Chapter 25 of 100

Chapter 25

12 min read2,901 words

"Who did this?"

Mrs. Wei roared, looking at Tang Jie, who was tied to a tree.

The group of young servants beside her trembled and dared not speak.

In fact, this was a pointless question. Apart from Wei Tianchong, who else would have the nerve?

Mrs. Wei clearly realized this and shouted, "Wenqing, why haven't you untied him yet? Shimeng, go wake up Chong'er. What time is it now, and he's still sleeping? Shimu, speak, what exactly happened?"

Shimu trembled and recounted the events of the previous night in broad terms. He naturally wouldn't say anything good about Tang Jie, only that Tang Jie obstructed Wei Tianchong's pleasure, and even killed the young master's horse, which made the young master furious and lash out in anger.

However, Wei Zheng Shufeng was a shrewd person. As soon as she heard this, she knew something was wrong.

Tang Jie had been in the household for some time, and she had some understanding of him. She knew that Tang Jie was steady and would never do something without reason. Hearing Shimu's lies, she slapped him across the face: "You scoundrel, even daring to deceive me! Chen Yan, Chen Xin, separate these boys and question them one by one!"

Chen Yan and Chen Xin were the guards of the Tranquil Heart Garden, brothers.

Though she wasn't an expert in interrogation, separating them for questioning was a sound method.

These young boys had never seen such a scene before and confessed after just a few questions.

When Wei Zheng Shufeng heard that her son had gone out drinking under the pretense of a trip and even planned to ride a horse up the mountain at night, she was so angry that her whole body trembled.

Just then, Wei Tianchong came over.

By now, he was sober and his anger had subsided. Seeing Tang Jie lying on the ground, possibly dead, and his mother, he didn't dare to be arrogant and obediently walked to his mother's side, calling out, "Mother..."

Before he could finish, Wei Zheng Shufeng slapped him hard across the face.

Wei Tianchong was stunned by the slap, and Wei Zheng Shufeng pointed at him, scolding, "Do you want to kill me? Drinking, riding a horse, and climbing Long Mountain, and even lashing out at Tang Jie, almost causing a death! How could I have given birth to such an unambitious son!"

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She picked up a whip and started beating Wei Tianchong without mercy.

Wei Tianchong, who had never experienced such punishment, screamed and ran around, shouting, "That boy killed my horse, my horse! What's wrong with me lashing him? I'm the young master!"

"I'm your mother!" Mrs. Wei's whip fell even more fiercely.

However, since it was her own son, seeing him beaten with a bloody nose and bruised face, she felt some reluctance, and the whip became lighter.

Thinking about her son's lack of sense, she was heartbroken, and her whole body trembled.

Seeing that his mother had stopped, the young master's courage returned, and he stubbornly said, "What's wrong with riding a horse up the mountain? My horse riding skills are already very good, there won't be any problems. Besides, even if he tried to stop me, why did he kill my horse? He's my servant, why can't I punish him?"

"Still not admitting your mistake?" Wei Zheng Shufeng pointed at her son and scolded, "Long Mountain is steep and dangerous. With your skills, you're asking for death! You asked the servants to stop Tang Jie, and he couldn't hit you. What else could he do but kill the horse? And you, a bunch of scoundrels, instead of stopping the young master, you forced Tang Jie to kill the horse. All of you, out of the house!"

Hearing this, Wenqing, Shimu, and the others turned pale with fear.

The young boys all knelt on the ground, trembling and begging for mercy. Fortunately, Mrs. Wei's personal maid said, "Madam, if you really drive them away, there won't be anyone to serve the young master. You know, they are just servants, and it's hard to stop them. Tang Jie is quite bold, daring to kill the young master's horse, no wonder the young master got angry."

"You're defending them too." Mrs. Wei glared at the maid.

The maid was Wei Tianchong's wet nurse, with a high status in the household, and wasn't afraid of Mrs. Wei. She smiled and said, "I just think that even if you drive them away and get new ones, it will still be the same."

Wei Zheng Shufeng thought about it and agreed, but still felt angry. She glared at the boys and said, "Since that's the case, I'll keep them for now. We'll decide what to do with them when the master returns!"

The young master shouted, "Why? Shimu and the others are mine, no one can touch them. Without Tang Jie, I wouldn't have had this problem yesterday!"

"Still not convinced? Fine, if you say you won't have problems, let's see if you do. Bring a horse, let him ride up Long Mountain! It's daytime now, you're sober, and the road is clear. Let's see if you can ride up the mountain!"

"Fine!" Wei Tianchong straightened his neck and agreed.

——

Some things, you don't know how difficult they are until you try!

When Wei Tianchong rode his horse to the foot of Long Mountain, looking at the steep road and towering peaks, his heart suddenly trembled.

At night, it was hard to see, but now he realized how difficult the road was. Why hadn't he noticed before?

"What, scared?" Mrs. Wei coldly watched her son.

Young people can't stand being provoked.

Wei Tianchong raised his head, "Who said I'm scared? I'm just checking the road... watch me!"

Saying this, he spurred his horse and charged up the mountain.

At the beginning, it was still manageable, with a gentle slope and a short distance from the ground.

But as he went higher, the road became more rugged, the path more uneven, and pebbles were everywhere. A slight misstep could cause the horse to stumble.

By the time he had climbed a third of the way, the mountain wind grew stronger, and the distance to the summit still seemed far. Wei Tianchong's heart began to race.

At this point, he didn't dare to charge forward but slowly guided the horse step by step. Though it was slow, it was better than not reaching the summit.

As long as he could reach the summit, he could prove himself right. Wei Tianchong encouraged himself.

Unfortunately, reality doesn't always match expectations, and Long Mountain doesn't care about the young master's face.

Before he reached the halfway point, a mountain path appeared before Wei Tianchong.

This path wasn't too narrow, at least two zhang wide, but it was flanked by steep cliffs, making it more terrifying than the winding mountain road.

Wei Tianchong was frightened but didn't want to give up, so he continued to guide the horse forward.

On the exposed mountain path, a gust of wind made both the horse and rider sway.

Occasionally looking down, he saw the bottomless abyss, and his vision blurred.

"Steady!" Wei Tianchong shouted.

Though he was afraid, he had a stubborn nature and refused to back down. The horse slowly moved forward, as if walking on a tightrope.

Just then, the horse stepped on a pebble and stumbled. Wei Tianchong quickly pulled the reins to steady the horse.

But the pull was too strong, and the horse reared up. Wei Tianchong lost control and fell off the horse, rolling down the cliff.

He could have stopped himself, but in his fear, he was powerless and fell straight down the mountain path, plummeting into the abyss.

"No!" Wei Tianchong screamed in terror.

Just as he thought he was doomed, a beam of spiritual light appeared, wrapping around him and stopping his fall.

Wei Tianchong looked up in shock and saw an old man with a white beard floating in the air, a spiritual thread in his hand, pulling Wei Tianchong to his side. The old man then laughed and flew down the mountain, quickly landing in front of Wei Zheng Shufeng.

The old man bowed to Wei Zheng Shufeng and said, "Mission accomplished!"

"Mother!" Wei Tianchong looked at his mother, still trembling. He felt wetness between his legs and realized he had lost control.

A low laugh echoed from the side.

Wei Zheng Shufeng coldly said, "Riding a horse in broad daylight, and you can't even make it halfway. Do you still think your horse riding skills are good?"

Wei Tianchong couldn't say anything.

"Unambitious son, don't forget to thank Master Lu for saving you?"

Wei Tianchong was about to thank him, but the old man waved his hand, "No need. It wasn't me who saved you, it was Tang Jie... don't cause any more trouble, young master!"

——

When Tang Jie woke up, he found himself lying on a bed.

The bed was extremely soft, with a silk quilt, and the room was filled with the scent of sandalwood, clearly a refined and elegant place, not where a servant would stay.

Tang Jie was startled and tried to sit up but found himself wrapped like a mummy.

Just then, a maid carrying a basin of water came in and smiled at Tang Jie, "You're awake."

Tang Jie recognized the maid, Shiyue, a maid in Mrs. Wei's service.

"Shiyue, where am I? Why am I here?" Tang Jie asked, pretending to be confused.

Shiyue walked over, wet a towel, and wiped Tang Jie's face, "This is Xiangxiang Pavilion, a place reserved for distinguished guests in the household. Don't worry, Mrs. Wei ordered you to be brought here. You're lucky!"

Shiyue then recounted what happened while he was "unconscious."

"Mrs. Wei said you did the right thing. The young master was out of line, and she has severely punished him, not allowing him to leave the house for three months. Shimu and Shimeng were supposed to be driven out, but the wet nurse pleaded for them, so it was dropped."

Shimu and Shimeng, though servants, were not without connections. Just as Tang Jie was introduced by the chief steward, Shimu and Shimeng had connections with some of the household's managers. Shimu was the wet nurse's relative's child. If not for this, the wet nurse wouldn't have spoken up for them.

Since the young masters were raised on the wet nurse's milk, she had a high status in the household, like the famous wet nurse of Emperor Tianqi, Ke Shi.

Understanding this, Tang Jie wasn't concerned.

Though the wet nurse's plea kept them in the household, Shimu and Shimeng's image in Mrs. Wei's eyes had fallen, and it would be hard to recover.

Some mistakes cannot be made!

Sure enough, Shiyue said, "Despite this, Mrs. Wei still plans to transfer Shimu away from the young master."

"Who will replace Shimu?"

"That's still being discussed. The chief steward recommended you, saying you are mature and steady, but the second and third stewards have other recommendations, saying your injuries won't heal quickly, and you're not suitable. They just want to promote their own people. The master and Mrs. Wei are discussing this. Mrs. Wei likes you, but the master has some reservations..."

Shiyue looked around to confirm no one was around, then leaned close to Tang Jie's ear, "The horse you killed, Master Lu examined it and said the strike was fierce and decisive, a fatal blow. Such precision and ruthlessness are not typical of a young boy. Plus, your background is unclear, so the master is cautious."

The long-term investment finally paid off. Both Yan Zhi and Shiyue now had a good impression of Tang Jie. That's why Yan Zhi reported to Mrs. Wei as soon as she saw Tang Jie, and Shiyue warned Tang Jie about the master's thoughts.

"Thank you, Shiyue. I understand."

"Aren't you worried?" Shiyue was curious about Tang Jie's calm demeanor.

Tang Jie smiled, "Time will tell. Some things can't be rushed."

Shiyue laughed, "You have a good temperament. Here, this is a spiritual medicine Mrs. Wei specially asked Master Lu for you. Take it, and your injuries should heal faster."

She then took out a bottle, took a pill, and put it in Tang Jie's mouth.

The pill dissolved in his mouth, and Tang Jie felt a surge of spiritual energy enter his body, making him feel warm and comfortable. The energy flowed through his body, far more effective than his own cultivation.

Tang Jie's eyes lit up, "Good medicine!"

"Of course, it's a spiritual medicine from the Immortal. Master Lu usually doesn't use it. He even told me to return the rest when you're healed."

Tang Jie's injuries would heal quickly if he wanted them to.

Hearing Shiyue's words, he suddenly thought that staying in bed for a few more days might not be bad.

——