Volume 1 Chapter 21: Long-Standing Resentment

Outskirts of Nanjiang City.

The population density in the suburbs has always been relatively low.

Compared to the bustling crowds and constant activity of the city center, this area offers more tranquility and leisure.

Due to recent demolitions around the southern suburbs, vast open spaces have been left behind.

These open lands were quickly claimed by shrewd investors...

Eventually, a place resembling a secluded paradise emerged.

Cloud Lake Villa.

Stepping into Cloud Lake Villa feels like instantly leaving the clamor of the outside world behind.

Ascending the mountain, one is greeted by meticulously maintained gardens.

Clusters of verdant pines and cypresses are arranged with artistic order, while various exotic flowers compete in vibrant displays.

Beneath one’s feet lies a winding path paved with stone slabs.

These slabs, old and weathered, seem to have been transported from some distant place. They bear the marks of time, far from the cheapness of ordinary concrete.

At the end of the stone path stands the grand main building of the villa.

Its blue bricks and red tiles evoke a classic, antique charm, exuding an extraordinary air.

The quality here is evidently high.

...

Main Hall of Cloud Lake Villa.

The ceiling is supported by wooden beams, their grain clear and crisscrossing, presenting a natural and rustic beauty.

Despite the passage of years, they remain sturdy as ever, attesting to the building’s distinguished heritage.

Several antique-style palace lanterns hang from the beams.

Their shades are crafted from silk as thin as a cicada’s wing, embroidered with exquisite traditional floral and bird motifs. The light filtering through casts a soft, warm glow, enveloping the hall in a dreamlike haze.

The walls are adorned with elegant beige wallpaper, delicate in texture and smooth to the touch.

Subtle patterns can be discerned upon close inspection—ancient poems and landscape paintings delicately traced in golden thread.

Under the lamp light, they radiate a refined elegance.

At intervals, intricately carved wooden niches are inset into the walls, displaying ancient porcelain, jade artifacts, and other antiquities.

These treasures, weathered by time, clearly hold considerable value.

In the center of the hall sits a massive pearwood table.

Its surface is polished like a mirror, with a deep and mellow hue.

Surrounding it are pearwood chairs of matching craftsmanship, occupied by several men.

At the head of the table sits an elderly man—the head of the Zhou family, Zhou Yunyi.

He holds a sheet of paper, his gaze fixed intently upon it.

To his immediate left sits a stout, balding middle-aged man.

This is Qin Huai, director of the City Pharmaceutical Regulatory Bureau.

Qin’s round belly stretches his shirt taut as if it might burst at any moment.

His face glistens with oil under the light, giving him an even shinier appearance.

Sparse strands of hair are carefully combed to one side, attempting to conceal his increasingly bald forehead, but the effort only draws more attention.

To the right is a young man around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, handsome with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, exuding the vigor and confidence of youth.

He is Zhou Yunyi’s grandson, Zhou Chen.

Zhou Chen sits upright, his spine straight, a testament to his good upbringing and manners.

Yet the slight upward curl of his lips betrays a faint, barely perceptible smugness, as if certain of an impending victory.

...

The Zhou family’s ancestors once held a measure of prominence.

The family patriarch was once an imperial physician.

Not because of outstanding medical skill, but because he specialized in crafting beauty elixirs that made the court’s nobles radiate with charm.

With unique formulas, he secured a place within the highly guarded and hierarchical palace.

These recipes embodied the wisdom and dedication of Zhou’s forebears, standing apart in the realm of imperial cosmetics, once coveted treasures among the elite.

Through the ebb and flow of time, these formulas have been passed down to the present.

Leveraging deep roots and years of painstaking management, the Zhou family has become a dominant force monopolizing Nanjiang City’s beauty elixir market.

In this region, the Zhou family once wielded great influence, their every move closely watched.

However, the past two years have left them anxious and unsettled.

The emergence of the “Youthful Radiance Elixir” was like a stone cast into a still lake, sending ripples far and wide and shattering Nanjiang’s once stable status quo.

The Li Group rose unexpectedly, like a dark horse, seizing much of the market from the Zhou family through this elixir.

The Youthful Radiance Elixir’s effectiveness won immediate consumer favor, earning a growing reputation and momentum to surpass its predecessor. Consumers flocked to it eagerly.

This posed a grave threat to the Zhou family, breeding deep resentment.

The rivalry between the two families sprouted like spring grass, gradually intensifying, and relations grew increasingly adversarial.

The once harmonious business atmosphere had become a battleground.

...

Speaking of the feud between the Zhou and Li families, one cannot ignore the incident where Li Cheng was imprisoned.

It happened at a bar.

Li Cheng had the habit of drinking alone.

The bar he frequented was called Old Friends Tavern, a place not overly crowded.

That very night, Zhou Yunyi’s third grandson, Zhou Tao, happened to be there for leisure.

Zhou Tao was a notoriously arrogant and spoiled playboy.

Relying on the Zhou family’s power, he was brazen and tyrannical outside, utterly dismissive of others.

That night, after only a few drinks, he started causing trouble in the bar.

He groped women and slapped men indiscriminately.

He was a complete menace.

But Li Cheng was no small-time figure and would not tolerate such behavior.

...

A conflict soon erupted between the two.

Zhou Tao recognized Li Cheng.

Initially, they exchanged only a few sharp words and insults.

But Zhou Tao, uneducated and crude, was no match verbally for Li Cheng.

The argument quickly escalated, their faces flushed with anger.

Fueled by alcohol, Zhou Tao and his cronies launched the first attack.

He wanted Li Cheng to understand the consequences of crossing the Zhou family in Nanjiang City.

“Don’t think your Li family is anything special,” he sneered. “You’re just upstarts. Compared to us Zhou, you’re nothing.”

“Beat him up!”

Li Cheng refused to back down.

Though alone, he fought fiercely in self-defense.

During the scuffle, he accidentally pushed one of Zhou Tao’s henchmen.

The man lost his balance and like a puppet without control, crashed headfirst into the corner of a table.

He died instantly.

By the facts, Li Cheng’s actions could have been deemed justifiable self-defense.

After all, he was attacked by multiple men and the fatal accident was unintentional.

But the Zhou family would not let it rest.

Using their powerful connections, they pulled strings behind the scenes, employing all manner of influence to secure a conviction for involuntary manslaughter.

Thus, Li Cheng was wrongfully imprisoned, forced to serve three years behind bars.

This incident poured fuel on the already tense hostility between the two families, deepening their enmity.

The seeds of hatred were firmly planted in their hearts, like dormant beasts ready to erupt at any moment.

Now, it was said the Li family had improved the production method of the Youthful Radiance Elixir, pushing the Zhou family to the brink.

Their own beauty products’ sales had already suffered significant blows, with market share slowly eroded.

If the Li family released an even more effective elixir, the Zhou family’s position in the beauty medicine market would be obliterated.

This was a threat to their very livelihood.

To protect their market share, the Zhou family finally resorted to underhanded tactics.

They decided to seize the Li family’s Youthful Radiance Elixir formula.

By taking away Li’s greatest asset, they could claim total victory in the market competition.

So they spared no expense, bribing numerous influential figures—including, of course, Qin Huai.

At this moment, the three men sat in the Cloud Lake Villa’s hall, each wearing expressions of triumph or eager anticipation.

Because the formula for the Youthful Radiance Elixir had finally been obtained!