Chapter 77#

Chapter 77: The Struggle Between Yu and Wang (2)#

July 15th. For nearly a month, the sky over the capital remained clear.

This was the hottest and most expansive sky of the year in the capital: the azure dome arched high, wisps of white clouds dotted it like cotton wool, and a blazing sun hung directly overhead, radiating heat.

Although during this period, as long as they were in the capital, the third generations of officials, big or small, stayed honestly at home without causing or stirring up trouble, there were always some events that one couldn’t avoid, whether willing or not: for example, the engagement ceremony of Qiu Yue and Shen Delin, which had been rumored for a good year and was finally confirmed.

For such a grand ceremony, as long as one received an invitation, no family dared to ignore it.

When Gu Chenzhou arrived at the venue, he stood at the entrance for a moment and scanned the surroundings. Apart from acquaintances, there were more acquaintances, many of whom were of comparable status to him, or whom he had to honestly call “brother” or “sister” when he met them—Shen Delin was thirty-one this year, and Qiu Yue was a year younger than him, also thirty. They were a full seven years older than Gu Chenzhou. When Shen Delin was most flourishing in the capital, Gu Chenzhou and Wei Xiangjin had just emerged from their small circle and stepped into the larger one.

“Little Gu is here.” Shen Delin, who was standing at the door welcoming guests, skillfully patted Gu Chenzhou on the shoulder. Due to the age difference, he didn’t have much contact with Gu Chenzhou, but from their few encounters, his impression was quite good.

Hearing the other party call him “Little Gu,” Gu Chenzhou didn’t address him by his official title but smiled and said, “Brother Shen, congratulations!”

“Thanks for your good wishes.” Shen Delin patted Gu Chenzhou’s arm lightly. He originally wanted to say a few more words, but seeing someone about to walk over behind Gu Chenzhou, his smile remained unchanged as he turned the pull into a push, saying, “Go in and sit down quickly. I’ll have a good drink with you later.”

Before Gu Chenzhou could take a step, a lazy voice sounded behind him: “Mayor Shen, congratulations. Young Master Gu, long time no see.”

One sentence greeted both people. Gu Chenzhou, who had intended to leave, paused slightly and nodded to the person behind him. “Young Master He, indeed, long time no see.”

He Hailou curved his lips into a smile. He was a natural clothes horse; whatever he wore looked like it belonged on a model. Now, casually picking a suit, he outshone the carefully dressed Shen Delin.

However, Shen Delin himself didn’t care much—it was just a face. If he looked good, he looked good; what else could it be? He had just pushed Gu Chenzhou away simply because he knew the current situation of opposition between the two families and didn’t want any complications on this already hectic day.

“Welcome, welcome.” Shen Delin smiled as he ushered the two in. His gaze had just moved away from the seemingly well-behaved Gu and He when he saw Wang Rongze walking in from outside.

Now Shen Delin also had a slight headache.

Anyone with eyes could see the situation between the Yu faction and the Wang faction. It could be said that there were quite a few people from both factions at this engagement party—but few would be foolish enough to cause trouble at this time. Special attention was paid to Gu and He because He Hailou’s reputation preceded him, and the conflict between the Gu and He families was rather complex. As for Wang Rongze, he himself was nothing special, but the person behind him, Wang Boyuan, really had something going on recently!

Back in June, another case involving human life was dragged out by the case that burned up from Yanghuai Province. Although it didn’t directly name Wang Boyuan, looking at that case and the recent movements of the Wang faction, it really wasn’t hard to guess. Especially a few high-level officials, they were completely pretending to be confused while knowing clearly.

A dignified candidate for the next administration—regardless of whether the matter was true or not—actually couldn’t even suppress such a case…

Shen Delin glanced at Wang Rongze, who was walking up alone. With a smile on his face, he secretly thought that it was no wonder no one was with this person recently; Wang Boyuan really seemed unreliable!

Those who could attend Qiu Yue and Shen Delin’s wedding basically had backings strong enough to show off. Plus, with a glance, everyone was an acquaintance, so there was no absolute necessity to go up and exchange pleasantries.

Walking into the hall, Gu Chenzhou casually exchanged a few words with people he met along the way. Just as he was about to pick up a glass of low-alcohol drink from a passing waiter, a slender, fair hand with short-trimmed nails and a large diamond ring on the ring finger reached over. This hand first pressed down on the drink Gu Chenzhou was about to take, then took another glass of strong liquor and handed it to Gu Chenzhou. Then, it retracted to take a glass of the same strong liquor, raised the glass to lips, took a small sip, and said, “Have a drink with me, Little Brother Gu.”

Gu Chenzhou had only heard this form of address from one person’s mouth since he was young. He looked at the wine glass in his hand and smiled. “Sister Yue, congratulations.”

To be fair, Qiu Yue was not a very beautiful woman.

Her lips were too thin, her nose bridge too high, her eyes not large, but her eyebrows were too raised and her gaze too sharp—she looked like a very stylish female general, and someone who looked quite unsuitable as a housewife.

Gu Chenzhou actually didn’t quite understand the significance of the Qiu-Shen marriage alliance: if it was to strengthen the relationship between the two families, it was really unnecessary, as the current Premier Shen was promoted single-handedly by the Old Master; if it was because the two “kids” had feelings for each other, as far as he knew, that really wasn’t the case; if it was to find someone who could be a good hostess for the Shen family… Qiu Yue really wasn’t suitable. It wasn’t that she lacked anything, but obviously, Qiu Yue also had her own career ambitions, and she was doing it, and doing it no worse than Shen Delin.

As one of the main parties of this banquet, Qiu Yue wore a deep purple gown. The dress had no superfluous decorations, just a circle of openwork patterned waist ornament around the waist, studded with tiny diamonds, which sparkled brilliantly under the light.

Qiu Yue smiled faintly and said, “Walk with me.” The previous “have a drink” was a question, but this sentence was a direct order.

“Okay.” Gu Chenzhou agreed readily, casually placing the untouched wine glass in his hand on the tray of a nearby waiter.

It wasn’t clear if Qiu Yue saw it, but she ignored it anyway, walking ahead on her own. Her steps were not the delicate and light steps of a woman, but firm and grand. Complementing the gown she wore, from another perspective, she also appeared particularly distinctive.

The two walked through the banquet hall one after the other. Qiu Yue led Gu Chenzhou all the way to the garden in the back before slowing down. “Since I went to the army, we haven’t met much, have we?”

Compared to Shen Delin, although the age difference was the same as with Qiu Yue, because Gu Chenzhou had lived with his grandfather in Zhende Garden for a period when he was young, he often saw Qiu Yue. Over time, their relationship, if not deep, was at least much deeper than a superficial acquaintance. Now that Qiu Yue wanted to catch up, Gu Chenzhou could naturally carry the conversation, and even mentioned Wei Xiangjin: “Yes, Sister Yue went away for university, then joined the army later, so we haven’t met much for several years; now Xiangjin is the same, also joined the army…”

Qiu Yue held her wine glass and listened to Gu Chenzhou for a while, then suddenly dropped a bombshell: “Little Brother Gu, if it weren’t for the fact that the age gap between you and me is really too big, the protagonist of tonight’s banquet might not necessarily be Shen Delin.”

Gu Chenzhou: “…”

Qiu Yue looked at Gu Chenzhou carefully. “What, you don’t believe it?”

Whether to believe this or not really had no meaning at all! Gu Chenzhou didn’t want to gossip about himself, so he had to steer the topic towards Shen Delin. “Why, does Sister Yue have some thoughts on this matter?”

Qiu Yue’s lips curled up, and she said slowly, “It would be strange if I didn’t have thoughts, wouldn’t it? What was the name of that mistress Shen Delin kept? Lin or Yu?”

It was something everyone knew, so Gu Chenzhou didn’t need to hide it for Shen Delin. “A student from the film academy, I think. Nothing big, they should have broken up a month ago.”

Qiu Yue shook the wine glass in her hand. “Since you also think this is nothing, why don’t you keep a student or two like them? With your conditions, plenty of people would want to cling to you, right?” As she spoke, she mentioned He Hailou, showing that in this aspect, He Hailou really had too much presence. “Like He Hailou, even with rumors of his sadomasochistic hobbies reaching me, there’s still a bunch of people rushing to stick to him.”

Gu Chenzhou smiled and simply used Tai Chi to push the matter away. “Sister Yue, don’t joke about me.”

Qiu Yue drained the wine in her glass in one gulp, her expression returning to its initial calm. “Talking about this is indeed meaningless. I didn’t call you here for anything special, just to catch up. I have a piece of news about the Wang faction here, do you want to hear it?”

Gu Chenzhou raised an eyebrow slightly. “What news do you have, Sister Yue?”

“The news is that my old man thinks very highly of the other party…” Her eyebrows suddenly raised, her gaze looked behind Gu Chenzhou, and her eyes narrowed.

Gu Chenzhou sensed something and turned sideways to look back at the same time, but behind him were shadowy trees. Apart from the sounds coming from the distant banquet hall, there was nothing unusual.

“That was He Hailou just now. Did He Hailou come to find you?” Qiu Yue didn’t specifically lower her voice, but it definitely couldn’t be heard from dozens of steps away.

“He Hailou?” Gu Chenzhou was stunned for a moment.

Qiu Yue misunderstood, extending the hand holding the wine glass and gesturing slightly towards a direction with denser trees. “Standing right there. I’ve been a scout; I wouldn’t mistake a person.”

Just tailing, really not strange at all.

Thinking this, Gu Chenzhou was also a bit surprised at his own calmness. If it were anyone else at this time, he would probably start preparing immediately; but He Hailou, who had broken the bottom line countless times…

Gu Chenzhou nodded to Qiu Yue. “I know.”

Qiu Yue just mentioned it. For one thing, the other party couldn’t possibly handle it poorly; for another, it really had nothing to do with her. The topic then turned back to the previous matter. “The case that came up from Heqing pointing directly at Wang Boyuan has some inside story. This is probably guided by Wang Boyuan himself.”

Gu Chenzhou was stunned at first, but thinking about the context, he quickly understood the key point:

The current situation was that Yu Shuifeng had strength and connections but wasn’t the favored candidate of the current administration; while Wang Boyuan had the favor of the current administration, but in terms of strength and connections, he was weaker than Yu Shuifeng.

In this way, Yu Shuifeng could seek stability and keep a low profile, but Wang Boyuan had to take the initiative to attack. Yanghuai Province was where Wang Boyuan had worked and operated for the longest time. It was true that a governor had left, but to say that apart from this governor, there were no more of Wang Boyuan’s people in Yanghuai—anyone could figure out that was impossible.

So, for the fire that burned up from Heqing City under the jurisdiction of Yanghuai Province to burn all the way to Wang Boyuan unimpeded, Wang Boyuan probably gave it a push in secret… The purpose, besides using this opportunity to make a final selection internally, was also to legitimately start a fire. Regardless of who it burned first, the ultimate goal was to burn it onto Yu Shuifeng.

With Qiu Yue pointing this out, Gu Chenzhou completely understood. But what he was thinking about now wasn’t the matter between Yu and Wang, but Qiu Yue—why did Qiu Yue call him out specifically to tell him this?

At this time, Qiu Yue seemed to pry into Gu Chenzhou’s thoughts. She smiled and said, “It’s not a big deal. I say it, you listen. Anyway, your family stands with the Wang faction. You’ve called me sister for so many years; exchanging information isn’t excessive.”

After speaking, she didn’t stay long, turning and walking towards the banquet hall. Even if she really had no feelings for Shen Delin, her appearance here was a tacit acceptance of this marriage alliance. Naturally, it was impossible to cause any trouble at the last minute.

Gu Chenzhou stood in place, lowering his eyes for a while. Qiu Yue had no need to lie to him, and the source of intelligence was absolutely accurate.

But Gu Chenzhou, who had always been at the center of this matter and had planned early on, how could he need the other party to wake him up and guide him on such a small matter?

In their positions, everyone inevitably had their own thoughts and stances.

But for him, there was only one important thing: how to make other people’s thoughts and actions become the bricks and tiles for the smooth progress of the Gu family’s plan!