The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

He quickly brewed the medicine, downed it in one gulp, and shooed Wang Yang and Wang Wan'Er out of the room before jumping back into the wooden tub.

Once in the medicinal bath, Chen Dong immediately began circulating his qi, determined to make the most of his time. After one Small Circulation, his injuries gradually healed in the medicinal water, and the first wisp of True Qi formed within him.

Just as he was preparing to begin a second cycle, a commotion erupted outside the door.

"Madam, the Young Master-in-law is bathing! You can't go in!"

"Heh, what is there that I can't see? He'll soon be calling me 'mother'! I heard you say he knows martial arts. How can you tolerate him taking a medicinal bath? Aren't you afraid he'll run away?"

As her voice faded, Chen Dong's door was violently thrown open.

Fang Mei, dressed in a goose-yellow dress, barged in with a servant.

Chen Dong quickly jumped out of the wooden tub, wrapped a bath towel around his waist, and stared coldly at Fang Mei, the question clear in his eyes.

Fang Mei's eyes widened in pleasant surprise as she took in Chen Dong's body. It was a perfect physique, with muscles in golden proportion—lean and defined, a world away from Master Wang's flabby flesh.

Fang Mei's gaze turned cold. She quickly swallowed and, without offering Chen Dong any explanation, turned and gestured to the servant beside her.

This was the same servant who had tried to strangle Chen Dong earlier, a man named Wang Ze. Receiving the signal, he stepped forward with a cold smile and slammed a heavy palm into Chen Dong's abdomen.

Chen Dong neither defended nor dodged. He was instantly knocked to the ground, and the single wisp of True Qi he had worked so hard to gather was scattered once again.

Fang Mei had come with ill intent; fighting back or defending himself would likely result in an even worse fate. He reasoned that because of Wang Xian'Er, Fang Mei probably wouldn't kill him, so he gritted his teeth and took the blow.

Wang Ze then took out a packet of powder and forced it into Chen Dong's mouth. With a cold, vicious look, he said, "Young Master-in-law, the Madam wants you to be more compliant. Only she has the antidote for this Seven Insects Powder. You'd better listen to her arrangements obediently and don't get any funny ideas!"

Chen Dong staggered to his feet. "Aren't you afraid I'll tell Master Wang about this?"

Fang Mei sneered, "I'm doing this for the good of the Wang Family. Even if the Master finds out, he won't do anything to me."

Chen Dong, with a body that had only had a day to recover, had managed to break through the encirclement of Wang Yang and four guards. This had put Fang Mei on high alert. If Chen Dong were just an ordinary person, she would have been delighted, but he knew martial arts and might even have a cultivation base—a definite headache.

Marrying Wang Xian'Er was something any normal person would refuse. Since Chen Dong hadn't revealed some powerful background to get out of it, his origins were likely just as they'd guessed: he was a refugee. With his astounding medical skills and now his martial arts, Chen Dong was simply too mysterious. Fang Mei had to guard against him.

Whether for her future status in the Wang Family or for this marriage that concerned the family's honor, it was best to keep Chen Dong under her control. As for Wang Xian'Er's illness, that was of little importance to her. Cured or not, as long as she controlled Chen Dong, what could he possibly do? Besides, human nature could be trained. Once she asserted her dominance, she could slowly mold him to her will.

'I knew it,' Chen Dong thought. 'The moment I showed even a glimmer of resistance, this is how they'd treat me.'

Fang Mei's smile remained, but a flicker of desire showed in her eyes. She crouched down, her finger tracing a line across Chen Dong's chest as she murmured, "So tempting. It's truly a waste on Xian'Er!"

Chen Dong was startled. "What are you doing now?"

Fang Mei licked her lips and smiled. "Don't worry, we have plenty of time. My dear son-in-law, just marry Xian'Er obediently. We'll have all the time in the world afterward!" As she spoke, her hand actually slid inside the towel around Chen Dong's waist.

Chen Dong winced. This woman was actually making a move on him. He quickly grabbed Fang Mei's hand, stopping her from going any further.

Fang Mei laughed lightly, pulled her hand free, and said to Wang Ze, "Get rid of all his herbs and this medicinal bath!"

Wang Ze acted as if he hadn't seen a thing and answered, "Yes, Madam!"

Fang Mei got up to leave. Standing at the door, she added, "Before you marry Xian'Er, don't even think about going anywhere. Just stay here. The Seven Insects Powder will act up once tonight. You can have a good taste of what it feels like then." With that, she left the room.

Wang Ze followed close behind her, also calling for people to come and take away the herbs and the wooden tub.

Chen Dong changed his clothes, feeling a grudging respect for the woman's audacity. She knew he was a brilliant physician, yet she still thought she could control him with poison.

Sitting on the bed, he focused his mind, sensing the Seven Insects Powder within his body. In less than fifteen minutes, Chen Dong had figured out the poison's properties. It was a timed poison refined from seven strange and venomous insects. Not only would it flare up on a schedule, causing unbearable pain throughout the body—a feeling like his organs were being clawed at and gnawed on—but it could also devour and suppress a person's True Qi, making it impossible to use.

'The name sounds common, but this is a high-grade poison,' he thought. 'I can't believe Fang Mei was willing to use it on me.'

What Chen Dong didn't know was that Fang Mei had indeed taken a liking to his body. Otherwise, she wouldn't have used the Seven Insects Powder; Wang Ze, by contrast, wasn't so lucky.

But while the poison was unusual, for Chen Dong, it was nothing special. When he had studied medicine, the skill he practiced most was detoxification.

Everything useful in the room had been taken away, but that wouldn't stop him. He found the very same embroidery needle that had pricked him on his clothes when he first arrived. Chen Dong began his work.