Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Only half?” Grandfather Huo took the bank statements with a frown and read them over several times, “Are you sure you auctioned them off at the best prices?”
“…This was a professional auction house and I personally entrusted them. If they dared to pull any tricks they will never be able to do business domestically again.” Huo Shaoheng sat back on the sofa and draped one arm leisurely on the back of it.
Grandfather Huo stayed quiet as he glanced at him.
“If you don’t believe me, you can ask someone else to check the market value of those houses and determine if they were sold at a good price. Also the auction was only for a day so the reach was extremely limited, what else do you want?” Huo Shaoheng explained in detail but didn’t mince his words. What was even a good price? It was all relative.
“Limited reach? That can’t be good.” Grandfather Huo answered slowly, “If there weren’t many people coming through, how can the auction house sell them at the best price?”
Huo Shaoheng nodded, “Ok, then I’ll refund all the money and ask the auction house to advertise nationally, or perhaps internationally. We can auction online and allow anyone in the world to bid, is that good enough? That should be the best price, right? But are you sure you want everyone to know about the existence of these houses? And find out that your lovely partner amassed a personal fortune of over 10 billion RMB in less than two decades?”
Grandfather Huo was about to agree but froze when he looked up at Huo Shaoheng’s stoic expression. He quickly understood what he was implying and immediately refused, “Of course not. How can we allow a public auction?!”
“Right. So if you oppose a public auction, then this were the best prices.” Huo Shaoheng stood up, “If you don’t have any objections, I’ll be wiring these funds into the military’s account tomorrow.”
Grandfather Huo could only return the bank statements to Huo Shaoheng and asked unhappily, “Then what about the other half?”
“There are two options. One is to ask Zhang Feng to transfer the remaining half of her assets to Zhang Baochen for us to also auction off.”
“Then what about the other option?” Grandfather Huo knew this obviously wouldn’t work. If Zhang Feng was willing to sell it off, she would’ve transferred everything to Zhang Baochen a long time ago, not just half?
Huo Shaoheng folded his hands behind his back, “The other option is to have her owe the money and add several years to her sentence.”
The creases in the corners of Grandfather Huo’s eyes grew deeper as he pursed his lips and lines on the sides of his nose were also very obvious. “Add several years? She’s not young anymore, she won’t survive if her sentence is increased? –No!” Grandfather Huo finally voiced his objection.
“Then what do you suggest?” Huo Shaoheng bent over to grab his coat from the soda and draped it on, “How about you talk to Head Nurse Zhang and try to persuade her?”
IT’s not like he could visit her empty handed… Grandfather Huo considered it and sighed, “How about this, Shaoheng–help her pay off the remaining debt and when this whole thing ends, I’ll have her pay you back.”
“Are you certain?” Huo Shaoheng smiled faintly, “This isn’t a small sum. What if I lend it out but don’t get it back?”
“No that won’t happen. I’ll order her to you and she’ll always obey.” Grandfather Huo put up the airs of a General, “That’s decided then, you can help her repay it first.”
“No.” Huo Shaoheng rejected calmly, “I’ll only help Head Nurse Zhang repay it only if she puts up the other half of her assets as collateral.”
“If she puts up the other half as collateral, then how would that be different from her repaying the debt herself?!” Grandfather Huo finally lost his temper, “All these years I’ve transferred the entire proceeds of your grandmother’s trust fund to you, but now you won’t even help with one thing…”
“Grandfather!” Huo Shaoheng’s expression also darkened, “You’ve finally said it. I was waiting all this time to see when you’d ask.”
“I…” Grandfather Huo moved his lips to say something but realized words now would be futile.
“I’ve always thought about to what extent will the mess between you and Head Nurse Zhang grow until you’ll give up.” Huo Shaoheng adjusted his coat and lifted an arm to put it on as he continued, “Do you really have to become a joke to everybody–the grandfather finds a mistress asks the grandson foots the bill?”
Grandfather Huo was livid as he punched the back of the sofa, “Nonsense! How can you say it in such an awful way! What do you mean find a mistress! Is Zhang Feng disgraceful like those shameful women?!”
“To me, she’s even lesser than those shameful women.” Huo Shaoheng half inclined his head, “At least those women know their place. But Zhang Feng doesn’t even know what the word shame means.”
“How can you speak about her like that? If your grandmother was to hear all the awful things the grandson she raised was saying, she’d turn in her grave.” Grandfather Huo nearly stabbed his finger at Hu Shaoheng’s nose in anger.
“I’ve always only spoken the truth. You can’t call the truth awful just because you don’t like it.” When Huo Shaoheng decided to argue, his tongue was as sharp as Gu Nianzhi’s. Also, the words had lodged in his heart for a long time and it was finally the opportunity to get relief, “Zhang Feng became the unofficial lady of the house ever since grandmother got sick. When she passed away a dozen years ago, the Huo’s should’ve changed the family name to the Zhang’s. Grandmother died because of her anger towards Zhang Feng. This woman used our family’s influence to rake in money and intervene with military armaments, launder money and commit multiple crimes. There’s no way she can deny a single ones of these.” Huo Shaoheng crossed his arms and his eyes grew icy.
“I already said I wronged her first, how can she be the one fat fault?” Grandfather Huo had always regretted it–if he hadn’t gotten drunk that night then he would’ve never spent the night with her? Everything else that happened after was because of the mistake he made that night…
Huo Shaoheng nodded, “What do you mean? So because you wronged her first, so that means’ she’s always been an innocent girl who had no responsibility? –Grandfather, you really do treat her differently. You did do something wrong, but that doesn’t change the fact that she also made a mistake. Not only was she wrong, but she also committed a crime.”
“If that’ what you’re saying, are you berating your own grandfather too?” Grandfather Huo still tried to defend Zhang Feng and pointed to himself with a sneer, “If your grandfather is useless, than what are you?!”
“I also feel regretful, but I have no way of choosing my upbringing, just like how I can’t change the regretful truth that I’m related you and father.” When Huo Shaoheng said such things, he had already severed ties with Grandfather Huo and Huo Guanchen.
Huo Guanchen had been standing at the door the whole time without interjecting. Seeing that the grandson and grandfather argue, he finally opened the door and entered the room to chide Huo Shaoheng sternly, “Shaoheng! How can you speak to your Grandfather like that?!”
“Am I wrong? If Grandmother hadn’t suppressed Zhang Feng while she was still alive, Zhang Feng would’ve revealed her scandal with Grandfather a long time ago. Father knew about this too.” Huo Shaoheng looked at Huo Guanchen, then turned to see the stunned Grandfather Huo, “Grandfather, you think that you could’ve concealed this scandal for so long with only your own abilities? And to have covered it up so perfectly?! You think that if this scandal came to light all those years ago, would you really have climbed the ranks to the second-in-command of the Supreme Military Council?”
“What… What did you say?!” Grandfather Huo was rendered speechless and his body turned rigid, “You said your grandmother… Your grandmother… knew about.. Knew about her and I… When she was still alive…”
“Of course. You can ask Zhang Feng yourself if you don’t believe me, she knows better than anyone else.” Huo Shaoheng tried to control himself and spoke in a slow pace, “Since grandmother laid in her sickbed, Zhang Feng started to continuously leave little clues for her. Do you what a shock it is, for a deathly ill woman to suddenly find out the husband she’d loved for her entire life had betrayed her long ago and also fathered a bastard child?”
Grandfather Huo couldn’t say a word. The impact was so great that tears fell uncontrollably from his eyes. Knees shaking, he couldn’t even stand up and had to grip the back of the sofa to lean against it. He always believed he didn’t betray his wife because even though he slept with Zhang Feng once on a drunken night, he didn’t like her at all at the time. It was only a mistake. Later on, his love for Zhang Feng grew but that was after his wife passed away. He never imagined that his wife knew everything a long time ago and it now made sense why she made the final note in her will. His wife’s image kept appearing in his head and he thought about her every glance and every smile–even when she became temperamental from her illness. Of course he had once loved his wife, they were each other’s first loves and had been together for 30 years. They had a good relationship up until the year she became ill and Zhang Feng intervened…
“Zhang Feng didn’t kill Grandmother with her own hands, but her methods were a hundred times more despicable than if she had. She destroyed grandmother’s last will to live.” Huo Shaoheng enunciated carefully to relay all the sadness, regret, pain and humiliation his grandmother felt when she passed away. Grandfather Huo should realize that he didn’t deserve to have a woman love him so deeply. He should take the remainder of his life repent, instead of marrying the woman who killed his wife’s will to live.
