Chapter 120: Four Lights
Bohr's words almost immediately made all of Bron's actions clear to her.
As the head of the International Investigation Bureau's investigative division, the colonel's first priority in the Far East seemed to be to gather as much evidence as possible. He needed the FBI to assist him in finding sufficient, comprehensive, and damning evidence and proof within just two weeks.
But the Bureau's quest to travel so far to China wasn't solely to gather evidence against the six traitors in the Municipal Council. More likely, they were using the guise of gathering evidence to pursue something else...
After the final hearing of the trial, the reporters who had been pestering her quickly dispersed. She returned to her seat and immediately looked at Bron.
He had a determined smile on his face.
They... want a piece of the pie!
Bron understood Xie Zeyi's ways, and Xie Zeyi understood the British military's ways and also understood China.
In the Anglo-American relationship, when Britain is absolutely unlikely to make concessions on its own interests, the United States needs Xie Zeyi.
So Braum was determined to protect him.
This is why Bron asked her to come to the six-nation public trial in the presence of journalists from many countries, and repeatedly hinted to her the importance of the Febeda Golden Key; and this public trial involved Xie Zeyi's testimony, and the American judge deliberately chose testimony that could better exonerate him, and tried to guide the jury to interpret the various disputes between the major, lieutenant and female researcher of the research institute as "romantic scandals."
All the reporters in the court immediately discovered the most attractive entry point of this gray-toned trial - scandal!
When Xie Zeyi's various actions made the British government fear that its position in the Shanghai Concession would be as precarious as the British who were expelled from the Hankou British Concession, Sakuma's "diary" and the golden key gave reporters the illusion that the officer was protecting his girlfriend, and at the same time provided the British jurors with the legitimacy of all Xie Zeyi's unreasonable motives.
Bron not only wants to protect him, but also wants to ensure that he has the right to serve as the negotiator for the interests of the three countries.
At this time, the Investigation Bureau collected a piece of information. This information was a secret regulation set by the British in Hong Kong and the Royal Society of Shanghai, called the "Spouse Immunity Rights of Engineers".
This regulation can perfectly solve all problems.
Does the institute need to rely on Xie Zeyi to win over the United States?
She remembered what Bohr had said to her, asked herself again, and almost immediately came up with an answer - yes!
The institute does need American funds to provide follow-up support for research, but it is also afraid that in the process, the ambitions of the United States will gradually make their power become the dominant force in the institute... So rather than saying that it needs the United States, it is better to say that it needs Xie Zeyi to mediate, so as to bring more benefits to the research while avoiding hidden dangers.
This is the selfishness of Bloom, who seeks welfare for the national interest, and Bohr, who tries to seek benefits for research!
What about her selfish motives?
——
She paid little attention to the verdict that ultimately sentenced over thirty captains and twenty lieutenants to death by hanging for their century-long invasion. After the verdict, Bron, the highest-ranking police officer in the trial, allowed reporters a moment to interview the judge and investigators before quickly having his army corps escort the reporters outside.
Then he chatted for a few words with a British Army major, the newly appointed vice-consul in Shanghai, and then Bloom said goodbye to the major and walked quickly towards her.
The police were escorting the pale-faced Sakuma and Fujima through the corridor behind the three of them and out of the courtroom. Sakuma turned back to look at Chu Wang and was scolded by the soldiers escorting him.
As they passed, Bron stopped beside her and said with a smile, "Compared to hanging, these two Japanese soldiers seem to be more afraid of hearing the words 'escorted back to their country for interrogation', right?"
Chu Wang glanced back, then turned around and asked, "Sir, where is Zoe now?"
Bron smiled and said, "The consul doesn't know either, ma'am. But what is certain is that he would be happier in any British colony than if he were sent back to the British Empire. For his safety, I think we need to prove our relationship to the British more quickly."
A lieutenant approached Bron and said, "Sir, a few reporters refused to leave and said they wanted to interview this lady."
"Our lady, whose talent is often overwhelmed by scandals, will probably be troubled by the romantic news involving three countries for a while." Bron laughed when he heard this. Before leaving, he added, "I'm sorry, ma'am, this is not my intention. I would rather read about your marriage to Zoe in the newspaper in the near future."
After Lieutenant Bron left with Lieutenant, someone from the Chamber of Commerce quickly sent her out through a side door to avoid the pursuit of the group of persistent reporters.
Mrs. Ge and the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce's car were already waiting in the alley outside the back door of the Chamber of Commerce compound.
When she walked into the alley from the back door, Mrs. Ge was waiting outside under the soapberry tree, while Mr. Jiang, Mr. Xie, Mr. Huang and others were chatting next to the car under the sycamore tree in the distance.
Without waiting for Mrs. Ge to respond, she called out softly, "Aunt..."
Before she could finish the second half of the sentence, the urgency in her tone was already evident in her expression and the word "aunt", so she immediately shut up.
Mrs. Ge stared at her intently and said jokingly, "What's wrong?"
She sighed, but still said stubbornly, "I want to save Mr. Xie."
Mrs. Ge looked at her for a moment and said, "Just now, his father and his four or five grown men had no shame. They ganged up on me and acted like they were holding me hostage, forcing me to discuss this with you. Now look, you look more anxious than anyone else."
The aunt and niece looked towards the sycamore tree. With the exception of Mr. Jiang, who was still smiling at them, Mr. Xie and the other three old men all turned their heads away, looking at the roots of the sycamore tree with a guilty look on their faces.
She said, "If I appear in the newspaper tomorrow, no one will dare to marry me anymore."
Mrs. Ge laughed. "Didn't Lin Yu cause such a fuss last time because of your teacher? Why aren't you worried that no one will marry you?"
She said, "Didn't Mrs. Ge also send me a Mr. Xie?"
Mrs. Ge laughed again. "He's in jail this time. Since I came to Shanghai, how many young and handsome men have come to my Ge Mansion just to see you?"
She exposed Mrs. Ge, and then she chuckled, "Aunt, you also said that you watched Mr. Xie grow up. Who among those young and handsome men could be better than Mr. Xie?"
"Good? What's good about him? In the past, you could still hope he'd have a future in the British Army. Now, not only is he in danger, but you, a girl, are also expected to pledge yourself to save him." Mrs. Ge finished her complaints like a machine gun, then lowered her voice and asked, "Girl, I love him, but I love you even more. It may not be pleasant to hear, but I urge you to think it over. He used to look like a real gentleman, but now he's been imprisoned somewhere for three or four months, suffering some kind of torture. If you come back and find him with broken limbs and missing weights, it will be too late to regret."
"Then..." She had been worried for three months, and she told Mrs. Ge everything she dared not think about in a few words. After a burst of heartache, she blew out two breaths and said, "That's not a big deal."
Mrs. Ge sighed, her face filled with resentment for not fighting back. Then, with a very bad tone, she turned back to the Chamber of Commerce helper and said, "Go get Xie Hong over here for me!"
She couldn't help but burst out laughing and said quickly, "Aunt, I'd better go over and pay my respects to Sir Xie."
Mrs. Ge stopped her and said, "Why are you going?"
Xie Hong seemed to be afraid of Mrs. Ge, so he asked Mr. Huang to come over and test the waters first.
Mr. Huang said to Mrs. Ge and Chu Wang, "Sir Xie said that in a few days, he will send several ships to send the betrothal gifts to Hong Kong and deliver them to your house."
Chu Wang: "..."
Mrs. Ge asked, "What boat?"
Mr. Huang said, "Of course, it's the largest armored barge. We'll go ashore with the horn sounded at the harbor, and then we'll be transported all the way to the mountain by barge with drums and gongs from the dock! Otherwise, I won't agree."
Chu Wang: "..."
Mrs. Ge snorted and laughed. "It's better to have a grand display. That way, when those insignificant people in the International Settlement see the newspaper, they'll know how much they need to prepare so they don't embarrass themselves."
Chu Wang was puzzled, and Mr. Huang wanted to speak for her: "Aren't you afraid that Lin Yu will find an excuse to cause trouble, saying that it's against the rules not to send the betrothal gifts to the Lin family mansion?"
"I suppose he'd be quite agreeable to ask for it. If that nameless girl in his family dares to make a scene, that would suit my fancy. I'd just wait for her at home."
Mr. Huang then turned to Chu Wang and said, "Miss Lin San, thank you for your help."
Chu Wang said, "Thank you Mr. Huang for the bracelet last time."
"It wasn't of much use. Who could have imagined the fire at the spinning mill? He knew he was doomed, so he really wanted to kill him," Mr. Huang finished. "When you marry Young Master Xie, I will give you a very generous betrothal gift. If Miss Third likes it, it won't be too late to thank you later."
After saying this, Mr. Huang turned his back to Mrs. Ge and kept winking at Sir Xie, probably secretly telling him, "Mrs. Ge has calmed down, don't be afraid." Sir Xie pretended to say this to Mr. Jiang and Mr. Du, but his eyes were secretly glancing over here. Seeing that the situation was good, he walked over with his hands behind his back.
He had medium-length gray hair, and wore an electric blue velvet shirt with a floral silk scarf tied underneath. In his hands, he held two ornamental lion heads. He glanced up at Mrs. Ge, gave a few hearty smiles, coughed twice, then bent over to take Chu Wang's hand and elegantly kissed the thumb covering the back of her hand. His every move and gesture resembled Marlon Brando's The Godfather.
As soon as he opened his mouth, all his aura and demeanor disappeared immediately.
He said sincerely, "Sister Sanxiu, I'm almost here."
Chu Wang held back his laughter for a long time.
——
On the evening of the public trial, Mrs. Ge, Sir Xie, Mr. Huang, the officiating judge, Mr. Jiang, the matchmaker, and Miya drove to the Shanghai Provisional Government Building. It was already after work, and the civil servant had been called back by a sudden call to issue the marriage certificate.
In reality, Chu Wang had nothing to do with the entire process. Mrs. Ge and Sir Xie each received a card and filled in Chu Wang's and Xie Zeyi's names and ages, then filled in the names of Mrs. Ge and Sir Xie, the parents of both parties, Mr. Huang, the officiating host, and Mr. Jiang, the matchmaker, before signing and stamping the card to signify formality.
During the entire process, the official only asked once: "Why is the date written as April 29th?"
Sir Xie handed the clerk an official certificate from British Penang filled out in English. Mrs. Ge, fearing the clerk wouldn't understand him, said, "The two children officially obtained their marriage certificate in Penang four months ago. They're worried they won't recognize it when they return home, so they're just re-acknowledging it. That's why they wrote it as before four months ago."
The official, with a look of understanding, stamped it with his large seal. "This kind of thing happens all the time. It's to prevent friends and family from coming over and gossiping about the child if he's born too early."
Mrs. Ge was silent for a while, too lazy to explain or get angry with him.
Chu Wangwangtian: "..."
After the government seal was affixed, the clerk exchanged the copies filled out by Mrs. Ge and Sir Xie. Mrs. Ge handed the copy to Chu Wang, while Sir Xie's copy was almost immediately snatched up by Miya.
She looked down and saw colorful dragons and phoenixes painted on both sides of the certificate. At the top, the four large traditional Chinese characters "Marriage Certificate" were ironed onto the paper. Below, there were little angels and a pond in the Garden of Eden. The color scheme was extremely exaggerated, and the picture was neither Chinese nor Western, which was quite funny. In the middle, it was written in regular script:
Lin Chuwang is from Shaoxing County, Zhejiang Province. He is 16 years old and was born on the third day of the first lunar month in the third year of the Republic of China at the hour of Hai.
Xie Zeyi's ancestral home is from Foshan Town, Guangdong Province. He is currently 23 years old and was born at the hour of Mao on October 13, the 32nd year of the Guangxu reign.
The two families unite in marriage, a pact signed in one hall, a blessed bond forever sealed, a match made in heaven. Behold the peach blossoms of this day, a perfect match for the home, and may your descendants prosper and flourish in the years to come. I hereby write upon this long-lived promise, so that the covenant of red leaves may be recorded in the genealogy of love. This is my testimony.
Miya almost finished reading the words with her, and said with a hearty laugh, "Now when I see Linzy, I have to change my address to call her sister-in-law."
Sir Xie said, "You can call me Madam Xie."
Mr. Jiang said, "That's not right. Although Mr. Xie lost his title, he didn't lose his nobility. "Shao Nai" isn't right either; "Madam" is. From now on, the wives of Hong Kong should be promoted to a higher generation."
Mrs. Ge spat at them, "Go away, go away! You haven't even met Xie Zeyi yet, and you're already trying to take advantage of my daughter. It's too early!"
…
Holding the marriage certificate in her hand, she couldn't help but smile, but at the same time she felt a little confused: Hey, why did I just marry myself off like this?
——
The next morning, the newspapers were flooded with news about the Six Nations Public Trial. Even more popular than the trial's outcome was the section about her.
In this day and age, there are many ways for men to become famous, but women's fame seems to always be inseparable from men; it is almost unimaginable for an independent woman to become famous without a man, unless she has committed a serious crime.
While the newspapers were reporting extensively on this three-way love triangle at the research institute, they also brought up her talents in science and languages, her published papers, her appearance, and even the scandal that her father and Mrs. Qiao had caused. However, this time, most commentators were not too harsh on her, and their comments were mostly positive. For example:
"Everyone loves a beautiful and intelligent woman. However, beauty and intelligence that are different from the average person often attract the jealousy of women and the covetousness of men, which can be a vexing matter... Many people love beautiful women, so if they do make a small mistake, it's not a big deal."
"Mr. Lin was born and raised in China. He is a rare talent born and raised in China. If he wins this award, it will be a great encouragement and role model for Chinese students, and he will truly make Chinese education proud and bring honor to the country."
…
After her marriage was announced in the newspaper the next day, the topic of her marriage reached a new level of popularity in Shanghai, where everyone loved reading, reading, drinking tea, and gossiping. So much so that when Mrs. Ge asked her driver to take her to the British Consulate to submit her marriage certificate, the consular officer smiled and told her, "We've heard about this marriage for a long time, and finally we've met the person in person."
The consul quickly signed the documents that had been prepared long ago and quickly asked someone to send a telegram.
Then he told her, “Okay.”
She asked in confusion, "But please, when can I see Xie...my husband?"
The official laughed and said, "We don't know where Mr. Xie is right now. If he returns, he'll arrive at the British warship dock. If he returns quickly, maybe tomorrow. If he returns slowly, maybe a month... He'll definitely arrive within a month."
——
From the day she returned from the consulate, she asked the driver to take her to Fuxing Road every morning.
After three months away from home, Xie Zeyi's salary to his mother in Guangdong was due. The house was thick with dust, and she, who had never done housework, spent a whole day mopping the floor with a copper mop before it was barely clean.
Mrs. and Mr. Zheng had already moved out, and downstairs, an ordinary Shanghainese family had moved in. The tiny house was now home to eight people, spanning three generations. On the day the trial ended, Mrs. Ge had asked the child's mother if she had truly disowned her own son in order to continue her life as a prostitute. When she heard no, Mrs. Ge readily hired someone to teach her how to type and found her a job as a typist at a foreign company, allowing her and her daughter to make a living in Shanghai.
Every day she would go to Fu Kaisen Road to clean the house. She would clean the windows, remove the dirty curtains, and bring them back to the Ge Mansion to have the maid clean them. If she passed a flower shop on the way, she would buy a bunch of hibiscus or crabapple and place them in a live bone china dish, changing the flowers every few days.
After dinner in the evening, he went to the warship dock for a stroll. When he learned that no ships had entered the port, he asked the driver to return to the Ge Mansion by the same route.
Mrs. Ge once said to her, "I told you to stay at Fu Kaisen Road before because I wasn't around. Now I'm in Shanghai, and his father is there too, so it's not far away. Wouldn't it be more convenient for you two to go home and have someone to take care of your daily needs? If you really want to reminisce, just bring two people from my place to clean up for you."
She thought about it and still felt bad.
Starting from the day of Bailu, Shanghai has been experiencing continuous heavy rain, which means that summer is almost over. Zhenzhen came to accompany her every day. She wrote a report while Zhenzhen was tinkering with some strange foods in the kitchen. On the first day, she said, "I was shocked to see in the newspaper that you two were married! I thought you and Mr. Xie got pregnant before marriage, and that you were on the verge of death and there was no way to save the situation, so you had to get married with the child. It made me furious and scold him at home." Later, she said, "It's great that you are not pregnant. My father told me that if you were pregnant, he would ask me to go to the UK next year and stay at home with you first."
I hadn't heard from Yan Sang in a long time, and I thought he had quietly gone to the United States. Later, I heard from Zhenzhen that he still hadn't left, but he didn't go out often. I don't know what he has been doing at home for the past three months.
On rainy days, Zhenzhen would sometimes join her, holding an umbrella, for a stroll along the pier. The autumnal equinox was approaching, and the geese were flying away in flocks. Occasionally, when the rain stopped and the sun shone, the seagulls and herons would come out to join in the fun. It was already the ninth day, and Zhenzhen and her were enjoying their last ice cream of the summer's twilight years on the pier. It was a shop run by a Javanese, and it was much better than the ice cream at the Star Ferry Pier, where you'd get your mouth full of icy crumbs. After finishing their ice cream, on their way back, they passed the German-owned "Lucky" flower shop. She remembered the flowers on the windowsill's porcelain dish were nearly withering, and suddenly saw two bowls of white lotus flowers. She hurriedly bought them from the owner and took them home to grow on the dishes.
Zhenzhen finally sighed, "It seems that you really like him."
She exclaimed, "Ah!" and wondered herself, "Is there?"
Zhenzhen nodded and poked her forehead: "It only takes a thousand years for an iron tree to bloom. Don't you like it?"
She looked at the two bowls of lotus and smiled to herself, "It seems real."
A week before her departure, Zhenzhen had too much to pack and didn't come one day. The driver dropped her off at the dock. As she stepped off, she saw a warship entering the harbor from afar. She ran quickly to the dock, umbrella in hand. It was raining, and the hem of her black dress and her long white stockings were covered in mud.
She waited at the dock for nearly twenty minutes, until the Royal Navy and Army officers and soldiers on the ship left one after another, but she still didn't see Xie Zeyi.
Two weeks had passed, and every ship that entered port hadn't had the person she wanted to see on board. She silently calculated his likely location based on the sailing time. Two to three days, he'd probably be in Southeast Asia; three to five days, he'd be around the Indian Ocean; five to ten days, from the Indian Ocean to Africa; ten to fifteen days, he'd be in Africa and the Red Sea.
In another day, the ship might have really returned to England, and what she would be waiting for might really be Xie Zeyi with missing limbs.
So what if he is missing? At worst, she can just push him in a wheelchair. He can only walk as fast as she does, so that he won't feel pressured by walking too fast because of his long legs.
The rain stopped briefly, and she turned back to the "Glueck" shop to look at the flowers. The shop was in an alley facing the harbor. It wasn't narrow, but it was paved with large cubic stones, making it difficult to navigate. The laurel trees along the alley were in full bloom, and the damp breeze after the rain blew in waves of fragrance.
Entering the flower shop, she saw that most of the wooden buckets of flowers were empty. She looked around for a while and asked the owner in German, "Good evening, what flowers do you have left?"
"There are still some roses, but not many... A warship is in port today, so many old friends are coming to see me. Just a few minutes ago, I bought some lilies for a gentleman. He said he hadn't seen his wife in a while, so he wanted to buy some for her."
She nodded, feeling pity for the flowers she had killed in the past two weeks. Like Xie Zeyi, she used water and bone china dishes to grow flowers, and his flowers used to live for several days.
Thinking of the two bowls of pitiful white lotus in the porcelain plate, she was actually a little glad that Xie Zeyi didn't come back today. Otherwise, when he came home and saw those wilted flowers, he would probably laugh at her in his heart.
When she turned around and left, ready to come back tomorrow, she stood in the flower shop and saw a tall, dark-gray shadow outside, holding an umbrella in one hand and a bunch of lilies in the other.
The shop was lighted up, and he stood in the dark alley, unable to see clearly. The boss behind her suddenly laughed and said, "Sir, if you don't go back now, your wife will be waiting for you anxiously."
Then, an all-too-familiar voice said in German, "No rush. I just realized my wife is here."
When she heard the word "meinefrau", her heart skipped a beat.
The next second, she suddenly lifted up her skirt and rushed towards him.
Xie Zeyi stood in the rain with an umbrella and looked at her from afar.
Seeing her running towards him, he immediately threw away his umbrella, held the soaked lily farther away from her, and hugged her tightly with his left hand that was free after he dropped the umbrella.
She hugged Xie Zeyi tightly, her face pressed against his chest, but said nothing.
Xie Zeyi gathered her hair in his palm, tilted his head back slightly, sighed, and rubbed her into his arms. In a low and hoarse voice, he called her again: "Mrs. Xie."
She rubbed her head against him and said softly, "Thank you, Mr.
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