Chapter 938: Someone Is Setting a Trap Again

He Yuzhu was stunned for a moment, then fell silent. After a long while, he lowered his voice and spoke: "This matter is between you and me; absolutely do not let Yushui know. But... how did you find out?"

Chen Xueru picked up her teacup, took a sip, and said, "The person He Zheng sent to Ma Rui is my old subordinate. This time, I didn't let her tell He Zheng about this. No matter how you look at it, this is a shady business."

Hearing this, He Yuzhu couldn't help but roll his eyes: "Fine, you women are really something, resorting to the whole spy and undercover routine? But this isn't necessarily a bad thing. I've met this girl Liu Wei; she's calculating, but not a bad person. As long as she doesn't cause trouble, we'll just turn a blind eye."

Chen Xueru said indignantly, "Why can't He Zheng have other women, but Ma Rui can?"

"He Zheng is my son, Ma Rui is my nephew, and the kid has a father!"

"I think you just have an issue with He Zheng. You don't treat him as well as you treat He Mu?" Chen Xueru said.

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu sighed: "Let me tell you the truth. Yang Jing is a truly good girl, but you know about her mother's illness; it's hereditary. What if the child gets this illness in the future? What then?"

Chen Xueru suddenly raised her eyes, her gaze carrying a hint of scrutiny: "Is that really what you think? That's truly devious! I think it's just Ma Rui looking for an excuse to back down, right?"

He Yuzhu leaned back against the chair, putting on an air of self-evidence: "Even an emperor picking a consort has to choose someone with a sturdy constitution. What era do we live in now? What's wrong with considering genetics? It's a normal thing."

Chen Xueru snorted, didn't respond further, and began to arrange dinner.

The night passed without incident.

At the first light of dawn the next day, He Yuzhu headed straight for the residence of his eldest uncle, Shen Wenqing, in Qianmen.

The moment he pushed open the courtyard gate, a pungent, fishy stench drilled straight into his nose, making him knit his brows into a knot.

Looking up, good heavens—the roof was densely covered with pigeons, gray, white, and mottled, flapping their wings and cooing; in the corners of the courtyard, several rows of large iron cages were stacked neatly, and they were also packed full of them.

His cousin Shen Wei heard the commotion and came out from the living room. Seeing He Yuzhu, he smiled: "My dad was still talking about you yesterday, saying you should be coming."

He Yuzhu walked inside while waving his hand in front of his nose: "Tell me, what new quirk has your dad picked up? I remember he used to love keeping thrushes and larks; why has he switched to messing with pigeons now?"

Shen Wei gave a bitter smile and sighed: "My dad has always liked keeping pigeons, but his health wasn't up to it in recent years. A while back, he caught the A-flu, and after he recovered, I don't know what got into him—he felt like he had all his strength back and insisted on raising pigeons. Look at these in the courtyard; they're all foreign breeds. He says if he raises them well, he can sell them for a good price later."

He Yuzhu laughed upon hearing this, turned his head, and teased: "And your mom and you all just let him mess around?"

Shen Wei spread his hands, his face full of helpless resignation: "Whether we're happy about it or not, is it even our place to decide? His temper is huge now; as soon as his blood sugar goes up, he's like a firecracker, ready to go off at a touch, and he gives my mom a hard time at the drop of a hat. My mom and he have had no shortage of arguments over the years."

He Yuzhu was stunned, a look of surprise appearing in his eyes: "My eldest uncle is pushing eighty; how has his temper gotten worse as he's aged?"

Shen Wei couldn't help but laugh, a somewhat dry laugh: "Who's to say? But what can we do? Everyone in the family, young and old, is humoring him like a child now. If he says to go east, no one dares to go west."

Just as the two were talking, the courtyard gate creaked, and Shen Wenqing walked in from outside.

The old man was carrying a birdcage in one hand, while the other slowly rotated two shiny, polished walnuts in his palm. He walked with his back straight, and the morning light plated his graying hair with a pale gold, making him look truly quite hale and hearty.

He Yuzhu hurried to greet him, smiling: "Eldest Uncle, is your health truly better, or is this just a final burst of energy before the end?"

"Nothing good ever comes out of a dog's mouth." Shen Wenqing lifted his eyelids and glared at him indignantly. "You brat, you still know to come and see me? In your family, only Yushui and Ma Rui come by every few days; as for the others, you can't count on a single one."

He Yuzhu wasn't annoyed, instead grinning as he leaned in: "Didn't I come straight to you as soon as I got back? Still not satisfied? I brought you two bottles of medicinal water; don't you want them?"

"Is it that Immortal Water! Let me see it quickly!" Upon hearing this, Shen Wenqing's eyes lit up. He snatched the items away, holding them with both hands as if cradling a newborn baby, being extremely careful.

The three of them entered the living room and sat down, and Shen Wei poured a cup of hot tea for his father and cousin.

On the windowsill sat a pot of Clivia, its leaves wiped until they shone.

Outside, the cooing of the pigeons drifted in in waves.

"Zhuzi," Shen Wenqing said slowly, warming his hands with the teacup, "I plan to go back to my hometown in September. I saw the photos sent from there; the Shen Family Old Residence has been renovated well, and I'm thinking of going back to live for a while. Are you going?"

He Yuzhu turned to look at Shen Wei: "Ma Rui is getting married; wouldn't it be bad if you all left?"

Shen Wei smiled: "He told us long ago. We'll just stay in Zhouzhuang for a month and come back before his wedding. Also, Cousin Liu Rusi is going too."

He Yuzhu was stunned, a flash of surprise in his eyes: "Didn't she say she would never go back there again? Why the sudden desire to return?"

Shen Wei sipped his tea: "The province entrusted the Village Chief to specifically invite her. I heard they even involved Secretary Liu; in reality, the local authorities want to invite her over to invest."

After listening, He Yuzhu said: "I can go with you, but I can't stay for many days."

In the bedroom on the second floor of the Longcheng Villa, sunlight slanted in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, spreading a warm, golden layer over the carpet.

Ma Rui was squatting on the floor, helping Yang Jing pack her suitcase.

"Jingjing, this TV series... can we not take it? We're getting married in less than two months. What if something happens with the production crew and the filming schedule exceeds two months? What will we do about the wedding then? I've invited hundreds of people."

Yang Jing was facing the vanity, stuffing skincare products into her bag. Hearing this, she turned around, her eyes curving into crescents: "This time I'm collaborating with a big director; it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I can't not go. Besides, the director personally promised me that even if filming stops, he will definitely let me come back for the wedding. Don't worry, nothing will go wrong."

Ma Rui nodded, hesitated for a long time, but couldn't help himself: "Be careful. That director doesn't have a good reputation in the circle; he's notoriously lecherous... don't you go getting into any trouble for me."

Yang Jing was taken aback, then burst into laughter, reaching out to flick him lightly on the forehead: "Get out of here, what are you thinking! Even if he doesn't care about your face, can he ignore my eldest uncle's? I'll lend him eight guts, and he still wouldn't dare have designs on me. If he really did that, I think he wouldn't want to stay in this circle anymore."

Ma Rui laughed as he listened, but the smile faded before it reached his eyes.

He suddenly asked: "By the way, this script... didn't they say they couldn't find investment before? How did someone suddenly cough up the money?"

Yang Jing sat back on the edge of the bed, zipping up her makeup bag as she replied casually: "I heard it was invested by Taiwanese capital."

Ma Rui's expression changed instantly: "My eldest uncle has never been happy about us getting involved with American or Taiwanese capital. However, since you like this script so much... I can only hide it from my eldest uncle. How about this, I'll send a few more bodyguards to follow you."

"Don't you think you're being too nervous?" Yang Jing said dismissively.

Ma Rui, however, became anxious and asked: "Where is the filming location for this show?"

"Around Hengdian, and I heard we have to go to Zhouzhuang too," Yang Jing said.

"I'll come visit you on set then!" Ma Rui said.

In a luxury private room on the top floor of the Kempinski Hotel, the light from the crystal chandelier was dimmed, and outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was the shimmering night view of Beijing.

Several blond, blue-eyed white men in suits were using knives and forks to eat the soup dumplings here.

The leading man was in his early thirties with a hooked nose. He sat with his legs crossed, holding a half-burnt cigar, his gaze fixed on a gaunt old man sitting on the sofa opposite.

"I have only one requirement—you must help me get that star named Yang Jing. Do you understand?"

The old man's Adam's apple bobbed up and down, and he said with a grin: "Mr. Keli, no problem, as long as you provide enough money!"