TAMW CH58

Qingming was a remarkably bright child.

Before reaching seven months, his tiny lips could already clumsily form the sound for “Mother.”

Though the pronunciation was slightly muffled, Yuqing caught it entirely by chance while nursing and coaxing the baby to sleep.

He eagerly waited for Zhou Xiao to return so he could share the news.

For Yuqing, this sensation was profoundly magical.

Once, his mother had been his only blood relative in this world. After she passed, he found his father, but his father’s health failed, and he had to watch him slip away too.

Familial love is the most wondrous feeling in the world—transcending all else, it demands nothing but wholehearted devotion to another soul.

When Qingming came into this world, Yuqing had harbored many expectations for him. Yet, as he spent his days watching the child grow, those rigid hopes gradually dissolved, replaced by a simple, profound wish: that he grow up healthy and happy.

That soft, milky “Mother” left Yuqing frozen for a long while.

As Qingming drifted off to sleep after nursing, Yuqing gazed at the tiny face that bore such a striking resemblance to his own, his eyes suddenly burning with unshed tears.

Could becoming a mother truly make a heart this soft?

Yuqing found it difficult to grasp, yet he loved it beyond measure, gently brushing his knuckles against the child’s cheek.

When Zhou Xiao returned, Yuqing mysteriously beckoned him to the bedside, whispering, “Qingming seems to know how to call for people now.”

“Did he call you Mother?” Before he even took off his coat, Zhou Xiao leaned over the bed to kiss Yuqing’s cheek.

“Mm.” Yuqing nodded, gazing down at the child with boundless tenderness.

Zhou Xiao reached out to touch the baby’s face, but Yuqing swatted his hand away. “Wash your hands first.”

“Oh, yes—Madam.” Zhou Xiao broke into a grin. “The child inherited your sharp mind; it’s only natural he’s precocious.”

“How do you know I was precocious?” As Zhou Xiao moved to wash his hands, Yuqing quietly slipped past the baby and off the bed. Tilting his head slightly, he undid Zhou Xiao’s tie. “Don’t tell me you have the ability to peer into the past?”

“No,” Zhou Xiao’s Adam’s apple bobbed as Yuqing’s fingertips brushed against it. A smug smirk curled his lips. “I consider myself quite clever, but since Madam managed to conquer me, he is naturally far more formidable. It follows that he surpasses me in other matters as well, doesn’t it?”

With his tie undone, Zhou Xiao affectionately lowered his head, rubbing his nose against Yuqing’s until their foreheads rested together. “Madam is naturally a hundred times superior to me.”

“Smooth talker.” Yuqing wound the tie around his own hand, letting the silk slide from his wrist down to his elbow, looking for all the world like a celestial maiden playing with her ribbons. Reaching up, he pinched both of Zhou Xiao’s earlobes. “While gilding my face with praise, you certainly didn’t forget to elevate yourself, did you?”

Zhou Xiao let out a low chuckle. “Guilty.”

Before his wife, what need did he have for face or pride?

Yuqing stepped past him to hang up the tie, but Zhou Xiao reached out, hooking an arm around his wife’s impossibly supple waist and pulling him flush against his chest. “Madam, we haven’t seen each other all day. Did you miss me?”

“Qingming just had a little milk; don’t you start fussing. He’s growing fast lately and has a huge appetite. He’s your own flesh and blood, after all—don’t fight him for it.”

Yuqing pushed backward, forcing the head buried in the crook of his neck away.

Zhou Xiao immediately whined, “I wasn’t fighting him… He’s growing up; eating this won’t give him enough nutrients. You can’t spoil the child. He was doing perfectly fine with rice porridge, but now you’ve indulged him into drinking milk again.”

“He is still so little.”

Normally, Qingming had started taking rice porridge at four months. While it wasn’t time to wean him completely, supplementary food should have been introduced.

Yuqing rarely left the estate these days, making sure to hold Qingming every day.

The child was in his oral phase, needing something to gnaw on even while sleeping, so Yuqing obliged.

In the mornings, Yuqing originally had nothing to offer him. But unable to withstand Zhou Xiao’s relentless coaxing, his body had been driven to abundant production. Now, whenever Qingming woke from a nap, there was always a steady supply ready.

Over time, having meals in Yuqing’s embrace became the child’s routine.

Zhou Xiao frequently demanded a share from his own son, acting entirely unlike a grown man.

“What, are you jealous that he called me Mother first?” Yuqing asked with a laugh.

“You bore him; it is only right he calls you Mother first.” Zhou Xiao’s expression turned utterly earnest. “I am his father, and no one can alter that fact. What is there to be jealous of?”

Hearing his reasoning, Yuqing couldn’t help a soft laugh, gently tapping Zhou Xiao’s nose with a fingertip. His tone was as warm as a spring breeze. “Zezhi always knows how to act sensibly in matters of consequence. You’re even better behaved than Qingming.”

Such motherly coaxing worked wonders on Zhou Xiao. He held Yuqing for a while longer before ordering dinner prepared.

After dinner, Zhou Xiao sat by the bed shaking a rattle drum to amuse Qingming when a sudden thought struck him: “When did we ever teach him to say ‘Mother’?”

The question stumped Yuqing.

Normally, when they played with the child, they called him “Qingming.” Yuqing spent more time with the baby, singing lullabies or telling stories; at most, he would say, “Your father will be home soon” in the evenings.

They had never formally taught the child any terms of address.

Where on earth had the boy learned it?

But the moment Zhou Xiao spoke, it took Yuqing only half a second to realize. Feigning a slap, he swatted at Zhou Xiao. “You! You never teach him anything decent!”

Zhou Xiao chuckled out loud, wrapping Yuqing in the quilt and pinning him to the bed.

When else would the word “Mother” be spoken in this house?

Only at dawn and dusk. Separated by a thin bed curtain, Zhou Xiao loved nothing more than whining in Yuqing’s embrace, burying his face in his neck and calling him “Mother” with sticky, endless devotion.

Every single time, Yuqing’s ears burned crimson.

When Zhou Xiao played the son, he demanded both the title and the treatment.

During their intimate moments on the bed, his words lacked any filter, constantly asking if “Mother” liked this or that.

With every breathless “Mother,” Yuqing, terrified of waking the child, would bite down on whatever scrap of fabric was within reach to stifle his own voice.

Qingming had undoubtedly learned the word from that.

The realization made Yuqing flush furiously. He shoved Zhou Xiao’s clingy head away. “Nothing but nonsense all day long.”

Though his words were scolding, his expression was incredibly tender—the exact look of a mother indulging two mischievous children.

Once Qingming passed the seven-month mark, his teeth began to sprout, and he had no concept of restraint.

That night, looking at Yuqing’s chest, Zhou Xiao’s heart ached terribly.

“This child cannot be allowed to fuss with you anymore. Look what he’s done.” Holding a small candle by the bed, he examined the marks closely, blowing softly on the skin.

“Blow gently.” Yuqing reached out and took the candle from his hand. “He’s just a child; he doesn’t know his own strength. You can’t blame him.”

“I’m different. I know exactly how much strength to use,” Zhou Xiao boasted smugly from his embrace.

Holding the candle, Yuqing illuminated himself for Zhou Xiao to see.

As Zhou Xiao leaned in close, a stray drop of hot wax dripped down, landing squarely on his neck.

They had just finished a frantic session, both drenched in sweat. Yuqing sat half-upright while Zhou Xiao nestled in his arms, blowing gently. One drop, then two, slid down the man’s broad chest.

The wax was scalding, yet Zhou Xiao had always cherished everything Yuqing gave him.

Even a burn that would leave a red blister.

Seeing that he was genuinely aching for him, Yuqing decided not to torture him further and set the candle on the bedside table. “Moisturize it a little. Otherwise, I’ve heard it might peel if it gets too damaged.”

Beaming, Zhou Xiao pulled the quilt over them both, personally taking up the task of relieving his wife’s discomfort.

Once Qingming could sleep through the night, traditional rules dictated he should be moved to his own quarters—the “young master’s room”—to foster independence.

But Yuqing felt it was far too early; his heart couldn’t bear to let the child out of his sight.

Sensing his reluctance, Zhou Xiao moved the folding screen back two meters, creating a small playpen so Qingming would have room to crawl and walk later on.

At one year old, the young master of the Zhou family was to perform his Zhuazhou (Catching the Year) ceremony.

The Zhou family had few relatives left—in fact, none at all.

For the ceremony, Yuqing dressed Qingming in a purple robe embroidered with red qilin motifs. For a toddler, such a traditional magua was far more practical and made changing trousers easier.

Though Zhou Xiao worked outside daily, he loathed socializing, viewing outsiders as a pack of insufferable fools not worth his time. Any spare moment spent networking was better spent at home with his wife.

For former classmates like Li Yuanjing, he might send a telegram announcing the child’s one-month milestone, but there was truly no one else worth notifying.

Far away in Shencheng, toiling away at the railway construction, Li Yuanjing received the news and nearly dropped his jaw. Brushing the coal soot from his face, he stared at the telegram in sheer disbelief, muttering, “When on earth did he get married?!”

In barely a year’s time, they were already holding a Zhuazhou ceremony?!

The railway construction was progressing rapidly, yet it still couldn’t outpace Master Zhou’s efficiency.

Covered in dust, Li Yuanjing rushed back to offer his congratulations, swaggering into the Li household with immense pride. He had always been the unfavored second son, but now, working under Zhou Xiao, he had real face and standing.

He announced gleefully to his family that he was back to attend Master Zhou’s child’s Zhuazhou ceremony. The Li family met his words with dead silence.

Li Yuanjing mistakenly assumed his capabilities had finally earned their respect and that everyone now had to defer to him, swelling with smug satisfaction.

Little did he know, the Li family viewed him as a harbinger of doom.

Zhou Xiao had shown the Li family no mercy.

After Ruan Hongtian fell critically ill, the Ruan family went into a steep decline. Despite hiring numerous doctors from Western hospitals, he could not be saved. With the patriarch down, the household’s children and concubines scrambled to pack their bags and flee. When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter—the old adage held true.

As for the Li family, though they hadn’t clashed openly with Yuqing, they had colluded heavily with Zhou Xiao’s Third Uncle while Yuqing was pregnant.

Zhou Xiao had few virtues, but holding a grudge was certainly one of them. If anyone crossed him, unless they were burned to ash, he would hunt them down and settle the score personally; otherwise, where was the satisfaction?

Since Yuqing became Chamber President, all major decisions required Zhou Xiao to carry messages or deliver formal calling cards to the Zhou estate. But whether a card ever reached Yuqing depended entirely on Zhou Xiao’s prior inspection.

After Yuqing assumed the presidency, approvals for railway projects and land acquisitions all required the signatures of government officials.

Initially, the Li family refused to stamp the documents, citing procedural irregularities. In truth, it was merely because the bribes hadn’t arrived; in past years, even the Chamber President had to pay them their due respect in silver.

But Zhou Xiao had connections in Shanghai—old classmates from France with whom he had practiced at the shooting range. That camaraderie was unbreakable. A single letter dispatched to Shanghai, and within days, half the Li family’s official posts were stripped away.

By the time the Li family realized their blunder and scrambled to curry favor with Zhou Xiao, it was far too late.

The Li family had built their fortune by leveraging official posts to extort silver. Their usual methods for laundering money—receiving “gifts” of antiques or copper-plated gold bars—all had to be shipped into Baizhou from outside. With the port locked down tight, the bribes meant to placate the Li family couldn’t even enter the city.

If they tried withdrawing cash from a bank to offer as a bribe? The largest private bank in Baizhou was Qingming Bank.

Cut off at every pass, the Li family’s power was a mere shadow of its former self.

Because Li Yuanjing was on good terms with Zhou Xiao, the Li family couldn’t care less what he was doing outside; their only fear was that Zhou Xiao had concocted some new scheme to finish them off.

Oblivious to the undercurrents, Li Yuanjing happily bought toys for the child and arrived at the Zhou estate the very next day for the ceremony.

When the doors opened, he was greeted by Yuqing.

Aside from him, there were no other guests today, so no grand reception was needed.

Seeing Yuqing, Li Yuanjing exclaimed cheerfully, “Yuqing! I didn’t expect to see you here. Have you lost weight? You look even fairer than before.”

He glanced around, looking for Zhou Xiao but only spotting the child. Handing a golden lock to the wet nurse, he asked with a grin, “Why don’t I see Mrs. Zhou?”

“I’ve been wondering what kind of beauty Mrs. Zhou must be. How does she compare to you?”

Yuqing smiled and asked, “I am a man. How could I compare to a true madam?”

“Ah, you can’t say that! Beauty knows no gender; otherwise, why would the phrase ‘as handsome as Pan An’ exist? With Zhou Xiao spending his days with a beauty like you, his standards must be impossibly high. I can’t even imagine the elegance his wife must possess.”

Li Yuanjing spoke without a filter. Amidst the chatter, he brought up how Zhou Xiao had left him alone in Shencheng, praising his foresight.

But those words fell heavily on Yuqing’s ears, confirming exactly why Zhou Xiao had been so eager to return to Baizhou.

That ravenous rogue. Instead of staying put in Shencheng to manage affairs, his mind was entirely fixed on running back to Baizhou.

Li Yuanjing eyed the pastries on the table, asking curiously, “Why don’t I see that particular treat?”

Seated at the head of the table, sipping tea, Yuqing asked, “What treat?”

“I thought it was a specialty of the Zhou family, and I was planning to try some! It’s oblong, about the size of a fingernail. Not quite like an areca nut, much smaller… it actually looks exactly like a spat-out date pit! Brother Zhou used to suck on them relentlessly every day. He said keeping one in his mouth boosted his energy far better than coffee.”

“Now that I’m working at the mine, waking up early is unavoidable. Yuqing, if it truly is a Zhou family specialty, could you pack some for me to take back? I can only stay for three days.”

Hearing his description, Yuqing suddenly broke into a fit of coughing. “Cough, cough… looks like what?”

“Like… a tiny areca nut? But very smooth.”

Yuqing coughed even harder.

He had thought it was merely his imagination.

Zhou Xiao wore tailored Western suits every day, all imported from abroad, lined with inner pockets. He never let Yuqing help him change his clothes, and the first thing he did upon coming home was strip off his jacket. But a few times, before he could even shed his coat, he had rushed to embrace Yuqing.

On those occasions, Yuqing had felt something small and hard pressing uncomfortably against him from within Zhou Xiao’s pocket. He had assumed it was a stray brooch or cufflink and paid it no mind.

Now Li Yuanjing was telling him those were things Zhou Xiao sucked on daily?

Flashes of Zhou Xiao catching spat-out date pits in his hand suddenly flooded Yuqing’s mind.

This man even drank urine; was there anything he wouldn’t put in his mouth?!

Having prepared everything in the kitchen and arranged an array of soft cushions on the floor of the ancestral hall, Zhou Xiao hurried in with an excited grin. “Qingqing—”

“Why are you here?” Seeing a guest, Zhou Xiao’s steps faltered, his brow furrowing instantly.

“You sent me a telegram inviting me to the Zhuazhou ceremony!” Li Yuanjing laughed cluelessly. His once-pale skin, tanned dark from constant sun exposure at the mine, gave him a rather comical look, entirely stripping away his former refined scholar’s aura.

A burst of malicious glee sparked in Zhou Xiao’s chest. So ugly! He’s definitely cut out for manual labor! Good thing he’s hideous!

During this little chat, who knows how many times Yuqing looked at him!

Even if he was ugly, Yuqing had still looked at him. The thought alone left Zhou Xiao sour with displeasure. He recalled that the telegram had been sent on Yuqing’s orders; Yuqing had merely said the ceremony needed a guest to make it lively.

Jiang Sui knew better than to come, and even Zhao Fu was relegated to standing outside the gates. Yet this fool had been personally greeted by Yuqing, and they had even stood there chatting!

Absolutely scandalous. Shameless!

Grinding his teeth, Zhou Xiao glared at Li Yuanjing, a false, tight smile plastered on his face as he clamped a hand over the man’s shoulder. “What’s this? Not busy back in Baizhou? Sending a gift would have been enough to show your heart; why make the grueling trip yourself? I can’t help with the affairs in Shencheng, leaving all the hard work to you—I couldn’t possibly ask you to travel all this way.”

Thinking Zhou Xiao was genuinely considerate of his fatigue, Li Yuanjing waved his hand with a laugh. “Not grueling at all! Getting to chat with Yuqing made the trip entirely worth it!”

Zhou Xiao let out a few hollow, booming laughs, then let his face fall completely dead. “Is that so?”

Startled by the sheer menace in his expression, Li Yuanjing shrank back. Yuqing stepped forward to smooth things over. “It’s the child’s ceremony; behave yourself.”

Zhou Xiao smoothly slipped an arm around Yuqing’s waist, lowering his eyes in immediate submission. “Yes, Madam.”

Madam?!

Those two syllables nearly made Li Yuanjing’s eyes pop out of his head.

He stared blankly as Zhou Xiao’s hand wrapped around Yuqing’s supple, willow-like waist as naturally as creeping ivy.

As Yuqing was led away, Zhou Xiao walked shoulder-to-shoulder with him. Reaching the doorway, Zhou Xiao turned his head back. His face was cast in deep, eerie shadow, making his eyes gleam with a chilling, predatory light. He said, “Come along. The child’s ceremony is starting. We wouldn’t want to miss the auspicious hour.”

Their silhouettes stretched long across the ground, moving from the bright sunlight into the solemn, mahogany-hued ancestral hall.

The floor was lined with soft cushions. Sitting right in the center was Qingming, who could now sit, crawl, and occasionally pull himself up to take two wobbly steps—a very clever boy indeed.

Surrounded by an array of objects, the child blinked his large, innocent eyes. Reaching his chubby little hands out toward Yuqing, he babbled, “Mother—”

Directly in front of him lay a writing brush. If he crawled toward Yuqing, he would grasp an abacus. Zhou Xiao crouched beside Yuqing, a Swiss pocket watch placed before him.

Seeing that Yuqing made no move to pick him up, the child pivoted, reaching for the other figure and calling out, “Ah-Die (Father)—”

That single “Ah-Die” coaxed a booming laugh from Zhou Xiao. “Good boy, Qingming! Come here, go into your mother’s arms.”

Standing outside the ancestral hall, Li Yuanjing thought his ears were deceiving him. He gently tugged at Deng Yongquan’s sleeve, whispering, “What is this child’s name?”

Deng Yongquan replied with polite professionalism: “Zhou Qingming.”

Baizhou’s largest private bank—Qingming Bank.

The true master behind Qingming Bank was the adopted son of the Zhou family.

Li Yuanjing was utterly bewildered as to where this child had come from, but recalling the terrifying look Zhou Xiao had shot him earlier, a chill ran down his spine.

Others might be ignorant, but Li Yuanjing had seen those two dead section chiefs with his own eyes.

Certain disjointed clues suddenly snapped together in his mind. He swallowed hard. “Where… where is the washroom?”

“If Second Young Master Li wishes to depart early, I can escort you out. Otherwise, if you tarry, we might not have a car available to send you off,” Deng Yongquan smiled pleasantly.

“Right, right.” Li Yuanjing hurried to leave. This was no place to linger.

During the ceremony, Qingming grabbed the abacus. With a triumphant “Good!” from Zhou Xiao, Yuqing reached out and caught his stumbling, crawling son. “Such a good boy.”

Seeing the Master and Madam smile, the servants waiting outside shared in the joy.

Though there were no guests, the estate now employed over a hundred servants.

Zhou Xiao handed out silver rewards to every single one, ordering them to return to their posts and continue their diligent work.

The master handed down real silver and gold, and Yuqing was a reasonable man; once a year, he offered the indentured servants a chance to buy back their freedom. Those who wished to return home could leave, and those who chose to stay would receive proper wages.

In these turbulent times, finding stable work was no easy feat, so the Zhou household staff remained fiercely loyal and stable.

“Mother, Mother—” Ever since Qingming learned to speak, he constantly whined for his mother in that soft, milky voice.

During the day, when Zhou Xiao watched the boy, he would grumble, “You always want your mother. Am I not good enough?”

But come nightfall, when sleeping beside the child, Zhou Xiao would change his tune: “Mother, Mother, Mother—is this your mother? Hmm? Little rascal, give my wife a break; come bother me instead.”

The stage of babbling and learning to walk was when children were at their clingiest.

For days on end, before Qingming even fully woke, he would be scooped up and placed inside the playpen.

Blinking his large eyes, he would watch his father climb back into bed, sharing the same quilt with his mother. The bed curtains would drop, hiding whatever was happening inside.

The movements were so subtle the quilt barely seemed to shift.

Yuqing slept on his side, with Zhou Xiao plastered firmly against his back. Waking groggily, Yuqing wanted to call out, but seeing his son crawling on the other side of the room, he had to feign deep sleep. If the child realized he was awake, he would instantly clamor for his mother’s arms, and with Zhou Xiao still inside him, Yuqing couldn’t move an inch.

So Yuqing pretended to sleep—sleeping until his entire body broke out in a hot sweat.

After the Zhuazhou ceremony ended, as they prepared for bed that night, Zhou Xiao toyed with the abacus, chuckling, “Madam, I’ve never been good with an abacus. Teach me, and I’ll teach the child in the future, alright? It will save you the effort.”

With one hand holding Zhou Xiao’s suit jacket, Yuqing felt the pockets, a smile playing on his lips. “Alright.”

“Ah, let me, I’ll fold it myself.” Moving with lightning speed, Zhou Xiao reached out to snatch the jacket back.

With a flick of his wrist, Yuqing let the jacket brush past Zhou Xiao’s hand, resting it over his own shoulder. “What’s this? Has the Master hidden tokens from a lover? Something not meant for my eyes?”

“How could I? I give everything to you every single day; doesn’t Madam know that?” Zhou Xiao reached out and took the jacket anyway, his broad palm rubbing against Yuqing’s abdomen, whispering intimately against his ear.

“Is that so?” Yuqing pinched his ear and yanked him back. “Then what is this? Care to explain, Master?”

Yuqing’s fingers were incredibly nimble; anyone capable of playing Zhou Xiao’s sensitive spots like an instrument until the man trembled all over could effortlessly fish a few date pits out of a pocket.

Clatter.

Clatter.

Smooth date pits tumbled to the floor. Zhou Xiao felt his heart stop—not out of panic from being caught, but sheer heartache over his precious pits hitting the ground.

“Madam, my good Madam—that brat Li Yuanjing must have been sowing discord! He’s talking nonsense, this is, this is…”

Yuqing tilted his head, waiting for his explanation. “This is what?”

Unable to conjure a decent lie on the spot, Zhou Xiao swallowed hard, bitterly regretting inviting that fool to the child’s ceremony.

He knew the secret of the date pits was out. Yuqing knew, and denying it was useless.

“Qingqing…” Following the line of Yuqing’s body, Zhou Xiao dropped to his knees, clutching Yuqing’s thighs tightly. “My good Qingqing, you know it’s true… you never gave me a single token of affection. Back then, aside from needing me, you didn’t love me at all, so… so I could only find my own keepsakes.”

“Qingqing…” He buried his face into Yuqing’s lower abdomen. “My good Qingqing, my sweet wife, you have no idea how terrified I am these days. I don’t even have a token of your love. These are just things I use to comfort myself—are you going to deny me even this?”

Yuqing froze for a moment, then let out a helpless, breathless laugh. “Master, oh Master… your ability to turn black into white is growing more formidable by the day.”

He reached down, cupping Zhou Xiao’s face, his fingers prying the man’s mouth open and pressing down on his tongue. “Hmm?”