"What did you say, Old Master Hong has cooked the Millennium Ginseng just for that person's treatment?"
"He's gone mad, completely mad, that old man. The Millennium Ginseng is our family heirloom, a treasure of incalculable value, and he said to cook it just like that?"
"This is simply foolishness; I bet the old man's been bewitched; he's lost his mind!"
"This can't go on, let's go. Today we must see that person, no matter what!"
In the Hong Family's main hall, everyone was talking at once, filled with frustration as they rushed toward the Inner Courtyard.
But upon arriving at the Inner Courtyard and seeing the eight imposing bodyguards standing tall, they immediately lost their nerve.
"You try it; I don't believe Old Master Hong really dares to have us beaten to death or crippled!"
"You go then, I really don't dare to…"
Just then, the door on the second floor of the loft inside suddenly creaked open.
And then everyone saw Old Master Hong wheeling out in a wheelchair, with Hong Qingyan behind, pushing. Just like that, the two of them slowly moved the wheelchair down.
In the wheelchair sat a man who actually wasn't old, seeming to be only about twenty-four or twenty-five.
With a square face, harsh, sharp-angular features, scruffy facial hair, he couldn't be called handsome, but he was unique, especially his eyes. At first glance, they seemed calm, but upon closer inspection, they were like a knife.
A sharpened knife, keen and cutting, as if a single glare from him could slice a wound in your heart, chilling to behold.
The previously noisy crowd immediately fell silent.
Hong Qingyan pushed the wheelchair slowly toward them, moving at a snail's pace, having nearly exhausted all her strength just getting down the stairs.
As the wheelchair was pushed past, the man in the wheelchair didn't once look at the people around him. His gaze remained fixed in the distance, seemingly regarding these members of the Hong Family as nothing more than air.
Hong Tianming finally couldn't hold back and asked, "Father, is this the person?"
"Indeed, it is him!" Hong Zhenguo smiled, looking very pleased.
For a full month, the man's injuries had finally shown initial signs of improvement. Today, for the first time, he proposed taking a walk, which made him very happy.
"Grandfather, who exactly is this man?" Hong Tianming's son, Hong Wei, asked.
Hong Zhenguo's expression darkened, and he was about to erupt in anger.
Hong Yuting rolled her eyes and said, "Who cares who he is, what's it got to do with us? I thought he was going to be someone with three heads and six arms, but now it seems he's nothing special!"
"Most importantly, he's disabled!"
Hong Wei chimed in, "Exactly, it's a good thing Sister didn't marry him. Otherwise, marrying a cripple, her whole life would be ruined."
"Marry him? He doesn't deserve..."
Slap!
Before Hong Yuting could finish her sentence, Old Master Hong had slapped her across the face.
"Grandfather, you... You actually hit me!"
Hong Yuting, her cheek swelling red, howled, "For an outsider, for a cripple, you hit me? I am your granddaughter, the celebrated beauty of Jiangdu, you..."
"Shut your mouth, you ignorant thing!" Old Master Hong roared in anger, his foot stomping the ground as he hurriedly followed the wheelchair ahead.
"Mom, I can't live like this, I don't want to live anymore!"
Hong Yuting immediately began weeping bitterly, screeching, "This old fool, what madness has he got into, first forcing me to marry an outsider, a cripple, and now striking me for this cripple!"
Hong Tianming said in a grave voice, "Father has really acted inappropriately this time!"
"More than inappropriate, he's completely lost his mind. Yu Ting is the cherished daughter of our Hong Family, destined to marry into a wealthy family; how could she possibly marry a cripple!"
Old Master Hong's eldest daughter, also known as Hong Yuting's aunt, was equally resentful.
"Thank goodness Hong Qingyan stepped in to replace our Ting'er, otherwise who knows what sort of madness that old thing would have gotten up to!" Hong Tianming's wife, Zhang Yuman, sneered.
"Hong Qingyan was, after all, picked up by our Hong Family, and she should rightfully share our burdens!" declared Hong Wei.
"This picked-up bastard, who's also a cripple, a lame woman marrying a disabled man, is quite well-matched!"
Hong Yuting clenched her teeth in anger, her eyes filled with fury and venom.
Hong Tianming waved his hand, "Alright, everyone go back for now. This man is mysterious, and I reckon the Old Master has been bewitched. We must have him investigated."
Meanwhile, Ye Feng had been wheeled out of the Inner Courtyard by Hong Qingyan. His hearing, far superior to that of ordinary people, had caught every word of the conversation.
It was at that moment Ye Feng noticed that Hong Qingyan's foot was lame.
"Your foot?" Ye Feng suddenly spoke up.
Hong Qingyan was startled, as this was the first time in half a month that the man had initiated a question to her.
"It's nothing." Hong Qingyan smiled, pushing the wheelchair forcefully with her left foot stepping forward first, and then her other foot slowly catching up.
Passing through a long corridor, they arrived at a lake as calm as a mirror. A spring breeze brushed by, and the afternoon sunlight felt indescribably comfortable on their skin.
Ye Feng squinted his eyes and gazed into the distance, suddenly asking, "I heard your grandfather has promised you to me, what are your thoughts on this?"
Hong Qingyan hesitated before replying, "I will listen to my grandfather."
"Even if I am disabled now, are you still willing?" Ye Feng asked again.
He usually didn't talk much, perhaps because he'd been bedridden for so long. It was rare for him to get some fresh air today, and the good weather may have prompted him to ask a few more questions.
"You're disabled, and I'm a cripple as well." Hong Qingyan smiled, but it was a bitter smile.
Ye Feng noticed and said, "I want to thank you for this time."
Hong Qingyan smiled radiantly, "To think you, of all people, would say thank you. I thought..."
But before she could finish, Ye Feng had already turned his head to gaze at the tranquil lake ahead of them.
The scene fell silent. With him not speaking, she naturally didn't dare say more, simply observing his face quietly from the side.
At first glance, his face seemed unremarkable, but matched with those eyes, it became extremely sharp, as if piercing through everything. Sometimes his indifference felt as though he disregarded everything.
Especially during this past half-month, Hong Qingyan had been bathing him daily, seeing the dense scars all over his body.
She could never have imagined that one person could carry so many scars.
She remembered, when she was very young, her grandfather once made an offhand remark, saying that for soldiers, the scars on their bodies are their highest honors.
Then the countless, striking scars on this man's body, just how much honor had he accrued in his life!
Ye Feng suddenly looked back and asked, "What's your name?"
Hong Qingyan was taken aback and blurted out, "Didn't my grandfather already tell you my name a long time ago?"
"I wasn't paying attention."
"Alright then, my name is Hong Qingyan." She said, pursing her lips, feeling somewhat annoyed inside.
In this half month, she had bathed him almost daily, carefully fed him Millennium Ginseng and bird's nest porridge, and had taken care of him so meticulously that she was practically half his fiancée already.
And yet, he couldn't even remember her name!
Ye Feng said, "Right, my name is Ye Feng. The Ye of Ye Feng, the Feng of Ye Feng."
"..." Hong Qingyan rolled her eyes.