Chapter 283 No, it's the Three Kingdoms (Bug Fix): Why is she afraid?

Like a shadow, Xiao Gao silently entered the house and poured a bowl of millet porridge for the boss.

Yes, it's the rice water on top of millet porridge, which is said to help with sleep. This is a calming prescription from a traditional Chinese medicine doctor that the boss recently consulted. It needs to be simmered in a Huizhou clay pot for three hours to extract the most precious rice oil.

He didn't understand how his boss was going to handle the matter. After all, as a bodyguard, he couldn't just randomly inquire about the inside story that his boss didn't want him to know.

So, at this moment, he could only subconsciously comfort his boss: "It should be fine. Secretary Fang shouldn't let her into the Wu family's house."

See? See? Men understand men best.

Xiao Gao wouldn't say things like, "Wu Haoyu would never have anything to do with Zhao Xiuzhi. He doesn't like her, and he's already rejected her."

Men keep love and sex very clearly separate.

Zhao Xiuzhi is in the prime of her youth and has the good fortune to have inherited her mother's beauty. If she were to throw herself into his arms, why would she expect Wu Haoyu to remain unmoved?

Rather than overestimating a man's moral character, it's better to trust his mother's intelligence.

Secretary Fang clearly doesn't approve of Zhao Xiuzhi and will definitely stop him from marrying her.

As Xiao Gao finished speaking, he suddenly heard the door across the hall open and the music from the television playing: "In this mortal world, there are always those who are deeply devoted; do not laugh at their madness..."

He suddenly felt a chill and a vague sense of guilt.

The plot he described sounds so much like the story of "Plum Blossom Mark".

In the TV series, the male lead Haozhen and the female lead Bai Yinshuang were strongly opposed by Haozhen's adoptive mother, Fujin, and forcibly separated, ultimately ending in tragedy.

Wang Xiao also heard the theme song of "Plum Blossom Mark" and burst out laughing.

She tapped the rim of the cup with her fingertips, and the oil on the surface of the rice soup rippled with the vibration, filling the air with the rich aroma of millet.

After she finished laughing, she sipped the perfectly warm millet porridge, glanced at the embarrassed and uneasy Xiao Gao, and said meaningfully, "Secretary Fang is not a princess consort."

Xiao Gao quickly chimed in, "That's for sure. Secretary Fang would never be as unreasonable as the Fujin. The leader is a reasonable and wise person."

As a result, Wang Xiao burst out laughing, which made her cough repeatedly.

Ivanov patted her back while waving to Xiao Gao.

Get out of here, you're talking to a brick wall, this guy didn't understand a word you said.

Now he finally understood that it was perfectly normal for the king not to mentor him.

This is not a capable ruler who can be helped up.

Xiao Gao was completely baffled and turned to look at his companion.

As a result, Xiao Zhao was just as bewildered as he was.

Is there anything wrong with what I said? Secretary Fang is indeed very capable; he looks like the kind of leader who can strategize and plan effectively.

Wang Xiao finally managed to stop coughing and then rinsed her mouth with water.

She spat out the water in her mouth and slowly caught her breath. Her gaze shifted to the telephone on the mahogany bedside table, and she said with a half-smile, "I guess Secretary Fang is waiting for me to make a call."

The two bodyguards exchanged a glance, feeling that their boss really should call Secretary Fang and remind the leader to stop his son from making a foolish mistake and dragging the family into trouble.

Marrying an unvirtuous wife will bring misfortune to three generations.

As a result, after the boss finished drinking the millet porridge, he went to brush his teeth and wash his face.

Seeing this, Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao could only silently withdraw.

They went back to the next room, still completely baffled.

"Hey, do you think the boss and Secretary Fang are on the same page and feel there's no need to make this call?"

"Probably. Maybe the boss thinks that if he makes a phone call, Secretary Fang will be unhappy, and he thinks he's not so senile that he doesn't need to be reminded."

Alas, this is how it is when subordinates are dealing with superiors; one must be careful not to offend them.

But something doesn't seem right.

The boss clearly said she guessed Secretary Fang was waiting for her call. That means the boss didn't think making that call would be offensive.

Xiao Zhao suddenly sat up, his face full of gossip, and said to his companion, "Hey, do you think this counts as a magic contest? They're competing with each other. Just like in 'Dream of the Red Chamber'."

Before Xiao Gao could catch up with his train of thought, there was a knock on their door.

Lyuba stood at the door, smiling slightly, and reminded them: "The boss asked me to tell you that if you want to broaden your thinking, don't limit yourself to the Grand View Garden in 'Dream of the Red Chamber,' you can think about 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms.'"

Now Xiao Gao doesn't need to keep up with Xiao Zhao's thinking anymore; the two of them are both in a state of Spartacus.

Why did we suddenly jump to "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" again, making it sound like a war?

What's even more tragic is that they were quite familiar with "Dream of the Red Chamber" because they had already filmed a TV series about it back in the 1980s, which was a nationwide hit.

The TV series adaptation of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has never been made to this day. Their only impression of it is from the storytelling performances they've heard sporadically, but they've almost forgotten about it now.

We can't expect them to translate the semi-classical Chinese version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".

Xiao Gao racked his brains but could only manage to ask one question: "Secretary Fang isn't the Fujin (wife of a high-ranking official), could she be Sima Yi?"

Bah! Bah! Bah! Sima Yi's intentions are obvious to everyone.

Those were traitors and rebels who have been publicly denounced for centuries.

The two bodyguards exchanged glances, but after staring at each other for a while, they gave up on their own thinking and went to bed.

The moon is fullest on the sixteenth of the lunar month, and the moonlight that night was like the static noise of an old-fashioned CRT television set when it couldn't receive a signal. It slanted across Secretary Fang's desk through the loosely drawn velvet curtains on the second floor of the provincial party committee compound.

The lantern festival in Jinning City was not yet over, and the citizens rushed to the streets on the last day to bid farewell to this grand event. Carriages and jeweled horses filled the streets with fragrance, and laughter and joy echoed everywhere, creating a lively and festive atmosphere.

But this excitement belongs to them, and has nothing to do with Secretary Fang.

She stayed quietly alone in the room, without resting even though the clock had already passed ten o'clock.

As people get older, they seem to need less sleep.

Especially after she took charge of Jiangdong, her sleep quality declined sharply.

There's no way around it; this is a common problem among almost all local officials.

How can I sleep peacefully when I think about the heavy burden I bear and the many problems that remain unsolved?

That night, Secretary Fang spent the entire evening reading documents under the desk lamp.

The telephone lay quietly in the shadow of the desk lamp, as if asleep, and remained silent.

The only sounds in the room were the rustling of her turning the pages of documents and the scratching of her pen on the paper as she wrote notes.

When midnight arrived and the quiet telephone still hadn't woken up, Secretary Fang sighed softly and got up to rest.

She didn't sleep well that night.

The logistical arrangements at the provincial party committee compound were impeccable, isolating her from all disturbances. Neither the distant sound of ship horns on the river nor the fireworks and firecrackers marking the end of the New Year could penetrate the layers of barriers to reach her ears.

There was no dripping from the faucet, the rumbling of the drainpipe, the footsteps of people outside, or the sound of doors opening and closing.

Even the clocks didn't tick.

But Secretary Fang still couldn't sleep well; the sounds of her breathing and heartbeat were inescapable. Each breath and each heartbeat signaled the passage of time, making it increasingly difficult for her to fall asleep peacefully.

The armed police downstairs must have changed shifts, because she saw shadowy figures moving on the curtains illuminated by the moonlight.

A wind picked up in the latter half of the night, and the shadows of the sycamore branches lashed out on the velvet curtains, like someone using a pen to dip into the night and put on a shadow play.

She drifted off to sleep only when dawn was breaking.

She didn't hear the phone ring that night.

When I was washing my face in the morning, Secretary Fang asked, "Did you make a phone call?"

The voice behind replied respectfully, "No, Comrade Wang Xiao did not contact Comrade Wu Haoyu."

Secretary Fang didn't say anything and silently finished washing his face.

After the towel was put back on the washstand, she slowly exhaled as she applied the locally produced pearl cream from Jiangdong to her face, as if talking to herself: "It seems she's going to take the third path."

She never doubted that Wang Xiao knew Zhao Xiuzhi was going to Japan.

She never doubted that Wang Xiao could not predict the possible follow-up effects of this matter.

If that's the case, she won't be on his list of ideal daughters-in-law.

But she remained unmoved, neither calling to express her stance nor contacting Xiaoyu, who was far away in Tokyo. That could only prove one thing: she didn't intend to start with me or Xiaoyu.

What a stubborn person he is! He is clearly the most capable businessman at weighing the pros and cons, and the most skilled at achieving the greatest results with the least cost.

But this time, her waist and neck were stiffer than anyone else's; she refused to bend her back or lower her head.

It was clearly nothing serious, but she gave her answer through silence.

Isn't she afraid of offending me? Isn't she afraid that I might form an alliance with the Zhao family?

No, she really wasn't afraid.

Because I don't know how.

What were the Zhao family's intentions in sending Zhao Xiuzhi to Japan? Their true intentions are obvious to everyone.

The abacus beads were practically jumping off his face.

They looked down on Xiaoyu so much that they brazenly treated him as a tool to be used and recklessly forced him into their hands.

This is tantamount to looking down on oneself.

What? You think she's the only woman holding the Wu family together now, with the old man's health failing and her husband a scholar, not involved in politics. You think she's all alone and easy to bully, right?

Otherwise, even if the Zhao family had ten times the guts, they wouldn't dare to openly plot against her and slap her in the face in public.

Secretary Fang rubbed his palms together and placed them on his eyes, which were sore from lack of sleep, to soothe them; the corners of his mouth curled up in an almost self-deprecating way.

Wang Xiao really didn't need to make the call.

If, under these circumstances, I still allow Wu Haoyu to marry Zhao Xiuzhi, then her next step will likely be to sever ties with me.

This girl, who smiles on the surface but harbors arrogance deep down, will not associate with fools.

Now that she has seen everything clearly, why should she panic and take the initiative to call and soften her stance?

interesting.

Her palms had returned to normal temperature, so she lowered her hands and looked down at the table.

Besides the Jiangdong Province Special Economic Zone plan that she had approved yesterday, there was also a newspaper there.

It was that Hong Kong tabloid that reported on the so-called "Four Young Masters and Four Princesses." In the photo, Zhao Xiuzhi's face was filled with ignorant arrogance and stupidity.

Actually, being born into the Zhao family was unfortunate for this girl.

Because any family that truly loves their daughter would never arrange for her to go to Japan during this sensitive time, fearing that others would laugh at them; instead, they would act discreetly, first arranging for her to train in a remote area for a few years, accumulate some capital, and then see if there is an opportunity to advance further once the storm has passed.

It's a pity it's not her daughter; she wouldn't have to worry about someone else's child.

Next to the newspaper was a letter she wrote to the Party Central Committee, urging top leaders to manage their families, especially their children.

Last time, Wang Xiao used a tabloid gossip story to force the Zhao family to back down and stop interfering with her electronics city project in Beijing.

So this time, will she stay out of it and move on, or does she have some new tricks up her sleeve?

As Secretary Fang put the documents into her briefcase and fastened the clasp, she couldn't help but feel curious, wanting to see what Wang Xiao would do next.

What she didn't know was that the answer was actually in this newspaper.

This time, however, Wang Xiao's target was not Zhao Xiuzhi or the Zhao family, but another major figure in the newspaper—Zhou Beifang.

Yes, that's the second son of Shougang Group.

Speaking of which, he was quite an extraordinary person.

In the history before Wang Xiao traveled through time, he was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, but he was released on medical parole after serving only a few years in prison.

Then, he was swindled out of tens of millions of yuan in business, and in doing so, he led a group of people to beat up the other party, which led to him being imprisoned again.

How did Wang Xiao know so much? Because there was a very famous case before she transmigrated, yes, the infamous Sun Xiaoguo case.

She was informed online that such things were not uncommon in the 1990s, and the post cited Zhou Beifang's case as an example.

So she was very impressed.

The reason Wang Xiao chose him as the breakthrough point was very simple.

First, your luck has arrived.

In the history before she transmigrated, the second young master's good fortune ended around this time.

So her intervention now means that there's a high probability that the protective network behind him is no longer able to shield him.

Second, revise history.

The downfall of the second son was originally due to a case within a case that was triggered by the illegal fundraising case of Deng Bin in Wuxi.

However, in this world, when Wang Xiao went home for the Spring Festival last year, he was too talkative and, through Minister Cao, who was then Deputy Secretary Cao, he exposed the illegal fundraising case in advance. Therefore, the scope of the case was limited, and at least it did not involve the second young master.

Anyway, he's still living a carefree life, flying to Singapore today, Malaysia tomorrow, and Peru the day after tomorrow. He's known as a "little whirlwind."

Wang Xiao felt that he had dragged down the innocent people of Shougang.

Now, however, it's time for her to set things right.

As for why bringing down Zhou Beifang would drag the Zhao family down with him?

This all started with the series of anti-corruption cases at Shougang Group.

In 1991, Guan Zhicheng, assistant general manager of Shougang Group and secretary of Beijing Iron and Steel Company, was sentenced to death by firing squad for soliciting and accepting bribes of more than 1.418 million yuan and embezzling more than 82,000 yuan of public funds.

It is evident that in this era, the crackdown on economic crimes is still quite severe.

But why was the second son, who was clearly involved in a much larger amount of money, only sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve a few years later? Because he had made meritorious contributions by reporting on the crimes of others and confessing to a large number of other people's crimes.

Coincidentally, both of Zhao Xiuzhi's older brothers were in the second young master's circle of friends.

I believe their bond is stronger than gold; they are good brothers and know the details of each other's villas.

Wang Xiao let out a soft sigh and put down the newspaper in her hand.

On the coffee table, illuminated by sunlight, is a news article from February 15th, in which UNESCO points out for the first time that the gap between the rich and the poor is a knowledge gap.

Also, from February 25 to March 1, the Third Plenary Session of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing.

Looking at the photos in the news, Wang Xiao silently prayed, hoping that the Premier, known for his iron-fisted anti-corruption efforts, could bring her good news.

Lyuba drew back the curtains; it was the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, and the sky over Shanghai was perfectly clear.

Outside the window, the melody of Teresa Teng's "Tian Mi Mi" drifted in; the music store on the street corner was testing a newly arrived cassette tape.

Downstairs, an old woman selling fermented rice balls was tapping a wooden bucket with an aluminum spoon, the "tap-tap" sound intertwining with Teresa Teng's sweet voice to create a unique morning melody.

Chunmei saw it perfectly. The sunlight at the end of February shone through the window, carrying a faint fragrance, warm and softly enveloping one's body, almost like coquettishly pleasing you. So, are you satisfied?

Wang Xiao smiled and nodded, feeling quite satisfied.

She ate a basket of soup dumplings; the thin skin revealed the golden color of the crab roe, and when she bit into them, the scalding hot soup burst open on her tongue with its fresh and fragrant flavor.

She drank another bowl of soy milk, neither sweet nor salty, just plain, with the pure aroma of soybeans.

Being in Tokyo, separated by a time zone, Wu Haoyu felt extremely dissatisfied.

He received a call from Beijing early in the morning as he was preparing to have breakfast in his room.

It wasn't Wang Xiao he was hoping for, but his childhood friend.

Moreover, his childhood friend gave him a shocking piece of news.

"What?! Zhao Xiuzhi is coming to Japan to study?!" He was so shocked that he waved his hand, knocking over the freshly brewed Yunnan coffee.

Brown coffee spilled onto the domestic newspaper spread out on the table, staining the headline: "The State Council has decided to implement the 'National 87 Poverty Alleviation Plan' starting this year, striving to basically solve the problem of food and clothing for the current 80 million impoverished people nationwide within the last seven years of this century."

My childhood friend laughed and cursed on the other end of the phone: "What are you so dramatic about? Let me warn you first, hang in there. If you're going to sleep, wait at least six months. I made a bet with those bastards that you can hold out for at least six months before they take you down. It's ten thousand yuan, so don't make me lose it."

Wu Haoyu didn't have time to curse the other party for being immoral; he was just furious: "Is the Zhao family crazy? Why did they arrange for her to study in Japan?"

"The real intention is not in the wine, but in the scenery." My childhood friend laughed heartily. "Anyway, don't forget what I said. Even if you're as tempting as Tang Sanzang, don't let a female demon pounce on you so quickly. If I lose, I'll hold you responsible."

The call ended.

Wu Haoyu didn't bother to clean up the mess on the table; the rich aroma of coffee spilled all over the floor only made him feel irritable.

He quickly pulled out his phone book and made an international call to Jinning, hoping to talk to Wang Xiao and clear things up.

He genuinely didn't know about this.

The call was connected, and the person who answered was Chen Yanqiu.

As the music playing on the TV sang "Do it with me every day, five minutes a day," she replied politely, "Xiaoxiao, I don't know. She's either in Shanghai or Beijing, or maybe she's gone abroad. I don't know her phone number now. She only calls home when she needs something."

Actually, the latest page of the phone book next to her contained Wang Xiao's number at the Shanghai hotel.

Even if Wang Xiao is a loner, she wouldn't be so lonely that her parents couldn't find her if something happened to them.

But why did Chen Yanqiu give her daughter's phone number to Wu Haoyu?

Before the Spring Festival this year, he was the first on the list of candidates for Chairman Chen's son-in-law.

However, after the incident with Zhao Xiuzhi, his status plummeted, and he was even less successful than the dissolute old Maozi.

Bah! All show and no substance, utterly useless when it matters. Xiaoxiao has to handle everything herself; what's the point of having him? Is he just for show, hanging on the wall?

As a picky mother-in-law, she even started to suspect things for no reason: Why is Zhao Xiuzhi targeting Xiaoxiao like this? Is it because Wu Haoyu is not proper and has an ambiguous relationship with other women?

So after Chen Yanqiu finished her polite perfunctory reply, she simply said goodbye: "Sorry, Xiao Wu, I have to go to work. I have a meeting today, so I can't be late."

It was a waste of her time doing aerobics.

After being hung up on, Wu Haoyu had no choice but to call his mother again.

The wind blew the window open, and early February cherry blossoms drifted into the room. In the distance, Tokyo Tower was shrouded in the morning mist, its outline obscured.

Wu Haoyu waited anxiously for the call to connect; he didn't want to have anything to do with Zhao Xiuzhi.

If he was simply indifferent to this person before, after the farce during the Spring Festival, all that remained for him was disgust.

Now, Zhao Xiuzhi is like a piece of chewing gum, running off to Japan again. He feels physically nauseous and tries to avoid her at all costs.

Secretary Fang was also in a hurry to attend the meeting.

But since the caller was her son, she was still able to muster the patience to finish the call.

"I understand. But Xiaoyu—"

She sat behind her camphor wood desk, her gaze fixed on the Jiangdong Province Eighth Five-Year Plan map hanging on the wall opposite her desk, the nib of her pen spreading ink on the word "read" on the document.

The shadows of the plane trees outside the window swayed, and her voice was like the February wind in Jinning City.

"Shouldn't you reflect on yourself?"

"Women who like you think you're easy to manipulate and believe they can win you over with ease."

"The woman you like, after this happened, she never contacted you from beginning to end. What does that mean? It means she never expected anything from you."

"Those who like you and those you like react this way. Shouldn't you reflect on why?"

Her gaze swept over the family photo on the table.

That was a family photo taken before Haoyu went abroad. The youngest member of the family in the photo is full of vigor, with bright eyes and outstretched arms, as if embracing the whole world.

A mother simply couldn't hide her disappointment: "I'm glad you have good judgment. But Xiaoyu, even Zhao Xiuzhi can make you panic. What makes you think Wang Xiao can believe you can protect her from the wind and rain, and take a bullet for her?"

Secretary Fang put down her pen, wearily pinched the bridge of her nose, and said in a desolate voice, "Xiaoyu, Mom can help you this time, but what about later? You're a year older than Wang Xiao. How long can Mom help you?"

————————

Good morning! Time to go to work. O(∩_∩)O, did you notice? Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao said "Sima Yi's heart is known to all" instead of "Sima Zhao's heart is known to all."