Chapter 4 The Tang Family
- Aunt Feng froze and her expression turned unsightly. She tugged on Qin Jun and said, “Jun, you can't do as you please anymore. The Donghai now is no longer what it used to be. If people like us were to say anything inappropriate, we'd be treated worse than dogs.”
- Feng Juan had faced so many struggles in her recent years.
- Ever since what happened ten years ago, the disheveled Feng Juan was constantly in hiding.
- Several years ago, Feng Juan felt that things had settled down, so she secretly returned to take a look. The place had become a scenic area, so even if the place was flooded with tourists, they would only look from the outside instead of going in.
- From time to time, Feng Juan would drop by to clean up the place. During the Lunar New Year, she would even replace the couplets on the doors and pay her respects to her masters' memorial tablets.
- But a few months ago, Feng Juan's actions was discovered.
- She was thrown into this cage that was guarded by several dogs.
- Once in a blue moon, someone would throw her some leftover food.
- If they were in a good mood, they would throw some leftover buns and other dishes into the cage and let her fill her stomach.
- If they were in a foul mood, they would toss the food outside the cage. Feng Juan would then have to fight with the dogs to get her share.
- Feng Juan's arms were covered in scars and wounds. For the past few months, this was how she had been living.
- Those people neither killed nor released her. They just wanted to see her suffer.
- Being next to Aunt Feng, Qin Jun appeared much calmer. But the calmer he looked, the more livid he was on the inside.
- The two were greeted with a mess as they entered the house. The place looked like it had been ransacked.
- Qin Jun held Aunt Feng as they walked into a room. He cleaned the bed and let Aunt Feng lay on it.
- Then, he held her arm with his left hand and checked her pulse with three fingers on his right.
- “Jun, you...”
- Seeing how professional Qin Jun looked while checking her pulse, Feng Juan was rather astonished.
- “Where have you been all these years? How did you get by?”
- Back when the Qin family was slaughtered, had Aunt Feng not been outside with Qin Jun at the time of the incident, they would've been long dead by now.
- Eventually, those guys realized that Qin Jun hadn't died, so they chased after him.
- The two were separated while making their escape. Aunt Feng fled back to her hometown in the countryside for a few years, but it was not known where Qin Jun had gone to. All these years, she thought he had been killed.
- Qin Jun said, “I was rescued by the girl from the Ye family. After hiding with them for a while, I left Donghai and eventually met a recluse master. I followed him up the mountain and learned from him for the next ten years.”
- Qin Jun spoke as though everything was simple and sounded very relaxed.
- But Feng Juan knew that Qin Jun must have been through a lot.
- Very quickly, Qin Jun lifted her arm.
- “Don't worry, Aunt Feng. Your body is doing fine. It's just that you've suffered for these past few months, and you were bitten by those dogs, so you have a slight infection. I'll prescribe you some medication first and then perform Gua Sha and acupuncture on you in a few days, after that you'll be fine.”
- Feng Juan nodded stiffly. She couldn't imagine how much her wealthy, privileged young master had to go through to be able to become this skillful.
- Qin Jun bought her some food from outside. She couldn't eat foods that were too flavorful or oily, so he chose some bland egg porridge and boiled some herbal medicine for her.
- “Tell me, Aunt Feng, who locked you in the cage?”
- Qin Jun sounded nonchalant, but in truth, he was trying his best to suppress his rage.
- After the massacre of his family, Qin Jun didn't have many relatives left. Seeing how Aunt Feng was tortured, he was determined to return the favor tenfold.
- Aunt Feng tugged on Qin Jun's hand with a worried look on her face.
- “Please don't go, Young Master. You can't defeat him!”
- Qin Jun merely smiled faintly. “Don't worry, Aunt Feng. I have my ways.”
- Qin Jun's words were questionable.
- Feng Juan hesitated for a moment and finally spoke, “It's the Tang family...”
- Qin Jun frowned.
- “The Tang family? Isn't that my mother's clan? I know the two families married via arrangement, but even if the Tang family never wanted to help, they shouldn't kick us when we were already down.”
- Feng Juan sighed, “Young Master, ever since your maternal grandfather passed away, his younger brother took over the Tang family. From then on, they had been wanting to cut ties with the Qin family and make it known to outsiders. Now, those who used to be family are now enemies.”
- Qin Jun clenched his fists tightly.
- His granduncle didn't even have any direct ties with the Qin family, and the marriage was arranged. The fact that the Tang family continued to harm the Qin family when the latter was already in trouble was just unacceptable.
- But now that Qin Jun had returned, everything was going to change.
- Since you don't treat me as family, I have no need to treat you as humans.
- “Alright, I got it. Get some rest, Aunt Feng.”
- Qin Jun covered her with a blanket and closed the door.
- He took a small knife from the bag he carried and slaughtered the three vicious dogs in the yard.
- …
- Meanwhile, the Tang family was enjoying themselves.
- “Brother, it's your birthday today. I had thought of celebrating at a restaurant, but considering that we're such a huge family, it's better to celebrate at home.”
- The one who spoke was the third child of the Tang family. Going by seniority, she would be Qin Jun's third eldest aunt.
- Meanwhile, most of the people seated there were Qin Jun's uncles and aunts from that time.
- Ever since Tang Longmin took over as head of the Tang family, his eldest son Tang Tianhao was at the apex of his power. He was to be the future leader of the family, so naturally all the family members would try to butter him up.
- The Tang family's huge courtyard was filled with guests. They had all come to celebrate Tang Tianhao's birthday.
- “Mr. Tang, the Tang family's status is now rising in Donghai. Surely there'll be a chance to be ranked as the top four families here, right?”
- “Haha, there's no question about that. Mr. Tang is so brilliant and the family has been growing increasingly well for the past few years. Standing as the top four will not be an impossible feat.”
- “Can't you see that there's been an empty spot in the top four all this while? That's because it's reserved for us!”
- Donghai's top four families encompasses all the talents, power and wealth within Donghai.
- There was the Qi family, Su family and the Hua family.
- And back then, the Qin family.
- After the Qin family was wiped out, a spot among the top four remained vacant. Many families fought for this position, and among the most striving ones was the Tang family.
- Tang Tianhao was the mainstay of the Tang family. He was currently in his prime, and enjoyed a very successful career. If he were to lead the family, it was highly possible for the Tang family to stand among the top four.
- But back then, the Tang family and Qin family were tied by marriage, so this nepotism had had a huge influence on them.
- That was why the Tang family had completely disregarded their ties and mercilessly annihilated the Qin family. Even a nanny had to be killed.
- This was so that the other three families would know what the Tang family was doing. It was also to show the world that the Tang family now had absolutely nothing to do with the Qin family.
- Tang Tianhao held his glass and got up.
- “Thank you for coming to my birthday celebration. Don't hold back. Drink to your hearts' content.”
- Tang Tianhao took a sip and raised his glass.
- This was a sign of respect for his guests. Naturally, everyone also got up from their seats and gave the man a toast.
- Just as the party was going on, a bodyguard suddenly walked in and said, “Mr. Tang, there's someone at the door. He's got something in his hands and says that he's here to celebrate your birthday. The thing is... His clothes are shabby. He doesn't look like an aristocrat.”
- Common folks were naturally undeserving to attend Mr. Tang's birthday celebration.
- Tang Tianhao replied, “No matter. He's probably here to ask for food. As long as he sends me a word of greeting, give him some food and get him to leave.”
- “Yes, sir.”
- Just as the bodyguard was about to go back outside, the shabby-looking young man he spoke of had already walked in.
- Qin Jun stood by the door with a cold expression on his face. As he gazed into the sea of guests, he said, “Tang Tianhao, get your ass over here.”