4: Chapter 4 Stepmother Li Juan

Early morning.

Zhu Wenhao stood on the lawn of Villa No. 4.

Sixty years of life as an emperor of the Great Ming had ingrained rising at the hour of the rabbit into his very bones.

He did not practice the soft, health-preserving Tai Chi.

His legs were in a deep horse stance, and his arms were spread in a wide, sweeping motion.

That was the Ancestor's Long Fist, personally promoted by Zhu Yuanzhang in the army, also known in later generations as the Four-Level Fist.

Every punch thrown carried a muffled sound of breaking wind.

There were no flowery movements.

They were all desperate, life-and-death killing techniques from the battlefield.

He finished the stance.

Exhaling all the turbid air, his meridians were completely unblocked.

Returning inside, breakfast was already set on the mahogany table in the dining room.

Fried dough sticks, soy milk, a dish of pickled vegetables, and two bowls of white porridge.

Secretary Zhu Tianhe sat at the head of the table, chewing quickly on a fried dough stick.

The mornings of the executive vice mayor were always a race against time.

The low hum of a car engine came from outside the courtyard.

Secretary Gao Ming appeared at the door on time, raising his hand to knock on the doorframe twice.

"Boss, the car is ready."

Secretary Zhu Tianhe swallowed the last mouthful of porridge and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

He stood up and walked to the door with long strides.

He turned back, his gaze landing directly on Zhu Wenhao.

"Son, I have already sent a message to your mother; she will accompany you to The Su Family to propose marriage later."

As soon as he finished speaking, Secretary Zhu Tianhe stepped out of the threshold.

Secretary Gao Ming followed quickly, pulling the heavy security door shut behind him.

The house returned to silence.

Just like that, it was done?

A dignified executive vice mayor, not making a single concrete arrangement at this critical juncture.

He was an extremely thorough hands-off manager.

Zhu Wenhao leaned back in his chair.

The old saying goes, plan before you act, and know when to stop to gain.

Secretary Zhu Tianhe could climb from a worker in a state-owned machinery factory to executive vice mayor; he was definitely not a brainless person.

Letting his stepmother accompany him to propose marriage was a clever move of borrowing strength to strike.

Memories of this stepmother surfaced in his mind.

Li Juan, the youngest daughter of the former third-in-command of the Jiangnan Province Provincial Party Committee.

Relying on this heaven-reaching connection, plus the support of the old leader Minister Xiao Dingyu, Secretary Zhu Tianhe's political career took flight.

But it was also from the year Li Juan entered the house that the trajectory of Zhu Wenhao's life completely skewed toward the abyss.

A stepmother is hard to be.

Li Juan chose the easiest way—indulgence.

Giving money when asked, and smoothing things over when trouble arose.

Over time, Zhu Wenhao became a mess.

Zhu Wenhao tapped his fingers on the tabletop.

Taking what each other needs, living in peace—a standard derivative of a political marriage.

Now, he had to rely on this cheap mother to knock on the door of Mayor Su Changming.

The wall clock ticked.

Eleven o'clock sharp.

There was finally movement on the second floor.

The sound of footsteps coming down the solid wood stairs.

Li Juan walked downstairs.

In her thirties, she was extremely well-maintained.

She wore a cashmere shawl over a silk bathrobe, and her long hair was casually pinned up with a simple jade hairpin.

Every gesture was filled with the carelessness unique to children of high-ranking officials.

Li Juan walked to the center of the living room and stopped.

She looked up and down at her stepson who was reading on the sofa.

Did the sun rise from the west?

This kid usually wouldn't be seen until the afternoon.

Zhu Wenhao closed the book and stood up.

"Mother."

When this word was spoken, the air in the living room was dead silent for three seconds.

In the original owner's ten years of memory, the number of times he called her "Mom" could be counted on one hand.

Li Juan stepped back half a step, arms crossed over her chest.

"None of that."

"I won a bit at cards last night; I'll give it to you later."

"Don't bother your dad; he's been tearing his hair out over the mayor position recently."

"It's not about money. There's something today that I need to trouble you to go to The Su Family with me."

"Which Su Family?"

"The family of Municipal Party Committee Deputy Secretary Mayor Su Changming."

"What are you going there for?"

"To propose marriage."

"Pfft—"

Li Juan choked on a mouthful of water.

She set the water glass heavily on the island counter, splashing water everywhere.

She walked back to the living room quickly and stood in front of Zhu Yuntong.

"To The Su Family's eldest daughter Su Qinghan? Or the youngest daughter Su Xiaoxiao?"

"Su Qinghan."

Li Juan grew up in the power circle; this kind of absurd drama ignited her interest.

She reached out and patted Zhu Wenhao's shoulder.

"The number one iceberg beauty of Linjiang City, and you plucked her?"

"It's been three years."

"We kept it quiet. It just so happens that Su Qinghan received her master's admission letter from Renmin University a few days ago; the timing is right, so it's reasonable for us to go propose marriage."

Li Juan touched her chin and suddenly laughed.

Secretary Zhu Tianhe was competing with Mayor Su Changming for the mayor's throne.

If Mayor Su Changming married his daughter to the Zhu family, how could he still fight for the mayor position?

"Fine. This is interesting."

Li Juan turned and shouted to the kitchen.

"Auntie Yang, serve the food."

She looked back at Zhu Yuntong.

"After eating, go to the mall and get yourself some human skin to wear. With this tracksuit of yours, Mayor Su Changming's wife could sweep us out with a broom."

The two sat at the dining table.

Li Juan was in a great mood and had the nanny open a bottle of red wine.

She swirled the wine in her goblet.

"Zhu Wenhao, your move is like Xiang Zhuang performing the sword dance with the intent to kill Liu Bang."

"Mayor Su Changming usually keeps up appearances, full of empty words about benevolence and morality. I just want to see, if we go to propose marriage with great fanfare, where he will put his old face."

Zhu Wenhao picked up a piece of green vegetable and chewed it slowly.

"A fair lady is a good match for a gentleman."

"A man should marry and a woman should wed when they come of age; it is only natural. Secretary Su is a man of culture and will not lose decorum."

Li Juan looked at him, her expression gradually changing.

Too unfamiliar.

In the past, this kid would definitely have bragged triumphantly.

But today, he was steady, every word precise, and airtight.

"Did you take the wrong medicine today?"

Zhu Wenhao put down his chopsticks and wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin.

"People always have to grow up."

"I was ignorant before, but that won't happen again."

Li Juan curled her lips.

"Don't try to bewitch me. I'll only help you hold the fort today. As for whether Mayor Su Changming accepts this marriage, that's up to you."

After the meal, Li Juan returned to her room.

When she came downstairs again, she had changed into a proper Chanel suit and was carrying an Hermès Birkin bag.

A standard, dignified manner of a high-ranking official's wife.

A black Audi A6 with a provincial capital license plate was parked at the gate of the courtyard.

This was Li Juan's private car.

In Linjiang City, this license plate was more useful than any multi-million dollar supercar.

They got in the car and headed straight for the International Financial Center.

A high-end men's clothing store.

Li Juan pointed to a row of ready-to-wear clothes.

"Pick out a mature formal suit, nothing flashy, something steady."

Half an hour later, the door of the fitting room was pushed open.

A dark gray peaked lapel suit, tailored to fit his figure perfectly.

He wore a white shirt underneath, the collar slightly open, no tie.

Zhu Wenhao walked to the full-length mirror.

His left thumb habitually rubbed the hem of his jacket.

The skin is the best disguise.

The twenty-four-year-old body was completely awakened by this outfit, revealing the true colors deep in his soul.

Li Juan sat on the sofa, holding the coffee the sales assistant had brought her.

Her gaze fell on that gray figure.

Too similar.

It wasn't like Secretary Zhu Tianhe.

It was like her father, who used to give orders in the Provincial Party Committee Compound.

Even heavier and deeper than the pressure her father exuded.

That terrifying aura of a superior that radiated from the inside out could never be supported by just a suit.

Li Juan suppressed the shock in her heart and took out her bank card and handed it to the sales assistant.

"No need to change out of this one, wear it directly."

The two bought a few more gifts.

Coming out of the mall, the vehicle headed straight for The Su Family.

The street scene outside the car window receded rapidly.

Zhu Wenhao closed his eyes to rest, calm and immovable.

Li Juan turned to look at him.

"Not nervous?"

"Why should I be nervous?"

"That is Mayor Su Changming. In Linjiang City, besides your father, there is also Municipal Party Committee Secretary Tian Limin; who doesn't have to be respectful when they see him? His eyes can see right through a person's bones."

Zhu Wenhao did not lift his eyelids.

See through the bones?

Back then, the Commander of the Jinyiwei knelt under the white marble steps of the Fengtian Hall, not even daring to raise his head.

These modern politicians full of official jargon just lacked a bit of the blood and slaughter of life and death, and had a few more shackles of red tape.

"When soldiers come, block them with generals."

Zhu Wenhao tossed out four words, and said nothing more.

The vehicle drove into the gate of the Municipal Party Committee residential compound.

The guard saw the provincial capital license plate, immediately stood at attention, saluted, and raised the barrier to let them pass.

Unobstructed.

Mayor Su Changming's two-story detached house had arrived.