Chapter 58 Compassion

After a battle of wits and courage, Shen Jingni finally obtained the remains of the crystal ball.

Everything was broken except for the base.

If she had known this would happen, she should have fallen less hard.

Shen Jingni chose a quiet afternoon and went to the shop where she used to make crystal balls.

She frequented that small shop because of its good reputation. It had many exquisite trinkets and jewelry and was located in the Beijing International Jewelry and Antique City.

The elderly craftsman, wearing a monocle, gently moved the fragments among the wreckage with tweezers and sighed, "Except for the base, everything has to be replaced; it's definitely beyond repair."

"Please."

The experienced craftsman nodded and began to reconstruct the snow scene inside the sphere.

His workbench was a bit low, so Shen Jingni half-squatted down, watching him carve those tiny resin materials with a carving knife...

Xie Chengsui is here today for an inspection.

Most of the shops in this antique market are under his name, but things have been a bit unsettled lately, so he comes here to browse around since he has nothing else to do.

Just then, I saw Shen Jingni.

Xie Chengsui didn't let anyone follow him and walked into the small shop on his own.

Seeing that Shen Jingni was intently watching the master craftsman's carving, he also went over and asked curiously, "Sister-in-law, what are you doing?"

Shen Jingni was startled by him, her whole body trembling violently. After seeing who it was, she complained, "You scared me to death."

Seeing her still-shaken expression, Xie Chengsui's fox-like eyes gleamed with laughter. "My fault, my fault."

He couldn't help but tease, "Looking so intently, do you want to learn the craft?"

“No,” Shen Jingni came back to her senses and explained, “My master is making a crystal ball for me, so I just took a look.”

Following her example, Xie Chengsui, with his tall frame, also half-squatted down, stared at the master craftsman's carving knife for a moment, and then asked with his sideways glance, "Is this for Fifth Brother?"

Shen Jingni nodded.

Xie Chengsui suddenly felt a little envious.

Fifth Brother is so lucky.

It made him want to be in a relationship.

Of Zhao Zonglan's friends, Shen Jingni is currently only somewhat familiar with Xie Chengsui.

Because he had helped her before, and he seemed kind and easy to talk to.

She happened to have some questions that she couldn't answer, so she simply asked them.

Do you know how Sister Wen injured her leg?

Zhao Zonglan only said it was a car accident, without going into too much detail.

Xie Chengsui didn't expect her to ask this suddenly.

"Didn't Fifth Brother tell you?"

"No."

Xie Chengsui: "I don't know."

Shen Jingni: "..." Just as annoying as Zhao Zonglan.

Only Zhao Zonglan and Song Yanting knew about this matter, but Xie Chengsui had many connections and could guess some things from the clues, so he could be considered a semi-insider.

But since neither Fifth Brother nor the person involved has spoken out, he naturally won't do anything reckless.

Seeing that Shen Jingni was not happy, Xie Chengsui immediately put on a fawning smile, "Why don't you ask about Fifth Brother's matter? I will definitely tell you everything I know."

"For example, does he have other women around him? Has he had a relationship in New York? When was his first time...?"

Shen Jingni rolled her eyes at him.

Do we need to ask these questions?

However, she did remember something.

Shen Jingni turned to the side and whispered to Xie Chengsui, "What's engraved on the ring on Zhao Zonglan's hand? It's not the name of his white moonlight, is it?"

Xie Chengsui couldn't help but laugh.

"He doesn't have any 'white moonlight' (ideal love)."

"That was a Sanskrit word that the old lady of the Zhao family had a high monk in the temple carve eight years ago. It was just two characters."

Shen Jingni couldn't help but ask curiously, "What character?"

"mercy."

In Buddhism, loving-kindness (慈) means giving happiness and actively bringing joy to all beings; compassion (悲) means relieving suffering and having pity on all beings to remove their suffering.

The word "compassion" is an admonition to Zhao Zonglan to have a kind and righteous heart, and to suppress his inner anger and violence.

-

Rong Heng invited several senior figures in the technology industry to dinner at Wangjinglou Restaurant, and also invited Zhao Zonglan.

When Zhao Zonglan arrived, it was already dark.

Mingzhao led the way and said respectfully, "A few days ago, our young master acquired a jar of premium Huangshan Maofeng tea. He specially saved it for you, and I will give it to Chang'an later."

Compared to Chang'an, Mingzhao was much more eloquent and quick-witted.

However, this is related to the host's temperament.

Rong Heng has always been a troublemaker, which naturally increases Ming Zhao's workload.

As for Chang An, he only needed to do what Zhao Zonglan arranged. At other times, others would come to flatter him, and he didn't need to waste his breath saying nice things.

Zhao Zonglan smoked a cigarette and simply responded with a faint sound.

The door to a private room not far away was ajar, and from time to time, lewd laughter from men could be heard.

A boss surnamed Lin shouted, "You didn't see it, Shen Jingni from the Shen family, who looks like a fairy, was clinging to Third Master Xie this afternoon, they were so lovey-dovey."

"You can't judge a book by its cover. She looks so innocent, but she still goes out of her way to be taken advantage of."

"I thought the Shen family was so noble and aloof, but they'll do anything to curry favor with us."

Zhao Zonglan stopped in his tracks.

His expression was indifferent, but his dark eyes narrowed slightly, revealing an unfathomable emotion.

Chang'an knew that her husband was angry.

He was very perceptive and quickly pushed open the door to the private room.

Mr. Lin, who had just been speaking, froze when he saw Zhao Zonglan standing at the door, and murmured, "Mr. Zhao."

The people in the room were all surprised, not understanding why Mr. Zhao had suddenly appeared there.

This is a very important person whom they would normally be unable to meet.

Now that I've seen it, I'm mostly shocked and terrified.

Zhao Zonglan stood at the doorway, the corridor lamp casting a shadow behind him.

His expression was calm, with a faint smile playing on his lips, as he walked in with unhurried steps.

The once noisy private room fell into an eerie silence.

Zhao Zonglan's gaze swept indifferently over President Lin, who had just spoken. With the same hand that held the cigarette, he slowly picked up the wine bottle on the table and, with precise ruthlessness, smashed it straight at the man's head.

A muffled "bang" was heard.

The wine bottle shattered above the man's head, and expensive red wine mixed with blood dripped from his forehead.

Zhao Zonglan, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, took the handkerchief Chang An offered and slowly wiped his hands.

A little dark red liquid stained the silver ring, which he easily wiped away.

Mr. Lin, who had been beaten, was already slumped in his seat, covering his head, not daring to utter even a scream.

Zhao Zonglan threw the slightly wrinkled handkerchief onto the carpet without even lifting his eyelids, his voice chillingly calm, "If you can't control your mouth, you might as well lose your tongue."

Someone seemed to have recovered from their shock and spoke up to explain and plead: "Mr. Zhao, Mr. Lin has had too much to drink and is talking nonsense. Please be lenient."

"Drunk on drinks?" Zhao Zonglan scoffed, dragging out his lazy tone, "Since you like to drink, then drink your fill today."

He took a drag of his cigarette, turned and walked towards the door, his back to Chang An, and coldly ordered, "Go get a few cases of liquor. No one is allowed to leave until they're all drunk."

Alcohol is not an excuse for making mistakes.

Chang An had someone bring him some wine, quickly tidied up the mess, and then hurried after them.

Having followed Zhao Zonglan for several years, Chang An rarely saw his master take action himself, so even he was terrified by what he just witnessed.

Zhao Zonglan smoked a cigarette, somewhat irritated.

The corridor lights shone on his handsome face, making his sharp eyebrows and eyes appear even more cold and stern.

He exhaled a thin layer of smoke and ordered in a low, cold voice, "Summon Xie Chengsui to see me."