In the beginning, he was ranked alongside An Shigeng as a spoiled brat.

Gentlemen, farewell!

As the cruise ship passed the restaurant, the group of scholars could only show their disappointment.

They did not doubt Zhang Xiaoshan's words. From the moment they recognized Zhang Xiaoshan's identity, they knew that Zhang Xiaoshan would never stoop to lying to them.

Moreover, as Zhang Xiaoshan said, they were curious about the score precisely because they couldn't understand most of it.

····

"Young master, we've arrived at Taihu Lake!"

The Water and Land Assembly will take some time to proceed. Zhang Xiaoshan's visit was not only to make arrangements but also to deal with the Wang family's affairs.

After all, it would be best to give a heads-up to Madam Wang, who will soon find out she's been tricked!

"Rong'er, I have something to tell you, but don't be angry when you find out!"

"whats the matter?"

With a smiling expression, narrowed eyes, and a half-smile, Zhang Xiaoshan knew that this was definitely a sign that something might erupt at any moment.

But Zhang Xiaoshan still decided to give Huang Rong a heads-up.

Otherwise, if they find out suddenly, they might explode on the spot.

"Well, last time I came here, I signed a marriage contract with Madam Wang, taking Miss Wang as my concubine..."

Don't be impulsive, calm down. This marriage certificate isn't real. It's just a scheme I devised to use the annulment of the engagement as leverage to get the Zhang family into the markets of Xixia and Dali.

The marriage certificate was for taking a concubine, but Miss Wang's status made it impossible for her to be a concubine, so the engagement had to be called off.

The condition for annulling the engagement... was that the Zhang family gain access to the markets of two major foreign countries.

"Do you think I'm a three-year-old child?!"

At this moment, Huang Rong's eyes were already bloodshot.

She could tolerate Zhang Xiaoshan's extramarital affairs, but that was beyond her control.

The Zhang family is large and powerful, and he knows that Zhang Xiaoshan has many social engagements and many women eyeing him, but Zhang Xiaoshan basically doesn't bring any home, except for Master Mingchen.

But taking a concubine now is going too far.

Sure enough, he ran into a jerk!

“Girl, it really was just a scheme; I had no intention of marrying her.”

Madam Wang had no idea that I knew her background perfectly well from the beginning. Miss Wang may appear to be a daughter of the Wang family, but in reality, her father is Duan Zhengchun, the Prince of Zhennan of Dali. How could a princess be a concubine?

However, Madam Wang's true identity is that she is the daughter of Li Qiushui, the Dowager Consort of the Great Xia Dynasty.

A noblewoman connected to two royal families could never become a concubine; therefore, the engagement had to be annulled.

Huang Rong was also stunned and looked at Zhang Xiaoshan in disbelief.

The seemingly delicate Wang Yuyan actually comes from a very prominent family; she is the daughter of Zhennan in Dali and the granddaughter of the Western Xia Empress Dowager.

"Then why don't you take this opportunity to divorce me and marry Miss Wang?"

"How could that be? I just don't want to cause trouble, and I don't do unprofitable business."

But if anyone crosses my bottom line, what does royalty matter? The Sixth Prince is a prime example this time; the Zhang family fears no one.

Moreover, I'd marry a woman who always has other men in her heart and then be cuckolded!

Huang Rong felt much better after hearing Zhang Xiaoshan's words of comfort.

Although Zhang Xiaoshan seems somewhat despicable, she is actually a little witch.

"At this time, the Prince of Zhennan of Dali had already come north, seemingly to escort grain, but in reality, he had me, Lei Laowu, hand over the marriage certificate to her."

If Duan Zhengchun hadn't known the reason behind the marriage certificate listing the woman's birth date and time, he wouldn't have come at all because of a marriage certificate.

"Isn't that very unfair to Miss Wang?"

"None of my business!"

She's not his woman, so he doesn't need to pamper her.

He's not a simp!

In the end, Duan Yu didn't keep trying to win her over; in the end, they still didn't become a couple.

Zhang Xiaoshan's disdain immediately brought a smile to Huang Rong's face. She could tell that Zhang Xiaoshan truly had no interest in that Miss Wang.

"I didn't originally plan to tell you, since no one would spread the word about it in the end."

Who knew we'd be holding such a grand land and water festival, and even staying at Swallow's Nest and Mantuo Villa? I'm afraid you might not be able to accept it if you found out suddenly.

"Nice to have you!"

The scumbag from a moment ago has instantly transformed into a warm and caring man.

Even though Huang Rong seemed to have broken free from the constraints of traditional ethics, she was still bound by the limitations of her time.

Chapter 224 The Poison of the Love Flower Corrodes Bones and Hearts

"Zhang greets Madam!"

"Young Master Zhang!"

Mantuo Villa.

Knowing that Zhang Xiaoshan was coming, Madam Wang, accompanied by two old women and a dozen maids, came to greet him.

The reason for such a grand ceremony was certainly not because Madam Wang felt that Zhang Xiaoshan was about to become her son-in-law and treated him as family.

Instead, she has now achieved minor success in the Absorption Technique, absorbing the internal energy of more than a dozen masters, and has become a top-tier master in the martial arts world, with internal energy even more profound than that of the most powerful masters.

She even mastered the Lesser Formless Skill left behind by Li Qiushui, bringing double happiness!

Building a good relationship now will give us the opportunity to take action against Zhang Xiaoshan someday.

Zhang Xiaoshan is surrounded not only by beautiful women but also by numerous experts. Moreover, Zhang Xiaoshan himself is a top-tier expert who has established his Dao foundation.

Wang Yuyan once said that Zhang Xiaoshan was special – a half-step Grandmaster.

In her heart, she already regarded Zhang Xiaoshan as a feast, harboring a desire to devour an elephant.

If Zhang Xiaoshan knew this, he would definitely mock Madam Wang's ignorance.

In terms of absorption techniques, even Manager Feng can't keep up.

It should be noted that Manager Feng transformed the internal energy of more than a dozen top-tier masters into her own Northern Darkness True Qi in one go, opening up her eight extraordinary meridians and becoming a top master in the martial arts world.

However, the quality and quantity of the true qi absorbed by Madam Wang were far inferior to those of Manager Feng.

Besides, one has side effects, and the other doesn't!

Hiss...

Zhang Xiaoshan suddenly felt a pain in his waist; it was Huang Rong's hand causing the problem.

Looking at the elegant and charming Madam Wang, the girl who was jealous of her daughter started to be jealous of her mother instead.

The engagement itself touched a nerve with Huang Rong, not to mention Madam Wang's ambiguous gaze, as if she were looking at her son-in-law from the perspective of a mother-in-law.

"Floating catkins!"

Zhang Xiaoshan took Huang Rong's hand in his; this girl was extremely jealous today.

At this moment, Liu Sheng Piaoxu pushed down a cluster of enchanting and beautiful red flowers, which looked exceptionally pretty. Even Madam Wang's eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but feel that this son-in-law knew how to handle things.

She recognized it at a glance as a datura flower, one of her favorites.

But this wasn't one she knew; it looked alluring and beautiful, yet seemed poisonous.

"I've heard that Madam likes mandala flowers. I recently found an extremely rare type of mandala flower and have come to present it to her."

This flower is also known as the love flower, but its thorns are poisonous, and the antidote is the heartbreak herb.

As the saying goes, "The poison of the love flower corrodes the bones and rots the heart," while the heartbreak herb is meant to sever the heart, relieving the pain of unrequited love!

"profound?"

I originally thought it was just an ordinary datura flower, but I never expected it to be such an extraordinary flower.

Love flower? Heartbreak herb?

They complement each other perfectly, or perhaps they restrain each other.

"Young Master Zhang, what is the nature of the Love Flower poison?"

"If someone is poisoned by this poison and still has feelings for someone or is longing for them, then under the influence of the Love Flower Poison, just thinking about that person will cause them excruciating pain, unless they stop thinking about that person!"

The herb *Gelsemium elegans* is the nemesis of this love poison, capable of curing the poison of lovesickness caused by the *Love Flower*.

"Really? Ah!"

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Madam Wang was pricked by a thorn.

This scene made the two old women look at Madam Wang's slender fingers with concern, since they had just said that the thorns were poisonous.

"Madam Wang, I heard that the Prince of Zhennan of Dali is escorting 200,000 shi of grain north to the Xiang and Jing regions, and then smoothly down to the east to Jiangnan."

Ah!

Suddenly, Madam Wang felt a sharp pain in her chest, as if she had been stabbed hard with a needle.

That kind of excruciating pain was definitely the most painful she had ever experienced in her life, even more painful than when she gave birth to Wang Yuyan when she was young; it was what is known as level 13 pain.

Seeing Madam Wang clutching her heart, her face pale, haggard, and pitiful, Zhang Xiaoshan couldn't help but shake his head.

Compared to Yaoyue's composure, she also endured six days of longing.

Lady Wang couldn't bear it even for a moment, which shows that she wasn't very strong-willed.

"Ok?"

Zhang Xiaoshan felt a tickle in his palm. He turned around and saw Huang Rong winking at him. Anyone who wasn't an idiot could tell that Zhang Xiaoshan was deliberately mentioning Duan Zhengchun.

Lady Wang was genuinely heartbroken, demonstrating just how potent the Love Flower's poison truly was.

"Madam Wang, don't think about it. Just slowly return to normal."

"Calm down, calm down... Ah!"

The more Madam Wang tried not to think about it, the more she saw that heartless figure leaving, and waves of heartache washed over her.

The intense pain, both emotional and physical, made Madam Wang wish she could just faint, but unfortunately, the heartache was too clear to bear.

"Young Master Zhang, what should we do?"

Is this the poisonous plant called "heartbreak grass"?

"Heartbreak Grass?"

The two old women immediately thought of the antidote, but who would keep such a thing on hand? Even the major pharmacies in Suzhou didn't have it.

The poison of the poisonous herb Gelsemium elegans is even greater than that of the poisonous herb Arsenic and the poison of the poisonous herb Powder; it is no joke.

"Young master, please think of a way. Where can we find the Heartbreak Grass here in such a short time?"

Everyone was stunned, even Huang Rong was dumbfounded.

She originally thought Zhang Xiaoshan had brought the antidote, but as the housekeeper, she knew best that there was no such thing on the ship. It was something that could kill even a top expert in an instant, so who would keep such a thing on hand?

One wrong move and the whole ship could be hit.

"Rong'er, go write a letter and ask Hai Dongqing to go back to the new residence to fetch the medicine. He should arrive by tonight!"

"Okay. I understand!"

Seeing the once charming and alluring Lady Wang so heartbroken, Huang Rong, driven by her mischievous nature, skipped back to the boat to write a letter, in a very good mood.

"They won't arrive until tonight? But..."

The two old women immediately looked worried; they didn't know if Madam Wang could make it to night.

The pain is so intense, it's like being gnawed to the bone and having one's heart rot.

"I never imagined that the lady, a widow for so many years, would have such a figure..."

Zhang Xiaoshan not only verbally provoked, but also physically challenged them.

Everyone present stared at Zhang Xiaoshan in disbelief, and Madam Wang looked even more incredulously at the large hand before her.