Pei Fugui was completely stunned, wanting to curse out loud, but those attendants moved swiftly, helping him down from the table. Someone pressed a spot under his armpit, and the sudden sharp pain left him speechless.
Yet those people were all honeyed words and respectful faces as they led him out of the courtyard—no one would ever guess they had landed hidden blows under the table.
Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that Pei Liang was disciplining her own father.
But with fine food at hand, who cared about him? Besides, now that the daughter had money and influence, it was time to settle the score over the squandered family fortune.
Otherwise, with a father like this, no matter how much gold and silver were earned, it would all be wasted away.
Pei Liang ate with the others, drank a few cups of wine, and when the feast ended, handed out gifts to everyone. The clan head and several great-uncles who had put in the effort received especially generous presents.
After all, only the elders of the highest seniority could suppress Pei Fugui in terms of ritual and family hierarchy. In the past, Pei Fugui had always looked down his nose at his poor country relatives, but after single-handedly destroying the family fortune, he no longer had the face to hold his head up.
When Pei Liang returned to the Pei ancestral home, it had already been tidied up. Pei Fugui sat in the main hall, with a half-spilled bowl of porridge on the table before him.
Two burly guards stood one on each side of him. Pei Fugui couldn't get up, and had no choice but to eat that bowl of porridge—or not, as he pleased.
Seeing Pei Liang enter, he sneered, "You've got some nerve now. I'm your own father, and you come back to throw your weight around after making it big. But don't forget, if it weren't for that stash of silver, you'd never have had the chance to rebuild. Heaven is watching! Aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning for mistreating your parents?"
Pei Liang sat down in the old master's chair in the main hall. The wood and carving were both excellent; in the past this seat of honor belonged to Old Master Pei.
Over the years, Pei Fugui had sold off everything of value in the house, including these two chairs.
But Pei Liang's entourage—in modern times, every one of them would be a top-tier executive assistant earning seven figures a year—were even more diligent in ancient times. With a generous salary and a kind employer, they worked hard to prove their worth and outshine the competition.
So, in the midst of tidying up the house, someone had already gone to the two brokers in the neighboring village and bought back the items that hadn't yet changed hands.
As Pei Liang sat in that chair, Pei Fugui suddenly saw a shadow of the father he had feared his whole life, and felt an instinctive pang of guilt.
Then he heard Pei Liang laugh lightly: "Drink the porridge."
Pei Fugui snapped out of it, thinking, I'm her father. He slammed the table and stood up: "You eat and drink like a lord, stuff those country bumpkins full of greasy treats, and make your own father eat bran and drink water?"
Pei Liang gave a signal. A serving woman took an empty bowl into the bedroom and came back with a bowl of reeking yellow liquid—the contents of the chamber pot that Pei Fugui and his wife hadn't changed for days.
The serving woman placed the yellow liquid next to the thin porridge. Pei Fugui sensed what was coming and heard Pei Liang say, "If you don't drink the porridge, drink the other bowl."
"I'm not the kind of child who starves her own parents while she eats her fill. Tonight, you must fill your stomach."
As for what with—well, there were plenty of choices to make.
Pei Fugui had never suffered such humiliation in his life. Even when he lost Tianxiang Tower and was hounded and threatened by ruffians, it was never this bad.
He stared at Pei Liang in disbelief, and saw the look in his daughter's eyes.
There was no reverence, no love, no closeness. Neither disappointment nor resentment. It was a coldness that chilled you to the bone. Pei Fugui had seen that look before.
When he was a child, he once shit on a load of freshly delivered rice. No matter how his mother begged or covered for him, his father beat him so badly he couldn't get out of bed for half a month.
At the time, his father's expression was one of fury at a wasted hope. But Pei Liang's look right now was like how his father had looked at that pile of shit.
One more glance and you'd feel sick. And utterly impatient because it had to be dealt with.
Pei's mother wanted to plead for mercy, but before she could even open her mouth, a single look from Pei Liang silenced her.
Pei Liang spoke: "I have to travel early tomorrow morning. I have no time to waste here. If Father won't choose, I'll assume you like both, and have them feed both bowls to you. How about that?"
Pei Fugui's teeth chattered from sheer cold dread: "You—you're not afraid—"
"Not afraid." Pei Liang propped her chin on the armrest of the chair, casual and indifferent. "When there's no benefit, no one will stick their neck out for trash like you."
"I've fought hard to build a fortune, not to carry useless baggage to the top. I have plenty to do out there, and I don't want to waste a single thought on a turd."
"But it's also a fact that if not handled properly, this turd of yours could cause me no small amount of trouble. Of course, solving the problem at its root is the most hassle-free approach."
"Still, the favor of birth counts for something. So from now on, I'll leave some people to attend to you personally. You can just live out your days as a grand wealthy man. Don't even think about anything else."
"But let me give you a word of warning: if you dare to contact outsiders or try to run away—unless you can somehow kill all of them in one go—I've already told them: I, Pei Liang, would rather lose a father than end up with family turned enemy. Do you understand?"
In other words, if he tried any tricks, they'd simply kill him.
Pei Fugui was sweating buckets. He wasn't clever in the straight and narrow, but his crooked scheming mind worked fast.
If he riled them up, the rough-looking men around him would just cut him down and be done with it. Pei Liang would be only too happy. As long as one of them came up with some excuse like bearing a grudge against his master and took the blame, Pei Liang would surely pay their families generously.
Or maybe she was deliberately driving him to flee in terror. Times were chaotic now—a man dying outside was hardly an unusual thing.
Pei Fugui's face turned ashen, his whole body cold, his teeth trembling.
Then Pei Liang nodded at the table. "If you understand, finish your meal early and go rest."
Pei Fugui no longer dared to put on airs. As if chased by a ghost, he grabbed the half-spilled bowl of thin porridge and gulped it down in a few mouthfuls.
Pei Liang nodded with satisfaction. "Take the master to rest."
As Pei Fugui was escorted away, his legs had gone completely weak.
The serving woman quickly cleaned up the hall, and Pei Liang turned to her trembling mother: "Mother, you're easy to deal with. All you need is food and drink, and you don't bother with anything else."
"The countryside may not be as lively as the capital, but when it comes to daily necessities, your daughter won't short you. So don't follow Father's example of causing trouble. Understood?"
Pei's mother nodded frantically, her lips bloodless. As she left, she couldn't help but glance back at her daughter several times.
Years had passed, and her daughter had truly grown. Compared to the silent, low-key girl she once was, it was like a completely different person. The daughter had been raised by Old Master Pei, and as her mother, she had never been particularly close.
But still, she had come out of her own womb. This complete transformation, and this icy attitude toward her own parents, made Pei's mother's heart race with fear—and yet she couldn't quite put her finger on what was wrong.
After dealing with Pei's parents, Pei Liang stayed only one night in the village before heading to the city.
Though she was returning to the capital years later, she was far from unprepared.
She had already arranged for someone to prepare the Pei family estate and had also leased a new storefront.
As it happened, the shop directly across from Heavenly Fragrance Tower—one that had previously dealt in antiques and curios—was being transferred due to poor management.
The location was simply perfect for Pei Liang, so when word reached her, she immediately had someone offer thirty percent above market value to secure it.
Pei Liang and her group arrived at the Pei estate with countless luggage and goods. After settling in, they headed to the storefront she had acquired.
Once they left the Pei residence, she could clearly feel several pairs of eyes staring. Pei Liang glanced over, and a few local peddlers and idlers quickly looked away.
Perhaps because they saw how many people were with her, those idlers made no move and instead turned and left the alley, their steps somewhat hurried.
Pei Liang paid it no mind—if she dared to return, she had already anticipated most situations.
They arrived at the new restaurant, which was still under renovation, wrapped in white cloth on the outside. It kept prying eyes out without disturbing nearby shops doing business.
Pei Liang had a clear memory of this storefront, but today her main purpose was clearly not to inspect progress.
After only a brief glance around, Pei Liang took her maids and attendants and headed straight to the building across the street.
The greeter there was still the old staff member from Heavenly Fragrance Tower. Seeing customers approach, he came up with a beaming smile—only to look closer and start in shock—
“Young master?” Then, overjoyed: “You... you’ve returned to the capital?”
Pei Liang smiled at him. “How have these past few years treated you?”
The moment the words left her mouth, the man’s face twisted with bitterness.
Before he could answer, a sharp, shrill woman’s voice rang out from inside: “A hair in the soup, fingerprints on the washed bowls, floors so filthy guests don’t know where to put their eyes—and you still claim I’m wronging you?”
“Let me tell you, today’s Heavenly Fragrance Tower is not the indiscriminate dump it used to be. Who comes through these doors now? Every single one is a noble so refined that if a single hair fell on you, it’d crush you flat.”
“Still clinging to the old rules, are you? Does the Pei family pay your wages now? You work for the Wei family—so stop being so ungrateful, you ingrates.”
“Go ask around, every one of you. What other restaurant owner would be so kind-hearted as to feed a bunch of freeloaders without making any money?”
“There’s no discussion today. The money is deducted, and that’s final.”
Someone quickly pleaded: “It’s true you pay us wages, but for years we’ve had no year-end bonuses or rewards, and we hand over all guest tips as you demand. Aside from restaurant work, we’re also at your beck and call for all sorts of errands. We’re not taking advantage of this pay.”
“That’s right,” another chimed in. “My daughter got sick earlier this month, and the medical costs drained us. We can’t make ends meet this month—you can’t deduct any more.”
“Oh~, and here I thought I was feeding loyal people, but it turns out you’re all a pack of ungrateful wolves. Bonuses? I don’t believe for a second that none of you have pilfered meat, vegetables, rice, or oil from this restaurant. This place is so big that even crumbs from between my fingers would be enough to feed rats like you—and you still dare cry poverty to me?”
“If you’re poor, don’t get sick,” she sneered. “A worthless little girl’s life, and you’re being fussy. If you’re rich enough to see a doctor, then clearly you don’t lack for a meal.”
“You—” They all glared at her with fury.
Madam Wei’s mother fanned herself and sneered: “What? Want to go toe-to-toe with me? Grown bold enough to challenge your mistress, have you?”
“Master Li of the South City has said it himself—I only need to say the word, and he’ll come. That man has a few hundred brothers under him. If you lot don’t value your own sorry lives, think about your wives, children, and old mothers at home.”
Seeing them swallow their anger and suppress their fury, Madam Wei’s mother wore a smug look.
She had vaguely heard the doorman at the entrance call out “young master” just now, so she turned back, satisfied, and said: “My dear daughter, you’re ba—”
Halfway through her sentence, Madam Wei’s words were cut off as if by a saw. Her eyes went wide, staring at Pei Liang as if she’d seen a ghost.
Pei Liang, meanwhile, smiled warmly and said: “Madam Wei, you shouldn’t shout at just anyone.”
“I, your junior, have a strong fate—I’ve no need to imitate those superstitious women who embrace venomous snakes as kin.”
