Chapter 023
A waltz, dancing to the music.
The original body was skilled in dance, and Lu Mingzhu was even more proficient, having studied various dance styles extensively because Grandma Zhang loved watching her dance, believing that learning dance helped cultivate a girl’s posture and elegance. Thus, Lu Mingzhu quickly dissolved the barrier between herself and the original body regarding dance, seamlessly blending the techniques she had learned with those of the original body.
Xie Junyao held her waist, soft as a willow branch, while she rested her hands upon his shoulders, firm as a mountain.
Together, they moved with the music, advancing and retreating in perfect harmony.
Lu Mingzhu moved with light, graceful steps, her posture elegant and her dance magnificent yet refined, appearing both divine and ethereal, real yet illusory. With every glance of her bright, flowing eyes, she seemed to captivate hearts, drawing the attention of everyone in the ballroom.
Truly, she lived up to her name, shining like a brilliant pearl, radiating boundless light.
Rarely does one find Xie Junyao, whose sword-like brows and starry eyes looked as if painted, tall and long-legged like a pine, carrying himself with such dignified grace that he was in no way inferior to her.
One beautiful to the extreme, the other handsome to the extreme—they were simply a perfect match, a golden boy and a jade girl.
Especially pleasing to the eye.
“Graceful as a startled swan, elegant as a swimming dragon,” Wang Zhongzhao whispered admiringly into Lu’s father’s ear, then added enviously, “Uncle Lu, you are truly blessed. Your daughter is so breathtakingly beautiful that you need not worry about worthy suitors knocking at your door.”
Lu’s father felt somewhat impatient.
Among Wang Xingcai’s four sons, the only one he disliked was Wang Zhongzhao.
Ambitious yet incompetent, heartless and devoid of loyalty.
Worse still, he fails to recognize his proper place, constantly engaging in shameful antics.
Bringing Wang Xiuyi to the banquet exposed his inherent lack of wit.
The guests invited to the Ming family’s evening soiree were all prominent figures in Hong Kong—either immensely wealthy, holding high official rank, or renowned literary masters of advanced age. Not a single attendee was under thirty-five, except for Lu Mingzhu and Xie Junyao, who were He Yun’s saviors. Moreover, every guest had brought either his wife or concubine; bringing a daughter whose mother was not even a concubine was utterly unthinkable.
These seasoned veterans are no simpletons; out of respect for Wang Xingcai and Wang Bohui, they kept silent, yet all knew in their hearts that Wang Zhongzhao was bent on marrying his daughter, Wang Xiuyi, into a prestigious family—unfortunately, his calculations were misguided.
Except for two brilliant scholars who shared an exceptionally close friendship with Wang Zhongzhao, everyone else kept their distance from the father and daughter.
No one here is foolish!
Wang Xiuyi possessed neither striking beauty nor extraordinary talent; her mother’s status remained unclear, and the Wang family’s wealth had nothing to do with them. At most, they might receive a small share from Wang Zhongzhao—but how much could that possibly be? Not even enough to buy a building in Hong Kong.
If she had even one asset to her name, she would not have been left utterly disregarded.
This disregard refers specifically to families of equal social standing; those far beneath them in status and without wealth might not have minded, but Wang Zhongzhao and the mother-daughter pair of Mo Shuxian certainly looked down on her!
A classic case of being too high for some and too low for others.
Wang Zhongzhao was deeply anxious and at a loss, which only heightened his envy of Father Lu, who had a daughter like Mingzhu to worry about. Whispering persistently into Father Lu’s ear, he made his request: “Uncle Lu, our families have been friends for generations. Mingzhu and Xiuyi are of similar age, both came from Shanghai, and were even classmates. Now that she is so capable, I beg you, Uncle Lu, to ask her to guide Xiuyi.”
Father Lu stared in stunned silence. “What did you say?”
Wang Zhongzhao repeated himself, “If Xiuyi makes a good marriage, her aunt Mingzhu will also gain face! Uncle Lu, I implore you.”
Wang Xiuyi felt both ashamed and furious, silently grinding her teeth in anger.
Lu’s father snorted lightly, “You’ve asked the wrong person; I can’t control her!”
He left her such a large sum of money, even bequeathing the Lu Family Garden, which had cost hundreds of thousands of silver dollars to build, along with other arrangements. In his letter, he instructed her to stay in Shanghai and live peacefully. But what happened instead?
She quietly arrived in Hong Kong before him and then turned the tables on him!
What an unfilial daughter!
What’s so great about Hong Kong? It’s just a backwater.
Poor and dilapidated.
Not to mention anything else; even the tradition of hosting dinner parties was brought by people from Shanghai.
In Shanghai, every prominent family hosts dinner parties and balls; eating Western food and drinking foreign wine are everyday occurrences.
In the dance hall, those who danced with such elegance and composure were almost all from Shanghai.
They were also old acquaintances of Lu’s father.
Wang Bohui and Liao Wanru easily finished a dance; seeing Wang Zhongzhao pestering Lu’s father, the couple, well aware of his nature, approached without hesitation, arriving just in time to overhear their conversation.
Liao Wanru frowned, while Wang Bohui looked displeased.
As the eldest brother, he naturally carried an air of authority. He spoke bluntly to Wang Zhongzhao: “In a few days, I will take Mingzhu for her interview at Xiangjiang University. Once she passes, she will begin her studies; she will have no time to deal with your petty nonsense! Do not let Xiuyi disturb Mingzhu. I have heard that Xiuyi’s grades are very poor; it seems unlikely she will gain admission to university. It would be better for her to focus on her studies.”
Then he turned to Lu’s father and said, “Uncle Lu, it has been several years since we last met. I hope you have been well?”
Lu’s father responded with great warmth and kindness, “Well, indeed well; everyone is well. Bohui, Mingzhu mentioned that she and Ping’an are staying with you. I shall visit your home tomorrow to pay my respects and send my greetings to your wife.”
He knew Wang Bohui’s exact address and had originally planned to visit in a few days, but unexpectedly encountering Lu Mingzhu tonight meant he had to move up his plans.
Wang Bohui nodded. “I shall await your honorable presence tomorrow. Incidentally, regarding the matter of Mingzhu and Ping’an, I would like to have a word with you.”
“Talk about what? Talk about just how poor I am now? Big Brother, you tell him.” Lu Mingzhu arrived hand in hand with Xie Junyao; having just finished dancing, her cheeks bore a faint flush, and her captivating peach-blossom eyes shimmered with lively waves.
Lu’s father retorted in anger, “You’re poor?”
“Yes, I’m extremely poor,” Lu Mingzhu declared with unwavering confidence. “Even counting the money I won playing mahjong, I only have 407 Hong Kong dollars.”
Heaven bear witness, this statement contained absolutely no lie!
Before Lu’s father could express his disbelief, Wang Xiuyi, who had been standing by like an invisible presence, suddenly spoke up: “Auntie Mingzhu, the pair of jadeite bangles you wore today were truly beautiful—so green, so translucent, glowing with inner light. They must be worth a fortune, right? The bangles my father bought for my mother, costing over ten thousand silver dollars, were vastly inferior in both color and clarity.”
Lu Mingzhu’s father looked at her and said, “Keep making things up. Go on, make up more.”
Lu Mingzhu pouted. “Junyao, let me tell you, there’s a kind of bird in this world that’s the most annoying.”
“What kind of bird?” Xie Junyao asked, playing along enthusiastically.
“Chatterbox bird!” Lu Mingzhu showed Wang Xiuyi no respect whatsoever.
She particularly detested the way Wang Xiuyi was looking at Xie Junyao at that moment—gloomy, resentful, and mournful, as if Xie Junyao had wronged her and was a heartless man.
When she asked Xie Junyao about it while dancing, he said he had never even met Wang Xiuyi.
Wang Xiuyi, along with her mother and brother, had no qualification to appear in the social circles Xie Junyao frequently attended; his family would never associate with them either. He only knew one person from their side: Wang Zhongzhao.
Xie Junyao’s expression was gentle. “Uncle Lu is here; we need not pay heed to the words of irrelevant people.”
“Exactly!” Lu Mingzhu turned to her father, pointing at Xie Junyao as she asked him, “Him, Xie Junyao—do you recognize him?”
“No, I don’t,” her father replied bluntly.
Lu Mingzhu didn’t believe him.
Her eyes sparkled as she smiled brightly and said, “His family is also from Shanghai, though they left over a decade earlier. My godmother says she watched him grow up; how could you not know him? I specially brought him here to greet you. Don’t you think he’s exceptionally handsome and remarkably gentle and refined? He never lets me pay when he treats me to meals; I’ve decided to have him treat me every day.”
Wang Bohui instinctively asked, “Why?”
“She’s telling me she’s poor and has no money.” How could Lu’s father fail to grasp his rebellious daughter’s implied meaning?
After laughing, Wang Bohui said, “It’s alright, Mingzhu. While you’re staying at your eldest brother’s home, he provides for all your food and clothing. When making friends, don’t always let the other person foot the bill; remember to treat them in return.”
Lu Mingzhu spread her hands wide. “Empty-handed! What do I have to treat you with? My fate is bitter; I’m stuck with a stingy father!”
Just then, Minghui and He Xuan walked over. Hearing this, they laughed and said, “Mr. Lu, don’t be so stingy. If I had such a beautiful and outstanding daughter, I would hold her in the palm of my hand and cherish her carefully. How could I ever let her lack money?”
“Exactly, exactly!” Lu Mingzhu agreed wholeheartedly.
When it came to beauty, there were truly few women who could compare to her.
She was extremely confident in this regard.
He Xuan asked Lu Mingzhu seriously, “Are you short on money?”
“Desperately!” Lu Mingzhu winked at her, glanced at her father, and sighed, “I’ve set my sights on a building but don’t have the funds to buy it.”
Her father pretended not to hear.
He Xuan instinctively asked, “What building is so expensive? Isn’t 200,000 pounds enough to buy it?”
“The 200,000 pounds Mr. He gave me has already been donated!” Lu Mingzhu suddenly remembered she hadn’t told He Yun and his daughter He Xuan about this yet. Fortunately, it wasn’t too late; it didn’t hinder her from continuing to look down on her father, Lu. “Mr. He was extremely generous; I keep that in my heart. Unlike some people who feel no shame whatsoever!”
Indeed, Father Lu felt not a shred of shame!
But he was shocked.
Apart from the informed couple, Wang Bohui and his wife, everyone present who heard this sentence was equally stunned.
That was 200,000!
Pounds sterling!
To donate without hesitation, leaving nothing behind—truly a display of remarkable courage.
Wang Zhongzhao was so envious that he was practically drooling, his eyes red with desire. “Mingzhu, at least keep a few tens of thousands for yourself!”
Lu Mingzhu offered a faint smile. “The country needs it more.”
Immediately, she turned to her father with a radiant grin, rubbing her fingers together. “Dearest Father, I learned this from you. Surely you’ll offer some reward? I won’t complain if it’s too much, nor if it’s too little.”
Lu’s father gritted his teeth. “Fine, I’ll reward you. Tomorrow, when we go to Bohui’s house, I’ll bring you a grand gift!”
“Really?” Lu Mingzhu eyed him skeptically, her disbelief only growing.
Lu’s father grew even more irritated. “As real as pure gold!”
Lu Mingzhu covered her mouth with a laugh. “Then, just like my eldest brother and sister-in-law, I’ll stay home and await your honorable arrival!”
He Xuan smiled. “Mingzhu, if you’re short on money, just tell me. I may not have a fortune, but I certainly have enough to buy a building. And if that’s still not enough, ask my father.”
Lu Mingzhu linked arms with her. “There’s no need to trouble you, sister. Where is Mr. He? I need to speak with him about the donation.”
“He’s upstairs.” Nodding to the others, He Xuan led her up.
He Yun was brewing tea. Seeing them enter, he pushed two bowls of tea toward them, his expression gentle. “Did you find it too lively downstairs? Did you two sisters come up here to escape the noise?”
“No.” Lu Mingzhu recounted the matter of the donation in detail. “Since it was your money, I felt I ought to inform you.”
He Yun seemed unconcerned. “Once given to you, how you use it is entirely up to you.”
After a moment of contemplation, he asked Lu Mingzhu, “What supplies are most scarce in the country?”
“Sheet iron, gasoline, rubber, tires, cotton, gauze, and Western medicines,” Lu Mingzhu recited the list Wang Bohui had once shared with her. “Probably also fighter planes and various weapons.”
As for the specifics, she was not clear.
He Yun then said to He Xuan, “Contact your eldest brother and have him retrieve 100,000 tons of rubber and 100,000 tons of gasoline from the warehouse. Additionally, procure a batch of Western medicines, cotton, gauze, and tires, and arrange for Minghui and Wang Bohui to figure out how to transport them over. Tell Minghui that if he handles this matter well, all past grievances will be written off; after all, you wouldn’t want to divorce him anyway.”
He Xuan nodded. “Donate everything?”
“Yes, without taking a single cent.” Since He Yun had settled in Hong Kong, he naturally wished to maintain good relations with the mainland.
He Xuan responded, “Shall we donate anything else?”
He Yun thought for a moment and said, “White sugar is a strategic resource; let’s donate some of that too. Donate whatever amount the factory has on hand; there’s no need to purchase additional supplies.”
Slowly, four words surfaced in Lu Mingzhu’s mind: “Rich and willful!”