From a tuberculosis patient to a martial arts master

Jinyang, Wutong Lane.

The best location in the entire Jinyang City according to feng shui.

At the entrance of the alley stands a three-bay, four-pillar stone archway, with the four characters "Jiang Family Hometown" prominently displayed on the central plaque. The calligraphy is powerful and vigorous, and it is said that the inscription was personally written by a high-ranking official of the imperial court when he landed in Jinyang a hundred years ago for the ancestors of the Jiang family.

On either side of the stone archway, there is a three-foot-long stone tablet.

Left stele:

[The civil official dismounts from his sedan chair]

Right stele:

[The military officer dismounted]

Entering through the alley, the long lane is quiet, and at the end is the Jiang family's old residence.

It was just as the sun was rising.

A group of people emerged from the street corner. Leading them was a middle-aged man dressed in a worn brocade robe, his face gloomy, and an unconcealable irritation etched between his brows. Behind him followed a father and son, their expressions timid.

As soon as they arrived at the gate of the Jiang residence, they were blocked by four servants.

"Oh, isn't this Instructor Jiang?"

The head servant recognized him as the owner of the Zhenyuan Martial Arts School, but deliberately emphasized the word "Jiang" with great emphasis, his tone full of contempt.

after all,

Who doesn't know?

Instructor Jiang was a scapegoat who married into the Jiang family.

Su Zongyao's face was ashen, and he was furious, but he forced himself to remain calm and said in a deep voice, "Please inform Jiang Ruoxue."

"Just wait and see."

The servant glanced at him indifferently, his tone sarcastic: "It's uncertain whether Miss Ruoxue will come or not." Before he finished speaking, he gave his companion a subtle wink, signaling him to go inside and announce his arrival, while he himself remained standing in place, lazily blocking the doorway.

"This is troublesome."

Su Zongyao's hands clenched tightly in his sleeves, his knuckles turning white.

He looked up and gazed at the ebony plaque with the words "Jiang Mansion" in gold lettering above the door. The morning light shone obliquely, making the gold gleam. Those two characters weighed heavily on him, making it hard to breathe.

When he married into the Jiang family, he originally hoped to find a place to stay.

Unexpectedly, his wife Jiang Ruoxue had been at odds with him since their marriage. After giving birth to Chengzhi, she used a pretext to send him away from the mansion, and even the child took the mother's surname.

"Absolutely shameful!"

The father and son behind him, unaware of his background, looked increasingly flustered when they saw that he had been turned away.

Zhao Gui shrank his neck and muttered in a low voice:

"Father, why don't we go back?"

Zhao Lai glared at him fiercely: "Go back? You're not going to avenge your elder brother? Zhu Hong is a constable now, do you think you, a good-for-nothing, can get revenge?!"

……

Unlike in the past, Su Zongyao did not wait long this time.

Go!

The man who had run to inform them earlier quickly returned. He glanced at the group and said indifferently, "Miss Ruoxue wants you to come over."

"Hard."

Su Zongyao politely clasped his hands in a fist salute to him, then turned to look at the Zhao father and son behind him, "Have you remembered what I just told you?"

Zhao Lai nodded hastily:

"Remember."

Su Zongyao stopped talking and turned to lead the two inside.

……

A narrow stone path, a gate adorned with crabapple blossoms.

The group followed the bluestone path, turning and turning, with one small house after another, which dazzled Zhao Gui. Having grown up in Chicken and Goose Alley, he had never seen such a magnificent mansion before.

"arrive."

Passing through a hanging flower gate, one suddenly sees an isolated courtyard with trees casting slanting shadows.

The courtyard gate was half-closed, and the empty room awaited.

Su Zongyao stood at the door, took a deep breath, and carefully straightened his brocade robe before pushing the door open and stepping inside.

"Jiang, Ruoxue."

He called out softly, sounding slightly unfamiliar.

In the courtyard, a woman dressed in plain white stood quietly. Her long white dress was tied at her slender waist, and her eyes held a hint of aloofness. It was Jiang Ruoxue.

She looked up at Su Zongyao, her gaze as cold as ice.

"You dare to come here?"

Su Zongyao's throat tightened, his chest heaving, but he could only reply in a hoarse voice, "Jiang Ruoxue, I have found the real culprit behind Chengzhi's death."

Jiang Ruoxue's gaze suddenly darkened, her face hardened, and she asked sharply:

"Who is it?!"

Su Zongyao's expression turned serious, and he replied in a deep voice, "It's a constable named Zhu Hong, who was recently promoted from the yamen." As he spoke, he slightly turned to the side and pointed outside the courtyard:

"Those who know the inside story are outside the door."

Jiang Ruoxue looked in the direction he pointed and saw two figures huddled by the door, one old and one young, with lewd expressions and timid demeanor.

Her brows furrowed, and she coldly rebuked:

"Get in here, all of you!"

Upon hearing those chilling words, Zhao Lai and his son hurriedly rushed over, prostrated themselves on the blue bricks with their heads almost touching the ground, and recounted the whole story in detail.

Zhu Hongjian was selected to serve in the government.

Zhao Biao accompanied Jiang Chengzhi to the Rift Valley to seek revenge, but the group never returned... Zhao Lai's words were incoherent, and he would sometimes weep and kowtow, making all sorts of excuses and placing all the blame on Zhu Hong, while he and his son were the victims who had survived the tiger's mouth.

Jiang Ruoxue trembled slightly, her face growing paler.

After Zhao Lai finished speaking, she remained silent for a long time, then suddenly let out a sneer, "Fine, very well..." She gritted her teeth, each word as cold as an ice blade: "A lowly commoner from a mortuary dares to kill my own child, Jiang Ruoxue's!"

Su Zongyao stood to the side, seemingly wanting to say something but hesitating.

Seeing his cowardly appearance, Jiang Ruoxue's eyes flashed with murderous intent and contempt as she stared at him intently, sneering sharply, "As his biological father, now that you've discovered the real culprit, instead of taking up your sword to seek revenge, you come to me first. Are you afraid of that lowly constable and dare not step forward?"

Her words were like knives, piercing straight to the heart:

"Su Zongyao, how dare you, such a coward, be worthy of being Zhi'er's father?"

Su Zongyao's face flushed red instantly, his anger surging, and he was about to open his mouth to refute.

"Ruoxue".

A lazy voice came from outside the door, carrying a hint of familiarity and intimacy.

Looking in the direction of the sound:

Several figures entered together.

The man at the head of the group, dressed in brocade robes and wearing a jade belt, was handsome and dashing; he was none other than Jiang Feng. Behind him stood a burly middle-aged man with a sinister and stern gaze; he was the one who called out to Jiang Ruoxue, Jiang Cong, the Jiang family's head of external affairs.

"Ruoxue greets Young Master Feng."

Jiang Ruoxue first bowed to Jiang Feng, then turned to Jiang Cong. Her previously icy expression instantly softened, and her eyes reddened. Her voice was soft and gentle, tinged with sorrow: "Brother Cong, the villain who killed Chengzhi has been found."

"What?"

Jiang Cong frowned slightly, a hint of fierceness flashing in his eyes.

However, given Jiang Feng's position of honor, he dared not be impolite, so he immediately turned to the side, cupped his hands, and bowed slightly to Jiang Feng, asking for permission, "Young Master Feng."

"You do what you need to do, don't worry about me."

Jiang Feng simply waved his hand dismissively.

Hearing Jiang Feng's confirmation, Jiang Cong stepped forward and gently patted Jiang Ruoxue's shoulder, soothing her in a soft voice, "Ruoxue, don't rush, tell me slowly."

Upon seeing this, Su Zongyao's face turned pale and then ashen.

Although that familiar scene had been woven into half his life, each time he encountered it, it felt like a knife cutting into his heart, a mix of emotions. In the past, when his wife contacted Jiang Cong, he didn't find it strange; the two were childhood sweethearts, inseparable since they were young.

Besides, Jiang Ruoxue had already insisted on marrying him back then.

How could one harbor wild speculations?

But as time went by, after Chengzhi was born, the two of them began to interact without any restraint, acting as if they were above each other.

He was a husband in name only, yet he didn't even have the right to question her. Filled with resentment and with nowhere to vent it, he could only angrily take advantage of the situation to establish his own martial arts school.

He preserved his dignity as a man.

"Zong Yao".

Jiang Cong suddenly spoke, his voice as cold as ice: "Who is the murderer?"