Chapter 55: Bewitched

Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Bewitched

Ling Qinghan nodded. "Before you arrived, Mr. Shen’s life was stable. He and his wife were on good terms, and he was close with his daughter. And who in all of Beijing doesn’t know how capable Shen Shuangshuang is? The Shen Family took the initiative to propose a marriage alliance. With the two families joining forces, Mr. Shen’s future path would only become wider and smoother."

Song Yao almost laughed out loud. "My father’s current position—do you think it’s a low one?"

Ling Qinghan answered quickly, "Mr. Shen’s position is, of course, a high one."

"His position is already so high, and you’re still thinking about something even higher?"

She narrowed her eyes, her voice slowing. "Comrade Ling Qinghan, that doesn’t sound very good."

"Even my father wouldn’t dare to entertain such an idea, yet you’ve already planned it all out for him, even making the final decision behind his back. Are you truly doing this for his own good, or... do you have other ideas in mind?"

The composure on Ling Qinghan’s face instantly cracked.

"I..."

"In your eyes, should all men be like you? Single-mindedly focused on climbing up, even if it means stepping on others and shamelessly clawing their way to the top?"

Song Yao’s words were like a needle, piercing right through Ling Qinghan.

Ling Qinghan’s brows tightened, his temper flaring. "A man like Mr. Shen—why shouldn’t he be able to sit in the highest seat?"

He didn’t think he’d done anything wrong; he was just infuriated at being seen through.

’This was the kind of ambition anyone would have to keep hidden.’

It was all crystal clear to Song Yao now. She completely understood what kind of person Ling Qinghan was.

She couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words.

"When my father gets back, I’m definitely going to have a long talk with him about what you’ve said today."

Hearing this, the color drained from Ling Qinghan’s face. His lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing more.

Song Yao turned and left, grabbing her bag and checking into a small hotel.

For a guesthouse in 1983, the conditions were quite decent. There was hot food, hot water, and a place to do laundry—everything was in order.

For the next few days, she could finally relax. She ate full meals, slept in, and would wake up only to doze off again.

It was a life of pure bliss.

The injuries she sustained back in Nanhui City had mostly healed.

But since arriving in Beijing, she had been working nonstop. Her body could still take it, but her mind was exhausted.

While Xiao Li was busy helping with the investigation into Ji Xianbei, she took the chance to completely clear her mind and think about nothing.

But she knew one thing for certain: those two, Yao Yuzhen and Shen Shuangshuang, would never let this go.

Shen Shuangshuang had never seen Song Yao as a sister, and Yao Yuzhen had never accepted Song Yao as one of her own children.

Song Yao’s very existence threatened the position they had carefully maintained for so many years.

Song Yao stayed holed up in the guesthouse, quietly living her own peaceful life.

But back at the military base, all hell had broken loose.

The news broke in the middle of the night, first discovered by a clerk who noticed Ji Xianbei hadn’t come to sign in.

Then, someone saw that a drawer in his office was half-open and completely empty inside.

People whispered that the implications of this incident were huge, and it looked like they were getting serious this time.

Although Ji Xianbei wasn’t from one of the four great families, his mother was a daughter of the Wu Family, making him first cousins with Wu Yufeng. They couldn’t be closer.

The moment Ji Xianbei took a fall, his mother rushed back to her family home in tears, begging for help.

The current head of the Wu Family was none other than Mrs. Ji’s older brother, Wu Baoguo.

"Big Brother! Ji Xianbei is my only son! You have to help him!"

Mrs. Ji coughed as she spoke, her chest heaving violently.

After saying this, she pitched forward, her forehead striking the floor tiles hard.

A nearby servant moved to help her up but was stopped by a raised hand from Wu Baoguo.

Wu Baoguo stared at her, fuming. "How can I help? The person he tried to kill is Shen Zhenwu’s biological daughter!"

Mrs. Ji rolled her eyes. "Yao Yuzhen herself said that Shen Shuangshuang is her biological child. Where would Shen Zhenwu get a second daughter from?"

She pulled a neatly folded piece of paper from her clothes and shook it open to reveal a photograph.

In the photo, Yao Yuzhen was holding a baby and standing next to Shen Zhenwu. The background was the gate to a small courtyard in the family quarters.

She held the photo up to Wu Baoguo’s face, her finger jabbing at the baby’s face.

Wu Baoguo’s face was ashen. "It doesn’t matter what Yao Yuzhen says! Shen Zhenwu is convinced that Song Yao is his daughter, and that’s all that matters!"

He snatched the photograph, tore it into four pieces without a second glance, and threw them into the wastebasket.

He turned back to Mrs. Ji and said, word by word, "The paternity test signed by Shen Zhenwu is in safe number three in the Military Commission’s archive room."

He snorted. "I told you long ago to keep a closer eye on your son! Shen Shuangshuang rotates through men like a carousel. Everyone knows what kind of character she has. The young can be blind, but how can we be blind along with them?"

He paced back to his desk, pulled open the bottom drawer, and took out a blue-covered booklet.

He flipped to a page that was densely filled with seven or eight names.

He closed the booklet and pushed it in front of Mrs. Ji. "See for yourself. Of all the marriage proposals she’s rejected, how many did you know about?"

Mrs. Ji’s face was a mess of tears and snot. "Big Brother, what’s the use of talking about this now? Ji Xianbei was completely bewitched by that vixen Shen Shuangshuang! And he’s not the only one—isn’t Yu Feng the same?"

When she mentioned Yu Feng, her voice suddenly dropped, turning tentative. "That boy, Yu Feng... he’s not mixed up in this, is he?"

The moment Wu Baoguo heard this, his face fell. "That good-for-nothing! He lets my words go in one ear and out the other!"

He grabbed the glass on his desk and slammed it to the floor.

He shouted to someone outside, "Get Wu Yufeng in here! Now!"

"It’s not the boy’s fault, Big Brother..."

Mrs. Ji sobbed, her voice trembling. "It’s just that Yao Yuzhen is too cunning, with one scheme after another. The daughter she raised is exactly like she was back then, an expert at making young men lose their heads!"

Her gaze fixed on Wu Baoguo’s face. "Big Brother, if this really blows up, our Wu Family... will probably lose a few stars as well."

"Ji Xianbei was truly possessed this time! He completely lost his mind trying to protect Shen Shuangshuang."

"He admitted it himself. He was afraid that Shen Zhenwu’s suddenly appearing biological daughter would steal Shen Shuangshuang’s spotlight and ruin her good name, so he secretly decided to kill Song Yao on his own!"

It had to be said, Shen Shuangshuang’s talent for manipulating men was etched into her very bones.

When Song Yao heard the details of the case from Xiao Li and learned that Ji Xianbei had shouldered all the blame himself, she was stunned.

"Ji Xianbei is adamant about not implicating Shen Shuangshuang; he hasn’t said a single word about her. Ling Qinghan was also called in for questioning, but he just told the truth and didn’t drag Shen Shuangshuang into it at all."

Song Yao looked down, silent for a few seconds. There was no ripple of emotion in her eyes.

After a few seconds, she looked up, her calm gaze resting on Xiao Li’s face. She asked, "You mentioned before that Ji Xianbei is the Ji family’s only heir? This man is about to face a firing squad. What’s the situation with his family?"

Xiao Li went on to explain the convoluted relationship between the Ji family and the Wu Family.

"The patriarch of the Wu Family is Ji Xianbei’s maternal uncle. The two families have been joined by marriage for three generations. All the direct sons in the Wu Family’s main line are stationed at the border, with only the youngest, sickly daughter having married into the Ji family. That’s why the Wu Family couldn’t sit still the moment Ji Xianbei got into trouble."

"The Wu Family swallowed their pride and went to plead with Mr. Shen, but he wouldn’t even give them the time of day. Then, Mr. Shen secretly met with Ji Xianbei’s father. It turns out that old bastard had started another family on the side long ago and had a ten-year-old illegitimate son. Mr. Shen just offered him some money, and the man immediately agreed to follow all arrangements."