20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 800 Doubts
In the latter half of the night, the snow gradually stopped.

Jiang Ya lay on her side on the bed, with her back to the door and facing her mother, already fast asleep.

Hu Xiaoyan was so sleepy that she kept wiping away tears, but she still sat by the window, occasionally leaning over to look downstairs, waiting for Jiang Lianheng to return.

Tonight, she told her daughter many stories from the past. Like most teenagers who are becoming increasingly confused, Jiang Ya was most curious about how her parents met, how they got to know each other, how they got engaged, and how they decided to grow old together.

Recalling those days, Hu Xiaoyan couldn't help but joke, "I was the wife your dad picked up."

"You were picked up?" Jiang Ya asked incredulously. "Where did you find me? My dad said he wanted to marry you the first time we met?"

Hu Xiaoyan shook her head and said, "The second time, he saw me for the second time, but I had seen him before. At that time, we were both near the south city of Liaoyang."

"So you agree?"

"Of course, I have no reason to disagree."

"Didn't you two ever get together for coffee or go on a date or something?"

"A date?" Hu Xiaoyan felt a little embarrassed and quickly waved her hand, saying, "No, we didn't have any dating culture back then, and there weren't as many Western restaurants as there are now!"

Jiang Ya asked in surprise, "So that means my dad met you for the first time, and then said he wanted to marry you the second time he met you?"

"Yeah, it almost scared me to death."

"love at first sight?"

"I don't think so... I don't think so."

"Isn't this love at first sight?" Jiang Ya chuckled. "You two are quite romantic!"

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she hurriedly asked, "Wait, so your family just agreed to that?"

That said, Jiang Ya had never heard her parents mention anything about her maternal grandparents!
Hu Xiaoyan thought for a moment, then said, "I can't even remember what your maternal grandparents look like anymore. I grew up in a relative's house, a distant relative."

Hu Xiaoyan couldn't help but tell a lie.

Some things were too cruel, and she wasn't sure if her daughter could bear them, so she downplayed them and didn't want to talk much about the hardships involved.

What followed was even more bloody and cruel.

Hu Xiaoyan couldn't bear to reveal the truth of the matter to Jiang Ya, so many past events were altered or even distorted as a result.

The Spring and Autumn Annals style of writing, used to cover up mistakes and embellish them.

Asking this question implies being forced into it, that it was a last resort. Further questioning would imply that the Jiang family had no choice, that at that moment, they could only do this or that…

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Hu Xiaoyan portrayed the Jiang family as passive, as if some invisible force was pushing them step by step to where they are today.

"When you're in the world, you're not in control of your own destiny"—what a respectable excuse! It seems that no matter how dirty or sordid something is, as long as it falls under these eight words, you can absolve yourself of all responsibility.

As he talked, he even started to believe it himself.

The story is never-ending.

Jiang Ya listened for a long time, until the three major families of Fengtian were fighting each other, when she felt tired and finally fell asleep without realizing it.

Hu Xiaoyan also stopped, silently picked up her water glass, and moistened her throat.

The heavy snow outside the window had just stopped, and the area surrounding the South Railway was covered in a blanket of white, a scene of pristine beauty, like a dream.

It's getting late.

Hu Xiaoyan had been up all night and was now completely exhausted. As the crescent moon sank in the west and the morning star rose in the sky, she began to feel a headache coming on. So she lay down on the table, propped her head up with her hand, and kept nodding off.

The lamplight before my eyes gradually became blurry...

In a daze, Hu Xiaoyan seemed to see a figure slowly walking towards her, gently patting her shoulder, and softly calling in her ear:

"Xiaoyan, you'll have to work harder from now on. I'm leaving now."

Hu Xiaoyan looked up in response, but felt as if a veil had been drawn over her eyes. She was slightly bewildered and murmured to herself, "Aunt?"

Xu Ruqing gave her a slight smile, said nothing more, then turned around and headed straight for the door without looking back.

"Auntie, where are you going?"

Hu Xiaoyan panicked for a moment, then quickly sat up and called out softly in a daze.

However, the figure seemed determined to leave, drifting gracefully to the entrance without ever stopping or saying a word of farewell.

"Click—"

The latch clicked, making a crisp sound.

Hu Xiaoyan suddenly woke up, having forgotten most of what had just happened. She subconsciously raised her head and hurriedly looked towards the door, only to find that the door had indeed been pushed open.

Jiang Lianheng stood in the corridor outside the door, whispered a few words to Dongfeng, then stepped into the room, closed the door, and slowly walked towards the window with a gloomy expression.

Seeing his solemn expression and the fact that he had returned alone, Hu Xiaoyan felt uneasy and quickly asked, "Lian Heng, where is Aunt?"

Jiang Lianheng walked around the bed, first glancing at his sleeping daughter, before sitting down diagonally opposite Hu Xiaoyan. He exuded a chilling aura, paused for a moment, and then said in a hoarse voice:
"My aunt has passed away."

Hu Xiaoyan's eyes widened, and she felt a ringing in her ears. She couldn't help but ask urgently, "What did you say?"

Jiang Lianheng did not repeat himself; he let out a long sigh, which was his final answer.

Hu Xiaoyan stared blankly, almost without any reaction, showing neither shock nor grief.

Her mind was blank, as if she had instantly lost all senses.

The incident happened suddenly, and Hu Xiaoyan was completely unprepared. Just a few hours ago, Xu Ruqing was traveling with her in the same car. Now, they are separated by death and will never see each other again.

Only those who have personally experienced the sudden death of a loved one can understand this feeling.

She heard the news of her aunt's death and accepted the fact, but she had a persistent illusion—that as long as she returned home and opened the door, she could still see the old lady sitting inside, holding that yellowed photo in her hands, gently stroking it, and carefully examining it. Nothing had changed, and nothing had ever changed.

Jiang Lianheng remained silent, giving her time to process this devastating news.

After all, there was still a lot of bad news to come that night, waiting for her to receive it one by one.

After a moment of silence, Hu Xiaoyan's first thought was of her daughter, Jiang Ya.

She turned her head slightly and said very carefully, "Oh, the child was just saying that Auntie's problems are all her fault..."

Jiang Lianheng waved his hand and pondered, "Take some time to talk to the child properly. This matter can't be blamed on her at all. If anyone is to blame, it's me."

"Who did it?" Hu Xiaoyan asked immediately.

Jiang Lianheng sighed, shook his head and said, "It's not clear yet, but we've obtained the evidence. I'll interrogate them again when I get back. Also..." He paused slightly, then continued, "It's not just my aunt who got into trouble."

"Who else?" Hu Xiaoyan immediately became alert.

Jiang Lianheng silently counted in his mind that there were too many influential people in the family to count on one hand.

"Old Yuan, Yang Lazi, Song Ma, Yingzi, the fourth brother from the outer residence, and Xifeng's fan gang, they also lost quite a few brothers tonight..."

Hu Xiaoyan was dumbfounded. After a long while, she asked, "What about the third wife? Doesn't she have a child with her?"

Jiang Lianheng glanced at his wife and said somewhat guiltily, "Luckily, Guoyan and Laodao arrived in time. Mother and son are fine, but they were quite frightened."

"We need to bring them over right away! The city is in such a mess right now. No matter what, they are still members of the Jiang family. We can't just leave them there unattended!"

Despite Hu Xiaoyan's usual disdain for Zhuang Shuning, often calling her a "slut," when it comes to matters of the heart, she clearly distinguishes between family and outsiders. She understands that there's no time for jealousy right now. No matter how bad Zhuang Shuning is, she is still the third concubine who continues the Jiang family line. She should be saved. At a time like this, if she acts petty, she wouldn't be the mistress of the house.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lianheng scratched his head and muttered, "Well, the person has already been brought over and is staying next door!"

Hu Xiaoyan immediately suggested, "Let Xiaohua and Guyu come to my room, so there won't be any room."

Jiang Lianheng waved his hand and said, "Let's talk about it tomorrow. There are too many things to do tonight. I need to calm down and think carefully about where things went wrong."

Hu Xiaoyan nodded, leaned forward to pour him a cup of hot water, then rested her hands on the table, calmly waiting for him to recount the whole story.

If Jiang Lianheng hadn't figured out what to say yet, she wouldn't urge him, but would simply stay by her husband's side and wait patiently.

It turned out that after Zhao Guoyan and his group set off from their residence outside the South City, they encountered no major setbacks along the way and quickly arrived at the commercial port in the west of the city, where they met Jiang Lianheng.

The group loaded Xu Ruqing's body into a carriage and first sent it back to the mansion in the north of the city. Then they picked up Xifeng and returned to the South Railway Concession.

As expected, Takeda Shin was still at the border of the foreign concession, waiting for Jiang Lianheng and the others to return.

Perhaps it was because it was already late at night, or perhaps the strict border control by the Japanese had been effective, but in any case, when everyone arrived at the South Railway border again, the surrounding area was no longer as chaotic as before. Although there were still a large number of refugees gathered, the situation on the scene had become much more stable after several bloody clashes.

Along the way, Jiang Lianheng learned about the murders at the two mansions from Zhao Guoyan and Li Zhengxi.

Beyond the shock, there was even more confusion.

According to the two men's descriptions, the whistle-caller Li and Huo Laogui, who came to smash the kiln, were all equipped with far more firearms and ammunition than ever before.

Although the quantity was not staggering, it still exceeded the Jiang family's control over smuggled arms.

Xifeng and Laodao each left a witness alive, but after a brief interrogation, they got nothing. However, judging from the guns seized at the scene, they were all Japanese firearms, mainly Meiji Type 26 pistols. Although they were old-fashioned, their quality far exceeded that of homemade pistols made by civilians.

As for Xu Ruqing's ordeal, it seems more like a spur-of-the-moment act by the refugees and bandits, with the only exception being the person who arrived later.

Jiang Lianheng recalled carefully: "At that time, someone suddenly rushed out from behind me. I thought it was one of the two thugs' accomplices, but then I thought about it again and it didn't seem to be."

"Is something wrong?" Hu Xiaoyan asked.

Jiang Lianheng nodded and said, "He shouted something at me—he called me Jiang Chenghai."

"What?" Hu Xiaoyan was a little dazed. "You didn't hear me wrong, did you?"

"Probably not. There was no other noise in that alley at the time. I think he was calling Jiang Chenghai."

"But Father has been gone for over ten years..."

"Yeah, I'm wondering about that too!" Jiang Lianheng muttered to himself. "If I heard correctly, he shouldn't be with Whistle Li and Lao Dou, but it's been over ten years. What kind of enemy could have kept chasing him all this time?"

Hu Xiaoyan couldn't figure it out either, and whispered to comfort her, "Guessing like this isn't going to work, we have to wait for other news."

Jiang Lianheng's face turned ashen. Although he was eager to uncover the truth, he had no clue whatsoever, so he could only remain silent.

Hu Xiaoyan suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, about Aunt's matter... did you tell Manager Xue?"

Jiang Lianheng nodded: "I told you, she was still waiting at the door when I came back!"

"Is she... alright?"

"Sigh, I don't know either. Lao Dao and Kang Zheng drove her home."

"You've gone back to our home?"

"No, they rented a room in a Chinese pub in Chiyoda. Actually, it's not really a room, it's more like a private room."

Knowing Xu Ruqing's importance in Xue Yingqing's heart, Hu Xiaoyan couldn't help but worry, so she said, "How about I have Dongfeng take Jiang Ya to see her tomorrow if we're free?"

"Yeah, that's okay!"

Jiang Lianheng fell silent. Recalling the events of the evening, he felt a tightness in his chest. He subconsciously took out his cigarette case and was about to light it when he suddenly noticed Jiang Ya sleeping soundly. So he reluctantly put down the cigarette case and sighed.

Hu Xiaoyan also looked at her daughter and said, "I just talked to the child about some things from the past."

Jiang Lianheng replied, "Speak, you'll have to speak sooner or later."

"She wants a gun."

"What the hell?" Jiang Lianheng replied decisively. "No way, what would she need a gun for? It's not something a little girl can just play with. If Chengye wants it, then we can give it to him."

Upon hearing this, Hu Xiaoyan couldn't help but frown.

Then, he briefly recounted how Jiang Ya had been attacked by refugees at the border of the concession.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lianheng's pent-up anger flared up immediately. He gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it! This one night has brought out all those resentful guys. Did they really think I couldn't get over this?"

Upon seeing Jiang Lianheng's anger, Hu Xiaoyan quickly grabbed his arm and solemnly reminded him, "Don't panic, please don't panic."

Anger cloudes judgment, a major taboo in the world of martial arts.

Jiang Lianheng looked at Hu Xiaoyan, his emotions gradually calming down. Suddenly remembering something, he said, "When my aunt died, she once said something to me."

"What?"

"She begged me not to take her to join the Japanese, and I promised the old lady."

Hu Xiaoyan was slightly taken aback, pondered for a moment, then suddenly adopted a firm tone and asked, "Then when are we going home?"

Jiang Lianheng looked at his daughter, shook his head and said, "Not now. I have to go back and scout ahead. Don't you think this is too much of a coincidence? Old Dou led his men to ambush me in the commercial district, Whistle Li led his men to smash the kiln at my house, and Old Ghost Huo went to the outer residence. Given tonight's situation, I'm probably in one of these three places, and their actions all occurred around the same time, as if they had planned it in advance and estimated my departure time very accurately."

Hu Xiaoyan nodded and said, "Think about it again. Who did you call before we left home?"

Jiang Lianheng suddenly remembered: "Nakamura Ichiro?"

(End of this chapter)