“Hey, Qiaoqiao, what kind of bamboo shoot is this? I feel spiritual energy coursing through my body after eating it.”

“If I stuff myself until bursting today, who will go on a stroll with me later?”

“Then why are you still eating?”

“I’ll digest the food after eating it!”

“Qiaoqiao, you’re like a genie and take out whatever we want. We only need to bring you along wherever we go!”

“Right, right, we don’t need to bring anything else!”

Qiao Mu gave the little fatty an apathetic look. “In your dreams!”

Everybody ate to their heart’s content, and even the usually taciturn Mentor Wei Xu showed a faint, but rare smile.

***

Anyi Prefecture.

The prefecture lord, Guan Zhaotang, looked down coldly at his bedridden fourth daughter with a callous frown.

“Prefecture Lord.” A middle-aged man strode inside and cupped his hands in greeting. “How come the fourth young lady returned so suddenly?”

The Guan Family’s fourth young lady had gone to Polan Prefecture’s Mount Tai to represent Jiaqing Academy in the preliminaries. It shocked everybody when she returned abruptly with serious injuries.

“What a good-for-nothing.” Guan Zhaotang snorted, “She’s not meant for the big stage.”

The middle-aged man, Qi Lianhai, silently examined the bedridden young lady.

It was not possible to make out Guan Yiying’s original appearance. The majority of her face looked like it had ruptured with the flesh turning outward.

Her eyes had also turned into two eyesockets, with no eyeballs to be seen.

“It’s no use to keep such trash.” Guan Zhaotang ordered unfeelingly, “Dispose of her.”

“Yes, Prefecture Lord.” Qi Lianhai responded in a low voice. He couldn’t avoid sighing with emotion on the inside.

After struggling for her life, the fourth young lady made a last ditch effort to contact them to activate a special passageway for her to come back. Yet in the end, she couldn’t escape the tragedy of being disposed of as trash.

Guan Zhaotang had six daughters and three sons. He was also in his prime and had a whole entourage of wives and concubines. Would he lack sons and daughters? He naturally wouldn’t support a piece of trash to disgust himself.

In that case, she might as well have died outside.

Qi Lianhai shook his head. After watching Guan Zhaotang leave with a frosty expression, he walked up and cupped his hands toward the fourth young lady, who was still somewhat conscious. “Apologies, Fourth Young Lady.”

Qi Lianhai reached out and gripped Guan Yiying’s neck. He ejected spiritual energy from his palm and maintained his grip on Guan Yiying for several moments.

Guan Yiying’s struggle lasted less than three seconds. Her flailing legs slowly slackened until she completely ceased breathing.

Qi Lianhai straightened his collar and turned to walk out the door. He cupped his hands while reporting to Guan Zhaotang, who was standing at the door with his back toward him. “Prefecture Lord, it’s been taken care of. Do you want this subordinate to dispatch people to Polan Prefecture to investigate the situation?”

Guan Zhaotang snorted. “Even though Little Fourth is a useless good-for-northing, she is still my daughter. This prefecture lord will naturally make whoever made her this way pay the price!”

“Understood.” Qi Lianhai walked out and immediately went to gather people.

“Daughter, daughter!!” A mournful shriek came from outside the door, and a pretty woman with small white flowers adorning her hair stumbled into the room. She grabbed Guan Zhaotang’s sleeve. “My lord, this wife heard that Yiying just returned with heavy injuries. Can this wife?”

Guan Zhaotang pulled back his sleeve in irritation. “Go see her for the last time and then select a date for cremation.”

That woman instantly paled and flopped to the ground.