Blood sedge

Chapter 1198 Return of the property to its original owner
"So it was Jian Zhong."

Tang Afu may not know much about the official families of the Song Dynasty, but he is no stranger to the famous "Nine Lives Without Return".

Back then, Jian Zhong ranked fourth on the Dragon Elephant List, and Tang Afu ranked fifth. Therefore, people in the martial arts world often compared the "ruthless swordsman" with the "nine-lives-without-returning swordsman".

"Yes!" Shen Dongshan sighed, taking another sip of his drink. His tone was filled with helplessness about the past and a sigh for the present. "More than a decade has passed, filled with endless joys and sorrows, laughter and tears. The Prime Minister and the Jian family, they plotted to harm the Tang family, tried every means to cover up their crimes, and racked their brains to seize power. They schemed and plotted, but what did it all amount to? The Tang family was murdered, but at least one branch of their family line continues today. The Prime Minister and the Jian family pride themselves on their shrewdness, but where are their descendants now? Forget about bringing glory to their families, I'm afraid they can't even find someone to weed their graves."

"When they conspired against the Tang family, probably none of them could have predicted this outcome," Wu Shuang said. "Those who do many evil deeds will surely perish; they deserve what they get."

At this moment, Tang Afu showed none of the sorrow over his fate that Wu Shuang and Shen Dongshan shared. His emotions were complex; he sat blankly at the table, muttering to himself, "If it was such a meticulously planned scheme, then my lucky survival..."

"You guessed right, your good fortune was also their deliberate act," Shen Dongshan sighed. "If no one from the Tang family is spared, their entire fortune will go into the national treasury, which would be futile for them, like trying to draw water from a bamboo basket, ultimately benefiting some powerful official. Therefore, they must leave someone alive, someone who can rightfully inherit the Tang family's wealth, to silence the gossips of other officials who covet it. And the young Tang Jin's only son... is undoubtedly the best candidate."

“So they found you.” Tang Afu smiled through his grief, tears blurring his vision. “Because you are my father’s best friend, my…uncle.”

“That’s right! Given the circumstances at the time, I was indeed their only choice.” Shen Dongshan sobbed softly, his voice choked with emotion. “They calculated that you, who had survived by chance, would definitely side with me, and could only side with me. Therefore, they forcibly dragged me onto their pirate ship, and then ordered me… ordered me…”

Having said this much, Shen Dongshan, his face full of guilt, could no longer continue.

"I ordered you to deceive me when I was young, transferring the Tang family's fortune, piece by piece, to your name." Tang Afu's tone seemed to carry a relieved smile, but two lines of tears rolled down his cheeks. "Once you had squeezed out the last bit of value from me, I became a useless burden and a lurking threat, so you cruelly killed me..."

"Afu, I..." Shen Dongshan looked at Tang Afu, who was filled with grief and indignation, and hesitated several times, not knowing how to defend himself. In the end, he could only bury his head and sob, wiping away his tears with his sleeve, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry to the Tang family, I'm sorry to you, and I'm even more sorry to your father..."

"According to your logic, all my enemies... must be dead?" Tang Afu narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze piercing through the tear-filled mist like a sharp sword, directly hitting the depressed and exhausted Shen Dongshan. "Am I not left with no enemies to avenge?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Dongshan's body trembled slightly, and his action of wiping away tears subconsciously paused for a moment.

This scene was witnessed by Tang Afu and also attracted Wu Shuang's suspicious gaze.

“There is one more person…” Shen Dongshan gently rolled up his tear-soaked sleeves, then slowly raised his head and said with sincere eyes, “I didn’t want to mention him, because I hope that you, Afu, can be completely free from hatred, no longer troubled by what happened back then, and live the rest of your life easily and happily.”

"How can you be carefree and happy if you can't avenge your family with your own hands?" Tang Afu stared coldly at the evasive Shen Dongshan and urged him in a commanding tone, "Go on."

Shen Dongshan knew that Tang Afu was stubborn and would never give up easily. If he didn't reveal a "living person" today, regardless of whether Tang Afu believed what he had just said, even if he did, there was no guarantee that Tang Afu wouldn't unleash all his pent-up anger on him.

With this in mind, Shen Dongshan no longer hesitated and asked directly, "Do you know who the current prime minister of the Song Dynasty is? To be precise, he is the acting prime minister."

“I’ve heard Xunyi mention him; I think his surname is Jia.” Tang Afu nodded slowly.

“Indeed! This man was originally the Vice Minister of the Eastern Palace and a loyal follower of the former Prime Minister. He served by the Prime Minister's side when the former Prime Minister was in the Ministry of Justice and rose through the ranks alongside him.” Shen Dongshan nodded slightly. “He was originally a member of the former Prime Minister's faction and a core figure. However, when the former Prime Minister fell from power, he somehow escaped unscathed. Not only was he not implicated in the purge of the Eastern Palace, but he also won the Emperor's favor, seized the opportunity to rise to power, and replaced the former Prime Minister. He entered the central government in one fell swoop and became the powerful head of the Eastern Palace today.”

Tang Afu asked with some skepticism, "Could this person also be related to the Tang family's affairs?"

"Exactly! If the former prime minister was the mastermind, then this man is the true accomplice. His wickedness, viciousness, and treachery are even greater than those of the Jian family, who acted personally," Shen Dongshan sneered. "The former prime minister held a high position of power and influence, so naturally he wouldn't do many things personally. This Lord Jia was the former prime minister's tool, and he orchestrated many details. When it was inappropriate for the former prime minister to intervene, his attitude was the former prime minister's attitude, and his orders were the former prime minister's orders. Sometimes... he was even more ruthless and cold-blooded than the former prime minister. I'm not afraid to admit it, but even though I consider myself quite shrewd, I've suffered quite a bit from this two-faced Lord Jia. Therefore, I both respect and fear him, but fear far outweighs respect. Especially after Lord Jia gained power, his exploitation of me and the Dongshan Company intensified, and I dared not speak out against him."

“This man is full of cunning and extremely treacherous. Liu Xunyi has received quite a bit of his ‘favor’ over the years.” Wu Shuang said jokingly, “Brother Tang, I advise you not to make a move on this Lord Jia for now. He is not like Master Shen. Once you make a move, there will be no turning back.”

“That’s what I mean too. Lord Jia’s cunning is unfathomable. To put it bluntly, even the current emperor is manipulated by him. With your current abilities… I’m afraid you are no match for him,” Shen Dongshan chimed in.

"My affairs are none of your concern." Tang Afu was unmoved by Wu Shuang and Shen Dongshan's well-intentioned advice and said indifferently, "I will not act rashly when it is time to lie low, nor will I hesitate when it is time to act."

"Now I can rest assured."

"Tonight... I'll believe what you say." After much hesitation, Tang Afu finally made up his mind, his expression turning serious as he spoke softly, "I promised Wu Shuang that if you tell the truth, I... I can spare your life for now. But if I discover that you've been deceiving me, then..."

"Don't worry, since I've spoken, I will never lie to you." Seeing Tang Afu relent, Shen Dongshan's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down. He quickly and solemnly assured him, "Besides, I have already told you everything about Jin Fuyu and Lord Jia. I have already offended the person I should not have offended. There is no benefit for me to lie to you."

"Excellent!" Seeing that the two sides had reached an agreement, Wu Shuang couldn't help but show his delight. "The fact that you two can stop fighting tonight makes all my hard work in bringing you together worthwhile..."

"Wait!" Before Wu Shuang could finish speaking, Tang Afu suddenly waved his hand to interrupt: "I have one more condition. If he agrees, then this matter can be settled."

"Conditions?" Shen Dongshan hesitated, his hand hovering in mid-air as he raised his glass. "What conditions?"

Instead of answering, Tang Afu asked, "Do you stand by what you said during the day?"

"What did you say?" Shen Dongshan was taken aback, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart. "I have said many things today, but I don't know which one you are referring to?"

"You said you were willing to return all of my Tang family's ancestral property to me, is that true?"

"This..." Shen Dongshan seemed caught off guard by Tang Afu's sudden mention of this, momentarily flustered, but outwardly he tried to remain calm. "What? Afu is also interested in doing business? I thought you..."

"Whether I'm interested or not is my business. You tell me whether you're serious or not?" Tang Afu didn't give Shen Dongshan a chance to make a fuss and asked bluntly, "You made this promise in front of everyone today. Are you just putting on an act?"

"Of course not." Caught off guard by Tang Afu's aggressive questioning in front of Wu Shuang, Shen Dongshan hurriedly replied, "Since I've already agreed, I'll keep my word. As long as you don't mind the hard work and trouble of doing business and are willing to take it over..."

"I'm willing!" Tang Afu answered readily. "The matter is settled then."

After speaking, Tang Afu turned his gaze to Wu Shuang, who seemed to be deep in thought, and said, "I would like to trouble Brother Wu to act as a witness on behalf of the young Prince Qin."

"Sure! Sure!" Wu Shuang replied with a smile, but his heart was pounding, because he didn't know what Tang Afu was really up to.

"It's rare that Ah Fu is willing to take over the Tang family's ancestral business, and I, Shen, am naturally very pleased. This way, I can at least give an explanation to Brother Tang in the afterlife." Shen Dongshan was displeased, but he had to force a smile. "I've been having people compile the Tang family's shop register these past few days, and then preparing the contracts and documents. I'll also be selecting some business experts for you..."

"No need for such trouble. You just need to compile a list of shops and prepare the contracts. As for your people... I don't need any of them." Tang Afu showed no mercy and directly rejected Shen Dongshan's proposal. "I only have one request: when Mr. Shen is taking stock of my Tang family's assets, he must be careful and thorough and make sure there are no omissions, so as not to embarrass everyone later."

“Ah Fu, don’t underestimate doing business. It’s a science. The categories involved are extremely complex, and it takes years of experience to master. It’s not as simple as you imagine.” Shen Dongshan suppressed his excitement and patiently persuaded him, “Do you know that the Tang family has shops all over the place, with hundreds of businesses of all sizes? You’re all alone and have never done business before. If I don’t help you, how can you manage?”

"Help me? Ha! Do I have to spell it out? From the moment you seized my family's property, I will never trust you again in this lifetime." Tang Afu slowly stood up, looking Shen Dongshan up and down with a playful gaze, who was in a state of confusion. He said nonchalantly, "Besides, even if I lose everything, it's the Tang family's ancestral property I'm losing. What does it have to do with you?"

"you……"

"Shen, this is the only chance I'm giving you!" Tang Afu's cold gaze and threatening tone rendered the unwilling Shen Dongshan speechless. He then bowed to Wu Shuang and said, "Brother Wu, don't forget what you promised me, Granny Peach Blossom..."

"Don't worry! I will go and pay my respects to Valley Master Xiao tomorrow."

Having received a satisfactory answer, Tang Afu nodded almost imperceptibly. He glanced again at Shen Dongshan, who was sitting opposite him, clutching his wine glass tightly, his body trembling slightly, his face changing color but unable to utter a single word. A disdainful and mocking smirk crept onto his lips, and without further hesitation, he strode away from Meishuang Pavilion.

"He can spit out what he's eaten; Mr. Shen, you are truly noble!"

Whether out of admiration or sarcasm, Wu Shuang solemnly gave Shen Dongshan a thumbs-up. Then, having finished his meal, he swayed as he stood up, smiled, cupped his hands in a respectful bow to Shen Dongshan, and turned to leave.

"master!"

The moment Wu Shuang stepped out the door, Kui Qi, his face full of worry, hurriedly led his men into Meishuang Pavilion. When they saw Shen Dongshan, his face ashen, sitting silently at the table, his body trembling slightly from emotional agitation, they couldn't help but feel apprehensive, yet dared not offer any words of comfort.

"master……"

"Snapped!"

Before Kui Qi could even muster the courage to ask, Shen Dongshan, unable to contain himself any longer, finally exploded, smashing the wine glass to the ground with a ferocious expression, shattering it into dust.

This scene terrified Kui Qi and his guards, who retreated in panic.

"Liu Xunyi, a self-righteous and arrogant illegitimate child! Tang Afu, an even more ignorant and arrogant brat!" Shen Dongshan glared angrily and said through gritted teeth, "Two greenhorns! Two hypocritical and powerful scoundrels! They were just lucky for a moment, yet they dared to force me to humble myself before them and pay them to avoid trouble. It's simply outrageous!"

……