The Golden Cane and the Wild Rose - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Jiang Musheng didn’t lie down. He just sat on the edge of the bed, closer to talk to her.

“I’ve already given the order. You should have news about your dad within the next two days.”

Yun Ran said, “Thank you, Mr. Jiang.”

Jiang Musheng sat there, looking at her and said, “Xueyu must have told you, you don’t have to be so polite with me.”

Yun Ran felt a little lost. She lowered her head, no longer able to see Jiang Musheng, but she could still see his shadow.

The warm yellow wall lamp was on the wall by the door. The warm light shone from behind Jiang Musheng, a large part of it blocked by his tall and broad body. The bit of light that escaped the shadow fell on the orange-yellow blanket covering Yun Ran. It was a little dim, carrying a bit of Jiang Musheng’s melancholic aura.

Yun Ran looked at the shadow and softened her breathing.

“What time do you usually fall asleep?” Jiang Musheng asked.

Yun Ran answered truthfully, “It’s hard to say. Sometimes it’s early, sometimes late. It depends on whether I have anything on my mind. If I don’t, I can usually fall asleep a little earlier.”

“It seems today will be a hard day to fall asleep.”

Yun Ran didn’t know what Jiang Musheng was going to say. She raised her eyes hesitantly, very slowly, like a movie in slow motion.

Yet, despite her caution, she couldn’t avoid meeting Jiang Musheng’s eyes.

She couldn’t escape. Jiang Musheng was waiting for her.

Yun Ran quickly looked away.

Jiang Musheng’s voice followed her.

“I can’t fall asleep either, Ah Ran. Do you want me to keep you company a little longer?”

…

At the Governor’s Mansion, Cecilia was throwing things around in her living room. After all the vases were broken, she started throwing pillows.

The Filipina maids carefully knelt on the floor, worried about cutting their hands on the shards while also fearing that the short-tempered young lady would throw a pillow at them.

“Alright, Cecilia, that’s enough. You’ve made enough of a scene for one day. These people are innocent.”

The Governor, who had just returned from his busy work, sent someone to the cellar to get a bottle of 1982 red wine.

“Sweetheart, don’t worry about all that. Come have some red wine with your father to calm down, and then go to sleep.”

“No, Father, I can’t. For the past few years, he’s all I’ve thought about. Before, when there were no other women around him, I could sleep. Now, I can’t sleep at all.”

The Governor sat back on the sofa, slowly sipping his red wine. “Do you like Musheng that much?”

“Of course, you know how much I like him, Father.”

The Governor knew, of course. He had seen it for years.

However, Jiang Musheng showed no signs of liking his daughter and had no intention of sacrificing his marriage for business. This made things difficult for the Governor.

After all, at Jiang Musheng’s level, there was no need for him to sacrifice his marriage for anything.

“Can’t you find someone else? Sweetheart, I’ve been keeping an eye out for you. I have some handsome and capable young men under me. They aren’t much worse than Jiang Musheng.”

“Not much worse is still worse. Even if they were just as good, it wouldn’t matter. I only like Jiang Musheng!”

The Governor sighed, finishing the red wine in his glass in one gulp.

Cecilia thought she had convinced her father. She leaned in, venting and asking for help. “Father, Jiang Musheng really seems to like that woman named Yun Ran. Today, he even took her swimming in Repulse Bay!”

“He doesn’t like me. What should I do, Father?” Cecilia sadly rested her head on her father’s knee.

The Governor put down his wine glass and stroked his daughter’s hair to comfort her.

“There’s not no way. To break those two up, I’ve just found a breakthrough. But as for how to make Musheng fall for you, you’ll have to work on that yourself.”

“Break them up?” Cecilia sat up straight, her blue eyes suddenly lighting up. “It would be great to just break them up first. That’s a huge step towards success.”

“What’s the good idea, Father? Tell me quickly!”

“It’s not a method I can easily get involved in, sweetheart. First, listen to me. I found out that the prisoner Musheng sent to jail recently is that Miss Yun’s adoptive father.”

“The one who kidnapped Xueyu?”

“Exactly.”

Cecilia stood up excitedly, spinning around the living room. She accidentally stepped on a piece of a broken vase and fell, her hand landing on the shards. She didn’t even care that it was bleeding.

‘If I can find a way to make that Yun Ran’s adoptive father die in prison, then her relationship with Musheng will definitely be affected,’ she thought. ‘After all, Musheng was the one who personally sent Miss Yun’s adoptive father to jail.’

‘This is a great idea. Don’t Chinese people value filial piety the most? And Musheng cares so much about his little sister, Xueyu. If he finds out that Miss Yun is the adopted daughter of the traitor who helped kidnap his sister, his feelings for her will also fade and become less pure.’

“Cecilia, you’re hurt. Stop moving and let someone treat your wound,” the Governor said.

Cecilia didn’t feel the pain. She was immersed in immense joy.

Someone came to help her, using tweezers to remove the porcelain shards embedded in her flesh. She didn’t react, only smiled. A manic grin appeared on her young, beautiful face.

The Filipina maid treating her wound flinched, for she saw a cruel beast on Cecilia’s face.

That night, Cecilia eagerly went to the Hong Kong prison under her father’s jurisdiction.

This time, it seemed God was completely on her side.

Before she even had to order anyone to do anything, Miss Yun’s adoptive father, the ugly man known as “Scar,” was already beaten to death by the other people in his cell.

When the other prisoners, who were just like Scar, heard the commotion and saw the strong light of the flashlight, they woke up easily. They were all people who had committed crimes and held some of their masters’ secrets. No one would seek justice for them if they were killed in prison; after all, their lives were worth nothing.

They watched Cecilia vigilantly, this English girl who could appear freely in the Hong Kong prison in the middle of the night, with someone even holding a light for her.

She must have a very high status among the British.

“Hey, which one of you beat Scar up like this?” Cecilia asked.

No one dared to answer.

In prison, guards rarely intervened in fights between inmates.

They beat Scar up, fueled by some resentment.

Prisoners also had a social hierarchy. Someone like Scar, who worked under Jiang Musheng, was originally considered superior. But he had betrayed his boss, and in such a heinous way as kidnapping his boss’s sister. This had stirred a simple sense of justice in the hearts of his fellow inmates.

With a good reason, they had all started fighting.

Scar thought a savior had come. He dragged his broken body and crawled in front of Cecilia.

A thick steel bar fence separated them.

Cecilia looked down at him and asked, “You’re Scar? Yun Ran is your adopted daughter, right?”

“You know Aran?” Scar excitedly raised his hand to grab a bar on the fence. Cecilia quickly stepped back, afraid that his bloody hand would stain her white cheongsam.

She had noticed that Yun Ran liked to wear cheongsams and thought Jiang Musheng liked women who wore them, so she had started wearing them too. Before, she had disdained them, thinking that while they looked elegant, they were very restrictive and pretentious.

Now, she wore them.

Scar didn’t touch her white cheongsam. It wasn’t because he wasn’t fast enough, but because he pulled his hand back.

“Are you Ah Ran’s friend?”

“Friend?” Cecilia found it amusing.

But she wanted to tease Scar. “Yes, I’m Yun Ran’s friend.”

Scar knelt on the ground like a dying dog. There was no life in his eyes, but a glimmer of light appeared when she admitted to being his adopted daughter’s friend. And while his other inmates huddled in the corner without a word, their eyes were all sparkling in the darkness, like wolves. Only Scar looked like a dog on its last legs.

‘Dying? That’s great.’

Now she didn’t have to do anything. She was innocent in the eyes of God.

‘Amen.’

Cecilia made the sign of the cross over her chest.

“Yun Ran , please, do me a favor,” Scar pleaded.

Cecilia asked nonchalantly, “What do you want me to do for you?”

“A prison guard stole the birthday gift I bought for Ah Ran. I hope you can help me get it back and give it to her. Just tell her I had an accident and drowned in the sea. Don’t let her know I died so miserably.”

“You’re not dead yet,” Cecilia reminded him cruelly.

She hated that he wasn’t dying fast enough, but she was also afraid he would die too quickly, right in front of her.

“If you promise me, maybe I’ll die tomorrow,” Scar said with a smile.

“Okay, I promise. You keep your word.”

‘Die tomorrow. Preferably in the morning, before the sun comes out,’ Cecilia thought.

Cecilia left and went to the prison guard to get back the birthday gift Scar wanted to give Yun Ran.

It was a pager the size of her palm. It was stained with blood, which had already dried.

Cecilia held the pager, this object used for communication that was also the life of a useless father, and she smiled.

‘What will that Miss Yun feel when she receives her birthday gift and the news of her adoptive father’s death?’

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