Treasure Trove of Jianghu

Chapter 1

PART 1

The beginning

The Xiao family is very powerful.

Not to mention anything else, starting from our great-great-grandfather, the Xiao family has never had any female members, only male members. Generation after generation, by the time it came to Master Xiao, it was already the fifteenth generation.

According to the ancestral teachings, in order to have a daughter, every generation of the Xiao family must devote themselves wholeheartedly, even unto death.

He wouldn't stop until she was completely worn out.

Finally, when Mr. Xiao was fifty years old, he was blessed with a daughter.

The whole family was overjoyed, and Mr. Xiao even held a dignified ceremony to mark his retirement from sowing.

At the ceremony of washing his hands of his past life, Master Xiao, in high spirits, named the little girl Xiao Wushi Niang, in memory of his glorious life as a stud.

All the concubines were in tears, weeping with joy.

From then on, the banquets continued for ten days straight.

The entire city of Yangzhou was deserted.

Many years later, people would still wistfully recall: Why did Master Xiao stop after having his fiftieth son? There were so many concubines he could have kept trying, after all, the Xiao family was so large and powerful.

These are not the main points... The key is that between the man and the woman, everyone always chooses to remember the man.

Because Mr. Xiao had always had sons, everyone forgot that he could also have daughters.

Therefore, in the eyes of outsiders, Master Xiao had fifty sons.

The youngest one is called... Xiao Wushilang.

PART 1

"Igoro, what are you thinking about?"

"Hmm, I miss my beauty."

A gentle breeze swept through, filling Yangzhou with willow catkins that danced in the air like the first snow of early spring. On the second floor of Yipinxiang Restaurant, two young boys sat gazing out the window.

"Are you thinking about the young master of the Duan family?"

"Hmm...he's quite a beauty..." He was rather uninterested, practically sprawled out in his chair as he spoke, tossing peanuts up and catching them in his mouth, thoroughly enjoying himself.

"Fifty-Lang, why would your uncle arrange a marriage for you..." The speaker was a frail-looking boy who coughed after every few words, his brows furrowed into a deep frown. "But you're only fifteen. I heard that your fortieth son hasn't had any blind dates. Why did he skip your brother and arrange a marriage for you directly?"

"Yes, because I'm handsome." With a quick glance around his big eyes, Xiao Wushilang smiled and two small dimples appeared on his lips, while his small, upturned nose wrinkled up.

She's such a tender, doughy child.

“But, Ishiro, your father has arranged for you to marry a man.”

"Ah... um." Isoro's eyes drooped lower, his eyelashes fluttering, as if he were thinking about something: "Probably a man."

Of course it's a man.

The Duan family's young master, known as Narcissus, is known throughout Yangzhou.

She could faint from looking in the mirror, combed her hair in front of the pool in the middle of the night, and hid in her embroidery room every day to draw grass and embroider flowers.

She actually wants to marry a man like that.

That's terrifying.

"Giro, are you going to marry him?" This question really hit a nerve, clearly touching on Giro's most hidden wounds.

"I won't marry him." Her small hand clenched into a fist, and Goruro's teeth ground together. "Let that Narcissus girl marry him."

Just kidding. The Xiao family is large and powerful; there's no reason for her to marry into the second-best Duan family.

I heard that there is no water in the pond there, and there is not even a decent mirror in the entire mansion.

What a sorry state!

"But, Igarashi, why are you so angry?"

"Because...this eunuch actually sent someone to the door, demanding that the engagement be called off."

How embarrassing! To be rejected by such a eunuch.

The reason for breaking off the engagement was even more absurd. Duan Shuixian sent someone to deliver a self-portrait, shouting: If Xiao Wushiniang's appearance is more beautiful than hers, she will accept the marriage unconditionally; if she is inferior to hers, then the marriage between the two families will be severed.

What's most frustrating is that the person in the portrait is ethereal and otherworldly, truly possessing the beauty of a goddess.

Not to mention Xiao Wushiniang, even among Master Xiao's fifty concubines, not one could compare to a single hair of Duan Shuixian.

"If I run into that eunuch, I'll beat him up first and teach him a lesson about female authority!" Xiao Wushilang raised his fist high and slammed it on the table.

The young man at the next table was so startled that he coughed up a large amount of water.

It wouldn't have mattered if the water sprayed out, but he was wearing a thin veil, so the veil got wet and clung to his face, outlining a soft contour.

Although he couldn't see clearly, he was indeed a very handsome man.

Her eyes were as black as stars, their gaze slightly shifting. Her nose was high, and her lips, thin beneath a veil, clung tightly to her lips, making her appear even more sensual. Her long hair was tied back in a small lock with a jade crown, the rest cascading down her shoulders like silk. Her shoulders trembled slightly, causing the silky strands of hair to shimmer and quiver.

He sat there dressed in white, seemingly oblivious to everyone around him.

"Ugly people are always up to no good." Goruro muttered under his breath as he turned his gaze to the man in the white veil.

The man in the white veil was not annoyed. He turned the cup around, his eyes sparkling, and he hummed softly. Suddenly, he slowly stood up with an elegant posture. Wu Shilang was half-lying down, his head tilted back. Looking up through the gap in the chair, he could see two white jade swords inlaid with gold and silver fastened side by side at his waist. With a slight movement, they jingled, clear and melodious.

"So you were Wu Shi Niang all along?"

His voice was pleasant and low, like a warm breeze. The woman enunciated the words exceptionally clearly, "It's that fifty-year-old woman who was jilted."

No one dared to mention the word "mother" in their own words, let alone in this way.

His tone was indifferent, yet it made Isoro's teeth involuntarily chatter.

Coupled with the faint sarcasm in his eyes, Ishiro could no longer hold back, threw down the peanuts in his hand, and pounced on him.

She didn't learn much; after all that learning, she only picked up one trick from the guards.

Its name is Monkey Stealing Peaches.

When Giro rushed over, the man in white was startled and dodged her. Giro had noticed before that this man in white had strong mysophobia symptoms; before sitting down, he would spread a thick stack of cloth on the stool.

While eating, he took the chopsticks out of his own luggage, but still wiped them clean again and again.

So, before lunging forward, he spat out a mouthful of phlegm and swiped it straight across. Sure enough, the man in the white veil dodged the phlegm in disgust.

This is the moment I've been waiting for.

Isoro's hand barely reached out, and with a single move, "Monkey Steals the Peach," the wind and clouds changed color...

The man in the white veil blushed instantly to his neck. In his haste, two crisp clinking sounds rang out as his hands gripped the two white jade swords at his waist. Even so, Ichiro's hand brushed against the peach, giving it a quick squeeze.

"Fifty-niang, you have no shame."

His tone was furious, and the man in the white veil's face turned from red to white, trembling with rage.

In all my years in the underworld, I have never seen such a scoundrel of a woman. She dares to act like a hooligan in broad daylight!

"Tch, such a little peach, daring to act so presumptuously." Igarashi laughed freely, gesturing with his hand. The white-veiled man's face immediately turned from white to green.

"Fine, Fifty-Lang, I, Duan Shuixian, swear today that I will avenge this with your blood!" The man in white robes laughed in extreme anger, his rage reaching its peak.

Huh? Duan Shuixian?

Before I could even be surprised, the pair of white jade swords were already at my feet.

"Fan Cheng, I'm so sorry. I'll take care of your family..." Wu Shilang was filled with grief, as if he were saying goodbye to his brother. With a wave of his hand, whoosh, the sickly young man who was eating with him flew out and flew in an arc towards Duan Shuixian with tears streaming down his face.

Duan Shuixian, dressed in white gauze, paused for only 0.03 seconds before catching the first hidden weapon that came flying from the air. In those few seconds, she could only watch helplessly as Xiao's 50th daughter frantically climbed onto the window frame, and with a loud thud, fell face-first to the ground from the second floor.

By the time they reached the window, Isoro had already stood up in a fluster and looked up.

Leaning against the window frame on the second floor, Duan Shuixian's lips twitched involuntarily.

Downstairs, Wu Shilang, holding a piglet and with chicken feathers stuck in his hair, saw me looking up and suddenly became very alert. He grinned, his mouth swollen like a sausage, and shouted while laughing, "My darling Narcissus, your husband is going first. We'll continue our martial arts sparring next time."

As he spoke, he made a peach shape with his hand, but his feet didn't hesitate at all. He ran wildly all the way, and in no time, he was out of sight.

Standing by the window, Duan Shuixian's face was expressionless as she gazed into the distance with her starry eyes. After a long while, she slowly and slightly raised one corner of her mouth from beneath her veil.

"Young Master, should we bring Xiao Wushi Niang back?" A guard in blue robes stood behind him.

Duan Shuixian slowly raised one hand, waved it slightly, then turned around and said cheerfully, "No need, I'll chase after them myself."

Xiao Wushiniang is indeed a very good toy!

Therefore, the matter of annuling the engagement can indeed be put on hold.

Wu Shilang ran back to the Xiao residence as fast as he could. Standing in front of the residence was Master Xiao, whose face was ashen. He was holding a wooden stick and his eyes were blazing as he swept over. When he saw Wu Shilang with chicken feathers stuck upside down, he became even angrier.

"Young Master Duan is already in the front hall. Look at yourself, what a sight you are!"

Damn it, Isoro rolled his eyes in mid-air. This damned eunuch was faster than a rabbit. He had taken all the shortcuts to get back, but he was still behind this transvestite.

"You're still standing there like an idiot!" Master Xiao's stick came down suddenly, startling Xiao Wushilang so much that he jumped far away. "Look at yourself, what a sight you are! Go change your clothes and get ready to entertain the guests!"

"Entertaining guests?!" Master Xiao was probably furious, even stealing the madam's lines.

“I’m not going,” Goro pouted. “He’s coming to break off the engagement, do you expect me to stand in the front hall and clap my hands to welcome him?”

My own father must be getting senile; he still values his former prospective son-in-law so much.

“Who said he came to break off the engagement?” Master Xiao’s beard twitched, and a big smile suddenly appeared on his angry face, spreading out from his mouth like a large cosmos flower. “On the contrary, he came to deliver the betrothal letter.”

With a flick of his wrist, a piece of fine white jade was carved into an adorable little monkey, its eyes squinting as it wriggled around his back.

Wu Shilang recalled the image of the young master of the Duan family covering his genitals with a livid face at the teahouse, and suddenly burst out laughing, saying loudly, "Alright, alright, I'll go and meet him."

This piece of jade must have been carved a long time ago. After what happened this morning, I really don't know what Duan Shuixian was thinking when she took it out now.

What an eccentric young master.

Before she even pushed open the door to her room, she heard the sounds of fighting coming from inside.

The forty-ninth concubine grabbed the thirtieth concubine's hair, the twentieth concubine grabbed the tenth concubine's hair, and the other defeated concubines who came to deliver clothes lay on the ground, whimpering and crying.

The room was filled with brocade and silk, and glittered with jewels.

When they saw Goruro come in, they all swarmed around him like precious treasures.