The sound of crossbow mechanisms being drawn echoed overhead.
Wu Yiyu’s smile froze on her lips before she could even retract it.
The guards surrounding her halted in their tracks, staring at the horses just a dozen paces away, not daring to move another inch. One of the younger guards, whether from losing his footing or a nervous urge to flee, accidentally took two steps forward. A dozen arrows whistled through the air, piercing his body before he could utter a sound. He crumpled heavily to the ground, and the air instantly thickened with the heavy scent of blood.
No one spoke, and no one moved. The group stood as if frozen in place, the eerie silence sending chills down their spines.
Wu Yiyu heard footsteps approaching from behind and instinctively turned her head. But with a sharp whoosh, an arrow grazed past her temple, scattering her hair.
At the same moment, Zeng Kui’s face, as hideous as a demon’s, appeared before her. Seeing the chilling smile curling at the corners of his lips, Wu Yiyu—who had never known fear—couldn’t help but swallow hard, a cold shiver creeping up her spine.
Zeng Kui walked toward her step by step, unhurriedly. Two loyal guards instinctively raised their arms to block him, but before they could complete the motion, arrows shot from an unseen direction pierced clean through them. They convulsed briefly before collapsing into pools of blood.
No one dared move again, not even Wu Yiyu, who stood rigidly in place.
Zeng Kui studied Wu Yiyu for a long moment, then reached out to grip her chin, bringing his face so close that their breaths mingled. Wu Yiyu felt a wave of nausea but dared not move an inch, restrained by caution.
His fingers stroked her chin gently, as if caressing a rare treasure, with a tenderness that might have fooled onlookers into thinking he harbored affection for her.
A creeping dread filled Wu Yiyu’s heart. She held back as long as she could before finally ignoring the rising fear and glaring fiercely at Zeng Kui. “Let go of me!” she hissed coldly. “How dare the Zeng family secretly raise so many crossbowmen! What are you plotting? If the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion finds out, you’ll pay dearly!”
Her words were fierce, but she remained utterly still. Her arrogance didn’t mean she feared death—on the contrary, she valued her own life highly. It was always others’ lives she deemed cheap.
Although Zeng Pu had been appointed as the regional commander by the court, his authority was largely nominal. While his situation had improved somewhat, the men under his command were limited in number. These crossbowmen, clearly trained for a long time as private soldiers, could not possibly belong to the Ningxia army—a fact Wu Yiyu, with her military background, recognized immediately. For a family like the Zengs, maintaining such a force was a grave transgression.
Suddenly, Zeng Kui tightened his grip, and a sharp crack echoed from Wu Yiyu’s chin, as if bone had shattered. She let out a piercing scream, nearly fainting from the pain. Zeng Kui then pulled her into his embrace, his rough grip softening once more into a gentle caress.He caressed Wu Yiyu’s face, his voice gentle and sticky as if afraid of startling her, whispering softly by her ear, “These crossbowmen? I hadn’t planned to reveal them just yet, but who told you to be so mischievous? Without them, how could I have caught you?”
Wu Yiyu’s chin had already swollen rapidly, the pain making her tremble uncontrollably. Yet the sensation of Zeng Kui’s lips brushing against her ear as he spoke was even more unbearable—it felt as if tiny snakes, tongues flickering, were slithering into her ear canal.
Wu Yiyu’s trembling fear seemed to delight Zeng Kui. His complexion was no longer as pale as before, and a fierce excitement even flickered in his eyes. In full view of everyone, Zeng Kui stuck out his tongue and meticulously licked around the curve of Wu Yiyu’s ear, finally biting down on her earlobe.
Wu Yiyu stiffened for a moment, then screamed.
Her scream provoked a loud laugh from Zeng Kui. His gaze suddenly turned cold, and he bit down hard on Wu Yiyu’s earlobe, tearing at it like an animal.
Blood streamed continuously from Wu Yiyu’s ear into Zeng Kui’s mouth. He sucked eagerly, his face alight with excitement, until he tore off a large chunk of flesh from her ear. Overwhelmed by terror and agony, Wu Yiyu rolled her eyes back and fainted.
Zeng Kui released his grip, and Wu Yiyu slid from his body, collapsing unconscious on the ground.
After biting off the piece of flesh from Wu Yiyu’s ear, Zeng Kui did not spit it out. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and chewed carefully, as if savoring a delicacy, then swallowed it along with the blood. Finally, he licked the bloodstains from his lips with evident relish.
Silence fell all around. Even members of the Zeng family looked at Zeng Kui with horror. Someone retched but quickly stifled the sound by covering their mouth tightly.
Zeng Kui seemed oblivious to the strange gazes around him. His eyes swept over the faces of Wu Yiyu’s attendants one by one, only to furrow his brows deeply.
This expression from Zeng Kui made everyone present tremble involuntarily.
“Where are the others?” Zeng Kui’s face had turned completely dark and cold.
No one spoke. Zeng Kui fixed his stare on one of the attendants behind Wu Yiyu and repeated, “Where are the others?” He had just realized that the two familiar figures he had seen earlier were not among this group.
The man trembled under Zeng Kui’s gaze, swallowing hard before replying, “They… they ran away.”
Zeng Kui took two steps forward and grabbed the man by the throat. “Where did they run to?”
In truth, the attendant was taller and stronger than Zeng Kui and trained in martial arts. Under normal circumstances, he could lift a young master like Zeng Kui with one hand. But the crossbows aimed at him left him too terrified to move, so he replied shakily, “When we first came out, the young mistress ordered them to contact the reinforcements hidden outside. They must have fled when they saw the situation turning against us.”
Seeing Zeng Kui’s venomous glare fixed on him, he added, “They were Jianghu people hired by the young mistress.”Zeng Kui’s chest heaved violently twice upon hearing this. He then snatched a knife from someone nearby and swung it at the man’s neck. Caught off guard, the man was struck down to the ground.
Everyone around, whether from the Wu family or the Zeng family, couldn’t help but take a step back at the sight.
Considering what they had just witnessed, everyone present couldn’t help but think that Young Master Zeng had surely gone mad.
Unexpectedly, Zeng Kui did not continue his rampage. He threw the blood-dripping knife to the ground and ordered, “Go and bring her back for me, dead or alive! Take all these people back!”
He lifted his foot and wiped the bloodstains he had accidentally stepped in onto the clothes of Wu Yiyu, who lay on the ground, then turned and walked away without looking back.
Everyone who saw his back couldn’t help but shudder.
Thus, Wu Yiyu, who had already escaped the Zeng family, was captured again by Zeng’s men and brought back, covered in blood.
Xiao Wei soon received the news. She was both shocked and furious, and resentful of her daughter’s foolishness. Yet, she couldn’t abandon Wu Yiyu, so she immediately brought people to the Zeng family. At this time, she still didn’t know the extent of the suffering her daughter had endured at Zeng Kui’s hands—her jaw had been crushed, and a piece of flesh from her ear had been bitten off and swallowed by Zeng Kui.
However, this time, Xiao Wei was turned away at the door of the Zeng family.
Zeng Pu refused to see any guests, no matter who they were. He only sent a steward to relay a message to Xiao Wei: Wu Yiyu had married into the Zeng family and was now a daughter-in-law of the Zeng family. She would remain with the Zeng family from now on.
It was only at this moment that Xiao Wei began to regret her decision.
She waited outside the Zeng family’s gate for a long time, trying every method she could think of, even considering forcing her way in with her people. However, Zeng Pu had already stationed guards to seal off the Zeng family so tightly that not even a fly could get through. In the end, Xiao Wei had no choice but to return empty-handed and think of another way to rescue Wu Yiyu.
This time, the Zeng family completely abandoned their previous stance of not offending anyone. No matter how much Xiao Wei stirred up trouble or how many people tried to mediate, they refused to release Wu Yiyu. From beginning to end, they only had one statement: Wu Yiyu was now a daughter-in-law of the Zeng family, and there was no reason for her to return to her maiden home.
After exhausting all her options, Xiao Wei had no choice but to send someone back to the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion to seek help.
Before Xiao Wei’s plea for help arrived at the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion, the mansion had already learned about the incident between Wu Yiyu and Zeng Kui on their wedding day. After finding out, Xiao Jinglin wrote this letter to Ren Yaoqi.
The last time Xiao Jingxi sent someone to explain to Ren Yaoqi the details of Ren Yaohua’s kidnapping, he had been relatively reserved, speaking vaguely about Zeng Kui’s castration. Ren Yaoqi had only vaguely guessed the truth based on the wording. However, Xiao Jinglin had no such reservations in her speech. So when Ren Yaoqi learned about the commotion Wu Yiyu had caused in the wedding hall, her expression turned peculiar.
There was no doubt that the person who sent that box of “something” to Wu Yiyu and later played the role of assisting her escape was related to the Yanbei Prince’s Mansion. Even if the Zeng family had previously doubted whether Wu Yiyu was responsible for Zeng Kui’s injury, they could no longer deny it at this point. The severed “something” in Wu Yiyu’s hands was the best evidence. Unfortunately, Wu Yiyu, thinking herself clever, ended up being used as a pawn and a scapegoat, completely unaware of it.Regardless of what interests the Wu and Zeng families had previously exchanged, at this point, it was impossible for them not to turn against each other. Wu Yiyu had caused Zeng Kui to be left without descendants, and she had made a scene in front of so many people right in the middle of their wedding hall. If the Zeng family still showed no reaction, how would the people of Ningxia view the Zeng family? How would they view the imperial court behind the Zeng family? Even if the Zeng family could afford to lose face, the imperial court could not bear such humiliation.
Now that Wu Yiyu was still in the hands of the Zeng family, given the vengeful nature of the Zeng father and son, there was simply no way for the Wu and Zeng families to resolve this peacefully.
This blood feud was destined to be set in stone.
At the end of her letter, Xiao Jinglin also mentioned that Xiao Wei had originally wanted to ask Supervisor Lu to step in and save Wu Yiyu, but during those few days, Supervisor Lu happened to be away from Ningxia due to some business.
Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but wonder: at a time like this, sending a eunuch to the Zeng family to rescue her daughter—was Xiao Wei trying to save her or simply adding fuel to the fire?
However, the affairs in Ningxia were nothing more than a spectacle for Ren Yaoqi. With old grudges and new hatred combined, she was more than happy to see the Zeng and Wu families fight like dogs, ending up both severely wounded.
After reading the letter, Ren Yaoqi put it away and went back to brewing her chrysanthemum wine.
Perhaps because it was autumn, there really were an unusual number of events that day.
In the afternoon, Ren Yaohua appeared before Ren Yaoqi again with a furrowed brow. Before Ren Yaoqi could even ask, Ren Yaohua said, "The Lei Family also went to White Crane Town to deliver Double Ninth Festival gifts to the Ren Family’s old residence."
Lei Ting was a steady person, and there was nothing inappropriate about this—it was simply a matter of etiquette. So Ren Yaoqi knew that Ren Yaohua had more to say and waited for her to continue.
Ren Yaohua added coldly, "Ren Yaoying encountered the people from the Lei Family who were delivering the gifts."
Ren Yaoqi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What kind of trouble did she stir up?"
Ren Yaohua couldn’t help but sneer. "What else could it be? She had someone subtly hint to the Lei Family’s people that I once stayed out all night."
Naturally, Ren Yaoying didn’t know that Lei Ting not only knew the full story of that incident but had also been involved in it. She thought that once the Lei Family learned about it, they would surely send someone to investigate and verify, as no family would want to marry a woman with a tarnished reputation.
Ren Yaoying didn’t believe that Ren Yaohua had gone to her maternal grandparents’ home that day, and since she couldn’t find out the truth herself, she hoped to use the Lei Family’s hands to investigate. If it was eventually proven that Ren Yaohua truly had a problem, the Lei Family would certainly call off the engagement—that was Ren Yaoying’s scheme.
Ren Yaoqi couldn’t help but find it amusing. "No wonder she wanted to return to White Crane Town—she was waiting for an opportunity."
While in Yunyang City, Ren Yaoying had been kept under tight surveillance by Nanny Zhou’s people and had no chance to cause trouble unnoticed. She thought things would be different once she returned to White Crane Town—even if Madam Li and Nanny Zhou sent people to keep an eye on her, they couldn’t be too blatant on Old Madam Ren and First Madam’s turf.
So Ren Yaoying dared to secretly meet with Zhou Wen and even tried to trip up Ren Yaohua when the Lei Family’s people visited the Ren Family. What she didn’t know was that Ren Yaohua and Ren Yaoqi had never let their guard down around her, so no matter where she was, there would never be a shortage of people watching her.Ren Yaohua snorted coldly, speaking with a hint of arrogance, "Isn't she always thinking of causing trouble? I've already sent someone to White Crane Town to bring her over. Tomorrow is the Double Ninth Festival, and Lady Xu is hosting a mountain-climbing event. All the prominent figures in Yunyang City will be there. I want to see what tricks she can still pull! I’ll be waiting for her right here!"
Ren Yaoqi sighed. She could see that Ren Yaohua was truly angry—this time, she had been thoroughly provoked.
Knowing Ren Yaohua’s temper, Ren Yaoqi felt it wasn’t the right time to try to calm her down. She only reminded her, "If you’ve already sent for her, then so be it. But make sure to keep a close eye on her. Don’t let any trouble break out. After all, she might not care about losing face, but you can’t afford to. And... no matter how she behaves, in the eyes of others, she is our own sister by the same father. Don’t do anything that harms yourself while trying to hurt her."
Ren Yaohua pursed her lips. "If I weren’t mindful of that, would she still be around today? Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing."
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