Chapter 325: Volume 1 Chapter 325 Prison Cell (10)

Fu Shao Huai put away his weapon; a few strands of black, disheveled hair lay across his brow, his narrow eyes reflecting the flickering light above his head, cold and inorganic like a beast's.

"The engagement doesn't count."

Bai Fu was just about to get angry.

He immediately continued, "So the Bai family can make any request of me."

One engagement exchanged for one request.

Bai Fu stood where he was, both shocked and dazed.

He knew very well Fu Shao Huai's character; to have fought on the battlefield for so many years and climbed to this position requires not only ability but also tactics and scheming.

Fu Shao Huai could completely ignore the Bai family and call off this engagement, but instead he offered the Bai family a request in exchange.

There is no better exchange than this.

As long as he gives his promise, the Bai family will henceforth be able to rest easy.

Bai Lian, standing nearby, breathed a sigh of relief in her heart; she was glad Fu Shao Huai didn't like her, the engagement was called off, and she no longer had to worry about it.

Fu Shao Huai did not linger; his subordinates behind him dispersed the people around who wanted to step forward and strike up conversation, he walked through the crowd and went inside.

His peripheral vision swept over the crowd, finally landing on the person sitting in the corner eating pastry.

The girl sat quietly on the sofa, holding a piece of pastry, eating it in small bites like a cat, out of place among the surroundings.

She seemed to sense his gaze, lifted her eyes to look over; upon seeing him, her gaze quickly shifted away, as if she had never known him.

Fu Shao Huai pressed his tongue against his upper palate, tasting for the first time the consequence of self-inflicted doom; his deep, gloomy gaze fixed on her for a moment, withdrawing before anyone nearby noticed.

He strode with long legs toward the main seat of Grandma Qiao.

Qiao Yu had arrived early at the scene, standing like a statue behind his grandmother; upon seeing Fu Shao Huai approach, he seemed to see a savior and frantically gave him meaningful looks.

— "Master Fu, take me away!"

After Fu Shao Huai greeted Grandma Qiao, he had his subordinate deliver the gift.

Grandma Qiao believed in Buddha; although she disliked Fu Shao Huai's murderous aura, she did not go so far as to slight his dignity.

After accepting the gift, she exchanged a few polite remarks.

Fu Shao Huai lifted his foot, ready to leave.

Qiao Yu's eyelids twitched; seeing him leave, he instinctively wanted to follow.

Grandma Qiao knew her grandson couldn't sit still, but she didn't want to see him get too close to Fu Shao Huai.

She asked in a calm voice, "Where are you going?"

Qiao Yu stopped his steps, his eyes darting; seeing a familiar face not far away in the corner, he hurriedly said, "I have a friend who also arrived; I'll go say hello."

Seeing he wasn't going to look for Fu Shao Huai, Grandma Qiao agreed, "Go on, go on; remember to come back when the banquet starts."

Qiao Yu acknowledged and left.

Walking to the resting seat in the corner partitioned by a screen, he said, "Good thing I have sharp eyes; otherwise, even if your mother came, she wouldn't recognize you."

Jiang Zhi ate an entire piece of pastry, her fingertips stained with milky pastry crumbs; she took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped them, saying, "Doctor Qiao's home is very nice."

She gave a high compliment; Qiao Yu smiled and said, "As long as you like it, this pastry—I picked it myself—you'll definitely like it."

Jiang Zhi nodded: "Delicious."

Qiao Yu said, "Even if it's delicious, you can't eat too much—at most two pieces, got it?"

Jiang Zhi raised her eyebrows slightly: "Doctor Qiao, I'm not a child."

Qiao Yu liked seeing her like that; he stepped forward intending to sit beside her on the sofa to continue chatting, when a voice sounded from behind.

"Young Master Qiao, Master Fu requests your presence."

Qiao Yu rolled his eyes; just now he had been making eyes at his grandmother to no avail, yet now his beloved came to fetch him himself.

"Got it." He replied speechlessly, then turned to Jiang Zhi and said, "If you have something to ask me, just say it; no need to be nervous."

Jiang Zhi acknowledged, watching him leave.

Feeling the room stuffy, she also rose and left the main hall, taking a walk in the outer courtyard.

A familiar figure appeared before her eyes.

It was the female lead, Bai Lian.

She held a cup of lemon juice, walked up to her side and asked, "Miss Jiang, may I accompany you?"

Jiang Zhi hesitated for a moment, then lowered her eyes and said, "Sure."

Bai Lian handed her another cup of corn juice, steaming hot, perfect for a winter night.

"I don't know what you like to drink, so I brought you a cup of corn juice; would you like some?"

Jiang Zhi thanked her and reached out to take it.

The corn juice was fragrant, full of corn aroma, exuding a mist-like heat.

Bai Lian seemed to truly regard her as a friend, confiding her thoughts to her.

"I'm very happy tonight." She said to herself, "Before, whenever people saw me, they only said I was Marshal Fu's fiancée; no one ever truly wanted to get to know me, they just wanted to see Marshal Fu..."

Jiang Zhi listened beside her, distractedly asking 777, "Do I look like a confidante older sister?"

777 replied, "Host, in this world you are more like a white lotus, emanating a warm glow."

Jiang Zhi: "……"

Bai Lian raised her cup, eyes reddening, "Sorry for unloading all this on you."

Jiang Zhi, however, asked, "You don't like Marshal Fu?"

Bai Lian startled, quickly shook her head to explain, "I only met him a few times as a child; how could I like him?"

Moreover, Fu Shao Huai is not her type.

Jiang Zhi: "Is that so."

777: "Host, there's danger!"

The system's voice suddenly sounded, and Jiang Zhi's gaze fell on several figures ahead.

At such a banquet, there are no shortage of rich young masters, all accompanied by their fathers; bored along the way, they thought of finding some fun.

They, having somehow learned the news, intercepted their path.

"Beautiful lady, I'm rich, come with me, you don't need to follow that old man." The young man, relying on his family's influence, could easily take a mistress.

Many wealthy families' mistresses cannot compare to the household's concubines; they are lowly women who cannot enter the main gate, but playing with them is no great harm.

Bai Lian, walking beside Jiang Zhi, heard the voice, frowned tightly: "What are you saying? This is the Qiao family's birthday banquet, not a place for you to act recklessly."

Several young men didn't recognize her, exchanged smiles, their eyes full of mockery at her words.

Jiang Zhi stopped, not surprised by their arrival.

Steward Wang went to get her a hand warmer and hasn't returned yet.

Right now, just the two of us girls, we can't handle so many young men.

The female lead Bai Lian stood in front of her, still having the composure to soothe her emotions: "Don't be afraid, I'll protect you."

Jiang Zhi sighed, slipped her fingers into the waist hidden by the fur coat, touching the cold pistol inside.

That was a pistol Fu Shao Huai gave her for self-defense, and he simply taught her how to fire it.

A restless young man could no longer hold back, striding toward them with big steps.

The lighting here is dim, far from the main hall; no one would know what happened here.

But before the young man could approach, a gunshot rang out, hitting his shoulder.

Blood spurted out instantly, the rich young master collapsed on the ground, emitting a piercing, agonized scream.

The gunshot sounded again, this time hitting his right leg.

Seeing this, the others scattered in fear.

Fu Shao Huai held the smoking muzzle, expressionlessly chambered a round, aimed at the fleeing figure's back, and pulled the trigger.

"Bang——!"

The gunshot echoed throughout Yunxiao.

The man was like a hellish Asura, his brows and eyes gloomy and vicious, exuding terrifying killing intent.

The bullet's impact was not fatal, yet it tormented him like shooting game, cruel and brutal.