Chapter 10: The Ceremony

"Brother Lingjun, goodbye~"

Sitting in the car, Xu Leyi heard someone’s lingering, cutesy voice from outside.

A moment later, the car door to Xu Leyi’s left was opened. Xu Xinyi slipped in as gracefully as a butterfly, bringing a gust of sweet perfume with her.

"Sis, look!"

As soon as she got in, Xu Xinyi shoved a gift box tied with a silver ribbon onto Xu Leyi’s lap, her voice cheerful. "Brother Lingjun got this for you—I took a peek! It’s a snow globe from Wales Country. The snowflakes float, and there are two little figures that spin around and dance!"

Xu Leyi couldn’t even be bothered to lift her eyelids, casually brushing the box aside. "If you like it, you can keep it."

"There you go again!"

Xu Xinyi hurriedly picked up the gift box that had rolled to her feet. "You were like this at the Fu Family’s home, too. Brother Lingjun invited everyone to go riding, but you were the only one who refused with that cold look on your face."

She suddenly lifted her chin with a girlish boastfulness. "Brother Lingjun taught me how to ride, and he even let me touch his Western gun—BANG! The sound made my heart pound! Sis, have you ever touched a real gun?"

"During military training at Shenghai Women’s University, we practiced at the shooting range every day." Xu Leyi finally turned to face her, staring into Xu Xinyi’s eyes. "Brother Lingjun, Brother Lingjun, Brother Lingjun. You haven’t stopped talking about Fu Lingjun all day—do you have a crush on him?"

At these words, the tips of Xu Xinyi’s ears instantly flushed bright red. Her fingers subconsciously twisted the silk ribbon at her waist. "N-No, I don’t!

I just think Brother Lingjun is a very nice person. I’d be... I’d be very happy for him to be my brother-in-law."

"Nice? What’s so nice about him? His looks?

Do you know what kind of person Fu Lingjun is? Have you even bothered to learn anything about him?"

Xu Leyi sneered. "I know. I’ve learned all about him.

Back when Master Fu sent him to Dekli to study new textile manufacturing techniques, Fu Lingjun spent his time in Dekli drinking coffee, learning polo, and learning Western dances... everything except something useful. He was ordered to withdraw in less than half a year.

I heard he’s recently gotten into playing with guns and practicing martial arts.

Oh, and by the way, surely you’ve heard that Fu Lingjun has been fooling around with a girl from Saint Gong Girls’ School..."

"But isn’t everyone like that? It’s normal for men to have three wives and four concubines. Didn’t Dad also marry several concubines...?"

Xu Xinyi mumbled, fidgeting with the hem of her qipao.

"Xu Xinyi!"

Xu Leyi looked at her sister with exasperation. "The laws of the Xin Republic abolished the concubine system long ago! If you’re so willing to be a bird in a cage, you might as well just tell Dad you want to marry into their family. As for me—"

Xu Leyi paused, then said, "Dad has already agreed. Starting next month, I will take over managing a portion of the family business.

The Xu Family and the Fu Family can remain on good terms, but the Xu Family will absolutely not live forever under the Fu Family’s thumb."

The car started moving. The cabin swayed gently, and silence fell over them.

Suddenly, Xu Xinyi blurted out, "Sister, have you fallen for that man with the surname Zhao, the one who visited our home last time?"

Xu Leyi turned her head in astonishment, finding Xu Xinyi staring fixedly at her.

She was both annoyed and amused and couldn’t help but poke Xu Xinyi’s smooth, full forehead with her finger.

"Oh, you. Is romance all you ever think about?"

"You haven’t answered me yet, Sister."

Xu Leyi sighed lightly. "Xinhua is a friend I made in Shenghai. Aside from family background, in terms of character and ability, he’s far beyond what Fu Lingjun could ever compare to.

But there’s really nothing between Zhao Xinhua and me. When we were in Shenghai, he once shared a saying with me, and now I’ll share it with you."

Xu Leyi gently took Xu Xinyi’s hand and said with a serious expression, "A woman seeks an education and a career not so she can marry better, but so she doesn’t have to marry at all."

「Meanwhile, at the Fu Residence.」

Fu Juemin stood on the ivy-covered second-floor balcony, watching the two cars belonging to the Xu Family drive out of his estate and slowly recede into the distance.

Not until the cars had completely vanished from sight did Fu Juemin carelessly loosen the tie at his throat and give an order to someone behind him:

"Go, get Wang Shuisheng for me. Tell him he’s sparring with the Young Master again."

........

「August 28th.」

At the Luan River Pier, gongs and drums roared amid the ceaseless smoke of burning incense. Laborers, stripped to their dark, bare chests, hoisted struggling live pigs and sheep high and, with a few SPLASHES, smashed them into the muddy yellow river water.

The shrieks of the livestock were instantly swallowed by the waves, leaving only a few strings of murky bubbles on the river’s surface.

The pier was packed with people. On a stage, Daoists in apricot-yellow robes performed rituals alongside shamans wearing ghost-faced masks. On the bank, old women mumbled incantations, continuously scattering yellow paper into the river with each chant...

The smell of incense and the fishy stench of the river mingled, steaming up into a kind of absurd liveliness.

Fu Juemin was dressed in a khaki suit, a gray fedora pulled down over his brows, followed by two young men in black, close-fitting attire. The three of them stood in the crowd, conspicuously out of place.

"How many times has it been this month?"

Fu Juemin asked, his voice flat as he watched the live animals being continuously thrown into the river.

"This is the third time."

A man with a square jaw and a neat crew cut standing next to Fu Juemin grinned. "After every sacrifice, they hold a three-day running feast. All the brothers at the pier just need to bring a bowl and chopsticks to eat their fill.

Would the Young Master care for a taste?"

Fu Juemin shot the man a sidelong glance, his gaze shifting to the high platform not far away.

The heads of various merchant guilds were seated there. In the center was his second uncle, Fu Guoping, sitting with an imposing air, looking quite grand.

"When did it become Second Uncle’s turn to preside over the River God sacrifice?"

Fu Juemin was muttering to himself, but the other man beside him heard and immediately chimed in, "Master Fu Er commands great respect!

Everyone in Luan River County knows that Master Fu Er’s word carries more weight than the county magistrate’s!"

The man’s face was filled with pride, his tone full of reflected glory.

Fu Juemin remained noncommittal, his gaze falling on a young man with cold, sharp features sitting next to Fu Guoping. "Who’s that?"

"Wu Pozhou, the son of Wu Xiaoyun from the Black Shark Gang."

"He seems quite close with Second Uncle."

"Isn’t he? Master Fu Er just took him in as an adopted son the day before yesterday."

A flicker of intrigue crossed Fu Juemin’s eyes.

’The Luan River Pier is teeming with gangs, and every day is a drama of big fish eating small fish, and small fish eating shrimp. Last month, Wu Xiaoyun died, leaving the Black Shark Gang without a leader. Overnight, they went from being the pier’s top dog to a fat prize that numerous other gangs are eager to carve up.

For Second Uncle Fu Guoping to choose this moment to adopt Wu Xiaoyun’s son is a clear declaration that he’s backing the Black Shark Gang and Wu Pozhou.

From what I know of my second uncle, Fu Guoping would never have bothered with the Black Shark Gang’s paltry assets.

To wade into these muddy waters without any clear benefit—it means one of two things: either he shared a life-and-death friendship with Wu Xiaoyun, or the Fu Family owes the Black Shark Gang a massive favor.

Wu Xiaoyun was just a pier thug who started out selling fish. Even if he got along with Second Uncle, it’s unlikely they would have associated as equals... That only leaves the possibility that Second Uncle owed him a favor.

A favor so great that he’d take in the orphan as his adopted son... Could it be that Wu Xiaoyun’s death had something to do with Second Uncle?’

Fu Juemin’s eyes glinted as he rapidly analyzed the situation.

He recalled Fu Guoping’s adamant declaration a month ago, saying that the talk of a water monkey claiming lives was pure nonsense and that Wu Xiaoyun had clearly died in a gang feud.

But in the blink of an eye, the pier was restarting the water ceremony with great fanfare, and the scale of the sacrifice was even grander than in previous years...

Fu Juemin suddenly turned to the two bodyguards beside him, his eyes narrowing as he asked faintly, "This Civil Affairs Bureau of yours... what exactly do you do?"