Chapter 3186 — Feng Shihua Pleads for Mercy

At the entrance of Liuwei Ju stood a Grand Cherokee SUV. It was the personal vehicle Tang's mother had ordered Xue Gu to buy for her—in truth, she had seen Wei Zhao driving one, decided she liked it, and bought an identical model for herself.

Xue Gu had money to spare and was hardly going to haggle over trifles and offend Tang's mother, so when she wanted it, he simply bought it.

"You must be Lingshan!" Tang's mother had met Qiu Lingshan before and remembered her somewhat. Now, seeing a pretty girl walking over with a young man beside her who bore a certain resemblance to Tang Jucheng, she guessed this must be Tang Yuqi.

Tang Jucheng had gotten out of the car after Tang's mother. Qiu Lingshan was perfectly composed, but Tang Yuqi beside her was visibly agitated; the moment he saw Tang Jucheng, he hurried over at a near run—for in Tang Jucheng's face he saw the outline of his father's. This man was unquestionably his second uncle, and Tang Jucheng felt an innate warmth toward him.

"Second Uncle!" Tang Yuqi blurted out instinctively.

"You... you must be Yuqi!" Tang Jucheng was overcome with emotion as well. "My elder brother—your father—is he well?"

"Second Uncle, my father's health is still sound enough. It's just that as a man grows old, he begins to reminisce, to long for his homeland, to long for you, Second Uncle. That's why he sent me back to the country to seek out kin across a thousand li—and I never imagined that with Lingshan's help, I'd actually find you!" Tang Yuqi said. "Second Uncle, what are you and Auntie doing these days? Lingshan mentioned it's supposed to be confidential?"

"That... let's talk about it once we're inside!" Tang Jucheng glanced at Tang's mother, unsure how to answer.

"Of course, Second Uncle, Auntie—look at me, the moment we start talking I forget we're standing at the restaurant's front door. Please, after you!" Tang Yuqi gestured them in, a little embarrassed.

Liuwei Ju was one of the most popular restaurants in Donghai City. Large as it was, it had no private rooms; tables could only be reserved by guests holding VIP cards. Ordinary customers could not book ahead—they could only wait for a table.

Fortunately, the Song family, to which Qiu Lingshan belonged, was a major clan in the secular world as well, and obtaining a membership card was no difficulty for them.

The group entered Liuwei Ju, but the disciple who had driven Xue Gu's car did not follow them in. He knew his place well enough—how would he dare behave presumptuously in front of Auntie Wang? These days, everyone in Xue Gu knew that Auntie Wang was the one really in charge.

Once the dishes were ordered, Tang Jucheng and Tang Yuqi fell back into conversation. Though the two had never met before, Tang Yuqi had been entrusted by his father with a great many stories of his father's childhood, and as he recounted them now with Tang Jucheng, the latter could not help but be swept up in emotion.

Qiu Lingshan and Wang Yujie tacitly refrained from interrupting, letting the two men discuss family matters as they pleased.

Afterward, Tang Yuqi spoke at length about his life overseas with his father, and in an instant the ties between the two families drew considerably closer. By then the food had arrived, and everyone ate and chatted, the atmosphere thoroughly harmonious.

……………………

Word of Wei Zhao's instant kill of two experts at the peak of the late Heaven-Rank spread quietly through the circles of the ancient orders. Every faction that had opposed Wei Zhao was gripped by fear for its own survival; other factions with no quarrel with Wei Zhao now wavered over whether to extend an olive branch to him; and those on good terms with Wei Zhao were delighted beyond measure.

Yet Feng Shihua, who served as Wei Zhao's underling, was anything but happy. Dongfang Xiaocui had laid out her schemes to him in full detail, hoping he would plead with Wei Zhao to spare her.

To be frank, Feng Shihua was furious at what Dongfang Xiaocui had done. She had actually wanted to murder her own half-sister—a sister who could never have threatened her position or her standing—and yet she had plotted an assassination. It made Feng Shihua think his mother utterly witless.

So he merely gave a vague, noncommittal sound and did not agree to help, because he did not know how to broach the matter with Wei Zhao. Yes, he was Wei Zhao's underling, but to beg forgiveness every time his mother blundered—that struck Feng Shihua as deeply improper.

After all, it was he and his father who had asked Wei Zhao to protect Xu Shilan. To now ask Wei Zhao to forgive those who had targeted Xu Shilan—was that not a contradiction?

But in the end, Dongfang Xiaocui was still Feng Shihua's mother, and Feng Shihua was a deeply kindhearted man. He had once gone so far as to seek medicine for Feng Nitian; when it came to his own mother, he truly could not bring himself to be hard-hearted.

And so, in the end, he dialed Wei Zhao's number.

"Shipian, what is it? Any news?" Wei Zhao asked as he picked up.

"Leader... it's not news, exactly. There's a matter I don't know how to bring up with you..." Feng Shihua hesitated, the words catching in his throat.

"What's wrong? What is it you can't say?" Wei Zhao found it strange. "Why stand on ceremony with me? Just say what's on your mind."

"It's like this, Leader. The assassination attempt on my sister—it was actually my mother who orchestrated it..." Feng Shihua said cautiously.

"I know. Isn't your maternal grandfather Dongfang Badao of the Dongfang family?" Wei Zhao was already aware of this. "Still, my apologies—I did kill your second maternal uncle..."

"Ugh... I've no real affection for them. We never lived together growing up, and we rarely even met." Feng Shihua said. "What I mean is... could you forgive my mother? Not kill her?"

"Why would I kill her?" Wei Zhao was momentarily taken aback by Feng Shihua's words.

"The business with my sister was my mother's doing. It's already spread through the circles of the ancient orders that you can kill two experts at the peak of the late Heaven-Rank in an instant, so my mother is afraid you'll come for revenge..." Feng Shihua explained.

"Shipian, I'm only Xiaohan's close guard. I protect her from being harmed by others. As for who targets her, I truly have no need to go hunting them down myself—my aim is to deter them, so that they won't come making trouble for Xiaohan. That's enough," Wei Zhao said after listening. "And besides, if I were to go looking for trouble, it would be with the Dongfang family—I wouldn't trace it to her door."

In truth, protecting Xu Shilan was merely Wei Zhao's job; the feud he had truly incurred was with the Dongfang family—with Dongfang Jian, whom he had killed back then. That was the grudge that could only end in death. As for Dongfang Xiaocui, without the Dongfang family, she was nothing but a pitiful woman.

"Then I'm relieved. Thank you, Leader!" Feng Shihua said with a breath of relief.

"It's nothing. So, does that mean Xiaohan is out of danger for the time being?" Wei Zhao asked.

"For now, both my third uncle and my mother are afraid, and the Dongfang family is afraid too. They figure it's good enough if you don't come after them—there's no chance they'll trouble you again anytime soon," Feng Shihua said with a nod. "Still, no one can guarantee they won't stir again in the future. Leader, you're not thinking of ending the close-guard assignment, are you?" (To be continued.)