Yang Yi glanced at Su Nanzhi in surprise.
He had expected Miss Su to refuse angrily.
After all, he was a poor boy—an orphan with no money or influence.
He was hardly a suitable match for her.
“Nanzhi!”
Su Changli’s face fell.
He couldn’t believe his daughter failed to understand what he was implying.
Su Nanzhi said seriously, “We can’t let Mom be someone who goes back on her word, can we?”
Su Changli fell silent.
He shot Yang Yi a vicious glare before rising angrily from his seat.
“I’m finished.
You two eat!”
The moment he turned, a sinister look filled his eyes.
‘A country bumpkin, thinking he can use the Su Family to climb the social ladder?’
‘Wishful thinking!’
Su Changli resolved then and there to get rid of Yang Yi, no matter the cost.
‘This brat is nowhere near good enough for my daughter!’
The atmosphere at the table grew tense.
Lin Gengfang quickly tried to smooth things over.
“Xiaoyi, your Uncle Su is just having a hard time wrapping his head around it.”
“Don’t you worry, I’ll have a word with him!”
Yang Yi smiled.
“Aunt Lin, I’ll find a way to win Uncle Su over.”
Lin Gengfang said gently, “I’m glad to hear you say that.”
After dinner, Su Nanzhi asked Yang Yi to join her for a walk outside.
She said, her tone serious, “You’re probably wondering why I agreed to marry you, aren’t you?”
Yang Yi nodded.
Su Nanzhi stated frankly, “There are two reasons.”
“First, you saved my life.
I can’t be ungrateful, and since I have no other way to repay you, I’ve decided to try and make this work.”
“Second, my mom has told me about Aunt Fang and you since I was little.
I’ve known about their sisterly pact for a long time.”
“She’s very single-minded.
When she makes a promise, she absolutely has to keep it.
I don’t want to see her upset.”
Yang Yi couldn’t help but take another look at her.
He was surprised that she and Aunt Lin were so close.
At this, Su Nanzhi’s tone shifted.
“I don’t have high standards for a partner.
Good character and personality are all that matter.”
“But there’s one thing I can’t stand: a lack of ambition.
You may not have a formal education, but you don’t seem like you’re illiterate.”
“So, I’ll arrange a suitable position for you at my company.
I expect you to be diligent and work hard.”
“It’s fine even if you only make a few thousand a month.”
Yang Yi considered this for a moment, then nodded.
“Alright.
I’ll do as you say.”
His impression of Su Nanzhi had improved dramatically!
Su Nanzhi breathed a sigh of relief.
She most feared that Yang Yi would be unambitious, someone who just wanted to coast on her mother’s affection and live like a spoiled heir.
Forcing her to marry a man like that would be worse than death.
Su Nanzhi asked, “By the way, how good are you at medicine, really?”
Yang Yi replied, “I’d say I’m about a hundred times better than that so-called Divine Doctor Xu!”
“…”
Su Nanzhi said, exasperated, “I’m being serious.
Please give me a serious answer!”
Yang Yi replied, his expression serious, “I am being serious.”
Su Nanzhi was speechless.
She decided to drop the subject.
The two strolled around the neighborhood for a bit before heading back to the Su Family’s villa.
When Lin Gengfang saw them leave and return together, she was overjoyed.
Yang Yi’s room was right next to Su Nanzhi’s room.
“Miss Su, the poison isn’t completely flushed out yet.
Your legs might still feel a little numb tomorrow.”
“I’ll prepare an herbal remedy for you.
Once you take it, you’ll be fine.
So don’t be too alarmed if you feel anything unusual.”
Su Nanzhi paused for a second, then said, “I understand.
Good night.”
“Good night.”
With that, they both went to their separate rooms.
「The next day.」
Yang Yi went to several pharmacies, looking for the herbs needed to clear the last of the poison from Su Nanzhi’s system.
To his surprise, none of them had what he needed.
Finally, an old traditional Chinese doctor told him about a nearby herbal market where he might have better luck.
When he arrived at the market, he found it bustling with vendors and a constant stream of people.
The rich aroma of medicinal herbs hit him the moment he stepped inside.
Yang Yi wandered from stall to stall, shaking his head inwardly.
Everything was just common, low-quality herbs.
For instance, one vendor was selling what he claimed to be a genuine, ten-year-old wild mountain ginseng.
But Yang Yi could tell with a single glance that it was artificially cultivated and barely a year old.
The quality of herbs throughout the market was inconsistent, with very little of note.
Then, Yang Yi stopped in front of a stall, his eyes lighting up.
“Boss, how much for this Phoenix Tail Root here in the middle?”
The vendor was a middle-aged man with an honest, simple-looking face.
“You’ve got a good eye, young man.
This was passed down from my grandfather.
I’ll let it go for twenty thousand.”
The price was reasonable, so Yang Yi didn’t bother haggling.
Just as he was about to pay, a familiar voice sounded from the side.
“Boss, I’ll take that Phoenix Tail Root!”
Yang Yi frowned slightly and turned.
Sure enough, it was that useless fool, Hong Juntao.
Hong Juntao shot Yang Yi a provocative glance, then turned to the troubled-looking vendor.
“Twenty thousand, was it?
Bag it up for me!”
The middle-aged vendor looked conflicted.
“I… I already promised it to this young man…”
At these words, Hong Juntao’s brow knitted into a deep frown.
Seeing this, a young man beside him immediately barked, “Young Master Hong is a distinguished guest of Jifeng Hall!”
“Just you try not selling to him!
You won’t have a place in this market anymore if you don’t!”
The middle-aged vendor’s face paled, and the surrounding stallholders all looked at Hong Juntao with fear and awe.
“Who is this young master?
A distinguished guest of Jifeng Hall!”
“And isn’t that Divine Doctor Xu’s third disciple, Chen Xuan, beside him?”
“Divine Doctor Xu’s disciple is personally attending to him, and look how respectful he’s being!”
Hearing this, the onlookers’ gazes became even more reverent.
Hong Juntao sneered inwardly at Yang Yi.
‘This brat should understand his place by now, right?’
The vendor, his face pale with fright, hurriedly wrapped up the Phoenix Tail Root.
With the Phoenix Tail Root in hand, Hong Juntao said with a smug grin, “Hey, Yang.
Want this Phoenix Tail Root?”
“If you publicly call me ‘Grandpa’ three times, I’ll give it to you for free.”
Yang Yi remained perfectly calm and unafraid.
“A useless fool like you?
You think you’re worthy?”
“…”
Hong Juntao’s expression froze on his face, but Chen Xuan next to him instantly exploded in anger!
“The audacity!
How dare you insult Young Master Hong!
I’ll teach you a lesson on his behalf!”
As he spoke, Chen Xuan charged forward, ready to pummel Yang Yi.
Yang Yi dodged with ease, then stuck out his foot.
With a THUD, Chen Xuan tripped and crashed to the ground.
‘In his entire life, there were only two people he’d never been able to beat.’
‘One was his cranky old master, the man who taught him medicine and Martial Arts.’
‘The other was his Senior Sister, who was confined by a hidden injury.’
‘How could an ordinary person like Chen Xuan possibly be his match?’
“AARGH—”
Chen Xuan let out a bloodcurdling scream as his nose was flattened by the impact.
Seeing this, Hong Juntao became absolutely livid!
The middle-aged vendor was terrified.
“Young man, apologize, quickly!” he urged.
“You’ll be in big trouble if this escalates!”
Yang Yi said nonchalantly, “Boss, he’s just a useless fool.
Why are you all so afraid of him?”
These words made the vendor tremble with fear.
“Yang!” Hong Juntao roared.
“You’d better get on your knees and apologize right now, or prepare to face my fury!”
Yang Yi rolled his eyes.
“Moron.”
He turned and walked away, ignoring the useless, foreign-educated idiot.
Seeing him leave, Hong Juntao barked, “Everyone in this market, listen to me!
Anyone who dares sell herbs to this kid is making an enemy of Divine Doctor Xu!”
“If you want to cross Divine Doctor Xu, then you’ll have to face the consequences!”