At the inn.
Chen Yuan's hands were clasped behind his back, and he was pacing around in the room, "Young Master Qi's been gone for a long time, when is he coming back?"
Zhuang Hao frowned and said a little worriedly, "He should be back soon!"
"If the Young Master manages to cure Feng Yuan, who knows what kind of request he'll make." Yi Fan said.
Chen Yuan said somewhat puzzledly, "Young Master Qi will probably ask Feng Yuan to help promote Yuan Country's national strength, right?"
Yi Fan sneered and said, "Young Master isn't someone who's that concerned about the matters regarding the country and its people. What does the improvement of the country's strength have to do with the Young Master? Would it be worthwhile for the Young Master to do something like that?"
"But, what about the Emperor!" Chen Yuan said, his eyes widening.
Yi Fan rolled his eyes and said, "The Emperor, that old man is so stingy, the Young Master has been upset with him for a while now."
"So, Qi Shaorong is only feigning compliance, he's not planning on actually following through with orders [1]?" Chen Yuan said with some trepidation, his eyes wide.
Yi Fan glanced at Chen Yuan, and said, displeased, "Young Master Chen, you make it sound so bad. It's just, a general in the field isn't bound by orders from his sovereign, that's all."
Chen Yuan: "…" Really?
Qi Shaorong was just arrogant by nature. Even if Qi Shaorong really didn't act according to the Emperor's orders, for the sake of the Zhuang Family's face, the Emperor probably wouldn't criticize Qi Shaorong too harshly, but Chen Yuan, he… He's going to be out of luck.
Chen Yuan blinked, looked at Yi Fan, and said, "Young Master Yi, are you joking, or are you being serious right now?"
"I… Of course I'm serious." Yi Fan said.
Chen Yuan patted his forehead and said, "It's over, it's over, if Qi Shaorong really does something like that, then I can't complete my task here. What do I do when I return home?"
Yi Fan looked at Chen Yuan, smiled, and said, "Young Master Chen, if you're worried about what to do when you go back, I have an idea."
"You… Have an idea?" Since when was Yi Fan this nice?
Yi Fan nodded and said, "Yes! What do you think of this, I'll beat you up to the point that you're half-dead, so when you go back, the Emperor will see how pitiful you are, and won't make too big of a fuss about how you failed your mission."
Chen Yuan: "…" He should've known, how could a scum like Yi Fan ever come up with any constructive suggestions!
Chen Yuan nudged Zhuang Hao with his elbow and said, "A-Hao, what do you think?"
"Shaorong, he probably has his own ideas as to what he wants to do." Zhuang Hao paused, then said, "No matter what request he makes, I will support him."
Chen Yuan: "…"
A person who looked like a servant walked in.
"Excuse me, are you Young Master Zhuang Hao?"
Zhuang Hao nodded and said, "Yes!"
"Young Master Qi saved my Master's life, and he's staying at Feng Mansion now. You can all come with me and go there." The old man said.
Zhuang Hao nodded and said, "Alright." Although the old man seemed polite and looked ordinary enough, Zhuang Hao didn't take any chances. Zhuang Hao felt that the old man had the aura belonging to a skilled expert.
Feng Residence.
"Have they arrived yet?" Feng Yuan asked an old man in gray clothes.
"They have." The gray-clothed old man replied with a hoarse voice.
"Old Zeng! Say, what do you think Qi Shaorong's intentions are?" Feng Yuan asked, looking at the gray-clothed old man.
"Qi Shaorong is still young! He just does what he wants to do. I think the reason for Qi Shaorong's actions, it should be related to that veiled subordinate by his side. Master, you know, that subordinate of Qi Shaorong is called Mu Tingxuan, the name is the same as Mu Xingzhi's deceased son from the rumours." Zeng He said.
Feng Yuan nodded and said, "I also heard that the Mu Tingxuan by Qi Shaorong's side is a wood mage, and his age also matches the age of the deceased Mu Tingxuan."
The Business Alliance had shops in countries all over the world. Feng Yuan had long been interested in doing business with Qi Shaorong regarding the sale of cosmetics, and he had investigated the people around Qi Shaorong too.
"I heard that Qi Shaorong is very kind to his subordinates, but I didn't expect that Qi Shaorong would be this kind. I originally thought that he'd ask me to help strengthen the power of Yuan Country, I even prepared a series of plans beforehand, but the request that he actually made in the end was to suppress the Mu Family."
In Li Country, the Mu Family could be considered a big family, but compared to the Business Alliance, their power wasn't that impressive.
"Master, isn't it good that Qi Shaorong made this request? Dealing with the Mu Family is much simpler than improving the strength of the Yuan Country." Zeng He said.
Feng Yuan smiled bitterly and said, "The Mu Family went through a lot of trouble, trying to treat my illness this time. When I think about it, I do feel a little sorry for them."
Zeng He squinted his eyes and said, "The Mu Family didn't help much though, and who knows if there's something wrong with their Nine-Leafed Life-Saving herb. As soon as you took it, your condition deteriorated."
Feng Yuan waved his hand and said, "The Nine-Leafed Life-Saving herb probably didn't have any problems, it just wasn't the right cure for my particular illness."
Feng Yuan closed his eyes. Ever since he fell ill, he had taken many precious elixirs and potions. As time went on, Feng Yuan got a vague feeling that using those elixirs wouldn't be able to solve his problem, and not only that, but the more valuable elixirs would only make his condition worsen even faster.
Mu Family.
Mu Yueshan smashed a stack of account books onto the ground.
"The Business Alliance, what do they mean by this?"
"I heard that after Qi Shaorong cured Feng Yuan, he asked the Business Alliance to use all their strength to suppress the Mu Family's business."
Mu Yueshan clenched his fists, "Qi Shaorong, that stinky guy, there are no grudges between our Mu Family and him, from the past or the present, yet he actually wants to destroy us like this."
Was it because of the few words that he had said at Feng Yuan's residence, and because he had looked down on Qi Shaorong at the time, that Qi Shaorong didn't hesitate to waste such a precious opportunity to suppress their Mu Family's business? That rotten guy was way too petty.
And Feng Yuan, that guy, the Mu Family had exhausted all their efforts to treat Feng Yuan's illness! Even if they didn't contribute much, they still put in a lot of hard work, but now…
"Family Head, I actually heard some other news."
Mu Yueshan looked at the messenger and said, ��What news?"
"There's a wood mage called Mu Tingxuan by Qi Shaorong's side. His face is rumoured to be disfigured."
When Mu Yueshan heard these words, he couldn't help but take a few steps back, "How could this be?"
"I also feel that it's a little strange, but it's not certain that Mu Tingxuan really died back then. It's just that he was really young, so even if he was still alive, he shouldn't remember anything."
Mu Yueshan clenched his fists tightly. Not remember, how could Mu Tingxuan not remember? He was just a little wolf cub [2], out for revenge. If they're not careful, they'll be bitten by him.
Mu Yueshan took a deep breath, "Go and find out Mu Tingxuan's true identity. If he really is the child from back then, we'll have to make some preparations early on."
Mu Tingxuan wasn't any better than Mu Xingzhi! Even if Mu Xingzhi betrayed the Mu Family, he'd never so blatantly try to ruin them, but Mu Tingxuan was different! Mu Tingxuan hated the Mu Family deeply, and he certainly wouldn't let them off easily.
Chen Yuan looked at Qi Shaorong and said, "Young Master Qi, why did you make such a request to Feng Yuan?"
Qi Shaorong glanced at Chen Yuan and said, "Because I wanted to!"
Chen Yuan scratched his head and said, "Young Master Qi, have you ever heard of this saying before, why use an ox cleaver to kill a chicken [3]? This Mu Family is really only a small family, you asking the Business Alliance to target the Mu Family, isn't that like asking a level-nine expert to fight against a three-year old child? It's too wasteful."
Qi Shaorong smiled unconcernedly and said, "What's wrong with using an ox cleaver to kill a chicken, using an ox cleaver to kill a chicken is much cleaner and neater!"
Chen Yuan, "Young Master Qi, you're wasting such a good opportunity here! Don't you know?"
Qi Shaorong held his chin and said [4], "I had originally planned on asking Feng Yuan to give me ten million gold coins or something, but then I thought about it a little, and I realized it's way too crass to just ask for money directly. Such an elegant person like me, it's not good to act so unrefined!"
"Young Master Qi, have you forgotten, you were sent here with a task, the Emperor has high hopes for you!" Chen Yuan said.
Qi Shaorong tilted his head and said, "The Emperor, that old man, he's not even that handsome, who cares what he thinks?"
Chen Yuan: "…"
"Qi Shaorong, you can't judge people solely by their appearance!" Chen Yuan looked at Qi Shaorong and said.
Yi Fan walked in and said, "Young Master Chen, what are you yelling about?"
Chen Yuan couldn't help but feel a little guilty when he saw Yi Fan. Yi Fan, this guy, was completely on Mu Tingxuan's side. Yi Fan definitely knew about Qi Shaorong picking a fight with the Mu Family for Mu Tingxuan's sake, and probably strongly supported it too.
"It's nothing." Chen Yuan said timidly.
"I can see you have really dark circles under your eyes, did you not sleep well last night? You should hurry up and get some sleep." Yi Fan said.
Chen Yuan: "…"
Zhuang Hao was sitting at the side, and let out a sigh.
Qi Shaorong tilted his head, looked at Zhuang Hao, and said, "Young Master Zhuang, what are you sighing for! Do you also think that my request is a waste of this opportunity?"
Zhuang Hao looked at Qi Shaorong and said, "No, I was just thinking that you're too good at offending people. You've already offended the Qi Family and the Yi Family in Yuan Country. I had originally thought that since we came to Li Country, we can lie low here for a while, and go back later. Who'd have thought that you'd offend the Mu Family now."
Qi Shaorong looked at Zhuang Hao and said, "What are you afraid of? It's not that big of a deal, and besides, I've already made enemies out of so many people by now, what difference does one more Mu Family make?
The news that Qi Shaorong had cured Feng Yuan quickly spread out.
At the same time, the news that Qi Shaorong had requested to suppress the Mu Family also spread like wildfire.
Good news never goes beyond the gate, while bad news spreads far and wide. The Mu Family's business already wasn't going so well, and many of the businesses that were currently cooperating with the Mu Family, upon learning that the Business Alliance was going to take action against the Mu Family, all cut off dealings with the Mu Family one after the other.
"Young Master, are you alright?" Mu Huai's attendant looked at Mu Huai, who was brimming with anger, with some timidity.
"What's the matter with this Qi Shaorong? What hatred or grievances does he have against us, why is he targeting our Mu Family like this?" Mu Huai said angrily.
"Young Master, don't be angry. Qi Shaorong is just a vile character intoxicated by success, that guy is so arrogant, he'll receive his retribution sooner or later." The attendant said in an ingratiating manner.
Mu Huai grasped the sword that was hanging on the wall and said angrily, "I'll definitely go talk to him and get to the bottom of this."
Originally, the Mu Family and the Lan Family had already agreed on a wedding date, but as soon as the news that the Business Alliance wanted to suppress the Mu Family reached them, the Lan Family immediately cancelled the marriage arrangement. Mu Huai had gone looking for the Lan Family and was given the cold shoulder, and he was feeling extremely vexed in his heart.
Footnotes:
Feigning compliance… Not planning on following through with orders: "To agree overtly, but oppose in secret"― To comply in public but oppose in private; to say nice things to a person's face but play tricks behind his back, etc.
Wolf cub: Brutal or ungrateful young person.
Why use an ox cleaver to kill a chicken: King of like "why use a sledgehammer on a nut."
Held his chin: I've used this phrase a lot of times already, but I kind of hate it because I feel like it doesn't make sense. I think it's like the action when you're sitting down and you put your arm on the table and prop your chin up with your arm, or if you're standing up, you cross one arm and place your other elbow on that arm and then rest your chin in your hand? Idk lol.