287: The Origin of the Jade Pendant

Because Wang Cheng was about to go abroad, he often appeared in public with Chu Yifeng. Although they were occasionally intimate, privately, it was not anything particularly out of the ordinary. Zhao Chenlin and Wei Wei asked the private eye to continue tracking them. Xie Wenzhi was almost done passing his work down to his successor, Zhang Wu. However, Zhang Wu had to rush a bit to hand things over to his own successor. After all, Xie Wenzhi got the warning earlier. Since Zhang Wu’s father agreed to help, Zhang Wu was able to find a flight and come after three days. Wang Cheng went to the airport to pick him up.

This was not Zhang Wu’s first time coming to the Imperial Capital, but this visit was definitely novel compared to his last.

Wang Cheng asked Zhang Wu if he needed a break after the flight, but he replied that he didn’t. So, the two of them went directly to the company, where Xie Wenzhi was already waiting for them. His job was quite important, so he wasn’t at ease letting just anyone take on his role. He intended to meet Zhang Wu in person.

Zhang Wu's adaptability was very strong and he was also a hard worker, so Xie Wenzhi was very satisfied with him. He even later surprised President Feng by praising Zhang Wu in his presence.

Facts proved that they indeed trusted the right person.

Mother Zheng was quite reluctant when she learned that Wang Cheng was going abroad for a while, so she simply moved into the Zhou house for the past few days. Wang Cheng's plan to stay with Chu Yifeng was ruined once again. However, Chu Yifeng was able to spend this time investigating the jade pendant.

A jade pendant made of imperial jadeite was indeed not something any ordinary rich family could have. So, Chu Yifeng was soon able to find some useful information. This type of jade was relatively rare, so as soon as it appeared, there was bound to be a lot of noise. Chu Yifeng was able to find two clues through the jewelry industry.

In recent years, top-quality jade had rarely been seen. Fortunately, the years where such jade stones were present were recorded. Chu Yifeng discovered that two pieces of top-quality jade did indeed appear around 50 years ago.

The first piece of top-quality jade appeared in a jewelry family that was famous at the time. The jewelry family was called Zhuge, and they were rumored to be the descendants of Kong Ming* - who knew if that was true or not. However, the Zhuge family was not famous for that rumor, but for their jewelry. The Zhuge family had been in the jewelry business for generations, and owned many rare and exotic treasures, which included imperial jade, among others.

[T/N: *His birth name was Zhuge Liang; he was a prominent historical figure as a prime minister and strategist during the Three Kingdoms period of China.]

Someone once quoted a high price for the jade, but the Zhuge family was unwilling to sell it. Apparently, they wanted to keep the jade as their family heirloom. However, there was no more news about this matter later on.

"Is this Zhuge family the one we are looking for?" When Wang Cheng heard what Chu Yifeng said, he was convinced. This jewelry family also used the jade as a family heirloom. And the fact that there was no news made sense since his father’s mother had died young at the time. It seemed likely it was this family.

Chu Yifeng denied it. "I also thought it might be them. However, according to the information I found, the Zhuge family later disappeared. I heard that they were implicated in a conspiracy, and no member of their family was spared. The imperial jade heirloom later got sent abroad and then returned to China over ten years ago. However, it was not a piece of jade, but a jade Guanyin* statuette with a height of over 20 centimeters."

[T/N: *a Chinese bodhisattva, goddess of mercy. A commonly-depicted statuette]

Wang Cheng thought for a moment. "Could it be possible that the pendant was made from the same piece of jade as the statuette?"

"That’s not likely," Chu Yifeng said, "I found out after checking the dates that the Zhuge family was annihilated three years before your father was born. There was also no woman in their family whose age would match that of your paternal grandma."

"What about the other jade clue you found?"

"The other jade appeared when someone got lucky and won the piece of jade through a gamble. It was not as big as the jade Guanyin statuette, only about as big as an adult fist. That person was an ordinary person, but they sold the jade to an aristocratic family. Speaking of which, you’ve also heard of this family, and met someone from it."

Wang Cheng curiously asked, "Which family?"

He didn’t remember meeting many people from aristocratic families.

"The Gu family."

"The Gu family? As in, Gu Ping?" Wang Cheng recalled the gathering Shen Yuan had hosted, where Shen Yuan had introduced a man named Gu Ping to them.

Chu Yifeng nodded and continued: "Yes, the Gu family has run their family business for generations. Over fifty years ago, they were renowned in China for being wealthy businessmen. However, the Gu family was a very large family. They inevitably encountered turmoil that changed the nature of their family, leading to them becoming the Gu family of today."

"What turmoil?"

"It seemed to have happened decades ago. At the time, there were four brothers in the Gu family, three of whom were interested in the family business. However, there could only be one head of the family, so the competition was fierce. The one who had not been interested in the family business is now the head of the Gu family, Old Man Gu. It is said that he was very interested in biology when he was younger. When his three brothers were fighting over the family property, he was doing his research all day long. Many people did not bother with him, only his mother supported him and sponsored him. The current Gu Group was founded by Old Man Gu at this time. The previous family business started to decline ten years or so after this, little is seen of it now. And the Gu Group, which had not originally been favored, has become a giant in the biomedical industry."

Wang Cheng nodded, but found that they’d gotten a bit off-topic, and asked, "What about the jade?"

Chu Yifeng looked at him with a meaningful smile and said, "The Gu family is not a jewelry family. Why do you think they bought that piece of jade?"

Wang Cheng's expression brightened, "To make it into a family heirloom?"

"Not for an heirloom. The Gu family has had a history of one or two hundred years, they must already have their own family heirloom. According to the information I received, the previous head of the Gu family bought this jadeite and ordered for it to be carved into four separate pieces of jade, which were passed onto his four sons. The names of the four sons were engraved on them, respectively. Do you know what Old Man Gu's name is?"

Wang Cheng swallowed, feeling that the truth was about to come to light, and urged: "Tell me quickly."

Chu Yifeng didn't tease him, "Old Man Gu is called Gu Shouzhuo."

With a bang, three words immediately appeared in Wang Cheng's mind: it is him!

The protective characters engraved on the jade pendant were the name of Old Man Gu. Because four had been passed down from the previous head of the Gu family, one to each son, the other three pieces must also be engraved with the names of the other three sons.

"But, if the mother of my father was Old Man Gu’s wife, why would she end up in the Wang's Village? And she didn't ask the Wang's Village to help her contact the Gu family."

"There should be some family secrets involved, you’d have to ask Old Man Gu to find out." Family secrets were quite troublesome to investigate, so Chu Yifeng only checked on the more straightforward details.

"Then I should tell my eldest brother about this before going abroad, so that he can be prepared." Wang Cheng’s intuition told him that this Gu family was likely to be much more complicated than the Zheng family or the Zhou family. This was especially true now that someone was targeting the jade pendant; the other party was likely not a good person.

Chu Yifeng suggested: "We are leaving the day after tomorrow. Why don't we invite your brother out for a meal tonight?"

"That's a good idea." Wang Cheng called Wang Ning'an before evening. When he heard that his younger brother wanted to treat him to a meal, he didn't ask why. He only asked Wang Cheng to inform their first aunt that he wouldn’t be home for dinner, so she wouldn’t cook his share.

He Ping was doing well now. Guan Meifang originally planned to return to Shanhai City, but He Ping didn’t want to. Wang Ning’an also agreed that it would be better for him to stay in the Imperial Capital, because conditions here were better than in Shanhai City. He Ping urgently needed to learn more and know more, and staying in the Capital was optimal for more experience.

Guan Meifang knew that this was best for her son, but she was too embarrassed to bother her two nephews. Even though she took care of all the housework in Wang Ning’an’s apartment, she still felt that she was taking advantage of him. When Wang Cheng found out about this matter, he also wanted his first aunt and cousin to stay. He was finally able to convince her by saying that if she was there, then his elder brother wouldn’t have to eat frozen food and takeout every day.

After getting off work, Wang Ningan went directly to the restaurant that Wang Cheng had reserved.

Wang Cheng and Chu Yifeng were already waiting for him in the box. Wang Cheng knew his elder brother’s tastes, so they’d already ordered food before he came.

After Wang Ning’an sat down for a little, the waiter brought the food. In total, eight or nine dishes were placed on the table, and the aroma of food filled the whole box. Wang Ning’an had been quite busy all day, so his stomach began to growl.

"Big brother, eat first, we can talk afterwards." Wang Cheng first served his elder brother a bowl of rice, and then served some to Chu Yifeng. The rice was exactly as fragrant as Wang Cheng liked. It was said to be made with bamboo, and it smelled very fresh.

Wang Ning’an smiled and said, "So you’ve also come across this restaurant. I have been here before as well. However, it can get a bit difficult to reserve seats; I didn’t have the patience to reserve so far ahead of time, so I’ve only come here once."

"If big brother likes it, I will also invite our first aunt and cousin next time, and book a private box for all of you." Wang Cheng said.

Wang Ning’an nodded. It was time to take the family out for a meal. His aunt seemed to always feel guilty for troubling them, but in fact, after she came, his three meals a day began to stabilize, and he no longer needed to spend thousands of dollars for a servant to clean the apartment, saving him a lot of trouble. It was also nice to have two more people living with him. Halfway through the meal, someone suddenly knocked on the door of the box from outside. Wang Cheng thought it was a waiter, though he didn’t recall asking them for anything. However, when he opened the door, he saw a familiar, yet unwelcome, person.

[T/N: Sorry for suddenly leaving with no explanation for almost 2 months~

Thanks for the supportive comments :) ]

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