A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 1109 Meeting Wu Mingqiang and Liu Lanfang

After the race, Shali's horse came in second to last, which made her so angry that she crumpled her betting slip into a ball. Meanwhile, the fourth concubine was chatting enthusiastically with a merchant wearing a gold watch. The man was in the cloth business, and when he heard that Gui'er's family owned a pawnshop, his eyes lit up: "Miss Sha, if you have any good stuff, just come to me. The price is negotiable."

Gui'er gave a perfunctory reply, but alarm bells were ringing in her mind. Just then, Dingxiang suddenly tugged at her arm: "Miss, look, isn't that Brother Qiang?"

Gui'er looked in the direction she pointed and saw Wu Mingqiang standing on the lower tier of the stands, along with a girl in a dress and hat whom she couldn't immediately recognize.

At this moment, the girl turned her head, and Gui'er recognized her; it was Liu Lanfang.

"My God, how come Brother Qiang is hanging out with this woman again?" Dingxiang exclaimed loudly.

In an instant, both the fourth concubine and Sally heard it and turned around curiously in the direction they were looking.

"Oh my, isn't this Wu Mingqiang, your second brother's trusted subordinate? I've heard a lot about him lately. He's doing really well and has become a big shot. Many business owners want to win him over so he can protect them. No wonder I didn't see him at your house earlier. He was on a date with a rich young lady. Who is this young lady?" Fourth Concubine said.

"Perhaps he's a friend he knows himself," Gui'er said vaguely.

“Oh, that’s perfect. We didn’t see Wu Mingqiang at your house earlier, so it’s the same going now. Let’s go and say hello to Mr. Wu first.” Fourth Madam and Sha Lili said as they headed towards them.

Gui'er quickly said, "Perhaps they are discussing business. Shall we not go and disturb them?"

Sally laughed and said, "Who talks business with a man and a woman? That's your servant. Don't you know that young lady? I see she's wearing gold and silver jewelry, and all her clothes are imported. She must be a rich girl. It's good to know more people like that."

Gui'er didn't want them to meet Liu Lanfang. She knew what the mother and daughter might do, and they certainly wouldn't mind that the other party was a traitor. Fourth Aunt and Sha Lili kept an eye on them as they walked. Gui'er was anxious but couldn't think of a solution.

At this moment, Wu Mingqiang looked up and saw them. He was somewhat surprised when he saw Gui'er, but when he saw Fourth Madam and Sally, he immediately understood what was going on and nodded with a polite smile.

Fourth Concubine and Sally quickly nodded, smiled, waved, and quickened their pace as they walked in that direction.

Wu Mingqiang whispered something in Liu Lanfang's ear, and then the two turned and left.

Fourth Concubine and Sally, because of the crowd, could not walk so fast and were about to miss their chance, so they had to give up.

"Hey, I finally bumped into you, and you just left like that," Sally said, stamping her foot.

Gui'er found it very strange from the mother and daughter's enthusiastic attitude towards Wu Mingqiang. They were typical people who fawned on the powerful and were only interested in personal gain. Why were they so eager to curry favor with a former servant of theirs?

"Lily, do you need to see Brother Wu for something?"

"No, these are family, shouldn't we try to build a closer relationship?"

"Alright, alright, we've watched the horse race, it's time for us to head back. Gui'er, come visit us more often when you have time." With that, the mother and daughter took Biyun and left on their own.

As soon as the fourth concubine and her daughter left, Acheng's face darkened. He pulled Dingxiang back two steps and scolded her in a low voice, "How can you be so clueless? You took the bait with just a little encouragement. Don't you know what kind of people they are? You only care about the benefits. Now look what's happened. Who knows what they're up to next? Do you know how much trouble you've put Miss in?"

Dingxiang shrank back at his words and muttered, "I figured I'd definitely go out for a stroll during the New Year. Where we go doesn't matter, and they wouldn't dare openly ask Miss for anything anyway..."

Acheng glared at her, then turned to Gui'er, "Miss, this mother and daughter came to wish us a Happy New Year today with ill intentions. They tried to force me to have their child and then tried to get me to go to the racetrack. Now they've set their sights on Brother Qiang. You'd better be careful and not let them get to you."

Gui'er nodded, her mind a jumble of thoughts. The way Wu Mingqiang and Liu Lanfang had stood together earlier made her uneasy—Liu Lanfang's father was close to the Japanese, and Wu Mingqiang's close association with her was bound to cause trouble sooner or later.

When they returned to the villa, Wu Mingqiang was already back, sitting on the sofa in the living room drinking tea. Seeing them come in, he raised his eyelids slightly and asked, "You're back? There were a lot of people at the racetrack, did anything happen?"

"What could possibly have happened? I had no idea you were so familiar with Liu Lanfang, Brother Wu." Gui'er took off her shawl, her tone slightly indifferent.

Wu Mingqiang put down his teacup, as if guessing what she wanted to say, and took the initiative to explain: "I ran into Liu Lanfang at the racetrack today. She insisted on thanking me for helping her father with a batch of goods last time, and dragged me to watch the horse race. I couldn't refuse her."

"Her father's goods?" Gui'er frowned. "Her father is a traitor. What goods could he possibly need you to handle?"

“She said it was a batch of Western medicine,” Wu Mingqiang said vaguely. “Liu Tiecheng also wanted to make a name for himself in Hong Kong, so he did business with British businessmen. Occasionally, when he was short of funds, I helped him out. I didn’t expect her to be so insistent on thanking me.”

Acheng chimed in, "Brother Qiang, the Liu family has close ties with the Japanese. If you deal with them, I'm afraid..."

“I know my limits,” Wu Mingqiang interrupted him. “It’s just business dealings, nothing more. If it weren’t for her father’s sake, I wouldn’t have bothered with her at all today.”

Gui'er didn't press the matter further, but she couldn't shake the feeling of unease. She recalled what A-Cheng had said: Wu Mingqiang dared to touch weapons, and his dealings with the Liu family suggested he might be involved in something even more dangerous. But looking at Wu Mingqiang's composed gaze, she swallowed her words—he always had his own ideas, and further discussion was pointless.

Dingxiang brought in dinner, and the atmosphere was somewhat somber. Wu Mingqiang didn't mention Liu Lanfang again, and said, "Miss, the shop in Macau is almost ready, and we can set off to take a look in a couple of days."

Gui'er nodded: "Alright, let's go take a look during the New Year."

She felt as if a stone was pressing on her heart. That fleeting glimpse at the racetrack made her feel that something was quietly spiraling out of control. She had completely lost control of Wu Mingqiang, yet she was deeply bound to him and unable to sever the connection. She couldn't help but feel helpless. If only Chen Zhongyu were here, at least he could guide her on what to do. Thinking of this, Gui'er couldn't help but feel sad again.