Chapter 37 A Single Post Shakes the Winds
A month later, Tangdixuan quietly opened for business.
There were no firecrackers, no flower baskets, and no distinguished guests. The vermilion gate remained closed the entire time.
In the study, Su Wantang pushed a stack of palm-sized wooden slips in front of Qin Zheng.
The wooden frame is made of precious Phoebe zhennan wood, which is warm to the touch. Only a small begonia flower mark is burned on the front with a hot iron, giving it a simple and elegant look. The back is smooth.
"Young Miss, what is this...?" Qin Zheng asked, puzzled.
"Invitation." Su Wantang's voice was very soft.
She picked up an extremely fine brush and dipped it into a colorless and odorless liquid in a small dish beside her. The liquid was made by mixing spiritual spring water with the juices of several herbs from the space.
She picked up her pen and wrote a line on the smooth back of the wooden slip.
The writing quickly disappeared on the wood, leaving no trace.
"This one, send it to the Chen family's old residence." Su Wantang handed the first wooden slip to Qin Zheng. "This one, send it to the Ye family... This one, give it to Lu Wenbo."
She wrote more than a dozen sheets, handed each one to Qin Zheng, and instructed the person to deliver them.
Qin Zheng stared at the smooth wooden invitations, filled with doubt. Who could possibly decipher these wordless invitations?
Su Wantang noticed his doubts and a sweet yet mischievous smile appeared on her lips.
She picked up a blank wooden slip and gently rubbed it with her fingertips for a moment, the warmth of her palm transferring to it.
A miracle happened.
On the smooth back of the wooden slip, a line of light brown characters slowly emerged: "A chronic leg injury, aches in damp weather, but I have a cure."
The writing gradually faded as the temperature of the wooden board decreased.
Qin Zheng's pupils dilated in shock!
This...this is some kind of divine power!
"Go ahead," Su Wantang said without further explanation. "They'll understand."
On the back of each invitation was a "pledge of allegiance" written only to the recipient, a phrase only they could understand.
The letter delivered to Chief Chen read: “The wind will not stop, the trees will sway; is there a way to stop the wind?” It was a veiled reference to his wife’s increasingly severe Parkinson’s disease.
What was delivered to a director in the Ministry of Finance was a set of seemingly meaningless numbers, but they were actually a batch of account numbers that he had lost when he went to the countryside years ago, enough to keep him up at night.
Each invitation is a key, precisely inserted into the lock of the recipient's most secret and desired heart.
...
The Ye family.
Ye Manrou held the wooden slip she had obtained from someone else, turning it over and over to examine it, her face full of disdain.
"What a load of nonsense!" She tossed the wooden slip onto the table. "A country bumpkin thinks she can make a living in the capital just because she's learned some low-class street tricks? Ridiculous!"
Liu Sisi chimed in, "Exactly! What kind of invitation is this? Not even a single word. Who are they looking down on? Manrou, I bet not even a fly will get into her 'Tangdixuan' on opening day!"
"I want to see how she'll handle this." Ye Manrou picked up her teacup, a cruel glint of pleasure in her eyes. "Send people to keep an eye on Houhai. On opening day, I want to know every single thing that happens there. I want to make her the biggest laughingstock in all of Beijing!"
In Lu Wenbo's study, he held the same wooden slip between his fingers.
He was much more composed than Ye Manrou, and he studied the light carefully for a long time.
“Interesting.” He felt the warmth of the wooden slip with his fingertips as a line of writing flashed by—“Zhao Qiang, Annam, Black Market.”
His heart sank.
Zhao Qiang was his missing secretary!
How could Su Wantang know?
After the initial surprise and doubt, a cold laugh followed. So what if they knew? Just a missing pawn, what could it possibly do?
"Just some little girl's threats." He tossed the wooden slip into the drawer and ignored it.
...
The day of Tangdixuan's opening has arrived.
As Ye Manrou had expected, the Houhai Ya'er Hutong was quiet all day long.
The gates of Tangdixuan were tightly shut, without even a sound.
Zhao Linlin, who was sitting in a dilapidated jeep not far away, was already laughing so hard she was doubled over.
"I told you! All bark and no bite! It's almost evening and not a single flower basket has been delivered! Hahaha, opening and closing down, Su Wantang has completely lost face!"
She had already figured out how to spread this gratifying news within her circle tomorrow.
However, as night completely falls and the city lights come on.
The usually quiet back alley of Ya'er Hutong was suddenly disturbed.
A black Volga sedan, with its lights off, silently slid in and stopped at the inconspicuous back door of Tangdixuan.
The car door opened, and an elderly man with gray hair, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, stepped out with the help of his grandson.
It was Elder Chen.
He looked up at the plain back door, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.
Qin Zheng was already waiting at the door. He bowed silently, made a "please" gesture, and led the person inside.
Zhao Linlin rubbed her eyes in the car, not paying much attention.
"It's probably some inconsiderate relative. How dare they drive out in a beat-up Volga?"
But she had barely finished speaking.
The second car, a more ordinary-looking sedan with a Beijing license plate, also slid in.
Then, the third, the fourth...
One car after another, all with their lights off, silently drove into the back alley, stopped, dropped off the passengers, and then quickly drove away.
None of these cars are ostentatious in appearance.
But the driver sent by the Ye family to keep watch widened his eyes, and cold sweat poured down his forehead.
He can't tell the quality of a car, but he can read the license plate!
That number that starts with "京A000…"! That's a number I've only ever seen in internal documents!
And that one with the white military license plate with red lettering, and the numbers at the end... My God, isn't that the special car of that big shot in charge of the Southeast Military Region?! What's he doing here?
And that...that...
The driver's legs started to tremble.
Zhao Linlin, still oblivious, impatiently urged, "What are you daydreaming about? What's so interesting? It's just a few beat-up cars."
"No...no, miss..." The driver's voice trembled as he pointed to a black sedan that had just come to a stop, "That...that license plate...it belongs to...the head of the Ministry of Grain..."
Before he could finish speaking, the car door opened, and a composed middle-aged man stepped out and hurriedly entered through the back door.
Zhao Linlin's laughter caught in her throat.
She finally realized that something seemed wrong.
...
Inside Tangdi Pavilion lies a hidden paradise.
It lacks any gaudy or ostentatious display, instead exuding understated luxury.
Every decoration and every object exudes an elegance that comes with the passage of time.
Su Wantang changed into a dark green velvet cheongsam, her long hair loosely tied up, and she wore no jewelry. Standing next to a blooming orchid, she was more beautiful than the flower itself.
She personally served Mr. Chen a cup of hot tea.
"Old Chen, this is made with the Wuyi Snow Peak tea that your grandson sent last time, brewed with the spring water here. Please try it, is it even better than last time?"
Old Chen took the tea, took a sip, and his eyes immediately lit up.
The tea has a richer aroma and a longer-lasting sweet aftertaste; one sip and all the fatigue in your body seems to be washed away.
"Excellent! Excellent tea!" he exclaimed repeatedly.
"My old wife..." Old Chen put down his teacup, his voice tinged with urgency.
Su Wantang smiled slightly: "Don't worry, the medicinal diet mentioned on the invitation has been prepared. Eating it for seven consecutive days, I dare not say it will cure her completely, but it will definitely help her sleep soundly and stop her hands and feet from trembling."
Grandpa Chen was so excited that tears welled up in his eyes. He grabbed his grandson's hand and exclaimed, "Did you hear that? Did you hear that? Your grandma is saved!"
At this moment, "January" walked over and whispered a few words in Su Wantang's ear.
Su Wantang nodded, apologized to Old Chen, and greeted another guest who had just entered.
He was an elderly man in military uniform with a general's star on his shoulder.
"General Wang," Su Wantang curtsied, her voice clear and crisp, "I've found the list of those killed in action in the Western Front campaign that you were looking for. Also, I heard you like to drink Moutai from the 1950s; I happen to have two bottles here."
General Wang's usually stern face showed a hint of emotion.
He searched for that list for a full ten years!
Next, Su Wantang moved among the guests like a highly skilled hunter.
"Minister Li, I have a new approach to the rubber business in Southeast Asia that you mentioned last time."
"Uncle Wu, I have a good candidate for your daughter's marriage. He comes from a respectable family and is very capable."
"Grandpa Zhou, you can take Zheng Banqiao's 'Bamboo and Rock' painting, which you've been looking for, home tonight."
What she offered was never just a meal or a cup of tea.
Rather, it is timely help, a helping hand in times of need, and an irresistible temptation.
Everyone present was a top figure in Beijing, whose every stomp could shake the ground.
But at this moment, their eyes were filled with admiration, and even a hint of awe, as they looked at Su Wantang.
This young girl seemed to have eyes that could see into people's hearts and hands that could reach the heavens.
...
The Ye family.
"Bang!"
An expensive famille rose teacup was smashed to the ground and shattered into several pieces.
Ye Manrou's face was even more unsightly than the broken porcelain shards.
In front of her, the driver who had been sent to keep watch was kneeling on the ground, trembling like a leaf.
“Miss… I… I’ve noted down all the license plates here… I swear, I haven’t mistaken a single one! Old Chen, Deputy Commander Wang, Minister Li from the Ministry of Grain… and many other important figures I didn’t recognize, they all went…”
Zhao Linlin, Liu Sisi, and the others had long lost their appetite for watching the spectacle; their faces were deathly pale, and they dared not even breathe.
That piece of paper covered with license plate numbers was like a death warrant, making them feel suffocated.
They thought Su Wantang was just having fun in the Bronze rank, but who knew she would flip the table and start killing in the King rank!
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