Chapter 383 Black and White Files, A Hidden Arrow Strikes

The two hugged for a long time before letting go.

Lu Jingyan restarted the car.

It was already dark when the car drove into the compound.

Aunt Wang had already prepared dinner and was waiting in the yard.

"Young Miss, Brigade Commander, please come in and have dinner."

Su Wantang got out of the car and followed Lu Jingyan into the house.

Dinner was plentiful, with braised pork, sweet and sour pork ribs, and a large pot of chicken soup.

Su Wantang ate with great relish.

Lu Jingyan served her food, one bite after another.

Wang Ma stood to one side, beaming from ear to ear.

After dinner, the two took a walk in the yard.

The moon was very round, casting a silvery white glow on the ground.

Su Wantang walked slowly, with Lu Jingyan holding her hand.

“By the way,” Lu Jingyan said, “Qin Zheng is leaving tomorrow.”

"Okay." Su Wantang nodded. "Tell him to be careful."

"Don't worry," Lu Jingyan said. "I trust him to handle things."

The two walked to a corner of the yard and stopped.

Lu Jingyan suddenly hugged her and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Wantang, thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"Thank you for being in my life."

Su Wantang laughed, "Stop being so mushy."

Lu Jingyan didn't let go of her; instead, he hugged her even tighter.

I'm serious.

Su Wantang didn't say anything, but simply reached out and patted his back.

The two of them just hugged each other, neither of them moving.

Footsteps could be heard in the distance.

Qin Zheng walked in from outside, saw the two hugging, and coughed.

"Commander, Miss, I'm setting off tomorrow."

Lu Jingyan released Su Wantang and turned around.

"Is everything ready?"

"Everything's ready," Qin Zheng said. "We've also got the listening equipment."

Su Wantang nodded. "Be careful on the road."

"Don't worry, Miss."

After Qin Zheng left, Su Wantang returned to the house.

She sat on the bed and opened the ancient book.

After reading only a few pages, I heard Lu Jingyan come out of the study.

He walked to the bedside and sat down.

"Aren't you going to sleep yet?"

"immediately."

Lu Jingyan reached out and took the book from her hands.

"Stop looking at it, it's bad for your eyes."

Su Wantang lay down and closed her eyes.

Lu Jingyan lay down beside her and reached out to hug her.

The two of them lay there quietly.

It took a long time before Su Wantang finally fell asleep.

Lu Jingyan looked at her sleeping face with gentle eyes.

He kissed her on the forehead and closed his eyes.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Beijing.

Shen Weimin sat in his study with a file in front of him.

The file was very thick, and three words were written on it: Bai Xiuzhu.

He opened the file and looked at it page by page.

After reading it, he closed the file and gave a cold smile.

"Su Wantang, Su Wantang, do you think your mother is a good person?"

He picked up the phone and dialed a number.

“Hey, it’s me,” he said. “There’s something you might be interested in.”

......

In an inconspicuous courtyard in Beijing.

Lu Wenhai took the brown paper bag handed to him by his subordinate, opened it, and glanced inside.

His expression changed.

"Where did this material come from?"

“It was sent anonymously,” the subordinate said. “There was no signature on the envelope, only your address.”

Lu Wenhai turned to the first page, which had several old photos pasted on it.

It's black and white, and a bit blurry.

In the photo, a young woman is standing on the dock, surrounded by several men wearing floral shirts.

The woman smiled brightly.

Lu Wenhai turned another page.

This is a shipping record with a cargo manifest.

Western clocks, fabrics, medicinal herbs...

At the bottom of the signature is a seal: Bai Family Trading Company.

Lu Wenhai frowned even more deeply.

"Have you found out? What's the background of this Bai Family Trading Company?"

“I checked,” the subordinate said. “It was an overseas trade business in Shanghai in the 1950s. It went bankrupt later. The owner’s wife’s surname was Bai, and her name was Bai Xiuzhu.”

Lu Wenhai's hand stopped.

Bai Xiuzhu.

He had heard of that name before.

Su Wantang's mother.

He flipped through a few more pages, which were filled with various receipts, letters, and several photographs.

In the photos, Bai Xiuzhu is sometimes at the dock, sometimes at a teahouse, and is always surrounded by a group of people.

Judging from their clothes and appearance, those people were definitely not respectable businessmen.

Lu Wenhai closed the documents and stood up.

"Come on, let's go see the eldest brother."

The Lu family's old residence.

Lu Zhenguo was reading documents in his study when he heard a knock on the door and looked up.

"Enter."

Lu Wenhai pushed the door open and came in, holding the brown paper bag in his hand.

"Big brother, there's something I need to tell you."

Lu Zhenguo put down his pen. "What is it?"

Lu Wenhai placed the materials on the table. "Take a look for yourself."

Lu Zhenguo opened the materials and flipped through a few pages.

His expression remained unchanged.

What are you trying to say?

Lu Wenhai took a deep breath. "Brother, the Su Wantang that Jingyan married, her mother's background isn't exactly clean."

Lu Zhenguo raised his eyes. "What do you mean by 'not very clean'?"

“Look at these photos,” Lu Wenhai said, pointing to the materials. “Back then, Bai Xiuzhu was doing business in Shanghai and had close ties with people in Hong Kong. These people were either gangsters or smugglers.”

Lu Zhenguo remained silent.

Lu Wenhai continued, "Brother, our Lu family is a military family, and we value our reputation most. Jingyan is a brigade commander now, and he'll rise higher in the future. If he marries someone whose family has this kind of stain..."

"So?" Lu Zhenguo interrupted him. "What do you want?"

Lu Wenhai paused for a moment, "I think we should re-examine Su Wantang's family background. If there really is a problem, we should address it as soon as possible..."

"How about we do it sooner rather than later?" Lu Zhenguo's voice was calm, but his eyes were cold. "Let Jingyan divorce his wife?"

Lu Wenhai was speechless under the pressure of his gaze.

"Brother, that's not what I meant..."

"Then what do you mean?" Lu Zhenguo stood up and walked up to him. "You're using these materials from who-knows-where to label people?"

Lu Wenhai gritted his teeth, "But brother, these photos, these receipts..."

"What can photos and receipts prove?" Lu Zhenguo sneered.

"In Shanghai in the 1950s, how many people engaged in overseas trade didn't deal with Hong Kong? You're just showing them a few photos and calling them gangsters?"

Lu Wenhai's face flushed red, "But..."

“There are no ‘buts’,” Lu Zhenguo said. “I will have these materials investigated. But you are not allowed to say anything before the investigation is complete.”

Lu Wenhai opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he swallowed it back.

"I see."

He turned and walked out.

As they reached the door, Lu Zhenguo spoke again.

"Wenhai".

Lu Wenhai stopped in his tracks.

"Remember, Wan Tang is Jing Yan's wife, and she is a member of our Lu family. No matter who her mother is or what she has done, that cannot change that."

Lu Wenhai's back stiffened for a moment.

"yes."

He walked out of the study and closed the door.

Lu Zhenguo stood by the window, looking out at the courtyard.

He tapped his fingers twice on the table.

These materials came at just the right time.

Moreover, the person who delivered the materials was clearly targeting Wan Tang.

Lu Zhenguo picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, sir, are you available now? I have something I'd like to tell you."

The main house of the Lu family's old residence.

Old Master Lu sat in his armchair, and his face darkened after hearing Lu Zhenguo's words.

"You bastard!"

He slapped the armrest and stood up.

"That Wenhai kid is getting worse as he gets older!"