The carriage sped towards Shanghai.
Shen Qing looked down at Cheng Zhiwen's dejected profile and asked, "After this trip to Shanghai, will you return to Yongzhou?"
The foreign concessions in Shanghai were safe for her; she should be able to stay there for the time being.
"Go back," Cheng Zhiwen said with her eyes closed. "I'm going to see someone. Once things are settled, I'll return to Yongzhou. My brother's case still needs to be finished."
Shen Qing was surprised.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. Cheng Zhiwu's case is still unresolved, and the Cheng family has gone through such a big thing. It's understandable that Cheng Zhiwen would find it difficult to leave for the time being.
Recalling Cheng Zhiwu's bizarre death, she said with lingering fear, "Your older brother was murdered, wasn't he..."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Zhiwen's face instantly contorted in pain, her lips and eyes twitching slightly.
With nowhere to vent his frustration, he held back to his limit, hugged Shen Qing's waist, buried his face in her lower abdomen, and silently shed tears.
And so we made our way to Shanghai.
Night had fallen, but the Huangpu River was brightly lit, and the nightlife of the Bund was just beginning.
Shen Qing checked into the Astor House Hotel with Cheng Zhiwen, put down his suitcase, and then went downstairs to the Western restaurant for a meal.
As she cut the steak on her plate, she comforted Cheng Zhiwen, "Eat your fill first, then get a good night's sleep. Anything else can wait until tomorrow, okay?"
"good."
She forked the cut pieces of steak onto Cheng Zhiwen's plate: "Eat more beef, it's nutritious. You haven't been eating much these past few days."
Cheng Zhiwen looked up and smiled at her, about to speak, when suddenly her expression changed.
She turned around following his gaze.
A few meters away, behind another table, sat a middle-aged man in a dark blue suit and a black top hat.
He was smiling at Cheng Zhiwen.
Shen Qing turned around, and Cheng Zhiwen, whose expression had changed drastically, put down her knife and fork, tossed the napkin on her lap onto the table, and got up to walk towards the person.
The man immediately stood up with a smile and put his arm around his shoulder, but he shook him off, clearly having a great deal of resentment towards the man.
The two walked out of the restaurant together.
Fearing something might happen to him, Shen Qing quickly followed.
Before they even turned the corner, Cheng Zhiwen growled, suppressing his anger, "I've already decided to send him to America, so why did you still send someone to assassinate him?"
Assassination?
Shen Qing immediately thought of Cheng Zhiwu's death, and was so shocked that she covered her mouth and dared not take another step forward.
She shifted her body to the side and hid behind the corner.
Outside the wall, Cheng Zhiwen was still arguing with that person:
"This is my family matter, and you have no right to interfere!"
"This isn't your family matter; it concerns the safety of all our brothers. It's a matter of a thousand lives!"
"That's just an excuse for your extreme cruelty! There are clearly better ways!"
"What better way? Do you really think that sending your brother to America will shut him up? Nowadays, communication between China and the United States is not difficult at all. If your brother wants to speak, he can send a letter directly to the Qing court!"
Cheng Zhiwen fell silent.
Shen Qing stood there, stunned.
A strange emotion, one that she couldn't quite identify, shot straight from her feet to her brain.
My heart feels blocked, all the way down to my throat.
She forced herself to calm down and began to unravel the mystery step by step.
Cheng Zhiwu was assassinated, and Cheng Zhiwen may have known about the assassination plan beforehand and disagreed with killing Cheng Zhiwu.
To prevent Cheng Zhiwu from being killed, Cheng Zhiwen planned to send him to the United States for house arrest.
Ultimately, he couldn't make the decision, and Cheng Zhiwu was assassinated. This incident happened within the Cheng family.
Does this mean that the Cheng family has been targeted by these traitors?
No, to be more precise, anyone who is with Cheng Zhiwen will be targeted!
Once suspected of potentially leaking their plans, they will be assassinated like Cheng Zhiwu!
Shen Qing felt increasingly frightened as she thought about it.
Because she always knew that Cheng Zhiwen was a traitor!
This means that her situation is more dangerous than she imagined!
"A few days ago, a doctor from Guangzhou wrote a letter to the Minister of Beiyang. In the letter, he bluntly pointed out the shortcomings of the Qing Dynasty and advised the Minister of Beiyang to carry out political and economic reforms. He demanded reforms to the education and talent selection system, development of agriculture, and even offered to help the Qing government go abroad to study agriculture."
Shen Qing snapped out of her daze and listened intently, holding her breath.
"The organization believes it's necessary for us to win over this Dr. Sun to work together on the cause of democracy. After overthrowing the Qing Dynasty, we still face the challenges of rebuilding a new nation and consolidating our sovereignty. I think this Dr. Sun is very suitable to join us. I'll go to Guangzhou tomorrow to meet him..."
A doctor surnamed Sun? To consolidate sovereignty?
Shen Qing was so shocked that she covered her mouth.
It turns out that Cheng Zhiwen wasn't a traitor, but a revolutionary!
While Shen Qing was still in shock, someone tapped her on the shoulder.
She turned around and saw Jiang Shen looking at her, silently shaking his head.
She understood Jiang Shen's meaning and followed him back to the restaurant.
She didn't sit down, but gestured for Jiang Shen to go to the corner to talk.
Why didn't you tell me that Mr. Cheng wasn't a traitor?
Jiang Shen lowered his voice: "He Fei and I both said that Mr. Cheng is not the kind of person you think he is."
"I thought you were just making excuses for him!"
Jiang Shen didn't speak.
Seeing that he wouldn't tell her anything more, Shen Qing turned around and went back to her seat.
She stared blankly at Cheng Zhiwen's figure.
At that moment, the love in her heart awakened.
Cheng Zhiwen returned quickly, not noticing anything amiss. He finished dinner with a heavy heart and then took her back to the suite upstairs.
After Shen finished showering and got into bed, Cheng Zhiwen was still sitting blankly on the living room sofa before turning off the lights, seemingly lost in thought.
She knew he must have many things to consider right now, so she didn't bother him, turned off the light, and lay down on the bed.
She couldn't sleep; her mind was filled with Cheng Zhiwen's identity as a revolutionary.
There are many things she hasn't figured out.
Cheng Zhiwen finally got up, went to the bathroom to take a shower, and then went to bed in the dark.
He didn't touch her, and lay on his side.
In the darkness, Shen Qing opened her eyes and asked softly, "I have something I want to ask you."
"What's up?"
"I already know that you are not a traitor."
After a moment of silence, Cheng Zhiwen said dejectedly, "I don't know how you found out, but I think you should forget about it."
He didn't care at all what he was in her eyes.
Shen Qing said angrily, "Don't you care if I misunderstand you?"
He gave a self-deprecating laugh: "I don't care. I've already given up on you. What you think of me doesn't affect me at all."
Shen Qing bit her lip, and after a moment, got up and turned on the light.
She rolled over and straddled Cheng Zhiwen's waist: "I don't believe you've abandoned me! If you've abandoned me, why did you rescue me from death row? If you've abandoned me, you might as well have let me die in the accounting office's dungeon!"
Cheng Zhiwen raised her face, her bloodshot eyes looking at her, filled with long-dormant desire.
Realizing the unusual sensation between his thighs, Shen Qing belatedly discovered that he was aroused.
She swallowed hard, rolled off his waist, and before she could get back to her own position, he rolled over and pinned her down.
He buried his face in her neck and shoulder, and said painfully, "My older brother is already gone, I can't watch you lose your life because of me..."
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