The moment he walked out of the Xue residence, the heavy door slowly closed behind Zheng Duanwen. He let out a breath, with a vague feeling of having escaped death. There was a coolness in the late-night wind that made his hair stand on end. He was drenched in sweat, his clothes sticking to his back, but he was too distracted to care. He hurriedly boarded his carriage and ordered the driver to head home.
The next day, Zheng Duanwen claimed illness and stayed home, never returning to court again. It was said that he was getting old and caught a chill on his way home at night. The next day, his family found him bedridden, half-paralyzed, with a crooked mouth. They hastily called a doctor who diagnosed a stroke. Due to delayed treatment, he would never recover and could only rest in bed with medication.
When Xue Sheng heard about this, he seemed unsurprised and showed no particular regret. He instructed his steward to send some medicinal herbs to the Zheng family, fulfilling this superficial courtesy.
A few days later, the young master of the Ying Guo Gong mansion suddenly disappeared. His family cried and reported to the Shun Tian Mansion, but times had changed.
A war had completely brought down the already declining Ying Guo Gong mansion. The indifferent clerk hastily dealt with the case and then tossed the file aside to gather dust.
Xue Sheng sat at his desk, carefully listening to his subordinate’s report on Fu Yaosheng’s background. After listening, he gave a cold laugh: “Like father, like son. Would Fu Ting Zhong be so angry he’d rise from his coffin if he knew he had such a son?”
A few years ago, Yan Xiao Han had punished Fu Ya twice, once cutting off his lineage and another time dragging him out to beat him at a wedding feast. This merciless beating had kept Fu Ya quiet for a while. But before he could plan his revenge, war broke out, and the capital was captured by foreign tribes. Fu Ting Yi fled with his entire family to Jiangnan.
The journey was arduous, and survival was the priority. Fu Ya dragged his sick body to Jinling. The wet and cold Jiangnan winter ultimately prevented his leg from fully healing, leaving him with a permanent limp.
