Chapter 125: A Masterpiece Performance

Tukeslu was utterly baffled and quickly asked Jiang Mingyu: “What happened? What’s wrong with Master Zhuge?” He had been training new recruits at the city defense camp all day yesterday and knew nothing of Master Zhuge’s predicament.

Jiang Mingyu let out a heavy sigh, his brow knotted into a “ Chuan ” shape, and patiently recounted to Tukeslu what he’d heard the day before: Huang Chaoran had colluded with the Zhu family to deliberately sabotage the Zhuge family’s business, aiming to sever every strand of their commercial lifeline.

At this, Tukeslu clenched his fists, eyes wide, flames of uncontainable rage burning in his gaze as he spat: “That Huang Chaoran has such a petty heart—we haven’t even sought him out, yet he dares come bothering us? I’ll damn well make him pay!”

Jiang Mingyu’s eyes turned icy, his voice frigid as winter ice: “I’ve decided to take his miserable life to quench my hatred. It was Huang Chaoran who ordered the ambush against Liu Yifei—I’ve long planned to settle this score. Now, with the Zhuge family’s plight, I’ll crush him once and for all.”

As he spoke, his gaze turned fierce, and he slashed his horsewhip through the air as if he’d already seen his enemy dead.

Tukeslu growled: “My lord, let’s set out for the state capital immediately. I’ll spare no effort to help you bring this Huang Chaoran to justice!”

The two immediately set off for the state capital.

Che Ting, who had been nearly roasted alive a few days ago, now lay on the carriage, barely clinging to life.

Jiang Mingyu ignored him entirely and ordered Tukeslu to drive at full speed.

After a day and night of jolting travel, they finally arrived at the gates of the state capital by noon the next day.

With the New Year approaching, the city was awash in festive cheer, lanterns and decorations hung everywhere.

But Jiang Mingyu’s sole purpose in coming was to avenge himself on Huang Chaoran.

Inspector Wang Zhe, upon seeing the near-dead Che Ting and Jiang Mingyu’s testimony, flew into a rage, his beard bristling upright: “How audacious! How dare Huang Chaoran openly swap out my condemned prisoners and try to deceive me? Does he think I’m a corpse, to be so humiliated?”

“Seize Huang Chaoran at his residence immediately! I’ll execute this scoundrel publicly as a warning to all!” If this scandal spread, his reputation as inspector would be utterly destroyed.

Jiang Mingyu stepped forward solemnly and said: “Inspector, let me handle this. I will enforce the law fairly and impartially, without the slightest negligence.” How could he let such a perfect chance for revenge slip into another’s hands?

Inspector Wang Zhe understood Jiang Mingyu’s bitter, irreconcilable feud with Huang Chaoran and nodded in satisfaction: “Good. I entrust Huang Chaoran to you, Jiang Da Ren. Be extremely cautious—bring him to justice.”

The inspector’s withered chest heaved with each rapid breath, his short hair bristling with anger—his fury had not yet abated.

Jiang Mingyu stepped out of the inspector’s mansion with a cold face, brows furrowed, eyes gleaming with icy light. He swept his sleeve and ordered Tukeslu: “Go seize Huang Chaoran at his home!” His voice was frigid, thick with uncontainable rage.

Tukeslu asked in surprise: “What about Master Zhuge?” He feared they’d neglect one crisis while rushing to another, leaving Zhuge Yu without aid.

Jiang Mingyu strode forward without turning back: “Huang Chaoran is the root of this evil. Capture him, and the Huang family will retreat—Zhuge’s crisis will vanish.” His tone brimmed with murderous intent.

The two quickly found Huang’s residence, but when they knocked and asked, the servants said Huang Chaoran had already gone to harass Zhuge Yu. Jiang Mingyu and Tukeslu’s hearts thudded—they spun around and sprinted toward the Zhuge household.

As he ran, Jiang Mingyu thought: The situation is dire. Huang Chaoran isn’t a man to be trifled with—he might have already done something terrible to Zhuge Yu. They had to move fast to save him.

In the spacious main hall of the Zhuge household, over a dozen merchants in lavish official robes stared at an elderly man slumped helplessly in the main seat.

The old man was Zhuge Yi, current head of the Zhuge family. He slumped in his high-backed chair like a deflated leather ball, his face ashen, as if ready to die at any moment, silent and unresponsive to the crowd’s pointing and whispering.

Beside Zhuge Yi stood two men: one was Zhuge Yu, just returned from Shangmu, his face grim as water; the other was Zhuge Yi’s eldest son, Zhuge Gang, also dressed in a similar luxurious robe.

At this moment, Zhuge Gang longed to devour Zhuge Yu alive, the hatred in his eyes threatening to burn his brother to ash.

Originally, upon their father’s death, the entire family fortune would have passed to Zhuge Gang—but now Zhuge Yu had made an enemy of Huang Chaoran, bringing the commercial empire built over generations to the brink of collapse, and even the survival of the entire family now hung in doubt.

Thinking of this, Zhuge Gang wanted to strangle the brother he saw as worthless.

Huang Chaoran, face dark, stared at Zhuge Yi and said coldly: “I give you one final chance: hand over every asset of the Zhuge family immediately. Perhaps I’ll spare your life. Otherwise, you die.” His eyes brimmed with lethal intent, his voice as cold as ice.

The other merchants chimed in, chattering: “Hey, old man, hand over your fortune—maybe Huang Da Ren will calm down and let you live.”

“You stubborn old fool, you deserve to lose everything!”

Zhuge Yi’s face twitched violently, but he couldn’t utter a word, only waited helplessly as his once-glorious family was about to be devoured whole.

“Blame yourself for giving birth to such a useless son! Why not just live as a pampered heir? Why go study under Jiang Mingyu? You’ve brought this death upon yourselves!”

Zhuge Yu gritted his teeth: “Who I choose as my master is none of your business! Don’t play the nobleman—just admit you covet our fortune instead of hiding behind this charade. It’s laughable!”

He knew full well: today’s situation had no turning point.

Huang Chaoran sneered: “Enough talk. Hand over your fortune, and I might spare you. Otherwise, the entire Zhuge family dies with you.”

Zhuge Yi trembled, speechless. Then Zhuge Gang interjected: “Master Huang, please calm down—this is entirely the fault of our worthless fool, not the Zhuge family...”

Huang Chaoran laughed coldly: “Isn’t Zhuge Yu also a member of the Zhuge family?”

Zhuge Gang raised his sycophantic tone to its peak, pleading: “Master Huang, to be honest, Zhuge Yu has always been disobedient and disrespectful, dragging our family’s name through the mud for years. My father longed to disown him, banish him from the household forever. Since he offended you, take him away and deal with him as you wish—we won’t ask about his fate. If you spare the Zhuge family, we’ll be eternally grateful.”

Zhuge Yu’s eyes widened in disbelief—he couldn’t believe his own brother would betray him so utterly to save the family fortune, abandoning all human bonds. Truly, human hearts are unfathomable!

He knew this conflict had been started by Huang Chaoran, and he was merely the scapegoat—but Zhuge Gang, for the sake of profit, could still say such things. He had no bottom.

Huang Chaoran smirked, a cruel twist to his lips: “Since you all agree, then so be it. Take Zhuge Yu away—it’ll be a warning to Jiang Mingyu that I’m not to be trifled with. As for the Zhuge family, you must surrender most of your fortune. This is your own doing—don’t blame anyone else. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee Zhuge Yu’s life. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Zhuge Yi trembled, speechless, watching helplessly as his family was torn apart. Zhuge Gang, meanwhile, secretly rejoiced: as long as he kept most of the fortune, this worthless brother’s death was justified. Jiang Mingyu might suffer temporarily, but once the storm passed, he could flourish—how perfect!

Zhuge Yi’s eyes lit up instantly, forgetting even his son’s fate as he eagerly asked: “Really? If I hand over this useless son, you’ll spare the Zhuge family’s legacy?”

Zhuge Yu heard this and his heart turned to ice. In his father’s eyes, his life was worth less than a few hundred thousand taels of silver. He never imagined his existence meant so little.

Huang Chaoran was delighted with Zhuge Yi’s response, smiling approvingly: “Exactly. Hand Zhuge Yu over to me, and we’re even. I swear I’ll keep my word.”

Zhuge Yi didn’t even glance at Zhuge Yu—he simply said: “Fine. Then take this unworthy son away. He has no place here anymore.” His voice carried a faint hint of relief—as if sacrificing his son was a small price to pay for saving the family.

Hearing this, Zhuge Yu nearly went mad, bursting into hysterical laughter: “Ha! Perfect! If I’m worthless to you, then this is my final contribution to the Zhuge family! From today on, I have nothing to do with you beasts!”

Zhuge Gang sneered: “What right do you have to sever ties with the Zhuge family? You wretched thing—you’re a disgrace alive!”

Zhuge Yi quickly chimed in: “Yes! Take this disobedient son away immediately—I’m sick of him!”

The father and son clearly viewed Zhuge Yu as a sacrificial offering to preserve their fortune, ready to see him dead without hesitation. They wished him dead now, so they could cut the threat and seize all wealth and power.

Just as Huang Chaoran moved to take Zhuge Yu, a loud, unhidden round of applause echoed from outside the hall, followed by Jiang Mingyu’s arrogant voice: “What a heart-wrenching, touching performance—filial piety and paternal love, rare indeed. Had I not come to witness it myself, I’d have missed a lifetime’s spectacle!”

Two unfamiliar young men strode in boldly. Zhuge Yi’s triumphant expression vanished instantly. Zhuge Yu, face filled with despair, asked: “Master, why are you here?”

Jiang Mingyu stepped into the center of the hall and sneered: “Had I not witnessed this extraordinary spectacle, I’d have regretted it forever. In your Zhuge family’s eyes, to save a few houses, you’re willing to sacrifice your own flesh and blood? Truly unprecedented!” Each word dripped with mockery.

Huang Chaoran, who had been strutting moments before, turned pale at the sight of Jiang Mingyu. He was baffled: Che Ting hadn’t completed his task, yet Jiang Mingyu arrived ahead of schedule? Had he sensed Zhuge Yu’s danger and rushed to save him? He couldn’t tell, so he forced calm: “Jiang Mingyu, you left your post without permission and intruded into the state capital—I’ll report you! See what you have to say then!”

But Jiang Mingyu ignored his threat entirely, strode up to Huang Chaoran, and in front of everyone’s shocked eyes, slapped him hard across the face—once!

“Y-you...” Huang Chaoran clutched his swollen cheek, humiliated and furious, unable to speak.

Just as Huang Chaoran opened his mouth to complain, he was slapped again—this time, he froze in shock.

Jiang Mingyu sneered: “Don’t know why I hit you? I’m an official. You’re a commoner. Do you have the right to call me by name? I’ve been lenient—only two slaps. If I took you to the inspector, you’d be flayed alive!”

“A disgraced ex-official, still acting high and mighty? Is your brain broken? Need I teach you how to behave before your superiors?”

Jiang Mingyu glared: “Kneel!”

Huang Chaoran gritted his teeth, then, after a long pause, bowed his head in humiliation and knelt.

Jiang Mingyu added: “Are you mute? Say your full title!”

Huang Chaoran, teeth grinding with hatred, bowed his head: “Your humble subject pays respects to Jiang Da Ren.”

Jiang Mingyu ignored him, scanning the room: “All of you—kneel properly!” Seeing the danger, everyone dropped to their knees.

Huang Chaoran gritted his teeth: “Jiang Da Ren, I’ve paid my respects. I’m going to report you!”

But Jiang Mingyu kicked him straight to the ground, roaring: “Who gave you permission to speak?!”

Everyone lowered their heads even further, terrified of provoking Jiang Da Ren and getting beaten too.

Jiang Mingyu looked down coldly: “Did I say you could rise? Stay kneeling—wait for my judgment.”

Huang Chaoran, bruised and swollen from the kick, remained kneeling, already imagining Jiang Mingyu’s flesh being carved into a thousand pieces...

Zhuge Yu watched the thugs on the ground, their faces black and blue, and felt immense satisfaction. Good—now you’ve had your comeuppance. You dared bully others? You dared lay hands on my brother? You got what you deserved.

Jiang Mingyu had kicked Huang Chaoran down, but his anger hadn’t cooled.

Huang Chaoran struggled to rise, opened his mouth—and one front tooth fell out, blood spilling across his lips, a gruesome sight. Jiang Mingyu showed no mercy: “You wanted to report me for abandoning my post? Go ahead. I’ve already met the inspector. Reporting me now will only add the charge of falsely accusing a court official.”

Huang Chaoran was stunned. He’d thought he’d caught Jiang Mingyu in a trap—but the other man had been prepared all along. He was utterly humiliated.

Still, he clung to his pride: “I don’t care if you met the inspector—I’ll report you for bribery and betraying the state!”

Jiang Mingyu laughed: “Fine. I’m heading to the inspector’s mansion anyway—convenient.”

Huang Chaoran frowned: “Why are you going to the inspector’s?”

Jiang Mingyu smiled: “To settle an old case.”

Huang Chaoran was more confused: “What case do I have with the inspector?”

“I looked into your past,” Jiang Mingyu said with a mysterious grin. “You’re not clean.”

Huang Chaoran was dumbfounded: “I have no criminal record—I’m upright!” Jiang Mingyu gave him a scornful look: “You were once a longshi. How dense are you? Ever heard of Che Ting?”

Finally, Jiang Mingyu struck the key point. Huang Chaoran’s body jolted violently, his mind spiraling into chaos, as if he’d been thrown from a great height.

His head rang like a struck bell—he felt himself falling into an endless abyss.

His face turned ashen, for he understood: Che Ting’s secret could no longer be hidden.

Jiang Mingyu dropped a heavy bomb, his voice cold and grim: “Che Ting—he says he knows you, Master Huang.”

Huang Chaoran felt struck by lightning. His eyes glazed over, he shook his head helplessly, mumbling: “Impossible... impossible...”

Jiang Mingyu’s lips curled slightly in mockery: “Impossible? What a hilarious joke.”

He tossed Che Ting’s confession onto Huang Chaoran’s lap like a detonating bomb, triggering a storm of panic in Huang’s heart.

Huang Chaoran stared silently at the document, the words blurring before his eyes. His fingers trembled uncontrollably. Faced with this evidence, he could no longer deny it—Che Ting’s existence and his connection to it were as undeniable as a reflection in a mirror.

“This...” Huang Chaoran’s voice was weak, as if struck at his core, utterly drained of strength to resist.

Jiang Mingyu’s lips curled into a wicked smile—he saw Huang Chaoran’s inner world crumbling. This feeling, he knew, was far sweeter than any accusation Huang had ever dreamed of.

“Understand now?” Jiang Mingyu’s tone dripped with mockery. “Your fairness and nobility—how pitifully weak they look before Che Ting.”

Huang Chaoran’s lips moved, but no sound came out. His heart churned like a storm—waves rising and falling. For years, he’d believed he could escape justice. Now, everything was exposed. He could only face his sins in silence.

Jiang Mingyu’s gaze was deep as a chasm—he seemed to pierce through Huang Chaoran’s inner struggle. His smile grew colder: “Now, do you understand why I brought you to the inspector’s mansion?”

Huang Chaoran finally snapped back to reality. He slumped his head, unable to resist, unable to refute. He knew—he was trapped in Jiang Mingyu’s net.

“Let’s go, Master Huang,” Jiang Mingyu’s voice, cold as a demon’s whisper, reached Huang’s ears.

Huang Chaoran stumbled after Jiang Mingyu, his spirit drifting like dust across a wasteland, with no peace, no home. Fate had turned him—from a powerful longshi—to a broken, lonely man.