Chapter 315: The Token of Trust
“During the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, his eldest son Li Chengqian was first established as Crown Prince. Later, after Li Chengqian committed serious mistakes, Emperor Taizong intended to replace him with Li Tai. However, although Li Chengqian and Li Tai were brothers born of the same mother, they were utterly incompatible, like fire and water.”
“After much hesitation, Emperor Taizong ultimately chose Li Zhi as Crown Prince. At the root of it, he hoped that after Li Zhi ascended the throne, he could preserve both Li Tai and Li Chengqian. After all, all three were sons of Empress Zhangsun.”
After hearing this story, Heishui Ming couldn’t help but ask, “What does this have to do with our family?”
Heishui Yazi said, “Isn’t Grandfather thinking the same way? Big Brother and Second Brother are at each other’s throats, Elder Sister and Little Brother are also on terrible terms. Only us—we get along passably with everyone and haven’t seriously offended anyone. What Grandfather said today was also a kind of test, wasn’t it?”
“Grandfather has always favored Little Brother. He wants to see whether we have the tolerance to accommodate him?” Heishui Ming asked.
Heishui Yazi nodded lightly, then said, “When it comes to political maneuvering, no one really compares to the Chinese. They always seem able to find parallels in history and use them as lessons for the present.”
“So we’re supposed to get Lu Jingyao to cooperate with Little Brother?” Heishui Ming asked.
He didn’t even realize that, without noticing it, he had already come to regard his wife as the pillar of the family.
Heishui Yazi shook her head and said, “Grandfather may favor Little Brother, but what real abilities Little Brother actually has—Grandfather probably knows better than anyone. If Little Brother manages to accomplish this task, it would instead look too deliberate.”
“And if he messes it up?” Heishui Ming asked.
Heishui Yazi replied, “Then we can naturally step in to take over and clean up the mess for him. Grandfather would have nothing to say about that.”
Just as Heishui Yazi had predicted, the youngest grandson of the Heishui family did indeed botch the job.
Not only that, he completely offended Lu Jingyao.
Lu Jingyao’s anger wasn’t even an act. It was truly because this kid didn’t know where he got the nerve—in the middle of cooperation talks, he repeatedly spouted arrogant nonsense, and even dragged Xu Youyou into his remarks.
“Miss Heishui, I do indeed need the help of the Heishui family head,” Lu Jingyao said coldly to Heishui Yazi. “But you should understand that I’m not limited to you alone.”
Heishui Yazi cursed her younger brother a thousand times in her heart. She had underestimated his talent for causing trouble. At this point, she and her husband could only bow and scrape, apologizing profusely.
“Mr. Lu, my younger brother has always been immature. Please forgive his unintentional offense.”
After much persuasion, and after conceding part of the benefits in the cooperation, Heishui Yazi finally managed to secure Lu Jingyao’s continued partnership.
“Mr. Lu, Miss Xu, in a few days it will be my grandfather’s eightieth birthday. He is inviting guests far and wide and has repeatedly instructed me to be sure to ask the two of you to honor us with your presence,” Heishui Yazi said carefully, choosing her words with great deliberation.
Lu Jingyao agreed, but inwardly he became more alert. Heishui Yazi’s Chinese was indeed excellent—so standard that hardly any accent could be detected. Clearly, she was the one in the Heishui family who had recognized the potential of the Huaxia market earliest and had mastered Mandarin long ago.
Over the past few days, Xu Youyou’s system had pointed out all of the Heishui family’s heirs in Tokyo, even indicating the Heishui family’s old residence at one point. However, security at the old residence was extremely tight. Unless one visited through official channels, it would likely be impossible to get in.
But for a normal visit, there was no suitable excuse for the time being. More importantly, Xu Youyou was still completely at a loss and had no idea how to complete the task.
Her only hope now was that Heishui Yazi and her husband would become the heads of the Heishui family. That way, her scavenging mission would still have a slim chance of success, and all the early preparations wouldn’t have been in vain.
Otherwise, she would have no choice but to use the task-failure immunity the system had previously rewarded her with.
The key issue was that the system’s recent two missions seemed to be part of a mission chain. If a crucial link in the chain failed, it was unclear whether it would affect subsequent tasks.
“This birthday banquet will announce who the next family head is,” Lu Jingyao said.
Xu Youyou finally breathed a sigh of relief. The day of the birthday banquet was the third-to-last day of the system mission’s countdown. If the transfer of power still couldn’t be completed by then, her task would truly be in jeopardy.
Still, perhaps because people from Huaxia were particularly sensitive, the word “banquet” inevitably evoked PTSD from the infamous Hongmen Banquet, making her feel that something unpleasant might happen.
“Don’t overthink it. We’re just guests. Even if something bad happens, it won’t come down on us,” Lu Jingyao said.
In the blink of an eye, the day of the birthday banquet arrived.
The official banquet was set for noon. Instead of a hotel in Tokyo, the venue was the Heishui family’s old residence.
Lu Jingyao and Xu Youyou arrived with formal invitations. At the entrance to the old residence, someone checked the invitations, while others registered the guests’ congratulatory gifts.
After entering, dedicated servants guided the guests around the residence. Roughly one servant accompanied every five guests, ensuring that no one wandered around the estate aimlessly and caused any awkward situations.
Lu Jingyao and Xu Youyou didn’t linger to admire the scenery. Not long after entering, Xu Youyou suddenly froze.
She stared at the flag placed prominently in the center of the main banquet hall and said in surprise, “I remember the Heishui family crest doesn’t look like this.”
She had reviewed the materials beforehand. The Heishui family crest was clearly a hibiscus pattern. Yet now it had become a red spider lily. The pattern looked almost identical to the design on the jade pendant embedded in the golden nanmu wood she had obtained earlier.
“Miss Xu, the crest on this flag is the Heishui family’s crest from a hundred years ago,” Heishui Yazi explained softly. “Back then, a master once said that the Heishui family had borrowed a hundred years of fortune from the red spider lily, and that fortune had already been exhausted. A hundred years ago, the Heishui family head spent a great sum to have divinations performed, and ultimately chose the hibiscus as the new family crest.”
Listening to this story, Xu Youyou felt that something about it was strangely off.
She then thought of the other side of the jade pendant, on which there was only a single character engraved: “Xin” (Trust).
“Does your family have any tokens of trust?” Xu Youyou asked.
Heishui Yazi said proudly, “Our Heishui family has been a great clan for two hundred years. Naturally, we have family tokens of trust. In fact, they are divided into ranks—the highest rank is made of jade, followed by gold. Those who receive gold tokens are all important partners of the Heishui family. As for jade tokens, the last time one was given out was eighty years ago.”
“If someone were to come to you with such a token, would you honor the promise?” Xu Youyou asked.
Heishui Yazi immediately replied, “The Heishui family has always kept its word. If there is a token, we would naturally not let the visitor leave disappointed.”
Hearing this, Xu Youyou’s eyes instantly lit up. Just as she was about to blurt out that she had a token, Lu Jingyao suddenly reached out and pulled her back.
