Special Assistant Yang chuckled and opened his hands. “Oh, I did not say anything like that.
However, justice shall always prevail. No matter what, we can only ask Miss Gu when she comes to work later in the morning. Also, I will stand by what I had said. Miss Gu is an intern. She is new here and has just completed a war for us, the Senate, because of the Prime Minister’s cabinet. I will definitely not put the blame on her. No matter what she has done, I think Senior Speaker Long would not pursue punishment as well. Major General Huo, please be assured that I will definitely take the blame for any wrongs she might have done, and she will not have to bear any responsibility simply because she has you as a backer.” With that, he even placed his right hand onto his chest and bowed to Huo Shaoheng.
“What the h*ll do you mean by that, Special Assistant Yang?!” Yin Shixiong could not continue listening anymore. It took all of his discipline not to slap the corrupted hands of Special Assistant Yang. “What did Miss Gu do to you to offend you? Why must you try to put words in her mouth?!”
“Lieutenant Yin, please be reasonable. When did I put words in her mouth? Pampering her is not even enough! You have heard what I said just now, and the CCTV had also recorded it. I have said that even if she has made a mistake, I will take the blame for her, so you can rest assured! Nothing will ever happen to Miss Gu. Even if something were to happen to me, I would protect her until the end!”
Special Assistant Yang spoke in an extremely sincere tone as if he were treating Gu Nianzhi like a gem.
Yi Shixiong was also good with words. Seeing that Special Assistant Yang was playing with his words, Yin Shixiong almost wanted to battle it out with him.
Huo Shaoheng coughed lightly. “Go and meet Senior Speaker Long, first. It is more urgent.”
Yin Shixiong had no other option than to glare fiercely at Special Assistant Yang before turning around with Huo Shaoheng and leaving the Senate building.
When both of them had gotten into the car, Yin Shixiong complained about the injustice. “Mr. Huo, why didn’t you allow me to continue talking? Why did you allow him to accuse Nianzhi like that?!”
When Special Assistant Yang had said that he would take all the blame for Gu Nianzhi, it was actually an extremely clever move.
If Gu Nianzhi had really gotten into trouble and Special Assistant Yang had taken the blame for her, Huo Shaoheng or Senior Speaker Long would owe him a favor.
If Gu Nianzhi was not the one who got into trouble and it was Special Assistant Yang who had sabotaged her on purpose, since he had said that he would take the blame for Gu Nianzhi, outsiders would have the impression that Gu Nianzhi had gotten into trouble nonetheless. It was Special Assistant Yang who was gracious as a superior not to pursue her mistake.
He had successfully gotten hold of the best of both worlds. In terms of office politics, his tactics were already god-like.
Huo Shaoheng replied calmly, “This is Nianzhi’s business. You let her handle it on her own.”
“But, she is just an intern!” Yin Shixiong shouted. He could not take it anymore. “Why are you so relaxed?! What if she had successfully been sabotaged by Special Assistant Yang? This issue could be minor, but it could also be major. Do you really want Nianzhi to face it on her own?”
“If she wants to survive in the Senate, let Special Assistant Yang be her first practice run. If she cannot even handle Special Assistant Yang, she would be better off going into private practice as a lawyer.” Huo Shaoheng did not wish to talk about the topic any longer. “Give Senior Speaker Long’s house a call and tell them that we will be coming to visit Senior Speaker Long.”
As Yin Shixiong was making the call, Special Assistant Yang was making his own call to Senior Speaker Long’s house as well.
Senior Speaker Long had an office in his home as well, and he had people on duty to answer calls for him around the clock.
Special Assistant Yang’s call managed to connect first.
He smiled and said, “Major General Huo wishes to see Senior Speaker Long. Look out for him. Do not allow Senior Speaker Long’s rest to be interrupted.”
The person on duty there was also a member of the secretarial department. Hearing Special Assistant Yang’s words, he replied immediately, “Got it, Special Assistant Yang. Please rest assured that we will definitely look after Senior Speaker Long’s rest.”
…
Yin Shixiong’s call was only answered after he tried calling a few times, asking him what the matter was.
Yin Shixiong replied straightforwardly, saying, “Major General Huo, who is in charge of the last-minute election, has something urgent to see Senior Speaker Long for. Please pass the message to him.”
The person on duty was extremely polite. “No problem. When Senior Speaker Long gets up, I will inform him immediately.” With that, he hung up the call.
When Yin Shixiong tried to call again, he could not get through to the number anymore.
“God d*mn it!” Yin Shixiong cursed under his breath. Keeping his phone, he turned to Huo Shaoheng. “The person on duty in on Special Assistant Yang’s side. He said that Senior Speaker Long could only meet us after he gets up.”
Instead of being angry, Huo Shaoheng chuckled as he nodded his head. “Not bad at all. I wonder if Senior Speaker Long knows that his subordinates have already taken control of everything under him.”
Yin Shixiong was taken aback for a while before coming to a realization. “Is this the reason why Senior Speaker Long had been trying to look for someone to take over his position from outside instead of within the Senate itself? His secretarial department is already fully corrupted, isn’t it!”
“I am not too sure about that,” Huo Shaoheng replied casually. He seldom explained situations to any of his subordinates.
In the opinion of a soldier, it was their job to adhere to orders and instructions.
So, what if they were given explanations? Would they not carry out orders if they were not given any explanations?
There was no such thing.
Both of them stopped talking. They arrived at Senior Speaker Long’s house in no time.
Senior Speaker Long stayed in a courtyard that was on Second Ring Road in Di Capital. It was a tranquil place, and it was near Bai Jiancheng’s family home.
Huo Shaoheng and Yin Shixiong got out of the car and stood in front of Senior Speaker Long’s courtyard. They waited for Fan Jian to press the doorbell.
A few minutes later, someone came to the door with a yawn.
“What is the matter? It is so late in the middle of the night. Do you even allow people to sleep now?” The person grumbled as he opened the door, looking up at the two men in army uniforms standing in front of him under the dim yellow lights of the street lamps. They exuded an aura of power and authority, and it made him panic so much that his legs almost collapsed.
“Who… Who are you looking for?” the person asked timidly as he did not recognize the two men for a moment.
Huo Shaoheng and Yin Shixiong had visited Senior Speaker Long’s house before, but it was currently a time where people were not at their best. This person had not had enough rest, and his intelligence and memory were not at peak performance. Therefore, he was scared stiff by Huo Shaoheng and Yin Shixiong’s army uniforms.
With his arms folded, Huo Shaoheng looked at the steps made of bluestones in front of Senior Speaker Long’s house, not saying a word.
Yin Shixiong took a step forward and said, “We were sent by the army. This is Major General Huo, and he has an urgent matter to see Senior Speaker Long for.”
The person was on full alert now. He was finally fully awake. He opened the door quickly and ushered them in. “Major General Huo! Please come in! Please come in!”
This person was an old employee who guarded Senior Speaker Long’s door. He had seen many people before, but since he was only focused on his task of guarding the door, he did not let himself get involved with anything that was going on. To be honest, he knew way more about what was going on in upper management than Special Assistant Yang did.
The moment he realized that the person at the door was Huo Shaoheng, he allowed him to enter without another word.
After he let them in, he took the initiative to look for someone in the main house to wake Senior Speaker Long.
The person charged with answering calls, who was from the secretarial department, remembered Special Assistant Yang’s order and did not wish to wake Senior Speaker Long up. In a careless manner, he replied, “How important can anything be? Don’t you know that Senior Speaker Long is usually unable to get a good rest? Wait for two more hours! The sky will not fall in that time!”
“The sky will not fall in that time?! For something that requires Major General Huo to make a visit personally, who knows? Maybe the sky really would fall!” the person who was guarding the door said. He did not agree with the person from the secretarial office. “You are not going to wake him up, are you? Fine! I will go! I have worked for Master Long for more than forty years, he would not do anything to me, even if I did disturb his sleep!” With that, he pushed the person on duty away and ran towards Senior Speaker Long’s bedroom.
Seeing what was happening, the lower-ranked secretary who was on duty, began to panic and called out, “Hey! You cannot be like that! Do you even treat the rules seriously now?!”
However, they were unable to do anything to the guard who was over sixty years old, as he did not intend to get a promotion, nor was he an employee from the Senate. As long as Senior Speaker Long did not blame him, he would always be the person who was in charge of standing guard at the door.
The person from the secretarial department on duty could only watch on as everything unfolded.
The person who answered the door was Senior Speaker Long’s wife.
“What is going on? Old Long is still asleep. He was in meetings the entire day yesterday and only got back just now after ten o’clock. He only managed to fall asleep at about one o’clock this morning. What is the matter? Can you please do not be so loud?”
The old man who was guarding the door lowered his voice and said, “Mrs. Long, Major General Huo is here. He said that he has something urgent to see Senior Speaker Long about.”
“Major General Huo? Which Major General Huo? – Goodness, did you mean the major general Huo from the army?!” Mrs. Long was taken aback. Instinctively, she knew that it must have been something significant. “Bring him to the study. I will wake Old Long up from his sleep.”
Mrs. Long returned to the bedroom hastily and nudged Senior Speaker Long. “Old Long? Old Long? Get up quickly. Major General Huo is here. He says that he has something urgent to speak to you about.”
Senior Speaker Long opened his eyes abruptly. “Who did you say? Shaoheng is here?”
“Yes. I have asked them to bring him to your study.” Mrs. Long brought some clothes over for Senior Speaker Long to put on. “Go quickly. Do not delay anymore.”
Senior Speaker Long looked at his watch with a stern expression and saw that it was two-thirty in the morning.
If Major General Huo was coming at this hour to see him, something big must have happened.
