Did he trick the young marshal into becoming sworn brothers and then go south to Huangpu Military Ac

As dusk fell, police tape was put up on the streets outside the Grand Marshal's Mansion.

A black Ford sedan slowly came to a stop in front of the mansion gate. The driver got out and opened the car door, and Lin Qi stepped out.

Lin Qi didn't wear a suit tonight; instead, he specially changed into an extremely exquisite dark-patterned long gown made of the finest Suzhou and Hangzhou silk, with meticulous workmanship, exuding the restraint of a traditional scholar.

He wore a pair of cloth shoes with a thousand layers of soles, which made no sound when he stepped on the slightly damp bluestone slabs.

The guards were waiting at the door, respectfully leading him inside.

After passing through the front yard, we went directly into the Western-style restaurant on the first floor.

As soon as Lin Qi stepped across the threshold, he sensed that the atmosphere was unusual.

In the large dining room, there were no other veterans from the headquarters, nor any military or political dignitaries. The long oak dining table was covered with a snow-white tablecloth, and only three sets of pure silver cutlery were set on it.

The gentleman was wearing a gray-blue Zhongshan suit, with the top button undone, looking very casual.

The lady wore a dark-colored cheongsam with subtle floral patterns, looking dignified and elegant.

The two stood side by side at the dining table.

This was no ordinary welcome party; the scale of the event was extremely private.

Lin Qi took two quick steps and bowed slightly.

"Mr. and Mrs. Lao have been waiting for a long time, and Tuo is filled with trepidation."

The gentleman smiled and stepped forward, grabbing Lin Qi's arm and leading him to a seat.

"There are no outsiders here today, so let's not discuss important military or national affairs, but just chat about everyday matters. Tuozhi, please sit down."

Lin Qi sat down, his gaze sweeping across the entire restaurant without making a sound.

In the left corner sits an old-fashioned gramophone, from which soothing Western symphonies flow. To the right is a huge mahogany carved screen, separating the lounge behind it.

Lin Qi's nose twitched slightly. Besides the fragrance of flowers on the table, there was also a very faint scent of perfume in the air.

It's French; he smelled that scent in the corridor yesterday.

There is someone behind the screen.

The third young lady wasn't at the table, but was hiding behind it eavesdropping.

Lin Qi instantly understood; the nature of this meal had completely changed.

A bloodless political appeasement, or rather, a forced marriage and a trap.

The fact that the third young lady did not show up preserved the dignity of a socialite while also leaving ample room for both sides to maneuver. If the talks broke down, it could be treated as just casual conversation, and neither side would lose face.

The waiter brought out the red wine, filled each glass, and then quietly left, closing the restaurant door behind him.

The lady raised her wine glass, her smile gentle and approachable.

"Tuozhi, this toast is for you. You've only been in charge of the arsenal for a few days, and you've already produced qualified ammunition. These past two days, the magistrate has been praising you to everyone he meets for your swift and efficient work."

Lin Qi quickly raised his glass, pressing the rim very low, and touched his wife's glass to his lips.

"Madam, you flatter me. I only know a little about machine tools and chemistry. I was just there to keep things under control at the factory because of your prestige."

After a few sips of wine, the atmosphere became lively.

The lady put down her knife and fork, dabbed her lips with a silk napkin, and naturally shifted the conversation to Lin Qi's past.

"I heard from Ziwen that you spent your early years in Boston and later went to San Francisco to manage your business."

The lady looked at him with concern, like an ordinary elder: "You must have suffered a lot, working alone overseas."

Lin Qi cut a small piece of steak and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly as he recalled the forged resume in his mind.

"It wasn't exactly hardship. My grandfather had some background knowledge from his time in Southeast Asia. When I was studying at MIT, I made some like-minded friends, and we later went to the West Coast together to work in chemical engineering and machinery."

He continued the conversation by making up a story that fit perfectly: "Americans are profit-driven; as long as the technology is good enough, they can always squeeze out some profit."

The gentleman listened from the side and nodded in deep agreement.

"You made the right move to save the country through industry. What our country needs is someone as knowledgeable and capable as you."

The lady then picked up the conversation.

No matter how great a man's career is, he still needs someone to care for him.

She sighed, her tone increasingly distressed: "You spend day and night in the arsenal watching over the gunpowder machines, without even a caring person by your side. How can your body take this long?"

The groundwork has been laid, and the true intentions are now revealed.

Lin Qi paused slightly in his grip on the knife and fork. Here it comes.

The lady didn't give Lin Qi a chance to speak, and instead smiled and tossed out the embroidered ball.

"You've met my third sister before. She studied at Wellesley College in the United States and received a Western education. These past few days, she's often mentioned you to me, expressing her great admiration for an ambitious entrepreneur like you."

As she spoke, she looked at Lin Qi with sincere eyes.

"Sir and I have high hopes for you two. If Tuozhi thinks it's a good match, we'll make the decision. From now on, we'll be a real family. When you're in Guangzhou working on the military industry, the Song family and Sir will be your strongest support."

The music from the gramophone was still playing, but the air in the restaurant seemed to have stopped moving.

Behind the carved rosewood screen.

The third young lady was wearing an extremely thin silk nightgown and stood barefoot on the carpet.

She twisted the silk handkerchief tightly in her hands, held her breath, pressed her ears against the gap in the screen, and her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her throat.

At the dining table.

Lin Qi stopped all his movements.

The knife and fork are placed neatly and slowly on either side of the plate.

My mind was racing with incredibly wild speculation.

promise?

That would be tantamount to voluntarily putting one's own neck into the noose of the Jiang-Zhe financial tycoons.

In the future, the arsenal will have to depend on the whims of capital to buy a piece of pig iron and manufacture a bullet.

His plan to build an independent heavy industrial empire was aborted.

reject?

How can I refuse? Saying I'm not good enough for you? That would be too fake.

To say you don't like it?

This directly offended Mr. Song Jiahe.

You must find a killer excuse that the other party not only cannot refute, but also feels indebted to you.

He raised his head, and the calm on his face vanished completely.

Instead, there was surprise and flattery, which quickly turned into a complex expression of endless bitterness and resolute determination.

This acting skill is not much worse than that of those old foxes from the Republican era.

Lin Qi pushed back his chair and stood up.

He left his seat, walked to the side of the dining table, and bowed deeply to his wife at a ninety-degree angle.

He didn't get up for a long time.

The man was stunned, and the woman also stopped smiling, looking somewhat at a loss.

"Taku, what are you doing?"

The gentleman quickly reached out to help.

Lin Qi straightened up, his eyes slightly red.

"Sir, Madam, I could never repay your kindness, even if I were to die a thousand deaths."

The next second, his voice trembled, filled with an extremely suppressed sorrow: "To be able to marry the Third Miss is a blessing that many people dream of. I am just a commoner, what merit do I have?"

He took a deep breath, and his tone suddenly became extremely heavy.

"But I cannot agree, and I would never dare to agree."

Behind the screen, the third young lady's hand, which was twisting a silk handkerchief, suddenly froze, her nails digging into her flesh.

The lady frowned slightly: "Tuozhi, is there something you're having trouble saying?"

Lin Qi closed his eyes, as if he were going through an extremely difficult internal struggle.

When he opened his eyes again, his gaze was clear, and his words were as firm as iron.

"Madam, I told Miss San that she has a fiancée in San Francisco with whom she was betrothed since childhood, but I did not reveal her identity at the time."

He paused for a moment, then began to reveal his first trump card.

"She is no ordinary merchant's daughter; her family controls a vast amount of power and controls the underground smuggling route from the west coast of the United States to the Far East."

The gentleman's expression changed slightly. He had been involved in revolutions overseas in his early years and was all too aware of the power of certain overseas Chinese families.

"The 150,000 silver dollars I donated during my recent trip back to China will be shipped to Guangzhou next month. These include high-precision lathes, special steelmaking crucibles, and catalysts urgently needed for the purification of smokeless gunpowder."

Lin Qi looked directly at the man and said, "These are all core military materials that are embargoed by the great powers. I couldn't buy them or bring them back on my own. They're all in the hands of the woman's family. She used her family's influence to bribe customs officials and get this equipment onto the ship."

As he spoke, his voice grew increasingly sorrowful.

"Sir, at this very moment, if I were to break off the engagement and find a new love, the news would reach San Francisco and the overseas supply lines would be completely cut off tomorrow. The equipment still at sea would be dumped directly into the Pacific Ocean."

He took a step forward, raising his voice.

"I am but a lowly junior, what do personal feelings matter? But the arsenal cannot function without those equipment. The new army in the south cannot function without guns and cannons. I absolutely cannot sever the revolutionary military industry's lifeline because of my own selfish desires."