一夜情

The people from the Xia clan were utterly infuriated.

They wanted to vent their anger at the people of Lengshui Village, only to realize that they didn’t even have enough men to start a fight with the villagers. So they had no choice but to swallow their pride and chase after Zhao Chuchu.

As they were still ahead of schedule, Xie Heng wasn’t in a hurry to reach the city. So they decided to take an alternative route and enjoy the scenery on their way there.

The Xia clan chased them without an ounce of rest but still could not find Zhao Chuchu. When they finally arrived at the city, Xia Songquan had already passed away.

Cries of pain and loss could be heard in the Xia clan’s mansion, but it was hard to tell who was really sad or not.

At that time, Zhao Chuchu was only halfway through her journey to the city and was enjoying some good food with Xie Jun.

When Xie Heng told Zhao Chuchu about Xia Songquan’s death, she didn’t even blink or stop chewing her food. “Everyone dies eventually. It’s just a matter of when. Being able to live until now, Xia Songquan should be satisfied.”

“The Xia clan is in complete chaos now. They are all wondering who will be the next clan head.”

“What about Xia Chengzhu?”

“What good can a guy with all brawn and no brain do? Don’t forget there’s Lu Ming too.”

“He’s aiming for the spot too?”

“Yes. Now that Xia Songquan is dead, the one who actually controls the entire clan now is Lu Ming.”

“This should be interesting. Why don’t we head over to the city earlier? We might be able to catch a show.”

Zhao Chuchu was eager to see how arrogant and cruel the Xia clan would become.

“Sure thing.” Xie Heng nodded.

They hastened their journey and headed to the capital of Guangqing Province as fast as they could.

The day they arrived was also the day of Xia Songquan’s funeral.

The funeral was extremely extravagant.

There were so many people that the members of the Xia clan were still in the city while the pallbearers were already out of the city gate.

A lot of citizens were watching from the side.

Naturally, Zhao Chuchu was among the crowd.

Xia Chengzhu was walking in front of the casket. He looked sad, but there was not an ounce of emotion in his eyes.

It made sense, as Xia Songquan would rather believe Lu Ming than his own son. It would be weird for Xia Chengzhu to feel sad that his father had passed away.

Not only that, but Xia Chengzhu was also the one who expedited Xia Songquan’s death.

Xia Chenglan did not have any expression on her face. Next to her were a few children around the age of Xie Jun. The youngest was around five or six years old.

The only two who were really saddened by Xia Songquan’s death were Xia

Chengxuan and Kang Xiuwan.

Their eyes were completely red from crying.

As for Xia Songquan’s concubines and their children, they didn’t even try to pretend that they were sad and had no expressions on their faces.

That was Xie Jun’s first time in the city. He had little to no knowledge of the Xia clan. But it wasn’t hard for such a huge funeral to catch his attention. “Sis, did someone important die? Why are there so many people?”

“They are a big family,” Zhao Chuchu simply explained.

“I see…” Xie Jun didn’t ask another question after that.

After a while, the people from the Xia clan were finally out of the city.

That was only when the citizens started to talk among themselves.

“I heard that Old Mr. Xia died in a fit of rage. The young masters of the Xia clan had started to fight for the inheritance before he even passed away.”

“Rich families are always like this. It’s not even rare. You should come out more. Even a normal family would fight over the inheritance of a couple of pots and woks.”

“Did you see the lady walking next to Xia Chengzhu? That’s the young lady of the Xia clan who was supposedly dead for a decade, Xia Chenglan. But unfortunately, she didn’t die but eloped instead. So the Xia clan announced that she died to hide the embarrassing fact.”

“So, she’s back for the inheritance too? What a shameless lady! How does she even have the courage to come back? If I were Xia Chengzhu, I would’ve chased her out right away.”

“Let’s go.” Xie Heng gently tapped Zhao Chuchu’s shoulder. “Let’s settle down first before we do anything else.”

To him, it was pointless to listen to the citizens’ conversations.

Zhao Chuchu nodded and grabbed Xie Jun’s hand.

The Yuan clan had already bought a house for them to live in and even filled it

with everything they needed.

All they needed to do was move in.

The house was close to the academy of Guangqing Province and not far from the market. If not for the Yuan clan, scoring such an excellent place to live would be hard for them.

If Zhao Chuchu had not explicitly refused, the Yuan clan would’ve also arranged servants for them.

“The house is big. The garden is huge too.” Zhao Chuchu liked the new house the moment she stepped through the gate.

No matter the Feng Shui of the house or the decoration, they were all perfect.

There were also a well and a persimmon tree in the garden. The kitchen was also detached from the main building.

The house wasn’t large, but it was more than adequate for the three of them.

The Yuan clan even separated two study rooms so that Xie Heng and Xie Jun could each have their own to study in.

There was also a room for herbs made specifically for Zhao Chuchu. Other than the common herbs, tools for herb processing could also be found inside the room.

“Sis, which room is mine?” Xie Jun asked enthusiastically and had already forgotten about the pain of being separated from his friends.

“The first room to the left is yours. Next to it is your study room.” Zhao Chuchu pointed toward the room.

“Okay!” Xie Jun quickly dragged his stuff into his room and started unpacking.

Zhao Chuchu wanted to help Xie Heng unpack, but the man refused her offer.

“If you aren’t tired, why not visit the Yuan clan? It won’t take long for Junjun and me to unpack.”

“Well, sure thing, I guess. I’ll be leaving first, then.”

Zhao Chuchu gladly accepted that.

She prepared some gifts and quickly headed to the Yuan clan’s mansion.

Zhao Chuchu did notify the Yuan clan about their estimated arrival date when they left Lengshui Village.

However, they arrived sooner than expected because of Xia Songquan’s death. When Old Mrs. Yuan saw Zhao Chuchu visiting, she jumped happily and quickly asked one of the servants to go and get Yuan Hui.

Yuan Hui immediately ran up to hug Zhao Chuchu the moment they met. “You’re finally here! I missed you so much!”

“Look at you! Chuchu is tired from the trip. “You’re going to knock her down if you hit her that hard,” Old Mrs. Yuan chided her granddaughter, laughing. “Why are you still like a child when you’re already engaged?”

“Grandma, aren’t I always a child to you?” Yuan Hui smiled while still hugging

Zhao Chuchu.

The hug was so tight that Zhao Chuchu had a hard time breathing. It took her a while to pull away. “Huihui, let me catch my breath.”

“Oh! Sorry! I was too excited!” Yuan Hui laughed awkwardly. “I thought you said you were going to arrive around early February? Why are you here already?”

“Something happened on our way here. We hastened our speed because we don’t want to get into any trouble.” Zhao Chuchu quickly made an excuse and didn’t tell Yuan Hui the truth.

“Is that so? Oh, right! If you arrived today, then you must’ve run into Xia Songquan’s funeral, right?” Yuan Hui asked. “He passed away a couple of days ago. The entire Xia clan is in chaos, fighting over the inheritance. That’s why the funeral was postponed until today.”

“Chuchu, I remember you saying that your mother’s name is Xia Chenglan, right? Is she still alive?” Old Mrs. Yuan suddenly asked.