As dusk settled into the study, Xu Shinong was marking the route map of the eastern-southern route with a vermilion pen.
The incense on the desk wafted gently, carrying the fragrance of agarwood, yet it couldn't warm the dark currents that filled the room.
The route map for the eastbound south line is on the table, and the planned map for the future eastbound north line is also at my fingertips.
Xu Zhuohua entered silently, her listless posture as she sat down resembled a withered leaf swept away by a raging wind.
Her eyes were slightly red, and the light in them was broken, mixed with stubbornness and unwillingness, which made Xu Shinong's brow twitch.
This was the second time the father and daughter had a long talk in the study.
"Just got back from Baiyun Temple?" Xu Shinong looked at Xu Zhuohua's tired appearance and felt sorry for her.
Xu Zhuohua nodded. "Yes, I've met Daoist Yunxu."
Xu Shinong frowned slightly. Before Xu Zhuohua went to Dongzhou to rescue Xu Jixin, he also went to Baiyun Temple.
Master Yunxu had told him that he had deceived the Xu family back then and had another purpose in getting them to adopt Xu Zhuohua, but Master Yunxu did not say what that purpose was.
Xu Shih-nong believed that it was no big deal for the Xu family to raise another child. Besides, Xu Zhuohua had lived in the Xu family for so many years, and apart from not going hungry, she hadn't had a particularly good life.
On the contrary, after she married Cheng Muyun in place of Xu Minghua, she brought many benefits to the Xu family.
From Master Yunxu, Xu Shinong learned something incredible.
Xu Zhuohua is the eleventh generation descendant of the Xu family.
He didn't believe it at first, but Master Yunxu said that Xu Zhuohua could bring benefits and assistance to the Xu family, which could make the Xu family rise to prominence in a short period of time.
If we want to save Xu Jixin and the Dongxing South Line, we must get Xu Zhuohua the family heirloom jade pendant.
"So, what do you think? Are you willing to take over the southern route eastward?"
In this era, there had never been a time when women were in charge of the household. Xu Shinong was unhappy about this, but when he thought that Xu Zhuohua was also a descendant of the Xu family, he softened his stance slightly.
But Xu Zhuohua shook her head, "I don't want to, but it seems there's no other way."
In the study on a winter's day, the charcoal fire was burning brightly, the red flames licking the edge of the brazier. The dark patterns on Xu Shi's robes shimmered with tiny golden hues in the flickering light of the fire.
Xu Shinong raised his hand and poured a cup of hot tea. The rising steam blurred the deep look in his eyes. He then gently pushed the teacup towards Xu Zhuohua opposite him.
"Master Yunxu didn't tell me much, but I do have a question." His voice was steady, yet it carried a hint of inquiry.
Xu Zhuohua raised her head, her beautiful and charming eyes sweeping over, revealing a hint of fatigue and irritability in her gaze.
Xu Shinong was over fifty years old and had seen countless people and events, but at this moment he was still gently struck by her beauty. His breath caught in his throat for a second before he regained his composure.
"What's your question?" Xu Zhuohua's voice was hoarse, as if it had been soaked by the night. She was filled with desolation and had no appetite for tea.
She had come to demand the southern route to the east, expecting it to be a difficult negotiation. However, Xu Shinong spoke first, disrupting the flow of events and causing a surge of unease within her, like an undercurrent crashing against a reef, which was difficult to quell.
Before coming to the study, Xu Zhuohua was prepared to be refuted, and then blamed everything on Xu Shinong, just to make an excuse for her cowardice.
She knew very well that she didn't want to go to Dongzhou and part ways with Cheng Muyun; the thought of it made her heart ache.
"You are a person from a hundred years in the future. What do you know about this era?"
Xu Zhuohua's eyes suddenly lit up.
Xu Shih-nong was the first person to ask this question, and he wasn't asking about the future of the Xu family, but rather about the era itself.
Xu Zhuohua asked, "What do you want to know?"
Xu Shi Nong glanced at the route map on the table, lost in thought. "The world is in chaos right now. North and South are divided, and fighting breaks out here and there. There are also foreigners watching outside our door. I want to know, will the places on this map still be part of China in the future?"
Xu Zhuohua's heart trembled slightly. Xu Shinong, a mere businessman, was worried about something as important as the unification of the country.
"It will be chaotic for more than 20 years, and then it will be unified."
Xu Shinong seemed more interested in these things and kept asking Xu Zhuohua a lot of questions.
Xu Zhuohua used her knowledge to explain the current situation to Xu Shinong.
The current period is the third stage of the Beiyang Government. The leader of the Zhili clique is pro-British and pro-American. Because the leader whose image was printed on copper coins was close to the Japanese, there are now irreconcilable contradictions between the Zhili clique and within the Zhili clique itself, making it impossible to control the whole country.
In addition, there were local armies in the south and the Fengtian clique in the north, so the situation was extremely chaotic.
Thirteen presidents and forty-six cabinets symbolize the power struggles.
With this revolving door of power, internal divisions gradually weakened, and each generation became less capable than the last, resulting in the inability to unify the North and the South.
The chaotic situation was finally brought to an end by a new warlord group called the "Nationalist Party".
Although the Beiyang government only existed for seventeen years, this period was characterized by a hundred schools of thought contending and endless conflicts of interest, with a complexity comparable to threading a needle to connect Alzheimer's patients.
Listening to Xu Zhuohua's description, Xu Shilong secretly made up his mind that the southern route to the east must be handed over to Xu Zhuohua.
Because of what Xu Zhuohua knew, she possessed a keen political sense and was absolutely the best leader for the Eastern Southern Route.
Even Xu Zhuohua herself didn't realize how captivating the light in her eyes was when she recounted history.
Xu Shilong said, "You know so much, wouldn't it be better for you to take over the southern route of the Eastbound Line? After all, you know so much, but you can't tell others. Don't you want to use this to make use of your... abilities?"
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