Thirty-Seventh Chapter: Three Rings and a Picture of the Office

Old Master Zhong, supported by Zhong Luochen, arrived at Gu Yue Zhai.

Zhang Qingrui was already waiting in the lobby and led the two upstairs to Zhang Li Lanfang's room.

Old Master Zhong and Zhang Li Lanfang looked at each other in silence, not saying a word. After a while, Old Master Zhong finally spoke, "I've come to return your item, Luochen."

Following Old Master Zhong's instruction, Zhong Luochen quickly opened the brocade box in his hands. Zhang Li Lanfang glanced at it and nodded.

Zhang Qingrui then took the brocade box from Zhong Luochen's hands.

At this moment, Zhang Li Lanfang said, "Qingrui, put this back where it belongs. Remember to place it carefully."

"Okay, Grandma," Zhang Qingrui replied softly.

Zhang Li Lanfang then said, "Young man from the Zhong family, your grandfather and I have some private matters to discuss. You should leave too."

Zhong Luochen looked hesitant, but Old Master Zhong waved his hand, "It's alright, wait for me outside."

Zhong Luochen then said, "Miss Zhang, if you don't mind, how about I accompany you to put the item away?"

Zhang Qingrui calmly replied, "No need."

Zhong Luochen smiled faintly, not insisting.

After the two youngsters left, Old Master Zhong sighed and said, "Lanfang, how have you been all these years?"

Zhang Li Lanfang adjusted her qipao, turning her back to him and looking out the window, not at Old Master Zhong. She said indifferently, "At least I've been better off than you, an old fellow about to enter the coffin."

Old Master Zhong gave a wry smile, "I truly should be in a coffin. This time, it's all thanks to you. If you hadn't lent me the Black Card, I probably wouldn't have been able to come see you at the end."

Zhang Li Lanfang said calmly, "It was your grandson who brought the Jade Lock to find me. I considered it settling some old debts. Seeing you today isn't because I'm happy you've overcome your difficulties, but rather to see what you've sold to prolong your life and in what pathetic state. Watching you makes me happy."

Old Master Zhong sighed again, "Lanfang... do you remember what happened back then?"

Zhang Li Lanfang let out a cold laugh, "What, do you want me to forget? Or perhaps after so many years, I, this old woman, should have gone senile and forgotten?"

Old Master Zhong quickly said, "That's not what I meant! We all know we wronged you back then... After that incident, we all felt guilty and intended to take good care of your Zhang family. We didn't expect you to disappear overnight and leave without a word. We later found out you came here and wanted to find you, but we were afraid you hadn't cooled down, so we kept putting it off until now."

As he spoke, Old Master Zhong's voice became a little choked with tears, "We... I, actually have no face to see you. If it weren't for this trip to the gates of hell, sigh..."

Zhang Li Lanfang let out another cold laugh, "Don't play the victim in front of me! I'm too familiar with your tricks! Hmph, you had the same look back then, constantly spouting high-sounding principles, and using the name of righteousness to force my husband to go to that place! For all these years, there's been no news from him, I don't know if he's alive or dead. Fine! Very fine! You truly still have the nerve to see me!"

Old Master Zhong shook his head, "No matter what you say. I've come today for two reasons."

Seeing Zhang Li Lanfang's indifferent expression, he continued, "First, to thank you for lending me the Black Card. But you said it was to repay a past debt... My life has been extended, but the price paid was not small. Let's consider this matter settled. Second, I hope you can agree to marry your granddaughter to my Luochen."

"What?" Zhang Li Lanfang exclaimed, slapping the table in disbelief, "Dare you say that again?"

Old Master Zhong quickly said, "Hear me out first. This marriage will only benefit your granddaughter, not harm her. Listen, I plan to make Luochen the heir to all my assets. After your granddaughter marries him, she will soon be the legitimate mistress of the Zhong family... You should understand what I mean. If it weren't for Xiao Liu's sacrifice back then, we wouldn't have these few families. I will repay what we owe him, as much as I can."

Zhang Li Lanfang immediately sneered, "Sounds nice... but in the end, it all goes back to your Zhong surname?"

"The child will have the Zhang surname," Old Master Zhong said softly. "If they marry, the first child will be named Zhang, and regardless of whether it's a boy or a girl, they will be the heir to all the Zhong family's future assets."

"You..."

Old Master Zhong suddenly stood up, supported himself by the chair, and knelt before Zhang Li Lanfang, tears streaming down his face, "Lanfang, we wronged you. Old Zhong here is kowtowing to apologize!"

Thump, thump, thump.

Three heavy, yet silent, kowtows.

As she walked down the corridor, Zhang Qingrui suddenly heard the sound of something breaking. She hurried around the corner and exclaimed in alarm, "Manman, what's wrong?"

She saw a receptionist from Gu Yue Zhai lying on the floor, with shattered teacups beside her.

This receptionist's name was Manman, a girl who had been working there for half a year. Zhang Qingrui naturally knew her.

"I... Young Miss, I'm so sorry. I was bringing tea for the Madam and the guest, and I accidentally..." Manman said with a look of panic, "I'm sorry, I'll pay for the broken teacups."

"Pay for what?" Zhang Qingrui quickly helped her up. "Look at you, your foot is cut by the porcelain shards and bleeding. This is a work injury; if anyone pays, it should be us paying you."

"Ah, Young Miss, no, no need!" Manman quickly shook her head. "It's just me being clumsy... Really, no need."

"Your foot is still bleeding, and this won't do," Zhang Qingrui said. "Come to my office, I'll stop the bleeding for you. I have some medicine."

"Ah, Young Miss, how can I trouble you again... I can manage myself."

"Did you twist your ankle too? Can you walk?" Zhang Qingrui asked. "Alright, don't be polite with me, I'll help you."

In the general manager's office, Zhang Qingrui was searching through a cabinet next to the bookshelf. "Strange, I remember putting it here, why can't I find it?"

Manman quickly glanced at Zhang Qingrui, then at the brocade box she had casually placed on the coffee table in her haste. She gritted her teeth and quickly opened the brocade box.

She took out a nearly identical Black Card from her clothes and swapped the Black Card in the brocade box.

Suppressing her pounding heart, Manman put away the swapped Black Card, then steadied herself and said, "Young Miss, I think the bleeding isn't serious. Perhaps I can handle it myself. Didn't the Madam have guests? Don't waste your time on me."

"Found it, it fell over here." Zhang Qingrui turned and walked over, quickly applying styptic powder to Manman's wound. "This used to be called Golden Wound Medicine. Remember those ancient costume dramas on TV? But it works very well and doesn't leave scars."

Watching the white powder sprinkled on the wound on her leg, which instantly stopped the bleeding and made the wound feel cool, Manman exclaimed, "It's truly miraculous! But then again, only someone as noble as you, Young Miss, would use something like this. We who are rough and tough just stick on a band-aid and call it a day."

Zhang Qingrui carefully wiped Manman's wound. "No matter how rough a girl is, she needs to take good care of herself. If you don't cherish yourself, who else will?"

"I think I'm alright now," Manman suddenly said.

"How about this then," Zhang Qingrui said, "your foot is still sprained. I'll give you half a day off, go see a doctor. If your foot still hurts tomorrow, you can have another day off. This counts as a work injury, so you'll still get paid. Don't worry."

"Thank you, Young Miss," Manman said quickly.

Zhang Qingrui smiled, picked up the brocade box, and after helping Manman out, she walked straight into the collection room.

She opened the brocade box and took out the Black Card. After a glance, she couldn't help but be startled. This item didn't seem to give her the same feeling as before.

She was a little confused, but her grandmother had confirmed it when it was sent, so there shouldn't be any problems. Besides, her grandmother had warned her since childhood not to touch it too much.

Although she was curious, she could also feel the strangeness of the Black Card. She quickly put it away and locked it.

Not long after, she returned to Zhang Li Lanfang's room.

"Grandmother, has Old Master Zhong left already?" Zhang Qingrui asked Zhang Li Lanfang in surprise.

Zhang Li Lanfang said, "Is it put away properly?"

Zhang Qingrui nodded. "It's been put back in its place."

Zhang Li Lanfang suddenly said, "Child, come here."

Zhang Qingrui walked to Zhang Li Lanfang's side. The latter gently took her palm and said, "If I asked you to marry Zhong Luochen, how would you feel?"

"Grandmother, why so suddenly..." Zhang Qingrui's expression changed slightly, but her upbringing was excellent, and she remained very composed.

"Answer me first, will you agree?"

Zhang Qingrui shook her head directly.

Zhang Li Lanfang gave a wry smile. "I knew that would be your answer. But what if I want you to marry him, whether you agree or not?"

"Grandmother... are you joking?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Zhang Li Lanfang said in a deep voice. "You've always asked me what happened back then... I'll tell you honestly now, and then you'll understand why I'm making this decision."

Luo Qiu had been to Ren Ziling's workplace a few times – this woman would occasionally forget things and ask him to deliver them.

However, it would be too troublesome to transfer by bus.

Fortunately, the place was within the city, meaning he could reach it at will.

The club's teleportation for the club owner generally relied on the owner's memory to pinpoint the location. The deeper the impression, the higher the accuracy of the teleportation.

Fortunately, because he had been there a few times, he still had some impression of Ren Ziling's office. Luo Qiu took a step forward from home, and the next step landed him in the office.

Ren Ziling's office inherited the consistent style of her home rooms – a true testament to being deeply messy and disorganized.

Luo Qiu sighed and casually placed the documents on the desk. At the same time, he noticed a picture peeking out from under the files.

Curiosity was something Luo Qiu could never let go of. He lifted the files and looked at the picture.

"What on earth is this guy investigating?"