20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 801 Zhuang Shuning

That night, Jiang Lianheng lay down fully clothed and only slept for two or three hours.

Before dawn, he got up early, called Zhao Guoyan and Li Zhengxi, and selected two more agile brothers to accompany him, and headed straight for the Nakamura Photo Studio.

Not long after Jiang Lianheng left, Jiang Ya also woke up.

She was fast asleep and didn't even realize her father had been there. After waking up, she leaned against the headboard, rested for a while, and her first question was:

"Mom, haven't Dad and Auntie come back yet?"

Hu Xiaoyan really couldn't figure out how to tell her daughter about the old lady's death, so she stammered a few words to make excuses. She then told her to hurry up and wash and get dressed so that she could go with Dongfeng to find Xue Yingqing and ask Manager Xue to come to the hotel for a proper talk. It seemed that the more people there were, the less her grief would be.

Jiang Ya still harbored resentment towards Dongfeng.

It wasn't intentional estrangement, but rather a sense of unfamiliarity.

She needs some time to gradually accept that the kind-hearted uncle who raised her since childhood is actually a ruthless executioner.

Even so, Jiang Ya still obediently washed up and dressed, and only when she was fully prepared to leave did she slowly walk up to Uncle Dong, lower her head, and say in a muffled voice, "Let's go."

Zhang Zhengdong was even more nervous than she was, yet as always, he stayed right behind his niece.

The two pushed open the door, but before they could even step out, they heard Jiang Ya suddenly scream.

"Third Aunt, when did you arrive?"

Hu Xiaoyan frowned, realizing the situation in the corridor, and suddenly felt a little uneasy.

The pleasantries outside the door continued for a while, until Jiang Ya's voice finally faded into the distance.

Immediately afterwards, Wang Zhengnan walked in with a big smile on his face.

“Sister-in-law,” he said carefully, choosing his words thoughtfully, “the third branch of the family wants to come and pay their respects to you.”

"Is this really necessary?" Hu Xiaoyan asked coldly.

To be honest, she had never met Zhuang Shuning in person, nor did she ever intend to meet this third concubine.

Wang Zhengnan said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, normally I would have sent her away, but look at the situation now... She lives in the next room and wants to come over to pay her respects, which is the proper thing to do. If you don't see her, it would seem a bit... Hehe, I don't think that's quite right either."

Hu Xiaoyan nodded and said, "Alright, bring her in!"

Wang Zhengnan responded and went to open the door.

Soon, Zhuang Shuning, accompanied by Sister Hua, walked in cautiously.

Roughly speaking, it has been ten years since she moved from southern Liaoning to Fengtian.

Having been Jiang Lianheng's wife for so long, Zhuang Shuning had naturally heard about Hu Xiaoyan's leg disability long ago.

But precisely because of this, she harbored a deep-seated fear of Hu Xiaoyan.

Zhuang Shuning knew that the Jiang family was shady at heart. The fact that the eldest wife of such a family was disabled, and that Jiang Lianheng had never even considered divorcing her and remarrying, was enough to prove that this eldest sister-in-law was no ordinary person.

Therefore, she dared not have any thoughts of jealousy or rivalry.

Upon entering the room, Zhuang Shuning never looked up or glanced around. She kept her head down and walked very carefully to the table, poured herself a cup of hot tea, then knelt in front of Hu Xiaoyan, presented the tea with both hands above her head, and said obediently and docilely, "Big sister, have some tea."

"Not thirsty."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Shuning's heart sank, and she stood there awkwardly and embarrassed.

Hu Xiaoyan didn't intend to make things difficult; she just didn't want to accept the tea, so she waved her hand and said, "Put it on the table!"

Zhuang Shuning obeyed the order, stood up and placed the teacup on the table, then stood with his hands at his sides, remaining respectful and silent.

Hu Xiaoyan looked her up and down, feeling slightly resentful, but she didn't say anything to ridicule her. Instead, she asked, "Is the child alright?"

Zhuang Shuning quickly said, "The child is fine. He's playing with his brother in that room... He's a little shy and doesn't want to come over no matter what."

I thought my older sister would be a little unhappy, but the result was unexpected.

Hu Xiaoyan changed the subject and said in a low voice, "Last night, things happened so suddenly that we didn't have enough people at home, which is why you and your daughter were delayed. Please don't worry about it. No matter what, we are all family. I've heard about what happened at the outer residence. Especially at times like this, we must not have any grudges against each other, lest outsiders take advantage of the situation and cause trouble for the master."

These words are reasonable and logical, and no one can find fault with them.

Zhuang Shuning hadn't expected to receive such a pleasant response, and upon hearing this, she was utterly flattered. She had completely forgotten about being refused when she offered tea earlier, and quickly replied, "No, no, no, you flatter me, elder sister. As the mistress of the house, you should naturally give priority to us. Besides, the master is very filial, and the old lady lives in the mansion, so she should be well taken care of. I have no complaints at all. Elder sister, please don't worry."

Hu Xiaoyan nodded and sighed softly, "It's a pity that the old lady wasn't taken good care of either."

Everyone fell silent and lowered their heads.

Actually, everyone was still in a daze, and they all had the illusion that the old lady had never left, and that they could always see her whenever they wanted.

It will probably take quite some time before we can gradually adapt to this reality.

Right now, Hu Xiaoyan really didn't want to talk anymore, so she called Sister Hua over and asked, "Last night, did Mrs. Chen ask you to come over for a chat?"

Sister Hua nodded and said, "Yes, those who sat together last night included Mrs. Liu from the Transportation Department, Mrs. Gao who works in trade, and Miss Huang."

"Miss Huang?"

Hu Xiaoyan was taken aback; the name sounded unfamiliar, so she asked, "Whose daughter is Miss Huang?"

Sister Hua hurriedly said, "She's not someone's daughter, she's just... sigh, I don't know how to describe her."

"Free-roaming chicken!"

Wang Zhengnan suddenly interjected, "I've seen her twice. She often hangs out at high-end parties. Anyway, several bosses I know call her that behind her back."

"Have you ever dealt with her?" Hu Xiaoyan asked, somewhat surprised.

Wang Zhengnan thought for a moment and then said, "It's not really about interacting. To be precise, she was always trying to get close to me."

"Stick it on your body?"

Hu Xiaoyan and the others were even more surprised. They looked Nanfeng up and down and, seeing his fat head and big ears, they couldn't imagine which woman would take the initiative to seduce him.

After all, since Miss Huang could attend high-class balls, the guests there were naturally not simple people either; there were plenty of wealthy and powerful people among them, and Nanfeng wasn't particularly outstanding. Wang Zhengnan explained, "Hey, she thought I was my brother back then, which is why she sidled up to me."

"Then what?"

"Then, she found out I wasn't my brother, and from then on, she never spoke to me again."

Miss Huang is not the only "wandering chicken" in Fengtian City, so she is not a particularly important clue.

Hu Xiaoyan didn't delve any further after hearing this, and then asked Sister Hua, "Is there any new information in their circle of wives?"

Sister Hua thought about it carefully, then shook her head and said, "No, they were just guessing. In the end, it was quite unpleasant, and everyone dispersed not long after."

"Because of what?"

"Sigh, it's that Miss Huang. Mrs. Chen and she don't get along. She loves to show off, so they ended up arguing."

Sister Hua then briefly summarized what she had seen and heard the previous night.

The incident started with a Bulgari necklace, but the root cause was Ms. Huang's arrogant and smug attitude.

Speaking of necklaces, one cannot help but mention Ms. Huang's Japanese boyfriend, which leads to thoughts of the autumn drills of the South Railway Independent Garrison and the batch of discarded Japanese equipment.

Upon hearing this, Hu Xiaoyan immediately became alert and couldn't help but scold Sister Hua, saying, "You just said you hadn't heard any news, isn't this news?"

Sister Hua looked stunned, like a child who had made a mistake, and stammered, "Ah, I didn't expect... I was so busy listening to them talk about the war..."

"Confused!"

Hu Xiaoyan slammed her hand on the table and then said, "After we left home last night, Whistle Li and Old Ghost Huo each led their men to smash the kiln. They inexplicably found a batch of guns. Now you're telling me that the South Railway Garrison just retired a batch of guns during their autumn training this year? Doesn't that fit perfectly?"

Sister Hua nodded repeatedly, but said, "Sister, I was wrong, but... but I didn't know something had happened at home..."

"Fine, even if you don't know the situation at home, don't you know our family is in the arms business?" Hu Xiaoyan said, exasperated, and couldn't help but reprimand him. "The South Railway Garrison has discarded so many guns, shouldn't you at least ask them a few more questions?"

Sister Hua hurriedly apologized, saying timidly, "Sister, she should stay for a while longer. Should I go and ask her now?"

"It's too late. These kinds of things should be asked directly to avoid arousing suspicion. If you ask her these questions now, she'll definitely find it strange. Don't let the Japanese officer who's keeping her find out. If that happens, it'll be even more troublesome."

Hu Xiaoyan treats Hua Jie like a younger sister, so she rarely criticizes her. It is precisely because she treats Hua Jie like a younger sister that she spoke a little harshly to her now.

Seeing this, Wang Zhengnan quickly came over and said, "Sister-in-law, don't be angry. It's good that we have a clue. I'll go and inquire about it later."

"What's this Miss Huang's name?"

“Uh… I’ve actually forgotten about that. Those bosses were just playing around, nobody really took her seriously.” Wang Zhengnan immediately said, “But don’t worry, sister-in-law, I’ll go and find out. I’ll be able to get the information.”

"Huang Xiaoting".

At this moment, Zhuang Shuning, who had been standing to the side, suddenly chimed in, "Big sister, her name is Huang Xiaoting. I've played cards with her a few times before, so I know her."

Hu Xiaoyan raised her eyebrows, seemingly a little surprised, and asked her, "How much do you know?"

Zhuang Shuning didn't dare to speak too confidently and quickly explained, "It's not much. I can only say that we're mahjong buddies. We've only met a limited number of times. The last time I ran into her was probably last year. At that time, she hadn't gotten a Japanese boyfriend yet. She was just hooking up with the fifth young master of the silk shop. It was a coincidence. We were short one player for mahjong and couldn't find anyone else to fill in, so we called her over."

Hu Xiaoyan knew that Zhuang Shuning often played cards at the homes of officials and businessmen, and that his card-playing friends were all of high rank. This was also an important means for the Jiang family to maintain their social relationships.

But when she heard that Miss Huang had also participated in those card games, she couldn't help but feel a little confused.

She doesn't play cards, so she doesn't know that when you're one player short for a mahjong game, it's an extremely urgent matter!

If someone gets hooked on cards, they'll grab any dog, let alone a stray chicken, as long as it can touch or push cards, to make up the numbers.

"Can you still talk to her?" Hu Xiaoyan asked.

“It should be possible,” Zhuang Shuning nodded and said. “Huang Xiaoting has always wanted to infiltrate our circle, so she’s willing to go to any of those wives of officials and businessmen, no matter who calls her, as long as she thinks the other party is qualified. She’s somewhat like someone who comes when summoned and leaves when dismissed. But she has a bad reputation, so no one really pays attention to her. I just don’t know how things are now.”

Sister Hua chimed in, "Last night, Mrs. Chen told me that they hadn't invited Miss Huang at all; she came on her own."

"That's probably because she's recently hooked up with a Japanese officer and wants to show off in front of you."

"That's it!"

"Second sister, you haven't offended her, have you?" Zhuang Shuning suddenly asked. "She's said to be a bit petty. Maybe she's always been overshadowed by others, so lately she's been acting a bit smug."

Sister Hua thought about it carefully and said, "No, I don't think so."

"That's good." Zhuang Shuning was relieved.

It's true that Sister Hua is not good with words, but she also has her merits. Perhaps because she knows she is a fake sister-in-law, she always keeps a low profile when representing the Jiang family in public, appearing approachable. As a result, she is quite well-regarded among the wives.

Immediately afterwards, Zhuang Shuning turned around again, still with a meek and obedient look, and said, "Big sister, if you're comfortable with that, I can go and ask her about it."

Hu Xiaoyan was taken aback. She didn't agree immediately, but she didn't refuse either. She just seemed a little hesitant.

However, last night's experience made Zhuang Shuning realize that the Jiang family cannot fall.

If the Jiang family falls, she believes she will not have a good end. Even if she is lucky enough to survive, she will definitely end up living a life of wandering and starvation.

She walked to the table and said in a soft but unusually firm voice, "Eldest sister, just like you said, I am also a member of the Jiang family."

Hu Xiaoyan pondered for a moment, then couldn't help but sigh. Finally, she nodded and said, "Alright then, but remember, don't rush things, and don't let her become wary—"

"what--"

Before the words were finished, a scream suddenly came from the corridor outside the door.

Everyone was stunned. Upon closer inspection, they realized it was a woman's voice.

"Ah... what are you trying to do... I've already paid, I paid three times the price, what right do you have to kick me out..."

Immediately afterwards, a series of crashing and smashing noises came from the corridor.

Hu Xiaoyan had difficulty walking, so she asked Nanfeng to go out and see what had happened.

Wang Zhengnan flung open the door, peeked out, looked around for a moment, then quickly withdrew and said, "Oh no, it looks like Mrs. Chen and the others are going to be kicked out of the hotel!"

(End of this chapter)