Chapter 128 052 Light Eleven

Xie Zeyi walked with her along Park Lane to retrieve some framed photos from the Baode Photo Studio, and returned her to the Ge Mansion on time, exactly ten minutes. Nothing special had been done, except for the kiss he'd given her to cover up a profound secret he'd whispered in her ear.

It is related to several countries and to the two of them.

The old housekeeper opened the iron gate. With his hands still in his pockets, he watched her enter the gate of the Ge Mansion.

She glanced back before entering, changed her mind, and turned back to ask, "How are you going back?"

He smiled and said, "Walk."

"Your..." Her eyes fell on his military rank. It was a very important position, at least at this moment. She smiled. "Where are your adjutant and your car?"

"They're all in the courtroom." He thought for a moment, "They're taking advantage of the American economic downturn to aggressively seize land."

"And you?"

He bent down and gently kissed her hand. "I need to see my wife before I can make up my mind."

She stared at the top of his head. "You still have some similarities with Sir Xie."

"Really?" He looked up. "But he never taught me the right way."

She stared into his eyes, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion.

"I have to go." But he still stood there, motionless.

She didn't dare to waste his time, so she turned around and trotted back to the iron fence. Thinking of the black tie hidden under the soft collar of his shirt in his military uniform, she suddenly had an idea and wanted to tie it for him personally before he went out.

While the housekeeper was closing the gate, he held onto the gate and yelled at him, "Thank you, Mr.

The guard hurriedly held the gate that was swinging outward for her: "Ouch, Miss, this is dangerous!"

When Xie Zeyi turned around, he saw his wife, who was less than sixteen years old at the time, dressed appropriately, with eyes that penetrated the railings. She seemed to have been brought up strictly but could not stop her from being unruly, like a beautiful and elegant little lunatic.

He could hardly imagine whether the world would be in chaos if all the "ladies" in China became like his wife one day.

She waved at him vigorously: "See you tomorrow morning!"

He remembered telling her it was a completely closed-door process, inviting only a handful of influential figures from various countries to participate. It was a dark, underground process where everyone maximized their own interests and then rationalized the entire process to the international media. She certainly didn't want to witness the entire negotiation, so he didn't ask for a seat on her behalf.

Xie Zeyi sighed and then smiled.

He couldn't control whether the world would fall into chaos, but at least it made him very confused at the beginning.

He could never do anything to her.

But he didn't know that she was not interested in this kind of negotiation process. She just wanted to arrive early and tie his tie for him personally.

She let Suixi teach her how to tie the Windsor knot for the whole night, and slept on the sofa for less than four hours. When the morning clock struck seven o'clock, she got up on time and ate breakfast with sleepy eyes.

Mrs. Ge rarely saw her get up so early, so she decided to have a good chat with her about her wedding: "Pick out the ones you like from your trousseau to wear every day. I'll store the rest in your safe. Wedding dress..."

Sui Xi said, "Didn't a Mr. Luca write to ask about the size a while ago? He's making a wedding dress for you. He even sent you a book of hand-drawn wedding dress patterns, but you didn't have time to look at it."

Mrs. Ge ate a pomelo and rubbed her head. Her memory had been getting worse lately. In the past, this girl had been hustling for money, and I thought she loved money, but later I realized her love of money was just a passing fancy. Once the excitement wore off, she didn't care about anything else.

Xie Hong might be furious at home, ordering a craftsman to make a full set of pure silver and crystal tableware and wine glasses for the wedding; but this girl didn't care at all.

She asked Suixi to bring the drawings and look through them page by page.

Chu looked at a tight breakfast dress with a not-too-low neckline. Her chest was bulging with a white area and a thin cleavage extending down.

Mrs. Ge whispered a few words about the wedding dress style, and Sui Xi wrote them down one by one.

Then he asked, "What about the jewelry?"

Sui Xi said, "That gentleman asked in the telegram whether Kutchinsky's is acceptable?"

Mrs. Ge was startled and nodded. "Send a telegram for me and tell that gentleman that he can make all the decisions about the wedding dress from beginning to end."

Chu Wang didn't hear a word from beginning to end, and Mrs. Ge was used to it, otherwise she wouldn't have taken care of all the trivial matters for her.

After finishing breakfast, he changed into a shirt and trousers, put on his coat and went to call the driver.

Mrs. Ge asked, "Where are you going?"

She gave an address.

"A joint trial in the public office?"

She nodded, looking extremely anxious.

"When will you be back?"

She touched her head and said, "Maybe it's noon, maybe it's evening, I can't decide."

Mrs. Ge waved her hand helplessly, "Go away."

She put on her shoes and was about to rush out when Mrs. Ge called her back, "Don't go out tomorrow."

"Yeah." She nodded.

"It's so hard for me to find a doctor for you."

"What doctor?"

Mrs. Ge rarely found it difficult to broach the subject, so she turned away and said lightly, "It's almost time for me to take care of myself."

She tilted her head back and thought for a while, then trotted out the door.

Although he asked the driver to drive faster, he still failed to meet Xie Zeyi before the trial began.

Across from the government office was the Tkachenko restaurant. When she went there, she saw seven or eight male servants clearing the breakfast table. It was obvious that they had just finished breakfast and left almost at the same time, so they must have gone into the government office.

She wasn't hungry at all. After a moment of frustration at being late, she sat down by the window on the second floor and ordered Parmesan cheese and oil-free whole-wheat bread, intending to stay there for lunch or even dinner.

Obviously, she underestimated the importance that Shanghai's political celebrities attached to this public office.

This is the richest city in China and even in the entire Far East. Half of the foreign trade must pass through here. The cash deposits in various banks are more than 100 billion taels, and the banknotes issued are circulated throughout the country.

The Jianghai Customs tax revenue was deposited in HSBC every day. After deducting the principal and interest of the loan, all was allocated to the National Government. Almost all of the Chinese government's cash reserves were kept in Shanghai; more than half of the government's funds also relied on Shanghai for aid and supply.

This great city was the lifeblood of nearly half the nation. Since its forced opening eighty years ago, the customs duties collected by this port city had gradually grown into a massive profit. During the panic of the early turmoil of capitalist society, no one was willing to give it up easily.

The public trial court has been set up as a round table with no more than 300 seats. Each seat has been confirmed in advance and has a name tag. It is naturally different from the previous six-nation public trial that was somewhat hasty and was solely for the sake of China's interests.

These 300 seats included the political leaders of seven countries, each of whom could influence national power. Everyone had something to ask of others, and everyone was eyeing this piece of fat meat covetously.

The negotiations started at 8 o'clock, but most people chose to arrive an hour early. This was because they heard that when discussing things on Chinese territory, it was inevitable to make friends with each other - they had never heard such words in the Municipal Council before.

Some people were eager to be invited but had no chance, while others were invited early on but for some reason were absent.

Many patriots pointed to the seat with "Sir Xie Hong" written on it and criticized:

"Decades ago, they took advantage of the national crisis to make a fortune. Now, even top-tier Kang Baidu has lost its sense of shame and is too embarrassed to attend this meeting?"

"I'm afraid even he himself doesn't know whether he should represent the 'Chinese' side or the 'British' side."

"If both countries were to force him to make a decision based on his own interests, which side do you think he would side with?"

…

As they were enjoying the conversation, they heard a deep, rich, middle-aged man say in a light and authoritative voice, "Sir Xie Hong went to Penang yesterday to buy a Tessedu Barry necklace for his daughter-in-law at a high price. I'm afraid he's still on a private cruise ship heading to Shanghai."

Everyone turned around and said respectfully, "Mr. Si."

He has not been in politics for a long time, but not only is he still on the list of people invited to the public trial, he has also reserved a seat for his eldest son who is only twenty years old. The power he holds is probably still not to be underestimated, so no one dares to approach him and talk to him easily.

Si Ying and Yan Sang walked easily through the crowd and sat down.

Only one person followed slowly.

Mr. Huang said, "Xie Hong is such a shameless old scoundrel. I don't know how authentic his Shanghainese and Oxford accents used to be. Now he's playing dumb and deceiving everyone with his ridiculously poor Cantonese."

Si Ying smiled and did not respond for the time being.

Mr. Huang was sitting right next to him, presumably well prepared. "We've known him for so many years, and none of us knew what business he had to build such a sizable fortune. Very few people in China know him, and probably even fewer in the UK."

"That jewel necklace was sold for only about the price of a castle," Si Ying suddenly added. "Forty years ago, it was opium. Twenty years ago, it was soap, rubber, stockings, and celluloid. Now it's diamonds, gold, shipbuilding, and silver trading. He probably owns more than one fortress in England and Scotland, so there's no need to feel bad for him."

Mr. Huang laughed and said, "How much he's willing to spend on his only son and daughter-in-law is none of my business." He added, "Mr. Si is still as sharp as ever. Besides, I never knew there were people among those who studied in Japan who were willing to speak English and who were even more knowledgeable about studying the British."

"Of course, it has nothing to do with Mr. Huang. However, he was willing to spend so much money to buy peace of mind and seek the well-being of his Xie family." He then said bluntly, "So what about Mr. Huang and his three tycoons? Are they willing to do anything to avenge their actions two years ago?"

The two of them looked at the row of high-ranking national officers in the front row of seats.

Mr. Huang bowed and said, "The three of us have reached an agreement and would like to ask Mr. Si for his guidance."

Si Ying replied, "Shanghai is a piece of fat meat, and the northwest is an even fatter piece. Now one of the seven countries originally set its sights on the northwest, and is greedily trying to get both. Seven parties are fighting for one piece of meat, while the other piece is still in the hands of Britain and Jiangxi. If you are willing to make concessions, I and my possessions will surrender to Nanjing. Will that be enough to fight for their interests? If you two are willing to coexist peacefully for ten years, I will fight for their interests in the northwest. Is this price of peaceful coexistence high enough?"

Mr. Huang had already made his calculations, and now that he heard him say it himself, he couldn't help but be overjoyed: "Enough."

"Then please give up all support for Japan and take back all their interests in China."

Japan's actions have already aroused public anger, and Nanjing had already lost the support of the people in the bloodbath in Shanghai two years ago. If Japan is allowed to continue, no amount of brainwashing propaganda will be of any use, and it will be defeated without a fight.

Abandoning Japan’s support, who is supporting Nanjing in the behind-the-scenes struggle?

Once Si Ying arrives, countless remaining forces in the country will come with him, and he may even win a war of public opinion. Why not?

Moreover, Japan relied on Nanjing to become increasingly arrogant in the concession. The five countries of the Municipal Council had been resentful for a long time, and now they were being dragged down by Japan. They wanted to give up Japan's interests immediately in exchange for their own interests.

He immediately went back to persuade Mr. Du.

At nine o'clock sharp, more than twenty representatives of the seven countries' envoys entered the public trial court from the corridor.

Rather than being an open negotiation, it is more like the five countries with international status and voice announcing the results of their discussions to the weaker countries and the country under trial. This is a process of competition for interests between powerful countries. Perhaps a little conscience in the process of competition and rewarding the weak countries with a few crumbs will be enough to fill the stomachs of these weak politicians.

But the results are traceable, and anyone with a discerning eye can clearly hear the loopholes in interests between Britain and the United States from the negotiation results.

How to fill this gap?

Most people don’t know about or have no right to get involved in this other piece of fat.

Few people knew that British and American officers had been fighting non-stop for nearly a week.

Among them are Lieutenant Colonel Hart, who has been the chief tax collector of Shanghai Customs for 48 years, Julcha, a "China expert" who was promoted to vice-consul and barely kept the rank of major, Consul in Shanghai and Consul in the United States, Colonel Bloom who is in charge of all core information... and Zoetse, a new major in the British army who suddenly took on heavy responsibilities.

This major, who was born into the most cunning merchant family, was like a sleeping wolf, quietly listening to all the people present who had titles far higher than his as they talked about the situation in China and the world, about the Northwest, how they unscrupulously coveted the interests of the Japanese Concession, and about the customs tariffs in Shanghai, Nanjing and Jiangxi.

They were unsure how much they could wrest from the other three countries and China during this economic crisis. They were unsure how much Japan's interests would have to be sacrificed, and how much the other three countries' and their own interests would have to be sacrificed in exchange for northwestern benefits and to appease Chinese anger.

In addition, when Britain and the United States were arguing fiercely and almost fighting each other while seeking conditions in the Northwest based on their mutual interests, the British major suddenly spoke up.

He listed a sum of money, which he wrote to Bohr after seeking his opinion.

"This is the amount of money you call 'Northwest' that is short of," he said. But this amount is almost impossible to meet with the current US finances. "The Boxer Indemnity was fully refunded ten years later, and the eleven countries involved in the indemnity under the Boxer Protocol included all six countries in the Municipal Council." He suddenly mentioned the Boxer Indemnity. The refunded Boxer Indemnity fell into the hands of the corrupt Beiyang government and the current government and became a huge sum of money. Almost all of it was used to fund Tsinghua students studying in the United States and to curry favor with the children of high-ranking officials to study abroad. "During the revision of the Boxer Protocol, can we propose to the Nanjing government to specify how the Boxer Indemnity should be used? For example, on behalf of the British, can we use the Sino-British Boxer Indemnity and the Sino-US Boxer Indemnity to be repaid in full in the Northwest?"

"It's still not enough. There's still funds." Hurd stared at the amount.

"Houses and Land in the Japanese Concession."

Several senior colonels from both countries are watching with eager eyes.

"Don't forget, even if the Japanese move their factories back home, they won't be able to move their houses and land. Then, we'll buy them from Nanjing. The Great Depression didn't affect Shanghai, so I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to give up immediate benefits."

Bron said, "If you make this decision, what will the Chinese government gain?"

"Five years, or ten years, after the depression has passed, we will return the land to them."

Everyone laughed. Zhu Ercha said, "Zoe, you are crazy!"

Xie Zeyi narrowed his eyes at Braum. "During our first class, you said, 'I will guide you unreservedly to become the best warriors, but I hope you will never truly use the lessons I teach you.'"

Bron suppressed his smile and said, "Yes, this is indeed my opening statement every year."

"The best way to resolve the crisis is war. You said so too," he said.

He snorted coldly, "You remember it very clearly."

"The five countries involved in the Washington Naval Treaty are all members of the Municipal Council. Do you know how long the depression will last? Who will be so eager to tear up the treaty and start a war first? Britain, Japan, the United States..."

Bron's face turned paler.

He glared coldly at the young man, a soldier born into a merchant family. He hadn't misjudged him, and had vastly underestimated him. He had intended to use him as a weapon, but he had a keen eye for profit. He was truly ruthless! He had hoped to wrest a share of the spoils from the British, one day taking the entire Northwest under his wing; but to this day, the majority of Northwest interests remained British. While meticulously considering the interests of his country, he even had the time to devise terms for returning the concession in five or even ten years' time.

He was not even afraid that the British would point at his nose and call him a traitor!

But no British person present was more angry than Bloom himself.

Because he personally rescued him from the British and helped him take this position. In Shanghai today, except for the consul in Shanghai who has no military power to speak of, no one is more powerful than him.

Oh, he forgot that he was Xie Zeyi, the son of Xie Hong, the profiteer who traveled between China and Britain to make a fortune.

The negotiation results were almost identical to the conditions proposed by Xie Zeyi.

The Dutch judge read out the verdicts of the five countries with an expressionless face.

Everyone looked at the tall, fair-skinned Chinese man who represented British interests. Mr. Huang asked with a smile, "This major doesn't look at all like his father, does he?"

Young Master Si, who seemed to be taciturn and had never spoken, answered easily on behalf of his father: "Of course."

Mr. Huang said, "People outside are saying that Young Master Si must be trapped by love and will never recover. It seems that the outside world is wrong. A man should have great ambitions, so why would he be trapped by a woman?"

Yan Sang narrowed his eyes. "It doesn't matter whether I'm trapped or not. The Third Miss is definitely not an ordinary woman, otherwise she would not be a good match for Mr. Xie. I just accept my defeat with all my heart."

Si Ying smiled and said, "My eldest son is gradually becoming less like me."

Mr. Huang smiled and continued, "I heard that Mr. Lin spent all his fortune on marrying off his third daughter, which has made him a bit embarrassed recently. Why would he go to such lengths to marry off a daughter?"

Both of them understood that what he wanted to ask was not Lin Yu's "giving everything", but the relationship between Si and Lin: Why did his old friend's property problem get into such a mess, but he, as an old and close friend, was unwilling to help him in this matter?

Si Ying said, "That girl doesn't need a lot of money, and neither does his son. Otherwise, this huge fortune would only ruin them both. Sir Xie knew this, yet he still spent lavishly. It's not because the Third Miss and Mr. Xie needed it, but because Sir Xie himself needed it. Ill-gotten gains are greedy and frivolous. If you really care about money, you will only reap what you sow."

Mr. Huang was filled with admiration. He had previously thought Si Ying was an old-fashioned stubborn man who couldn't adapt, but now he knew that he was a man of understanding, a man who saw right from wrong more clearly than anyone else, a beacon of light wherever he went.

If placed in the right place, this guiding light can shine for at least another thirty or forty years.

Mr. Huang listened attentively and asked again: "If the Boxer Indemnity is no longer used for education, how will poor Chinese students pursue their studies?"

Si Ying listened to the negotiation results and said, "Given the current situation, why does Mr. Huang think that studying abroad is necessary?"

Yan Sang suddenly said, "But during the entire negotiation process, the Chinese were not consulted at all, right?"

"yes."

"You even think it should be like that?"

"The conditions they proposed are not excessive."

"Is this normal?"

Si Ying replied, "Your father had no diplomatic privileges. He could only risk his life writing an impassioned letter of resignation to the government, or take to the streets to join the student movement and raise his voice. To rescue his own detained students, he had to pay 500 yuan to the Municipal Council to redeem them. Your father wasn't like you. Even if he wrote two good articles, few people would actually read them."

Yan Sang raised his head and sighed, "I'm going out for a walk."

Mr. Huang was surprised: "Why did you bring the young master here?"

Si Ying said, "A few years ago he wrote a letter declaring that he wanted to 'become a figure like Gu Weijun.' Now I will take him to see it. Even if there is the May Fourth Movement, even if the students go on strike again and take to the streets more times, the Paris Peace Conference will still be repeated, even on Chinese soil. If I don't take him to see it once, he will be so confused that he won't even know where he is lacking. I'm afraid that Major Xie doesn't even know who Gu Weijun is."

——

Chu Wang stared at the gate of the court, but he didn't expect that the first person to come was Yan Sang.

He stood outside the door for a while, as if he had nowhere to go, and then walked straight towards the Tekachenko Brothers Cafe.

After a while, she heard the servant say, "Sir, the view upstairs is better. Please come this way."

He was wearing a white Vienna shirt and flannel trousers, with a hand-woven off-white wool vest over it. As soon as he saw her, he paused, walked towards her, and sat down opposite her.

Seeing that she looked calm, Puou came over and asked her what she wanted to eat.

After ordering the fresh orange soufflé, Chu Wang suddenly smiled and said, "I never knew you had a sweet tooth."

Yan Sang stared at the Xiangbaidan next to her bread basket and said, "I never knew you would drink so early in the morning."

She was speechless for a moment. "I guess it's too late to hide such a big bottle of wine."

Yan Sang suddenly laughed.

What a beautiful person she is when she smiles. She sighed and let out a long sigh, "Then it seems the public trial wasn't so bad after all."

He shook his head. "At least there's still a long way to go."

She stared at him and asked, "Then what are you laughing at?"

He suddenly said, "I ran into Mr. Xie once when you were in the hospital. After my father returned, he suddenly announced that our engagement was off, but no one told me where you were, except Mr. Xie." He paused. "That day, he told me you were incredibly lazy and that you were obsessed with convenience when eating. You'd eat anything with skin, seeds, thorns, shells, or anything that was difficult to separate from the bones... anything that required effort and care. He also said that if someone peeled and seeded grapes, deboned fish, stewed bones, or sorted out shrimp and crab meat, you'd enjoy it more than anyone else. If you didn't, then you didn't. If you did, it wasn't because you hated it, it was because you were lazy; it wasn't because you didn't like it, but because laziness trumped your appetite. He also said it wasn't that you didn't know how to enjoy love, but that you knew your energy was limited and couldn't fully commit to a complex, troubled, unpredictable, and ambiguous relationship. Someone like you, born to have everything provided for you, should just focus on the work you love. Why should you be expected to find time to understand others?"

She was suddenly stunned. She had never imagined that she would be like this.

Yan Sang continued, "I thought that wasn't the you I knew, and it was just an excuse for him to persuade me to give up. I didn't realize that he was thinking he would no longer have the chance to take care of you, and was entrusting everything about you to me."