The Favored Heiress
Chapter 708: Search the Manor

Chapter 708: Chapter 708: Search the Manor

"Old Xiao," Shang Zonghai ignored Hu Ying, calling out to Housekeeper Xiao himself.

As the other party entered the room, Shang Zonghai gestured towards the ancestral records with a lift of his chin, "Take the records back to the church, and check the surveillance to see who took them out."

The Three Elder’s eyes flickered nervously.

Meanwhile, the expression on the face of the Great Elder, Hu Ying, darkened, "Clan leader, you are indulging the Eldest Young Master to do as he pleases, he..."

Shang Zonghai raised his hand slightly, his sharp gaze turning toward Hu Ying, "Old Hu, don’t be so agitated. It’s just adding a name to the ancestral records, is that really worth such a fuss?"

Hu Ying choked, collected himself, and earnestly advised, "Clan leader, you can’t say it like that. You’ve seen the news these past few days. The Eldest Young Master acts impulsively without considering the consequences and has already violated Parma’s criminal laws. If this continues, the Shang’s name will certainly be tarnished too."

Surprised, Shang Zonghai raised his eyebrows, "Is it that serious?"

Hu Ying, with a deeply troubled expression, nodded affirmatively, "Indeed, it is very serious. The Elders’ Hall has been trying to find a solution for the past few days, but the acts of the Eldest Young Master are backed by solid evidence. It won’t be easy for him to recover from this."

"Hmm, then tell me, what measures have you all considered?"

At this moment, the Second Elder caught Hu Ying’s eye and quickly took up the conversation with understanding, "Clan leader, we have discreetly contacted public service officials on good terms with the Shang’s, and we’ve also gathered some information.

"The evidence of the Eldest Young Master’s smuggling has already been submitted to the Customs Enforcement anonymously. Without any surprises, the Security Bureau will search Paibo Manor tomorrow. Once they find illegal weapons in his possession, I’m afraid..."

Hearing this, Shang Zonghai pursed his lips and pondered for a few seconds, "Have you not informed Shaoyan to hide the weapons as quickly as possible?"

The three elders: "??"

Are there truly weapons at Paibo Manor?

The Second Elder hesitated and shook his head, "Not yet."

Shang Zonghai held the Buddha Beads and sighed, "Shaoyan has been too careless this time."

Seeing this, the Great Elder leaned in tentatively, appearing loyally advisory, "Clan leader, I do have a suggestion that might help the Eldest Young Master get out of this predicament."

"What suggestion?"

Hu Ying spoke with a solemn face, "Since Li Qiao is a Tan Sri from Myanmar, why not have the Eldest Young Master find a way to transfer his status to Myanmar? In this way, both he and Li Qiao would be high-ranking personnel in Myanmar, and the Parma independent government naturally couldn’t do much about them."

Shang Zonghai gently pushed up his glasses, looking unfathomably at Hu Ying.

Indeed, it was a ’good suggestion’. As long as Shaoyan did that, he would surely be criticized.

A classic case of a guilty conscience.

Thus, even Li Qiao would be implicated, elevating a simple cross-national smuggling case to the level of international relations between two countries.

Knowing how to use Li Qiao’s status to create trouble, yet managing to kick Shaoyan out of the Shang’s and even the entire Parma, was a scheme to kill two birds with one stone.

Shang Zonghai lowered his gaze and laughed, a carefree laugh.

He pinched the Buddha Beads at the base of his thumb and gestured in the air towards Hu Ying, "Old Hu, you really have opened my eyes."

Hu Ying couldn’t tell whether Shang Zonghai’s words were a compliment or sarcasm.

But he smiled warmly, seemingly... very satisfied.

Relieved, Hu Ying surreptitiously signalled to the other two elders with a look, and the three of them began to persuade with even more determination.

Elsewhere, after the dinner party had ended, Li Qiao and Shang Yu left the western restaurant through the back door and headed to the parking lot.

The driver, Wei Lang, stood by, opening the car door and whispered, "Boss, a group of reporters was stopped by our people near the hotel’s main entrance just now, they probably haven’t left yet."

Shang Yu helped Li Qiao into the car, and once settled, he rubbed his brow, "What’s the online sentiment?"

Wei Lang closed the door and looked through the rearview mirror, "The heat hasn’t died down yet."

Li Qiao crossed her legs and drew circles on her knee with her fingers, frowning impatiently, "The Elders’ Hall is moving too slowly."

The man relaxed his brows, turned his head, and spoke in a low voice, "Then let’s give them a hand."

"It’s not impossible."

Their eyes met, the profound meaning within their gazes left unspoken.

The Wei Lang sitting in the front row shivered inexplicably.

It seemed like Elders’ Hall was about to face great misfortune.

...

The next day, just as Elders’ Hall had said, staff from the Security Bureau and the Parma Police Department Headquarters appeared outside Paibo Manor’s gates before eight in the morning.

The team leader, armed with a search warrant, walked into the manor as if no one else was there.

At the same time, a flight from Faliang slowly landed at Parma International Airport.

Less than twenty minutes later, another private plane from the South Sea landed at the business terminal.

At the moment, the person responsible for searching the manor was the police department’s criminal investigation chief. Following his bodyguards into the living room, he scanned the area but did not find Shang Shaoyan or Li Qiao.

The bodyguard pressed his earpiece, listened to the instructions inside, then said to the criminal investigation chief, "Please proceed."

Security Bureau staff members: "??"

The criminal investigation chief, likely in his forties, heard the words and helplessly twisted his mouth, then began assigning tasks, "Search every room carefully, and immediately report any weapons found."

About fifteen minutes later, the criminal investigation chief, accompanied by two search officers, stepped into the dining room, following black search dogs on leashes.

The trio and their two dogs had barely settled in when the scene before them made the criminal investigation chief’s mouth twitch.

Such audacity.

In the dining room, Shang Yu and Li Qiao sat across from each other, quietly eating breakfast, with Wei Lang standing in the corner like an invisible man.

Seeing the criminal investigation chief standing at the door with an indescribable expression, Wei Lang gave him a glance and quickly looked away.

The two search officers didn’t dare approach, largely because the presence of the man in black clothes was so imposing that even his silhouette exerted an overwhelming sense of pressure.

At that moment, Li Qiao took a sip of milk, lifted her eyes with a bright smile, and said, "Please, help yourselves."

The criminal investigation chief wiped his face and sighed heavily, "Search thoroughly."

The three officers started searching the spacious dining room with their two dogs.

After five seconds, one of the dogs barked.

The criminal investigation chief stood near the Glazed Pavilion, looking down at the cabinet filled with innumerable guns and bullets, feeling truly bewildered for the first time in his life.

He was now considering one thing: if he took Shang Shaoyan back to the headquarters for investigation, would his uncle fire him?

"Mr. ... Mr. Shang, this..."

The criminal investigation chief named Qin Song looked at Shang Yu with a troubled face, caught in a difficult position.

Knowing that the Security Bureau was sure to join forces with the police department to search the premises, didn’t you think to hide the guns beforehand?

Who keeps so many weapons in the kitchen cupboard?

Shang Yu wiped his hands slowly with a towel, his thin lips slightly parted, as he stood up leisurely, "Let’s go."

Qin Song pursed his lips, extremely inappropriately asking a question, "These aren’t toy guns, are they?"

"Real guns. You can try them out," the man said, raising an eyebrow, his handsome features cold and indifferent.