The eldest son of the Liu family was truly about to explode with rage. How could there be such a worthless scoundrel in this world!
This was the hatred of having one's wife stolen — and he spoke of it so lightly! Did he think that after snatching another man's woman, he could simply hand her back like returning a piece of fruit?
The murder of one's father, the theft of one's wife — these were the two greatest grudges under heaven.
How could the eldest son of the Liu family fail to see it? Liu Zhen had come for revenge! Everything he'd done so far was merely a prelude — a way to shame the Liu family and toll the funeral bell for them.
The real blow had yet to land!
The hateful beast Liu Feng still thought this was no big deal, saying he could just give her back. As if that could possibly be enough!
He had stolen another man's woman, sold off his family estate, and left him with nothing overnight. If the roles were reversed, the eldest son of the Liu family knew he would never let such a grudge go either.
For a moment, the eldest son of the Liu family wished he could draw his blade right then and there and chop his good-for-nothing brother to pieces.
The Liu family's old father had always doted on his youngest son, sparing no affection. Seeing his eldest son looking murderous, he hurriedly called out, "Eldest, calm yourself! The sky hasn't fallen yet."
The eldest son was utterly exasperated. He slumped back into his chair with a bitter grunt. "Father, how can you keep protecting this beast? How many disasters has he brought upon our family? Time and again, I'm the one who has to clean up his mess. This time, he's covered himself in filth from head to toe — how am I supposed to clean that up? The sky hasn't fallen yet? It's about to!"
The eldest son was beside himself with fury.
"Impossible! Eldest, you're a high-ranking official now, drawing a salary from the imperial coffers. He's just a commoner with no official rank, no standing, and no foundation in Chitang City. So what if he sycophants up to a few high officials and buys them a few meals — you think they'd actually go to war against our Liu family on his behalf? It's not that easy!"
The old man did have some sense after all.
But the eldest son saw it differently. "Father, even if those court officials won't actively help him against our Liu family, they could certainly turn a blind eye while he takes his revenge, couldn't they? Those who eat another's food speak softly; those who accept another's gifts go easy. Liu Zhen is shrewd and generous with his spending. Right now, throughout the court, many officials are saying that Liu Zhen is truly doing well — generous, forthright, and a man worth befriending!"
"So what? No matter what, he wouldn't dare lay a hand on court officials. In the Zhu Tang Empire, would he really dare use extrajudicial violence?"
"Father, you only see one side of this. That man has hired a whole host of martial cultivators. I suspect it's all aimed at our Liu family. He can't touch us through official channels, but behind the scenes, those martial cultivators are lawless brutes. If they truly come after our clan, we'd be powerless to resist. The strongest among our Liu family are only at the Heavenly Saint realm. And this time, it seems he's brought several at the Imperial realm!"
The eldest son of the Liu family was genuinely worried.
He had seen enough of the world's bloodshed and blade work. He knew that a grudge of this magnitude was no child's play.
Just think — that beast Liu Feng had forcibly stolen another man's love. Any man in the world would refuse to tolerate such a thing. Who could endure having their woman taken from them?
"Eldest, if what you say is true, then what should we do?" The old father was growing worried too.
"There's nothing for it. When circumstances force your hand, a man must bow his head beneath the eaves. I'll bring a generous gift and pay a visit to his estate to offer our apologies."
"Would he accept?" the old father asked.
"Of course not. It's just to test his attitude first. This matter must be faced by that bastard Liu Feng himself. If he goes to beg for forgiveness bearing thorns on his back, and lets Liu Zhen beat him or kill him as he pleases — with luck, Liu Zhen won't kill him. Without luck…" The eldest son said nothing more, but the implication was crystal clear.
Liu Feng sprang to his feet. "What do you mean, brother? You're going to hand your own flesh and blood over to someone else just to vent their anger?"
The eldest son of the Liu family was seething with anger: "Beast, even if I hand you over right now, whether it can save the family is still an unknown! I'm not afraid to tell you, if sacrificing you alone could save the family, I wouldn't hesitate for a second to hand your worthless hide over!"
The eldest son truly was enraged; he had grown utterly hopeless regarding Liu Feng, that bastard. No matter how deep their brotherly bond, it couldn't withstand Liu Feng's relentless, daily efforts to stir up trouble for their family.
……
At Liu Zhen's mansion, the number of visitors over these past few days had noticeably increased.
People from several neighboring blocks, who had never interacted with him before, had suddenly become incredibly close, as if they had been life-and-death friends with Liu Zhen from the very beginning. They were all exceptionally polite, overly familiar, running to his mansion every other day.
On this particular day, the eldest son of the Liu family arrived.
The Liu family had finally lost their composure and come to bow their heads on their own initiative.
This was exactly the result Liu Zhen had been plotting for so long to see. He wanted the Liu family to lose their composure, to feel afraid, to feel terror. To keep them in a state of constant, day-and-night dread.
"Oh? And who might this be?" Liu Zhen looked at the eldest son of the Liu family, putting on an expression of exaggerated surprise and confusion. "Forgive my poor eyesight, sir, but who are you? You aren't also one of my neighbors, are you?"
The eldest son felt utterly humiliated, but he forced himself to grit his teeth and say, "Brother Liu, my name is Liu Yue. I am the current Vice Minister of the Ministry of War."
"Vice Minister of the Ministry of War?" Liu Zhen blinked. "What a coincidence! I've been hosting many court officials these past few days, how come I haven't seen you? Could it be I overlooked you? Or are you perhaps an imposter?"
The eldest son's face burned with humiliation; the slap to his dignity left him speechless.
"Brother Liu, the reason I've come today is, in fact... to express my apologies to you. That beast Liu Feng..." The eldest son's teeth were clenched, his expression one of wanting to slap Liu Feng to death with a single blow.
"Enough!" Liu Zhen waved a hand. "Who is Liu Feng? Aren't you Liu Yue? Can you speak for Liu Feng?"
The eldest son nodded. "I'll go and bind that beast and bring him here. You can kill him or torture him as you please, Brother Liu. My Liu family will absolutely not shed a single tear for him."
Liu Zhen merely offered a faint, indifferent smile, saying nothing.