The truth couldn't stay hidden forever. Fang Wenrui found out and, though he had never been involved in decision-making before, flew into a rage. In the end, left with no other choice, he swallowed his pride and went to seek help, banking on the idea that his second brother would still value their fraternal bond. But he was told that the second brother wasn’t in Jiang City—Fang Xiaoxiao was now handling everything.
That led to the scene just moments ago.
Fang Xiaoxiao had long been tempered by the stories Fang Zhiyi told her day after day, and with her direct involvement in the family business, she was no longer the naive girl she once was.
Fang Wenrui’s face flushed red and then paled, but in the end, he gritted his teeth, signed an IOU, and took the money.
Applause broke out as Fang Zhiyi emerged from the shadows. Fang Xiaoxiao dashed over and threw her arms around him. "Uncle! When did you get back?"
"Hey, hey—you’re a grown woman now, stop being so reckless! Off with you!" Fang Zhiyi blocked her with one hand.
Fang Xiaoxiao grinned sheepishly. "Heh, no matter how old I get, you’ll always be my uncle."
Fang Zhiyi studied her. "Hmm, it seems you really do know how to handle things now."
Looking at the young woman before him—once frail and timid, now poised and confident—he couldn’t help but feel a swell of emotion.
The next day, Fang Xiaoxiao deliberately sent Huang Li to the medicine shop in her place, hoping to have breakfast with her uncle, only to find the house empty.
The usually stern butler stepped in. "Miss, the Second Master left word. From now on, you’ll take over the Western medicine business. All profits are yours to manage. Here’s the contract—he’s already signed it."
Fang Xiaoxiao stood frozen, as if struck by lightning, staring blankly at the butler.
"There’s also this letter."
By then, Fang Zhiyi was already aboard a train bound for Guang City, watching Jiang City fade into the distance. The system piped up, "So you’re just abandoning her like that?"
"You don’t know shit. I—no, not me, the original owner—owed her this."
From that day on, Fang Zhiyi seemed to vanish from the face of the earth. But in the black market, a shadowy figure known as "Second Master" rose to prominence, dealing in vast quantities of Western medicine and firearms.
Two years later, Wu Dapao was defeated and killed in battle. Jiang City welcomed a new era as disciplined troops marched in, swiftly eradicating the criminal underworld that had plagued the city. Every family involved in the opium trade was wiped out.
"Those soldiers seemed to know exactly who was dealing opium—they had a list and just started arresting people," Huang Li remarked, peering out the window.
Fang Xiaoxiao gave an absentminded hum, preoccupied with the letter in her hands.
"Miss, isn’t that last month’s letter? Did the Second Master not send one this month?"
A trace of worry crossed Fang Xiaoxiao’s face. "With all the fighting everywhere, I wonder if Uncle’s alright."
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Huang Li blinked. "Miss, you didn’t…?"
Fang Xiaoxiao shot her a look. "Of course I wouldn’t touch that vile trade. Open the door."
Two uniformed soldiers saluted her at the doorstep, handed her a letter, and left without a word.
"A letter?" Huang Li leaned in curiously, recognizing the familiar handwriting.
"The Second Master’s penmanship is… something else."
Fang Xiaoxiao understood now why the soldiers had been so precise in their targets—her uncle must have played a significant role behind the scenes.
"Huang Li, take stock of our inventory. I’m donating medicine to the army."
Huang Li paused, then nodded. "Understood."
In a small inn somewhere…
"Host, you’re practically a war profiteer."
"Shut up if you don’t know how to talk."
"Because wherever you go, war follows."
Fang Zhiyi gazed into the distance, his eyes dark and unreadable. "Destruction precedes rebirth. This war was inevitable. Better to cut the rot away cleanly than let it fester."
"Enough with the grandstanding—you’re almost out of money for lodging."
"Damn it."
Fang Xiaoxiao’s photo made the papers under the headline: "Hundreds of Cases of Western Medicine Donated—Patriotic Businesswoman Fang Xiaoxiao!"
A woman reading the newspaper scowled, tears streaming down her face. "How? How does that worthless wretch deserve this?"
The man she loved, Fu Tingxiu, had frozen to death on the streets. The man who loved her, Gu Yongchen, had been crushed by a falling tree while working off her debts for a landlord. And now she was reduced to being a landlord’s concubine, while Fang Xiaoxiao—whom she’d always looked down on—was basking in glory.
Qin Lan laughed and cried in turns.
Outside, servants whispered among themselves. "What’s wrong with the mistress?"
"Gone mad, hasn’t she? Don’t bother—even the master avoids this courtyard now."
Throughout the war, Fang Xiaoxiao continued donating funds and supplies. Her name became etched in the hearts of many. But her greatest regret was that from that day onward, she never saw her uncle again. She knew he was alive, but beyond the monthly letters, there was nothing.
Through her connections, Fang Xiaoxiao caught traces of her uncle’s whereabouts—but only as far as the black market figure "Second Master." As for the man himself, even the military couldn’t find him.
Rumors persisted that he still operated in the shadows, supplying medicine and goods to war fronts in need. Few among the high command had ever laid eyes on him.
Now gray-haired, Fang Xiaoxiao unfolded that very first letter—the one Fang Zhiyi had left behind the day he disappeared.
"Kid, I did little good in the first half of my life. You made me realize that’s no way to live. Even now, I can’t bear to think what might’ve happened if I’d arrived a moment later that day. How could I face your mother after death? To this day, I still feel I’ve wronged you. Everything I do now is for you. The business is yours to manage—but no opium. Stay away from that poison."
"I’m leaving. Don’t look for me. Your Second Uncle’s a man of his own path, wherever he goes. Live well. If you ever marry, remember the stories I told you and Huang Li. A good man’s hard to find—choose wisely."
Tears blurred Fang Xiaoxiao’s vision. "Stupid Second Uncle… I’m not getting married!"
"Miss!" A similarly gray-haired woman—Huang Li—entered, carrying a child. "Crying again? Come on, I came to fetch you. My son and daughter-in-law are visiting today—they brought all sorts of nice things."
Fang Xiaoxiao looked up at Huang Li and forced a smile.
"That Second Master really is something—said he wouldn’t return, and he meant it!" Age had only made Huang Li’s tongue sharper.
Just then, a commotion erupted outside. Both women turned to see a procession of over a hundred uniformed figures marching down the street, carrying a coffin in their midst.
"Escorting Second Master Fang home!"
Fang Xiaoxiao could almost see her hot-tempered uncle standing before her once more, shielding her with a grin.
"Uncle… you’re back."
"Ugh… this scene…" The system wiped at its nonexistent face.
Fang Zhiyi clicked his tongue. "Let’s go. Next stop."
"You heartless monster!"
Fang Zhiyi only glanced down one last time at the old woman he’d raised from nothing. Fang Xiaoxiao, as if sensing something, slowly lifted her gaze to the sky—but saw nothing beyond a few drifting clouds.