Chapter 33 I Only Have a Few Questions

Chapter 33: I Only Have a Few Questions

Gu Zhen’s SUV slowly drove into the Gu family estate. Zhu Shinian seemed to be staring out the window in a daze, only snapping out of it when Gu Zhen called out to him.

“What are you zoning out for? Let’s go, get out of the car.”

“Is that... Lady Jiang?” Zhu Shinian asked, looking at the omega who had already walked away.

“Yeah, he’s been acting as Governor of the Second Sector these years, living apart from Jiang Mingyuan,” Gu Zhen explained.

Ning Ye took his career very seriously and was almost always busy with work. He hadn’t even made it back for Jiang Huaiyan and Gu Zhen’s engagement banquet.

“Don’t feel like seeing them now?” Gu Zhen asked. “You’ve come this far; there’s nothing much to see here. If you don’t want to meet them, you can drive back yourself.”

Zhu Shinian shook his head. Gu Zhen glanced at him and instinctively reached out to take his hand, but then remembered they were at the Gu family estate and withdrew his hand.

After handling work at the military headquarters, the two arrived a bit late. Everyone else had already arrived, except for Gu Liancheng, who was still in physical therapy.

“Young master, you’re back. Shall we serve the meal now?” the butler greeted them.

All the crystal chandeliers in the main hall were lit. The long table was covered with a fresh white tablecloth, and the silverware was polished to a shine.

“Serve the meal. Go call grandfather.”

Jiang Huaiyan’s omega father, Ning Ye, stood beside him at a slight distance.

He was an omega with an outstanding aura, well-preserved, looking like he was in his thirties. His features resembled Jiang Huaiyan’s somewhat, but as an omega, his appearance was much softer.

“Little Gu is here,” he said with a smile, his gaze shifting to Zhu Shinian beside Gu Zhen. “And this is?”

“Uncle Ning, this is my adjutant, Colonel Zhu Shinian. He came back with me to pick up some things, so I brought him along for dinner,” Gu Zhen explained calmly.

“Ah, I see. That’s nice. Little Gu treats his subordinates well. No wonder everyone wants to work with you,” Jiang Mingyuan chuckled, then turned to see Gu Liancheng coming down the stairs. “Uncle Gu, how have you been feeling lately?”

“Quite well.” Gu Liancheng’s face darkened the moment he saw Zhu Shinian, but he kept his cool in front of the Jiang family.

Ning Ye sized up Zhu Shinian for a moment. “Xiao Zhu looks somewhat familiar. I feel like I’ve seen you before.”

“I’ve never been here before, Governor. Apart from the front lines, I’ve always stayed in the capital,” Zhu Shinian replied.

“Maybe all good-looking people look alike,” Jiang Huaiyan said, stepping in smoothly. “You’ve been busy in the Second Sector—how could you have met him? Everyone, please take your seats. The Major General keeps making people work overtime; the least he can do is feed the guy.”

He turned to help Ning Ye sit down, but Ning Ye subtly avoided his hand.

Jiang Huaiyan’s hand paused midair for a moment, then he nonchalantly withdrew it and pulled out a chair to sit down himself.

The servants quickly served the appetizers. Gu Zhen casually ladled a bowl of seafood and scallop soup for Zhu Shinian and told him to eat first.

The Gu family dinner was naturally lavish, but Zhu Shinian ate mechanically, feeling scrutinizing gazes fall on him from different directions.

During the meal, glasses clinked amidst conversation. Gu Liancheng and the Jiang couple chatted, appearing quite amicable.

“I was supposed to arrive this afternoon, but my driver suddenly took leave. Said his child was scratched by a cat at home and needed to go to the hospital,” Ning Ye said with a slight apologetic smile. “It wasted the afternoon tea the butler had prepared.”

“Not at all, no waste at all,” Gu Zhen replied politely. “If we’d known, we would have arranged someone to pick you up.”

“There’s nothing wrong with keeping cats or dogs, but if you spoil them too much, they’ll forget their place.”

Ning Ye hadn’t said anything yet, but Gu Liancheng interjected coldly.

The air grew tense. Jiang Mingyuan and Ning Ye didn’t immediately grasp why Gu Liancheng had suddenly brought up such a topic.

But they weren’t fools. They quickly caught his implied meaning.

Zhu Shinian looked up at Gu Liancheng. It was the first time today he had really studied him.

Gu Liancheng seemed to age every day. Today, he looked even more aged than when Zhu Shinian had last seen him in the hospital room.

It seemed only in the matter of making things difficult for him did Gu Liancheng show any of the “vigor” he had in his youth.

Zhu Shinian finally realized that Gu Liancheng was not the decisive, selfless leader the media portrayed him to be—the perfect figurehead for the Empire’s military.

Just as his teacher had said: the Prime Minister, the Commander, the Governor, the Empress, the Crown Prince—the Empire was full of people who were mere figureheads, unworthy of their positions.

“What do you mean by that, Grandfather?” Gu Zhen said blandly. “The military’s reach doesn’t seem to extend to the Second Sector Governor’s office.”

“Grandfather Gu was probably just speaking casually. The Major General is taking it too seriously,” Jiang Huaiyan said with a laugh, trying to smooth things over. “After all, today isn’t a workday, so it’s hard to say much about it. Let me toast you, Grandfather Gu. I’ll finish mine, you do as you please.”

Jiang Huaiyan offered a way out, and Gu Liancheng couldn’t push further. He accepted the toast and clinked glasses across the table, saying, “Xiao Jiang, I haven’t yet congratulated you on being elected Council President.”

“That’s all thanks to your and my father’s guidance,” Jiang Huaiyan smiled, throwing back the wine in one gulp.

Despite the smoothing over, Gu Liancheng was still displeased inside. The more he looked at Zhu Shinian and Gu Zhen, the more annoyed he became. He left the table before the final pigeon and cordyceps soup was served.

Gu Zhen paid no mind and continued to entertain the guests through the meal. By the time dinner ended, it was fully dark.

Gu Zhen played a few rounds of cards with the Jiang couple, but he was terrible at cards. Ning Ye, perhaps embarrassed by how much Gu Zhen kept losing, pleaded fatigue, citing travel fatigue, and said he wanted to head back to his room early.

“My apologies, I wasn’t thinking. Uncle Ning must be tired today. Let me escort you,” Gu Zhen offered.

“You’re too kind. The butler can accompany me,” Ning Ye declined politely. The butler caught on and led him to the room Gu Zhen had prepared.

Ning Ye and Jiang Mingyuan had long been estranged, sleeping in separate rooms, something everyone knew without saying. Even the Gu family had the good sense to arrange a separate room for him.

The door closed behind him. Only a warm yellow ambient lighting remained on in the room. He took off his coat and was about to hang it in the wardrobe, but before he opened it, he heard a very faint sound from inside, as if something had lightly bumped against the cabinet wall.

How could a mouse get into the Gu family estate? Ning Ye was puzzled for a moment.

Probably just a desiccant bag that hadn’t been hung properly and fell down, he figured.

Frowning, he walked over and yanked open the wardrobe door.

As the door swung open, a hand shot out from the darkness, pressed over his mouth, and slammed him hard against the opposite wall.

How could a random intruder have infiltrated the Gu estate?

Ning Ye fought desperately. As the Governor of the Second Sector, he had faced many assassination attempts and wouldn’t be easily flustered by some random intruder.

If he could just buy some time and make a racket, someone would come upstairs.

But it was so hard to breathe...

He was losing strength. Was there anything within reach that could make a sound?

He realized with horror that there was nothing nearby he could use to make a noise, and his strength was fading fast.

Was he going to die here? Choked to death, in such an ignominious assassination?

Just as Ning Ye was about to lose consciousness from oxygen deprivation, the hand pressing over his mouth and nose finally released him.

A rush of oxygen flooded his lungs, and Ning Ye's first sensation was not the joy of escaping death, but the pain racking his whole body.

His throat felt scorched, his chest ached badly, and his breathing was rapid and shallow. Even gasping deep, he still felt starved for air.

After a moment, his blurry vision gradually cleared.

A very familiar face was in front of him; Ning Ye knew he’d just seen this guy.

But the despair and terror of nearly dying almost completely overwhelmed him, leaving him unable to think who this man was or how they were connected.

He couldn't even use this precious time to make a sound and call for help.

“You are... mmph...”

His mouth was gagged with a handkerchief, and the fear of suffocation engulfed Ning Ye again. Even though he could still breathe through his nose, he was terrified out of his mind.

He knew he looked utterly miserable, but he had no choice but to slump to the floor and look up at the man.

*Please take the handkerchief away, please...*

He couldn't make a sound, but even if he had begged like that, the man before him wouldn't have taken pity on him and done it.

“Governor Ning, calm down. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it just now,” Zhu Shinian said flatly.

“I only have a few questions. You just need to answer yes or no, but don’t lie. I spent six months as a spy in the Federation, and I can easily tell if you're lying. If you lie, I will kill you immediately.”

The young man before him was very polite, still addressing him respectfully.

He calmly locked the door of the room, picked up a rope, and tied Ning Ye's hands and feet together, making it impossible for him to struggle or make any noise that could give him away.

Then he produced a short knife that looked very sharp and pressed the back of the blade against Ning Ye's throat.

The cold metal touched his warm neck, and Ning Ye was so scared that goosebumps rose all over his body, his muscles stiffened violently, and his pupils contracted sharply.

Zhu Shinian’s movements were crisp and decisive, making it very clear that, as he himself had said, taking Ning Ye's life would cost him almost no effort.

He really would... kill him right there.

Only then did Zhu Shinian pull back a little, allowing Ning Ye to see his face clearly.

“You said at the dinner table that I looked familiar. Can you remember who I am now?”

Ning Ye had no doubt that if he didn't give the right answer, he would be killed on the spot. But for the moment, he truly couldn't recall where he had seen this person before.

He looked at Zhu Shinian, thinking hard, making choked, broken sounds from his throat, and finally shook his head slowly.

Author's note: