The engagement banquet ended.
Bai Liuyue packed her bags, preparing to head north with Jiang Yunshen to meet President Jiang.
The system reminded her, "Host, you have currently deviated from the main plot. Your target, Xie Chengxiao, is in the Northwest. A prolonged deviation might make it impossible to complete the capture."
"Is that so?"
Bai Liuyue curled her lips into a faint smile.
On their first night after arriving in Beiping, they stayed at a grand hotel.
That very night, a fire broke out near the back corner gate of the Presidential Palace, and the flames quickly spread throughout the entire estate.
Awakened in the dead of night, President Jiang and Jiang Yushen had no choice but to get out of bed and join the crowd in fighting the fire.
The next day, when Bai Liuyue followed Jiang Yunshen to meet President Jiang, his black hair was mixed with white strands, and his face showed sheer exhaustion.
The stern-faced middle-aged man standing to the side was Jiang Yushen, who stared at the two of them warily.
"Father, I have brought Xiaoyue to see you," Jiang Yunshen greeted with a lowered head.
President Jiang's gaze quickly swept past his youngest son, instead scrutinizing Bai Liuyue carefully.
His subordinates had long since reported the situation to him.
The youngest miss of the Bai family in Jinzhong, raised in the inner chambers since childhood, who had almost become Xie Chengxiao's second wife.
The Presidential Palace and the Northwest had always been friendly on the surface but at odds in reality. He was quite satisfied that his own son had snatched someone right out of Xie Chengxiao's hands.
His eldest son had seized territory, and his second son had seized a woman.
Everything was going very smoothly.
It would have been even better, provided the Presidential Palace hadn't caught fire last night.
"Good, good child." President Jiang symbolically took out a jade pendant and said, "This is for my daughter-in-law."
"Thank you, Uncle."
"Still calling me Uncle? You are engaged to Yunshen now, so you should change how you address me and call me Dad."
"Dad! Xiaoyue is timid, let her take her time." Jiang Yunshen stood protectively in front of her.
President Jiang nodded and said,
"Alright. I originally intended to keep you here for a meal, but the estate caught fire last night."
"I will have Secretary Shen book a banquet at the Beiping Hotel later."
Bai Liuyue nodded obediently.
Throughout the entire visit, Jiang Yunshen ignored Jiang Yushen's existence. He didn't even call him brother, let alone ask Bai Liuyue to greet him.
Jiang Yushen frowned and said,
"Yunshen, even though you were born to a concubine, you should still understand some etiquette. Why don't you even call me brother?"
Jiang Yunshen didn't even spare him a glance.
"Dad, we will go to the Beiping Hotel and wait for you."
After saying that, he directly took Bai Liuyue's hand and turned to leave.
"You! Jiang Yunshen, do you know what rules are at all?" Jiang Yushen wanted to say more, but the man had already walked far away.
He looked at President Jiang unwillingly.
"Dad, you spoiled him! He never calls me brother when we meet, treating me like a stranger. Now look, he completely ignores me."
"Yushen, your brother has his own difficulties." President Jiang sighed, then patted the back of his hand to soothe him, "Alright, my position and the Jiang family will all be left to you in the future."
"Why care about such a trivial matter."
Jiang Yushen finally shut his mouth, though he was still indignant in his heart.
...
The moment the two walked out of the Presidential Palace, Bai Liuyue noticed that the hand holding hers suddenly let go.
The touch of his palm was icy cold.
Turning to look at Jiang Yunshen, his face was already as pale as a sick man's.
"What's wrong?"
Bai Liuyue nervously grabbed his hand again, wanting to warm it with her own palm.
A barely perceptible flush flashed across Jiang Yunshen's pale face. He immediately shook his head and said,
"I'm fine. It's just that every time I see Jiang Yushen, I have to restrain my urge to kill him."
"Between you and him...?" Bai Liuyue hesitated to speak.
Jiang Yunshen's gaze fell on their clasped hands. "We aren't in front of them anymore, you don't have to act."
"I am just caring about my ally's physical condition."
"If you feel uncomfortable holding hands, then I'll let go..."
Just as she finished speaking, she was about to release her grip.
Jiang Yunshen's other hand suddenly wrapped over hers, pressing her palm tightly against the back of his hand.
"You are..."
Meeting Bai Liuyue's confused gaze, he pursed his lips and said, "It will be a little warmer this way."
So stubborn.
Bai Liuyue didn't expose him.
"You want to kill Jiang Yushen. Why?"
If it were just brothers fighting for power and profit, it wouldn't reach this extent.
Jiang Yunshen lowered his eyes and said slowly:
"Jiang Yushen is sixteen years older than me."
"When I was seven, my father was still the director of the political affairs hall and was busy with official duties. So he had Jiang Yushen drive us out for an outing."
"On the way back, we were kidnapped. Me, Jiang Yushen, and my concubine mother were all captured."
"My father sent Secretary Shen to pay the ransom. The money brought was originally enough; as long as the money was handed over, the kidnappers would let us go."
"Who knew that after Jiang Yushen was untied, he was actually unwilling to give them the remaining ransom. He pulled out the pistol Secretary Shen brought and shot two kidnappers dead."
"Seeing the situation turning bad, another kidnapper wanted to use me, still tied up, as a threat."
"But Jiang Yushen didn't care about my life at all. He even felt it would be quite good if I just died like that. He started firing, and the kidnapper fired too."
"It was my mother who rushed out to block a shot."
Bai Liuyue's tone was sorrowful as she said, "Your mother died to save you?"
Jiang Yunshen's smile was ironic.
"If only that were the case."
"She took that shot standing in front of Jiang Yushen."
Bai Liuyue looked at him with a complex gaze. "Yunshen, you..."
Jiang Yunshen twitched the corners of his lips, smiling very bitterly.
"After the kidnapping incident ended, my father sent me to study abroad in Germany, and I didn't come back until last year."
"Do you know why I came back?"
"Because my father became the President. Various factions wanted to find weaknesses to threaten him, and they discovered me staying abroad."
"The name Gu Qinghuai is real. He was my good friend, and also the heir to a medical family in the Northwest. When we were abroad, he died to save me."
"So after I came back, I became Gu Qinghuai. I am more than just one person."
Bai Liuyue had a vague guess.
"The one who made a move abroad was... Jiang Yushen?"
"More or less. He didn't do it himself, but just leaked the news of my existence. Do you know Marshal Zhang of the Fengtian clique? He has always been itching to make a move on the territories of the Northwest and Jinzhong."
"Jiang Yushen is asking a tiger for its skin. Many people were sacrificed in this, besides me, there were Xie Zhenning, Xie Chengxiao..."
...
Beiping Hotel.
President Jiang's car arrived. Just as the father and son were about to get out, a black jeep from a distance charged towards them like crazy.
Jiang Yushen frowned:
"What's going on? Wasn't the area cleared?"
Secretary Shen in the front row had no time to react at all, saying subconsciously, "Not good! They brought guns."
As soon as the words fell.
Crackling gunshots rang out.
And that jeep didn't control its speed at all, crashing directly into the black car at the entrance of the hotel.
A private room by the window on the second floor of the hotel.
"Marshal, let's retreat quickly. Their people will trace it here very soon."
The man, wearing a black trench coat and a hat with a long brim, slightly raised his head, revealing a cold, chiseled profile on one side, and said coldly:
"I want to watch him get run over and killed with my own eyes!"
