Zhou Wenyan has been extremely depressed these past few days.
He was still plotting how to deal with Tang Xiaobei, never expecting that Tang Xiaobei would strike first, and strike so ruthlessly.
Zhou Wenyan was knocked out in a single move.
These past few days, the moment he stepped outside, people cursed him.
At first, the house servants would still chase and beat the commoners who scolded him. Later, there were too many people cursing him, and several times the servants chased too far, only to get beaten by the crowd instead. Terrified, they no longer dared to pursue.
Zhou Wenyan could not bear the blows either, so he simply hid at home and refused to go out.
Yet staying indoors did not mean everything would be fine.
Tang Xiaobei also exposed the Zhou family shops, causing business at every Zhou family store to plummet.
“Look at the fine mess you have made!”
Zhou Wenyan’s father, Zhou Jinrong, flung the account book into Zhou Wenyan’s face. “Have you learned nothing at all? You suffered enough at the hands of Jin Feng and Tang Xiaobei before. Why did you go and provoke them again?”
“I didn’t…”
“And you still argue,” Zhou Jinrong said angrily, kicking his son several times. “If you hadn’t spread rumours that Jin Feng was going to profit from disaster, would Tang Xiaobei have targeted you?”
“Tang Xiaobei never even saw me. How could she target me?”
“How did I end up with such an idiot for a son!”
Zhou Jinrong was furious that iron would not become steel. “The Zhou family has so many businesses in Jiangnan. Tang Xiaobei only has to look a little to find them. How could we hide anything?”
“I…” Zhou Wenyan gritted his teeth. “Why don’t we do the same as them and hire storytellers to spread stories?”
“Jin Feng really fought on the northern border, and those poems really are his. The common people only have to ask around to learn the truth. How could you make anything up?” Zhou Jinrong sighed. “Do you think a story you made up could withstand Tang Xiaobei digging into it?”
“This…”
Zhou Wenyan really did not dare boast about that. He hemmed and hawed for a while, then asked, “Father, what do we do now?”
“What else can we do? You are coming with me to apologise to Tang Xiaobei!” Zhou Jinrong said helplessly.
“What? Apologise to Tang Xiaobei?!” Zhou Wenyan leapt to his feet. “Tang Xiaobei slandered me like that. Why should I apologise to her?”
“Tang Xiaobei slandered you? Do you dare claim the rumour about Jin Feng wasn’t started by you?”
“Even so, I will never apologise to Tang Xiaobei!” Zhou Wenyan said stubbornly, sticking his neck out. “She has already ruined my reputation. What more can she do?”
“What more can she do?” Zhou Jinrong slammed the table. “Right now Tang Xiaobei has only mentioned you, Zhou Wenyan, alone. If she turns her spear towards the whole Zhou family, do you think the family head will let you off?”
The Zhou clan was, after all, a scholarly family. No matter how many dirty dealings there were in private, the outward reputation still had to be maintained.
The family head was already dissatisfied with the two of them. If, because of them, Tang Xiaobei splashed dirty water on the entire Zhou clan, the head would certainly make an example of them.
“Father, why don’t we hire someone to finish Tang Xiaobei off?”
A ruthless glint flashed in Zhou Wenyan’s eyes as he drew a finger across his throat.
“You already had your leg broken in Guangyuan and still don’t understand? Jin Feng rose through the support of the Qing household. He is a military official. What he never lacks is muscle!”
Zhou Jinrong wished he could strangle Zhou Wenyan. “Do you have any idea how powerful Jin Feng’s Zhenyuan Escort Agency is now? Do you know how many veteran soldiers guard Tang Xiaobei? Do you know the Ninth Princess recently went to Xihe Bay? Do you know that even His Majesty has praised Jin Feng’s literary talent?
The Jin Feng of today is no longer the Jin Feng of the past. Even the Zhou family would need considerable effort to touch him now. Get that idea out of your head at once and come with me to apologise properly!”
“I won’t go!” Zhou Wenyan shouted. “Jin Feng turned me into a cripple and made me a laughing stock. That bitch Tang Xiaobei has made people spit on me. I have nothing left to care about! Even if I die, I will never apologise to her!”
“If you won’t go, then pack up and get back to the capital!” Zhou Jinrong stood and left. “Think it over carefully!”
Crash!
The sound of Zhou Wenyan smashing things came from behind.
Zhou Jinrong paused, but he did not look back.
After a long while, he sighed and walked on.
Back in the capital, Zhou Wenyan had once been known as a talented young man.
Although most of that reputation was just mutual flattery among the sons of rich families, it at least proved he was not an idiot.
After wrecking things for a while and venting his anger, he gradually calmed down.
He knew his father was right.
The current Jin Feng had grown strong, backed by both the Qing family and the Ninth Princess. The Zhou family no longer had the power to crush Jin Feng easily.
If they could not crush Jin Feng, they had to consider whether they could withstand his retaliation.
The Zhou clan had been passed down for over a hundred years. It was inevitable that they had done some unspeakable dirty deeds.
No person is perfect, and the same was true of other families. No family’s backside was completely clean.
That was why, in official circles, the unspoken rule was never to expose each other’s dirty laundry.
Otherwise, everyone might as well give up and perish together.
But Jin Feng was different. He had risen only recently, had few skeletons in his closet, and therefore no such worries.
That was why Tang Xiaobei dared to smear Zhou Wenyan as hard as she could, while Zhou Jinrong only wanted to calm things down.
That is what it means when the barefoot are not afraid of those wearing shoes.
After smashing everything, Zhou Wenyan slumped to the floor, staring blankly ahead like an idiot.
The maids and servants did not dare come near. They only guarded the doorway cautiously, hardly daring to breathe.
By mid-afternoon, Zhou Wenyan finally came back to his senses. He stood, straightened his clothes, and went to the back courtyard to find Zhou Jinrong.
“Father, I will go with you to apologise to Tang Xiaobei!”
“At last you understand!”
Zhou Jinrong patted his son’s shoulder with relief. “We have already lost power. When it is time to bow our heads, we must bow.”
“I understand.” Zhou Wenyan nodded lightly.
“Then let us go.” Zhou Jinrong sighed, stood, and called the steward. “Are the gifts I told you to prepare ready?”
At the Jinchuan Chamber of Commerce, Tang Xiaobei was rather surprised to hear that the Zhou father and son had come to visit.
She had prepared several follow-up moves, yet after only one, the Zhou pair had already surrendered.
Tang Xiaobei felt it was not satisfying enough.
Still, she knew when to be wilful and when to hold back.
The Zhou family was, after all, a colossus comparable to the Qing family. Unless absolutely necessary, there was no need to fight them to the death.
Though a little disappointed, Tang Xiaobei still had Yuan Caiwei bring the Zhou father and son in.
“Miss Tang, I have long heard of your great name!”
Zhou Jinrong kept his posture very low and greeted her warmly the moment they met.
“Young Master Zhou, it has been a while. Planning to kidnap me again?”
Tang Xiaobei’s expression was unfriendly. “If Young Master Zhou really has such thoughts, you had better think carefully this time. I am afraid it won’t end with just one crippled leg.”
The memory of being tied up in that cellar had left a deep psychological scar on Tang Xiaobei.
Even now she occasionally had nightmares about it.
Although she could not do much to the Zhou family, since the father and son had come to yield, she could at least throw a few verbal jabs.
It would both vent her feelings and make her stance clear.
The crippled leg was Zhou Wenyan’s sore spot. He had only just calmed down, but Tang Xiaobei’s words made his breathing turn rapid again.
His fists clenched involuntarily.
Tang Xiaobei looked at Zhou Wenyan with a half-smile, her eyes full of provocation.
Veteran soldiers had long been positioned around the room. If Zhou Wenyan made any threatening move, they would instantly turn him into a porcupine.
Then it would be Zhou Wenyan who struck first, and the Zhou family would have nothing to say.
The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy.
