"Huh?"

Chloe looked dumbfounded. Why was the Young Madam laughing again?

Could it be that the shock has addled her brain? That wouldn’t do! I have to find the Young Master to treat her right away.

"I was too impulsive before. The truth is likely not what we imagined," Qin Qing said.

The Young Madam doesn’t want a divorce. Is she just looking for a way to save face? Chloe thought to herself, but said aloud, "Hehe, yes, that’s what I think too. How could the Young Master possibly cheat? That woman is hideous, nowhere near as beautiful or well-figured as you, Young Madam—not even by a ten-thousandth. How could the Young Master desire that kind of woman? Hehe..."

Qin Qing knew Chloe had misunderstood but didn’t explain. Instead, she began to analyze the situation with a wise expression. "When I shouted ’surprise,’ that woman simultaneously shouted, ’Ye Xiu, aren’t you surprised to see me...’ Obviously, her appearance in his room was meant to be a surprise for him. If they had already been intimate, why would showing up in his room tonight be called a ’surprise’?"

Chloe listened, flabbergasted. She was only now realizing that Qin Qing wasn’t just making excuses but had actually deduced that the relationship between Ye Xiu and Nangong Yue wasn’t what it seemed.

Qin Qing continued, "Think back to her expression and the look in her eyes at the time—excited, bashful, expectant, and also a bit frightened and worried. If she and Ye Xiu had already been intimate, why would she be frightened and worried?

"She was worried that not only would he reject her surprise, but he would also blame her, disdain her, and even assume she led a promiscuous life...

"Her looks and figure are decent, it’s true, but compared to the twenty of you servants, Gong Jin, Leng Yue, or even Murong and Ming Yue, she has no advantage. In terms of temperament, she can’t hold a candle to any of you. If Ye Xiu were a lecher, all of you would have been taken into his harem long ago..."

Chloe’s eyes widened and her mouth hung open as she stared at Qin Qing, dumbstruck. Oh my God, what kind of wife did the Young Master find? Her logical reasoning and analytical abilities are monstrous! Still, the Young Madam’s analysis does seem to make a lot of sense. After all, her own looks, figure, temperament, talent, strength, and family background are all superior to Nangong Yue’s. Since the Young Master has hardly ever given me a second glance, how could he possibly like Nangong Yue?

"Young Madam, your analysis is spot on. That must be what really happened," Chloe said, giving her full approval. Pulling out her phone, she added, "The Young Master must be having a meltdown by now. I’ll send him a message right away and tell him you’ve misunderstood."

"Don’t!" Qin Qing snatched Chloe’s phone. "Ye Xiu has been oppressed by hatred for ten years. Now, the true masterminds—the Long Family and the reformist faction from Medicine King Valley, the ones who sent him to the Xipoloya training camp to be tortured—have all come to light. He spends his days plotting how to torment them, and I’m worried that if this continues, his mind will become warped. Let my misunderstanding about his infidelity act as a seasoning to balance and soothe his mood. As his wife, I have to look after his psychological health."

Chloe stared at Qin Qing in shock. To speak of tormenting her husband in such a fresh and refined way... Young Madam, are you for real?

***

Ye Xiu had beaten the Dragon Master into unconsciousness before leaving. Before he left, however, he casually took the cash, gold, silver, and jewelry the Dragon Master had brought from the Long Family Manor. He even left a "gift" behind.

Not long after Ye Xiu left, the Dragon Master’s phone began to ring. The caller ID showed "Sixth Brother." However, the Dragon Master was unconscious and couldn’t hear it.

Following that, Sixth Brother, along with Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Brother, took turns bombarding the Dragon Master’s phone, keeping it up until three in the morning.

Around four in the morning, the Dragon Master woke up.

Huang Quan, that bastard. What set him off? Why was he so ruthless?

The Dragon Master trembled as he tried to stand, only to realize his injuries were too severe. Both of his legs were broken; he couldn’t stand at all. He could only wriggle over to the sofa and use all his strength to grab his phone. He was preparing to call for an ambulance. Now that he was seriously injured, he couldn’t get to the Long Family Manor on his own.

However, when he unlocked his phone, he was greeted by countless missed calls and unread messages.

"Why so many calls in the middle of the night?" the Dragon Master muttered, puzzled, before a thought struck him. "Could something have happened?"

He hurriedly called back his sixth brother, Long Tianhao.

"Big Brother, you finally answered!" Long Tianhao cried out.

"What happened?" the Dragon Master asked urgently, cutting him off.

"Something happened! Something huge! All the cash, gold, silver, and jewels we brought from the Long Family have been stolen. On top of that, all the money in the corporate accounts of our branches on Hexia Road and in everyone’s personal accounts has been mysteriously transferred away."

"What?" The Dragon Master’s expression changed drastically.

With more than 30,000 people in the Long Family, plus all the branches on Hexia Road, that’s nearly 35,000 people. Without money, what are they going to eat? What are they going to drink?

He roared, "Who the hell did this?"

"Do we even need to guess?" Long Tianhao replied. "It has to be Ye Xiu. He used this same tactic when he dealt with his enemies, the Ming and Shen Families. I just can’t figure out how he managed to steal all the cash, gold, silver, and jewels without any of the Long Family’s many experts noticing."

"Ye Xiu, you’re asking for death!" the Dragon Master roared furiously. He had never expected Ye Xiu to retaliate against the Long Family in such a way. He has absolutely no martial honor!

"Big Brother, now is not the time for anger," Long Tianhao said. "The Long Family is penniless. We need to find a solution for food, and quickly."

The Dragon Master furrowed his brow. After a moment of thought, he said, "I still have five million in cash and over a billion’s worth of gold, silver, and jewels. Food won’t be a problem. Tell everyone to come to Guoyang. This will prevent Ye Xiu from stealing the money again after it has been distributed."

"We’re already on our way to Guoyang. We should reach the Long Family Manor by around five o’clock," Long Tianhao reported.

"Good!"

The Dragon Master nodded, hung up, and after making another call, began to drag himself toward the second floor, enduring his injuries. The five million in cash and over a billion’s worth of gold, silver, and jewels were all in the second-floor study. That was all the Long Family had left. He had to see it with his own eyes to be at ease.

After a monumental effort, gritting his teeth against the excruciating pain and vomiting blood several times along the way, he finally crawled to the study on the second floor.

The moment he opened the door, the Dragon Master spat out a mouthful of blood, his head spinning with rage. He saw that the piles of cash, gold, silver, and jewels that had filled the study were all gone. In their place, a single, beautifully wrapped gift box sat in the middle of the vast room.

"What’s this?"

The Dragon Master crawled over to the gift box and opened it with trembling hands.

"A time bomb?" Seeing the contents of the box, the Dragon Master’s hair stood on end. He saw the red numbers on the timer counting down:

10, 9, 7...

"HOLY SHIT!"

The Dragon Master shrieked and scrambled backward with a sudden burst of adrenaline.

Just as he crawled out of the study, a song began to play from inside:

"What do you call your father’s father? Father’s father is called Grandfather..."

The Dragon Master was utterly bewildered. So that wasn’t a goddamn time bomb, but a timed music box?