Quan Jiu’s face showed surprise, and she instinctively glanced at Chu Rong.
Unexpectedly, Miao Lan shook her head. “The Chu family does indeed have power and influence here, but ask the young man behind you, there are people even the Chu family wouldn’t dare offend lightly.”
“Not dare lightly, but not impossible,” Chu Rong said calmly.
Quan Jiu grew more confused. “Are there any other formidable forces in City A?”
“Yes and no,” Miao Lan explained slowly. “Not just in City A, but that force is spread everywhere and is very mysterious. Only a very small number of people know of their existence. I only heard your grandmother mention them once. They call that force ‘New City District’.”
“New City District? So, Grandma had dealings with them? Did she retire because of them? What is their connection to Grandma?”
Quan Jiu was utterly bewildered. Not only had she never heard of the concept of ‘New City District,’ but her grandmother, an elderly woman whose embroidery business was already niche, how could she possibly be connected to this so-called New City District?
“Your grandmother didn’t say much specifically. A week before she disappeared, she told me many things. In fact, I vaguely felt something was amiss back then, but I never expected her to disappear completely. I thought something had happened in your grandmother’s family.”
Miao Lan recalled the situation at the time. “When your grandmother left, she mentioned a phrase, ‘New City District,’ and said that no matter when, if you hear these three words, stay as far away as possible.
At the time, I thought it was a newly developed district in the city and was very puzzled. It wasn’t until after she disappeared and I became the Chief Elder of the Embroidery Bureau, interacting with more people, that I gradually understood what ‘New City District’ meant.”
Quan Jiu frowned slightly. No wonder her grandmother hadn’t said anything back then, even sometimes giving her the illusion that her grandmother was hiding from something terrifying.
“Do you know about this ‘New City District’?” Quan Jiu turned and asked Chu Rong.
Chu Rong’s brow also furrowed slightly. “The power of the New City District is vast and complex. Most importantly, they are very mysterious. Ordinary people barely know of their existence, let alone how many centuries they have existed, except for themselves. However, I do have ways to inquire about them. I’ll tell you once I get the information.”
Quan Jiu nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and then asked Miao Lan again, “So, Grandma’s seclusion was most likely to hide from the people of the ‘New City District.’ Did she offend someone? Did she have any rivals before?”
Miao Lan shook her head. “Not that I know of. Of course, there were many who were jealous of your grandmother’s talent, but they should all have been ordinary people. If it were truly people from the ‘New City District,’ they wouldn’t have come here to develop.”
“It seems there are no leads for now,” Quan Jiu sighed lightly.
After bidding farewell to Miao Lan, Quan Jiu and Chu Rong finally headed back.
On the way back, Quan Jiu searched for ‘New City District’ on her phone, and as expected, there were no relevant entries.
Seeing her furrowed brow, Chu Rong comforted her, “I’ve already contacted someone. The results should come soon.”
“Mm.”
Chu Rong paused and then added, “If it turns out that Grandma had any grievances with the New City District, what do you plan to do?”
Quan Jiu’s expression suddenly turned cold. “I don’t care if it’s New City District or Old City District. Grandma could have enjoyed her twilight years. If she was forced into retirement because of their pressure, or even had to live in hiding, Grandma didn’t get the chance to settle this score with them, so I will.”
Chu Rong looked at the suddenly agitated Quan Jiu and couldn’t help but reach out to stroke her hair, saying gently, “Don’t worry. Although the Chu family is small and weak, if it truly comes to a fight, we will make them lose a hand.”
In Quan Jiu’s understanding, the Chu family was second to none in City A. For Chu Rong to say such a thing, what exactly was this New City District?
She was stunned for a moment and then asked, “Tell me more about this New City District. Do they have a large group of people? Are they immensely powerful? Do these people normally work and live like us ordinary people?”
“Normally, they do not integrate into ordinary society. They have their own society. The number of people in the New City District is immeasurable, but it is certain that their personnel are vast, and within them, there are many organizations and top influential families. Furthermore, they are distributed in various regions, and City A also has their territory. One of them that I know of is located beneath this land.”
“Underground?” Quan Jiu was surprised. “Has no one discovered them?”
Chu Rong smiled. “Otherwise, how could they be called a powerful force? Even with today’s advanced and convenient technology, they remain mysterious.”
Quan Jiu was silent for a long time before sighing lightly, “This is quite a revelation for me.”
“Don’t worry, you are not alone. At least the Chu family will be your strong and reliable support.”
Quan Jiu said nothing outwardly, but inwardly she didn’t want to drag the Chu family into this because of her. Putting aside other things, the efforts of three generations of Grandpa Chu, Dad Chu, and Mom Chu brought about the current achievements. If the New City District was truly that formidable, how could she let the people she cared about suffer even the slightest bit for her?
“There’s no rush with this matter. If there are indeed grievances, I believe we don’t need to search for them; they will find us,” Quan Jiu said calmly.
…
On Friday evening, Quan Jiu returned to the Chu family’s old residence in Chu Rong’s car.
The two children had been staying at the old residence for the past two weeks. Seeing Quan Jiu, they were ecstatic, hugging her tightly, one on each side.
“Mom, I missed you so much, but I also really wanted to spend time with Grandpa, it’s so difficult,” Tu Tu’s cute little face was filled with worry.
Mi Mi stroked Quan Jiu’s ear. “I wish Mom could live in the old residence.”
Quan Jiu was reminded by the two children. “Now that you mention it, Mom has a good idea.”
She hugged the two children and went to Grandpa Chu. “Grandpa, Mom and Dad are abroad. You’re alone at home during this time. If you don’t mind the trouble, why don’t you come and stay with me for a while? During the day… Rong is at home, and he can keep you company.”
Although there were servants at home, it was still different from the feeling of being with family. The two children went to school during the day, so they actually spent very little time with the elderly, which was also something Quan Jiu was worried about.
She looked at Chu Rong.
Chu Rong smiled at her and nodded. “It’s right to bring Grandpa over.”
Old Master Chu was also in good spirits and readily agreed when he heard this. “Okay, okay, Old Li, pack some of my things later. I’ll move over tomorrow.”
Old Li was also very happy about this and immediately went to pack.
Chen Ma and a few servants successively brought dishes to the table. Soon, the family sat at the dining table, chatting and laughing. Later, when they mentioned the amusement park trip the next day, Quan Jiu even suggested bringing Grandpa along.
Old Master Chu hadn’t been to an amusement park in who knows how many years. With his grandson, granddaughter-in-law, and great-grandchildren all going, he was also full of energy, clamoring for Chu Rong to buy tickets quickly so they could all go together.
However, given Old Master Chu’s age, Old Li was worried. Moreover, the young master, young madam, young master, and young lady were all of noble status and could not afford any accidents. He insisted on bringing himself and at least three bodyguards.
Chen Ma, on the other hand, considered that Quan Jiu would be bringing two children and an elderly person alone. How could it be all men? They would definitely need female help, so she insisted on going along as well.
Thus, the original family of four’s parent-child outing expanded into a nine-person team.
Chu Rong had to buy a few more tickets, trying his best to make his expression look less displeased.
As for Chen Ma and Old Li, they were too excited and had already started coordinating their outfits for the amusement park.