Republic of China, 1922: Rise from the Post-Zhili-Fengtian War

The group walked through the courtyard, where the sunlight was just right, making the bluestone path slightly hot.

Wang Yongjiang walked at the front, with Mo Dehui supporting his arm as she whispered her superior's instructions, her face full of respect.

Wang Yuyou stood beside Gu Cheng, the intense midday sun shining on her plain cheongsam, making her appear almost transparent.

Occasionally, she would glance at Gu Cheng, but each time she would look away as if she had been burned.

Wang Yongjiang and Mo Dehui were the first to exit through the moon gate, their figures disappearing behind a clump of green bamboo.

Wang Yuyou suddenly stopped walking, and Gu Cheng, seeing this out of the corner of his eye, immediately stopped as well.

But seeing her slightly flushed cheeks, he felt a little awkward: "Miss Wang?"

Wang Yuyou didn't speak immediately, but kept her head down, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes.

The courtyard was quiet, with the distant chirping of cicadas making the place seem even more serene.

"Commander Gu," she finally spoke, her voice very soft, "I heard everything you said to my father in the room just now..."

Gu Cheng turned his head slightly to look at her: "What did you say?"

"You said you had the brothers and my father with you, that you could handle it." Wang Yuyou raised her head, a complex emotion swirling in her clear eyes. "When you said that, were you truly sure there was no problem, or... were you just saying it for us to hear?"

Gu Cheng fell silent.

The girl in the sunlight seemed almost transparent as she quietly gazed at Gu Cheng, clearly waiting for an important answer.

"Yes, we have them all," he said.

Wang Yuyou was taken aback, not expecting him to answer like that.

Gu Cheng took a deep breath and calmly continued, "It would be a lie to say I'm not worried at all... The Japanese are not easy to deal with after all, and the game in Jinzhou is not going to be easy."

But then his voice softened, "With you all here, I feel reassured. But I'm only saying this to you."

Wang Yuyou gazed at him quietly, then revealed a gentle smile.

The words "I'm only saying this to you" resonated deeply within her: "Commander Gu, although I only have a superficial understanding of many things, I'm certain of one thing..."

She took half a step forward, getting closer to him, her clear eyes reflecting his image with earnestness.

"No matter what, as long as you ask, your father and I will do everything we can to help you. I'll talk to your father. He may be stern, but he's on your side."

Seeing her like this, Gu Cheng couldn't help but want to hold her hand, but in the end he smiled and said, "With you and Min Gong here, I feel at ease."

Wang Yuyou smiled with her lips pursed, then came back to her senses and continued towards the moon gate;

Gu Cheng, who was standing beside her, suddenly remembered something: "Miss Wang, that pack of cigarettes is very good. I... have been reluctant to smoke it."

Wang Yuyou paused for a moment, then her cheeks flushed even more: "What's there to be reluctant about? I'll bring you more after I've finished smoking them."

"That's different," Gu Cheng said. "I saw that letter too... Actually, I understand what's on your mind."

He paused here, and said earnestly, "If you are so kind, how could I be indifferent? Miss Wang, once things are peaceful in Jinzhou, I... want to bring up our matter with your father."

Wang Yuyou trembled and froze on the spot.

She had thought about Gu Cheng's words countless times; yet hearing them now, she was suddenly thrown into a panic.

Only that one sentence kept echoing in my ears—"Once things are peaceful in Jinzhou, I want to talk to your father about our relationship."

She composed herself before nodding vigorously, "Okay, I'll wait for you."

Four simple words, yet a lifelong commitment.

…………

After seeing Wang Yongjiang and his daughter off, Mo Dehui offered to stay and help with the accounting, as a way to make amends for her past mistakes.

As they walked back through the covered corridor together, Gu Cheng spoke up, "Mr. Liu Chen, you really don't need to—"

Mo Dehui sighed: "Jingchuan, I bear a lot of responsibility for this... I've been with Min Gong for 11 years, and I've never disappointed him like this before."

Gu Cheng led him into the study, where Gao Tianqi, draped in a thin blanket, was sitting at the document desk, with Yang Hao and two clerks, making a final check of the complicated numbers.

Hearing footsteps, the group turned their gazes simultaneously.

Seeing Mo Dehui follow Gu Cheng in, they all put down their work and stood up to greet him: "Mr. Liu Chen."

Mo Dehui quickly stepped forward to support Gao Tianqi, saying, "Your injury hasn't fully healed yet, you should go back inside and lie down... I'll help you here."

Gao Tianqi was taken aback, then looked at Gu Cheng—seeing that he had no objection, he smiled and said, "It's great to have your help, please have a seat."

Yang Hao made way for him, and Mo Dehui quickly got into the swing of things, starting to ask about the progress and other details.

Gu Cheng exchanged glances with Gao Tianqi again, saying that he had some things to do. However, as soon as he stepped out the door, Gao Tianqi said, "Jingchuan, wait a minute, I have two receipts for you."

She got up and went out with him, lowering her voice, "Jingchuan, what's going on? The accounts have been checked, everything has been sorted out, what's he doing here?"

Gu Cheng turned and glanced into the room, lowering his voice as well: "What do you think?"

Gao Tianqi frowned: "How could I possibly understand? Now that something's happened, instead of hiding, he's actively coming closer. Isn't that just asking for trouble?"

Seeing his wary look, Gu Cheng smiled: "Why is he hiding? He didn't take any money from the Japanese."

Gao Tianqi was taken aback: "Are you sure?"

"The fact that he dared to stay means he has nothing to hide." Gu Cheng casually took out a cigarette and continued, "A person with something to hide would want to stay as far away from this matter as possible, so why would he dare to go to the brigade headquarters?"

He stayed to tell everyone, especially the Duke of Min, that Mo Dehui could withstand scrutiny.

Gao Tianqi nodded thoughtfully: "That's true, but it's still a dereliction of duty that such a big mistake happened in the things he was handling."

What can he possibly find by helping with the audit? We've already sorted out the accounts and have all the necessary evidence. What can he possibly do sitting there?

Gu Cheng looked at Gao Tianqi: "He's most useful just by sitting there and not having to do anything."

Gao Tianqi was taken aback.

Gu Cheng put a cigarette in his mouth: "The evidence you've uncovered will inevitably be sent to the Marshal's Mansion in the future. With him in charge of the brigade headquarters... no one can say that we framed someone or overstepped our authority."

Gao Tianqi remained silent for a long while before slowly nodding: "I understand."

As they spoke, Gu Cheng had already taken out a match to light his cigarette. Gao Tianqi shook his head and smiled, "I think you're getting more and more cunning... I could never use your brain."

Gu Cheng smiled, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Everyone has their own expertise. When it comes to taking stock of accounts, who can beat your little abacus? Alright, you've really worked hard these past few days. Leave the rest to me."

Gao Tianqi nodded, and was about to go back into the house when she softly called out to him, "Jingchuan... was that cigarette Miss Wang's gift to you?"

Gu Cheng stopped, but did not answer.

Gao Tianqi smiled meaningfully, didn't ask any further questions, and pushed open the door to go inside.