Chapter 699: Going Home

"You speak," Cheng Feng agreed without any hesitation. Xia Gu was poisoned severely, and he needed to hurry to take him away, or he feared Xia Gu wouldn’t hold on.

While speaking, he took out a bag of detoxification powder and handed it to Lady Xia: "Eat this if you don’t want to die."

Lady Xia feared death. Enduring severe pain, she shakily took the medicine bag.

Chun’er saw someone had come to save Mr. and Mrs. Xia, knew that this couple probably wouldn’t die, and immediately showed eagerness to please Lady Xia by helping her open the medicine bag and feed her the detoxification medicine.

However, this detoxification medicine, although powerful, could not neutralize the poison concocted by Gu Jinli, it could only relieve the symptoms temporarily.

Gu Jinli looked at Mr. and Mrs. Xia with eyes as if seeing dead people, then turned towards Cheng Feng and said, "The first demand: the entire Xia Family must leave Great Chu within a month and is never to step into Great Chu land ever again."

Xia Gu was too capable of stirring trouble, and he knew quite a few Madman scholars in Great Chu. This was a group of lunatics. Only by driving the Xia Family out of Great Chu could they ensure the Gu Family’s safety.

"You, don’t go too far." Xia Gu disagreed; if his whole family couldn’t stay in Great Chu, how could he achieve his future great undertakings?

He wanted to earn eternal fame, he wanted to stay in Great Chu, quietly awaiting the Lu Family’s counterattack against Great Chu.

Gu Jinli laughed: "You have no right to speak now; if you don’t want to die, shut up."

That old fool is nearly in the grave and still trying to haggle.

"I’m not negotiating with you; I’m merely informing you of my demands. If you agree, I will let you go. If you don’t agree, die here. And I’ll help you dig graves and bury your corpses—I’ll make sure your bodies won’t be exposed in the wild."

Look, what a kind little darling she is.

Then she asked Qin San Lang, "Brother Qin, can you beat him?"

Qin San Lang looked towards Cheng Feng, eyes glittering with eagerness, "Yes, I can beat him, rest assured."

This man would be a worthy opponent, but as long as he gave it his all, he was confident he could subdue the other.

With Qin San Lang’s word, Gu Jinli felt even more confident.

Cheng Feng, abiding by the rules of the Shadow Guards, showed no intentions to refuse Gu Jinli, and nodded, "Agreed, Hu Yun Temple consents."

He spoke of Hu Yun Temple consenting, not himself. He was just a servant; Hu Yun Temple was what could truly speak with authority in affairs related to the Lu Family.

Gu Jinli continued, "The second demand is that the matters of our family should be decided by ourselves. If you don’t want us to become enemies, stop sending those scholars over. Are the people you send even human? They’re just a bunch of mentally ill Madman scholars."

Master Xia almost spat blood upon hearing this. What’s wrong with Madman scholars? Why do the Gu Family People always look down upon Madman scholars? The Madman scholars are teachers to the scholars, holding a status above them.

Cheng Feng, fearing Master Xia would mess things up, pressed on his neck to prevent him from speaking, "It can be done."

The temple master had said that the children of the Gu Family were the masters.

Gu Jinli nodded in satisfaction, "The third demand is much simpler. I want all the properties the Xia Family owns in Tianfu County as compensation for Mr. and Mrs. Xia’s folly."

Did they think causing so much trouble for her family wouldn’t cost them? Such wishful thinking. She so loved silver, how could she feel content without some silver as compensation?

Lady Xia felt such a pinch she almost died on the spot: "That, that is..."

How much silver she did not know, but just the valuable flowers and trees in this estate amounted to how many tens of thousands of taels? Not only were there orchids here, but also purple sandalwood and golden nanmu trees, which although small now, would surely grow.

And to transport these valuable plants here, they had spent a tremendous amount of effort, taking three years to gradually move them.

Chun’er didn’t care much, though; as long as she could take away the trinkets she had saved, that was enough.

Cheng Feng also didn’t mind: "Okay, within five days, Hu Yun Temple will prepare all the house and land deeds and deliver them to you."

What belonged to the Xia Family was essentially the Lu Family’s, being the wealth that the Lu Family had transferred out years ago.

"Prompt," Gu Jinli expressed his satisfaction with Cheng Feng and told him, "You are undervalued working for Hu Yun Temple. If you leave, you could certainly make a name for yourself and amass a fortune with your own abilities."

Skilled in action, smart in mind, decisive and efficient in handling affairs, he really was an excellent candidate for a general.

Cheng Feng felt quite helpless, was it really appropriate for Miss Gu Er to poach from the Lu Family so openly?

"Xia Gu is too severely injured to leave tonight; please give us one day’s time. Tomorrow night, Mister and Lady Xia will surely depart from Tianfu County." Cheng Feng knew some medical skills and, after checking Xia Gu’s pulse, pleaded with Gu Jinli.

Gu Jinli said, "That’s fine. The entire Xia Family must hasten their departure from Great Chu. I fear God won’t stand idly by and may bring calamity upon Great Chu if such a malignant tumor remains."

With a spat, Xia Gu, angered again, coughed up fresh blood, weakly sputtering, "Vulgar... hooligan..."

He couldn’t believe that the descendants of the Lu Family would resort to such vulgar, hooligan tactics, as if they had completely discarded all sense of decorum and shame.

Gu Jinli was already on his way out, but stopped in his tracks upon hearing those words, turned back to look at Xia Gu and said, "You old lecher, a withered old tree that still sleeps with young maids, have you no shame? Still calling yourself a ’Madman’? Please, spare the term ’Madman’, it’s been so tarnished by you that no one dares mention it anymore."

Enraged, Xia Gu gasped for air, nearly fainting on the spot.

Gu Jin’an had remained silent all this while, but now stepped forward and said, "Xia Gu, you’ve always wanted to mold Brother Cheng and me into Madmen, but I’ve always resisted. You’re annoyed, not understanding why I’d do so? Today, I’ll tell you why. Madmen, to my eyes, are nothing but a bunch of despicable creatures who feign madness and act foolishly to gain fame. I, Gu Jin’an, admire those true scholars who possess great wisdom, have written notable works, have made significant contributions, yet remain modest. Those are the scholars I respect, the ones who carry on the ancient legacy of the sages. Compared to them, you Madmen aren’t even fit to carry their sandals."

With that speech, Xia Gu was immediately rendered unconscious from the fury.

"My husband, my dear husband, hold on, you can’t die." Lady Xia cried inconsolably, but after sobbing for a while, she too fainted from the poison.

Seeing the Xia couple faint, Gu Jinli laughed, clapped his hands, and said, "Done, let’s go home."

Gu Dashan, Father Luo, and Luo Huiniang were still bewildered, and Qin San Lang prompted them, "Uncle Dashan, Uncle Luo, let’s go."

Luo Huiniang snapped back to reality, holding onto Gu Jinli’s arm, admiringly said, "Xiao Yu, you’re so formidable, so good at scolding people, teach me, teach me, and if anyone dares to harm my brother again, I’ll curse them to death."

Gu Jinli responded, "Sure, I’ll teach you when we get back."

"Mm, I’ll learn diligently," Luo Huiniang nodded vigorously, extremely happy.

Father Luo watched his own carefree daughter with a touch of headache; this girl might be naive, but he himself was an experienced escort and knew that the relationships between the Gu Family, the Xia Family, and Hu Yun Temple were very unusual, certainly involving some secrets they didn’t know.

However, being a smart man, Father Luo said nothing, instead pulling Luo Wu to the side to instruct him, "The matter regarding the Xia Family tonight, let it rot in your stomach, not a word to be let out."

Luo Wu was no longer the simple farmer’s son he used to be; after three years as a squad leader, having seen many things, he knew many families had secrets. He nodded and reassured, "Father, don’t worry, I won’t say a thing."