"Young Master, Bi Liuyun has news that someone has been investigating after the boss behind Allure Cosmetics." Qi Heng said.
"Hasn't there always been people investigating this? It's not a big deal!" Qi Shaorong said indifferently.
Qi Heng frowned and said, "It's different this time, it seems that it's the Second Prince who's carrying out the investigation."
Qi Shaorong looked at Qi Heng and said puzzledly, "The Second Prince, he's a prince, yet he still cares about our little business?"
"Young Master, our business has been developing very quickly and it has great prospects! Although the Second Prince is a prince, but isn't the one at the top still not dead yet?" Qi Heng said.
[T/n: He's either referring to the First Prince or the Emperor, I'm not really sure.]
Qi Shaorong narrowed his eyes. Being a prince might sound nice, but truthfully, it's not easy being one. Emperor Kangxi had so many princes [1], but not many of them actually died a natural death!
"The Second Prince, did he find anything?" Qi Shaorong asked.
"He found out about Liuyun." Qi Heng said.
Qi Shaorong rubbed his chin and said, "Really?"
"He seems to have also placed his suspicions on you, Young Master. The Second Prince seems to know that our Allure Cosmetics Store has one big boss and four smaller bosses, but he still hasn't confirmed who's who yet." Qi Heng said.
The big boss of Allure Cosmetics was Qi Shaorong himself. The four small bosses were Yi Fan, Bi Liuyun, Qi Heng, and Mu Tingxuan.
Qi Shaorong narrowed his eyes and said, "The Second Prince is someone who cares a lot about his reputation, so he probably won't just take it by force, right?"
Qi Heng shook his head and said, "That's difficult to say. In fact, the foundation of our business still isn't enough. If that weren't the case, then the scale of Allure Cosmetics could still be expanded to several times of what it is now."
Qi Shaorong smiled and said, "We can't do anything about it, our base just isn't strong enough! If we were to partner with those big families, perhaps there wouldn't even be any bones left after they're done with us." In the past, Qi Shaorong had also considered working together with the Qi Family, but as soon as this idea came up, Qi Shaorong rejected it.
Qi Heng looked at Qi Shaorong and said, "Young Master, what do you think we should do?"
Qi Shaorong shook his head and said, "We'll sit back and watch what happens first." The Allure Cosmetics Store has always been his main source of gold coins, but previously, he had won big at the major gambling houses. The Allure Cosmetics Store now wasn't as important to Qi Shaorong as it had been before.
Yi Fan's dormitory.
A man in black was lying on the ground. Yi Fan looked at the black-clothed person on the ground, squatted down, and smiled brightly. There was a hint of bloodthirstiness to his appearance.
"First it was Du Feng, then Lin Yong, I didn't expect the third person to be you–Yang Yi, it looks like Yang Man's predicament is worse than I thought! Even you, her own younger brother, was sent out, has she run out of people to use?"
Yang Yi looked at Yi Fan, and his eyes were full of deep panic.
Yi Fan gave Yang Yi's face a slap, "When I was younger, you'd always find people to beat me up, it must have been nice."
Yang Yi looked at Yi Fan with horror, and a dense flame ignited within Yi Fan's eyes.
Yang Yi was Yang Man's younger brother. After Yang Man officially married Yi Xun, Yang Yi's status also rose a lot. In order to curry favour with Yang Man, Yang Yi would always make trouble for Yi Fan.
A brightly colored snake climbed out from around Yi Fan's wrist, and the snake slithered all over Yang Yi's body.
After Du Feng's surprise attack, Yi Fan set up a trap inside his dormitory. Once someone entered, they'd be completely doused with poison. Although Yang Yi was still conscious at the moment, he couldn't speak and was unable to move.
Feeling the snake crawling around, Yang Yi's frightened eyebrows were trembling.
Yi Fan looked at Yang Yi and said, "In a while, my pet will eat you up whole, cleanly bit by bit. Don't worry, it won't take long for you to finally reach the underworld [2]. I don't know if once Yang Man finds out that there's nothing left of you, not even your bones, as her younger brother, will she be sad? You only know how to stir up trouble for your much smarter, elder sister. Maybe when you die, who knows if she'll even feel guilty over your death."
Yang Yi looked at Yi Fan as if he were looking at some frightening animal. Yi Fan's eyes showed a hint of madness.
Yi Family.
Yang Man was inside the house, and her eyes were full of worry.
"Mother, what's wrong?" Yi Chuxue asked.
"I haven't heard anything from Du Feng and Li Yong, whom I sent out. Your uncle also volunteered to go find Yi Fan, but he's disappeared as well." Yang Man said.
Yi Chuxue's eyes widened and she said, "So it turns out it really was Yi Fan that bastard who was behind everything, I just knew it was him."
Yang Man gritted her teeth and said, "Not necessarily, maybe they could've gotten caught when they were sneaking into Tianlan College." Yang Man pursed her lips and thought: It would actually be better if they had been caught, because with Hu Feng that guy's personality, she could probably bail those people out if she just gave him some money. Otherwise, she's afraid that Yang Yi and the others have already died.
There was some hesitation in Yang Man's heart.
"Mother, I'll go to Tianlan College and ask Yi Fan to explain himself." Yi Chuxue said and stood up.
"You can't go," Yang Man snapped.
Yi Chuxue said sullenly, "Mother, you worry too much, that guy can't do anything to me."
"Did you not learn anything from the last time you went to make trouble for him [3]?" Yang Man said disapprovingly.
"Last time it was because Qi Shaorong disrupted everything," Yi Chuxue said.
"You're still not allowed to go." If Du Feng and the others' disappearances were really related to Yi Fan, then Yi Fan that person's definitely not as simple as he seems on the surface.
Qi Shaorong was in the library, and Li Hong hurriedly walked in.
"Student Qi."
Qi Shaorong looked at the person who came and asked, "Vice Principal, do you need something?"
"It's the Principal, he's been detained by the people from the Zhuang Family." Li Hong said.
Qi Shaorong narrowed his eyes and asked, "What? Why?"
"Apparently the Principal had tried to harm Zhuang Hao, but the Principal ran out of luck! He was caught by the Zhuang Family." Li Hong said.
Qi Shaorong frowned and muttered to himself: The Principal made a move so quickly, that old guy really was unlucky!
Li Hong looked at Qi Shaorong and said, "Student Qi, the reason the Principal went looking for Zhuang Hao, was it related to you?"
"The Principal indeed did it for me. Let's hide the matter of the Principal being detained from the college first. I'll go talk to the Zhuang Family." Qi Shaorong said somberly, closing the book in his hands.
Li Hong looked at Qi Shaorong and said, "Then Student Qi, please have a good discussion with the people from the Zhuang Family."
"Did something happen to the Principal?" Li Hong's expression suddenly changed when he saw Qian Mian walking out.
Few people usually came to the special area of Tianlan College. Li Hong had been too anxious and hadn't realized that Qian Mian was there.
"The Vice Principal doesn't need to be worried, Student Qian Mian isn't an outsider," Qi Shaorong said.
Li Hong nodded, and thought of the relationship between Qi Shaorong and Qian Mian, saying, "That's true, that's true."
"Did the Principal want to coerce Zhuang Hao into releasing the contract for you?" Yi Fan walked out and asked Qi Shaorong.
Qi Shaorong nodded and said, "I think that's probably what happened~!
Yi Fan looked at Qi Shaorong and said, "For you, I guess the Principal really put his life on the line."
Qi Shaorong secretly thought: The Principal really does treat him well, but unfortunately that old guy's strength was too bad, no matter how you look at it, he's still a level nine master! Yet he had gotten caught so easily.
Qi Shaorong took a deep breath and said, "I'm going to the Zhuang Family's residence."
Zhuang Family.
Zhuang Qian was so full of excitement that he was spinning in circles around the room. Zhuang Hao looked at Zhuang Qian and said, "A-Qian, what are you doing that for?"
Zhuang Qian had a smile on his face, "I'm just so moved [4]! Elder Brother, did you not hear what Hu Feng that old man said? Elder Brother, you scoundrel, you accidentally treated Qi Shaorong like a monster beast and formed a contract with him! Elder Brother, I never imagined that something like this would happen to Qi Shaorong, that he would actually be contracted by you like a monster beast.".
Zhuang Hao pursed his lips and said, "The contract probably wasn't successful. If I had really succeeded in establishing the contract, then I should have formed a strong bond with Qi Shaorong."
"But Hu Feng that old guy said…"
"He didn't lie, but the contract shouldn't have been fully completed, so it only has a limited effect!" Zhuang Hao said.
Zhuang Qian rolled his eyes and said, "Even so, this can be considered as you having one-upped Qi Shaorong, Elder Brother, you're really good! When I saw you getting stripped of your clothes inside the secret dimension, I didn't think you could do anything back, but unexpectedly, you still had something up your sleeves!"
"I actually can't really remember what I even did back then." When Qi Shaorong had rushed towards him, things had been extremely chaotic. He seemed to have started setting up the contract amidst all the confusion, but the process of completing the contract had been interrupted halfway through.
A maid walked in and said, "Young Master Zhuang Hao, Fourth Young Master Qi has arrived. The Third Master is greeting him right now, and the Third Master wants you to come out."
Zhuang Qian was full of excitement as he said, "Elder Brother, Qi Shaorong is here to ask for your help. Now, it's your turn to be prideful and elated!"
Zhuang Hao glanced at Zhuang Qian, stood up, and said, "I'll go see Qi Shaorong."
"I'll go too, I'll go too."
Zhuang Qian excitedly followed behind Zhuang Hao and walked out into the hall.
[T/n: This could also be translated as a "lounge".]
Qi Shaorong nodded at Zhuang Hao and said, "Young Master Zhuang Hao, you've finally come out!"
Zhuang Hao nodded back at Qi Shaorong and said, "I've troubled Fourth Young Master Qi again."
"I heard that there was a little misunderstanding between my teacher and the Zhuang Family. I don't know if Third Master Zhuang could send my teacher back to the college. There are many things that would be difficult to handle if he's not there." Qi Shaorong said.
Zhuang Renquan nodded and said, "Of course. Speaking of which, your teacher's secret visit to my nephew's room at night really surprised me. However, I didn't expect that the reason why your master had specially made a trip here was because of a contract. In fact, it wouldn't have been a problem if you had just openly said it, what do you think, Young Master Qi. "
"It's mostly my fault, it's because I'm too outstanding and magnificent, making it hard for Young Master Zhuang to control his feelings, so he set up a marriage contract with me. What my master did, wasn't it also because he was afraid that Zhuang Hao would make things difficult for us and refuse to give up?" Qi Shaorong said, smiling brightly.
Zhuang Renquan: "…"
Zhuang Qian: "…"
"Fourth Young Master Qi, you know what type of contract you have?" Zhuang Renquan asked.
"I know! Isn't it a marriage contract?" Qi Shaorong said surely. "Young Master Zhuang, I am very popular. Although you're really handsome, you're not the type that I like. I advise you not to think too much about it."
Zhuang Renquan: "…"
Zhuang Hao closed his eyes and said, "You're overthinking it, it's not a marriage contract, but a master-servant contract."
"Young Master Zhuang, give me a price, however much gold you want in order for you to release the contract for me, I have it, and I'll definitely give it to you." Qi Shaorong said with a sinking face.
Zhuang Hao looked at Qi Shaorong and hesitated before saying, "The truth is, I might not actually be able to cancel the contract."
Qi Shaorong looked at Zhuang Hao and said, "What do you mean?"
Zhuang Hao looked at Qi Shaorong and said, "Once a contract is established, it's not easy to cancel it. Moreover, a contract between people is much more complicated than one between people and monster beasts, and the contract between you and me was also formed accidentally. I have no way to get rid of it."
Qi Shaorong's gaze immediately turned cold, "Young Master Zhuang, is this you finding an excuse to refuse me?"
Zhuang Hao looked at Qi Shaorong, ground his teeth, and said, "It's not that I'm deliberately trying to evade responsibility, it's just that I can't do anything about it!"
Qi Shaorong smiled coldly and said, "Young Master Zhuang, your incompetence is really making me look at you in a new light!"
Zhuang Hao hesitated and said, "In fact, as long as I don't activate the contract, then the contract won't have an effect on you, as long as you promise me one condition."
Qi Shaorong looked at Zhuang Hao and said, "Is it about the Ghost Doctor?"
Zhuang Hao nodded and said, "Yes."
"Then we don't need to talk about it." Qi Shaorong said.
Zhuang Hao's eyebrows twisted and he said, "Why?"
"It's very simple, I can't trust you." Qi Shaorong said each word clearly and concisely.
Zhuang Hao: "…"
Zhuang Renquan rubbed his nose and looked at Qi Shaorong, saying, "Fourth Young Master Qi, our Zhuang Family's reputation is still reliable."
Qi Shaorong snorted coldly and said, "Perhaps."
Zhuang Renquan: "…"
Footnotes:
Emperor Kangxi: Kangxi is the title of the reign (1662-1722) of the 2nd emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Aisin-Gioro Xuanye, called posthumously Qing Shengzu.
Underworld: In the raws it was "Sukhavati" (Land of Ultimate Bliss/paradise) in Buddhism, or Elysium (Greek mythology), but that didn't make sense to me because those are happy places in the afterlife (in particular Elysium, which is where the "good" people go), and why would Yi Fan be wishing his enemies happiness? Basically, he's just saying that the person is going to die.
Did you not learn anything: It's either that, or Yang Man was saying, "Didn't you not manage to accomplish anything last time…" I couldn't really figure out what she was trying to say, but it's something along the lines of that.
Moved: So the original Chinese words can also mean "excited", but it's not really a feeling of excitement, it's more like when your emotions are stirred/agitated, I just didn't know how to convey it.