Chapter 94: Chapter 94: I Never Gossip About My Elders

The first thing Zhao Youcai set his sights on was the red-lacquered wooden chest that Su Yufen kept locked.

It was the only dowry she had brought with her from Shanghai back then. She treasured it dearly, always keeping the key hidden on her person and never letting even Zhao Youcai touch it.

Zhao Youcai hadn’t paid it much mind before, assuming it just held some of a woman’s private belongings.

Now, in his eyes, the chest had become a Pandora’s box, hiding a secret.

While Su Yufen was out by the sea gathering snails, completely out of sorts, Zhao Youcai employed the same patience and skill he used to manage the warehouse and deal with fishermen trying to get a little something extra.

He carefully inspected the brass lock on the chest and examined the seam of the lid.

Zhao Youcai wasn’t a locksmith, and prying it open would make too much noise, but he had his own methods.

He found an extremely thin and flexible bamboo sliver, dipped it in a bit of lamp oil, and carefully slid it into the narrow gap between the lid and the chest. Then, ever so slowly, he began to nudge and probe inside.

Time ticked by, and beads of sweat formed on Zhao Youcai’s forehead.

Finally, he felt the tip of the sliver touch a soft, papery corner.

He held his breath and, with a deft flick of his wrist, began to gently coax it out…

A small, yellowed corner of paper with slightly frayed edges was carefully hooked out by the bamboo sliver.

Zhao Youcai’s heart suddenly hammered in his chest.

He pinched the tiny paper corner and held it up to the light coming through the window to examine it.

The paper was very old, and its texture was unique—not the coarse straw paper common on the island.

On it were faint, faded patterns and several incomplete printed characters. He could vaguely make out the fragmented words “…Ocean… Shipping… Company…”

’It’s a boat ticket!’ Zhao Youcai’s pupils contracted. ’A ticket from Shanghai?!’

Though it was only a tiny corner, it was enough to confirm his suspicions.

Su Yufen really did have an unspeakable secret in Shanghai!

And she had sealed and hidden this secret so carefully.

She’d even gone so far as to lock it away, begging in her sleep for him not to be told.

Zhao Youcai clutched the tiny scrap of paper, his fingertips ice-cold, but a raging fire of anger and the humiliation of being fooled burned in his heart.

He carefully tucked the paper corner into an inner pocket of his clothes.

He didn’t touch the chest again, putting it back exactly as it was, as if nothing had happened.

But he knew that some things had changed completely.

The fragment of the boat ticket, printed with the words “Ocean Shipping Company,” seared Zhao Youcai’s heart day and night from that day forward.

Suspicion and humiliation wove themselves into an airtight net that was suffocating him.

He was no longer satisfied with Su Yufen’s startled-bird demeanor and broken sleep-talking.

He had to find concrete evidence, to understand what was really going on!

Zhao Youcai found out that on the day Su Yufen’s behavior changed, she had only seen one person.

Su Tang.

Everyone said they didn’t know what Su Tang had said to Su Yufen.

Su Yufen had instantly become distraught, as if she were a completely different person.

’She must know something,’ Zhao Youcai was certain.

That afternoon, Zhao Youcai deliberately avoided the crowded docks and drying grounds. He calculated the time Su Tang would be going to the reef flats to gather laver and went to find her.

Su Tang was squatting on a huge black reef, deftly tearing off the laver that clung to the crevices and placing it in the bamboo basket beside her.

The sea breeze rustled her long hair, and the sunlight cast a golden halo on her focused profile.

Her expression was calm, as if she wasn’t the same person who had so casually thrown out a threat at the fishing harbor that day.

“Su Tang.”

Zhao Youcai’s voice, heavy and repressed, abruptly broke the rhythm of the waves.

Su Tang’s hand paused, but she didn’t turn around immediately.

She picked the last piece of laver, then slowly stood up, brushing the water and salt from her hands.

Turning, she looked at Zhao Youcai, who stood a few steps away.

His face was grim, his eyes were bloodshot, and his jaw was clenched tight. He looked like a volcano on the verge of erupting.

“Oh, it’s you, Uncle. Do you need something?”

“Or has the technology station given us something new?”

Su Tang’s tone was flat, betraying no emotion. Her eyes were clear as she calmly met his somewhat ferocious gaze.

Zhao Youcai was taken aback by her placid demeanor, and the accusation he had prepared got stuck in his throat.

He took a deep breath, trying to suppress his surging anger and make his voice sound less aggressive.

“What did you say to your aunt at the docks that day?”

He stared intently into Su Tang’s eyes, not wanting to miss the slightest change in her expression, trying to find a hint of guilt or evasion.

Su Tang tilted her head slightly, feigning confusion. “Which day? I said a lot of things. I showed Aunt Zhang how to mend nets, chatted with Granny Li about laver soup, and even shared a few pieces of red sugar. Which sentence are you asking about, Uncle?”

Her answer was flawless, her eyes still calm, even holding a hint of innocent confusion.

Zhao Youcai’s patience was instantly halved by this act of playing dumb, a vein throbbing at his temple.

“Stop playing dumb with me! I’m talking about the day your aunt suddenly looked like she’d seen a ghost! What did you whisper to her at the end? Was it… was it about Shanghai?!”

He took a step closer, his voice suddenly rising, filled with the frustration and anger of someone backed into a corner.

“What the hell did you two talk about?!”

“Uncle!”

Su Tang cut him off sharply, making Zhao Youcai’s next words die in his throat.

For the first time, her expression changed noticeably. Her brow furrowed, and her calm gaze was replaced by a serious, almost warning look.

“Some things shouldn’t be said carelessly.”

“Besides, if you want to know something, why are you asking me instead of my aunt, Su Yufen?”

Su Tang’s voice was soft, but it struck Zhao Youcai’s heart like a heavy hammer.

“You coming to me, saying these things—especially things that are just rumors and unconfirmed gossip—isn’t that just trying to cause trouble for me?”

She paused, looking straight into Zhao Youcai’s nearly fire-breathing eyes with a clear conscience.

“Even if we don’t get along, I’ve always understood propriety and honor.”

“You are my uncle, and my aunt is my elder. The affairs of my elders are something I, a junior, have no right to comment on, nor should I be spreading gossip. That day, I just had a bit of everyday chat with my aunt.”

“Rumors? Unconfirmed?”

Zhao Youcai mulled over those two words, the fire in his heart burning even hotter.

The more Su Tang avoided the topic, the more she emphasized what “shouldn’t be said,” the more it proved she knew something!

Moreover, her words, which seemed to absolve her of any involvement, were like a dull knife, repeatedly slicing at his raw nerves.

’She knows. She definitely knows! She’s just not saying! What is she protecting? Su Yufen? Or that secret?!’

“You…”

Zhao Youcai was so angry his finger trembled as he pointed at Su Tang, wanting to curse her out, to force her to speak.

But her frank yet distant gaze stopped him, and for a moment, he couldn’t find any harsher words to say.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep