Chapter 38

Cheng Ruyi casually flicked the blood from her large blade, casting a breezy glance at the dumbstruck Capital Governor and his group, her lips curling in a slight pout of dissatisfaction.

“Officials in the capital always love arriving late.”

The Capital Governor felt incredibly wronged. Who said we love being late? We got here as fast as we could, okay? Who knew that in less than fifteen minutes, all these black-clad muggers would be dealt with?

The Marquis of Changle and Cheng Yu walked over to the two of them happily. As for the corpses littering the ground, the father and son had long since progressed from their initial discomfort to a state of calm indifference.

“Dad, the bandits trying to steal the silver have all been killed. They really weren’t worth the effort. Before I even broke a sweat, their heads were rolling. They’re just too fragile,” Cheng Ruyi said with great dissatisfaction, her pretty face full of disdain.

Having been in the ancient world for so long, she hadn’t really had a chance to stretch her muscles outside of hunting in the mountains. She had expected these blood-reeking men in black to give her a satisfying fight, but she hadn’t expected them to be so useless.

As expected, one really can’t hold too high an expectation for the ancients.

The Marquis of Changle choked. He stole a glance at his future son-in-law’s expression and breathed a secret sigh of relief. Good, good. Young Rong Mo hasn’t been scared off by my ferocious daughter.

Hearing the Eldest Miss Cheng say the men in black were “too fragile” and “not worth the effort,” the Capital Governor involuntarily shivered. He looked in horror at the heads and headless corpses rolling across the ground. Were all of these killed by Miss Cheng? They said she had monstrous strength, but how is she this brutal?

He decided he had to stay far away from this cold-blooded young lady in the future.

Rong Mo’s mouth twitched. “…Cousin, it’s not that they are fragile; it’s that you are too powerful. These are assassins with blood on their hands and countless lives to their names.”

He had known his little fiancée’s mysterious abilities were formidable, but he hadn’t realized they were this formidable. It filled him with joy, but also a faint, lingering touch of melancholy.

The surviving guards looked at the various wounds on their bodies. Though the injuries weren’t fatal, they felt ashamed; their lives had essentially been saved by the Eldest Miss.

They never imagined she was so skilled. Killing those men in black was as easy as slicing melons to her, and she remained composed enough to save them in the process. They all looked at her with awe—she was completely clean, without a single drop of blood splashed on her, while even the white robes of the Young Master were stained with a few spots.

Did that mean the Eldest Miss was even more powerful than the Young Master?

The bolder onlookers hiding in the shadows were scared witless by the sight of Cheng Ruyi killing without blinking. The fear in their eyes was impossible to hide as they collapsed to the ground, wishing they could be miles away.

“What? These were assassins, not just bandits?” The Marquis of Changle turned pale with shock. Assassins were on a completely different level than common thieves.

The Capital Governor’s brow jumped. Assassins attempting a daylight assassination in the capital was no small matter. A bad premonition rose in his heart, and he immediately ordered his soldiers to search the bodies.

“Sir, these men are assassins from the Blood Hall,” a soldier reported, his face turning grim after the inspection.

The Governor’s expression shifted. The Blood Hall was an organization that specialized in contract killing; they recognized only silver, not people. To deploy this many assassins would have cost at least a million taels of silver. Such a sum was not something an ordinary person could produce.

He gave Rong Mo an odd look. It was rumored that Rong Mo’s family had been wiped out by a group of men in black; he wondered if there was a connection.

“Blood Hall assassins!”

Rong Mo’s gaze darkened. An intense killing intent erupted from his deep black eyes. It was the Blood Hall that had destroyed the Rong family all those years ago. Is the person behind the scenes finally unable to sit still? Thinking of his suspicions, he wondered if the people secretly monitoring the Princess of Rong had made any progress.

The Marquis of Changle clearly remembered the massacre of the Rong family as well. His face turned ugly as he looked worriedly at the icy aura radiating from young Rong Mo.

Cheng Ruyi didn’t notice the expressions of her fiancé or father. She just looked disappointed. “So this is the standard of professional assassins? They’re practically giving themselves up for slaughter.”

Hearing his little fiancée’s evaluation, Rong Mo’s vengeful trance shattered. He was speechless. The very assassins my fiancée looks down on are the ones who wiped out the entire Rong clan.

Waves of shock crashed through the Governor’s mind. Miss Cheng is truly terrifying. The dreaded Blood Hall assassins are just ‘slaughter fodder’ to her.

Cheng Yu looked at his sister with pure worship. Sis is the best!

Seeing that it was getting late and knowing that the mastermind behind the assassins wouldn’t be easy to find, the Marquis of Changle discussed the follow-up matters with the Governor and led the large procession away.

…

The group of “bandits” had been completely annihilated. After the procession left, the crowds that gathered to watch were terrified by the pools of blood and the heavy stench in the air.

Those lucky enough to witness Miss Cheng “slicing melons” spread the word. Some believed it, others thought it was an exaggeration, but overall, most people found it hard to believe that these assassins were killed by her. Despite the skepticism, Cheng Ruyi’s reputation for brutality spread far and wide.

Those with greedy intentions but little courage immediately checked their avarice.

However, after the Marquis’s high-profile currency exchange at the bank, more and more people set their sights on the Marquis of Changle’s estate. No one was a fool; it was clear the Marquis of Changle was on the rise. Those with foresight began thinking of forming alliances or even marriages. Although Cheng Ruyi was engaged, wasn’t there still Cheng Yu? As the heir, he would inherit the title. Unbeknownst to him, Cheng Yu became a “hot commodity” in the eyes of the nobility.

Perhaps deterred by the grizzly fate of the assassins, the group encountered no more trouble on the way back. They arrived at the estate peacefully.

News of the ambush had already reached Rong Susu. Seeing them return safely, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s good that you’re back safe.”

“Susu, our daughter is incredible! She killed more than half the assassins by herself,” the Marquis boasted, proud of his own foresight in arranging her marriage early. Otherwise, with a daughter this fierce, no one would dare take her!

“That’s right, Mom! You should have seen it—Sister was amazing! With one swing, the head just came off…” Cheng Yu gestured excitedly, describing the scene with spit flying.

Rong Susu, who had intended to comfort her husband and children, felt her mouth twitch.

“Anyone trying to steal our money deserves to die!” Cheng Ruyi said calmly. To her, killing a few weaklings wasn’t worth bragging about. She looked at her excited father and brother, feeling quite speechless. “Dad, Mom, let’s get these chests inside.”

After all that work, the goal was to protect the gold and silver.

On the way back, Rong Mo had remained silent, radiating a “do not approach” aura. The thick-skinned Cheng Ruyi was too focused on the silver to notice her fiancé’s abnormality. Hearing it was time to move the chests, the Marquis and Cheng Yu happily went to work.

Rong Susu smiled at the sight. After dismissing the servants and guards, the family worked together to move all the chests into a pre-built secret vault.

Looking at the room full of chests, Cheng Ruyi excitedly popped one open. Her eyes were immediately dazzled by the glittering gold. In the apocalypse, currency consisted of different colored crystals; while this gold wasn’t as pretty as crystals, it could buy a lot of food. Thinking of the delicacies in the capital’s restaurants and pastry shops, she couldn’t help but swallow. Ancient people really know how to enjoy life; there’s so much good food. Before, she was broke and couldn’t afford to feast, but now that she had money, she intended to enjoy herself.

The Marquis was equally moved and proud. He was finally a Marquis with a substantial fortune.

“Susu, Ruyi, Rong Mo—we only exchanged 600,000 taels and it drew assassins. Not to mention that in the future, we’ll have two million taels coming in every month. I’m afraid the Marquis of Changle’s estate won’t know peace for long.” After the initial joy, the Marquis looked worried.

Cheng Ruyi said dismissively, “Dad, with me here, those small-time crooks won’t dare come to our door.”

The Marquis: “…” Daughter, you are fierce, but there are too many people out there who value money over their lives.

“We can take a portion of the silver from the ‘Divine Medicine’ sales and donate it to the Prince of Pingnan for military funds. We should do it with great fanfare,” Rong Mo suggested after a moment of thought.

He didn’t care about his own reputation, but having a good name was useful. The Prince of Pingnan was the perfect choice; he held massive military power and his army defended the borders year-round. With many casualties in every battle, funds for the families of fallen soldiers were always tight. His uncle could donate silver to buy peace of mind and accumulate merit for future generations, while simultaneously intimidating those with ill intentions.

The Marquis’s eyes lit up. “That’s a great idea! Doing good deeds in secret is not the style of the Changle Marquisate!”

Cheng Ruyi felt a bit of “heartache” for the money, but she respected the Prince of Pingnan as a war hero. She agreed generously, “Dad’s right. Why don’t we donate half of my monthly share?”

The Marquis was shocked. My daughter is so generous! But then he realized that as long as they had the medicine, they would never lack silver. Donating a bit to build a reputation and secure a powerful patron was a bargain. “Then I will also donate half of my monthly share!”

Two million taels a month split 50/50 meant one million each. Half of that was 500,000—still a massive amount. Now that life was good, the entire household’s monthly expenses didn’t even exceed a thousand taels.

Rong Susu had no objections. With the medicine her daughter made, silver was just a number. They’d never have to scrimp again. It felt like a dream.

After dinner, the family began a heated discussion on how to donate the money to the Prince of Pingnan with the maximum possible fanfare.

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