Volume 1: Mission in Danger Chapter 37: The Way Back
"Master!" Wu Guoying was interrupted by Cai Qiaozhu before she finished speaking. She stopped crying and wiped away her tears. Her tone was full of determination: "Since I married into the Wu family, my parents-in-law have protected me, my husband loves me, and my uncle respects me. If this is not a good life, what is a good life? It has been twelve years. Even if Guang'er is gone, I have long been connected to the Wu family by blood. What's the point of talking about each other? Master, are you still treating the bride as an outsider when you say this?"
"How could you be a stranger? How could you be a stranger?" Wu Guoying's voice was choked with sobs. "I, Wu Guoying, have a daughter, but she is not as dear to me as you are to me. It is because of you that I don't want you to suffer with me."
Cai Qiaozhu's voice became even stronger: "Master, stop talking! It's not the final outcome yet! The Yang family's wealth, goods, and people are all under surveillance. Even so, Merchant Yang still refuses to drink the glass of wine, so we can't give up. Let's think of another way."
"Of course we still need to think of a way!" Wu Guoying said, "But if that day really comes..."
"If that really happens, I, the new bride, would rather be hanged with a white silk than leave the Wu family's gate!"
After saying this, Cai Qiaozhu covered her face and ran out.
Wu Chengjian grabbed her sleeve: "Sister-in-law..." He wanted to say a few words to comfort her, but he only pulled her handkerchief off, and his sister-in-law had already run back.
Wu Erliang entered, his old eyes also full of tears: "The eldest young lady is a truly heroic woman."
Wu Guoying sighed, "It is a blessing for our Wu family to have such a daughter-in-law!"
Wu Erliang said: "Master, things have come to this point, your birthday banquet..."
Wu Guoying pondered and looked at Wu Chengjian. Wu Chengjian said, "Go ahead." Wu Guoying nodded and said, "Yes, go ahead. It's like this anyway. First, it's a good omen. Maybe things will turn around. Second, if there is really no turn around, then this birthday banquet will be our Wu family's thank you party." Thinking of this, he slapped his hand on the armrest and said, "Go! Take out all the remaining money in your private account and do it well for me!"
Cai Qiaozhu rushed back to the right courtyard and knelt down in front of her husband's bed. She thought about it and the more she thought about it, the sadder she became. Looking at Wu Chengjun on the bed, she suddenly thought to herself, "I cried before that you had a miserable life, but now I think you are blessed. You are in a coma and don't have to endure this."
She looked at the beam again and thought to herself, "Ordinary people who lose their homes still have a way out, but it is a delusion to expect a safe life if a merchant loses his home... If that day really comes... I would rather hang myself here than leave this door and be looked down upon!"
Suddenly, a childish voice called out from outside the door: "Mom."
Cai Qiaozhu was panicked and quickly wiped away her tears.
Guang'er had already walked in and touched Cai Qiaozhu's face: "Mom, why are you crying again? Is it because of Dad's illness?"
Cai Qiaozhu hugged her son tightly and shook her head. In fact, Guang'er couldn't see her shaking her head clearly because she was holding him. Even if she saw it, she wouldn't know what it meant. However, the mother and son were connected by heart. The child seemed to sense Cai Qiaozhu's panic, fear and sadness, and he started crying all of a sudden: "Mom, mom, please don't cry, is Dad going to die? Guang'er is scared, Guang'er doesn't want to..."
A few days ago, Cai Qiaozhu was still grieving over her husband's serious illness, but now thinking back, she felt that the current predicament was ten times worse - if the Wu family was fine and only Wu Chengjun died of illness, she would still have someone to rely on for the rest of her life, and Guang'er would still have a future and prospects. But now... if Yihe Bank really went bankrupt...
She thought of what she had said in Daxin Street and almost slapped herself, fearing that her words would come true: "Is Guang'er really going to be exiled to the frontier and become a slave to the armored men? How can he survive with his body like this?"
When she was extremely sad, she was no longer sad. When she was extremely weak, she became strong from weakness: "No! I can't let Guang'er fall into that situation. Even if I lose all my face and my life, I will protect Yihe and Guang'er!"
Thinking of this, he pondered over and over: "The master has not been in charge of affairs for many years, and his thinking is no longer as thorough as when he was young. Although my third uncle is a playboy, he often comes up with brilliant ideas. I have to discuss this matter with my third uncle." So he asked Lian Qiao to invite Wu Chengjian.
It was late at night, and the uncle and sister-in-law should avoid suspicion, but Cai Qiaozhu didn't care. Unexpectedly, Lian Qiao hurried back and said, "The third young master is not here. He went out again."
A few days ago, she would have probably lost her temper, but after experiencing similar situations several times in a row, she was almost used to it and only asked, "It's only the fourth watch now, and it's very dark. Where did he go?"
Lian Qiao said, "I don't know. This time, the Third Young Master didn't even tell Chun Rui."
Cai Qiaozhu thought for a moment and said, "Go call Chunrui over."
Soon Chunrui arrived at the right courtyard. Cai Qiaozhu dismissed everyone and said, "I have never concealed the whereabouts of Third Uncle from you. Tell me the truth, where did he actually go?"
Chun Rui knelt down at once and said, "Madam, I really didn't know this time. The Third Young Master didn't hide it from me. He just left in a hurry after receiving the letter and didn't even have time to leave a word."
"There was no time to say anything." Cai Qiaozhu asked, "Who did he bring with him?"
Chun Rui said: "I only brought Wu Qi."
"Is Wu Qi here?" Cai Qiaozhu asked, "Did the Third Young Master mutter anything after reading the letter?"
Chun Rui said, "She didn't say anything. She just told Wu Qi to prepare the carriage and go out. She asked me to keep an eye on the door."
Cai Qiaozhu thought for a moment and waved her hand: "Go ahead."
Chunrui came out from the right courtyard and recalled the scene just now. Wu Chengjian did not say anything, but when he finished reading the letter, Wu Qi seemed to have guessed something and said softly, "From Master Cai?" The third young master did not respond at that time, but judging from his expression, he should be right.
Chunrui had no time to think about who Master Cai was, and she didn't know what he involved, but she still kept the matter secret.
After these few days, she has gradually figured out that the Third Young Master's recent behavior is somewhat different from usual.
"He's been acting weird lately. It's not just nonsense... Is he on guard against someone? I don't know who he's on guard against, but I can't let any news leak out of the gate of the left courtyard."
The letter that Wu Chengjian received was sent by Huachai, written by Zhou Yijin himself, and contained only one sentence:
Old friends from the same hometown gathered at Baietan.
There is nothing in the signature.
But since Wu Chengjian could recognize the handwriting, how many fellow townsmen did Zhou Yijin have in Guangzhou? The only one who could be called an old friend was naturally Cai Qinghua. He guessed it on the spot and took Wu Qi out. The doorman Wu Dacheng said, "My little ancestor, you are going out at this time? Be careful, the road is very dark at night!"
Wu Chengjian said, "It's too boring at home, I'd better go to Huachahao to relax."
Wu Dacheng laughed and gave a thumbs up: "Great! My little ancestor, you have a really big heart!"
Wu Chengjian took a carriage to the edge of Baietan Lake, where a small boat sent by Zhou Yijin was already waiting. Tietou Junba brought an apprentice to steer the boat himself, and rowed Wu Chengjian and his servant Wu Qi. The boat entered the dark water and quickly disappeared like a drop of blood falling into ink.
The small boat took the people to a double-decker pleasure boat. Wu Chengjian asked Tietou Junba to guard the deck while he and Wu Qi went up the stairs. Along the way, they heard someone singing Cantonese opera on top.
This ship is very big. The second floor is divided into two halves. One half has an octagonal table, and the other half is set up as a small stage separated by a few steps in the middle. A young man is singing "The Story of the Purple Hairpin", but judging from his singing style, I'm afraid this "young man" is probably a boy of fifteen or sixteen.
There were two people sitting at the octagonal table, and they were indeed Cai Qinghua and Zhou Yijin.
Cai Qinghua said with a smile: "The Third Young Master is here. Come and take your seat."
Wu Chengjian was not polite and sat down with a smile.
Cai Qinghua said: "I happened to be busy in the evening and missed the appointment. I came here tonight to apologize."
Wu Qi thought to himself: "What do you mean by just something happened? You obviously did it on purpose! You are deliberately pushing our Wu family into the fire pit!" He was unable to hide his emotions and stared at the deck.
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "It's not a big deal, it's worth talking about."
Cai Qinghua smiled and said, "Although it's not a big deal, breaking an appointment is breaking an appointment. You should apologize and accept the punishment. It just so happens that I got two good things, so I'll borrow them to offer as an apology." As he said that, he poured the wine.
The cup was a glass, and the wine was red wine. Cai Qinghua said, "It is said that this is a fine wine from France. Yi Jin and I just tasted two cups. After all, the stuff from a small country cannot compare to the fine wines of China. For example, the wine from Xinghua Village is far from comparable to this wine, but it is not easy to come from thousands of miles away."
When Wu Chengjian heard this, he knew that Cai Qinghua's eyes and ears were different now. He had probably received news about the Shanxi merchants. He smacked his lips and said, "The French have made progress in their winemaking skills. This is a wine bar from the 52nd year of Qianlong's reign. The wine from this year is pretty good, but unfortunately the cellaring skills are still a little lacking."
Cai Qinghua smiled and said, "I don't know much about wine, so I can't tell whether Third Young Master's comment is true or false. I just heard people say that Third Young Master Yihe's tongue is priceless."
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Whether it is good stuff or bad stuff, after drinking enough, you will understand the difference. Where is the second good thing?" As he said this, he looked towards the stage.
Cai Qinghua smiled and said, "Yes, it is this child. I don't understand Cantonese opera either, so I need you to help me check and see how this child sings."
Wu Chengjian said, "I don't really like Cantonese opera. But Lu Guanhuan has raised a boy for three years, and he can be presented to Master Cai, so he must be good."
Cai Qinghua smiled: "You are being modest. You can tell the origin and year of this child right away. This is harder than tasting wine. Or do you recognize this boy?"
Wu Chengjian said, "It's not difficult to reveal it. Lu Guanhuan raised a boy about three years ago. I've heard about it. I haven't seen it, but the boy just sang some tunes with Xinhui accents. Old Lu is from Xinhui, so it's probably because the teacher who teaches opera flattered Old Lu and deliberately kept them to please his master. Master Cai is an outsider and couldn't hear it, but we Cantonese people felt that the pronunciation of those words was awkward, so we naturally guessed the origin."
"Good!" Cai Qinghua praised: "It is indeed a wonderful mind!"
"Skillfulness is not as good as power." Wu Chengjian said: "If Wu uses similar tactics, he can only take advantage of Master Cai. But if Master Cai uses them, he can immediately bring Wu's family to a place of no return."
Cai Qinghua smiled, and this smile was not a polite smile, but a smile that carried a bit of scrutiny: "It seems that the Third Young Master still blames me."
"No complaints, really no complaints." Wu Chengjian said with a smile, "Because I know it's useless to complain. What's the point of complaining? In this matter, I was the first to offend. Master Cai, give me a fight back. How about we call it a draw? Let's stop here."
"Okay, what do you call these sentences in Fujian dialect? They sound good!" Master Cai said, "The power of the Governor's Office cannot be borrowed for free. When it is taken back, there must be some interest. However, this power is so great that it can send people to hell or save them. It all depends on what choice the Third Young Master makes."
