Chapter 58: The Arrogance of the Sword

“Xu Yaochuan, take a look—anything you’d like to eat?”

Fu Yanyan called him by his full name, a rare thing in the capital, where everyone knew the Xu family harbored a madman—ill-tempered, dangerous, not to be summoned lightly by name unless you could handle this fiend. But Fu Yanyan didn’t care; after all, he still held the Xu family’s project firmly in his grasp.

“I’d like to eat—”

Xu Yaochuan had barely begun when his gaze slid to the woman beside him. That sly, malicious look—Zhong Huayan could already guess what shameless words he was about to utter.

Unexpectedly, Xu Yaochuan composed himself for once. “Boss Fu, you know well I haven’t come here today for a meal.”

“Oh? Lost your appetite? Or forbidden to eat?”

“How could that be? The Xu family’s empire is vast—I can still swallow a few minnows. My appetite’s enormous. It’s just that someone won’t let me eat.”

“There’s actually someone who’d stop Young Master Xu from eating?” Zhong Huayan’s tone dripped with sardonic amusement. As she spoke, she gestured for Fu Yanyan to feed her.

Xu Yaochuan gave a wry laugh, suddenly forgetting what he’d meant to say, his eyes fixed on the intimate display between the two across from him.

Her hands were even fairer than the lotus roots on the table; she was all grace and allure, coy and charming before Fu Yanyan, but sharp-tongued and quick-witted before Xu Yaochuan.

“Young Master Xu, what is it you really want to say? If you don’t speak up soon, this food will be cold.”

“Go ahead and eat; I’m not worried about the food getting cold. Miss Li always likes to jab at me, and I have to give Boss Fu some face.”

Every word at the table was laced with hidden barbs, the atmosphere taut and aggressive.

They sipped their tea. Xu Yaochuan barely touched his food, instead naturally bringing out a stack of documents.

“Boss Fu, take a look at these terms—see if you might give the matter some thought. I’ve always thought you to be a kind and farsighted man. This project of yours will drain the Fu family’s resources—it would be quicker and just as profitable for the Xu family to take it on. There’s no need to let everyone fall into ruin for no gain.

Cooperation brings mutual benefit. In the long run, if the great families of the capital share the world between them, the ship will sail smoothly for years to come. We shouldn’t stir up storms, lest we all end up drowning ourselves.”

Fu Yanyan was unhurried, impeccably dressed, sipping his tea—the heart of a tiger, the touch of a rose.

“How much your father’s thrown into this project is no concern of mine. The project’s in my hands now. If you want it, you’d best clean up the Xu family’s mess first.

Will I capsize? Who knows. But if this venture fails and policy shifts, I wonder whether the Xu family’s voice will carry any weight in the capital.”

Zhong Huayan felt lost in the fog; all she understood was that the Fu family would rather wound itself than let its enemy survive.

“Stop pretending. My father is always vigilant—at such a critical moment, would he really do something like that? You must have framed him. What do you stand to gain? Is the Xu family just a thorn in your side?”

“And what about the Zhong family? Weren’t they in your way once? You wanted them wiped out.”

His words fell like a stone into still water, sending ripples through the room and pressing a suffocating weight upon everyone.

Only the sound of water trickling over the ornamental rocks outside could be heard. Under such pressure, emotions began to slip beyond control.

“Fu Yanyan! Are you here for revenge? Back then, when I first met you, you were driven out by the Zhong family’s servants, kneeling for hours in the snow outside the door. It was only because you followed me in that you were spared. You know well the life you led.

These past years, the capital has been in turmoil. One by one, the mighty have fallen, all praising the Fu Group’s chairman for his foresight—burning incense in temples, performing good deeds, saving the company from crisis and watching it flourish.

Others may not know, but I damn well do. All this chaos behind the scenes—it’s been you stirring up the storm. You’re a hypocrite! You’re selfish! At that time, I didn’t join others in bringing you down. And now, you’d turn against me for the sake of the Zhong family who once humiliated you?”

After speaking, Xu Yaochuan felt a fire burning in his chest. He called for wine, and after a drink, as is the way of the world, left matters to fate.

Zhong Huayan suddenly recalled that winter. Just because Fu Yanyan had spilled a dish, he was scolded out into the snow, forced to kneel outside in weather cold enough to kill. When she returned, he hadn’t eaten, curled up alone under a blanket, burning with fever; she took him to the hospital.

The Zhong family was strict—scolding or beating her, counting every bite she ate, locking her in a dark room without mercy—but never would they let her go hungry, kneel outside, or neglect her illness on purpose.

Yet Fu Yanyan had grown up this way. No matter how she tried to protect him, he was always hurt, always left hungry.

And yet, somehow, he seemed invincible—leaving no lasting scars, growing ever more refined and accomplished. From childhood, he was like a young Buddha. It was her death that finally broke him.

“Xu Yaochuan, you once felt pity for me. But business is business—even if you give up this project today, do you think the Xu family will last? You brought about her death, and she did nothing wrong. When the Xu family faced financial crisis, it was when you were engaged to her. By all rights, the Xu family should have been trampled down by the other families, never to recover. But Zhong Huayan overlooked your troubles and helped you generously!

She never realized she was raising a tiger that would one day devour her. In the end, she died at the hands of her own relatives—and you. She might have expected to die in the cutthroat world of business, but instead, she died by your hands!”

Xu Yaochuan had long wondered if Fu Yanyan knew the truth. But when it was finally spoken aloud, Xu Yaochuan didn’t feel trapped—he felt relief.

“So many years have passed—how many still remember her? Back then, the situation was out of my hands.”

“You admit then, that your family wronged her?”

“As you said, even her peers wouldn’t have spared her. The Xu family wasn’t the only one who wanted her dead. The real mastermind is beyond your imagination. The capital is a tempest. I was just a powerless rich kid then—never lacking food or drink, but never plotting her death. All of this was orchestrated by those who wanted the Zhong family destroyed.”

Zhong Huayan knew they were talking about her. She had always acted without guilt, never resenting those who joined the fray. But of all the injustices, the greatest was that the family she’d helped most and the Xu family she’d married into both turned a blind eye as she was murdered.

Her fingers trembled slightly; she forced a bitter smile, then quickly hid it. After so many storms, she’d long since learned to keep her composure.

“Fu Yanyan, the reason I can admit all this is because—though I’ve been a scoundrel, a rake, and never stuck to honest business—at most, I was a pawn, not the hand behind it all!”