Second Madam Gu broke out into a cold sweat as she looked at Dongfang Shaoze’s gentle expression. A chill began to creep up from the bottom of her feet and climbed all the way to the crown of her head. An undisguised panic flashed across her pudgy face as she cried, “I don’t want to die, please let me go! I really don’t want to die!”

　　“If you had known about the consequences, why did you act in such a way in the past?”

　　Dongfang Shaoze sighed when he saw that Second Madam Gu had turned pale from fright. “You have only yourselves to blame for the consequences today. The Gu family was doomed when they made that mistake years ago!”

　　…

　　That day, the anguished wailing of Second Madam Gu could be heard all the way to the streets. No one knew what had happened. No one had even witnessed anyone entering the Gu household, but her cries painted a vivid image of flesh being slowly flayed off. After her screams, the entire estate went up in flames. The fierce fire burned for an entire day and night. When it finally subsided, the insufferably arrogant Gu family had been wiped out from the mainland…

　　In the Hundred Herb Hall, Gu Ruoyun was listening to Elder Yu’s report on the recent events. Suddenly, a burst of gentle laughter was heard from outside the door. Then, the mild voice of a familiar-sounding man interrupted her thoughts.

　　“Yun’er, it has been three years since we last met. I did not expect for you to grow so fast and you’ve even managed to make people sit up and take notice of you.”

　　Gu Ruoyun was dazed upon hearing the familiar voice which she has not heard in three years. Elder Yu made his way towards the visitor before she could even speak. He asked with a look of pleasant surprise, “Young Master, you’ve returned!”

　　Dongfang Shaoze nodded. When his eyes landed upon Gu Ruoyun’s face, a soft smile appeared across his handsome face.

　　She did not know why but for some reason, every time she met Dongfang Shaoze, Gu Ruoyun would feel a sense of kinship towards him. That sense of intimacy did not come from the man’s warm smile, but…it came from within her heart.

　　Furthermore, if it were not for Dongfang Shaoze, she would never have been able to become the Master of the Hundred Herb Hall and she would not have been able to grow her strength at such a rapid speed.

　　“You’ve come back?”

　　Gu Ruoyun asked, raising an eyebrow. There was a sense of good humor in her expression.

　　Dongfang Shaoze smiled back at her but he had a grave look in his eyes. After muttering to himself under his breath for a short while, he replied, “Yun’er, there’s something that I… didn’t want to tell you at first because I didn’t want to pull you into this dispute. But now, I have no other choice but to tell you…”

　　“Young Master?” Elder Yu stiffened, “Has something happened to the Dongfang family?”

　　From Elder Yu’s perspective, judging by how protective the Young Master is of her Ladyship, he would never reveal that issue to her unless it was a critical situation. Otherwise, it would only bring her Ladyship unnecessary trouble.

　　Hence, upon hearing the first half of Dongfang Shaoze’s explanation, Elder Yu knew that something had happened to the Dongfang family, something that even the Young Master was not able to solve.

　　Gu Ruoyun, on the other hand, did not think too much of it and simply smiled, “Young Master, if you have anything to say, speak freely. I’m listening.”

　　Dongfang Shaoze’s mind seemed to be lost somewhere far away as he looked at the girl’s pretty face. “You really look like them, your face is so similar to your parents’. Actually, Yun’er, you really should call me uncle! Your mother, Liu Yu’s real name was actually Dongfang Yu. She was the Lady of the Dongfang family and my older sister whom I’ve admired ever since I was a boy.”

　　Just how much of a genius was Dongfang Yu? Even when compared to Gu Tian, she would never have lost to him. However, as the Lady of the Dongfang family, she had been hidden away ever since she was a child. Besides the powerful organizations that were on the same level as the Dongfang Family, how could anyone have known of how glorious she had been?