The Favored Heiress
Chapter 330: Shen Qingye is Leaving

Chapter 330: Chapter 330: Shen Qingye is Leaving

"Young Director Shen, what’s wrong?"

Bai Luhui raised his head from the phone screen, looking at the ever-changing expressions on Shen Qingye’s face, and carefully asked a question.

Shen Qingye, pinching the phone, turned and looked at Bai Luhui, silent for a few seconds, "Get ready, we’re heading back to the Sixth Bureau tonight."

The matter of the Female Stock God was something Xiao Qi Zai had asked him to help investigate.

Initially, there was nothing unusual, but his father’s reaction was too strange.

After giving it serious thought, Shen Qingye stepped aside to call Li Qiao.

"Something came up at the Sixth Bureau, I have to go back first."

At this time, Li Qiao was following Shang Yu, planning to go to the old house’s front hall.

Not long ago, Housekeeper Xiao had come to inform them that the heads of the collateral branches and the people from the Elders’ Hall had arrived; Shang Zonghai had already gone ahead.

And upon hearing Shen Qingye’s farewell on the phone, Li Qiao frowned and her footsteps paused, "Why do you suddenly have to go?"

Shen Qingye pursed his lips slightly and briefly relayed what his father had said; at the end, he added, "Don’t worry, I will investigate carefully once I’m back at the Sixth Bureau. I’ll let you know if there’s any news."

Li Qiao stood under a date tree outside the Reception Hall, squinting at the ground, "Does that mean, from now on, the entire dark web will ban the trade of information related to the Female Stock God?"

Shen Qingye took a deep breath, his voice listless, "It seems so, this is the first time in years that the Sixth Bureau has encountered such a situation.

That’s why I have to go back, if it gets any later, I’m worried that old man will destroy all the files related to the Female Stock God in the Sixth Bureau’s archives."

A deceased Female Stock God somehow made the founder of the Sixth Bureau so scrupulously secretive.

To say there’s no issue, Shen Qingye didn’t believe it one bit, especially since this was something Li Qiao wanted to know.

If he didn’t investigate until everything was clear, he would not be living up to his nickname of Intelligence Dog.

...

After ending the call, Li Qiao stood under the date tree, deep in thought.

A shadow approached from the side, carrying the unique scent of ebony from Shang Yu’s body. He stroked the top of Li Qiao’s head and asked in a deep voice, "Whose call was that?"

Li Qiao looked back, her eyes meeting the sharp adam’s apple of the man. She raised her head and shook her phone, "Shen Qingye, he said there’s an issue at the Sixth Bureau, so he needs to leave early."

Shen Qingye’s trip to Parma this time was for her sake.

Now he had to abruptly return to the Sixth Bureau, also to help her investigate the matter of the Female Stock God.

Li Qiao looked at Shang Yu, her lips pressed together as she hesitated to speak.

"Want to see him off?" The man’s sharp gaze detected Li Qiao’s intention; his palm naturally landed on her shoulder, drawing her along as he started walking out, "Then let’s go."

"Wait..."

"Eldest Young Master!"

Just as Li Qiao began to speak, Housekeeper Xiao’s call came from not far from the old house.

They all turned their heads simultaneously, seeing Housekeeper Xiao approaching quickly, bending respectfully, "Eldest Young Master, the master and all the heads of the collateral branches, as well as the Elders’ Hall, are waiting for you in the front hall’s Council Hall."

The entire Shang Family Clan had come tonight.

As the principal heir, Shang Yu obviously couldn’t leave at will.

Shang Yu’s presence had already been delayed due to her phone call and his attendance at the Council Hall.

At that moment, Li Qiao gently bumped the man’s arm, saying, "You don’t need to worry about me, just let Luoyu take me back."

Since it was a Shang family banquet, her attendance was actually insignificant.

Even if she needed to meet the heads of the Shang family, she could still encounter them at tomorrow’s Clan Assembly.

Shang Yu’s lips thinned and his brows furrowed, while Housekeeper Xiao, not understanding the situation, stepped forward to advise, "Eldest Young Master, if Miss Li has an urgent matter, I can arrange a helicopter to send her back to Paibo Mountain; the master’s helicopter is parked in the backyard."

Li Qiao looked around and finally made a decisive decision, "There’s no need to trouble yourself, Luoyu and I will drive back."

It’s only a thirty to forty-minute drive back to Paibo Mountain, so it’s not necessary to make a fuss and dispatch a helicopter. Just have Shen Qingye wait a little while.

At that moment, Shang Yu waved off Housekeeper Xiao and took Li Qiao by the hand towards the exit of the old mansion.

Near the parking area, the man looked at Li Qiao and whispered softly, "Go back."

After speaking, he turned back to Liuyun and Luoyu and instructed, "Follow her."

"Yes, boss."

Li Qiao smiled and said goodbye to him, got into the car and waved, then Liuyun started the engine and headed back to Paibo Mountain along the same road.

The sudden departure of Shen Qingye was probably an unexpected change in plans.

Li Qiao sat in the back seat, gazing at the old mansion growing smaller in the rearview mirror, and smiled with a curl of her lips.

In Parma, Shang Yu seemed always apprehensive about her traveling alone.

But tonight, there was no need to worry too much, because every member of the Shang Family Clan had gathered at the old mansion, including Shang Fu.

Under these circumstances, they might not have the capacity to deal with her.

Even if they did, Li Qiao did not take it to heart at all.

As the car entered the main thoroughfare, she called Shen Qingye and asked him to wait at the manor.

Meanwhile, Shang Yu stood outside the old mansion, watching the car leave, before entering the courtyard and heading straight for the Council Hall.

...

On the other hand, Shen Qingye, having already boarded the helicopter, ordered the pilot to notify the air traffic control department to take off later, upon receiving Li Qiao’s call.

Shen Qingye and Bai Luhui returned near the entrance of the manor. Looking at the time, it was almost six o’clock. According to Li Qiao, she should be able to get back within half an hour.

Steady in demeanor, Bai Luhui stood behind Shen Qingye, "Young Director Shen, the Intelligence Operations team just reported that the Sixth Bureau is currently inventorying documents from over twenty years ago, apparently at Master Shen’s request."

Shen Qingye turned swiftly, his fingers tightening slightly, "So soon?"

What’s the rush with his father, after all?

Beginning to inventory twenty-year-old documents this soon made the purpose all too apparent.

Shen Qingye felt irked, looking at the time again with a vexed expression.

The reason he was eager to rush back to the Sixth Bureau was that all the intelligence was stored in the secret archives with no electronic copies.

His father, having come from MI6, was all too aware of the pitfalls and vulnerabilities of the internet.

Therefore, over the years, the locations where the Sixth Bureau stored information, aside from a few senior members, were unknown to others, and no intelligence records of the Sixth Bureau could be found online.

It was also for this reason that the Sixth Bureau’s intelligence was sufficiently confidential and had remained unshakable in the black market for many years.

After pondering for a moment, Shen Qingye instructed Bai Luhui, "Tell the Intelligence Operations team to hold them off and delay the inventory as much as possible, the longer the better."

Rushing back to the headquarters of the Sixth Bureau from Parma would take at least two hours.

He had no idea what had gotten into his father.

However, forty minutes later, Li Qiao had not returned.

Shen Qingye sat in the living room waiting, with his foot propped up, while messages from the Intelligence Operations team kept coming in waves.

Seeing that it was past the time agreed upon with Li Qiao, he took out his phone to call her and find out how much longer it would be before she returned.

The fact that Li Qiao was sending him off thousands of miles away was something he wouldn’t have even dared to dream of in the past.

The kid was getting more and more sentimental, so he had to wait for her to come back.

Shen Qingye, quite composed, dialed the number, but then... the prompt on the other end, unreachable?