The Favored Heiress
Chapter 546: I’m too busy protecting her to do anything else!

Chapter 546: Chapter 546: I’m too busy protecting her to do anything else!

That afternoon, Li Qiao drove away from the Mansion.

After being away for over ten days, she should return to the research institute to report in, and also visit the Li Family.

After Li Qiao left, Shang Yu stood alone in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and made a call to Shang Zonghai.

Far away in Parma, Shang Zonghai was in the midst of a meeting with the members of the Elders’ Hall.

When the phone rang, he raised his hand to interrupt the Great Elder Hu Ying, "Let’s take a ten-minute break."

With that, Shang Zonghai rose and stepped out of the Council Hall.

The Great Elder Hu Ying looked towards the entrance of the hall with an ugly expression, bit his teeth, and snorted coldly, "Our family head is increasingly disregarding the Elders’ Hall."

In the backyard at the Diaoyutai Islands, Shang Zonghai sat in a wicker chair, comfortably took a sip of tea, and got straight to the point with the phone to his ear, "I heard you went to the British Empire a few days ago?"

"What do you wish to say?" Shang Yu stood by the window, listening to the sound of tea being sipped on the phone, his lips tightly pressed, the contour of his jaw tense.

Shang Zonghai threw fish food into the pond, his voice tinged with amusement, "You’ve already gone, what more can I say? Did you call suddenly because there’s something you need?"

The man’s Adam’s apple moved, he was silent for a few seconds, "Li Qiao is related to the Parma Mu Family."

Even though his tone was questioning, he used a declarative sentence.

Shang Zonghai did not answer directly, but deflected with a question, "Who did you hear this from?"

"You certainly did not send that autobiography to the Venus Auction House with the intention of scamming me out of thirty billion."

Shang Yu was blunt in his accusation, his voice growing much deeper.

Shang Zonghai watched the koi in the pond fiercely competing for food and spoke again, his tone very intriguing, "Never mind my intentions. Since I’ve accepted the girl as one of our own, I would certainly not harm her.

I will gradually give her the translated documents, and the truth will eventually come out. What’s the hurry on your part?"

The man’s grip on his phone tightened instantly, his gaze deep as he looked out at the distant mountains, "Are you certain she will follow the path you’ve laid out for her?"

"How could I be certain of that young girl’s thoughts." Shang Zonghai sighed softly, "She is now a member of the Shang family tree.

No matter what she wants to do, the entire Shang’s is her support network. You don’t have to worry about me scheming against her, I’m too busy protecting her."

Shang Yu’s thin lips curled into a smile with a deeper meaning, "It’s good that you think this way."

Shang Zonghai intended to offer a few more words of reassurance, but the busy tone of a disconnected line already sounded through the earpiece.

He laughed and cursed, tossing the phone onto the tea table, his eyes filled with sharpness became vaguely distant and profound.

Quickly, Shang Zonghai turned to Wei Ang, standing a few steps away, "Go send a message to that old man Xiao Hongdao."

Wei Ang strode forward, nodded, and responded, "Please speak, sir."

Shang Zonghai pinched a handful of fish food and sprinkled it into the pond, slightly narrowed his eyes, and said, "Just tell him that his son can deal with Shaoyan however he likes, but if they dare to touch Li Qiao, I will have him and Ming Dailan’s daughter pay with their lives."

Wei Ang’s face showed great shock, "Family head, if you say it like that, wouldn’t it be obvious letting him know Miss Li’s importance..."

Shang Zonghai looked at him profoundly, "Do you think if I don’t say it, he won’t act?"

"But..." Wei Ang truly could not comprehend the deeper meaning behind this. Perhaps it’s that his intelligence wasn’t sufficient.

Shang Zonghai did not bother explaining to him and waved him off, urging, "Just go."

...

At three o’clock in the afternoon, after finishing her leave at the research institute, Li Qiao returned to the Li Family.

She parked the car in the garage, sat in the car, and made a call to Ah Chang, "How are things over there?"

Ah Chang replied methodically, "From my observations, the old butler has been going out frequently lately, holding documents each time. There was also a lawyer who visited, personally received by your grandfather. Aside from that, no one else has come."

"A lawyer?" Li Qiao repeated suspiciously.

Ah Chang immediately nodded, "Yes, I’ve checked that person’s information; he’s a lawyer specialized in inheritance disputes, named Qi Nanhuai."

Li Qiao tapped her fingertips against the steering wheel and acknowledged the information before hanging up the phone.

A lawyer specialized in inheritance disputes made her think of that night at the Other Residence, where her grandfather had seemed on the verge of speaking several times.

To fight for the inheritance, they had even driven her grandfather to start consulting a lawyer in private.

It really was... heartless and ungrateful.

Li Qiao silently noted the matter in her mind, opened the door, and walked into the living room.

She hadn’t informed Mr. and Mrs. Li about her trip to British Imperial at first.

But after Zong Yue returned from British Imperial, she had notified them in advance, which saved Li Qiao the trouble of further explanations.

In the living room, the busy butler saw Li Qiao return and immediately greeted her with enthusiasm, "Miss, you’re back."

"Mhm, are Mom and Dad not here?" Li Qiao took the hot tea from the maid, and just as she sipped, the butler said with a chuckle, "The master isn’t here; the mistress and the younger mistress are busy in the kitchen. Shall I call them for you?"

Li Qiao set down her teacup and stood up, shaking her head, "No need, you carry on with your work."

Near the kitchen, as she was walking over, she heard a burst of laughter and chatter.

Mixed in were Duan Shuyuan’s instructions, "Right now, you pour some vinegar in there and let it stew a bit more, and it should be about ready to come off the stove."

Right after she finished speaking, the chef beside her said with an embarrassed laugh, "Mistress, this dish... should not have vinegar."

Duan Shuyuan, holding the vinegar bottle, glanced at him, "Then what should be put in?"

The chef took the vinegar bottle from her, placed it to the side, then stood next to Zong Yue, turned off the heat, and began explaining the basic method for the dish.

At that moment, Li Qiao was leaning against the kitchen’s glazed door, looking at the chaotic stove inside, and rubbing her forehead while chuckling to herself.

"Mom, sister-in-law," Li Qiao watched for a while, then called out to them.

Zong Yue, who was cooking, looked over in surprise, her eyes lighting up with joy. She lost focus, and the greens on her spatula also ended up outside the pan.

The chef: "..."

Wasting food, what a sin.

Zong Yue, somewhat embarrassed, put down the spatula and looked at Li Qiao with a smile, "When did you come back?"

Lately, she felt that Qiaoqiao had many important state affairs to tend to and didn’t dare to message her and disturb her.

Li Qiao shrugged her shoulders, "Last night."

Duan Shuyuan tugged at Zong Yue’s arm, gesturing to leave, "Alright, learning to cook isn’t urgent; now that Qiaoqiao is back, let’s the three of us go out and chat. You can continue learning another day."

Zong Yue quickly agreed, took off the apron, and with an apologetic smile to the chef, joined Duan Shuyuan and Li Qiao back in the living room.

After chatting for a few moments, Duan Shuyuan again rose to return to the kitchen.

Seeing this, Zong Yue scooted closer to Li Qiao and whispered, "Qiaoqiao, I’ve been thinking recently, it’s quite boring to just sit around all day, so I plan to go out and find a job. What do you think?"

Li Qiao tilted her head and observed her, "That’s good, what kind of job are you thinking of finding?"