Lying on the sickbed in the medical pavilion, Yang Cenan's mood was even worse than yesterday.
Pulling his loose clothes together, Song Jinzhao asked, "Have you remembered any of your lost memories?"
"..." Yang Cenan stared straight out the window, showing no reaction whatsoever.
Song Jinzhao sighed. "Compared to death, facial paralysis and slow reactions are just minor problems."
"The blind, the deaf, the crippled—who among them isn't worse off than you? Yet they all live perfectly fine."
"To collapse after encountering a setback only proves you were trash to begin with."
Waiting by the bed, Yang Zhong opened his mouth to speak but hesitated, swallowing the words back down.
Having kept watch for so many days, he was anxious too.
If the position of the young clan leader fell into someone else's hands, everything would be ruined.
Yang Cenan slowly looked at Song Jinzhao. There was no anger in his eyes, only a dead, silent numbness.
"The minor problems you mentioned are enough to make my father abandon me. Without the position of the young clan leader, I will die sooner or later, just like this assassination attempt."
Staring at him, Song Jinzhao's mind raced.
This meant the assassination had nothing to do with Huo Chong; it was the Yang family slaughtering each other to fight for the position of the next clan leader.
But if that were the case, why would Huo Chong appear in Suining City?
He clearly followed Yang Cenan here.
Was his meeting with Zeng Boyan premeditated or a coincidence?
Unable to calm her mind to think, she simply set the matter aside for now.
Song Jinzhao's tone grew even harsher. Her words fired off like a barrage of cannonballs, smashing right into Yang Cenan's heart.
"Whether you die isn't up to others; it depends on whether you actually want to live."
"Your wife and son were murdered—can you really swallow this insult? Don't you know that blood must be paid with blood?"
"Instead of avenging them, you are here giving up on yourself and waiting for death. Do you deserve to be called a husband? Do you deserve to be called a father?"
"As for this young clan leader position you mentioned, if your father won't give it to you, can't you just seize it?"
"..."
Hearing that last sentence, everyone in the sickroom was shocked, except for Song Qiming and Song Shixue.
Gu Jinghong looked at Song Jinzhao in astonishment. After pondering for a long while, a sudden thought popped into his head.
Is she trying to incite an internal rebellion in Panzhou?
Surely not...
At the entrance of the medical pavilion, Zeng Boyan, who had arrived a step late, hurriedly dismounted.
As the distance closed, Guan Nianshan gradually froze in place.
His gaze followed Zeng Boyan, growing more suspicious the longer he looked.
After Zeng Boyan went inside, Qingshuang, who had taken in everything, deliberately asked him, "What is wrong?"
Guan Nianshan shook his head absently. "Nothing, I just feel like this person looks familiar."
Qingshuang said, "His name is Zeng Boyan. He is a Ranger Commandant under Yang Ruiping, the Pacification Commissioner of Panzhou. I heard he trained all these cavalrymen."
Guan Nianshan's eyes widened abruptly. "Zeng Boyan?"
Qingshuang asked in return, "Do you know him?"
Guan Nianshan's heartbeat quickened, and he instantly tensed up.
He immediately shook his head in denial. "No, I don't. I might have just seen someone who looks like him."
He wondered if the young master had managed to get in touch with Zeng Qing. Should he test the waters?
Just as Zeng Boyan pushed the door open, Song Jinzhao was coming out.
He acutely sensed that the atmosphere in the room was off—there was a murderous aura.
As the door closed, he used his eyes to ask Yang Zhong what was going on.
Yang Zhong first shot him a meaningful glance, then dropped to his knees with a heavy thud.
The corners of his eyes were red, and his voice choked with emotion.
"The bodies of Madam and the young master are still laid out in the Wumeng Tribe. If this continues, they will rot."
"We must return to Panzhou as soon as possible. Without revenge, they will not rest in peace."
Zeng Boyan felt a surge of joy, realizing the meaning behind Yang Zhong's glance, and immediately knelt down to add fuel to the fire.
"The day before this subordinate left Panzhou, the eldest young master welcomed a new pair of twins, a boy and a girl. By the time we get back, it will almost be their one-month celebration."
That single sentence ignited the powder keg.
Yang Cenan abruptly turned his neck, his gaze locked dead onto Zeng Boyan's face.
His eyes were practically splitting open, looking as if he wanted to eat someone alive.
He gritted his teeth and said, "My son is dead, yet he gets to add a pair of children."
He suddenly began to laugh. His stiff facial features scrunched together, and the mirthless smile looked exceptionally terrifying.
