Chapter 20: The Young Master of the Gao Family Has Arrived!

The two girls went to a corner to sit and wait for Shi Yanzhou.

Mo Zhennie was still fuming, her mouth running non-stop.

“Look at her; does she think she’s someone special just because her last name is Shi?”

“She’s just an adopted daughter; what’s with the attitude?”

“Yunshu, aren’t you angry?”

Li Yunshu picked up a glass of juice, took a sip, set it down, and chuckled softly.

“Getting angry at an adopted daughter? There’s no need.”

“But she…”

“Yanzhou won’t ever fancy her,” Li Yunshu interrupted.

“No matter how delusional her thinking is, it’s a wasted effort.”

Mo Zhennie opened her mouth but then closed it again.

However, the expression on her face clearly read: ‘I feel wronged for you; I feel it’s not worth it for you.’

After they had chatted for nearly half an hour, Shi Yanzhou finally managed to free himself and come over.

As soon as he sat down, Mo Zhennie couldn’t wait to complain.

“Young Master Shi, that ‘dear sister’ of yours is really something.”

“We went over to greet her just now, and guess what? She gave Yunshu such a hard time!”

Mo Zhennie proceeded to pile on the exaggerations, badmouthing Shi Kezhen with dramatic gestures and expressions.

Shi Yanzhou knit his brows and remained silent; he was skeptical of Mo Zhennie’s words.

Although he didn’t like Shi Kezhen, he understood her temperament very well.

‘Shi Kezhen giving Li Yunshu a hard time?’

‘It would be a miracle if she wasn’t the one being bullied.’

Li Yunshu was very adept at reading people; seeing that Mo Zhennie’s words hadn’t made Shi Yanzhou feel protective of her but instead seemed to cause slight displeasure, she quickly pulled Mo Zhennie’s hand and smiled to change the subject.

“Have you spent the whole evening socializing with Uncle Shi? Are you tired? Do you want to eat something?”

Li Yunshu spoke while picking up a plate of pastries from the table, considerately handing it to him.

“Alright.”

Shi Yanzhou picked up a pastry and took a bite.

“I’m not exactly tired, but after several glasses of wine in a row, my stomach feels a bit uncomfortable.”

“Didn’t you eat something first?”

Li Yunshu looked distressed.

“Pastries won’t do; there’s Chinese food over there, shall I accompany you to have some?”

Shi Yanzhou nodded.

Li Yunshu shot Mo Zhennie a look.

Mo Zhennie smiled sensibly and waved at them.

“Go ahead and accompany Young Master Shi. I’ll go have some fun on my own.”

Li Yunshu linked her arm with Shi Yanzhou’s, and the two walked intimately from one end of the banquet hall to the other.

Quite a few people noticed the two of them acting close; gossiping heirs and socialites huddled in small groups, whispering to one another.

“Which family is that girl from? Holding onto Young Master Shi so intimately—could she be his girlfriend?”

“She seems to be the daughter of the Li family from Dongcheng.”

“The Dongcheng Li family? That’s not much. They don’t compare to our Zhang family; why would Young Master Shi fancy her?”

“The Li family is ordinary, but their daughter is beautiful. After all these years, this is the first time Young Master Shi has been so close to a girl in public.”

With Shi Yanzhou and Li Yunshu walking together so high-profile, it was difficult for Shi Kezhen to pretend she hadn’t seen them.

Holding her plate, her gaze slowly swept across the banquet hall.

Not far away, Mother Shi was still chatting with the group of noblewomen, her smile graceful as if she had seen nothing.

On the other side, Father Shi was talking and laughing with several middle-aged men, clinking glasses repeatedly without sparing a single glance in Shi Yanzhou’s direction.

At the main table, Old Master Shi and Old Madam Shi were smiling as they spoke with several other elderly people.

They had all seen it.

Yet, they all acted as if nothing were happening.

Shi Kezhen withdrew her gaze, looking down at the small remaining piece of peach blossom pastry on her plate.

The Shi family’s indulgence toward Shi Yanzhou’s romantic life.

How ironic.

Toward her—a “Young Mistress” of the Shi family in neither name nor reality—the family demanded chastity and loyalty at every single moment.

‘How ironic!’

She stuffed the last small piece of peach blossom pastry into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed.

It was sweet.

But there was a trace of bitterness in her throat.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted at the entrance of the banquet hall.

It wasn’t the previous sort of whispering, but a sudden spike in volume, filled with excitement and surprise.

“Look, it’s Young Master Gao! The Prince of the Gao family has arrived!”

“The Zhang family really has influence; even the Prince himself came to offer birthday wishes!”

Shi Kezhen raised her head, following the gazes of the crowd.

The four great families of Jingzhou were the Gao, Jiang, Jiang, and Fu families.

Among them, the Gao family stood at the head of the four, a top-tier powerhouse ranked globally.

The Gao family held the top position not just because they were the wealthiest in Jingzhou, but because of their paramount status in politics, the military, and commerce.

The retired Old Master Gao, Gao Cheng’s grandfather, was the former Commander of the Jingzhou Military Region.

The current head of the Gao family, Gao Cheng’s father, was the incumbent Commander of the Jingzhou Military Region.

Madam Gao, the younger sister of the head of the Jiang family—one of the four great families—was Gao Cheng’s mother; she was in business and served as the Chairwoman of the Liuguang Group in Jingzhou.

Gao Cheng’s biological uncle was currently the top political official in Jingzhou.

Many other members of the Gao family’s collateral branches were also flourishing in the military, political, and commercial sectors.

To put it bluntly, Jingzhou City was the Gao family’s domain.

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