The Favored Heiress
Chapter 701: What Big Move is She Holding Back?

Chapter 701: Chapter 701: What Big Move is She Holding Back?

Li Qiao raised her eyebrows nonchalantly, "Are you talking about Charlman?"

Bai Yan licked his back teeth, "I had someone check the way the order was placed, the IP address was using a virtual host, and the phone lines were frequency-hopping to hide and defend against tracing. These tracking countermeasures are not something an average person would use."

Frequency-hopping defense.

A few days earlier at the research base, Luoyu sent her a screenshot of a phone number for no apparent reason.

By the time she saw the message after completing the DNA test, Luoyu simply explained the reason to her, mentioning the term ’frequency-hopping technology’ as well.

Li Qiao’s brows furrowed tightly, feeling more and more that she had heard this term somewhere before.

When Bai Yan did not receive a response from her, he coughed, "Did you hear what I said?"

Li Qiao tapped her fingers against the table rhythmically and pondered before asking, "Charlman wouldn’t be foolish enough to place the order himself."

"Exactly." Bai Yan stubbed out his cigarette, his forehead darkening, "It wasn’t them who placed the order, but rather a member of the British Imperial Lower House who was a subordinate of the Old Duke. If I strike back, it would directly expose your relationship with the Flame Alliance."

That was the reason Bai Yan was reluctant to act.

Li Qiao had joined the Flame Alliance a few years ago, and her identity had always been mysterious.

For a long time, aside from him and Xi Luo, as well as Gu Chenn who joined not long ago, the other members knew only that the code name K stood for King, and no more information was disclosed.

Even Bo Tingxiao, who was very close to Li Qiao, did not know she was the K sister from the Border Slum Kiln as well as the Flame Alliance King.

And Bo Tingxiao was the Flame Alliance H.

At that moment, Li Qiao, gazing out of the window at the Hoke Group building, her eyes gradually sharpening, a figure emerged in her mind.

Her eyes slightly blazing, she spoke slowly and with relish, "Help, me, strike, back."

Bai Yan’s eyelid twitched, his voice rising several notches, "Are you sure?"

"If exposing my identity can flush out the true employer, it’s worth it."

After saying that, Li Qiao hung up the phone.

Bai Yan in Scarlet City had a bad feeling.

She was suddenly willing to risk exposing her identity—could it be she was plotting something big?

Bai Yan, looking at the report in his hands, his expression grew extremely grim.

This member of the Lower House had been visiting the Ducal Residence very frequently in the last half of the month, and the parliamentarian’s wife was a close friend of Ming Dailan.

...

Meanwhile, Li Qiao made another call to Xia Siyu.

It had been a long time since they last spoke, and upon hearing the other party answer, Li Qiao got straight to the point, "Ever heard of frequency-hopping technology?"

Xia Siyu was silent for a few seconds, "Yeah, I’m eating."

Li Qiao immediately became alert, with an undertow of turmoil in her eyes, "Eating steak?"

"Isn’t that so, don’t you know me well, it has to come with a couple of poached eggs."

Xia Siyu continued to evade the question, and Li Qiao went on, as if talking to herself knowingly, "Remember to brush your teeth after the steak."

"Don’t worry, I won’t get fat."

A few seconds later, Li Qiao took off her Bluetooth headset, her gaze turning slightly cold.

She exited the positioning system, entered the messaging page of WeChat, and after sending a message successfully, across the street from the Hoke Group building, a group of students who were there for a visit slowly exited.

Li Qiao caught sight of Mo Jue hiding among the crowd, pursed her lips, and rose to leave the coffee shop.

Near the revolving doors of the lobby, several teachers leading the group were counting the students.

They counted twice, but the numbers still did not match.

Mo Jue, wearing a cap identical to the others, took advantage of the teachers checking the list with each other and stealthily slid to the side. Using bystanders as cover, she discarded her cap into the trash bin, pulled out her own little felt hat, plopped it on her head, and with a skip in her step, prepared to hail a taxi back to the estate.

After she had left, to the teachers’ amazement, the count of students was suddenly correct.

Over here, Mo Jue arrived at the taxi stand, humming a tune quite comfortably to herself.

Then a hand suddenly hooked around her neck, and just as Mo Jue was about to scream, Li Qiao spoke in an unheated yet stern tone, "Come, let’s have a chat."

Mo Jue gasped, snatching off the felt hat from her head and pressing it against her face, "You’ve got the wrong person..."

Li Qiao glanced at her sideways, about to pull Mo Jue into a taxi when a black Bentley pulled up from behind. The window rolled down, revealing Wei Lang’s smiling, warm face, "Madam, please get in the car."

As he spoke, he stepped out to open the rear door for Li Qiao and Mo Jue, making an inviting gesture with all seriousness.

Seeing Wei Lang, Li Qiao was not surprised. She nodded at him, grabbed Mo Jue, and climbed into the car.

Glancing at the rearview mirror, Wei Lang asked, "Madam, shall I take you back to the estate first?"

Li Qiao looked up, "And him?"

"The Chief has just gone to Royal Hospital," Wei Lang replied, ready to answer any inquiries.

Royal Hospital...

The place where Ming Zhiyuan was hospitalized.

Recently, the turmoil of the Ming family hadn’t subsided completely. Although the official media journalists no longer targeted the Ming family, the tabloid journalists were relentless. The online buzz also persisted for a long time.

Ning Yuanyang’s hunch was correct; it was indeed hard for the Ming family to make a comeback. Not because of Li Qiao, but because they had colluded with the police to confront a high-profile foreign figure, bringing shame to Parma’s public authority and attracting widespread anger.

Li Qiao pondered for a moment, then said to Wei Lang, "Let’s go to the hospital first."

Wei Lang understood and, without further words, floored the accelerator directly toward Royal Hospital.

...

At the same time, in the hospital’s top-floor VIP ward.

Ming Zhiyuan leaned against the headboard, his murky eyes coldly fixed on Shang Yu, who was sitting across the bed, "I appreciate your effort to visit this old man."

The man looked lazily at the butler, his gaze empty yet chilling enough to make the butler shiver.

Ming Zhiyuan pressed his lips tightly, his wrinkled cheeks gradually tensing, "You may go now."

Worried, the butler cast one last look at the grandfather and grandson before silently obeying the command and leaving the ward.

Now, Shang Yu bent his head to adjust his cufflinks, his demeanor seemingly casual yet permeating a hint of nonconformity, "How are you feeling?"

Ming Zhiyuan squinted and turned his head to look outside the window, "You might be disappointed, but I won’t die just yet."

"Disappointed is not exactly the word, considering you didn’t actually faint," Shang Yu teased, his eyelashes lifting slightly as he glanced at Ming Zhiyuan, "Hiding in the hospital, indeed quieter than the Ming residence."

Having his scheme directly called out by his grandson, Ming Zhiyuan’s expression visibly darkened, "Is that the way you speak to your grandfather?"

"If you don’t consider yourself my grandfather, why bother putting on airs to lecture me?" Shang Yu stood up, his gait steady as he walked to the window, turning his back to Ming Zhiyuan, "You knew Li Qiao was my person, yet you didn’t hold back when you went after her."

Ming Zhiyuan let out a scoff, "So you came here to seek justice for her?"

Looming over the scenery of the hospital’s back garden, the man hooked a smile, his voice cool and slow, "If I wished, could you still be treated in my hospital? Old man, you’ve been under Charlman’s protection for too long; have you forgotten something?"