The moment Ziqing let that line out, it was even less courteous than anything Madam Gu had said. Madam Gu gasped audibly, then snapped coldly, “Someone, throw Han Ziqing out!”

At once, guards stepped forward. But before Ziqing had even so much as reacted, the Gu family head roared, “All of you, stand down!”

Had his wife truly lost her senses out of anger? Throwing Han Ziqing out now would absolutely not solve anything—it would only bring them right back to the same conflict as before, back at the main hall.

If they absolutely had to choose between Jiang Chen and Han Ziqing, there was no question—they had to choose Han Ziqing.

And if they absolutely had to choose between their own daughter and Han Ziqing, then for now too, they had no choice but to choose Han Ziqing.

For no other reason than this: Han Ziqing had powerful backing, real ability. The zither gathering, more than anything, depended on her. As for Jiang Chen and Gu Meiting—no matter how much they fussed and fought, they still had no choice but to rely on the strength of the Gu family.

“My lord! I disown her! A woman this cold-blooded, willing to stand by and watch a child’s life hang in the balance without saving him, has no right to be a daughter-in-law of my Gu Shi household!” Madam Gu said furiously.

Ziqing gave a cold snort. So it had finally come out—the old lady’s true colors, showing favoritism, laying at Ziqing’s feet the very faults committed by her own daughter and son-in-law.

What was this—one law for the magistrate’s arson, another for the common folk’s candle?

Jiang Chen had used his own flesh-and-blood son as leverage and threat, and somehow that made her the cold-blooded, ruthless one?

Ziqing said nothing more, confident that the family head, who understood how to weigh the greater interest, would speak up for her without her having to say a word. And indeed, the Gu family head, no longer sparing his wife any consideration, snapped angrily, “Someone, arrest every one of the Jiang family’s guards standing outside the gate right now!”

The moment those words left his mouth, Jiang Chen genuinely staggered several steps back. If Gu Meiting hadn’t rushed to steady him, he might have dropped Jiang Yuan entirely.

“Father! What do you mean by this?!” Gu Meiting bellowed.

In truth, when it came to this marriage, the Gu family could easily have kept their dignity intact without all this fighting. Though the Gu Shi household had been declining over the years, even a dying camel is bigger than a horse—on Liuxian Isle, they absolutely had the power to swallow the Jiang family whole without a trace, and no one would ever be the wiser.

The only reason they hadn’t was that they didn’t want to expose the truth completely, didn’t want to embarrass their daughter.

Gu Jun ignored Gu Meiting entirely and continued shouting angrily, “Someone, seize the young master from him, and hold Jiang Chen down!”

Instantly, the four hall masters received the order and moved out, surrounding Jiang Chen at once. Gu Meiting was simply tossed aside and left standing.

“Mother, save us, Mother, don’t do this, Mother, how am I supposed to go on living if you do this to us?!”

Gu Meiting flung herself at Madam Gu, who stood frozen, never having imagined her husband would go this far.

Jiang Chen held Jiang Yuan tightly, his face drained of all color. His internal power was currently the strongest in the entire Jiang family, but against the combined force of the four hall masters, plus the many guards surrounding them—escaping wasn’t just difficult, keeping himself alive at all might not even be possible.

And on top of that, Han Ziqing was watching quietly off to the side, showing no reaction at all. This move by the Gu family head made one thing painfully clear—Han Ziqing was more valuable to him than Jiang Chen was. If a fight actually broke out, what would Han Ziqing do?

No!

There was absolutely no way he could afford to burn his bridges with the Gu family entirely—not even if it cost him his life!

Thump!

Suddenly Jiang Chen, still holding Jiang Yuan, dropped abruptly to his knees, raising the child high above his head in offering. “Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, I was wrong! I acted on impulse, I was wrong! The conflict between Meiting and me shouldn’t have dragged the child into it, shouldn’t have dragged the Gu family into it! It was my fault!”

The moment Madam Gu saw the child being handed over, she no longer cared whether the family head accepted Jiang Chen’s apology or not—she rushed forward at once to take Jiang Yuan into her arms.

“Quick, Doctor Hua! Right here, we can’t wait any longer!”

Doctor Hua, who had already prepared everything, immediately began treatment. Gu Suying shot Jiang Chen a disdainful glance, pursed her lips, and went to help Madam Gu.

In the pavilion, Ziqing took in the whole spectacle before her, legs crossed, saying nothing at all. She hadn’t come here to fight—she’d only come for a result, nothing more.

Seeing her father’s ruthless, resolute anger, Gu Meiting no longer dared put on her usual act of threatening to die. She hurried to kneel beside Jiang Chen, pleading over and over. “Father, I was wrong, I shouldn’t have kept looking down on the Jiang family, I should have followed my husband through thick and thin! It’s because I angered Jiang Chen that he acted this way. Father, it’s all your daughter’s fault—if you want to punish someone, punish me!”

“Father, please release the Jiang family’s men, or—or your daughter will truly have no face left to show at the Jiang household!”

“Father-in-law, this isn’t Meiting’s fault, it’s mine, all mine. For Yuan’er’s sake, please forgive me this once! I’m the incompetent one, I’m the one who couldn’t give Meiting what she wanted, it’s all my fault!”

…

Faced with the couple’s repeated pleading, what choice did the family head really have?

All he’d ever wanted was for Jiang Yuan to be treated as quickly as possible.

It’s said even a wise official finds it hard to settle a family dispute—but in truth, for the head of a household, resolving family matters thoroughly was actually quite simple. The only question was whether he was willing to.

The Gu family head glared coldly at the Jiang couple, but the corner of his eye kept drifting toward Ziqing off to the side.

By taking this step, he understood full well that from this day forward, Jiang Chen would never be able to hold his head up in front of Han Ziqing again—he would truly have to defer to her.

And if Jiang Chen had to bow his head before Han Ziqing, that meant the entire Jiang family would rank beneath her too.

Gu Meiting was no longer truly one of the Gu Shi—she was now the young madam of the Jiang household!

The Jiang family was of humble standing. He and his wife had worked hard all this time to maintain some semblance of equal status between the two families in how they treated Jiang Chen, all for their daughter’s sake, for her dignity.

But now… they had truly brought this upon themselves.

A person’s own ability is ultimately their greatest asset—where there is ability, status follows, and standing follows. Just like Han Ziqing—she didn’t even need to say a word, and naturally no one dared touch her, naturally someone would step in to shield her. She could sit here at ease, utterly unbothered.

As for Jiang Chen and Gu Meiting—no matter how much backing they had, no matter how high a birthright they were born into, what did it matter? None of it truly belonged to them; none of it could protect them forever.

The Gu family head took a deep breath, flung his sleeve back sharply, and said with a cold snort, “Jiang Chen, this old man will hold onto that group of your Jiang family’s guards for now. If there’s any more unreasonable trouble from you in the future, don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”

“Thank you, Father! Thank you, Father!” Gu Meiting let out a breath of relief. Jiang Chen, however, sank down where he knelt, slowly turning his head to look at Han Ziqing.

Gu Meiting still didn’t quite understand what had happened, but he understood perfectly well—he no longer held any standing at all within the Gu family. He no longer had any leverage left to contend with Han Ziqing.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yuan had already burned into unconsciousness. Doctor Hua was putting away his silver needles, repeatedly feeling the boy’s forehead, shaking his head over and over.

“Madam, acupuncture alone won’t do it. The young master has consumed far too many tonics in the past—his yang energy has grown so excessive it’s actually converting into yin. We must use a yang-natured medicine, ideally one of the red variety, or the longer this fever drags on, the worse the lasting damage will be!” Doctor Hua said gravely.

The moment those words came out, Ziqing’s eyes shot up at once, fixing directly on Gu Suying’s eyes. But Gu Suying turned her head away, looking out past the pavilion, so no one could see her face.

“Suying, hurry and fetch it from the storehouse!” Madam Gu ordered at once.