Chapter 90

Chapter 90

That's right, Han Zhang had set his mind on winning over Kang Zhanxun.

Although Kang Zhanxun and Shen Huaizhi and the others weren't exactly on good terms, and his behavior was domineering and overbearing, with a dark, unreasonable personality.

But with his years of reading people, Han Zhang had a hunch this guy wasn't truly evil at heart.

If Kang Zhanxun were truly as vicious and dark as he appeared on the surface, Shen Huaizhi and the others wouldn't have come out of it in one piece—at the very least, they'd be missing an arm or a leg.

Because Kang Zhanxun seemed to have something wrong with his body—he'd fly into violent rages and lose his mind easily.

If a guy like that really had evil intentions, he wouldn't waste a single word—he'd just go for the kill!

So Han Zhang figured it was worth trying to reach out.

When they heard the idea of "making Kang Zhanxun their lackey," Shen Huaizhi and the other three, who had been looking down in the dumps, suddenly lit up.

Ever since they entered the Imperial Academy, they'd been at each other's throats with Kang Zhanxun.

Too bad that when it came to family background, he was the heir of the Dingbei Marquis's estate—a house with real military power, deep imperial favor, and solid roots—they couldn't compete;

When it came to personal ability... the earlier situation had made reality clear—he could outfight them too!

So for years, they'd been crushed under Kang Zhanxun, their mortal enemy, and it was suffocating.

The thought of making Kang Zhanxun their lackey was enough to make them giddy.

The group got all excited: "Make Kang Zhanxun our lackey? Are you serious? Brother Han, don't mess with us—is this actually possible?"

"Not sure if it'll work, but it can't hurt to try. And trying won't cost us anything, right?"

This time, Han Zhang didn't make any bold promises.

He'd really been worn down by these little troublemakers and didn't dare promise them a thing.

But Shen Huaizhi and the others weren't disappointed to hear that; they nodded eagerly instead: "Right, trying won't hurt! That Kang Zhanxun is a real pain, but Brother Han, just do what you can."

"If you want to know about Kang Zhanxun's background, Brother Han, you came to the right guys. We've been keeping tabs on that guy for years, just waiting to find something on him to take him down..."

With that, they slapped their thighs in excitement.

And then they spilled everything they knew about Kang Zhanxun, one detail at a time.

Even though Kang Zhanxun seemed to hang out with Shen Huaizhi and the others like they were the same age, he was actually already thirty—the age when a man should have his life together.

Normally, at that age, as the heir to a marquisate, he should've been pushed into an official post by his family long ago, working for the family's future—so why was he still wasting his years at the academy, doing nothing?

Especially since the Dingbei Marquis household was a military family through and through; their sons didn't need to earn scholarly honors, and Kang Zhanxun was obviously built for the military—sending him to an army camp to train would've been the obvious move.

But the problem was, Kang Zhanxun had too violent a temper, a terrible reputation, and a knack for causing trouble.

The Dingbei Marquis household simply didn't dare let him loose, afraid he'd cause some huge disaster.

"...That Kang Zhanxun guy—maybe because he lost his mother young and was an only son, his grandmother doted on him like a treasure, spoiling him even more than us playboys—he's a real little tyrant."

"We only throw our weight around at home; out in the world, we know how to read the room. But Kang Zhanxun really dares to mess with anyone. When his temper flares, he'll even beat up the young princes and princesses of the imperial family! His dad's had to clean up his messes more times than anyone can count..."

"When he was thirteen, he even dared to lay a hand on one of the emperor's princes. If it weren't for the Dingbei Marquis household's long record of loyalty and military merit, he would've been severely punished back then. But after that, he was sent to a temple, ordered to live on a vegetarian diet, reflect on his actions, and endure hardship..."

"But even after years of that hardship, the guy didn't learn his lesson. After he came back, he was still arrogant and domineering, spending his days on idle pleasures, and everyone in the capital found him disgusting. No noble lady or young master in the capital was willing to marry into his family."

"With no marriage prospects in sight, Brother Han, guess what he did? He forced himself on his second aunt's niece, who had come from her family's home for a visit!"

Han Zhang mulled it over silently, then pressed on: "And then what happened..."

"Then he married her, of course. His second aunt's family was an earl's household, not low-born, but they'd already fallen on hard times. Since their daughter had been violated, the earl's family couldn't bear to send her to a nunnery, so they took the compensation and let it go."

"But who would've thought that after marriage, the guy would still look down on her for her low family status, saying she wasn't good enough for him. He openly favored his concubine over his wife, and even nearly killed his wife and legitimate son for the sake of that concubine and her bastard kid."

"It wasn't until the girl took the matter to court and it became the talk of the town that Kang Zhanxun finally backed off."

"But that also pissed off the old Marquis of Dingbei. He's now given up on this useless son and plans to skip him entirely, grooming the grandkids to inherit the marquisate instead..."

The group let out a collective sigh of mixed feelings.

But just as they finished speaking.

Shen Huaizhi suddenly changed the subject with a mysterious air, lowering his voice: "But all that's just the surface. From all the years we've been secretly watching him, we think Kang Zhanxun was probably set up by someone!"

After all, as they say, the one who knows you best in this world is always your enemy, right?

Han Zhang looked at these little troublemakers in front of him and gave a rare approving smile: "How so?"

"We really do hate that Kang Zhanxun guy, but after all these years of dealing with him, we think he's actually a pretty straightforward, no-nonsense guy at heart."

"That he's arrogant and violent and throws punches—yeah, we believe that. But that whole thing about forcing himself on a woman to get married—that really doesn't seem like him."

"He's the heir of the Dingbei Marquis household. As long as he isn't stripped of that title, he's guaranteed to become the next Marquis of Dingbei. Besides, Kang Zhanxun, like us, only cares about having fun and has no ambition..."

"So the status of his wife's family wouldn't matter to him at all. Why would he use such a scandalous method to force a marriage? And then turn around and look down on the earl's family for being broke?"

"Instead, it's the earl's family that got closer to the marquis's estate and gained a ton of benefits from it..."

At that point.

Shen Huaizhi and the others looked confused again: "But if the earl's family wanted to climb up to the marquis's estate, there were plenty of ways to do it. Why would they use such a self-destructive, reputation-ruining scheme?"

Han Zhang nodded thoughtfully: "Logically, something's off here."

"See? Brother Han also thinks this marriage is fishy, right? And the relationships and attitudes among the masters of the Dingbei Marquis household... are weird too."

"First, there's the old lady of the marquis's estate. It's no surprise she dotes on her grandson who lost his mother young, but the Marquis never remarried after his first wife died, and the old lady didn't stop him—that's weird, because she's hardly a tolerant or forgiving person."

"Second, there's the Marquis of Dingbei himself. If you say he doesn't care about Kang Zhanxun, he has cleaned up after his son many times; but on a daily basis, he shows more favor to his nephew, pulling strings everywhere for the nephew's future. The whole capital praises him as a loyal, righteous, and kind uncle!"

"Some people have suspected something going on between him and his sister-in-law, but he hasn't stripped Kang Zhanxun of his heir status. Seeing his son turn out useless, he turned to grooming the grandson instead, with no intention of letting the second branch inherit..."

"Finally, there's Kang Zhanxun's second aunt. If you say she wants the heir position and deliberately raised her nephew to be useless, then why hasn't she made a move against her grand-nephew, now that the Marquis is grooming him?"

"If you say she genuinely treats Kang Zhanxun well, she defends him no matter right or wrong—that's not love, that's spoiling him rotten..."

Finally, Shen Huaizhi and the others concluded with total certainty:

"The Dingbei Marquis household is weird inside and out... Based on what we've figured out, there's got to be a huge secret hidden in that house."

"Makes sense." Han Zhang nodded, then shared his own discovery: "When I fought Kang Zhanxun earlier, I noticed his problem isn't just a hot temper or impulsiveness—it looks more like mania caused by poisoning."

"What? Poison?!"

Shen Huaizhi and the others were all taken aback by these words.

Although it wasn't unusual for people to be drugged in the inner quarters, Kang Zhanxun was, after all, the heir to a marquis's household.

Guys like him, heirs to noble titles, could not only attend palace banquets but also summon an imperial physician at the drop of a hat.

Kang Zhanxun wasn't the type to just take it lying down. If he felt unwell, he'd surely call for a physician. There's no way he'd have been poisoned without even knowing it.

Pan Taining suddenly latched onto another detail: "Brother Han, you know about medicine too?"

"Just a little. As you know, folks from poor country families can hardly afford to see a doctor when they get sick, so they usually have to make do with old folk remedies."

"Back when I was young and dumb, hoping to ease my family's burden, I used to sneak around and watch the village barefoot doctor work and picked up a little bit about medicines..."

Han Zhang spun the lie without so much as a blink. After all, only the original owner would know whether he'd actually spied on a doctor to learn medicine.

It probably wasn't just a little—it was a whole heck of a lot.

The four of them clutched their chests, green with envy and bitter about it: "You can read, you can fight, you can garden, you can teach... and now you know medicine too! Brother Han, tell us, is there anything you can't do?"

We're all human, so why is the gap so huge?

Whatever Brother Han studied, he picked up in two shakes, while they had to bust their butts just to learn anything!

Seeing their expressions, Han Zhang couldn't help but chuckle: "Alright, you'll see what else I've got up my sleeve later. For now, let's get back to Kang Zhanxun's matter."

Shen Huaizhi quickly nodded: "Right, right, we haven't finished that yet. Brother Han, Kang Zhanxun's temper is so explosive, you think it's from poisoning? How is that possible? Kang Zhanxun isn't stupid. Since he can summon imperial physicians, how could he have gone all these years without noticing anything?"

"Not all poisons can be detected. Imperial physicians aren't omniscient either. There are countless unknown toxins in the world, and chronic poisoning in particular is the hardest to uncover."

"Just as you analyzed, the Dingbei Marquis household is riddled with oddities. There must be hidden secrets..."

"Don't dig deeper into this matter anymore. Stay away from Kang Zhanxun from now on, so you don't get caught up in trouble and bring disaster upon yourselves."

Han Zhang thought for a moment and warned them.

"Huh? But didn't we agree to take Kang Zhanxun on as our little brother?"

The four of them grew anxious, still fixated on that idea.

Han Zhang was speechless: "Is having a little brother more important than your lives? Can you afford to mess with the Dingbei Marquis's household?"

The four of them: "..."

They couldn't afford to provoke them, but they still wanted Kang Zhanxun as their little brother!