Chapter 91: The Engagement Party (Part One)  

Xie Zhuojun spent most of the evening at the Shangguan household and didn’t return to his own house, until very late at night.

For some reason, Shangguan Ning’s words kept him pre-occupied. He couldn’t stop thinking about what she had said.

“Everyone at Shangguan Family knows everything, and they have chosen to keep you in the dark about this..”

“If you had a sister, would you want her to marry a man who was a vegetable...”

“Would you fall for his wife and have sex with her, in front of your brother...”

He had been looking forward to marrying Shangguan Rouxue. Shangguan Zheng had given them his blessings to go ahead and get engaged. He asked himself, why was he still unhappy?

After Xie Zhuojun left, Yang Wenshu continued to keep Shangguan Rouxue company. She was distraught, seeing her daughter this upset.

She took her daughter’s hands into hers. The gentle demeanour that was integral to Yang Wenshu, disappeared. She asked her daughter, “Xue, is there a problem between you and your Zhuojun? Has he started to like the bitch, Shangguan Ning, again?”

Shangguan Rouxue shivered at the words her mother used. She shook her head in the negative. “No, we are doing just fine. Didn’t Daddy just say that we are getting engaged? Don’t worry mother, I will be the one to marry him and no one else!”

A week later, Xie Zhuojun and Shangguan Rouxue were engaged and they threw a party at the most luxurious five-star hotel in A City, to celebrate their engagement.

Since there was hardly any time for preparation, many relatives and friends were unable to grace this occasion with their presence. They would make it to the wedding instead, they promised. The ones who made it to the engagement party were all celebrities in their own right and the celebration was a huge success.

Xie Zhuojun delivered the invitation to Shangguan Ning, in person.

Her first impulse was to just throw it into the dustbin. After thinking for a while, she decided otherwise.

She sneered. Her ex fiancée was getting engaged, to her sister. How dare he even send her an invite, in the first place! How cheeky of him.

They had been provoking her far too many times. They refused to let her move on with her life. She had decided that she would go to the engagement party after all, and make it an unforgettable affair for everyone present.

The engagement banquet started at 7, but most guests arrived earlier. Whether they did this for the sake of the bride and groom or for the sake of Shangguan Zheng, who was going to become the next Mayor, was anybody’s guess.

Dressed in a red strapless custom designed outfit, Shangguan Rouxue waved at the crowd that had come to greet them. She held hands with Xie Zhuojun, who was equally well dressed, in a designer suit.

Together they made for a fine couple. Their marriage marked an amalgamation of two powerful families of the city. The bride was the daughter of the Deputy-Mayor. She was beautiful and excelled at everything she pursued. She was also a popular television hostess. The groom, was the heir to the Family Xie Enterprise. He was handsome and suave, gentle and wealthy.

They were so treasured couple and looked extremely cute together.

Everyone congratulated them. Even Xie Zhuojun was starting to feel better.

Xie Zhuojun’s mother Wang Lu and father Xie Dongfeng, were sitting in the front row. Although they were both wearing happy smiles, they were upset over the way they had been treated.

The engagement party was done in such a hurry and they were never consulted. Shangguan Zheng was so bossy that he fixed the date and told Xie Zhuojun about it.

He didn’t consider Family Xie important enough to check with them.

He had forgotten that it is was only due to the indirect funding, made by Family Xie, all those years ago, that he had become deputy mayor. Their connections and efforts brought him the support of the people. Without Family Xie, Shangguan Zheng would never have achieved political success.

Now that Shangguan Zheng was on the verge of being elected Mayor, he had forgotten to give credit where it was due. Family Xie had never felt as insulted as they did now.

They were lucky that their daughter-in-law was this good-looking and so resourceful. They thanked their stars that she was gentle, kind-hearted, understanding and deeply in love with their son. She also respected them. What more could they ask for?

Family Xie, knew in their hearts that it was only because Shangguan Ning had agreed to marry their vegetative son, that they had invested funds into Shangguan Zheng’s election campaign. Shangguan Ning was willing to sacrifice her life by choosing to spend it with their son who was then, in coma. When their son woke up, it was nothing short of a miracle. They conveniently chose to forget all the promises that they had made to Shangguan Ning. They abandoned her without a moment’s hesitation and preferred that their son marry Shangguan Rouxue.

As the guests arrived one after another, Shangguan Zheng’s eyes were glued to the entrance. He was anxiously waiting for Shangguan Ning’s arrival.

He hoped that Shangguan Ning would make it for the engagement. It was doubly advantageous to him. Not only was it good for his personal image but he would also be able to convince Shangguan Ning to save Liyu Science & Technology.

Many people had assumed that Shangguan Zheng was the obvious choice for the post of the mayor, at the next election. Shangguan Zheng knew that this was only the people’s perception. The higher ups in the political circles, didn’t fancy him too much. He needed urgent help in that regard.

He wasn’t too fond of his daughter, Shangguan Ning, but somehow her presence always brought him good luck. Whenever he saw her, he was reminded of his dead wife, Huang Liyu and the night when her blood had flowed in the villa.

Huang Liyu loved him deeply. She was devoted to him, all her life. Her death was a thorn in his heart. As time went by, he had hoped that this wound would heal, but that was not to be. Instead it hurt him even more now.

Luckily, he had met and married Yang Wenshu. She was kind and gentle, generous and virtuous, as a wife. To some extent, he had been able to get over the death of his first wife, only because of the love of his second.

Shangguan Zheng impatiently took a bite of the crystal shrimp his wife had served him, when his cell-phone rang.

He glanced at the number shown on the screen, instantly got up and left the table. He pushed opened the doors of the banquet hall and answered the call in the adjoining meeting room.

“Deputy-Mayor Shangguan, I hope to see your daughter within the next half hour. If she fails to come and see me, you can bid goodbye to both your company and the Mayor’s post.”– said the voice on the other end of the line.

Shangguan Zheng shuddered at the threats being thrown at him. He remained calm though. After all, he hadn’t achieved so much in his life, by being submissive to others, in times of adversity. “You have my word but I need to have your word too!”

“Of course, you have my word. The rest depends on you!” The call was then disconnected.

Shangguan Zheng was annoyed that he had to give in to someone else’s demands. He had no choice in this regard though, because the person in question was the second in line to the throne of Jingsheng Enterprise. He was not only wealthy and powerful but also a ruthless business rival. Jing Yiran was reckless and inconsiderate in his behaviour, but Shangguan Zheng had to tolerate that.