Chapter 28: Seeking Refuge with That Person

Du Huacheng was not particularly eager to stay with the Zhong family. What he couldn’t let go of was the Buddha statue in the courtyard.

But now, with the situation so urgent, Du Huacheng steeled himself. After all, that statue weighed several hundred pounds—there was no way Zhong Xiao could move it by herself. Besides, Zhong Xiao didn’t know its secret yet. So Du Huacheng decided to compromise for now, in order to lower Zhong Xiao’s guard. Later, when the opportunity arose, he would find a way to move the statue.

He gave Zhong Xiao a deep, lingering look before pulling Du Changlin and Du Changgong along and saying to Du Yinger, “Let’s go.”

Just before leaving, Du Huacheng gave a mocking smile at Zhong Xiao. He said, “Just now, I was thinking of our bond as father and daughter. If you were willing to let bygones be bygones, no matter what difficulties we might face in the future, we would still be family and face them together.”

“But Zhong Xiao, you have truly disappointed me. Since you are so heartless today, when reckoning comes to the Zhong family, you will shoulder the consequences alone!”

“From this day forward, I, Du Huacheng, have nothing more to do with the Zhong family. We’ll see who can smile at the end!”

When he finished, Qin Dezheng had half a mind to kick him out, but then saw Zhong Xiao lower her head and silently step aside.

Zhong Xiao picked up the kettle from Du Yinger’s room.

Seeing this, Du Huacheng thought Zhong Xiao was frightened and about to pour him water, seeking his forgiveness. His mood brightened.

“Xiaoxiao, after all, we’re still father and daughter, if you have something to say—”

“Ow! Ow! Hot! Hot!”

Before Du Huacheng could finish, Zhong Xiao yanked off the kettle’s lid and flung the scalding water straight at him!

There wasn’t much water, but it had been freshly boiled that morning and was still piping hot inside the thermos. The moment it splashed onto Du Huacheng, he howled in pain.

While dousing him, Zhong Xiao drove the four of them out of the house and slammed the iron gate shut.

Qin Dezheng immediately ordered his men, “Go buy some sturdy locks and secure the gate. Guard this place well these next few days. Don’t let those bandits set a foot near the Zhong house. If they do, call the police at once!”

With those harbingers of misfortune chased away, Zhong Xiao let out a long breath, feeling as if the whole house was instantly refreshed and invigorated now that they were gone.

Qin Dezheng looked at Zhong Xiao.

It felt as though she had changed a great deal, though he couldn’t say exactly how.

He glanced at the battered steel trunk she was packing. “Xiaoxiao, you said you weren’t leaving the Zhong house—why are you packing?”

Zhong Xiao was silent for a while, then replied, “Second Granduncle, I’m afraid I can’t stay in Yuecheng any longer.”

Qin Dezheng was taken aback, then fell silent.

She was right. Yuecheng was at the center of the current wave of purges, and the Zhong family was one of the city’s most illustrious clans. Although the authorities hadn’t dared to make a move against them yet—after all, the old master Zhong had been a renowned patriotic capitalist, making generous contributions and donations, with commendations and letters to prove it—these were troubled times, and no one could say what might happen.

If the Zhong family’s legacy was to be preserved, retreat was the only way forward. Leaving Yuecheng was the only way to save the family.

Qin Dezheng frowned. “But Xiaoxiao, with the world in such chaos, where can you possibly go?”

Zhong Xiao sat upright, her gaze resolute, her tone calm and unyielding. “I am going to Taizhou Island.”

Qin Dezheng was stunned again. He suddenly thought of something, and then, with a hint of shock in his voice, said, “Are you serious about this? Xiaoxiao, didn’t you used to hate and resent the engagement your mother arranged for you?”

Indeed, in her previous life, Zhong Xiao had detested her mother’s matchmaking. She’d heard the fiancé was a boy raised in the army, his parents close friends with Zhong Rui, the engagement arranged before Zhong Xiao was even born. He was four years older than her.

Zhong Xiao despised arranged marriage, and even more the thought of leaving home for some remote backwater with nothing to offer. Later, thanks to Zhou Yongxin’s influence, her revulsion only deepened.

But now, Zhong Xiao knew there was no place better suited for her than Taizhou Island. It was so remote that even the harshest of purges would not reach there.

What’s more, her intended had always lived in the military. Even if he hadn’t risen to any rank, he was at least a soldier. Marrying him would make her the wife of a soldier. What identity could be more unassailable, what better way to prove her innocence and clear her background?

So, Taizhou Island was her only choice.

But there was one problem—the engagement had already been broken. Back then, not even Qin Dezheng could stop her; spurred on by Yang Yuehe, Zhong Xiao had torn the engagement papers to shreds and burned them in a fit of anger.

Zhong Xiao said, “I just don’t know, if I show up unannounced on Taizhou Island, will he even acknowledge me? After all, the engagement is gone, and we’ve never met.”

“He will,” Qin Dezheng interrupted her, his tone firm and unwavering.

Zhong Xiao looked at him. “Why?”

Qin Dezheng gave a meaningful smile. “When you were born, your grandfather sent your photo over there. Every year on your birthday, he sent another. After he passed, he entrusted this to me, and I kept sending them every year.”

“That young man not only knows what you look like, he knows you’re as beautiful as a fairy, a true national treasure. If he hears you’re willing to go to him, he’ll probably be grinning from ear to ear!”

Zhong Xiao could hardly believe it. “Second Granduncle, is that true?”

“Of course it’s true!”

There were things Qin Dezheng was too embarrassed to say. That young man had always liked Zhong Xiao. Whenever he wrote back, he never mentioned her by name, but the gifts he sent were always for her—pink pens, Barbies brought back by comrades from overseas, bolts of pink and lavender silk for qipaos. What did an old man like him need with girl’s toys? The intention behind those gifts was obvious.