The crushing blow and humiliation were like a bucket of ice water poured over her head, instantly extinguishing all her jealousy. In its place came a bone-deep chill and despair, along with a crazed, all-or-nothing hatred!
She suddenly raised her head and fixed her venomous gaze on Cheng Yao, who was chatting and laughing with her clansmen not far away. It was her! Everything had happened because of that wretched woman!
If not for her, how could she have been cast aside?!
Feng Xianxian was consumed by hatred, yet she neither cried nor made a scene, nor did she utter a single word.
She merely clenched the divorce certificate in her hand. Her nails dug so deeply into her palm that blood seeped out, but she remained completely unaware of it.
Silently, she retreated to the edge of the crowd, like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows.
…
The following day, Cheng Yao once again led everyone into the city.
She split them into two groups. Zhan Haochen and the others delivered the grapes to Zhizhai Restaurant, while she and more than a dozen clansmen took candied hawthorns to the market to test the waters.
However, things did not go smoothly this time.
They had only just stopped to set up their stall when several men with brutish faces, clearly local thugs, swaggered over.
“New here? Don’t you know the rules? Did you ask our Black Tiger Gang for permission before setting up a stall here?”
The scar-faced leader tapped the basket with his stick and spoke arrogantly.
Why were there thugs causing trouble again?
Cheng Yao glanced around. Shen Xi was nowhere to be seen, nor was Fatty. The common people had all hidden far away, as though avoiding some monster. Since she had no idea where these men had come from, she decided to remain silent for the moment.
The two runners swallowed their fear and stepped forward to negotiate, displaying their official identities.
But the thugs did not take them seriously at all. With wicked smiles tugging at their lips, they said, “Exiled criminals? Ha! Then you should be even more obedient! Protection money is ten taels of silver a day! Otherwise, don’t even think about selling anything here!”
“Ten taels? You might as well rob us outright!”
Zhan Yunpeng and the other young men naturally refused. Their faces flushed with anger, and they looked ready to fight.
Li Liming stopped them and said in a low voice to the thugs, “We’re only trying to earn enough to eat. Please show us some mercy and take just twenty copper coins.”
“Twenty copper coins? Do you take us for beggars?”
“Our Black Tiger Gang is informing you, not negotiating with you!” the scar-faced man sneered. He reached out and grabbed for the candied-hawthorn rack.
Zhan Yunpeng shoved Li Liming aside and slammed a fist into the scar-faced man’s face.
The market instantly erupted into chaos.
Most of the young men from the Zhan family had practiced martial arts and were quite skilled. However, they were afraid of injuring innocent bystanders and thus could not fight without restraint.
The thugs, taking advantage of the disorder, had no such reservations. They grabbed benches and shoulder poles and attacked with vicious brutality. For a time, neither side could gain the upper hand.
The candied-hawthorn rack was knocked over, and the red fruits rolled everywhere, mingling with dust and flecks of blood. The sounds of fists and feet striking flesh, shouts and curses, and splintering objects exploded across the little market.
It all happened too quickly. By the time Cheng Yao tried to stop it, it was already too late.
At that moment, no one noticed that Feng Xianxian, who had been hiding in the shadows, quietly slipped away from the chaotic market. She hurried through the streets with a clear destination in mind, finally stopping in front of a rather imposing medicine hall.
Wasn’t Cheng Yao capable of curing every illness?
Then let her cure this one!
Inside the medicine hall, the scene was already in an uproar.
Several servants carried in a stretcher. An old man lay upon it, his face bluish-purple and his breathing faint and labored.
The old man’s attendant pleaded desperately with the physician on duty. “Doctor! Please save our master! We’ll pay whatever you ask!”
The physician repeatedly waved his hands, his face full of helplessness. “It isn’t a matter of money! Master Qian’s illness came on fiercely and is extraordinarily strange. My medical skills are simply insufficient to treat it. You should seek another physician.”
The servants’ faces filled with despair, but they were unwilling to give up and continued pestering the old doctor.
Feng Xianxian’s eyes lit up.
Hadn’t the opportunity practically delivered itself to her?
She adjusted her hair and clothing, then hurried over and gave the group of servants a formal curtsy.
“Gentlemen, are you looking for a miracle doctor?”
The middle-aged attendant was already irritable. When he saw an unfamiliar woman approaching, he replied impatiently, “And what if we are? You probably don’t even know where to find one. Leave at once and stop bothering us.”
A woman?!
People called Cheng Yao a “young miss” when she smeared her face dark and yellow, yet they called her a married woman?
Did she really look that old?
She had not painted her face, and she had deliberately styled her hair in a woman’s bun. How could they tell she was married?
Feng Xianxian nearly broke down over the man’s thoughtless form of address.
But she remembered why she had come. After taking a deep breath, she managed to calm herself.
Lowering her voice and putting on a mysterious air, she said, “To be honest, I know of a reclusive miracle doctor named Cheng Yao. Though she was exiled for certain reasons, her medical skills are extraordinary, and she excels at treating rare and difficult illnesses.
“Along the way, countless people in the exile party have suffered severe injuries or been afflicted by serious diseases, yet she brought them all back from the brink of death! If she weren’t a woman—and if she didn’t dislike drawing attention—she would already be famous throughout the land!”
The attendant was skeptical, so she added, “If you don’t believe me, I can take you to identify her. She’s at the market ahead right now. If she cures your master, you need only give me a small fee for guiding you there. If she fails, you lose nothing. What do you say?”
The attendant looked at his master, who was barely breathing, then at the cold and indifferent physician in the medicine hall. With the mindset of trying anything when all else had failed, he gritted his teeth.
“Fine! Lead the way! If you truly manage to save my master, you’ll be well rewarded. But if you’re deceiving me…”
“How could I dare?” Feng Xianxian replied, inwardly bursting with joy while maintaining a calm expression.
And so, just as Cheng Yao was trying to figure out how to deal with the dispute involving the thugs, a group of servants charging like wolves and tigers came storming over under Feng Xianxian’s guidance.
“Which one of you is Cheng Yao?” the attendant shouted sharply.
Cheng Yao froze. Before she could respond, the attendant caught sight of Feng Xianxian’s hand signal and stepped forward, cupping his fists toward her.
“Doctor Cheng, our master is suffering from a terrible illness. Please come with us to our residence and treat him.”
Who were these people?
How did they know she knew medicine?
And why was he speaking so forcefully instead of asking her? It was deeply unpleasant.
Cheng Yao frowned. “You must have mistaken me for someone else, sir. I don’t know any medicine.”
“I couldn’t have mistaken you. A distinguished person specifically identified you.”
“Then may I ask who this distinguished person is?”
Cheng Yao looked around, but there was no sign of Feng Xianxian.
“She doesn’t wish to show herself.”
“Then I’m afraid you’ve been deceived by her. I’m merely an ordinary married woman—”
The attendant assumed she was deliberately putting on airs. He had no patience to listen any further. Since she was an exiled criminal, there was no need to show her any respect. With a wave of his hand, he ordered, “Take her away!”
Several burly servants immediately swarmed forward. Without giving her a chance to resist, they roughly seized Cheng Yao and dragged her away!
“What are you doing?” Cheng Yao cried furiously.
“Stop! How dare you abduct someone in broad daylight!” The young men of the Zhan family were both shocked and enraged. They tried to intervene, but the servants shoved them aside roughly.
The servants had the advantage of numbers and were desperate to save their master, so they showed no mercy.
Li Liming and his fellow officers reacted a moment too slowly. Only then did they draw their sabers and shout sternly, “How dare you! You are forcibly abducting an exiled criminal. Do you have any regard for the law?”
However, the moment they learned the newcomers were from out of town, the household guards weren't intimidated in the slightest. Not one of them even spared the pair a glance.
