Chapter 39

To do a good deed and retreat quietly, hiding one’s tracks and fame, was simply not the style of the Marquis of Changle’s family. Since they were doing something good, it had to be done with a massive fanfare; otherwise, how would anyone know you’d done it?

The idea of doing a good deed without leaving a name was nonsense. There are people in this world who are indifferent to fame and fortune, but that group definitely did not include the Marquis of Changle.

The Marquis felt that since they were donating hundreds of thousands of silver taels every month, it would be a huge loss if they didn’t announce it to the world with a world-shaking donation ceremony. It just wouldn’t fit his image.

Cheng Ruyi, of course, raised both hands in approval.

After an hour of heated discussion, they finally came up with a “brilliant” plan for the donation.

Listening from the side, Rong Mo almost couldn’t stop himself from laughing out loud. He used his teacup to hide the upward curve of his lips, genuinely curious to see what kind of expression the Prince of Pingnan would make when the time came.

With the plan set, the family members returned to their respective courtyards to wash up and sleep.

Only Rong Mo’s Bamboo Garden remained lit by candlelight.

An Yi was the leader of Rong Mo’s secret guards and a hidden asset of the Rong family. Only the head of the family was permitted to know of their existence; they had been handed over to Rong Mo by the previous Lord Rong on his deathbed. This unit of secret guards had been protecting Rong Mo in the shadows the entire time.

The Marquis of Changle’s household had no idea.

It wasn’t that Rong Mo wanted to deceive them, but rather that he, carrying the blood debt of the Rong family, did not want the Marquis’s family to be dragged into it. Now, finally, he had a lead.

The mastermind behind the scenes was indeed still watching him.

To others, the assassination attempt by the men in black that afternoon looked like a simple robbery for silver. If Rong Mo hadn’t sensed something was off, he wouldn’t have suspected a thing. But once it was confirmed that the “robbers” were actually assassins from the Blood Hall, his suspicions were validated.

“An Yi, has there been any unusual activity from the Princess Consort of Rong?”

In the quiet room, the candle flame flickered as a dark shadow silently appeared beside Rong Mo.

“Master, this afternoon I discovered that the Princess Consort’s personal maid, Ding Xiang, left the estate in a hurry. She went to a small shack in a remote alley to disguise herself, then visited a general store called ‘He Kee.’ She stayed for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea,” An Yi replied with a respectful bow.

The Prince of Rong’s estate was not easy to infiltrate, so their people could only monitor from the outside. Fortunately, they finally had a discovery.

“He Kee General Store?” Rong Mo’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Any findings on that shop?”

“The timeframe was too short; I haven’t uncovered anything yet.”

“Have someone watch He Kee. Investigate its background thoroughly in secret.” Rong Mo suspected that this shop might be one of the Blood Hall’s contact points.

If it was proven that He Kee was problematic, then the Princess Consort…

A trace of icy killing intent flashed through Rong Mo’s eyes.

“Understood!” An Yi replied and vanished without a sound.

Silence returned to the room, with only the pulsing candlelight reflecting off Rong Mo’s cold, handsome face—a face that looked as stern as an Asura’s.

Two days later, all two hundred pills of the “Divine Medicine” had been sold. The Marquis went to the bank to exchange all the banknotes for actual gold and silver.

This time, the donation amounted to one million silver taels.

Cheng Ruyi had caught a massive yellow-and-white striped tiger in the mountains, and as a “buy one get one free” deal, she brought back ten fiery-red foxes. Under the deterrence of her mental power, the great tiger had been tamed into a giant house cat. The ten red foxes were even more incredibly obedient; they would perform any action she commanded, which was truly miraculous.

What they didn’t know was that Cheng Ruyi had used her mental power to “brand” the tiger and the foxes.

Rong Susu and Cheng Yu took a particular liking to these ten beautiful, adorable red foxes. Especially the younger brother, who spent all day playing wildly with them in the estate. If his mother hadn’t stopped him, he wouldn’t have been able to resist taking them out to the streets to show off.

From the looks of it, his mother and brother would never have the heart to kill them and skin them for fur collars.

Well, since Mom and Brother rarely find things they like, these ten foxes can stay to keep them entertained, Cheng Ruyi thought thoughtfully. She really was such a filial and good daughter.

In addition to the foxes, there was the tiger, which was a particular favorite of the Marquis. Cheng Ruyi began to suspect that since she’d brought it back, she’d never get the chance to skin it.

The Marquis looked at the tiger lying obediently on the ground, his eyes glowing with excitement and his face flushing red. This was a tiger ! Just the thought of riding it through the streets made him tremble with anticipation.

“Daughter, is this big tiger really tamed?”

Cheng Ruyi assured him confidently, “Dad, don’t worry. This tiger is very docile. You can pet it or ride it however you like.” As she spoke, she pulled out a fresh, crisp cabbage and held it to the tiger’s mouth.

The obedient tiger immediately perked up, eagerly curling the cabbage into its mouth and devouring it in a few bites. Once finished, it looked at Cheng Ruyi expectantly, rubbing its huge furry head against her leg to act spoiled, wanting more.

Being generous, Cheng Ruyi pulled two more cabbages from her bag. The tiger ate with total satisfaction. It didn’t have a shred of the “King of the Jungle’s” majesty or ferocity; instead, it looked like a pampered house cat—and a vegetarian one at that.

The Marquis felt a bit bad for the tiger. “Daughter, don’t we have plenty of meat in the kitchen? It’s not good for a tiger to be a vegetarian. Let’s not force it to eat like this.”

Cheng Ruyi rolled her eyes. Oh, my dear father who doesn’t recognize a treasure… this cabbage was grown using my wood-element power. It’s bursting with life force and energy, not to mention it’s delicious. For animals, it was an irresistible temptation.

“Dad, this tiger likes vegetables and hates meat. If you don’t believe me, try it yourself,” Cheng Ruyi said with a grin.

The Marquis didn’t believe a tiger wouldn’t eat meat. He immediately had a servant buy fresh pork and placed it in front of the tiger, watching expectantly. The tiger just lay there lazily, not even glancing at the meat. Having eaten three cabbages full of life energy, it was stuffed and just wanted to nap and digest. Why would it care about a piece of bloody pork?

Once you’ve had a feast of delicacies, who wants coarse grains? The tiger wasn’t stupid.

The Marquis felt dejected. Incredible… there really is such a thing as a vegetarian tiger. My daughter has raised this tiger to be useless.

Cheng Ruyi was very proud. “See, Dad? I told you. It only eats the cabbages I grow. It’s very easy to keep. If you like it, we’ll let it do its job tomorrow and then keep it in the estate.”

In any case, after tasting her empowered vegetables once, these animals were hooked. It just so happened that she had used her wood-element power on the estate’s vegetable garden a few times, making all the vegetables grow exceptionally well. It was more than enough to feed these pets.

Hearing this, the Marquis cheered up instantly. “…My daughter really is thoughtful, knowing I like the tiger.” He happily stepped forward to stroke the tiger’s fur. The tiger merely lifted an eyelid, didn’t move its massive body an inch, and even squinted its eyes comfortably.

Cheng Ruyi glanced at her father, who was completely enamored with the tiger, and shook her head. Only her father would like such a “weak” animal.

Early the next morning, Cheng Qingyao heard the sound of gongs and drums coming from the neighboring Changle Marquis Estate. She knitted her elegant brows and summoned Qiu Lan to ask what was happening. Qiu Lan went out to investigate and returned with a very strange expression.

“Miss, the Marquis of Changle has hired a lion dance troupe. It seems they are celebrating some joyful event.”

Cheng Qingyao frowned. “A joyful event?” Suddenly, a thought struck her and her eyes widened. “Don’t tell me Cheng Ruyi is getting married to Rong Mo?”

“I don’t know, but it’s a possibility,” Qiu Lan agreed hesitantly.

Cheng Qingyao sneered. “If it’s not a wedding, what kind of ‘joyful event’ could that household possibly have?”

“Wasn’t it said that the Marquis sold two hundred pills of ‘Divine Medicine’ and made two million taels? Maybe they’re celebrating that,” Qiu Lan guessed.

At the mention of the “Divine Medicine,” Cheng Qingyao’s face contorted slightly. “Celebrate? My Second Uncle is stingier than a miser. If it were just a celebration, he’d never spend money to hire a lion dance troupe. The only person who can make him spend money willingly is my ‘dear’ cousin.”

Thinking of Cheng Ruyi, Cheng Qingyao couldn’t suppress her jealousy. Why was she so lucky while she herself worked so hard, calculating every move, only to fail to get what she wanted?

She couldn’t help but think about her own father, the Marquis of Jian’an, secretly sending people to buy that “trash” medicine. It disgusted her. Now, the effects of that so-called Divine Medicine were being exaggerated to a ridiculous degree, with countless men flocking to it. It was said that everyone who used it was satisfied.

The Marquis of Changle was truly a blight on society. And that cousin, Ruyi, was like a piece of rat droppings among women—something that should be wiped out.

In front of the Marquis of Changle’s Estate

Cheng Yu watched excitedly as the lion dance troupe banged their gongs and drums. “Sister, our Marquisate is definitely going to be famous across the world this time!”

Cheng Ruyi smiled triumphantly, tilting her chin up. “Of course! Look who came up with the idea.”

Rong Mo’s mouth twitched. As long as my little fiancée is happy.

Nearby, the beaming Marquis of Changle was directing the guards to load large chests onto carts—ten large chests in total. Today was his big chance to become famous. He was trembling with excitement just thinking about it.

The guards carefully held up a long banner, the contents of which were quite… speechless.

“One million silver taels donated on a whim! The Marquis of Changle—a hero of soaring spirit!”

According to Cheng Ruyi’s instructions, these banners were to be attached to the bodies of the dancing lions. When the performers saw the text, their expressions were complicated, to say the least. They almost regretted taking this job.

No wonder he asked us to extend the length of the lion costumes… so this was the catch.

It seemed the Marquis had hired the most famous lion dance troupe in the capital just to announce his grand gesture of donating silver to the Prince of Pingnan. Knowing the truth, the performers were practically in tears.

Once everything was ready, the Marquis excitedly mounted the massive tiger, leading the way in a majestic and spirited manner. Behind him were ten carts and a crowd of guards. The lion dancers moved at the front and back, banging drums and dancing, the giant characters on their banners particularly eye-catching.

Cheng Ruyi bragged proudly to her side: “Cousin, I came up with the text on those banners. Everyone is going to be stunned and praise my genius!”

Rong Mo: “…”

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