Chapter 388 The Truth Revealed: The Concubine Banished to the Cold Palace

For Yura, the World Economic Forum in Davos, which took place from February 1 to 6, 1996, was a complete nightmare.

From the very beginning, they witnessed the Western world's fawning adulation of Zyuganov.

Then, before the annual meeting was even halfway over, he completely offended Wang Xiao.

Yes, from beginning to end.

Ever since that conversation that night, after Wang Xiao screamed and trembled as he left, Yura avoided him like the plague whenever they saw him, as if he were some kind of monster.

Yura was neither a woman nor Chinese. As a Russian man, he simply couldn't understand this Chinese woman's overreaction.

His intuition told him he should ask someone why this was happening.

But after thinking it over carefully, he realized that the only Chinese woman he could consider an acquaintance was her. Now that the problem was with her, he didn't know who to ask.

Besides, he doesn't have the time or energy to worry about this right now.

Gennady Zyuganov is becoming increasingly popular at the Davos Forum.

Everyone sees him as the next president of Russia, or rather, the resurrected General Secretary of the Soviet Union; because even if the president of the Kremlin were to actually come, he might not receive such acclaim.

Yura thought he should have a serious talk with Ivan, knowing he was a Marxist, but also a businessman.

As a businessman, he has an obligation to protect his private property.

Tragically, Ivanov believed himself to be a gentleman first and foremost, and a gentleman should always stand by his girlfriend's side.

Since the king is unwilling to see Yura now, Ivanov will naturally have to break off relations with Yura for a period of time.

As for when this period of separation will end, that depends on when Wang recovers from the severe emotional trauma he suffered.

Simply put, it's a long way off, and there's no hope in the short term.

Amidst the helplessness of a desolate and desperate situation, the only thing that offered Yura a semblance of solace was the fact that Miss Wang's fear and disgust towards Soviet men was almost indiscriminate.

She ignored all Russian men except Ivan and his team, and she also avoided Zyuganov. Even shared beliefs couldn't prevent her from distancing herself from the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

This can be considered a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

At least she didn't directly side with the Russian Communist Party, did she?

Unfortunately, this meager consolation didn't even last half a day.

Wang Xiao is afraid of Russian men, but Ivanov is not.

He took the realism of a businessman to the extreme, not only actively engaging with Zyuganov but also getting people to endorse him, guaranteeing to European and American businessmen that even if the Communist Party of the Russian Federation came to power, it would not affect the business they outsourced to his computer company.

Zyuganov also publicly guaranteed that if the Communist Party of the Russian Federation came to power, it would vigorously develop the IT industry.

As for Ivanov, he is undoubtedly the kind of industrialist Russia needs most under any circumstances, and the person Zyuganov highly praises.

Upon seeing this scene, Yura immediately vomited three liters of blood.

He went to Ivanov to protest, but the latter was quite self-righteous, saying that in business, he wouldn't stoop to any low-down methods. Don't bother with empty talk; he just makes the money he can.

When Yura turned around and called Punonin, he complained incessantly: "He's really afraid people won't know he's a descendant of the Soviet Red Army and very familiar with the Communist Party. Even Wang Xiao knows this perfectly well and avoids Zyuganov."

Wait a minute, Punonin sensed something was wrong and immediately pressed, "Why is the King avoiding Zyuganov?"

This doesn't make sense. They've always been inseparable. How could I suddenly have a disagreement?

Yura was stumped by the question, and only after Punonin raised his voice in a threatening tone did he stammer out the atrocities committed by the Soviet Red Army.

Good heavens, he was already filled with regret. He had never imagined it would cause the king such a severe reaction.

He wanted to apologize, but the king refused to see him, wishing he could avoid breathing the same air as him.

As Punonin listened to his confessions, he sighed from the depths of his soul: "God, this poor fool. He's been completely fooled and still hasn't realized it."

It was obvious that at the time, Ivan and Wang were unwilling to attend their rally against the Russian Communist Party, but they didn't want to turn against them on the spot.

So they needed to find a reason to leave the room openly and legitimately.

Yura just happened to stumble upon them at the perfect moment, allowing them not only to leave with a clear conscience but also to occupy the moral high ground.

He suspected that Yura's head had been caught in a door.

Even the dumbest person should know that, given Wang Xiao's personality, would he be so terrified by a historical tragedy that happened half a century ago?

Moreover, given her knowledge and access to information, this matter was hardly a secret to her.

Don't forget, Russia has already made public a large number of Soviet archives. These atrocities were hardly top secret in those archives.

Punonin rubbed his forehead vigorously with his left hand. Having nothing better to say, he simply gave up on reminding Yura: "Alright, alright, stop worrying. I'll tell Ivan to stop worrying."

after all--

He swallowed his thoughts.

With your gullibility, there's no point in you continuing to be anxious.

She can make you spin around in circles with just a flick of her little finger, then make you dizzy and collapse.

Punonin didn't give Yura a perfunctory answer. Although Yura was a naive and innocent girl, she was at least a decent person and one of the few friends Punonin dared to trust.

He contacted Ivanov again, his voice filled with helplessness: "God, Ivanov, please leave poor Yura alone, stop tormenting him."

He emphasized Yura's anxiety, pain, and torment, and wanted these two guys to be decent human beings.

This remark stirred up a hornet's nest, and Ivanov immediately erupted: "Vlamikil, what devilish language are you speaking? Do you know how much this has hurt her? The King is still having nightmares about it! Yura is in pain? Who orchestrated this pain? Her pain is less than one-tenth of the King's!"

Punoning was also stunned by his overreaction, and he couldn't help but wonder if he had really misunderstood.

After all, he knew very little about women. The only women he was truly familiar with were his grandmother, his maternal grandmother, his mother, his wife, and his daughter.

Even his middle school daughter wouldn't be so frightened by witnessing a woman giving birth that she would vomit and keep insisting that she would never have children in the future.

Punonin still remembers what happened last summer in the concentration camp on the outskirts of Moscow.

At that time, Ivan was completely obedient to the king and said he would not have any more children.

so--

The tax police major general hesitated before correcting his judgment: "Okay, even if I was wrong..."

"No!" Ivanov protested again. "What do you mean by 'even if'? It's as if the king's pain is being dramatic, and my anger is being unreasonable!"

Punonin had no choice but to back down again: "Alright, alright, I misspoke. I apologize for my rashness. I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, you are all my friends."

He spoke earnestly, “Ivan, please help Yura. He’s like a headless fly; he’ll torment himself to death.”

Ivanov scoffed, "Whose fault is this? The King warned him long ago. If the President isn't worried, why is he? If the Emperor isn't worried, is the eunuch?"

Punonin could only plead earnestly, "It's precisely because he can't see through things that we need to help him! Ivan, he's already gone down a dead end. Besides us, who else can help him?"

Ivanov, being known for his soft heart, finally relented after being persuaded by Punonin with both reason and emotion.

"Okay, okay, I'll attend their press conference. Good heavens!"

He complained, "Was this press conference absolutely necessary? Chubais has lost his mind; he'll lose control of the situation!"

What press conference?

Chubais plans to hold a press conference on the closing day of the Davos Forum to expose Zyuganov's true colors as a typical Communist Party fraudster.

Does it make sense?

Punonin once again urged, "Just consider it as fulfilling their wishes, letting them see things through to the end."

Ivanov had no choice but to nod in agreement.

Then Yura witnessed a scene that greatly surprised him. On the day the forum closed, at Chubais's press conference, not only did Ivanov come, but he even brought Wang Xiao with him.

She was just sitting a little far away and continued to ignore him.

A painful emotion gripped Yura's heart like a giant hand, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

He instinctively wanted to step forward and apologize, but the staff member stopped him.

The press conference was hastily organized; they didn't have enough staff, so he had to take on multiple roles to help Chubais complete his exposé of Zyuganov.

So he had to stop moving forward and turn around to continue his work.

Wang Xiao did not look at Yura.

Her gaze was fixed only on Chubais, who was sitting on the podium, and the reporters attending the press conference.

It's so deserted, you could describe it as just a few cats and dogs.

Very few reporters attended the press conference.

It is obvious that a former Russian deputy prime minister, a disillusioned politician, does not have enough influence to make journalists, who are preparing to head home, unpack their bags again to focus on this so-called exposé.

On the podium, Chubais continued to shout, holding up so-called internal documents of the Russian Communist Party and emphasizing to reporters: "He is lying, he is a double agent! The first thing he did after coming to power was to restrict freedom of speech and then imprison all his political enemies. He has never known what democracy and freedom are. He is a terrible communist, a terrible dictator."

He waved the documents in his hand, quoting chapters on energy nationalization, banking nationalization, and the revocation of privatization, to prove that Zyuganov's assertion at the forum that privatization would not be revoked was a complete lie.

However, the already small number of reporters did not react as strongly as he had expected.

Aside from reporters from Channel 1 and NTV, Wang Xiao didn't see anyone else actively raising their hand to ask questions.

Lyuba watched from below the stage and wanted to sigh.

What kind of exposé is this? It's not like Chubais is holding any classified documents.

In Russia, such documents are readily available.

Those who are genuinely interested in this can obtain more and more confidential documents with a little effort.

Even if Western journalists didn't have these means to obtain internal documents of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, they would only regard these documents as a routine tactic for political parties to smear each other before an election.

Haven't you read Mark Twain's "Running for Governor"?

This is such a childish tactic; they've been using it for ages.

Do you expect people to be astonished as if they've discovered some earth-shattering secret?

That's really naive.

Wang Xiao silently watched the hoarse-voiced Chubais, then glanced at the deserted hall, and sighed inwardly.

A year ago, or perhaps when Chubais had participated in the World Economic Forum in Davos four times, he was ignored in this snowy city.

The more the Western world adored and praised him back then, the more thoroughly they now trample on him.

By now, he should have realized just how important power is to him.

I wonder if he regrets that when the Kremlin and the president pushed him out as a scapegoat, he didn't struggle and readily accepted the decision to be removed from his post as First Prime Minister.

Wang Xiao turned his head and gestured for Ivanov to come closer so he could whisper in his ear, "It's almost stretched out."

Ivanov almost burst out laughing, nodding repeatedly and whispering, "If he keeps going like this, I suspect he'll go crazy."

How many people can remain unmoved by external gains or losses, rise to prominence without becoming arrogant, and then fall from grace while still staying true to themselves?

At least Chubais, who was still struggling to put on a solo performance on the podium, probably couldn't do that.

Especially when no one is interested in him.

Gennady Zyuganov, who was holding an autograph session at the Sunstar Park Hotel, became a rising star in politics and was the object of everyone's pursuit.

Even Xiao Gao and Xiao Zhao, upon seeing the comparison between the two sides, were reminded of the TV series "Dream of the Red Chamber" that they had watched.

Goodness gracious! Lin Daiyu is on the verge of death, and nobody cares; meanwhile, Baochai is having a grand wedding with Baochai.

This only made the scene seem even more desolate.

Driven by a desire to find a newsworthy story, a reporter went up to Zyuganov and asked, "What do you think of Mr. Chubais's accusations against you at the press conference?"

After signing the last name, Zyuganov put away his pen with a smile and said with great poise, "Madam, please let us be tolerant of him. After all, a shallow politician has only risen to prominence by temporarily gaining the favor of so-called important figures, and does not possess the real abilities commensurate with his status. So now that he has been exposed for what he truly is, it's no wonder he's going crazy."

He nodded to the crowd and smiled as he thanked everyone for their support of the autograph session.

I'm very sorry, he has to drive to the airport now to catch his flight.

Hopefully, he will continue to receive everyone's support in Moscow in the future.

Zyuganov got into the car and left, his demeanor nonchalant the entire time, without even glancing at Chubais.

What is more humiliating than hostility is being ignored.

It's obvious that they didn't consider him an opponent at all.

Looking at Qiu Baisi's dejected figure, and recalling his desperate shouts at the press conference, Wang Xiao suddenly thought of the famous internet clip—Gua Liu accusing Consort Xi.

She couldn't help but smile, and the corners of her mouth turned up.

Ivanov asked in surprise, "What are you laughing at?"

Wang Xiao shook his head: "I just thought of palace dramas. Look, doesn't he look like a concubine who has been banished to the cold palace?"

In February 1996, palace intrigue dramas were not yet popular, so Ivanov had to think carefully to connect the two.

He was initially at a loss for words, but then nodded vigorously: "It really does look like it."

It's either the East Wind prevailing over the West Wind, or the West Wind prevailing over the East Wind. In the court of the Davos Forum, the person who is currently favored is Zyuganov.

Wang Xiao sighed softly beside him.

The assertion that "if you put a man in a woman's situation, he will become a woman" is becoming increasingly valuable.

No, they didn't even need to be in a woman's position. In fact, the actions of the so-called previous dynasty were no different in essence from the intrigues of the harem.

The struggles in the imperial court were often deeper and more intense than those in the harem.

As for the methods used, they weren't particularly sophisticated.

The press conference ended, and Yura became even more anxious.

None of his hopes came true, and he felt a deep sense of fear that the building was about to collapse.

He mechanically tidied up the venue, but when he saw Ivanov, he forgot about their temporary break in relations, grabbed him, and said like a frenzied addict, "Ivanov, you have to stand with us. You have no other choice!"

He finally remembered that he was talking to a businessman and eagerly emphasized, "You saw the documents from the Russian Communist Party, didn't you? They will take everything from you in the name of the state. Your oil fields, your commercial districts, your container markets, your steel mills, car factories, truck factories, lathe factories, including your farms, your rare earth plants, your mines, and so on and so forth, everything you have will be taken away by them."

Berezovsky came over and urged him anxiously, "Ivan, you really can't take this lightly. You can't assume everyone is as kind and good as you."

Good heavens, even the village store can't buy you a bottle of water on credit with that capitalist's mouth.

In order to achieve his goal, Berezovsky so quickly ignored the fact that Ivanov had taken his Siberian Oil Company and praised him as the greatest philanthropist in the universe.

“We know your family has a powerful background, and your grandfather still has some old friends in the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. You should be able to save your life. But what about your property? They won’t let your property go.”

Berezovsky's mouth was practically dry from talking. "Ivan, are you resigned to this? Your wealth was clearly earned through your intelligence and hard work. Why should the state take it away from you?"

Ivanov thought to himself, "Come on! We're all oligarchs. We all know perfectly well how we get our money."

What intelligence, what hard work? If he hadn't undermined socialism during the transition period, how could he have amassed so much wealth?

But no matter where the money came from, as a capitalist, he would not allow someone else to take the money that had entered his pocket.

So Ivanov turned his head, looking troubled, and tried to seek the support of his partner.

However, Wang Xiao had already walked away indifferently, leaving behind only the words: "I don't care about your affairs."

Berezovsky quickly embraced Ivanov and, speaking with the wisdom of someone who had been through it all, advised him: "God, Ivanov, try to appease her later. If you go back now, she'll only be angrier. Come with us; this is a matter of life and death for us. We must save ourselves and save Russia."

Yura watched Wang Xiao's departing figure, opened her mouth, and wanted to call out to him.

If the king isn't around, what good is Ivanov alone? He knows Ivanov's capabilities perfectly well, having grown up with him since childhood.

As it turned out, Yura was right.

Ivanov followed them not to share a trench with them, but to confront them and demand an explanation.

Upon entering Chubais's room, which served as a makeshift reception room, he erupted in anger: "Who? Who did this stupid thing? God, what have you done? Why are you spreading rumors in Davos about the Soviet Red Army raping women at the end of World War II?"

He sneered, "Because you saw how devastated my girlfriend was after hearing this, you think you can make a big deal out of it, right? You completely ignore the fact that my girlfriend will suffer repeated trauma every time she hears this again. You bunch of horrible devils!"

Yura looked away in shame.

He didn't suggest this move, but he didn't strongly oppose it, so he was also a criminal.

But he had to defend himself by saying they were truly out of options. Zyuganov was enjoying immense prestige and international recognition.

If they don't find a way to stop it, they're all doomed.

Ivanov gave a mocking sneer: "A wise man's thousand thoughts are not as good as a fool's brilliant idea. You racked your brains to come up with a brilliant idea, thinking that you are slandering the Soviet Red Army and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation? No, it is us, all of us Russians."

His gaze swept over them one by one, reminding them, "Think about it yourselves, haven't all the ladies been avoiding us Russians these past few days? How many female reporters are there at today's press conference?"

Yura then realized why the female reporter he had spoken to earlier had been so cold to him when he invited reporters to the press conference.

He had initially thought that once the person left, the news would fade away, and the reporters would be busy chasing after the political upstart Zyuganov.

Ivanov waved his hands vigorously: "There is no difference. The Soviet Union is part of Russian history. The crimes committed by the Soviet Red Army are the evil of our ancestors. No one will separate us. What you emphasize is, in their eyes, the conclusion that all Russians are rapists!"

Berezovsky couldn't stand it anymore and quickly spoke up: "So, Ivan, you should stay with us. If you had reminded us, we wouldn't have made this mistake."

He made a pleading gesture: “Let’s stop fighting. Let’s all stop. We need to unite in the face of a formidable enemy.”

Ivanov's chest was still heaving, his face flushed and pale. He glared at everyone again before reluctantly nodding, "Alright, Boris, we do need to find a way to save the other Mr. Boris."

Khodorkovsky lit a cigar with annoyance: "Isn't it too late now? The Davos Forum has already closed; we've missed our best opportunity. Now the international community is on Zyuganov's side. How can we make amends?"

When this topic comes up, everyone's face turns serious, and their facial muscles stiffen.

Before they set off for Davos, they never imagined that Western society would be so enthusiastic about Zyuganov.

So much so that they were caught completely off guard.

Yura subconsciously looked towards the doorway, wishing it would open and Wang Xiao would walk in.

Because only she, among all the people he knew, knew how to survive in such a desperate situation, and even achieve a stunning reversal.

However, the door was tightly shut, and not even a sound of footsteps could be heard outside.

Finally, Ivanov broke the silence, scoffing, "Why do we need to change the West's perception? Why do we need their support? What kind of third-rate country is Russia? What kind of puppet regime is our government? Does our country cease to exist without the support of Europe and America?"

He exclaimed in anguish, “Sir, you have put the cart before the horse! Russia is a great power, one of the world’s leading powers, not some third-rate little country. Our head of state is elected by the Russian people, not appointed by the United States or any other country!”

He glared at them angrily. "Why bother trying to please them? What's the point of gaining their approval? Do they have the votes? No! The votes are in the hands of the Russian people!"

The group was subjected to a severe scolding, and since they were all older than Ivanov, they were truly embarrassed.

But before they could get angry, Yura anxiously emphasized: "But we must get the support of the international community, otherwise we will not be able to integrate into the world, let alone talk about economic reforms."

Ivanov waved his hand impatiently: "Haven't you figured it out yet? You've got cause and effect backwards. The West's support for Zyuganov isn't about recognizing him as a person, nor is it about recognizing the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. It's because they think he's going to win, so they have to cultivate a good relationship with him in advance. Similarly, if our president wins, then we won't even need to rush around; those big Western conglomerates and business tycoons will eagerly flock to him."

He stated firmly, "Don't argue with me about this, because I'm stating the facts, facts that you can see as long as you don't close your eyes!"

Chubais sighed and, unusually, spoke up: "Alright, we don't need to argue about this anymore. Our priority now is to defeat Zyuganov, defeat the Russian Communist Party, and prevent the Communists from making a comeback."

Ivanov shrugged: "That's exactly what I wanted to say. We need a unified goal, a specific goal, which is to support our president's re-election. To achieve this goal, we need a specific person to carry it out."

His gaze turned to Chubais. “Sir, I propose you to be the executor. Because among us, no one understands Russian politics better than you, and no one understands our president better than you. And no one is more committed to economic reforms than you. Please step forward, sir. Russia needs you now. We need you. Please step forward and be the executor.”

The Davos Forum has ended today, and he has to bring out Chubais today.

Punonin wants to run for the next president, and the Five Continents Group needs political backing in Russia; they all need Chubais as a political ally.

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[Let me see] Good morning! Is it hot?