Chapter 4107 — Quite the Actor, Aren't You?
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Zheng Tianshuo felt as though a basin of cold water had been dashed over his head, and a belated terror seized him. Over these past days, buoyed by his ever-rising standing, he had grown thoroughly smug—and forgotten that his grandfather Zheng Dongjue was merely a deputy hall master of the Elixir Hall, while the true master of the Hall was Zhang Lifeng, the teacher of the two men standing before him.
True, Zheng Dongjue now regarded him as his successor and he had taken over Zheng Tianjie's former place—but even Zheng Tianjie in his day had never dared show the slightest disrespect to Hou Guanqi and the other nominal disciples of Zhang Lifeng. After all, before the backers standing behind the other side, his own grandfather would not have dared utter a squeak.
Zheng Tianshuo knew he had let his triumph carry him too far, and inwardly he was already minded to beat a retreat—yet with Tianchan watching, he could not bear to lose face just like that.
Not daring to keep crossing swords with Hou Guanqi, he vented his spleen on Wei Zhao instead, jabbing a finger at him and threatening viciously, "Hmph. Do you know the price of coming to our Elixir Hall to swindle us, boy? If you fail to cure Lord Tian today, don't imagine you'll be walking out of here!"
Tianchan grew anxious at this and spoke up in Wei Zhao's defense. "Young Master Chu, that is hardly a fair thing to say. Even the Elixir God himself was at his wits' end over Lord Tian's illness. However skilled this physician may be, how could anyone cure him on the spot? If you truly do as you say, who will ever dare come treat Lord Tian again?"
"Oh-ho, sister-in-law, don't tell me you've taken a fancy to this pretty-faced fellow?" Zheng Tianshuo's gaze slid back and forth between Tianchan and Wei Zhao with ill intent, and he sneered, curling his lip. "Don't forget your place, sister-in-law. You are the lawfully wedded wife of my cousin Zheng Tianjie—in life a member of the Zheng family, in death a ghost of the Zheng family. And now you turn your elbow outward to help an outsider squeeze out your own brother-in-law? What is that supposed to mean?"
Hearing this, Wei Zhao quietly clenched his fist. Had this not been the Elixir Hall, he would have struck this Zheng Tianshuo dead on the spot for those words alone. Even if forced into a ghost marriage, Tianchan would forever be his, Wei Zhao's, woman—that would never change.
The Zheng family? What were they worth? They wanted Tianchan to be a ghost of the Zheng family even in death—then he would see the Zheng family turned to ghosts first!
Tianchan's heart lurched, though her face betrayed nothing as she replied, "I am merely stating the facts. I would advise Young Master Chu to run his words through his head before speaking, or once the ugly talk spreads, it will not be my reputation alone that suffers—the whole Zheng family will be shamed along with it."
"Is that so? Very well, then I shall stay right here and see whether he really has the skill. Don't forget, as a disciple of the Elixir Hall, I know medicine too. If he is truly a physician of the craft, fine—but if not, I will spot it at a glance. And then—heh heh!" Zheng Tianshuo threatened with a cold laugh.
Having long coveted Tianchan, he was quick to notice any odd reaction from her, and instinct told him that his sister-in-law seemed to harbor some indefinable feeling for this physician who had appeared out of nowhere. So today he absolutely had to keep his eye fixed hard on this man!
Seeing this, Hou Guanqi and Cai Zhongxuan grew anxious in secret. If they let this pest Zheng Tianshuo keep planted here, not only would it spoil Wei Zhao's meeting with Tianchan, but worse still, Wei Zhao's pose as a physician would be exposed on the spot.