Chapter 96: There is Killing Intent
It was snowing again.
Outside the window, snow drifted and swirled.
The manager of Qingfeng Restaurant was forcing himself to stay alert.
Tonight’s meal was extremely lavish, but he did not know if the guests would pay after they finished eating.
He had ordered all the waiters to stay for overtime, worried that they might have to clean up blood or something later.
What a long night.
Upstairs, there were many people, yet it was not lively.
On the contrary, it was very quiet.
Everyone had taken their seats.
Gong Qichi announced the start of the banquet.
Everyone seemed to have a poor appetite; surely they had not come out in this snowy weather just to eat.
Of course, some people had come specifically to eat.
Jiang Yu had been very nervous at first.
There were too many people here; she had never seen so many people crowded together.
Even when her family hosted a banquet for A-Cui’s wedding, there had not been this many people.
Moreover, these people were dressed so well; one by one, they looked slick, colorful, and vibrant, much like the mushrooms she gathered on the mountain.
However, her attention was quickly drawn away by the dishes being brought to the table bowl by bowl.
A trip worth taking, a trip worth taking.
An excited Jiang Yu even started using idioms.
She felt today was truly different; she had to remember this special day.
Because today was the first time she had come to a restaurant to eat.
She had to write it down.
The twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month.
On this day, Jiang Yu was beaming, her small round face glowing with radiance; she looked incredibly lovely.
Zi Ganjiang had originally been a bit curious about why Mr. Gang was so excited to go meet someone; was it really necessary?
Scholars just had too many annoying habits.
Fussy and hypocritical.
As it turned out, when he saw the people Mr. Gang had brought back, they were actually a family dressed very plainly.
They were not even dressed as brightly as the servants of the masters and mistresses sitting here.
Seeing the young man Mr. Gang was pulling along hand-in-hand, Zi Ganjiang was also stunned.
This person had a good appearance.
He stood there looking so good that others felt ashamed by comparison.
With such looks, it was no wonder Mr. Gang had been rambling about him the whole way; anyone who saw him would find it hard to forget.
Zi Ganjiang thought that if his foster Father saw him, he might even pull him into becoming sworn brothers. His foster Father was also a man of passion who made friends widely without asking about their background.
Zi Ganjiang could not help but look at the person beside him again.
Even with such good looks, he was not at all full of arrogance like Mr. Gang, and his family seemed ordinary.
That young man seemed to be about the same age as him. When he looked at him, the young man gave him a silly smile, looking very honest.
That girl—that girl smiled so dazzlingly; she was neither shy nor nervous, her round face overflowing with a full smile that made anyone who saw it feel happy.
Zi Ganjiang looked once, then looked again.
He suddenly realized that the type he liked should be this kind of round-faced girl, laughing boisterously and happily.
But just now, when he saw that noble lady who had disguised her appearance, he had inexplicably thought about marriage. What the hell? He startled himself. When had his heart become so arrogant that he actually wanted to marry a noble lady?
How could he want to marry that kind of girl who was as frail as a willow in the wind and had three layers of meaning in every smile? Was he crazy?
Zi Ganjiang’s brain short-circuited for a moment. He did not realize it was a short circuit, which made him look a bit cold sitting there.
It looked as if he were dissatisfied with Mr. Gang for leaving him behind to go pick someone up.
Gong Qichi was sincerely inviting Jiang Changtian and his family to dinner.
After inviting Jiang Changtian to take his seat, he said, “Tonight, we shall not return until we are drunk, or perhaps we can talk by candlelight all night.”
Jiang Changtian refused, saying, “Tonight won’t work. A young man in my village is getting married and asked me to help early tomorrow morning. A wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event; I promised first, so I cannot go back on my word.”
Everyone was surprised; they had not expected this person to refuse the leader of the Rebels just like that.
Was he not afraid of them falling out?
Some people also recognized him; was that not the unfilial and undutiful son who had been kicked out by the Jiang Family?
Back then, many people had watched the spectacle.
They thought it was nothing more than the usual business in a big family; perhaps the second son was born to the deceased master and a concubine or mistress.
Old Madam Jiang looked magnanimous, but she was not someone who could tolerate others.
Or perhaps that brat really had some problem that made Old Madam Jiang unable to tolerate him any longer.
They did not expect Gong Qichi not to flip out, but instead to be even happier, feeling that he was worthy of being the good friend he recognized, valuing righteousness and keeping his promises.
If he had really pushed aside the thing he had promised earlier just because of his invitation, he would have looked down on him instead.
“Changtian, your temperament is too straightforward,” Gong Qichi laughed.
He was, after all, the leader of the Rebels now.
Jiang Changtian also laughed, “No, I am a very flexible person. I only say this because it is Brother Yehang, because Brother Yehang is also a person who values promises.”
Gong Qichi laughed heartily.
He liked his openness even more.
Gong Qichi talked with Jiang Changtian for a while, kind and friendly; he looked like a Rebel with an excellent personality.
Jiang Wan sat beside her grandmother, feeling inexplicably panicked as she watched this scene.
She could not help but glance at the Rebel’s foster son, Zi Ganjiang, a few more times, only to see him looking at her as well, glancing repeatedly, but his expression grew increasingly cold and stern. Perhaps he was very dissatisfied with the little mustache for taking it upon himself to leave him behind?
The little boy, Young Master Zi, sat between Mr. Gang and Zi Ganjiang, with a black-tower-like strong man standing behind him.
He watched Mr. Gang and Little Turtle’s Father pulling and tugging at each other, expressionless.
He thought to himself that if Mr. Gang sprayed saliva into the bowl of roast duck in front of him, he would not eat it.
Later, he would see what Little Turtle’s Father could eat; if he could eat it, he would admire him.
The little boy’s gaze fell onto Little Turtle again.
She was held in her Mother’s arms, her eyes blinking as she looked around.
Young Master Zi discovered something interesting.
Among the people present, there was an old lady and a girl who were actually afraid of Little Turtle; when their eyes fell on her, they appeared somewhat terrified, because their pupils had changed.
Young Master Zi had been somewhat different from ordinary people since he was young.
When he was three, he had ferreted out an assassin who wanted to kill his Father.
That assassin had been disguised extremely well; until he died, he did not know how he had been exposed.
He never would have thought it was just because he had shown his face in front of that three-year-old child.
At that time, everyone thought Young Master Zi was a born mute and could not speak.
Great Marshal Zi was also taking in foster sons one after another.
Yet, unexpectedly, the first sentence Young Master Zi spoke was actually to his Father: “He wants to kill you.”
The first sentence he spoke, and someone died because of him.
The second sentence, a year later, he said to Father: “There is an Earthquake, move house.”
Great Marshal Zi believed his son and quickly moved away with his subordinates.
Of course, some people did not believe it, or the orders were not executed very efficiently.
And then they all died.
Starting from the age of three, Zi Congheng only said one sentence a year; the first sentence killed one person, the second sentence saved hundreds of people, and also caused dozens of people to die.
Originally, he could not speak at all, and even crying and screaming were rare. Great Marshal Zi did not dare to give his own son a name, always calling him by the nickname Turtle, and even raised a small longevity turtle, hoping his son could live healthily. It was not until he spoke at the age of three that he gave him the name Congheng.
Congheng, meaning profound and thorough knowledge.
At five, he got a teacher.
The teacher was long-winded, and Zi Congheng would occasionally speak normally.
At this moment, Young Master Zi took another look at the old lady; the servant woman behind the old lady wanted to kill Little Turtle.
The evening banquet seemed to be getting interesting.
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