Dai Youheng's calm gaze swept over the two of them. His heart remained utterly still, with even a trace of cold appraisal.
One was crippled, and the other half-crippled. That saved me quite a bit of trouble.
Yet this harmonious scene was soon shattered.
Having heard a servant announce Dai Youheng's return, the Duchess, Zhu Man, stormed out like a powder keg set alight.
The miserable state of her two sons had already left her exhausted in body and mind, resentment festering in her heart. Now, seeing the bastard son she despised most appear in the mansion completely unscathed, his presence even steadier and sharper than before, all her fury and venom instantly found an outlet.
"Dai Youheng! You walking curse, how dare you come back!" The Duchess's voice was shrill, all her former aristocratic grace long gone. Pointing straight at his nose, she cursed, "It was you! You must have used some vile trick behind their backs to leave my Yueheng and Huabin like this! To make room for a mongrel like you? I knew it! You're just like that lowborn mother of yours-ungrateful wolves that can never be tamed! Rotten to the core!"
Her vicious curses splashed over him like filthy water, mixed with groundless speculation and the vilest insults.
Dai Youheng stopped and slowly turned around. He did not grow angry; there was not even an unnecessary flicker of expression on his face. He merely watched the seemingly deranged Duchess calmly with his deep, icy eyes.
That absolute composure suffocated and enraged the Duchess more than any rebuttal could have, as though a punch she had thrown with all her strength had struck empty air.
"Shut up, old hag." Dai Youheng's voice was flat. "They were ambushed by a powerful Evil Soul Master while carrying out a