Chapter Thirty-Five: Jintang Weeps Blood

Chen Kan tossed the news of Qiao Yuan's death to Lin Tang, his face seemingly filled with pity, but his eyes concealed malice, waiting to see how she would break down and how heartbroken she would be.

But she just stood there, her face calm.

"Since I agreed to let Chen Mo come, and I had Ah Xiu make the call," Lin Tang suddenly said, "I already expected this outcome."

Chen Kan clenched his fists, unsure whether he was disappointed or pleased.

She suddenly stood up, turned to the still-shaken workers, and raised her voice: "The funeral expenses for the dead and wounded will be calculated at double the usual rate."

She nodded, gesturing for the accountant to hand over the roster. "Register everyone here. I'll come back later to distribute the money."

Her every move carried an awe-inspiring majesty.

Chen Kan gazed at her straight back, a sudden sense of unfamiliarity crossing his eyes.

"Come with me to the Qiao residence now!" Lin Tang turned to Chen Kan and said.

Chen Kan was taken aback. He had thought he had the weak woman under his control and was calculating her, but for some reason, he now felt that he had lost control of her.

"What are you going to the Qiao residence for?" His voice carried a barely perceptible panic, like a gambler whose cards have been taken away.

Lin Tang lowered her head and dusted off the corner of her cheongsam, her movements slow but firm: "Qiao Yuan's funeral arrangements need to be made, and the brothers of the Crescent Moon Gang are waiting for an explanation." When she looked up, her eyes were not filled with tears, but rather like ink soaked in ice. "Chen Kan, are you afraid?"

Chen Kan saw a hint of mockery in her eyes, as if his deepest secret had been seen through. His hand unconsciously gripped the cuff of his suit sleeve, his knuckles turning white.

Lin Tang ignored him and turned to walk towards the car parked not far away.

Chen Kan had no choice but to follow.

The driver had already opened the car door, but her back remained straight, like a white plum tree that refused to bend in the wind.

The car drove along the asphalt road in the concession, with fallen leaves from the plane trees on both sides. Lin Tang sat in the passenger seat, watching the street scene flash by outside the window.

Chen Kan sat in the back row, looking at her profile, and suddenly felt that she was very far away from him.

The Lin Jintang of the past was the girl in his memory, wearing a light blue cheongsam, smiling under the pear tree at the old house in Hongkou. But the Lin Tang of today was like a different person. Her eyes had lost their gentleness, and were like a knife hidden in silk. He suddenly realized that he had never really understood her.

Chen Kan only came to his senses when the car stopped in front of Qiao's residence.

The gate of the Qiao residence was open, and the brothers of the Crescent Moon Gang stood in the courtyard. When they saw Lin Tang get out of the car, they all bowed and said, "Madam."

Lin Tang nodded and walked into the living room.

When Uncle Chen saw her arrive, he was taken aback for a moment, but still stood up and said, "Madam."

"Qiao Yuan... has he been laid to rest...?"

Uncle Chen nodded and led Lin Tang to the back room.

A coffin lay there, without a portrait or prayer flags.

Uncle Chen said, "This happened so suddenly, I haven't even figured out how to hold a funeral for Master Qiao yet."

Neither of them spoke aloud, but they both knew that once news of Qiao Yuan's death spread, it would inevitably cause turmoil in Jiangcheng.

"Give me three sticks of incense!"

With tears in her eyes, Zhang Ma offered incense to Lin Tang.

Just as Lin Tang was about to offer her prayers, Ah Chen suddenly lunged forward and roared, "Madam, you have no right to worship him! Master Qiao died because of you, what are you doing bringing Chen Kan here today?"

Before he could finish speaking, he was frozen in place by Lin Tang's gaze.

Lin Tang bowed respectfully as before and placed the incense sticks in the bronze censer in front of the incense table.

The incense was halfway burned when the wisps of smoke twisted and rose upwards.

Lin Tang removed the plain hairpin, now stained with incense ash, and let her jet-black hair cascade down her shoulders: "Take me to the study."

Even though Uncle Chen and Ah Chen still harbored resentment towards her return, they couldn't disobey her for the time being, given her status as the lady of the house over the years.

Lin Tang went to the study and opened the safe.

“This is the will that Qiao Yuan left for me after I was injured that year. It was written on the seventh day of the third month of the seventeenth year of the Republic of China,” she said, using a silver hairpin to open the letter. “Qiao Yuan left a will stating that once he dies, the gang and everything else will be inherited by me.”

"You knew all along?" Uncle Chen's voice trembled, his goatee shaking violently. "Lin Tang, was all of this premeditated?"

Lin Tang laughed, "From the day he killed Bai Mu and forced me to marry him, I've hated him! I did so much for him, even risking my life, to earn his trust and pity. This will is rightfully mine!"

Chen Kan stood at the study door, watching this scene, and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He had thought he was the director of this revenge drama, but he discovered that Lin Tang was the most cunning actress.

Uncle Chen still didn't believe it, "But Madam... you were going to leave anyway. If you hate Master Qiao so much, why did you do this..."

Lin Tang raised her eyes and smiled coldly: "Over the years, Qiao Yuan has made me manage her business on the surface, and he has nurtured his own ambition! He has made me so tired that I have broken my leg and can no longer have children! When my beauty fades, won't he despise me? He insisted on letting Cheng Qing marry into the family! I was going to leave, I was just taking what I wanted to take, but he just wouldn't let me go, so don't blame me for being ruthless!"

The clock in the mourning hall suddenly struck, startling the crows hanging from the beams.

Uncle Chen tapped his cane. "Madam, even if you have this will, what kind of place is the Crescent Moon Gang? Do you really think you can command respect?"

Lin Tang smiled faintly: "Isn't Uncle Chen here?"

Uncle Chen's face changed color. "This old man will never be here to aid and abet your evil deeds!"

"And then what?" Lin Tang sat down and said calmly, "Are you going to tell everyone that I let the wolf into the house, that I killed Qiao Yuan? Watch the Crescent Moon Gang fight each other, and the various gangs swallow each other up? All that Qiao Ye built up will vanish into thin air?"

Uncle Chen's cane thudded on the blue brick floor. He looked at Lin Tang, his cloudy eyes churning with complex emotions. "You...you really can hold on?"

Lin Tang bent down to pick up the plain hairpin from the ground and put it back in her hair. "Uncle Chen, you've been watching what I've done these past few years. You've been advising Qiao Yuan not to distance himself from me because of Cheng Qing. Is it because of our friendship, or because you value my abilities, or perhaps both?"

Seeing Uncle Chen's hesitant expression, Ah Chen said urgently, "Uncle Chen, don't be fooled by her sweet talk!"

Lin Tang looked at Achen and said calmly, "Achen, I know you hate me, but you know that Qiao Yuan has been getting too close to the Japanese lately. He was originally a target of the anti-traitor group. Even if I hadn't made that call, Qiao Yuan might still have been killed by them!"

Ah Chen's fists clenched until they turned white, yet he remained unwilling to give up. "Then, Madam... at least you could remind Master Qiao..."

A cold smile crept across Lin Tang's lips. "He's such a stubborn person, no matter how much I try to persuade him, he'll never listen."

“But he…” Achen looked at Chen Kan, his eyes bloodshot.

Lin Tang then looked at him, her tone still calm, "Chen Kan is the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, and the Chen family is the government's power in Jiangcheng. Qiao Yuan should not have been his enemy, but instead chose to cooperate with the Japanese. Uncle Chen, right now, I am your best choice."

Seeing this, Uncle Chen finally sighed, the sound of his cane hitting the ground conveying resignation: "I...I'll listen to Madam."

Ah Chen said urgently, "Uncle Chen..."

Uncle Chen poked him with his cane, saying, "If you want Master Qiao to leave in peace, you'll have to listen to Madam from now on!"

“Okay.” Lin Tang nodded. “Uncle Chen, go and tell the brothers in the gang tonight in the hall to bring out the will and talk about these things. Ah Chen, go and prepare Master Qiao’s portrait.” She turned to look out the window, where sycamore leaves fell on the windowsill, making a soft rustling sound. “Master Qiao’s funeral must be a grand affair.”

After leaving the Qiao residence, Chen Kan remained distraught.

"Jintang, you..."

Lin Tang smiled slightly at him, "Chairman Chen, with my control over the Crescent Moon Gang, and from now on, a friendly cooperation with the Chen family, isn't that what you most want to see?"

Chen Kan was speechless, completely stumped by her words. This was indeed the situation he most wanted to see, and it would be the best explanation he could give to Old Master Chen, but...

Lin Tang continued, "You came to Jiangcheng precisely for these reasons, so that your mother's memorial tablet could be rightfully placed in the Chen family. I'm granting your wish! What more could you possibly want?"

"I..." Chen Kan suddenly asked, "Jin Tang, do you still love me?"

Lin Tang turned to look at him. The panic, joy, and sadness she felt when she first saw him return these past few days had all vanished, replaced by a cold and shrewd expression. "How could Chairman Chen ask such a foolish question? I could ask you the same question back to you, Chairman Chen. Do you still love me? Isn't your only feeling towards me anger over my marriage to Qiao Yuan, and a desire to take me back from him for revenge? When have you ever truly loved me?"

Chen Kan was angered by her unfounded accusation and said, "Jin Tang, of course I hate Qiao Yuan! But how could I not love you? The reason I was able to come back alive is because I remember you in my heart!" He took a step forward and tried to grab her hand, but she turned away to avoid him.

"Chen Kan, if you really love me, why did you lie to me?"

Chen Kan looked at him in surprise.

Lin Tang said, enunciating each word clearly, "At the Shiliupu Wharf, was Qiao Yuan really trying to kill me? At the factory, did Qiao Yuan really bomb me?"

Her eyes were bright, and Chen Kan dared not look directly at them.

“Chen Kan, I know that from the day you returned, from the day Jiangcheng became the target of the colonial powers of Britain, France, the United States, and Japan, Qiao Yuan and I became the targets you were eager to devour. If we cannot be used by you, we can only become dead men. My marriage with him, and our doom, were destined from the very beginning!”

Chen Kan stood there, watching her get into the car.

Lin Tang rolled down the car window and looked at him. "Chen Kan, I know that at this moment, Qiao Yuan should be dead. I should be heartbroken and throw myself into your arms. You would take everything Qiao Yuan left behind, you would marry me, and take my property without any problem. And then what? Should I just die? To fulfill your promise, and to die at the right time, so as not to tarnish the reputation of your Chen family?"