Chapter 29: Decisive Action

  Qian Yaozu woke up to find Meng Yao still standing by his side, and couldn't help but smile wryly. He felt a mix of emotions - shame, anger, and gratitude - as he grabbed Meng Yao's hand and shook it repeatedly. Meng Yao quickly comforted him with a few words before following the housekeeper to support Qian Yaozu to the study. Soon after, another housekeeper led in a physician and also reported on a matter that was currently of great concern to him: the head steward, Lei Wanli, had brought all the nearby housekeepers and stewards to gather outside the mansion.

  "Alright, alright." Qian Yaozu finally felt a bit of his spirit recovered. "Let Lei pick some capable men and get ready to follow me to the provincial city at any time."

  The doctor finished taking his pulse and shook his head, telling Qian Yaozu, "Mr. Qian, I'm afraid you won't be able to move around easily for the next few days."

  Qian Yaozu hummed, and ordered the housekeeper to take out 10 taels of silver to send Lang Zhong away immediately. However, for some reason, he didn't order Meng Yao to leave, who had been standing by the side all along. Perhaps it was because of the genuine concern on Meng Yao's face, or perhaps he felt the need for someone to temporarily rely on spiritually, or perhaps it was just the instinct of an old fox who had seen through everything in life, but Meng Yao stayed at the Qian house until Cao Feibiao returned again.

  After a little more than half a day of preparation, the Qian family selected nearly thirty sturdy men, who lined up on both sides of over twenty horse-drawn carriages, quietly waiting outside under the leadership of Lei Wanrui.

  Qian Yaozu gathered his belongings, took enough silver tickets, and finally picked up the photo of his daughter on the desk to take a look. He then asked Meng Yao with a probing gaze: "Xian nephew, we are about to set off soon, don't you want to reconsider? You know, my little girl Xiangyun has committed a capital offense this time. Even if my family had a fortune of ten thousand taels, if Yue Weijun doesn't lend a hand, I'm afraid we'll be skinned alive. Alas, what bad luck, how difficult!"

  In the short morning they spent together, Qian Yaozu unknowingly changed his address from "Boss" to "Xiao Shu", making Meng Yao feel both ashamed and fond of the old man. He had indeed come with a strong sense of purpose, although it was for the overall situation of the entire Tujia Camp, but personally, he wasn't feeling quite right. Now that the old man had changed his address, it made him feel more at ease. However, there were some things that he absolutely couldn't say. Just like Yue Weijun, if he could stand up and save Qian Ruyun, then he wouldn't be the Yue Weijun in history, and he wouldn't have waited until 1926 to spark the entire Zhongyuan Civil Uprising, eventually being forced to flee from his position as governor.

  So, whether for the sake of the first industry of the assault camp, or for the entire Central Plains environment in the future, or even for an innocent young female student, Meng Yao felt that he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

  "Qian Bo, this matter doesn't need consideration." Since the other person had already changed their tone, Meng Yao not changing his tone would seem out of place. So he also opened his mouth and came up with a usual form of address, without knowing if it was suitable for this occasion or not. "Not to mention that we've already become one entity, just talking about the calamity that Yunyun little sister encountered, as any male with blood in their veins, I think wouldn't ignore it. Don't worry Qian Bo, I have a plan in mind."

  As he spoke, he seemed to see Qian Ruoyun in the photo smiling coyly at him.

  Meng Yao didn't realize his dazed expression, and hastily shifted his gaze away from her photo. It was really strange, how could he have such a misconception? Was it because she looked too beautiful in the photo?

  Walking out with Qian Yaozu, Lei Wanli came up to take over, but was waved away by Qian Yaozu. "You ride in the first car and lead the way. I'll follow behind in a few cars with Meng Xian's nephew, as long as he's there."

  Lei Wanli responded with a sound, and took advantage of the situation to stare at Meng Yao for a moment. Meng Yao could only smile apologetically at him.

  Qian Yaozu was helped onto the car and sat down. Just as he was about to follow, Cao Feibiao pulled him back. He first looked around cautiously before whispering: "Boss, our people in the provincial city have already taken action and are currently investigating the real situation. Niu Gang has followed your orders and led the brothers down the mountain to rush to the train station. Oh, right, Xiangdi also went with them, and brought Lin Erdou along."

  "Got it." Meng Yao said, about to get on the car, but was pulled back by Cao Fei Biao. He was just about to lose his temper when he saw Cao Fei Biao nodding at Lei Wanli, and immediately understood. He could only nod again, patted Cao Fei Biao's hand, and got into the car with a bow.

  Can't he even notice that slight glance from Lei Wanli? He really thinks he's taken his place, how petty. Just thinking about this, suddenly heard Zhuge Dun coughing outside, the car started moving again.

  No words all the way.

  Only Cao Feibiao occasionally reported the situation in the provincial capital to Meng Yao through the earpiece, and so far, Qian's family property seems to have no effect on this matter.

  As soon as they arrived at the provincial capital, Qian family's second young master, Ruyang, was already waiting at the train station. As soon as the old man came out, he hurriedly leaned in close to the old man's ear and whispered for half a day. Meng Yao stood aside, looking not anxious at all. Although he couldn't hear what they were saying, he believed that what they said would not be more than what he already knew.

  This woman is a rare breed, although weak and fragile, she's from a reputable family with a strong academic background. On one hand, she's studying in Shanghai, on the other hand, she's traveling all over the world. However, judging from her bold move of joining last year's massive May Fourth Movement, if we had to rank her by seniority, she could be considered a veteran revolutionary. This time, she got into trouble in the provincial capital, where she was planning to stir up some activity in her hometown, but unexpectedly got caught by the cunning Wu Peifu. Wu Peifu was still riding high on his victory over his arch-nemesis Duan Qirui in September and was feeling particularly triumphant, so when a self-proclaimed revolutionary came knocking on his door, he couldn't help but laugh. He probably thought it would be fun to toy with her for a while before striking the final blow. However, as soon as he saw Qian Yun in person, he sentenced her to death without hesitation. This move crushed everyone's illusions. All attempts to plead for mercy or use connections were useless. Of course, in the end, Qian Yun won't die, but she'll wish she was dead.

  These analyses are based on several pieces of intelligence provided by Cao Fei Biao's group.

  Just think about it, with Qianjia's poor means and knowledge, being able to think of using money first is already quite good.

  At this time, Qian's father and son finally turned their heads and walked over, stumbling. Meng Yao immediately asked: "Qian Bo, are we going to turn to Luoyang right away?"

  Qian Yaozu was shocked by the words and stared at Meng Yao with wide eyes: "How did you know, nephew?"

  Meng Yao was about to speak, but Qian Ruwu also looked at Meng Yao in surprise, with a hint of vigilance in his expression, and asked his father, "Dad, who is he? Why is he here too?"

  "Ah, right, this is Meng Yao, your brother's business partner," Qian Yaizu said, pulling Meng Yao closer.

  Qian Ruwu nodded and casually waved his hands, shouting at the surrounding servants: "Hurry up and help Master get on the carriage, we're not going into the provincial city, we're going to Luoyang. Quick, hurry up."

  He turned around and got back on the train, Meng Yao felt that since the father and son had met, it was not suitable for him to stick around anymore. So, he turned around and made a gesture with his eyes to Zhuge Dun, who was not far away, just about to rush into the big carriage, but was loudly stopped by Qian Ya Zu.

  "Good nephew, good nephew, still please come with us, that is not a place for you to stay."

  Meng Yao shook his head and returned, sitting down beside the two with a gentle smile.

  After sitting for a while, Qian Ruwu suddenly sighed and whispered to his father: "Dad, I think it's really not working out, let's just follow big brother's idea and agree to the marriage proposal of Yue Weijun. A concubine is just a concubine, I don't see what's wrong with that. Besides, this way, our Qian family will have an even stronger backbone, won't we?"

  Qian Yaozu let out a sigh and didn't say a word, his face looking even more gloomy.

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