Qiao Zhi’an hunched his back, sitting in the corner. Darkness had already fallen, and the mountain road downhill would be even more difficult to traverse. He looked at Su Ziceng, who was eagerly asking questions, "Do you really want to hear? After all is said and done, it’s all the sins committed by your so-called good father, Su Qingzhang."
Su Qingzhang, twenty-five years ago, no one in Mo City had heard of him. He was just a street thug in the Sixth District. A bona fide street thug who would hoard goods forbidden by the government, trading in contraband for profits. At the time, not only Mo City but the whole country wasn’t wealthy, with less governmental oversight. His petty scams and tricks, therefore, didn’t attract much attention.
Su Qingzhang’s stroke of luck began when he met Qiao Chu. Aside from Ye Taina, Qiao Chu had another friend she could confide in: Chang Mei. Chang Mei lived in the Sixth District, and it was during a visit to see the sick Chang Mei that Qiao Chu encountered the local ruffian. It was then that Qiao Chu fell for Su Qingzhang.
Different social standings, coupled with the fact that Qiao Chu already had a fiancé, Qiao Zhi’an, the entire Qiao Family was dissatisfied with this mismatched marriage alliance. Even the Qiao Family patriarch went as far as to send someone to chastise and insult Su Qingzhang, and Qiao Chu was put under house arrest at home.
In spite of this, Qiao Chu still pleaded with Qiao Zhi’an to let her out, and later she became pregnant with Su Qingzhang’s child. In order to wash away the discrimination from the Qiao Family, Su Qingzhang abandoned the pregnant Qiao Chu and brought in a large fortune from somewhere. He then bribed the new government, securing numerous coal and tin mining rights, and subsequently drove out all business of the Qiao Family using the name of a franchise operation. Since then, the Qiao Family’s fortune dwindled. In the end, aside from Qiao Zhi’an, who insisted on staying, there were no longer any families with the surname Qiao in Mo City.
"If it weren’t for the old master of the Wen family, taking into account the relationship with our ancestors and pleading for me with the government to get a job guarding the mountain, I’m afraid I’d hardly manage to survive in Mo City," Qiao Zhi’an sighed. A few years earlier, almost all officials in Mo City had taken bribes from Su Qingzhang. It was only in recent years that other powerful families began rising to prominence which brought some stability.
"How could Qing Chang be so heartless?" Yang Wuxu, although he had felt a little of Su Qingzhang’s audacity, never imagined that this middle-aged man with a cane could harbor such deep grudges.
"So what my maternal uncle means is, father’s wealth wasn’t plundered from the Qiao Family," Su Ziceng heard it clearly. She had witnessed her father’s cunning and aggressive tactics over the decades and wasn’t overly surprised. If Su Qingzhang’s vast wealth was not an inheritance from the Qiao Family, then where did it come from?
And the "Red Love" ring, originally belonging to Ye Taina, how did it end up passing from Qiao Chu to Su Ziceng’s hands?
Speaking of Su Qingzhang, Qiao Zhi’an was filled with indignation. He was once a young master from a renowned clan, whose fiancée was taken from him, and his family wealth was dissolved due to coercion from others. Now, seeing the daughter of the woman he once loved and the blood of the man he despised most, Qiao Zhi’an wanted to curse out loud and cry bitterly at the same time.
Looking at her maternal uncle, who still carried an air of a Failing Scholar, Su Ziceng felt a surge of sorrow, "Uncle..." Her hand clenched Qiao Zhi’an’s hand tightly, tears swirling in her eyes.
"Ziceng... I remember when Qiao Chuhuai was pregnant with you, she had already chosen your name. You are called Ziceng, right?" Qiao Zhi’an was caught in the whirlpool of memories, unable to extricate himself. He was just an ordinary rich man’s son who had lost spectacularly in the competition. From him, Su Ziceng could see the downfall of the old clans and the cruelty of new ones rising to power.
Qiao Zhi’an declined Su Ziceng’s suggestion to move down the mountain. The Qiao Family’s old mansion had been expropriated by the city hall to become the city library. Qiao Zhichu had been living on the mountain for over a decade; his memories had fused with every inch of grass and tree on Wolong Mountain.
There was no place for him in Mo City anymore, and he had given up the chance to start anew overseas. Qiao Zhi’an’s only wish was that Su Ziceng could spare some time to visit the Qiao Family’s ancestral grave to offer incense and prayers, and to visit him in the mountains when she had the time.
Su Ziceng promised to do so, and after comforting Qiao Zhi’an, she let Boss Han drive her down Wolong Mountain towards the city.
The downhill road, under the light of streetlamps, wound its way down. Boss Han focused on driving, while Yang Wuxu was silent, his thoughts unknown.
Su Ziceng didn’t take away the old photo laden with countless memories of Qiao Zhi’an. As she looked back, a pale orange crescent moon hung obliquely at mid-mountain. The figure of the old man remained at an indistinct stone step, looking up expectantly. Perhaps many years ago, he also stood there, missing the woman in his heart who would never turn back to look at him. (To be continued. If you work, you are welcome to cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)