye had passed directly over the island, and the great families occupying the mountain peaks had all suffered heavy losses — none more so than the Gu family, perched atop the highest peak.

The west wing, where Gu Meiting and Jiang Chen lived, had required the most manpower to reinforce, yet it still couldn’t withstand the wind’s force — the entire structure had collapsed and would have to be rebuilt.

And so, Madam Gu now faced a great dilemma: where would Jiang Chen and his family of three live?