20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 879 Misfortunes Never Come Alone

The Jiang family mansion is located in the north of Fengtian City.

The phone downstairs was ringing, and then came a series of intermittent coughs from the bedroom.

Jiang Ya carried the tray, pushed open the door, walked into the bedroom, placed the tray on the bedside table, and softly called out, "Mom, it's time to take your medicine."

Hu Xiaoyan sat up in response, took the small bowl from her daughter's hand, and asked without looking up, "Who called?"

"How would I know? Uncle Dong went to take it."

Jiang Ya sat down at the foot of the bed and watched her mother slowly sip the medicine in her bowl.

Actually, it wasn't really medicine, just some tonics like ginseng and deer antler, which Hu Xiaoyan drank smoothly.

After a moment of silence, Jiang Ya suddenly spoke up: "Mom, I want to go out for a walk later."

Hu Xiaoyan put down her bowl, turned to her daughter and smiled, asking, "What's wrong? Feeling bored at home again?"

"That's right. Since school was suspended last month, I've been cooped up at home all day and haven't gone out much. With the Lunar New Year just around the corner, I'll be stuck at home for several more days. I want to go out for some fresh air. Oh, and Chengye wants to go out too."

"I think you just want to go out. Chengye isn't as fond of joining in the fun as you are."

Hu Xiaoyan immediately exposed her daughter's lie.

Jiang Ya didn't mind and simply admitted it, then she started begging again with a grin.

The girl was young, lively, active, eloquent, and loved making friends. She had grown up with a modern education and had no airs of a sheltered young lady. She couldn't wait to go out and show herself in public all the time.

Hu Xiaoyan thought for a moment that the situation in Fengtian had stabilized, so she nodded and said, "Alright, I'll have your Uncle Dong take you out for a stroll later."

Unexpectedly, Jiang Ya said, "Mom, don't trouble Uncle Dong, let me go out by myself!"

"How about that?"

"Why not? I'm already this old, it's not like I don't know the way. How could I possibly get lost?"

"You don't need to think about this."

"mom--"

“Nothing you say will make a difference,” Hu Xiaoyan flatly rejected her daughter’s request. “Either let your Uncle Dong take you out, or you might as well not go out at all.”

Jiang Ya jumped up and complained, "Why are you like this?"

"If you dare talk back again, I'll slap you!"

"Tch, all my classmates are about my age, and they've been going out shopping on their own for ages. But me, no matter where I go, Uncle Dong has to follow. When the female classmates are out together, he's always following behind. What's the point of that?"

“They are who they are, and you are different from them. Your Uncle Dong is doing this for your own good, because he's afraid something will happen to you.”

“I know he meant well, but I also have my pride. My classmates are laughing at me behind my back.”

Jiang Ya was emotional. It is said that this is called rebellion. When people reach a certain age, they will develop a rebellious streak. No matter how successful their parents are, they will look down on them and do the opposite of what their parents do. Only by leaving home and experiencing life outside can they understand the hardships of the world and the difficulties their parents have faced.

Hu Xiaoyan also looked displeased and sneered, "Little brat, you're only as old as a toddler, what face do you have?"

"you--"

"What do you mean, 'you'?" Hu Xiaoyan continued, "I'm your mother, would I harm you? Have you forgotten what happened to your great-aunt? Today is the last day of the market in the city, there are so many people on the streets, what if you get kidnapped?"

Jiang Ya said anxiously, "But...but didn't you say that everything was alright at home?"

Unexpectedly, just as he finished speaking, he heard a series of hurried footsteps coming from the corridor.

Unlike usual, Zhang Zhengdong ran upstairs and barged into the house without even knocking.

"sister in law--"

Before he could finish speaking, Dongfeng paused. Seeing the displeasure on his sister-in-law's face and noticing Jiang Ya's presence, he said, "Niece, could you go out for a moment? Your mother and I have something to discuss."

“I’m not going out,” Jiang Ya said stubbornly as she walked to the window, sat down, and said, “My mom won’t let me go out.”

“This…” Zhang Zhengdong hesitated for a moment, his gaze involuntarily drifting towards his sister-in-law.

Seeing that Dongfeng's expression was different from usual, Hu Xiaoyan also considered kicking her daughter out. But then she thought that Jiang Ya was growing up and should understand the family's situation, so as not to let her take chances. So she waved her hand and said, "Let her listen there!"

Zhang Zhengdong hesitated for a moment, but ultimately dared not delay and said in a low voice, "Sister-in-law, something has happened to my brother."

"what's up?"

"Shooting."

Hu Xiaoyan's heart tightened, but she steadily placed the celadon bowl in her hand on the bedside table.

This was not the first time Jiang Lianheng had been assassinated.

Ten years ago, the Manchu Zongshe Party attempted to win over the Jiang family but failed, and thus plotted an assassination attempt against Jiang Lianheng.

That time, the gilded pocket watch that the old man gave him saved his life.

Four years ago, at Zhabei Railway Station in Shanghai, Jiang Lianheng offended the Green Gang and nearly lost his life. Fortunately, Chuang Hu took out a pearl necklace, and Jiang Lianheng ducked his head, thus escaping death.

The most recent incident was the night of the great chaos in the border town. Although there was an element of accident involved, if Xu Ruqing had not risked her life to save her, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Jiang Lianheng was already very lucky, so lucky that people mistakenly thought he was not an ordinary person, or at least that he was under some kind of protection.

However, this time, his good luck came to an end.

As the wife of a gang leader, Hu Xiaoyan was naturally not flustered. Although she was anxious, she remained calm and sat upright on the bed, seemingly motionless, but in fact, she was quickly organizing her thoughts.

Unfortunately, her health was poor, and this was not a sudden development. Now, as she pondered deeply, she felt a slight headache.

Jiang Ya, however, was an impatient person. Upon hearing this, she immediately jumped up and hurriedly asked, "Uncle Dong, my dad was shot?"

Zhang Zhengdong nodded without saying anything.

"How is he now?" Jiang Ya pressed. "Where's my dad? Is he in the hospital? Please drive me there quickly—"

"Shut up!"

Hu Xiaoyan suddenly yelled, then coughed violently, rubbing her temples as she scolded in broken sentences, "Something happened at home, and you panicked like that. How can you handle things? If you're like this... how can I... how can I be at ease in the future?"

At this moment, Jiang Ya had already forgotten the argument from before; her mind was only on her father. In her anxiety, tears welled up in her eyes, and she choked out, "Mom, I'm worried. My dad won't..."

"What's the use of being anxious? What's the use of crying?"

Hu Xiaoyan interrupted her daughter, her tone becoming particularly stern, and said, "Don't you always want to hear about family matters? Now that you've heard it, if you want to cry, go back to your room and cry your heart out. If you want to stay, wipe your tears clean and stop crying here. Nobody will pity you."

Jiang Ya was taken aback. She paused for a moment, then raised her arm to wipe away her tears. After calming herself down, she straightened her neck and said, "No, I'll stay." Looking at her expression, she finally resembled her parents when they were young.

However, after shouting a few times, Hu Xiaoyan felt a numbness in the back of her head, and dark shadows flashed before her eyes. She seemed to be short of breath and took a long time to catch her breath before turning her gaze to Dongfeng and asking weakly, "Who did this?"

Zhang Zhengdong shook his head and said, "It's not clear yet. Nanfeng just called and said the incident happened during a presentation at Hengshe."

Is your brother still alive?

"This... I don't know either, but Xifeng has already escorted my brother to Shi Hospital, so his injuries shouldn't be too serious."

Dongfeng said this on purpose because he noticed that his sister-in-law seemed to be acting strangely.

Hu Xiaoyan braced herself against the edge of the bed with both hands, her body leaning slightly forward, looking precarious as if she were about to collapse at any moment.

However, she still forced herself to sit there, only wiping the cold sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief, and then asked, "How many assassins were there?"

Zhang Zhengdong said, "There is only one suspect so far, but we haven't caught him alive yet, and we're not sure if he has any other accomplices."

Hu Xiaoyan nodded, panting slightly, and said, "Then the house might not be safe either. Go call the other counters and ask them to send more people over to guard the house."

"Sister-in-law, Nanfeng has already called. I just called again. Don't worry, he'll be here soon."

"Have you spoken to the government office yet?"

"not yet."

"Send someone to the yamen immediately. Don't call. Find a sensible brother to go to the yamen and make things clear face to face... Your brother just promised Director Chen that the secret society disputes in Fengtian City would cease within three months... That's what your brother said, and now that things have gone wrong, we must go to the yamen and give them an explanation..."

Zhang Zhengdong nodded in agreement, then stepped forward and said hurriedly, "Sister-in-law, why don't you lie down and rest for a while? I'll drive to Shi Hospital to take a look, and I'll let you know when I get back!"

When Dongfeng's words reached Hu Xiaoyan's ears, all she could hear were the words "Shi Hospital." So she quickly said, "Yes, you reminded me. We should also send people to keep an eye on things at the hospital. If there are any other assassins, they might make their move there."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the roar of an engine suddenly came from outside the window.

Jiang Ya turned her head and saw Xue Yingqing's car drive into the yard.

Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Xue Yingqing, Hai Xinnian, Lao Dao, and Kang Zheng had already climbed out of the car and walked straight into the mansion.

It turned out that after the shooting incident at Daxiguan, Nanfeng made phone calls to various counters in Hengshe Hall. Xue Yingqing received the news and immediately took a car to Jiang's residence. Coincidentally, he ran into Hai Xinnian on the way and brought the kid over as well.

The group rushed into the mansion, and the rumbling footsteps immediately attracted the attention of the wives and relatives of each household.

In an instant, Sister Hua and Jiang Chengye, Shu Ning and Jiang Chengzhi, Gu Yu and Xiao Xifeng, along with Cheng Fang, all came out of the house.

Seeing the serious expressions on Xue Yingqing's and the others' faces, everyone quickly asked what had happened.

Xue Yingqing didn't have time to explain. As he walked toward the master bedroom, he hurriedly said, "Something has happened to the master."

Upon hearing this, everyone naturally followed suit and headed straight for Hu Xiaoyan's bedroom.

Hai Xinnian walked quickly, her mind on her godfather's instructions, and rushed in first, saying, "Godmother, my godfather—"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Zhengdong tugged at him from behind and suggested in a low voice, "It's New Year's, let's talk things out slowly."

Hai Xinnian knew that his godmother was in poor health and understood what Uncle Dong meant. He was afraid that if he spoke too quickly, his godmother would become ill from worry. However, he was usually clumsy with words and did not know how to be flexible. When he was interrupted, he was stunned and did not know how to start the conversation.

However, how delicate is Hu Xiaoyan's mind?
As soon as Hai Xinnian entered the house, she noticed the bloodstains on her adopted son.

That was definitely not the amount of bleeding from a small wound. Hai Xinnian's hands were covered in congealed ochre-red blood, with almost no flesh color visible. The bloodstains reached all the way to his cuffs, and even smeared a lot on his coat.

Hu Xiaoyan's face paled slightly, and she asked in a low voice, "Tell me, what's the situation?"

Hai Xinnian dared not hide anything and replied truthfully, "The situation is very serious. My godfather asked me to come and call you to see him."

Even at this point, Hu Xiaoyan remained completely calm.

She sat quietly for a while, lowered her gaze, nodded and said, "Everyone, go out first. Xiaohua, stay and help me change into some nicer clothes."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the eldest sister-in-law had a strong will and had not been defeated by the bad news.

Sister Hua quickly went to the table to push the wheelchair.

Jiang Ya said urgently, "Mom, I'm going with you too!"

Hu Xiaoyan nodded, leaned forward slightly, and said, "Go, Xiaohua and Shuning, Chengye and Chengzhi, everyone go."

She had prepared for the worst, so she called all of Jiang's children, wives, and relatives.

Then, Gu Yu asked, "Sister-in-law, what about us..."

Before he could finish speaking, Xue Yingqing interrupted, "You shouldn't go yet. It'll be too chaotic with so many people. Your children are fine. Hurry up and go back inside to change your clothes!"

Gu Yu nodded after hearing this, and then retreated from the house to the corridor.

Jiang Ya and the others didn't dare to delay and hurriedly went back to their rooms to change their clothes.

Unexpectedly, just as they were about to leave, they saw Hu Xiaoyan sway and about to sit in the wheelchair when she suddenly fell heavily to the ground with a loud crash.

Everyone was shocked and rushed forward to help him up.

Hu Xiaoyan's brows were furrowed, her face was pale, and she was sweating profusely. Her body, which had only been recovering for three to five days, had indeed suffered another severe blow.

Despite her composure and calmness in the face of danger, her disabled body ultimately held her back.

Seeing this, Xue Yingqing quickly ordered, "Quick! Don't change your clothes, just take them to the hospital on the way!"

In this emergency, Zhang Zhengdong didn't have time to think much. He immediately grabbed a quilt, wrapped it around his sister-in-law, and carried her downstairs.

Even so, Hu Xiaoyan still forced herself to give Dongfeng the last two orders:
First, Zhao Guoyan was urgently recalled to Fengtian to take charge of the overall situation for Jiang and Hu.

Second, the bodyguards on duty must not be held accountable. Even if the assassin is caught, no war should be started rashly. Stability should be the top priority in everything.

After saying those two sentences, Hu Xiaoyan finally couldn't hold on any longer. She turned her head to the side and became dizzy, no longer able to speak.

The others rushed downstairs, and Dongfeng and Laodao started their engines. Jiang's children, wives, and relatives all climbed into the car.

As they approached the entrance, Xue Yingqing suddenly stopped, turned around, and instructed Hai Xinnian, "Kid, there's not enough room in the car. Don't go; stay here and watch the house. Kang Zheng, you stay here and keep him company too."

Hai Xinnian was, after all, an outsider. If anything were to happen to Jiang Lianheng, he would naturally have to give up his position to Jiang's own children. Therefore, he didn't say much and immediately agreed, taking on the important task of guarding the mansion.

Kang Zheng nodded, then stepped forward to see Xue Yingqing to the car, and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Shopkeeper, do you think... we can still leave?"

Xue Yingqing sighed and shook his head repeatedly, saying, "Let's talk about it later, let's talk about it later..."

(End of this chapter)