Chapter 281: Separated
The only people left in the front hall were the bodyguard guarding the door and the nanny who took care of Chen Qing personally.
Li Yao hesitated for a long time before mustering up the courage to speak. "I don't know the details, but one year... Dad got drunk and had an argument with Mom. I heard him say that Uncle Chen was stubborn and had offended the wrong person..."
Chen Qing gripped the armrests of the chair tightly, breathing rapidly, and his eyes suddenly turned red.
The servant outside the door brought a bowl of bird's nest and placed it next to her hand, "Miss Chen, take a break before asking questions."
"I'm fine." She closed her eyes for two or three seconds, "Go on."
Li Yao twisted her fingers together and raised her head tremblingly. "In the years before this happened, our... Uncle Chen's company was in a downturn. He didn't want to owe the workers money, so he emptied his family's coffers and paid everyone's wages and compensation, including our family. Before the company was dissolved, my father heard about the big project outside and immediately went to see Uncle Chen. Without that money, the Chen family would have gone bankrupt. My father was... he was doing it for—"
"Seriously?" Chen Qing interrupted her mercilessly, scooping up a spoonful of bird's nest. "Are you going to tell me that Li Xiangli secured resources for the Chen family and smoothed over connections for my father? With this money, the Chen family is no longer in decline, and the Li family is still prosperous. Is this really the case?"
"Yes...my father didn't expect anything to happen, nor did he expect to stand in the way of that important person. He was forced to do it!"
"Forced? I'm telling you the truth. Li Xiangli holds onto key evidence and hasn't destroyed it. No matter who he works for, he'll have a hard time surviving. I'll give you one night to think it over. Do you want to tell me the truth?"
After Chen Qing finished speaking, she stood up and went out, instructing the bodyguard to keep an eye on her.
On the way back to the East Courtyard, you will pass by a field of fruit trees. It is the fruit-bearing season, and the whole place is a sea of yellow.
She stood under the tree, listening to the sound of rain.
The head nanny carefully protected her with an umbrella and tried to find a topic to ease her mood. "This persimmon tree was specially prepared by Mr. Jiang when he bought the house in the middle of the year. He originally wanted to plant it himself, but the weather was bad this year, so Mr. Xiao took great pains to transplant it from somewhere else. He said you can pick the fruit and eat it on weekdays. But it's not ripe yet, and your body needs to be well taken care of for a while. Once it gets cooler and your pregnancy is stable, I'll have the kitchen make you some persimmon cakes."
Chen Qing was losing interest and reached out to catch a handful of rainwater.
In the middle of the year, she casually mentioned coming to live in the south, but what she wanted was to come with Jiang Jingyan.
"It's my fault that he got involved." Chen Qing muttered softly.
The head nanny didn't hear clearly and shook the rain off her shawl. "It's too cold. Go back to the house first. The old man had someone build a stage in the old house this morning. I'll take you there when the rain stops."
"Um."
Chen Qing walked to the corridor, and the bodyguard from the front hall came over and said, "Miss Li has been settled."
"Don't let her hurt herself."
"clear."
Chen Qing could guess Jiang Jingyan's intention. The evidence chain for the Chen family case was complete, and Li Yao was sent here to ensure Li Xiangli wouldn't be threatened with his daughter's life, and to help her resolve her emotional issues.
Apart from legal trials, she must find out why Li Xiangli turned so cruel and ruthless.
On a rainy day, Chen Qing took a nap for over an hour. She was too groggy to wake up. Suddenly, she heard a conversation downstairs, which cleared her mind a little. She opened the window and saw the head nanny in the courtyard scolding, "If I hear anyone talking about Mr. Jiang again, I won't let you off!"
Chen Qing's heart skipped a beat, and he wanted to continue listening when the servant quickly glanced at the second floor and warned him with his eyes.
The head nanny turned her head and smiled lovingly, "Are you awake?"
The servant in the corridor heard the noise, pushed the door open and came in to make the bed.
Chen Qing knew that he wouldn't get anything out of them, so he calmed himself down and said nonchalantly, "I want to go to the stage and take a look."
"The opera troupe that the old man invited hasn't arrived yet. Can we go tomorrow?"
She put on her coat and said calmly, "I'd like to borrow your stage. Please ask Miss Li to come over and bring me my erhu."
The head nanny came in at this time and asked tentatively, "The stage is far away, what do you want to do?"
"Questioning."
The servant had no doubts and immediately cleaned up according to her instructions.
There used to be an old stage in the Tang family's old house, which was renovated for Tang Xiaoming's wedding. Coincidentally, Jiang Jingyan said on the phone that Chen Qing liked the erhu.
The stage is in the back mountain, in the northernmost courtyard of the old house.
The place was deserted for a while. A girl from the Tang family died young some years ago. According to seniority, that girl was Tang Xiaoming's aunt. She loved listening to Huangmei Opera since she was a child. She died of illness in her teens. The sight of the opera reminded her of her and made her family sad, so no one paid attention to the stage anymore.
After the rain, thick fog lingered in the mountains. The paint on the stage had peeled off and the plaque had faded. Li Yao was taken off the stage. The dried-up artificial lake was filled with rainwater and fallen leaves, making it look even more desolate.
The atmosphere was weird. She looked around and saw a figure flash by in her peripheral vision.
Before she could see clearly, the strings trembled and the sudden sad music startled her.
It’s “The Mansion Gate”.
The moment Li Yao recognized the song, the people on the stage gradually appeared.
When she was a child, her parents had a bad relationship and the couple quarreled, which made the child suffer. For example, she couldn't attend interest classes, and for a period of time, she couldn't even attend classes at school.
Seeing that she always watched Chen Qing practice the piano, Chen Cheng decided to send her to learn the jinghu.
At that time, Chen Cheng was even more like her father than Li Xiangli.
Li Yao wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and looked up at the stage.
Chen Qing, wearing a green long dress, stood at the edge, her whole body immersed in the fog, looking down at her from above, the bowstring in her hand sometimes fast and sometimes slow, and when the last syllable fell, she retracted the bow neatly.
"After all these years of neglect, do you still remember this song?"
Li Yao nodded, her throat feeling bitter and astringent. "I'm a slow learner, so you taught me and became my sparring partner."
"You are the daughter of my father's driver, but how do we treat you and your father?"
She choked back, "Everything I told you is true... My father had no choice."
Chen Qing handed the erhu to the nanny beside him, wrapped herself in a shawl, and walked off the stage, waving away the bodyguards. "I believe he has no choice, and I also believe he can't fight against the mastermind behind this."
Li Yao retreated to a point where he had no way to retreat and stopped at the edge of the lake.
The next second, Chen Qing grabbed her wrist and said in a sharp voice, "At this point, there is only one person who can give your parents a chance to live. Do you want to take their lives, or continue to hide the truth?"
Li Yao collapsed, "What do you want me to say!"
Chen Qing relaxed her brows and loosened her grip. "It seems you haven't made up your mind yet. I'm not in a hurry." She observed the bodyguard's position from the corner of her eye and lowered her voice. "Your phone."
Li Yao was stunned.
Chen Qing continued to order, "Go to the Huasheng Group official website and tell me the latest news."
Li Yao finally reacted and reached into his pocket tremblingly.
Chen Qing breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that her guess was correct. The Tang family did not cut off Li Yao's external communications. Secretly confining her would easily give people a reason to criticize her in the future. After all, she couldn't escape.
"There are two announcements," Li Yao stammered. "The latest one... General Manager Jiang of the group has been suspended pending investigation."
Chen Qing's nose suddenly felt sore and swollen. "Time."
"yesterday."
She clutched the front of her shirt, the veins on the back of her hand bulging. "Go to the forum and see if there's any other news today."
Li Yao heard someone coming out of the door and turned sideways to fiddle with her phone. "Indeed, someone is causing trouble at the Huasheng Group headquarters, accusing General Manager Jiang of destroying an innocent student's ear out of personal rage..."
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