When he was a bandit, Zixi often sent people to infiltrate the kilns that were about to be smashed. This task couldn't be done by someone with a ferocious face, so it was usually assigned to Chen Zikun, who had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and looked very dignified. When questioned, he always answered fluently and without any mistakes. So, in front of Mrs. Yao, he didn't feel any pressure at all.

  "My ancestral home is in Hunan, I was born in Guangdong, grew up outside the pass, my parents died when I was young, my elder uncle who did business brought me up, now he has also passed away, his coffin is still at Biyun Temple." Chen Zikong slowly narrated his life story, Mrs. Yao nodded slowly and said: "I heard you used to be a bandit?"

  Yao Yile's heart had just calmed down and was lifted up again. She thought to herself, "Mom, why do you always bring up the past?"

  Chen Zikun was well-prepared and calmly responded: "I followed my uncle's friend to do business in Harbin, it's a legitimate business, probably because I'm quite capable, plus the merchants from outside the pass often engage in both trade and banditry, so there might be some misunderstanding."

  Mrs. Yao was very satisfied with this answer and asked again: "Your kung fu is so good, who did you learn from?"

  "I have been learning from Master Huo Yuanjia of the Jingwu School since I was a child, and also from Grandmaster Wong Fei-hung of the Po Chi Lam in Foshan. I've learned some superficial skills, but they're not worth mentioning."

  Mrs. Yao nodded and actually didn't know anything about Huo Yuanjia or Wong Fei-hung, she just wanted to probe Chen Zikun's background.

  "Since you've been taught by a famous master since childhood, the Chen family must be a renowned and respected family." Mrs. Yao's words were somewhat insightful, as only wealthy families had the leisure and money to hire masters for their sons to learn martial arts, while poor families' children focused on studying and taking exams to change their fate, rarely practicing martial arts.

  Chen Zikong replied calmly, "My uncle was once a member of the Guangfu Society and had many acquaintances, including some Jianghu knights. It's not surprising that we Chen family knew some of them. Although our family has declined since its heyday and there is no one to inherit it now, I have never dared to forget the family motto 'the sea of learning is boundless'. After coming to Beijing, I studied Western literature and Chinese literature under the tutelage of Cui Hongming and Liu Shipei..."

  "Wait, you're a student of Gu Hongming? Oh my god, unbelievable!" Mrs. Yao dramatically covered her mouth with her hand, this future son-in-law had brought her too many surprises, originally he wasn't some uncultured laborer, but rather from a prestigious family in the south, there was no doubt about that, those who mixed with the Tongmenghui and Guangfuhui were all wealthy and influential southerners, and he was even a student of Gu Hongming, this was really something, such a son-in-law wouldn't be embarrassing to show off, but would instead gain her face in social circles.

  Mrs. Yao gave her daughter a disapproving look, blaming her for not reporting the truth. Yao Yire also looked foolish, she had never heard Chen Zikun introduce these things before, and thought he was just fooling around with her mom.

  Chen Zikun's heart was filled with bitterness at this moment, mentioning Gu Hongming made him think of Peking University, thinking of Peking University made him associate it with Lin Wenjing, and also his own short-lived first love.

  "Little Chen, can you help me invite Professor Guo for afternoon tea? I'm his loyal fan." said Mrs. Yao.

  Chen Zikun said, "Okay, I'll make a call to ask." He picked up the phone and dialed a number. Mrs. Yao flipped open the phone book and glanced at it, and indeed it was the phone number of Gu Hongming's residence.

  "Oh, I see. Well, let's talk about it when Teacher Gu returns. I bought the best Southeast Asian tobacco for the teacher and will bring it over tomorrow." Chen Zikun hung up the phone and said apologetically: "Professor Gu has gone to class, let's make an appointment for tomorrow instead."

  Mrs. Yao no longer had any doubts, and the more she looked at Chen Zikun, the more pleasing he became to her eyes. This was in line with the old saying that "the mother-in-law looks at her son-in-law and finds him more interesting as time goes on." She had done some research on people's appearance, and generally speaking, children from poor families would look pale and thin due to inadequate care or nutrition, while children from wealthy families would have good nutrition and education, making them tall and handsome. Looking at Chen Zikun's appearance, even if he wasn't from a rich family, he must be the son of a well-to-do family.

  Yao Yile stole a glance at her mother's smile, knowing that this matter had been settled, and her heart was filled with joy. She casually said: "Mom, actually he has another identity, he is friends with the one in the Forbidden City, a few days ago Henry made him a sixth-grade imperial guard with a yellow jacket."

  Mrs. Yao jumped in fright: "Henry?"

  "It's just Emperor Xuantong." Yao Yile said.

  Mrs. Yao smiled and thought that this prospective son-in-law was indeed an interesting person, even able to get in touch with the deposed emperor Puyi, she admitted that she had underestimated him.

  She coughed and got down to business: "Xiao Chen, you and Lele are dating, we as parents don't object, but I and Lele's father both think that a man should establish his career before getting married. Besides, Lele is still young, and you're not old either, there's plenty of time. So, there's no need to rush into marriage, just take things slowly for now. As for your career, we'll help out when needed."

  By saying this, it basically acknowledges Chen Zikun and Yao Yilei's romantic relationship.

  "Thank you, Mommy. We're going out to play now. Tonight, let's have dinner at the Six Nations Restaurant and eat Western food." Yao Yile excitedly jumped up and pulled Chen Zikun along, wanting to leave. Mrs. Yao said: "Later, I'll go to your Auntie Cao's house to play cards. You kids go play by yourselves."

  Five minutes later, Yao Zicang returned with a tired look on his face. It seemed that the negotiations had failed again.

  "Oh dear, if you had come a little earlier, you would have seen Little Chen," said the lady.

  "Which Little Chen?" Yao Cichang absent-mindedly took off his suit jacket, the gold watch chain on his vest swinging back and forth. It was already early May, and Beijing's spring was beautiful beyond compare, but unfortunately Yao Cichang's mood was as bad as a cold winter. The Japanese were insatiably greedy, making inch-by-inch progress at the negotiating table, which made him very annoyed.

  "You forgot, it's Lere's boyfriend, Chen Zikun. He just came over and I carefully inquired about him. This young man is not simple at all. I think we should reconsider this matter."

  Yao Cizhang's hands stopped untying his tie, furrowed his brow and said: "Are you changing your mind, really planning to let Lelai marry him?"

  "I have this idea, listen to me, he not only comes from a prominent Guangdong family, but also was a student of Gu Hongming, a friend of Puyi, and speaks excellent French. And at home, there is even an uncle who was part of the Tongmenghui or the Kuomintang." Mrs. Yao's poor logic led to a confusing speech, which instead alerted Mr. Yao.

  He originally thought that his daughter had only taken a liking to a simple martial artist, but he didn't expect this person's background to be so complicated. This is absolutely a dangerous signal.

  Seeing her husband deep in thought, Mrs. Yao jokingly said: "What's wrong, are you jealous? They say that a daughter is the reincarnation of her father's past lover, can't bear to part with Rere getting married?"

  Yao Cizhang chuckled twice: "Nothing's going on, you can do whatever you want."

  "That's settled then, the young man is not bad, and with some training, he can be considered worthy of our family's Lere." Mrs. Yao seemed very happy, picked up her bag and went out the door, turning back to say: "I'm going to Zhaojialou to play mahjong with Cao Taotai, I won't be back for dinner tonight."

  "Go ahead, go ahead." Yao Zichang sent away his wife, thought for a moment, and still picked up the phone to dial Police Chief Wu Bingxiang's number.

  The phone rang for a long time without anyone answering, and it wasn't until then that Yao Zicong remembered that today was Sunday, and except for their hapless Ministry of Transportation's foreign affairs negotiation team, all other government departments were on holiday.

  ……

  Chen Zikun and Yao Yile drove to Dongjiaomin Lane, but the car couldn't get in, as the road was completely blocked by crowds. From a distance, they saw a large group of people gathered at the entrance of the US Embassy, shouting something with all their might, but it was too far away to hear clearly.

  Yao Yile got off the car, holding Chen Zikun's arm, tiptoeing and looking towards the direction of the embassy, only to see a white banner flying up and down with huge black letters: Fight to the death, return Qingdao to me.

  "It's our Beida students." Chen Zikun was somewhat excited, pulling Yao Yirei to squeeze forward and come closer to take a look. Several university students were standing in front of the American Embassy with petition books in their hands, one of them waving his arms and shouting: "Long live President Wilson!"

  Then many students shouted together: "Long live President Wilson!" The sound waves rose and fell.

  The leading student shouted: "Long live the Fourteen Points Declaration!"

  The students shouted again.

  The Marine guards at the entrance of the US embassy looked coldly at this group of excited students, unmoved. The May sunshine shone on these soldiers wearing yellow uniforms, some hot and some annoyed.

  "What are they doing?" Yao Yilei asked, leaning close to Chen Zikun's ear.

  "They were petitioning the American Minister Reinsch, asking the President of the United States to preside over justice at the Paris Peace Conference and not to cede Qingdao to Japan." Chen Zikun replied calmly. He often followed Xiong Xiling and others, and was influenced by many national affairs, and could also speak eloquently.

  "Then why did they petition only to Americans and not to the British or French?"

  "Because they believe that President Wilson of the United States is a just man." Chen Ziqun said with a cold smile.

  "So?"

  "In the jungle world, beasts with fangs only respect fellow beasts with fangs. Shandong is a piece of fat meat that has already been eaten by the Japanese; would Americans go to war for China and Japan?"

  Yao Yile looked at him with admiring eyes: "You know so much."

  Just then, the gate of the US embassy opened and a young man dressed as a low-ranking official came out. He exchanged a few words with the leading student, took the petition, and went back to close the gate.

  A number of leading students gathered together to discuss for half a day, one person stood up and said: "Government agencies are all on holiday, unable to petition, foreign envoys are not in the embassy, unable to accept our appeal, I suggest the procession end here."

  The students were in an uproar.

  Suddenly someone shouted: "Go to Zhaojialou to settle accounts with the traitor Cao Rulin!"

  Yao Yile was shocked: "Oh no, my mom is going to play mahjong with Mrs. Cao today."