Chapter 13

The driver bent down to open the car door for Tang Zefei, who stepped out and stood outside the gate of the Tang family's suburban villa. He couldn't go in immediately; he stood outside the iron gate with his hands in his coat pockets, peering through the gaps in the fence.

When the guards at the gate saw the young master arrive, they rushed over and pulled open the iron gate. Their faces were contorted with distress, their heads bowed, and they surrounded Tang Zefei as if he were a lifeline. Without a word, Tang Zefei walked through the gate, enveloped by them. It was winter, and he wore a wide-brimmed windproof hat and an exceptionally thick, high-necked black wool coat. The collar was so high it almost touched his chin, completely covering his neck, while half his face was hidden under the brim of the hat, making his expression unreadable. His wind-blown, medium-length hair whipped wildly against his cheeks.

Tang Zefei had already heard what had happened on his way here, so he walked very fast with long strides, his hands tightly gripping his coat pockets, feeling vaguely uneasy.

However, one could never discern anything from his face: a young guard rushed up from the front and told him how things had actually progressed—just half a minute earlier, Mr. Tang had stopped breathing.

This news gave Tang Zefei a sudden shock. Tang Zefei felt his fingertips, which were clenched in his pocket, go numb for a moment, almost to the point of numbness. His mind went blank for a moment, and his breathing became a little rapid, but he still walked forward without saying a word.

It simply increased the speed.

Seeing his silence, the little guard quickly followed. The two of them walked frantically, one after the other, as if chasing something. As Tang Zefei walked, he suddenly stumbled.

The guards rushed over and helped him up. Tang Zefei's voice came out softly from under his collar, "Let me lean on you for a while."

The guard understood and stood there, letting Tang Zefei lean on him.

Tang Zefei draped her arm over his shoulder, raised her head, and slowly waited for the restless anger within her to gradually move from her head to her chest…

Stimulation is a major no-no; you absolutely must not develop anemia here.

He recited a few prayers in his heart and looked ahead, where the church stood not far away.

Half a minute later, Tang Zefei patted the guard on the shoulder and continued walking forward.

"It was a shooting."

Tang Zefei stood before Mister Tang's corpse, which lay on a long rectangular wooden table, covered by a snow-white velvet cloth. Tang Zefei reached out and placed his hand under the corpse's nose. His gaze fell on the two small, dark holes in the corpse's abdomen.

He had stopped breathing completely, Tang Zefei thought with a profound emptiness. Without breath, a person is just like this, a meaningless corpse… Tang Zefei took off his hat, smoothed his hair back, took a deep breath, turned around, straightened his collar, and looked around. He then pinched his brow and pressed hard a few times, his voice unsteady, “How… I mean, my father…”

Half an hour earlier, he was cutting an apple on the sofa in his British concession mansion when the old-fashioned landline in the living room rang, catching him completely off guard.

"Young Master! Young Master!" The voice came through the distorted receiver, panicked and breathless, yet seemingly from a great distance. "Master... he's been shot! The men we arrested this morning have been taken away! Master has been shot twice in the stomach and is bleeding profusely..."

"That person was taken away? Who came?" Tang Zefei grabbed the phone and stood up quickly, her mind buzzing.

"...They arrested the wrong person. The real sergeant major has arrived. Eight of our men are dead..."

Tang Zefei practically threw down the phone and rushed over immediately. The house in the British concession wasn't too far from the suburbs, but even so, it took at least half an hour to get there. His driver sped all the way, but still couldn't make it in time for his father's last moments…

Tang Zefei stood there, now fully aware of what had happened. Before he could finish speaking, he slowly turned around, leaning against the table, and put his hat aside. He closed his eyes and took a long breath.

A silence fell around them. Tang Zefei didn't cry; he lowered his head, pinching his brow. He remained silent, his face expressionless, as if he were pondering where things had gone wrong. Just then, Lu Jin appeared out of nowhere and knelt down in front of him with a thud.

Tang Zefei lowered her hand and looked at Lu Jin on the ground with a puzzled expression. "Hmm?"

"Young Master, I'm so sorry, I... I deserve to die..." Lu Jin crawled over and knelt down, grabbing Tang Zefei's trouser leg. "I... I'm afraid I've grabbed the wrong person..."

"Of course you've arrested the wrong person." Tang Zefei looked at him. "Get up first, I have something to ask you."

Lu Jin gripped his trouser leg, his whole body trembling. Tang Zefei couldn't stand seeing someone kneeling like that while speaking, and impatiently raised his voice, "Get up."

Lu Jin did as he was told. He stood up, but Tang Zefei didn’t give him a chance to speak. He leaned close to Lu Jin’s ear and whispered, “Go and find out who the sergeant major of the Military Police Headquarters is right now. The person you arrested wrong is him.”

Lu Jin nodded quickly, looked up at him and moved his mouth as if to admit his mistake, but Tang Zefei didn't give him the chance. "Even if you were executed, it wouldn't be enough for you to make amends. You should do what I asked you to do first."

Lu Jin left in a hurry. Tang Zefei didn't give the rest of them a chance to explain. He turned around and faced his father's pale face again, feeling the scene before him gradually filled with black stars. The discomfort he had been holding back slowly crept into his chest.

The most difficult thing to overcome is hemolytic disease; the worst thing is to be suddenly stimulated.

As Tang Zefei thought this, he placed his hands on the table and looked up. The glaring midday sunlight shone through the stained glass onto the ground, making the religious narrative appear increasingly dim in his eyes.

“I’m a little dizzy,” he said before sitting down. “Where is my mother? Does she know about this?”

…

Four-quarters of an hour ago.

Yu Congyi knocked down the bodyguards, half-dragged and half-pulled Li Ming, and hurriedly walked out of the church. Inside the church, a small door in a cubicle quietly opened a crack.

The woman, dragging a long gun, hid behind the door, the muzzle of the gun protruding from the doorway. She was hunched over and hidden in the corner, her eyes peeking out from her half-covered, messy hair.

Judging by her appearance alone, one would never associate her with the elegant and refined Mrs. Tang. However, people are multifaceted, and this woman, cowering in the shadows like a light-sensitive animal, was indeed Mrs. Tang, Madam Merrick. She leaned out, trembling, holding a gun. Stimulated by the loud gunshots earlier, she too placed her finger on the trigger, hesitantly pulling it against her unconscious husband lying in the hall.

After two gunshots, she suddenly dropped the gun. The violent jolt caused her shoulder to slam backward, and her fingers lost their grip on the butt of the gun. The muzzle smashed into her calf, leaving a long, bloody gash. Blood immediately flowed down her white leg, and she screamed hysterically.

…

"My mother came here this morning too?" Tang Zefei frowned when she heard this while waiting for the doctor to arrive. "Then where is she now?"

"I just sent someone to look for her, but she's not here. She must have already left the church," someone replied.

Tang Zefei knew his mother was a Christian, so it wasn't surprising that she came to church to pray. However, given what had happened this morning, if his mother had been here and witnessed everything, the consequences would have been unimaginable…

Tang Zefei sighed and said, "Has Dr. Xu arrived yet? I think we should ask her to take a look at the condition of the deceased first."

When Dr. Xu arrived, the guards, as expected, first asked her to examine the gunshot wounds on several corpses. Although she wasn't an expert in autopsy techniques, she had studied abroad and possessed basic judgment. Dr. Xu put on gloves, pressed into the wounds of the corpses, and then shook her head.

“Dr. Xu,” Tang Zefei sat not far away, watching her actions, “have you discovered anything?”

"I'm sorry I can't see the deeper issues, but at least my conclusion is that they weren't killed by a single gun."

“To be precise, I suspect their times of death were very close, but your father’s bullet wound was significantly deeper than theirs. I suspect it was from a sniper rifle, while theirs was from a more powerful handgun.” Dr. Xu looked up at Tang Zefei. “Actually, it’s easy to confuse them. Moreover, the wounds on these bodyguards were very precise, you could say they were well-prepared. Assassins should be skilled with guns and have a certain degree of control. But your father’s wounds…” She shook her head. “Overall, they are very different.”

"..." Tang Zefei lowered her head and thought for a while, "You mean, the assassin had two guns or that they weren't killed by the same person at all?"

“Yes, that’s it.” Dr. Xu looked at Mister Tang’s face again and suddenly tugged at his shirt. “Your father… apparently suffered a severe blow to the neck before he died.” She changed her gloves and walked toward him. “I’m sorry to hear this, but it’s all too… sudden.”

"There were two people there at the time..." Tang Zefei said in a low voice, frowning as he looked at Dr. Xu. "No, I should be the one apologizing. I was very..."

"Let's not talk about that anymore." Dr. Xu sighed, placed the toolbox on the table in front of him, and began assembling the blood transfusion bottles and jars. "Let's deal with your anemia first. Are you still experiencing headaches, chest tightness, and chills?"

"Exactly the same." Tang Zefei forced a bitter smile.

He rolled up one sleeve, and Dr. Xu took out two large bottles of fresh blood from the icebox and placed them aside.

…

Lu Jin walked out of the manor, and his car was parked under the sycamore tree outside the courtyard. He walked closer, opened the back door, and leaned inside.

A woman was curled up in the back seat, her clothes disheveled and her hair messy, but not dirty. She just looked a little tired. Lu Jin said to the woman, "Madam, where do we go now?"

"Don't go home yet." Merrick looked utterly shaken, practically curled up in the back seat, hugging his knees, his expression arrogant and deranged. "I don't want to go back now... I don't..."

Having just suffered a seizure, she had calmed down a little. The various actions that had triggered her emotions were now playing back in her mind like a revolving lantern. Merrick kept hearing the two huge shocks from the gunshot that killed her husband.

"No!!..." She clutched her head and screamed hysterically again.

"Yes, Madam." Lu Jin understood, gently closed the car door, walked around to the driver's seat, and got into the car.

It turned out that he had arrived at the church before Tang Zefei. Mrs. Merrick would come to this church in the suburbs to pray every Thursday morning, and he would come to pick her up at that time.

But today was different. As soon as Lu Jin entered the hall, a metallic, bloody stench filled the air. His heart leaped into his throat, and sure enough, in the center of the hall lay a jumble of bodies. He quickly approached and assessed the situation, then a sudden, inexplicable panic and horror washed over him—the person lying on the far right, barely alive, was none other than Master Tang! Who did this? How could this be? Lu Jin quickly checked the master's breath and found him completely lifeless. He immediately broke out in a cold sweat and frantically began to look around. Strangely, there wasn't a soul in sight. He was standing there inexplicably, and whoever appeared would be forever embroiled in a scandal.

What happened in that church? What exactly happened? And where did Mrs. Merrick go?

Lu Jin tried calling out twice, "Madam, Madam?"

There was no response. He continued, boldly calling out again, "Mrs. Merrick?"

There was still no sound; instead, it was his own echo that lingered in the church for a long time.

Lu Jin felt a chill run down his spine and was about to leave when he suddenly heard a woman sobbing from the cubicle. Normally, this would be extremely frightening at first glance, but Lu Jin held his breath and focused his attention to distinguish the sound, and barely recognized it as Mrs. Merrick's voice.

He then quickly found the other person, and sure enough, they were in a cubicle.

Pushing open the crack in the door, Lu Jin was incredulous to see the long gun clutched in the other man's hand. In that instant, he suddenly understood everything. He was shocked, but the emotion was limited. Mad, he thought, mad. He had known all along that Merrick seemed to have some mental issues. Nevertheless, after overcoming the shock, he obediently didn't say anything more and quickly pulled Merrick to his feet. But Merrick was completely weak and looked sickly; how could he possibly walk even a short distance normally? Without a second thought, Lu Jin boldly picked him up, dragging the gun with one hand as they walked out of the church.

There was a well outside the church. Lu Jin casually tossed the gun into the well and left with Merrick in his arms without looking back. But just as he got into the car outside the courtyard and was about to start it, he immediately saw in the rearview mirror that Young Master Tang's car was approaching. He knew there was only one road out of the manor, and Tang Zefei wouldn't fail to recognize the car he had given him.

Lu Jin decided to let Merrick wait in the car for a while. He also sat in the driver's seat and thought about it seriously.

He was fully aware that Tang Zefei had assigned him the task, which he then passed on to the guards. What he hadn't expected was that his laziness and carelessness had inadvertently given him a way out. Lu Jin thought to himself, since that's how it is, there's no other way. Perhaps fate was on his side, as they (the guards) had indeed all died in the church. Otherwise, how could he possibly answer Young Master Tang?

Thinking of this, Lu Jin couldn't help but look back again. Merrick's emotions had calmed down slightly, and she was huddled in the corner of the car, panting. Lu Jin smiled at her.

Merrick's kindness in recognizing and saving his life made him determined to push these things away from the other party and even take them back onto himself.

…

Merrick suspects her husband is having an affair.

During dinner, she and her husband sat facing each other across the long table. She noticed with her sharp eyes that the tie her husband was wearing was a style she had never seen before.

Merrick casually pushed a plate of roasted lamb with onions toward her husband, saying, "Try it, this is something I just learned to make."

Mister Tang smiled and nodded. "Alright." A servant brought him a plate of roast lamb.

"How was your day, darling?" Merrick picked up her wine glass, which was filled with light red wine. She swirled it in her hand, seemingly complaining superficially, "I haven't seen you for almost three days."

Mister Tang said, "Sorry, I've been so busy lately..." He picked up his knife and fork and slowly cut the lamb on his plate. He forked a piece and put it in his mouth, making an exaggerated "Mmm" sound. "This tastes really good..." But just then, the study bell rang.

Merrick put down his knife and fork and sat up straight. Mister Tang looked particularly apologetic. He took out a napkin to wipe his mouth, quickly stood up, and gestured to his wife, "Sorry, well, I mean, something else has come up..." He pointed towards the study, "I'm sorry, I'll go listen."

Merrick also stood up, as if to say something, but ultimately said nothing. She then sat down again and drank the entire drink in her glass.

A moment later, Mister Tang emerged from the study, hastily putting on a coat. Merrick, seeing this, still stood up. "You…" she called out.

Mister Tang must have encountered some urgent matter, for without offering her an explanation, she hurriedly dressed and went downstairs. Merrick stood at the table, then suddenly pushed aside all the dishes and other items in front of her. Servants rushed over to inquire, but she said nothing and walked out of the dining room.

She had lost count of how many times this had happened; he had inexplicably kept her at the table and left her there.

Her initial confusion and anger had turned into extreme disappointment, and even deeper resentment.

“Lu Jin,” Merrick returned to his room and made a phone call downstairs. Lu Jin answered the phone. “Go follow the master,” she said. “I must know where he goes, who he meets, and what he does.”

Merrick believes that the first few years of her relationship with her husband, Don Wilson Lois, were extremely pleasant and sweet.

They both grew up in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, their birthplaces even separated by a small hill. Merrick couldn't remember how they met, only vaguely recalling a sunny, clear spring day when bluebells bloomed profusely along the banks of the Rubicon River. She had only met him three times, yet the young man dared to come to her house to propose. Merrick knew she wasn't his first wife, yet she was still blissfully intoxicated by the fantasy of her impending happiness.

A year later, Don Wilson Lois proposed taking her to China. He said he wanted to try doing business there, after all, his uncle had amassed a considerable fortune through trade in that land. Don told her that half a century ago, China's import tariffs had dropped to an unbelievable level, and trade had long been monopolized by foreign trading companies. His uncle had cleverly gotten involved, which had brought them unimaginable wealth. Now his uncle was seriously ill, and unfortunately, there was no heir. They desperately needed a younger member of the family to manage the affairs. More importantly, Don Wilson Lois's family had five children but was not wealthy. The youngest child was not even old enough to go to school, and the family was struggling to afford his education.

“Come with me,” Don Wilson said earnestly to his wife. “They all need me to…do these things. I don’t know if it’s the right choice, but I have no other option, and you know I don’t want to leave you.” Merrick agreed.

She accompanied him across the ocean to this unfamiliar land, abandoning the language she had learned in the first half of her life to learn Chinese again, even changing her lifestyle and food preferences to match his… But now, since the past can be recalled, the present scenes fill her with anger, not only anger but also extreme resentment. "Men are all like this!" she thought. She didn't reveal her family history of mental illness to him. She had initially hesitated, but fortunately, the illness seemed to have remained hidden from him all these years. Now, it seemed there was no need to worry anymore.