“Your family’s Old Master certainly knows how to enjoy himself,” Li Yuanjing said with a chuckle.

Zhou Xiao cast a sideways glance at him, idly fiddling with the fork and knife in his hands. “Did you feed all your schooling to the dogs?”

“What’s the matter?” Li Yuanjing asked.

“He is a man. I never knew you were interested in men as well.”

“What difference does it make whether it’s a man or a woman? It’s just having fun on the outside anyway. Marry a low-maintenance wife at home, and out here you can fool around however you please. Besides, it’s not as if you’re willing to part with him.”

“A low-maintenance wife…” Zhou Xiao chewed on the phrase, letting out a cold scoff through clenched teeth. “You’ve certainly thought it all through.”

Throughout the meal, Li Yuanjing carried on like a peacock with its feathers spread, strutting and showing off with boundless vanity.

Yuqing remained mild-tempered and exceptionally polite, giving Zhou Xiao the full prestige of being the undisputed master of the household in front of company.

Whenever Li Yuanjing asked a question, he would tilt his head to look at Zhou Xiao first, waiting for his nod before speaking.

Noticing that Yuqing wasn’t fond of using cutlery, Zhou Xiao kept his head down, slicing the steak in front of him. “Answer him when he asks; you don’t need to look at me.”

“Yes,” Yuqing said with a faint smile. “To answer Second Young Master: I have never had formal schooling, and my literacy is limited. I merely look after a few minor chores at home. The Eldest Young Master entrusting household affairs to me is already enough to give me headaches. When it comes to business, I cannot compare to the Young Master—I am constantly stumbling.”

Li Yuanjing remarked, “Ever since banks emerged, the pawnshop business has indeed become difficult to manage.”

“Quite so,” Yuqing smiled softly. “It was somewhat better in the past.”

Through their casual exchange, Zhou Xiao learned a few more details about Yuqing.

Previously, he only knew that Yuqing had been brought home after the Old Master saved him. Beyond that, he knew nothing, nor had he cared to know.

Yuqing was three years his senior. Yet despite being older, it didn’t show on him at all.

It was likely due to his delicate frame and fair complexion, complemented by a pair of cat-like eyes that curved upward at the corners—an innate, fox-like bewitchment. Compared to a student, a face like this truly seemed far better suited to being kept at home as a ruinous temptation.

Ever since the Old Master took him in, Yuqing had rarely stepped beyond the inner courtyard. Aside from occasionally balancing the household ledgers on an abacus, he knew next to nothing about the outside world.

To put it bluntly: in the old days, this was practically a child bride.

Someone raised within the deep confines of a traditional manor, steeped in the rules of the previous dynasty, would have words like master and servant carved deep into their soul from an early age. No wonder Yuqing’s entire mind was consumed with being a dutiful wife.

He truly knew nothing—a youth wasted away, locked inside the house by the old man.

At the thought, a fresh surge of irritation rose within Zhou Xiao. If only he had returned home once over all these years…

Yuqing had little appetite for the steak, only taking a few polite bites. Instead, he ate rather generously of the crispy lychee pastries served at the end.

Li Yuanjing asked, “Do you have a sweet tooth?”

Yuqing replied, “I have never had it before; it tastes very novel.”

Confined to the inner estate, Western novelties like these were certainly never prepared by the cooks in the Zhou mansion.

Zhou Xiao found him rather pitiful.

Like a quaint, pedantic little wooden doll.

Once the meal concluded, Li Yuanjing repeatedly insisted that Zhou Xiao must bring Yuqing along next time.

When the two were driven back to the Peace Hotel, Zhao Fu was already waiting by the entrance, holding a parcel of freshly prepared medicine. He reported that he had arranged a new residence.

Yuqing took the parcel and was about to leave, but Zhou Xiao spoke up: “Where are you going?”

“Mm?” Yuqing tilted his head, letting out a soft laugh. “The Young Master dislikes me; could it be you wish for me to stay and vex you further?”

“Go upstairs. Otherwise, how am I supposed to bring you to the banquet tomorrow evening?”

Yuqing pressed his lips together and offered no refusal. Although he was accustomed to a traditional wooden bed, staying here for a few days posed no problem. Moreover, coming here, he genuinely wished to spend more nights with Zhou Xiao.

The effects of the conception brew couldn’t be determined in a single day; he had no desire to make another tedious trip back and forth.

No extra room was booked. Yuqing didn’t mention it, and naturally, Zhou Xiao didn’t bring it up either.

During the day, Zhou Xiao had to attend to business at the bank, leaving Yuqing in the hotel room.

Lately, the bank president had been scheming for ways to get him to sign off on various loan guarantees under his own name, which proved rather taxing to navigate.

Now that Section Chief Wang was dead, Zhou Xiao needed to win over the incoming chief at tomorrow’s banquet in order to secure land approvals.

Zhou Xiao was strictly goal-oriented—a man who cared solely for results, indifferent to the means.

He had always intended to get rid of Section Chief Wang. Whether the man was transferred or dead made no difference, so long as the post was no longer occupied by someone named Wang.

The entire bank was waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

For good reason: every time Shencheng Bank welcomed a new vice president, the institution’s bad debts were wiped clean through them. Zhou Xiao was young, so they took it for granted that he couldn’t see through the underhanded schemes, greeting him with hypocritical flattery at every turn.

While the president paid lip service to supporting the railway project, early construction actually required immense amounts of liquidity.

Cash—mountains of cold, hard cash. The bank sat on no gold mine; the money had to be diverted from public deposits.

Yet the vaults of Shencheng Bank lacked sufficient reserves for him to siphon. The land issue was not yet settled, but once finalized, capital had to be injected immediately.

Where would the money come from?

While professing his support, the president feigned a troubled sigh. “Now that Section Chief Wang is dead and the killer still hasn’t been found, I’ve been losing sleep over it for nights. If only he were still here… he might have offered Vice President Zhou a few good pointers.”

Inside the office, Zhou Xiao stood up with a faint smile: “Oh? What pointers?”

“Ah, it’s hard to say.” Zheng Jiashui massaged his temples. “When it comes to bringing capital into the bank, what methods do you think exist?”

Zhou Xiao replied, “Securities, trust funds, banking products…”

State banks offered lower interest rates with greater stability; private banks offered high yields, but carried severe risks. If funds were secretly embezzled, a collapse could happen overnight.

To entice people to deposit money, one needed attractive financial products or exorbitantly high interest rates. But with so many private banks in competition, could Zhou Xiao produce a viable scheme in the short term?

Even if he could, how many people would risk their life savings to deposit funds here? Amassing hundreds of millions was no easy feat.

Zhou Xiao offered a light laugh. “As a newcomer, I am still quite green.”

“You shouldn’t put it that way! Vice President Zhou building a railway is a noble deed for the country and the people—it shows ambition and vision. Everyone ought to support it!”

Knowing the man was about to reach the real point, Zhou Xiao leaned against the desk to listen, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it. “Go on.”

President Zheng said, “Boss Liu of Liu County has held a monopoly over the mines for years; he has money to spare. Zhou Xiao, you are the vice president now…”

“You want me to take out a loan from him?”

“With the bank backing it, who wouldn’t lend?”

Zhou Xiao remarked, “That is indeed a brilliant idea.”

The moment he signed the promissory notes and the money entered the bank’s accounts, he would likely end up dead in a gutter somewhere.

Holding the cigarette between his lips, Zhou Xiao turned aside and exhaled a ring of smoke, thinking to himself: I really should have stabbed this old bastard to death too. To think he dared try his schemes on him.

It was indeed an oversight on his part not to send him down to the underworld as Section Chief Wang’s companion.

A truly wretched old man—a pack of bloodsucking vermin.

By all rights, a mountain rich with coal in Shencheng should have had a railway long ago. It was precisely because these parasites lined their own pockets that not a single track had been laid to this day.

“How are things between President Zheng and your Madame?” Zhou Xiao abruptly shifted the topic.

Zheng Jiashui paused. “Women only know how to play mahjong and tailor dresses—annoying as can be.”

“Hmph.” From what Zhou Xiao knew alone, the man kept three starlets outside, each a dazzling beauty, completely wasted on this old wretch. “That is good to hear.”

Once he was dead, his estate would be plenty enough for his Madame to play mahjong with.

Zhou Xiao said, “I will consider it.”

Believing Zhou Xiao had taken the bait, President Zheng chuckled heartily. “Good.”

Before leaving, he made a point to pat Zhou Xiao on the shoulder. “Work hard; I have high hopes for you.”

The moment the door closed, Zhou Xiao glared at the wooden panel and hurled his coffee cup straight onto the floor. “Old dying bastard!”

Returning to the hotel that evening.

Zhao Fu happened to be carrying an insulated food carrier upstairs from the restaurant direction.

“Eldest Young Master.”

“What’s in there?” Zhou Xiao asked.

“The Young Mistress’s medicine,” Zhao Fu answered.

Zhou Xiao had noticed during dinner that Yuqing seemed to have a lingering headache, massaging his temples every now and then. Keeping one hand in his pocket, Zhou Xiao naturally took the carrier with his other hand, frowning. “Why is he taking medicine again?”

Zhao Fu froze at the question. “A chronic ailment.”

“What chronic ailment?” Zhou Xiao pressed, looking down at him.

“….” Zhao Fu kept his head lowered in silence. He clearly knew, but found it inappropriate to speak.

Zhou Xiao said, “You are a servant of the Zhou family; he is merely the Young Mistress. Get your priorities straight.”

With only the two of them present, Zhou Xiao dropped all pretense, his tone completely devoid of patience.

Zhao Fu stood like a wooden block, his deferential demeanor carefully trained by Ruan Yuqing. “In his youth, the Young Mistress traveled about with Boss Ruan entertaining guests, and he once suffered severe frostbite in heavy snow. His vitality was severely depleted, leaving his constitution weak. He usually relies on smoking mint leaves to refresh his spirits. Lately, the Young Mistress intends to stop smoking the leaves; this is a soothing tonic, as his sleep has been restless.”

Carrying the medicine, Zhou Xiao turned and went upstairs without sparing Zhao Fu another word.

Watching Zhou Xiao’s retreating back as he ascended the stairs, Zhao Fu’s eyes were filled with envy.

He had grown up in the Zhou household. Because he was a child born of a concubine’s illicit affair, he had never received an ounce of regard. Back then, the previous dynasty still stood, and the estate wasn’t as desolate as it was now. With three branches living together under one roof, he was treated worse than a stray dog.

One spring, the Second Master, Zhou Yulin, came home drunk. Zhao Fu helped him back to his room, and the very next day, the Second Master claimed silver had gone missing from his quarters.

That silver had actually been spent whoring in the red-light district. Because the Second Mistress was a daughter of the Ruan family and ran a strict household, he dared not admit to visiting brothels, pinning the missing silver onto Zhao Fu instead.

Calling him a filthy cur, the Second Master kicked him until he vomited blood. On that night of torrential rain, Zhao Fu couldn’t even crawl back to his wretched quarters.

Late that night, as he lay dying in a puddle of water, was the very first time he laid eyes on Yuqing.

An oiled-paper umbrella shielded him from the pouring rain. A person as pure and delicate as a jasmine blossom helped him up, calling his name softly: “Zhao Fu.”

“Let me find a doctor for you; you are injured.”

It had been so many years since anyone called him by his name that Zhao Fu had come to believe his name was simply “filthy cur.”

From that moment on, he followed Yuqing, quietly guarding this blossom of a person.

He still remembered the eve of the wedding. For the first time, the usually reticent Zhao Fu took the initiative to ask: “Must it truly be like this?”

“You have never even laid eyes on the Eldest Young Master. Just because he is the Zhou family’s son, you are willing to sacrifice yourself?”

Yuqing hadn’t answered right away. He merely crooked his finger, and Zhao Fu fell to his knees before him like a lapdog.

Yuqing wrapped his slender arms around Zhao Fu’s head. Steeped in the scent of jasmine, he nearly intoxicated Zhao Fu to the point of fainting.

Yuqing said, “If you carried the Zhou bloodline, the one marrying me today would have been you.”

“Zhao Fu, love is worthless. Without power, how would the Second Master die? Don’t you want him dead? Staying by my side, keeping me company…”

Yuqing tilted Zhao Fu’s chin up with his fingertips, looking down at him with a gentle smile: “Holds far more weight than that unseen Eldest Young Master.”

“Isn’t that right, my dog?” Yuqing patted his head.

Zhao Fu only resented his mother for that affair all those years ago.

If she hadn’t strayed, the one marrying Yuqing could have been him.

Yet Zhao Fu also prayed that Yuqing would conceive a child soon, so that the Eldest Young Master could be cast aside with a single kick.

A faithful dog was something the Young Mistress could never do without for the rest of his life__

Author’s Note:

Yuqing: Hurry up and get me pregnant already…

Zhao Fu: I’m waiting to serve your postpartum recovery [meal]

Young Master Zhou: Such a pitiful wife, insisting on being with me despite having such poor health [milk tea]. It seems I have no choice but to pamper him even more [milk tea]

When Young Master Zhou learns the truth and loses his mind, it’s going to be so hilarious hhhh