Chapter 155
Chapter 155
Carrying Jin Bao, Xiao Che followed the servant to the guest courtyard.
Its furnishings were similar to those in the western side courtyard at the Xie Family estate.
Before long, servants filed in with lavish dishes and wine.
No matter how war ravaged the world outside or how desperately the common people struggled to survive, the powerful and wealthy continued feasting and indulging themselves without interruption.
Chicken, duck, fish, and every kind of wild game covered the table.
After traveling all day, Jin Bao’s little belly had long since begun growling.
With so much delicious food before her, how could she possibly restrain herself?
Before the steward even entered to exchange pleasantries, she had already climbed onto a chair and reached for a chicken leg.
Xiao Che made an emergency interception and pulled her little hand back.
“Daughter, you haven’t washed your hands. They’re dirty.”
Just then, the steward entered with a broad smile.
“Valley Master Xiao, our family head is currently discussing how to recover the former family head’s remains with the clan elders. I fear he will not have time to accompany you at dinner. He asked this old servant to convey his apologies. If you require anything, please do not hesitate to instruct the servants.”
Xiao Che expressed his understanding. “Please pass a message to Family Head Qi. We did not come merely to deliver news. I also have a business proposition to discuss with him.”
The steward nodded respectfully. “Yes, I will certainly inform him. Valley Master Xiao, this old servant will not disturb your meal.”
Xiao Che nodded.
Only after the steward left did Xiao Che wipe Jin Bao’s hands with his handkerchief and let her begin eating.
He sat to one side, watching his daughter enjoy her food with a faint smile while contemplating the Lushan Qi Family.
Judging by the current family head’s behavior, someone might have plotted against the former head.
The man now in charge did not seem easy to deal with.
Xiao Che only considered the matter in silence. He had no intention of interfering in the family’s internal affairs. Regardless of who held the position, it had little to do with him. Any head of the Lushan Qi Family would have to consider the family’s future.
He had come to negotiate a partnership and establish ties with them.
After leaving the guest courtyard, the steward immediately returned to the main residence to report.
“Family Head, the guests have been settled. Valley Master Xiao said he came not only to deliver the news, but also to discuss a partnership. He asks whether you have time tomorrow.”
The news of his elder brother’s death finally lifted the weight that had hung over Qi Sihai’s heart.
His position as acting family head would at last become legitimate. From now on, the entire Lushan Qi Family belonged to him.
At the thought of his delicate, beautiful sister-in-law, a shiver of desire ran through him.
“Investigate this Xiao Che. What is his background? What Valley Master? Since when has some nameless valley master appeared in the Northern Frontier? Perhaps he’s a fraud. Until you’ve uncovered the truth, stall them. Don’t let them disturb me.”
The steward acknowledged the order and bowed himself out.
After he left, a woman entered carrying a bowl of soup.
“Husband, I just finished preparing this ginseng soup. Drink it while it’s hot.”
The woman was plain in appearance, but she was a concubine-born daughter of the Zhou Family, which controlled the entire Northern Frontier’s salt trade and was even more powerful than the Lushan Qi Family. Marrying a daughter of the Zhou Family had been a social step up for Qi Sihai. Though her looks had never attracted him, he had not neglected her over the years.
Today, however, another woman occupied his thoughts, and he found himself impatient with his wife.
“Why do I have to drink ginseng every day? You don’t need to handle such things personally anymore. Let the servants do it.”
Qi Sihai picked up the bowl and swallowed the soup in a few gulps.
Then he noticed his wife looking at him in confusion.
This was the first time since their marriage that Qi Sihai had lost his temper with her, and for no apparent reason.
Zhou Wanting was normally gentle and gracious, but as a daughter of the Zhou Family, she was hardly weak or easy to fool.
“Husband, did something happen today? Why are you so agitated?”
The sudden relief in Qi Sihai’s heart had made him careless and smug. In truth, he had long since tired of the wife before him. If the Zhou Family were not such a mighty vessel, he would have neglected this dull woman years ago.
Realizing his wife had noticed something unusual, Qi Sihai abruptly came to his senses.
“My lady, I’ve been under a great deal of pressure lately. I lost my temper for a moment just now. Please don’t take offense.”
Only then did Zhou Wanting stop questioning him.
“Then rest well, Husband. I wonder whether any news of Elder Brother has arrived. If he were here, your burden would be lighter.”
She had spoken without hidden meaning, but Qi Sihai heard the words very differently.
Zhou Wanting’s seemingly casual remark rekindled the fury inside him. From birth until now, people had always compared him to his elder brother. Wherever that man stood, Qi Sihai became nothing more than a backdrop.
Even now that his brother was dead, people still used him as the standard of comparison.
Years of suppressed rage, grievance, and resentment erupted in Qi Sihai’s heart. Irrational fury consumed his composure in an instant.
He suddenly seized Zhou Wanting by the throat.
His eyes burned with vengeful madness and rage.
“In your heart, am I really that inferior to my elder brother? If he was so wonderful, why did you marry me? Or have you always been thinking about him instead?”
Zhou Wanting’s expression changed the instant his hand closed around her throat. Murderous intent filled his eyes. His face twisted as nonsense spilled from his mouth.
It was as if she were seeing his true nature for the first time. Panic seized her.
“Husband… let go… I’m your… wife…”
“Wife? Have you ever treated me like a man all these years? You parade around every day with the lofty airs of a daughter of the Zhou Family. I’ve had enough! So what if your family is rich? You’re only a concubine-born daughter of the Zhou Family. What gives you the right to trample a legitimate son of the Lushan Qi Family beneath your feet?”
The more Qi Sihai spoke, the more agitated he became, and the tighter his grip grew.
Zhou Wanting’s face turned white and her eyes rolled upward. She was on the verge of suffocating.
Qi Sihai suddenly released her, and she collapsed to the floor.
She coughed and gasped for a long time before she recovered.
Staggering upright, she stumbled outside.
The servants had heard the quarrel but were too frightened to enter. Only when Zhou Wanting emerged in disarray did her maid and nanny rush forward to support her.
“Nanny, hurry. Go pack our things. We’re returning to the Zhou Family.”
“Madam, what happened?”
The sharp-eyed nanny spotted the deep red mark around Zhou Wanting’s neck. Some patches were already turning blue and purple. Within the Lushan Qi Family, the family head was likely the only person who would dare lay hands on his wife.
But he had always treated her with respect. Why had he suddenly attacked her? Had some conflict broken out between them?
The nanny did not dare ask further. She and the maid hurriedly helped Zhou Wanting toward her bedchamber.
Qi Sihai had now calmed completely. He stared at his own hand, filled with regret.
Contrary to his claim, he had not informed the clan elders about the former family head.
His hatred and jealousy of the man had long since seeped into his bones. He wanted the remains to lie beneath the open sky forever, leaving his brother’s soul to wander without rest and denying him burial in the ancestral grave for all eternity.
It was enough that Qi Sihai alone knew the former family head was dead.
It was enough to know his own position was secure at last.