Chapter Forty-five: Chaos in the He Family

The He family’s residence was a study in meticulous design, its hierarchy rigid and its rules labyrinthine. For instance, the head of the family was allotted but a single courtyard for his living quarters. Yet within that courtyard, the space was spacious and complete, every necessity provided—the sparrow may be small, but all its organs are intact.

Directly ahead stood the main hall, its vermilion lacquer gleaming, its purple sandalwood intricately carved.

At this moment, a striking woman sat upon a rosewood chair, elegantly attired, a book with its title concealed nestled in her hands.

Just then, He Yongning stumbled into the hall, a wine jug in hand, his steps unsteady. The maids serving the lady dared neither stop him nor look up; each lowered her gaze, not daring to meet his eyes. Some even nursed the reckless thought of abandoning their mistress and fleeing.

Who within the He family did not know that He Yongning was the old patriarch’s favorite?

With a crash, He Yongning drained the last drop from his jug and shattered it on the floor, the sound echoing through the hall. The beautiful woman’s brow creased, but she said nothing and continued reading.

He Yongning braced his hands on his hips, looking down at her with his habitual arrogance. Even here, in the family head’s hall, where propriety demanded he address her as “sister-in-law,” he showed no restraint. Whether emboldened by the amount of wine he had consumed or simply true to his nature was anyone’s guess.

He waved his hand, sending the already terrified maids scurrying from the room. How they managed to see his gesture, with their eyes fixed only on his feet, was anyone’s guess—but they fled as if granted a royal pardon.

The woman remained unmoved, still absorbed in her book.

He Yongning staggered behind her chair, his fingers caressing the polished wood as he smiled and said, “There’s nothing tastier than dumplings, and nothing more fun than a sister-in-law.”

At these words, she set her book aside. She did not turn to face the man who should have shown her the respect due a sister-in-law, but only replied coolly, “He Yongning, are you not afraid that if you eat this dumpling, you might never live to see the day it is digested?”

He Yongning burst into laughter as though she had told the grandest joke. “Sister-in-law, you seclude yourself here with your books and know little of the outside world. The old patriarch left for the docks just now. Whether he lives or dies tonight, who can say? Even my elder brother knows nothing of this.”

Seizing the book she had set down, he glanced at it, tossed it aside, and moved in front of her. Bending low, he met her gaze with a mocking smile. “Perhaps you’re unaware, but I’ve desired you for a long time. Even if the old patriarch survives, if something should befall him, the family headship will be mine. My bookworm brother knows nothing of women’s hearts; he spends his days with the classics, dragging you along to read with him. He doesn’t understand that a woman at thirty is a wolf, at forty a tiger. Once she has tasted the rain after a long drought, how could she ever bear to wait again? Don’t you agree, sister-in-law?”

Humiliated by his words, the woman finally lost her composure and spat, “He Yongning, you beast!”

He Yongning only laughed. “So what if I’m worse than a beast? If something happens to the old patriarch, who in the He family could stop me? My brother, who does nothing but read? Or my nephew, who’s just as useless?”

He laughed even louder. “Sister-in-law, you’d best prepare to show me all your skills in bed—don’t hold back for fear of hurting me.”

“Hold your tongue, He Yongning!”

A furious shout came from the doorway.

He Yongning, recognizing the voice, did not bother turning around. Instead, he continued to laugh. “Mengqing, your uncle asked you more than once as a child—would you choose the pen or the sword? Each time, you disappointed me. Tonight, I’ll let you see with your own eyes why I wanted you to learn the sword and not the classics, so you wouldn’t end up like your useless father.”

He Mengqing stood in the doorway, staring at the drunken, threatening figure of He Yongning, his nails digging into his palms.

Seeing her son, a rare panic flashed in the woman’s eyes. She shouted, “Mengqing, leave at once!”

He Yongning sneered, “Such a protective mother.”

Just then, soft footsteps sounded outside the hall.

He Yongning started, turning hastily to see a figure appear in the doorway. His surprise quickly gave way to mocking laughter. He slumped forward onto the table, shaking with mirth. In normal times, even He Yongning would not dare behave so brazenly before this man—his brother in name, the family head, chosen by their father for his scholarly ways, though the old patriarch himself had little love for either son.

Wiping tears from his eyes, He Yongning suddenly remembered the year their younger sister married a commoner against the family’s wishes. That year, the brother once hailed as the He family’s greatest genius willingly crippled his own cultivation to secure her happiness, defying their equally stubborn father. The outcome was predictable, but most baffling of all, from that day forth, this man abandoned the path of cultivation and became a frail scholar.

He Yongde stopped at the threshold, not entering, his gaze cold and voice sharp. “Yongning, you’re drunk. If you stop now, for the sake of our brotherhood, I’ll overlook everything.”

He Yongning laughed again. “Brother, if you let drunken Yongning off tonight, even when I’m sober I’ll do as I please. What will you do then?”

He Yongde said nothing, stepping into the hall.

He Yongning smirked. “What, brother? More sage advice from your classics?”

He Yongde shook his head. “Yongning, you’ve changed. Since the day I crippled myself, you’ve become someone else.”

He Yongning let out a harsh laugh. “Yes, I’ve changed. Changed enough to touch a sister-in-law I once could only dream of.”

He Yongde replied, “As your elder brother, I bear some responsibility for this.”

He Yongning leered at the woman. “Of course! Who told you to marry such a beautiful wife?”

He Yongde’s voice thundered, “Yongning, enough!”

He Yongning sneered, “What are you going to do, brother? Lecture me from the Daoist Classics?”

He Yongde shook his head. “If we speak of talent in the Dao, even two of you would not equal me. Tonight, as your elder brother, I’ll teach you respect once more.”

His tone was calm, the sleeves of his pale robe billowing as he strode toward He Yongning. Mother and son watched, stunned, as the man who had withdrawn from the world since their sister’s wedding closed in.

He Yongning instinctively straightened, but the next moment, his eyes widened in disbelief.

He Yongde was suddenly before him, seizing him by the throat and hurling him from the hall.

Within, silence descended.

Outside, He Yongning tumbled across the ground, finally coming to rest, sprawled like a dead dog, unable to rise.

The woman gasped, “Did you kill him?”

He Yongde smiled gently. “No, at most he’ll lie there a year.”

He Mengqing exclaimed, “Father, your cultivation—”

He Yongde smiled. “I have simply returned to my former peak.”

He spoke lightly, but to He Mengqing’s ears, it was thunderous.

Back at the summit in a single day!

He Yongde turned to the door and said, “Enough. I must go help your grandfather.”

Before mother or son could say more, he walked out, leaving only his departing figure behind.