At the dining table, it was very quiet.
Xiao Nanchen and Xia Qiqi were each eating their own meals.
"Sir, don't you like to eat stir-fried matsutake mushrooms? Let me help you pick them up since it's hard for you." Le Ling suddenly spoke up.
She had noticed that the only dishes Xiao Nanchen could successfully pick up were the ones closest to him.
"No need, I'm not very hungry," Xiao Nanchen declined. "Little Ling, come sit down with us."
Usually they would eat together.
But today, because Xia Qiqi was there, Le Ling didn't dare sit down.
She couldn't help but glance at Xia Qiqi.
Xia Qiqi felt her gaze and was a little annoyed. "What are you looking at me for, like I'm going to abuse you!"
Le Ling felt wronged.
She was just seeking Xia Miss's opinion.
After all, in some households, servants were not allowed to sit at the table and eat with them.
With the high salary she was getting, she still had some basic duties.
At that moment, she couldn't help but sigh.
Miss Xia really had a terrible temper.
Compared to Sir, they were worlds apart.
No wonder the two of them...did not get along well in their relationship.
"Sit down," Xiao Nanchen gently told Le Ling again.
This time Le Ling did not decline and sat down next to Xiao Nanchen. Xia Qiqi was eating perfectly fine.
She felt the maid's cooking was decent enough.
The only downside was that it was a little plain.
Considering Xiao Nanchen doesn't eat spicy food, she could understand.
After all, it was rare for her to share a meal with them, she didn't expect Xiao Nanchen to cater to her tastes.
She just happened to look up and see Xiao Nanchen and Le Ling sitting together eating.
Le Ling kept attending to Xiao Nanchen, constantly picking dishes for him.
Xia Qiqi glanced at them and then lowered her head to continue eating.
She knew it.
Xiao Nanchen was an eyesore.
Even looking at him was more than she could stand.
...
That afternoon.
The verdict in Chairman An's case against An Yanyuan was trending.
#Chairman An exonerated from false charges, released on site#
#An Yankun sets up Chairman An, jailed in irons#
#Lawyer Ye Jinghuai appears in court for the first time, shocks the house#
#Ye Jinghuai thanks Gu Yan Sheng for not marrying An Nuan #
#An Nuan and Ye Jinghuai wish the best for each other, giving their best selves to one another#
The news continued to garner attention.
An's Group stock also rallied from limit down to limit up that afternoon, as if it happened in an instant.
Ye Jinghuai read the news for a while.
Just then, he noticed an incoming call on his muted phone.
An Nuan had fallen asleep by now.
She had finally been able to rest easy after a sleepless night last night. Getting up early this morning, once the huge weight had been lifted after the trial, she ate lunch when she got home and fell asleep.
She was sleeping very soundly.
Ye Jinghuai picked up his phone and walked out to the balcony, closing the floor-to-ceiling windows behind him.
"Qin Jiang."
"Wei Daguo is dead," the other party stated bluntly.
Ye Jinghuai's eyes tightened.
He had expected they would silence Wei Daguo.
So the moment Wei Daguo was taken away after the trial ended, he had Qin Jiang secretly keep an eye on him.
He couldn't save Wei Daguo, but maybe they could catch something useful.
"Wei Daguo was shot and killed by a sniper right outside the detention center door. I didn't expect the other party to kill Wei Daguo so blatantly, so I wasn't able to catch the sniper in time. I also didn't want to expose ourselves, so I didn't continue the pursuit," Qin Jiang explained.
"I see," Ye Jinghuai said.
"Ah Huai," Qin Jiang called him.
"What is it?"
"I suddenly feel like someone is watching An Nuan."
"Mm," Ye Jinghuai agreed and added, "to be precise, all four Great Families are being watched."
From the moment the Aristocratic Family took control of the royal family, they have harbored enough ambition to control the entire North Wen Country.
Now that they have power, naturally the next step is to control finance. The fastest way to control finance is to take over the four pillar industries that are the business magnates of North Wen Country.
The Gu family has probably already been bought over by the Aristocratic Family.
Then, using the Gu family as a platform, under the guise of normal business activities that seem reasonable on the surface, they plan to take over the remaining three families one by one.
It was a good plan.
But they didn't expect to hit a wall with the first target, An's Group.
So this time, they chose to use extreme measures.
They probably didn't anticipate failure again.
After this failure, I don't know if the Aristocratic Family will lay low for now or intensify their efforts.
No matter what happens next, he needs to quicken his pace.
For his own sake, and for An Nuan's safety!
...
Gu Yan Sheng left the courtroom.
As he was leaving, he clearly saw reporters surrounding An Nuan's group, blocking their way.
He didn't know when it started, but An Nuan had become an internet celebrity in North Wen Country.
Once something involved An Nuan, it was bound to trend.
This woman seemed to suddenly become the center of attention!
Gu Yan Sheng stared at the phone as he scrolled through trending news topics.
He was completely enraged.
What do they mean Ye Jinghuai thanks him for not marrying An Nuan?!
What was An Nuan that Ye Jinghuai should be so smug about her? The women he could possess were hundreds of times better than An Nuan, with status thousands of times higher.
It just wasn't the right time yet.
When the day came for him to make his announcement, An Nuan would know how unimportant she was to him.
Ye Jinghuai would then know how much he looked down on An Nuan!
All of their high-profile behavior now was just humiliating themselves.
One day, they would find themselves in an embarrassing situation!
Gu Yan Sheng gnashed his teeth as he glared at the news content.
Suddenly, his phone rang.
Gu Yan Sheng looked at the caller ID and made an effort to compose himself before answering.
"I've had Wei Daguo killed," the other party stated outright.
Gu Yan Sheng was still somewhat taken aback.
He didn't expect action to be taken so quickly.
"If not for Wei Daguo reacting quickly, we could have been exposed. So that approach can't be used anymore!" the other party didn't even treat the killing as a big deal. What they talked about next was only future plans. "But I have to gain control of the four Great Families."
"I'll do my best," Gu Yan Sheng hurried stated.
"But your performance has been very disappointing to me."
"An Nuan was truly unexpected. Although I don't know how she suddenly changed, I can definitely gain control of An's Group," Gu Yan Sheng assured.
The other end seemed to fall silent for a few seconds before saying heavily, "Gu Yan Sheng, I personally chose you. I don't want all those years cultivating you to go to waste!"
"For Yao Yao, I absolutely won't fail you," Gu Yan Sheng replied eagerly.
"As long as you take An's Group, I'll marry Yao Yao to you. I'll even give you half my empire."
Gu Yan Sheng was naturally overjoyed.
But at the moment, he didn't dare show his emotions too plainly, only responding calmly, "I definitely won't disappoint you again."
"I hope not!"
The other party directly hung up.
Gu Yan Sheng put down his phone, a ruthless look in his eyes.
An Nuan.
He had to gain control over this woman.
He could not let this woman block his official career.
Block his bright future looking down on the world!
