Chapter 159: Treated to Death

Jun Chengcai's body jolted violently, and the teacup in his hand nearly slipped.

"Family background? What family background?"

He widened his eyes, filled with disbelief, staring fixedly at Jun Jun Zijin as if trying to find the answer on her face.

For all these years, he had always believed himself to be the legitimate eldest son of the Jun Manor; although Mother Wu had never been close to him and he had once faced difficult circumstances, he had never harbored any doubts regarding his lineage.

In his understanding, he was the bloodline of the Jun Manor, the legitimate eldest son shouldering the family's honor and responsibility.

Now, this sudden news struck like a heavy bomb, stirring up tumultuous waves within his heart.

"What... what exactly did she say?"

Jun Chengcai's voice trembled slightly; his hands clenched involuntarily until his knuckles turned white as he asked urgently.

"Flying Eagle said that Jun Jun Yiyi mentioned you are not the true bloodline of the Jun Manor; you were a child Mother Wu brought in from outside years ago, hiding it from everyone, including Father, who knew nothing of it."

Jun Chengcai felt the world spinning around him; his entire being grew hazy, his mind going blank as if the whole world were collapsing at that very moment.

"This... how is this possible?"

Jun Chengcai muttered to himself, his eyes filled with confusion and pain.

Flying Eagle stood silently nearby; watching Jun Chengcai's reaction, he felt a pang of pity in his heart and spoke:

"Young Master, this is all I heard. Jun Jun Yiyi spoke very implicitly at the time, but her tone was extremely resentful and utterly certain. I feel this matter may not be baseless."

Jun Chengcai could never have imagined that the identity he had always firmly believed in was false.

Scenes from his past in the Jun Manor floated before his eyes; toward him, Mother Wu had never been as affectionate as she was toward Jun Jun Yiyi, even treating him with cold eyes—it turned out she was not his birth mother.

No wonder Mother Wu and Jun Jun Yiyi treated him merely as a tool; it was like this, and suddenly everything made sense.

For some reason, the moment Jun Chengcai learned that Mother Wu was not his birth mother, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Jun Chengcai slowly raised his head to look at Jun Jun Zijin, a trace of anguish flashing in his eyes:

"Why? Why did they do this? Who is my birth mother? Where is she now?"

Jun Jun Zijin shook her head and said softly:

"I am not clear on these matters either. To uncover the truth, we must plan carefully."

Jun Chengcai stood up and paced back and forth in the room; his heart was a mix of conflicting emotions—anger, doubt, worry, and relief—all intertwined.

"No, I must get to the bottom of all this."

Gritting his teeth, Jun Chengcai's eyes revealed a determined light; disregarding the pain on his forehead, he stood up, preparing to go find Jun Jun Yiyi and demand a clear explanation.

Jun Jun Zijin hurriedly grabbed hold of him:

"Now is not the time for impulsiveness; Jun Jun Yiyi will surely make another move, so we just need to follow her."

Held back by Jun Jun Zijin, the fury burning within Jun Chengcai's heart refused to subside.

His chest heaved violently, blue veins bulging on his forehead, while blood began to seep from his wound again.

"Let go of me!"

Jun Chengcai roared, his voice brimming with anger and unwillingness:

"I am going to find her right now and make her explain everything to me! On what grounds did they treat me this way? On what grounds did they hide this from me for so many years!"

Clinging tightly to Jun Chengcai's arm, Jun Jun Zijin's eyes were full of anxiety and worry:

"Calm down! Since Jun Jun Yiyi chose this moment to reveal this secret, she must be planning something; if you go to her now, not only will you fail to get answers, but you might also fall into a trap she has set."

Jun Chengcai's body stiffened; although his anger subsided slightly, his eyes remained filled with struggle and pain. He knew Jun Jun Zijin made sense, yet the impulse to uncover the truth immediately was something he simply could not suppress.

"Then what should we do? Just wait here doing nothing?"

Gritting his teeth, Jun Chengcai asked, speaking one word at a time.

Jun Jun Zijin released Jun Chengcai's arm, walked to the window, gazed out at the pitch-black night, and said slowly:

"Rest assured, Flying Eagle is already keeping watch on her."

Just then, Winter Nurse, who managed the shop, rushed into Aoxue Courtyard in a panic; she took several large strides inside, panting heavily as she shouted:

"Young Lady, something has happened at the pharmacy!"

Fine beads of sweat covered her forehead, standing out starkly in this cold weather, clearly indicating she had run all the way here.

Over these past few months, Jun Jun Zijin had hardly visited the shop, so the management of its affairs had fallen upon Winter Nurse and Little Lotus.

Winter Nurse was an old servant of the manor, steady and reliable, possessing rich experience in business management; although Little Lotus was young, she was clever and sharp, handling matters with seriousness and responsibility.

Working together, the two managed the shop in perfect order, and business remained booming.

Jun Jun Zijin was in the process of re-bandaging Jun Chengcai's wound when she heard this; her hand trembled slightly, yet she did not stop her movements, finally tying a butterfly knot on top of Jun Chengcai's head.

The corner of Jun Chengcai's mouth twitched, but he said nothing.

After completing this final action, Jun Jun Zijin took a deep breath; her expression was calm yet carried a hint of seriousness:

"Nurse, do not rush; speak slowly. What exactly has happened at the pharmacy? First, explain the entire sequence of events clearly."

Winter Nurse wiped the sweat from her forehead, her chest heaving violently; after catching her breath slightly, she spoke with a trembling and panicked voice:

"Young Lady, something terrible has happened! This afternoon, a patient suffering from a cold came to Tong'an Hall for treatment and took medicine, but tonight a group of people arrived, wailing and crying, claiming that our pharmacy's Physician prescribed the wrong medicine and treated their family member to death. They have even carried the corpse here, blocking the pharmacy entrance, shouting and demanding an explanation, threatening to report us to the officials otherwise. If this spreads, the reputation of both our Jun Manor and Tong'an Hall will be ruined!"

Jun Jun Zijin's eyebrows knitted slightly, her eyes revealing a trace of resolve:

"Let's go, Melon Seed; let's bring Peanut along and go check on the pharmacy."

On this winter evening, a biting wind sliced through the streets and alleys of Jingcheng like a knife.

Jun Jun Zijin, accompanied by Jun Chengcai and Melon Seed, called for Peanut and hurriedly rushed toward the pharmacy.

Upon arriving at the pharmacy entrance, they saw a crowd wailing and crying, aggressively blocking the entrance of Tong'an Hall.

Leading them was a burly man with a face full of horizontal flesh; tall and sturdy, with a full beard, bloodshot eyes, and bulging blue veins on his forehead, he was loudly clamoring:

"You bunch of quacks! You prescribed the wrong medicine to my family's patient and treated him to death! Today you must give us an explanation, or we will report you to the officials and make sure you suffer the consequences!"

On the ground lay a corpse covered by Bai Bu, while the surrounding onlookers wore expressions of confusion, pointing and commenting at the pharmacy.

"It is Lady Lady Qingping's pharmacy that treated someone to death, but that shouldn't be right; who in Jingcheng does not know the Young Lady's reputation?"

"But the person is dead, lying right here—how could this be a lie?"