Zhang Wanning gasped for breath, as if someone had grabbed her throat.
She abruptly covered her mouth, her eyes wide with shock and a sense of absurdity.
No, that's impossible.
That's absolutely impossible; you must be seeing things.
Zhang Heng was struck dumb, his whole body jolted violently.
His eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as he stared intently at the person on the soft couch, his expression frozen in a twisted horror and disbelief.
Hallucination, this must be a hallucination.
The Zhang Family members all thought they were seeing things and dared not admit the facts before them.
Although Jiang Luohan had suspected it, her heart still pounded uncontrollably when she witnessed it firsthand.
But then, an indescribable surge of joy and anticipation overwhelmed her.
It really was him, it really was him. He really has become a big shot that even the Imperial Family has to curry favor with.
She could barely control her expression; the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up, and her body trembled slightly with excitement.
However, what shocked them to the point of near collapse was not only Zhang Yu himself, who held the high position.
On either side of the soft couch stood three distinguished young men dressed in python robes— Prince Jing, Prince Qi, and Prince Rui.
These three princes, who wielded immense power in the Wei Kingdom Princes were usually beyond their reach, were now standing on either Your Highness them like guards or attendants.
The three Princes' expressions towards Zhang Yu on the soft couch carried a subtle hint of awe and... respect?
Slightly behind the three Princes were Xiao Sheng and Xiao Yun, two Imperial Clan.
These two arrogant and spoiled young masters were now carefully carrying teapots and fruit platters, serving him attentively, acting like the perfect lackeys.
Furthermore, they spotted a figure in the crowd who should never have been there— Du Jun, the president of the Wei Kingdom branch of the Alchemist Guild.
This Dao of Alchemy master, whose status was so high that even the Emperor of Wei had to show him deference, stood aside with a peaceful smile on his face.
Beside Du Jun was a young girl in green with her arms crossed and an ethereal air.
Although I don't recognize the girl, the fact that she can stand side by side with Du Jun with such composure suggests that she must be someone of great importance.
He could command the obeisance of three Princes, command the loyalty of the Imperial Clan, and command the personal company of the Alchemist Guild's president...
That would require an incredible amount of energy.
"Gentlemen, it's only been a few days. The Marquis Yong'an's Estate has actually gone so far as to coerce merchants and force them to buy and sell. This has truly broadened my horizons."
That sound...
Qin Xuehua, Zhang Wanning, and Zhang Heng trembled violently, their necks turning extremely slowly and stiffly, like rusty machines, their gazes refocusing on the soft couch.
This time, they saw it clearly and heard it perfectly.
That face, those eyebrows, those eyes, that faint, mocking curve at the corner of his mouth... who else could it be but Zhang Yu?
Boom--!
It was as if thunderclaps from the Nine Heavens were exploding in their minds in succession.
All the wishful thinking, all the self-deception, all the sense of absurdity, were crushed by the merciless reality at this moment.
Zhang Yu, it really is Zhang Yu.
Zhang Yu, whom they regarded as trash, discarded like worn-out shoes, and even forced to take the blame.
Zhang Yu, who was always subservient and obsequious in the Marquis's Marquis Estate.
Zhang Yu, whom they thought had long been trampled into the mud and would never be able to rise again.
He... he was actually the "Young Master Zhang" who made three Princes bow down, had the president of the Alchemist Guild accompany him, and whose name struck fear into the hearts of the entire Imperial Family.
He sat arrogantly on the soft couch that symbolized his Supreme status, looking down at them like ants, kneeling below like stray dogs.
"Impossible--!!!"
A heart-wrenching roar, filled with extreme horror, fear, absurdity, and madness, suddenly shattered the deathly silence.
It's Zhang Heng.
He struggled suddenly, trying to lunge forward, but was held down firmly by the guards behind him.
His eyes were bloodshot and his facial muscles were contorted wildly.
He stared intently at Zhang Yu on the soft couch, as if he wanted to devour him alive with his gaze, or as if he wanted to confirm that everything before him was just a nightmare.
"Impossible, how could you possibly be Young Master Zhang?"
Who are you? Who exactly are you?
You are an imposter, you must be an imposter.
"That good-for-nothing Zhang Yu, how could he possibly be here? How could he possibly be Young Master Zhang?"
He roared hoarsely, his voice distorted by extreme fear and disbelief, like the howl of a dying beast.
He couldn't accept it, absolutely couldn't accept it.
That useless Brother he had trampled on and bullied since childhood, that ant he regarded as someone he could crush at will.
How could he possibly transform himself into someone he needs to look up to, or even fear?
This is harder than killing him.
This is even harder to accept than telling him to die immediately.
Qin Xuehua also snapped back to her senses. The color had completely drained from her face. Her lips trembled as she pointed at Zhang Yu, her voice shaking uncontrollably.
"You... you... Yu'er?"
No... you are not Yu'er.
Who exactly are you?
Why would you impersonate my son?
My son... where is he?
She preferred to believe that the imposing young master Young Master Zhang sitting in the main seat was an imposter rather than accept the truth.
Because acknowledging that fact would mean that all the contempt, mistreatment, and even the final coercion to take the blame she had endured over the past decade would have become the most ridiculous and foolish joke in the world.
It means she personally pushed an unimaginable treasure out the door, and even wished she could stomp on it a few times.
Zhang Wanning collapsed to the ground, tears mixed with mud and water smearing her face.
She looked at Zhang Yu, her eyes vacant, and muttered to herself:
"Impossible... this is impossible..."
You're not Zhang Yu... Zhang Yu is a good-for-nothing... He's a good-for-nothing who only knows how to flatter us...
How could he possibly be Young Master Zhang... It's an illusion... It must be an illusion...
She shook her head frantically, trying to shake the nightmarish scene before her mind.
Only Jiang Luohan, after the initial shock, had an even more fervent light in her eyes.
Her mind raced, and her expression shifted instantly.
Her initial shock quickly transformed into a mixture of grievance and delight, almost bringing her to tears. She straightened up slightly and looked at Zhang Yu with her eyes, which appeared even more "pitiful" after being washed by the rain.
She saw his red lips slightly parted, about to speak, and with her most skillful, delicate demeanor, utter the long-awaited "Brother Yu"...
However, Zhang Yu, who was on the soft couch, didn't even glance at her.
His gaze calmly swept over Zhang Heng, who seemed to be going crazy, over Qin Xuehua, who was deceiving herself, and over Zhang Wanning, who was collapsing and limp.
Finally, the gaze fell upon Jiang Luohan's deliberately pitiful face.
That gaze was calm and undisturbed, as deep as an ancient well.
There was no hatred, no anger, not even the slightest ripple.
There was only a chilling indifference, and a faint, mocking look, as if watching a clown.
That one glance froze Jiang Luohan's tender feelings and carefully prepared lines in her throat.
A chill, even more biting than the one she had felt in the rain, suddenly swept through her entire body.
The way he looked at me... why was that?
Shouldn't it be pity, shouldn't it be a soft heart?
Why is it... indifference?
And that mockery...
For the first time, Jiang Luohan felt a sliver of doubt and a chilling fear regarding her seemingly certain guess.
Could it be that he's still angry with me?