At the dinner table.
Qu Qiaoyun finally could not hold it in any longer. She looked at her husband, who was eating with his head lowered. "Yuzhi, don't you have anything you want to tell me?"
As she spoke,
she also dismissed the servant women attending on either side.
Lanlan, sitting beside them, did not understand what was happening. Her hand, holding a piece of food, froze in midair. She looked at her mother, then at her father beside her.
Qu Yuzhi's movements paused. He slowly set down his bowl and chopsticks, sat upright, and said solemnly, "You already know, and you even had people from the Seventh Branch cut in ahead of us. Do you need me to repeat it all?"
At those words,
Qu Qiaoyun was first taken aback. The corners of her eyes, lined with fine wrinkles, lifted slightly as she was about to speak.
But Qu Yuzhi shook his head and said in a low voice, "You originally wanted to drive Second Dog out, but he doesn't know this place or its people. Where could he go after leaving this residence? Pay rent to the rickshaw depot and live in the slums near the edge of the Stockade? He wouldn't survive long in a place like that."
"So I merely wanted to find him a way out. If he joined a martial arts school and became an apprentice, he could live in the school dormitory. The conflict between us husband and wife would not have to keep escalating either."
"I know. I understand my position, so I never used the Qu Household's connections."
"But Qiaoyun, Brother Li is a friend I made myself. Through a friend's connections, can't I find a way for my nephew to make a living?"
At those words,
not only did Qu Qiaoyun's emotions fail to ease, they became even more agitated. She smashed the teacup in her hand. "Nephew! Again with nephew? Qu Yuzhi, don't forget what surname you bear now!"
"How did the Qu Household's First Branch vanish? Why has my great Qu Household, a prominent family of a hundred years, declined year after year until now? You haven't forgotten what I told you, have you?"
"Many years ago, the live-in husband the First Branch took in brought two relatives from his former family into the Lineage. At the time, the Lineage turned a blind eye. My eldest sister carefully nurtured those two boys and poured every resource into them. They truly lived up to expectations, both advancing into martial artists, and later becoming renowned experts in Peace City. But what happened in the end?"
"My poor eldest sister raised two white-eyed wolves. Not only was she humiliated and killed, but even her two daughters could not escape their vicious hands."
"Afterward, for this matter, the Qu Household had to send out all its experts before we barely managed to capture those two thieves. Yet many uncles and elders died as well, severely damaging the Qu Household's vitality. Among Peace City's prominent families, we can no longer even rank."
"That lesson from the overturned cart happened only a dozen or so years ago."
"Our Fifth Branch does not wish to tread that old road again, and the Qu Household does not want such a scandal to happen again."
Her almond eyes were wide with fury, yet tears continued to fall.
What happened to the Qu Household's First Branch was the pain of the entire Lineage, and it was her pain as well.
Whenever she thought of her gentle, close elder sister dying so miserably in her own home, sorrow filled her heart, along with a lingering chill.
Seeing his wife like this, Qu Yuzhi felt some heartache as well, and his tone softened considerably. "But Qiaoyun, you have seen what Second Dog is like. He is an honest, straightforward young man. Whenever he faces Lanlan, his gaze never wanders. He lowers his head respectfully. How could he do something so rebellious and immoral...?"
Qu Qiaoyun shook her head. "No. He may look honest and straightforward, but his mind is sharp and he is quite intelligent. He wants to learn martial arts and learn to read. He is an ambitious person."
"That is merely a desire to improve himself."
Hearing his wife describe him this way, Qu Yuzhi could only laugh helplessly. "Quick to learn and eager for knowledge, wanting to progress and improve—those are common traits in young people. Isn't Lanlan, as a student, also eager to improve and work hard to become better?"
"Besides, you have had little contact with him. How can you have such deep prejudice against him?"
"No. In any case, I just think he is plotting something significant."
Seeing her husband continually defend Jiang Jingnian, Qu Qiaoyun's face gradually turned icy. Wiping her tears, she shook her head. "Qu Yuzhi, I only want to ask one question. Do you choose that nephew of yours from the countryside, or do you choose the two of us?"
"...Qiaoyun, does it have to come to this?"
Qu Yuzhi looked utterly stunned.
Lanlan, beside them, was also dumbfounded at first. Then her expression turned angry. "Father, you are still hesitating over something like this? In my opinion, you should hurry and drive that bringer of misfortune away. Ever since he came these past few months, there has not been a single peaceful day in this house."
Then her black, bright eyes shifted slightly, and she said with an aggrieved expression, "And the way he looks at me is completely wrong. It is like he wants to devour me."
"That is utter nonsense! Lanlan! He is clearly incomparably respectful toward you. Whenever he sees you, he bows. Yet you constantly curse and accuse him, while he only smiles along and says nothing."
"You do not get along like relatives, but rather like a servant facing the master of the house. Even after all that, you still slander him?"
Qu Yuzhi knew his daughter was fanning the flames and deliberately maligning Jiang Jingnian, and he could not help flying into a rage.
With the example of the Qu Household's First Branch before them, his wife was already extremely sensitive about such matters.
Sure enough.
Hearing Lanlan say this, Qu Qiaoyun's expression became even colder.
"Father, he is not my relative. He does not even have the surname Qu. He is merely some mud-legged peasant who came from who knows where."
Lanlan did not care in the least.
In her eyes,
how could a mud-legged peasant from some village like Jiang Jingnian possibly deserve to be her relative?
"You!"
Qu Yuzhi was furious beyond measure and raised his hand to strike Lanlan.
"Fifth Uncle!"
At that moment, Jiang Jingnian, who had only just returned to the residence, hurried into the room and reached out to stop Qu Yuzhi's descending slap.
He had not heard everything.
But when he entered the courtyard, he had caught fragments of the latter half of the conversation. With a little deduction, he understood that Fifth Uncle and his wife were arguing over him.
And it seemed likely to grow ever worse.
When Lanlan saw Jiang Jingnian enter, anger surged within her. She cursed repeatedly, "You reek of sweat! Who allowed you into our main hall? And if it were not for you, would my parents have become so estranged? Bringer of misfortune, mud-legged peasant!"
After pausing for several seconds, she hurled out several more extremely vile curses.
"Such filthy language—an insult to refinement, an insult to refinement!"
Qu Yuzhi was shaking with rage, but Jiang Jingnian was holding him back, so he could only keep shaking his head and sighing.
"Fifth Uncle, I have caused you trouble. If I ever achieve even a little success in the future, I will repay you as a spring repays a drop of water."
Jiang Jingnian's expression turned solemn. He paid no heed to Lanlan's words, merely giving Fifth Uncle a deep bow. Then he straightened and looked at the middle-aged woman seated in the place of honor, her face covered in frost.
He bowed with cupped hands to Qu Qiaoyun. "Aunt, no matter what, thank you for letting me stay these past few months. I will leave the residence now and seek another place. I only hope you will not clash with Fifth Uncle again because of me."
At this moment,
he could no longer remain in Fifth Uncle's home.
As for the martial arts school, it had most likely fallen through as well. Otherwise, things should not have reached this point.
After saying that, he left the main hall without looking back. He went to the side room to pack his things and prepare to leave the residence.
Qu Qiaoyun sat in the place of honor and watched coldly, saying not a word.
"Good, good, good! That bringer of misfortune is finally leaving."
Lanlan, meanwhile, clapped and cheered beside her, her delicate little face filled with delight.
Ignoring his wife and daughter's reactions, Qu Yuzhi simply chased after Jiang Jingnian, arriving at the side room in the courtyard.
In the damp, cramped room, Jiang Jingnian was wrapping his belongings in cloth. His tall, powerful frame could only hunch over in that tiny space, and even stretching his body was difficult. Qu Yuzhi could not help standing there in a daze.
An indescribable feeling of anguish
surged into his heart.
For no reason at all, Qu Yuzhi came to hate his own helplessness, and to feel helpless over both his and his nephew's origins.
In a world like this,
one's birth basically decided everything from the very beginning.
He had cast aside his dignity and, by sheer luck, become the Qu Household's live-in husband. But his nephew might not have such fortune.
Perhaps he would be firmly nailed to the very bottom by Peace City's towering skyscrapers.
"Nephew..."
Qu Yuzhi stood at the doorway. For a moment, he did not know what to say, and could only cover his face and sigh.
"Fifth Uncle, there is no need to say any more."
After packing his belongings, Jiang Jingnian looked at Fifth Uncle standing by the door and simply smiled. "My rickshaw depot also provides communal sleeping quarters. The rent is only two silver dollars a month. Once I earn a little more money, I can move into one of those small rooms in the alleyways."
Rent in Peace City was not cheap. Lane houses rented out by foreign property companies had better environments and security, but monthly rent started at twenty-five silver dollars.
Next came the small rooms on the top floors of Shikumen buildings, only seven or eight square meters in size, with monthly rent of around eight silver dollars.
The worst option was the slums, located near the boundary at the edge of the Stockade.
Security was poor, the environment was harsh, and people came and went constantly. All manner of people mixed together there. Most lodgings were communal dormitories, packed shoulder to shoulder, with monthly rent ranging from a few dimes to two or three silver dollars.
The lodging provided by the rickshaw depot was precisely this sort.
"...Sigh!"
Qu Yuzhi wanted to say something, but the words reached his lips and would not come out. He could only sigh.
"Here are your permit and other documents, along with several of my banknotes. You can exchange them at Ning City Bank and Shenghua Bank. But you must be careful—do not flaunt your wealth."
He then stepped forward and stuffed the documents from his robes, along with a kraft-paper envelope, into Jiang Jingnian's hands. "Take care of yourself."
Jiang Jingnian solemnly put away the documents. They were his legal proof of identity in the foreign concessions. But he pushed the kraft-paper envelope back. "Fifth Uncle, I still have some silver dollars on me. There is no need to give me more money. I have strength enough for a whole load of work now. Though I may not earn much, I do not need your support."
"Take good care of yourself too, and mind your health."
With that, not wishing to make the atmosphere any more heavy, he simply slung his luggage over his back, turned, and left.
"Nephew! Nephew!"
Watching the other's retreating back, Qu Yuzhi stood blankly for a moment. Then he walked out into the courtyard and called softly.
The garden was silent. Other than the servant women standing beside the main gate, where could he possibly still see his eldest nephew's figure?
The night was like water.
Only the tracks left by rickshaw wheels remained in the earth at the corner of the gate.
Before you continue