The Favored Heiress
Chapter 729: Don’t want me to see my second uncle?

Chapter 729: Chapter 729: Don’t want me to see my second uncle?

After dinner, the clock struck ten at night.

Li Qiao, with a leisurely gait, followed Shang Yu out of the private room, while Zong Zhan and Xi Luo walked behind them, one on each side.

Outside Crystal Garden, Shang Yu tilted his head, "When are you returning to Imperial Capital?"

"Tomorrow morning. Can’t delay too long with training at the Military Department." Zong Zhan rubbed his buzzcut, accented with his camouflage uniform radiating a masculine aura, "Zong Yue, you’d better keep a close eye on her, don’t let her stir up any more trouble."

Both Shang Yu and Li Qiao simultaneously gave Zong Zhan a meaningful look, their expressions carrying a hint of teasing.

Could tonight’s trouble have something to do with Zong Yue?

Zong Zhan paid no attention to their playful expressions and, out of politeness, turned his head to ask Xi Luo, "How are you getting home?"

Xi Luo smiled, gesturing towards a Range Rover parked by the roadside, and waved her hand, "See you all later."

Zong Zhan’s gaze followed her figure, and before he could make a quip, a young and handsome man stepped out of the driver’s seat of the Range Rover.

Before Xi Luo got into the car, she teasingly hooked the man’s chin with her index finger. To Zong Zhan, that summed up to two words: frivolous.

Well, speaking of women like Xi Luo at this age, career-driven, with distinct looks, even their style of clothing was exceptionally Western and fashionable.

Zong Zhan had seen plenty of beautiful women, but someone like Xi Luo, both righteous and wicked with a silver tongue, was extremely rare in his circle.

Therefore, the moment the Range Rover drove away, Zong Zhan asked a typical straight man question, "Is that her boyfriend?"

He looked rather young.

Li Qiao, leaning on Shang Yu’s shoulder, smiled and lied through her teeth, "Could also just be the driver."

Hearing this, Zong Zhan’s impression of Xi Luo became even more complicated.

A driver allowed to flirt like that? Utterly frivolous.

Just as Zong Zhan was about to speak, Shang Yu had already led the girl by his side toward the parking lot, and Li Qiao’s comment floated in the night breeze; "Never thought Xi Luo would like a puppy."

An older sister with a puppy, that’s quite a match.

Zong Zhan pondered over Li Qiao’s remarks, feeling scornful inside.

What use could a puppy have compared to a full-grown wolf?

As Shang Yu’s cars left Crystal Garden, Zong Zhan snapped back to reality and realized what had crossed his mind, involuntarily cursing in annoyance.

A woman like Xi Luo, she wasn’t worth his extra attention.

...

Time flows like water, and in the blink of an eye, two days passed.

Li Qiao had been trying to find any clues Jing Yilan might have left behind.

But she couldn’t make a spectacle of her investigation, as doing so would draw too much suspicion.

All these years, Mu Aoxian hadn’t found a single trace. Li Qiao even doubted whether those things actually existed.

That day, Li Qiao took the opportunity at noon to go to Yan Emperor Company to have lunch with Shang Yu.

The man had been very busy lately, always leaving early and returning late.

The impact of the Parma Branch incident hadn’t completely faded yet. Although the stock market had stabilized, the tarnished reputation and corporate image still needed time to recover.

Li Qiao closed her laptop, grabbed her phone, and left.

Downstairs in the building, she ran into Xi Luo head-on, "Heading out?"

Li Qiao answered, "I’ll be back in a bit."

Xi Luo, carrying a limited edition crocodile skin bag, stepped aside and murmured, "The Li situation has been taken care of."

Li Qiao raised an eyebrow, signaling her to continue.

"Bankruptcy plus discredited; a comeback is impossible." Xi Luo paused briefly, summarizing succinctly.

After Li Qiao left, Xi Luo watched the direction she was going, pursed her lips, and then stepped into the elevator.

Li Qiao and Shang Shaoyan have been together for a long time, haven’t they? How come they still seem to be so inseparable, doesn’t it get boring?

Xi Luo shook her head, indicating she couldn’t understand it.

Next door, at Yan Emperor headquarters.

Li Qiao leaned against the couch with her legs crossed, sipping a cup of tea in her hand.

Shang Yu sat at the desk across from her, looking through documents and occasionally glanced at her, his eyes held a deep warmth, "What would you like for lunch?"

"Anything." Li Qiao, looking at the wall opposite, absentmindedly replied.

Shortly after, the man finished the last document, stood up, and sat down beside Li Qiao.

Shang Yu, eyeing her contemplative profile, leaned back, hooked her shoulders, and pulled her into his embrace, then lowered his head and nuzzled Li Qiao’s ear, "What are you thinking about?"

The warmth of his breath fanned around her ear, causing Li Qiao to tilt her head to evade it slightly, gently pinching the water cup as she spoke in a faint voice, "I want to go back to the border."

There were still seven or eight days before the British Imperial Fireworks Festival, and she wanted to meet with Mu Aoxian at the border first.

Although he had related the past events on the phone, many details weren’t comprehensive.

Li Qiao suddenly wondered, could Jing Yilan have hidden something in British Imperial?

After all, she had been a student there, and the most dangerous places can also be the safest.

Shang Yu’s eyebrows slightly furrowed, his palm rubbing her shoulder while he asked thoughtfully, "How many days will you go for?"

"Not too long." Li Qiao sat up from his embrace and placed the water cup on the table, "At most two days."

Previously, she never visited Poor People’s Kiln when she was at the border, not because it wasn’t important, but because her teacher enjoyed solitude, and once she returned...

Li Qiao pinched her brow, pondering whether she should disguise herself this time.

At that moment, Shang Yu gazed at her exquisitely contoured profile, "That’s good, set a time and I’ll have Liuyun arrange the itinerary."

"You’re coming too?" Li Qiao, knowing how busy he had been recently, raised her eyebrows in surprise, "I’ll be back in a maximum of two days, you might as well stay at the company..."

The man crossed his long legs, looking relaxed as he watched her, his voice teasingly low, "Don’t want me to meet Uncle Two?"

Li Qiao pursed her lips and said no more.

This was really quite akin to her earlier comment that ’the Marchioness shouldn’t go’.

Having decided to go to the border, Li Qiao stopped dwelling on the current situation at Yan Emperor Group.

Mu Aoxian, as her teacher and uncle, indeed should meet Shang Yu.

And then, there was Mo Jue.

After dining with Shang Yu for lunch, Li Qiao logged into the stock market on her phone before leaving Yan Emperor Company, thinking if she couldn’t help him in any other way, she might as well buy more Yan Emperor stocks to push up the K-line trend a bit.

It’s worth mentioning that the chaos stirred up by Elders’ Hall also had its benefits.

At the very least, after the identity of the Honorary Major General became public, the stock price of Yan Emperor Group had surged more than ten percent within three days.

Li Qiao’s portfolio had netted nearly a billion.

She calmly exited the stock market page and, after kissing Shang Yu goodbye, left in an unhurried pace.

And this time, Zhui Feng who had lost a year’s bonus, felt his whole being darken upon seeing Li Qiao in the office area.

Just because he took an extra glance and said an extra word last time, he had lost six million in bonuses.

At that moment, Zhui Feng walked side by side with Luoyu, seemingly heading to report to Shang Yu.

In the hallway as they crossed paths, Zhui Feng silently took out sunglasses from his pocket and put them on, fully embodying the admirable principle of ’once the sunglasses are on, no one cares,’ and passed by Li Qiao without glancing in her direction.

This time, they surely couldn’t deduct his bonus, right?

Then, Zhui Feng, with the sunglasses still on and with his heart still pounding, entered the chairman’s office, only to look up and see Shang Yu leaning against the boss’s chair with a cigarette, his expression unpleased, "Wearing sunglasses during work hours?"

That very afternoon, Zhui Feng excused himself for an errand and drove straight to a remote temple—making a generous offering in hope of blessings!!!