Chapter 77 The Femme Fatale
Peace Hotel, Shanghai.
A black Crown sedan silently pulled up in front of the Peace Hotel. Every prominent figure in Shanghai recognized that license plate.
The car door opened, and the first to get out were two burly men in black suits, their temples bulging, clearly skilled in martial arts.
They didn't go inside, but stood on either side and respectfully opened the back doors.
The first thing to emerge was a leg, wrapped in a dark green silk cheongsam with a very high slit, revealing glimpses of a snow-white thigh at first glance.
Immediately afterwards, a woman who still retained her charm slowly got off the car.
She was around fifty years old, but time hadn't left many marks on her face. Instead, it had given her a mature and alluring charm, with hooks in the corners of her eyes and brows.
This woman was Huo San Niang, who had just arrived in Shanghai from Hong Kong.
"Miss Huo, the room is ready." Du Kangnian personally came out to greet her, a professional smile on his face, but he bent his back even lower than usual.
Several days earlier, as instructed by Su Wantang, he had subtly leaked information through channels in Hong Kong that the Peace Hotel had been taken over by a wealthy Hong Kong businessman surnamed Bai.
This bait was prepared for Huo Sanniang.
Huo San Niang's woman hummed in response, without even lifting her eyelids, and walked straight inside.
Once inside the elevator, Huo Sanniang spoke lazily, her voice both alluring and husky: "I heard you've got a new person in charge here?"
Du Kangnian's smile remained unchanged: "Yes, our restaurant recently has a new investor, surnamed Bai."
"Oh? Boss Bai?"
Huo San Niang murmured the title with amusement, the bright red nail polish on her fingernails gleaming eerily under the elevator wall light.
"Have her come to see me."
It's not "please", it's "let".
Du Kangnian nodded and bowed: "Yes, I will report it immediately."
Inside the presidential suite, under a luxurious crystal chandelier, Huo San Niang reclined on a velvet sofa.
She took a slender women's cigarette from an elegant silver cigarette case, and the bodyguard behind her immediately bowed and lit it for her with a lighter.
The bluish-white smoke rose in wisps, blurring her well-maintained face.
There was a knock on the door.
"Enter."
The door opened, and Bai Shu walked in.
She wore a sharply tailored black suit skirt with a white silk shirt underneath, the top button meticulously fastened.
Her long hair was styled into a simple bun at the back of her head, revealing her smooth forehead and slender swan neck.
Huo San Niang squinted and looked her up and down.
This woman is too young, and too...clean.
The shrewd and capable businessman aura he exuded was completely different from what she had imagined the descendants of the Bai family to be like.
"You're Boss Bai?" Huo Sanniang exhaled a smoke ring, her tone carrying a hint of scrutiny.
"It's me. Manager Du told me that Miss Huo was looking for me?"
Bai Shu walked to the sofa opposite her with neither arrogance nor servility and sat down, his posture upright and exuding an aura of authority.
Huo Sanniang laughed, her laughter was lilting.
"Boss Bai is so young, yet he has such a grand vision. He acquired the Peace Hotel so easily."
"Businessmen are just after profit," Bai Shu said calmly.
"Profit?" Huo Sanniang stubbed out her cigarette and leaned forward slightly.
"I heard that Boss Bai isn't from Shanghai, but from Hong Kong?"
"That's right."
"What a coincidence, me too." Huo San Niang's eyes suddenly sharpened.
"Mr. Bai, have you ever heard of the 'White Paper Fan'?"
They've arrived.
Su Wantang knew exactly what was going on, but her face subtly revealed a hint of confusion and wariness:
"What fan? Miss Huo, I don't quite understand what you mean. We are legitimate business people, we don't get involved in those shady dealings."
She looked exactly like a clueless young man who only cared about money and didn't understand the rules of the underworld.
Huo Sanniang stared at her for a full half minute, trying to find a flaw in her face.
No, there was nothing there. This woman's eyes were too clear, too open, as open as a blank sheet of paper.
"Hehe, I was being presumptuous."
Huo Sanniang withdrew her oppressive aura, regained her languid demeanor, and lit another cigarette.
"Since Mr. Bai is a businessman, let's talk business. I have an incredible fortune for you, but I don't know if you can handle it."
"Miss Huo, please go ahead."
"You know the Bai family, right? They were incredibly wealthy in Shanghai decades ago, but later moved to Hong Kong."
Huo Sanniang stared into her eyes.
"Their family has a mountain of gold hidden overseas. It's a pity that there's no one to carry on the family business. They've raised quite a few guard dogs, all of whom want to devour the gold mountain, but none of them have the ability."
Su Wantang meticulously analyzed every word and micro-expression of Huo Sanniang. This woman was indeed after her mother's overseas inheritance.
Her outward appearance, however, revealed her shrewd business acumen. She leaned slightly forward, tilted her head slightly, and her beautiful peach blossom eyes were filled with pure, businessman-like shrewdness.
"The Bai family?"
"Which Bai family is Ms. Huo referring to? The Bai family that makes textiles, or the Bai family that runs shipping? If they have a big business, I'd be very interested."
Huo Sanniang stared into her eyes, trying to discern something from them.
But in those eyes, there was only a desire for "business" and "profit," clear yet greedy, without the slightest impurity.
This reaction... is wrong.
If they were descendants of Bai Xiuzhu, they would never react this way upon hearing the words "Bai family".
Could it be... that I'm overthinking things? Is this woman just an ordinary businesswoman who got lucky and stumbled upon a clue?
For a moment, Huo San Niang was also unsure.
“That gold mine needs a key to unlock it.” Huo Sanniang slowly exhaled smoke, emphasizing each word, “and that key is very likely in Shanghai. I need a local partner to help me find it. After it’s done, the gold mine will be split 30/70 between you and me.”
Bai Shu frowned, seemingly weighing the pros and cons quickly. She didn't agree immediately, but instead shook her head.
“Miss Huo, the pie in your sky is too big for me to handle.” She acted like a pragmatic businesswoman. “Finding things is too vague and uncertain. I don’t like doing business that’s not certain.”
She paused, then changed the subject, throwing out her bait: "However, I do have a ready-made 'key' in my hand."
Huo Sanniang sat up abruptly, her eyes instantly turning sharp: "What did you say?"
"Before I came to Shanghai, I bought a batch of personal items from a bankrupt Hong Kong businessman at a low price, including a very special jade bracelet."
Bai Zhu's tone was incredibly seductive.
"The merchant said before he died that it was a token to unlock a huge treasure. I initially thought it was just nonsense, and maybe I could even sell the jade bracelet for a high price. But now that you mention it... it seems to make sense?"
The surprise and greed she displayed, as if "manna from heaven" had fallen from the sky, were so real that they were flawless.
Huo Sanniang was completely led astray by her.
It turns out he wasn't a descendant of the Bai family, just a fool who got lucky and happened to get the key!
A pure businessman, whose mind is only focused on money, has no foundation or background. Such a person is the easiest to control!
Huo San Niang's doubts dissipated almost instantly, and a smile returned to her face, a smile that was much more genuine than before.
"Oh my, what an incredible coincidence! Boss Bai, it seems we're destined to become rich together!"
“Cooperation is possible.” Bai Shu held up two fingers.
“But I want a 50/50 split. I have the key, so I get the bigger share.”
"You!" Huo San Niang's bodyguard took a step forward.
"Sure," Huo San Niang readily agreed, laughing heartily.
"Mr. Bai is straightforward and honest, I like that! Then it's settled!"
She's just a tool that can be crushed at any time, so what's the harm in making grand promises to her?
After seeing Huo San Niang off, the moment the suite door closed, all the shrewdness and greed of a businessman vanished from Bai Shu's face, leaving only a cold, calm expression.
Su Wantang walked to the window and watched Huo San Niang's car disappear into the night.
She was 100% certain that Huo Sanniang's only goal from beginning to end was money. She knew nothing about "Zhulong" or the evils hidden beneath the orphanage.
That makes things easier.
If the enemy is not a monolithic entity, there is a possibility of it being divided and disintegrated.
At the same time, in Beijing.
Qin Zheng strode into Lu Jingyan's office, his face grave. "Brother Lu, I've found out."
Lu Jingyan raised his head, his bloodshot eyes revealing no emotion.
"explain."
“Lu Wenbo has been in frequent contact with a person called ‘Wild Dog’ recently.”
Qin Zheng placed a document on the table.
“This ‘wild dog’ is an internationally notorious arms dealer with a very unscrupulous approach. He’ll smuggle anything for money. According to the intelligence we’ve intercepted, they seem to be planning to smuggle a batch of ‘high-value goods’ out of the country through Shanghai’s ports.”
High-value goods.
Lu Jingyan's pupils suddenly contracted.
It's "Zhulong"!
Lu Wenbo was driven to desperation and was now trying to destroy the last piece of evidence of his crimes!
"Keep a close eye on the 'stray dogs' every move." Lu Jingyan stood up, picked up his coat draped over the back of his chair, and said, "Book me the fastest flight to Shanghai."
He wanted to personally close the net.
...
Peace Hotel, Presidential Suite.
After seeing Huo Sanniang off, Du Kangnian came in, his face showing some worry.
"Young Miss, this Huo San Niang is like a beautiful snake, she's too dangerous."
"A snake will only become docile if you break its vital point." Su Wantang sat in front of the dressing table, slowly combing her hair.
“Manager Du,” she looked at Du Kangnian in the mirror, “go and contact a few newspapers for me. I need the kind that are bold and unafraid of trouble.”
Du Kangnian was taken aback.
Su Wantang took a brown paper bag from the drawer and handed it to him.
"Inside here is a fake account book from the Chunlei Welfare Home, as well as evidence that they withheld children's food rations and resold donated supplies."
These items were all taken from the archives and warehouse on a whim. Of course, she kept the most crucial evidence.
"First, find reporters and leak this information." A cruel smile curled at the corner of Su Wantang's lips.
"I'll first drown that den of iniquity with my spittle. Let everyone see just how rotten and stinking that so-called 'model of charity' really is!"
Du Kangnian took the paper bag and felt it was burning hot to the touch.
The young lady's move is a strategy of manipulating public opinion and undermining morale!
“I understand!” Du Kangnian nodded emphatically.
"I guarantee that tomorrow morning, all the newspapers in Shanghai will be filled with Dean Zhou's 'glorious deeds'!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com