For J City, this was an ordinary night. This ancient city had long grown accustomed to the rise and fall of dynasties, had witnessed the flourishing and decline of ethnic tribes, and had watched countless brilliant figures turn into dust. In the thousands of years it had lived through, this night was no different from innumerable other dull and uneventful nights.
For the majority of the people living in it, this was also an ordinary night. Behind those windows where the lights were still on, drowsy young parents were helplessly trying to soothe their crying children; programmers working overtime were irritably tapping away at their keyboards; couples whose passion had long faded were quarrelling in anger inside their rented rooms; sleepless students were hiding under their blankets scrolling on their phones. The trivialities of life had defeated dreams, reproducing lives that were similar and mediocre—like a vast, blind school of fish circling around each other, day after day.
For some people, however, this was a sleepless night. Zhao Jinchuan’s death shot into the eye of a giant beast like a burning rocket, catching it off guard and making that decayed, violent monster roar in fury.
The small sitting room of Elder Zhao was brightly lit. The second generation of the Zhao family had all gathered, their expressions dark. The elderly man in the wheelchair coughed a few times in a hoarse voice, took the teacup from the guard, drank two sips, and rasped, “Continue.”
The young man standing beside him held himself straight as a rod, speaking at an unhurried, measured pace, “Perpetrator Sun Jiangao entered Waterfront Garden through Supervisor Liu Xueqiang. When registering as a staff member, he used a forged ID—Sun Da. According to Liu Xueqiang’s confession, hiring Sun Da was done on Huang Jing’s instruction. Huang Jing had served as Zhao Jinchuan’s personal secretary for six years, so he didn’t suspect anything. After the incident, Huang Jing disappeared. His last known location was at Nanshan Cemetery. Surveillance shows he went there early in the morning to offer flowers. The grave belongs to Zhang Ting, Huang Jing’s younger sister. Because their parents divorced, she changed her surname. She was only fourteen when she died. The cause of death was publicly declared an accident, but in fact, she died after being lured by classmates to serve as a companion guest and was abused to death. Because so much time has passed, the details are blurry, but preliminary suspicion is that the m
At this point, the old man let out a cold snort and said with a stiff face, “A depraved illegitimate son—dead is dead, nothing to pity.”
Zhao Dongsheng’s face turned pale; he said nothing.
The young man continued, “As of now, the accident case in H City has taken away twenty-eight people; some have already been transferred to the judiciary. Zhao Siyuan has been in the interrogation room for sixteen hours and still hasn’t come out.”
Zhao Siyuan was the son of Zhao Qiming, the eldest of the Zhao family.
Zhao Qiming frowned deeply and said, “That old fox Director Zhang Ke of the Discipline and Inspection Bureau… If it weren’t for Father’s support back then, that position would never have gone to him. Usually, he’s all flattering smiles when he sees me, but today, when I went personally, he used ‘a meeting’ as an excuse to avoid me. On the phone, he just kept pushing things around, refusing to say who’s stirring trouble behind the scenes and giving no clear stance at all.”
“He’s finally picked a side,” Elder Zhao said, the corner of his mouth lifting casually.
“I thought he planned to swing like a smiling pendulum his whole life.”
“You’re saying he’s gone over to the Shen family?” the second son, Zhao Weiguo, asked. “Why would he—”
“Why would he? There’s no such thing as ‘why’.” The old man cut him off.
“When I pushed him into that position back then, it was to use him as a shield. Who knew he’d actually have the skill to sit so steadily? Over the years, he acted warm toward us, but every message he passed along was something already known by everyone. As for the higher-ups’ true intentions, he kept them sealed so tight that not a single bit leaked. I saw it long ago—this dog can’t be raised loyal. And now that he’s caught a chance, he’s taking a bite out of us.”
His throat itched, and he coughed again twice. “Don’t rush to pull people out yet. Have someone pass a message inside telling Siyuan to stay steady. If he has to suffer a bit, then he suffers a bit—nothing to make a fuss about. Once the storm passes, during the trial we’ll find someone to take the fall and it’ll be over.”
“Yes,” the young man replied. “Public opinion blew up too fast this time, and the scale is too large. It’s already beyond a controllable range. Director Li Tao of the Publicity Department has done his best, but the effect isn’t great.”
“Li Tao is useless. He was already sidelined by those two deputies the Shen family planted.”
Zhao Weiguo pressed down his anger. “I’ve said from the beginning to pick more young cadres to train personally, but you all prefer using the old ones because they’re convenient. These old slickers only know how to take without doing. When the time comes to rely on them, not a single one can stand firm.”
“Enough. Complaining now won’t help.” Zhao Qiming said, “The Shen family clearly wants a fight to the death. We need a counter-strategy.”
Zhao Dongsheng let out a cold laugh, “We have dirt beneath our feet. How clean can the Shen family’s backside be? If they want to tear things open, then tear everything open. If the fig leaf is coming off, no one should expect to keep their dignity!”
“Father, what do you think?” Zhao Qiming turned to the elder. “You still have to make the final call.”
Although they were all capable in their respective fields, they still respected Elder Zhao the most. Fighting the Shen family carried an enormous cost; someone needed to coordinate the whole situation. Moreover, they had to consider the higher-ups’ intentions, which none of them knew for sure.
Old Master Zhao slowly took a sip of tea. A faint gleam of sharpness flashed in his cloudy eyes. He had spent his life on horseback, fighting on battlefields. Even though he now lived in comfort and old age had crept in, that ruthless blood still flowed in him.
He spoke slowly, “I never expected that old fellow Shen Changyun to still have the nerve to go against me now. Back then, he was the most timid one—unlike us rough fellows. He even had schooling, you know, an educated man. And it was precisely because he was timid that he thought ahead in everything. During wartime, the soldiers under him were the ones who died the least.”
He looked at Zhao Qiming. “Do you know why I’m saying this?”
“You’re reminding us to be careful,” Zhao Qiming answered.
Elder Zhao nodded, coughed a few times, and let his gaze sweep over his three sons. A faint sigh rose in his heart.
He was old.
When he was young, he had killed countless enemies, had the courage of a man worth ten thousand soldiers, and even when a bullet pierced his lung, he could still stubbornly survive. But time was more grinding than bullets. Age had sniped at his years; after his stroke the year before last, his legs could no longer move, and now even his strength was not what it used to be. After just a brief moment, he already felt tired.
He steadied his breath and instructed, “The Zhao family’s power and status today cost me my entire life. Now that it’s in your hands, don’t you dare destroy it.”
So—they were going to fight.
The three sons straightened and said solemnly. “We understand.”
Elder Zhao turned to the young man who had been speaking earlier. “Qinghai, get in touch. Tomorrow, I’ll personally go see a few people at the top.”
The two forces were confronting each other—one side busy devising strategies, the other scrambling to fix the damage.
The Shen family had been dragged into the battle by their disappointing junior, Shen Liu, who had stumbled cluelessly into the orchestral frenzy of ‘Nessun dorma1Nessun Dorma is a famous aria from the opera Turandot where the prince sings that no one is allowed to sleep until they discover one man’s identity.‘. When Shen Lan learned that his own unlucky child had caused the whole mess, he was shocked and furious, his blood pressure nearly flaring up. He paced restlessly back and forth in his office.
The moment he looked up and saw Shen Liu walk in, his anger surged as he grabbed a stack of documents and hurled them at him, bellowing, “Look at the mess you’ve made!”
Shen Liu took the blow without changing expression. He simply walked to the sofa, sat down, and poured himself a cup of tea. He had been running around nonstop the entire day and hadn’t had a proper bite to eat. After everything blew up at Qin Mu’s place, he had lost his appetite entirely. There was no way he could ask for food now, so he could only use the tea to press down the sour ache in his stomach.
Shen Lan jabbed a finger at his nose and cursed, “You killed someone from the Zhao family over a dancer, stirred up all this garbage online, and even interfered with the H City case without authorisation… has your damn brain been kicked by a donkey? Do you have any idea what time it is right now? Have you considered the consequences this might have? Can you even afford to bear them?”
“I can’t,” Shen Liu answered, unhurried and calm.
His bluntness only infuriated Shen Lan further. His face reddened as he slammed the table, “So you know you can’t!”
Shen Liu lifted his eyelids and looked at him. “So are you planning to bear it for me, or are you going to sacrifice the pawn to save the rook and throw me out there as an offering for peace?”
Shen Lan let out a cold laugh. “What do you think?”
“I think you don’t get to decide,” Shen Liu said.
Shen Lan was stunned into silence, unable to react for a long moment.
Shen Liu leaned back on the sofa and spoke leisurely, “Our patriarch, who actually makes decisions in our family, is cautious and slow to act. For years, every step the Zhao family advanced, he stepped back, sitting around waiting for them to trip. Unfortunately, that fellow never capsized. So all he could do was watch the Zhao family grow stronger and let a once-promising situation rot into stagnant water.”
Shen Liu set down his cup and continued, “Now that man from the Zhao family is highly favoured above, and public opinion polls aren’t bad either. No one can say who’ll win the election. The two families have been harbouring resentment for years over the fight for power. Once the Zhao family takes that seat, it’ll be nearly impossible for the Shen family to rise again. The old man is afraid the situation might shift, so he’s been moving assets abroad these past two years to leave the Shen family a way out. Am I right?”
Shen Lan’s brows tightened into the shape of the character chuan2川. “An elder’s arrangements don’t need your commentary,” he said coldly.
“You have your arrangements,” Shen Liu replied lightly. “And I have mine. Rather than hiding in a hole, trembling and waiting to be caught in one sweep, I’d rather leap out while they’re unprepared, bite down on their throat, and fight to the death. If you won’t step out, then I can only set the fire myself.”
Shen Lan was so enraged that he felt smoke rising from his seven orifices, “You going crazy is one thing, but now you want to drag the entire family down with you? You created this mess—go clean it up yourself! Don’t expect me to save you!”
Shen Liu let out a careless laugh. “When you needed me to work like an ox and a horse, we were oh-so affectionate father and son. Now that something’s gone wrong, you want to erase my household registration? If the Shen family doesn’t want me, I can change my surname. Zhao sounds pretty good. Even though I accidentally killed Zhao Jinchuan, I heard Elder Zhao didn’t like that illegitimate son anyway. If the greeting gift I prepared pleases him, he might be more than happy to take me in.”
“You bastard—what nonsense are you spewing?!” These outrageous words sent Shen Lan into a rage.
“What, you don’t believe it?” Shen Liu’s smile faded. His attitude turned cold in an instant, like a blade slowly drawn from its sheath, gleaming with icy light. “Ten years ago, when I lost to you, I learned a lesson—never let your opponent see your cards. The Shen family is fickle. Father, brothers, relatives, even lovers can be thrown away the moment they become inconvenient. Absolutely unreliable. So over the years, I kept some reliable things for self-protection. I collected quite a lot of accounts that the Shen family couldn’t clarify, transactions that couldn’t be cleaned, shady dealings, and little habits that couldn’t see the light of day. And of course, there’s a share belonging to you. Tell me—do you think the Zhao family would like a gift like that?”
Shen Lan’s face turned ashen. “You’re threatening me?”
Shen Liu suddenly smiled. “That line sounds familiar. Ten years ago, the only thing I could use to threaten you was my life. At least now I have something else. I’m done being a chess piece for the Shen family. Now it’s my turn to play this game. If you won’t be my vanguard, then I’ll flip the whole board. We’ll all go down together—no one gets to stay clean.”
With that, he stood up. “I have things to do. I don’t have time to sit here listening to your scolding. I’m leaving.”
At that moment, Tao Ze rushed in, his face grave. He leaned forward and said in a low voice, “Elder Shen sent people to take Lawyer Qin away forcibly.”
Shen Liu’s pupils contracted sharply.
T/N:
I always try to make it once a week kinda schedule for this series, and so if I cannot do that, I will try my best to compensate for it by posting more on the day I can post
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