The Favored Heiress
Chapter 704: The Scandal of Shang Yu

Chapter 704: Chapter 704: The Scandal of Shang Yu

Li Qiao: "..."

She smiled gently, and before she could answer, Fan Mei, knowing she had been abrupt, added, "What I meant was... does he have any health issues?"

Li Qiao did not directly answer. She was not well acquainted with Fan Mei and could not rashly disclose Shang Lu’s private illness, so she simply said, "Perhaps it would be more appropriate to ask him yourself."

Fan Mei sighed with a touch of melancholy, "All right then."

Li Qiao nodded at her and then walked into the office.

Fan Mei must really like Shang Lu, otherwise, why would she ignore Shang Yu’s good looks?

In terms of appearance and demeanor, her Shang Yu was clearly superior.

Is this what they call... beauty is in the eye of the beholder?

Li Qiao returned to her office and sat down. When she looked up, she saw Mo Jue lying on the coffee table, scribbling something on a piece of paper with a pen.

She glanced at it and instantly covered her face, unable to decide whether to laugh or cry.

Mo Jue was actually practicing her signature. The name Mu Jue seemed a bit complicated for her, and she wrote the character ’Mu’ so crookedly that it was split into two sections.

When Mo Jue noticed Li Qiao’s return, she snatched up the paper from the desk and stuffed it into her chest, biting the pen cap and asking with distress, "Sis, which name should I sign later? Mu Jue or Mo Jue or Mo Jue?"

There were too many names, so annoying, and each one harder to write than the last.

Li Qiao looked down at the scribbled handwriting on the paper, and Luoyu said with an indescribable tone by her ear, "Madam, I told Miss Mo she had to sign later, so she..."

It was hard to believe.

The internationally famous master thief Mo Jue, was actually illiterate to many words.

Li Qiao understood and pointed to two of the characters, "Sign Mu Jue. I will have someone reapply for your passport."

Mo Jue obediently snatched the paper back and started to write furiously again.

This scene further solidified an idea in Li Qiao’s mind.

Mo Jue needed to go to school.

...

In less than half an hour, Fan Minli had re-drafted the share transfer agreement with Fan Mei.

But surprisingly, Li Qiao actually gave up five percentage points of the transferred shares to the Fan father and daughter.

Fan Minli was amazed, staring at the shareholder agreement, his expression dazed, "Miss Li, what is this...?"

"Uncle Fan, you deserve it, please take it."

Fan Minli knew better than anyone that five percent equity of the auction house was a sizeable fortune.

Previously, they were too scared of Shang Zonghai to harbor any second thoughts, and even in the future, this father and daughter duo would only work more vigorously to handle the auction house’s business.

Li Qiao’s generous offer was enough to win them over, even if it was a tactic to curry favor.

After Mo Jue finished signing all the transfer procedures, Fan Minli said he would take them to the Bureau of Industry and Commerce for re-registration, and would soon deliver the effective documentation to the manor.

After saying goodbye to Li Qiao and the other two, Fan Minli looked at the several share distribution agreements, sighed complicatedly as he gazed out of the window.

"Dad, why did she give up benefits to us? An almost 30 million dividend from five percent of the shares, and she was so generous?"

Fan Mei, from a businessman’s perspective, always felt there was more than meets the eye.

Fan Minli put away the documents and heaved a deep sigh, "It’s not generosity; it’s about wooing and making a point."

Fan Mei looked puzzled, her eyebrows tightly knotted, "Making a point?"

"Don’t you understand yet? By giving us five percent of the shares, she means to show that she can influence the entire distribution of Mu’s Auction House’s shares, warning us not to get any ideas. As for wooing, I don’t need to say more, do I?"

Fan Mei nodded dubiously, "Her mind is quite deep."

Fan Minli eyed her, and with a change in tone, ordered, "Stop worrying about that for now. Go notify the finance department to quickly transfer last month’s profit into Mu Jue’s card, it must be..."

Before he could finish, Fan Minli abruptly looked up, his eyes filled with shock.

Mu Jue, it was actually Mu Jue.

No wonder this name felt so familiar to him.

Was this... the minor shareholder from years ago who caused the inability to change the name of Mu’s Auction House, Mu Jue?!

...

In the blink of an eye, two days passed.

Li Qiao had been staying in Parma for nearly half a month now.

That morning, she sat down alone on a garden bench, the scorching sun overhead intertwined with the pleasant breeze.

The thought of leaving grew stronger in her mind.

To her, the Kingdom of Parma had already lost its appeal.

She had already mastered all the information about the prestigious eighteen families from more than two decades ago.

Even if she investigated the truth, in the internet age, she could research anywhere.

However, during this peaceful sunny day, someone exposed a ’scandal’ on the Parma media websites.

The South Sea Yan Emperor Group’s Parma Branch was involved in smuggling and tax evasion, and at the same time, someone anonymously reported that the Chairman of Yan Emperor illegally possessed weapons, violating Parma’s civilian firearm prohibition laws.

This news landed on Parma’s major social platforms within just half an hour and garnered over fifty million clicks.

Li Qiao and Shang Yu received the news while they were eating lunch in the restaurant.

Luoyu reported the incident with an extremely ugly expression, while Shang Yu continued to methodically peel king crab for Li Qiao, responding indifferently with a "hmm".

Li Qiao took a sip of her soup, looked up, and asked, "Who reported it?"

Luoyu shook her head gravely, "A newly registered burner account, its IP address from an unlicensed internet café on the outskirts. There are no surveillance cameras inside, and the area around is a redevelopment zone awaiting demolition. Even the road monitoring hasn’t been restored."

Li Qiao pursed her lips seriously; this seemed to be the first time a scandal involving Shang Yu had occurred.

The other party was somewhat intelligent.

Hiding in plain sight, they also knew how to avoid all the risks of being discovered.

The man rolled up his sleeves, revealing his muscular forearm, and placed the peeled king crab into Li Qiao’s plate.

Li Qiao picked it up, dipped it in the sauce, and directly offered it to Shang Yu’s mouth.

The man glanced at her, curled his thin lips, and bit off a piece of the crab leg, while the remaining half of the crab meat made its way into Li Qiao’s own mouth.

The two continued eating undisturbed by the news, which made Luoyu’s temples twitch, "Boss, should we initiate a public relations plan?"

What she was worried about was not the smuggling or tax evasion, but the charge of illegal possession of weapons.

Parma managed firearms very strictly, no less stringent than domestically.

If someone intented to investigate, they would certainly uncover some clues.

At that moment, Li Qiao fed Shang Yu a piece of stir-fried beef, then naturally drew back her chopsticks and glanced at Luoyu, "Starting the public relations plan now would be tantamount to admitting guilt."

Luoyu stopped talking.

The exposure was obviously targeted at the boss.

The other party did not mention Shang’s or Li Qiao, but only targeted the name of South Sea Yan Emperor Group’s Parma Branch.

This way, it would be classified as a scandal involving an overseas multinational corporation, forcing Parma’s leaders and other authorities to disassociate, effectively locking them in irons.

After all, the scandal of international smuggling along with illegal possession of weapons—according to Parma’s penal code—could carry a sentence of up to seventy years.