The Favored Heiress
Chapter 673: Xiao Bao, Remember Mom’s Words

Chapter 673: Chapter 673: Xiao Bao, Remember Mom’s Words

Li Qiao left the tea room and, upon seeing Luoyu’s slightly anxious face outside the door, pulled at her lip and strolled toward the outside corridor.

With furrowed brows, Luoyu hurried to keep up and asked in a low voice, "Is everything okay?"

"Yes." Li Qiao looked straight ahead, her expression once again serene, "It’s about time to head back to the manor."

"The council meeting..."

Before she could finish, Li Qiao looked at her with raised eyebrows and said, "It will be over soon."

Luoyu, taken aback, heard another statement, "Don’t you understand? Everything this morning was deliberately arranged."

As the housekeeper, Xiao’s standing within the Shang’s was hefty; it was impossible for him to casually reveal his master’s whereabouts.

All of this was merely to provide her with convenience.

Purposely distracting Shang Yu allowed her to investigate the prescription without any worries.

The one who gave the orders was Shang Zonghai.

...

Twenty minutes later, two new Rolls-Royce Ghost cars drove out from the old residence.

In the back seat, Li Qiao rested against Shang Yu’s shoulder, her eyes closed, playing with the tips of his fingers.

The man turned his head to look out the window, his clear-cut profile stoic and noble, "Haven’t finished reading the translation documents?"

Li Qiao lifted her eyelids and raised her head from his shoulder, "Almost, why?"

Shang Yu turned to look at her clear eyes, his thin lips pressed tight then relaxing, "You were always thinking about it before, why aren’t you in a hurry to read it now?"

"Oh..." Li Qiao pondered for a few seconds, once again using her brother-in-law as a shield, "These past two days I’ve been preoccupied with Shang Lu’s strange illness; I’m considering setting up a specialized team at Renhe Laboratory when we return to South Sea to research it thoroughly."

The man’s eyes gleamed with amusement as he smirked, "Is going to see our dad also for his sake?"

Li Qiao’s heart tightened, her gaze growing more tranquil, "Not entirely. There’s also the Mu Family’s child and the auction house matter."

Shang Yu nodded as if he understood; although he didn’t inquire further, Li Qiao felt he might have seen through something.

The old residence was Shang Zonghai’s domain; concealing things from Shang Yu was not easy.

In the time that followed, Li Qiao leaned against the back of the chair, pretending to doze off, markedly avoiding any interaction.

Paibo Manor.

Once Li Qiao returned to the familiar sitting room, she lifted her gaze and immediately saw Luoyu approaching with a dark green brocade box.

She smiled, took the brocade box, and caressed the velvet surface, arranging her emotions before opening the lid to take out the Xuan paper inside.

This was the final remaining thirty pages of the autobiography’s translation. With complex emotions, Li Qiao began to read through the document, taking much longer than she had any other time.

Not long after, absorbed in the story, Li Qiao did not notice Luoyu silently leaving the sitting room.

Near the fountain, Shang Yu stood with one hand in his pocket and the other holding a cigarette. He glanced sideways at Luoyu with a deep voice, "Next time you investigate something, remember not to leave any traces."

Luoyu was startled, her heart racing, "Boss, I..."

"Go back inside." The man interrupted her before she could finish, lifting his arm, "You’ve done well."

Luoyu: "?"

Not punishing her for playing both sides of the fence?

Such leniency?

Luoyu turned and walked back in a daze, and another phrase floated from behind her, "Tell finance to double your bonus this month."

"Th-Thank you, boss."

Luoyu clumsily climbed the steps, for the first time perceiving her boss to be so kind and compassionate.

Just because she helped Li Qiao investigate something in the old house?

Luoyu thought to herself that she might have found the golden key to promotion and wealth.

First and foremost, consider the madam!

...

Only five minutes had passed, and Li Qiao had already finished reading all thirty pages of the translation document.

She neatly stacked the Xuan paper and placed it back in the brocade box, then leaned back and fell into deep thought.

Mu Aofan’s second sister’s child had never been found, apparently lost to the sea.

Back then, the kidnapper demanded three mines as a ransom in exchange for the little lady.

The Mu Family agreed to the exchange and promised not to call the police.

Unfortunately, someone let the news slip.

The chief of the Parma Police Station personally visited the Mu Family, claiming he wanted to help severely punish the kidnapper.

In that era, associating with the Mu Family seemed to be an honor.

The files didn’t detail the incident, merely expressing regret that during the arrest, the kidnapper drove off a sea-crossing bridge.

When the vehicle was salvaged, only the kidnapper’s body was found, the child had vanished into the vast sea.

Everyone knew that the chance of a two or three-year-old child surviving was virtually none.

The latter part of the document showed that Jing Yilan was six months pregnant.

And she had had a prenatal checkup, it was a daughter.

She wrote at length about her expectations for this daughter, including trust funds and education funds...

The last sentence of "The Autobiography of the Stock God" was probably what touched Li Qiao the most.

——Xiao Bao, if you can read this diary, remember what mom says, live well, live with all your might, do everything you want to do, don’t be afraid, Mom and Dad will always protect you.

Li Qiao’s eyes were half-closed, her heart indescribable with a mix of emotions.

Only when she saw the last sentence did she vaguely realize that Jing Yilan seemed to have known that something would happen to her.

That’s why she wrote this diary in Parma’s original script and meticulously recorded her stock account in it.

Li Qiao couldn’t help but reflect, she and her third brother had once talked about her origins.

The Li family members had all witnessed her being carried out of the delivery room.

Moreover, the physical changes Duan Shuyuan went through from pregnancy to childbirth couldn’t have deceived anyone.

Thinking of this, Li Qiao massaged her temples with a slight headache.

Shang Zonghai seemed to know all the ins and outs, but at this stage, he was not at all planning to come clean.

She could only rely on herself.

Li Qiao pulled out her phone from her pocket, opened her contacts list, and hesitated before pressing a number.

On the other end, Fu Lvting picked up quickly.

Li Qiao glanced at Luoyu standing in the corner of the living room and cut to the chase on the phone, "Help me look up a hospital admission record."

"..."

"Not sure if it’s at the South Sea Affiliated Hospital, I’ll send you the ID number in a moment, see if there’s any record in the interconnected system."

After ending the call, Shang Yu’s figure also appeared in her line of sight.

He waved his hand casually, and Luoyu left the room.

Li Qiao tilted her head to look at him, her eyes filled with intense emotions.

The man sat down beside her, glanced over the brocade box, and raised one eyebrow, "Done reading?"

Li Qiao let her head droop languidly and, after a moment of silence, asked him, "Do you think I am a Mu family member?"

"Whether you are or not, there’s no difference."

Li Qiao pursed her lips, contemplative, "That may be true for you, but others... may not feel the same."

Shang Yu leaned over, picked an orange from the fruit bowl on the coffee table, and offered it to Li Qiao, his handsome face revealing profoundness, "The old Mu Family home is in Parma Old Town, want to take a look?"

"The old site is still there?" Li Qiao was surprised.

Shang Yu wiped her mouth corner with his thumb and explained in a deep voice, "Parma Cultural Park, that’s where the old Mu family home used to be."

Li Qiao gazed steadily at the man and smiled, "Then let’s go see it."

"Rest today, we’ll visit it tomorrow and then I’ll take you to another place."