Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Mommy! Where are you taking my Mommy?!” Tan Guiren’s tears streamed down as she rushed over to Cai Songyin. Two tall men wearing the Procuratorate’s uniform blocked her with their arms to keep her away as they replied sternly, “The Procuratorate would like to invite Mrs. Cai Congyin for some tea. Please do not obstruct official business.”
“Oh? Drink tea? It’s already so late, why are you drinking tea with her? Can’t you do that tomorrow?” Tan Guiren widened her glittering, Bambi-like eyes as she looked at them with confusion. The tip of her nose and eyes were red, while the rest of her skin was as pale as snow. She looked extremely fragile, lovable, and pitiful.
Tan Dongbang quickly dragged Tan Guiren over and coaxed her quietly. “Little Darling, don’t be scared. Mommy will come back tomorrow.” The Procuratorate officials looked at each other before gesturing ahead, so Cai Songyin had no choice but to grit her teeth and follow them outside.
…
Inside the hall of the National Center for the Performing Arts, the lights had brightened once again. Bai Jiancheng, the Minister of Domestic Affairs, stood up and said to his daughter, Bai Yueran, “Should we go now?”
Bai Yueran nodded. “Let’s go.” Their gazes were extremely calm, and it didn’t appear like they were disappointed or embittered from losing the election at all. At that moment, Bai Jiancheng’s phone suddenly started to vibrate. He took out his phone to check it, and a peculiar expression flashed across his face for a second.
Bai Yueran didn’t miss the changing expression on Bai Jiancheng’s face, so she asked with concern, “What is it, Father? Did something happen?”
The corners of Bai Jiancheng’s lips curved nearly imperceptibly before he resumed a calm expression. He was almost stern when he passed the phone to Bai Yueran. “See, something serious has happened.”
Bai Yueran suspiciously accepted the phone from Bai Jiancheng, and her eyes widened in surprise as soon as she looked down to read the topic. She stared at Bai Jiancheng and asked, “No way?! He just took office!”
“Haha, nothing good comes out of taking shortcuts to success,” Bai Jiancheng mumbled so quietly that no one heard it but Bai Yueran.
Bai Yueran looked down and carefully read the information on Bai Jiancheng’s phone before giving it back to him. She was completely impressed. “Father, you are still the most broad-minded. You see so much further from your high position.”
“I’ve always taught you to not mind a moment’s loss or gain. As long as we have a clear conscience, we can be at peace whether we win or lose.” Bia Jiancheng straightened his collar. “Let’s go. We’ll go back.”
“Shouldn’t we go console Prime Minister Tan?” Bai Yueran’s eyes flickered as she looked towards the backstage area.
“We won’t go. There’s no way Old Tan wants to see anyone right now. We are the people he wants to see least of all,” Bai Jiancheng said emotionally. He also looked back for a moment. “This was the doing of your Uncle Gao from the Procuratorate. We can go back and give him a call to see what’s going on.” The Prosecutor General of the Procuratorate was Gao Caihui, an old friend of Bai Jiancheng’s of many years. He was considered a family friend of the Bai’s.
“I understand, Father.” Bai Yueran was completely impressed by Bai Jiancheng right now, so she was even more respectful towards him than before. As soon as they left the National Center for the Performing Arts, Procuratorate officials took Cai Songyin out the back door and into the Supreme Procuratorate’s vehicle. As soon as the car doors shut, its interior plunged into boundless darkness. Cai Songyin watched with wide eyes as the light from outside the window appeared farther and farther away from her. Hugging herself, she shrank into a corner of the car as dread and fear filled her heart.
…
Gu Yanran was also a guest attending the Prime Minister’s inauguration. Truthfully speaking, she was surprised and flattered when she received the First Lady’s personally delivered invitation. She had been racking her brain to find a way to get an event ticket, but unfortunately, Gu Nianzhi hadn’t been there, and she personally didn’t have strong relationships with anyone from the upper echelon of Hua Xia society. It had been difficult to secure a ticket, so when Cai Songyin personally delivered an invitation, Gu Yanran was extremely excited and thanked her profusely by donating another one million US dollars of political contribution money to Tan Dongbang’s campaign fund. Cai Songyin saw that Gu Yanran was a smart person and needed her to manipulate Gu Nianzhi, so she had a new understanding of this young woman. During the night’s inauguration, Cai Songyin had even introduced Tan Guiren to Gu Yanran, and they chatted for a while. But before the new friendship could even take root, Cai Songyin got in trouble.
After Prime Minister Tan’s inauguration concluded, Gu Yanran got Ye Xuan’s text. “Yanran, check Weibo.” Gu Yanran opened Weibo in confusion, then nearly couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the headlines and top trending topics on Weibo! What is going on?! Cai Songyin is in trouble?! Her heart was in a panic as she put away her phone and found a staff member to ask, “Where is Mrs. Tan? She asked me to go see her.”
The staff member had seen Cai Songyin speak with Gu Yanran, so he thought they were very close. He pointed backstage. “In the VIP room over there.” Gu Yanran took her clutch and walked to the VIP room with unease. But before she walked up to the door, she suddenly saw men in black uniforms walk out. Cai Songyin was in the middle of the group but instead of the ambition of the past, -her face was completely devoid of color. Her eyes were glazed, and a jacket was covering her hands. Gu Yanran instantly recognized that Cai Songyin must be wearing handcuffs, although it was being covered by the jacket. How did they get here to fast?! Gu Yanran moved aside to give them space to pass, then went to the VIP room after they left.
Prime Minister Tan’s bodyguards, assistants, and secretaries guarded at the door. They spoke politely when they saw someone come over. “This is the VIP room. We are not expecting guests.”
Gu Yanran quickly said, “I’m here to see Miss Tan. I just saw Mrs. Tan… walk out with some people…” Seeing the staff not budge at all, Gu Yaran added, “I’m Gu Yanran. Mrs. Tan asked me to pass a message to Prime Minister Tan and Miss Tan.”
“Really? What did Mrs. Tan say?” Prime Minister Tan’s secretary asked suspiciously, not fooled by her.
Gu Yanran replied confidently, “Please go ask Prime Minister Tan. If he doesn’t have a problem with it, I’ll tell you what message Mrs. Tan asked me to pass along.”
The secretary flushed from Gu Yanran’s words. He rubbed his nose and said, “Please wait.” Opening the door, he said to the extremely worried father and daughter inside, “Prime Minister, there is a lady named Gu Yanran outside. She said she just saw Mrs. Tan and has a message to pass to you and Miss Tan.”
“Gu Yanran?” Tan Dongbang heard the name before but didn’t know it well.
Tan Guiren recalled it and said, “Daddy, Mommy especially brought me over to chat with Miss Gu tonight.” She paused, then continued, “She’s Gu Nianzhi’s older sister.”
“Gu Nianzhi’s older sister?! Oh, I remember now.” Prime Minister Tan nodded and called out, “Let her come in.”
The bodyguards, assistants, and secretaries waiting outside the door all moved aside for Gu Yanran. She smiled at them before opening the door to go inside. Tan Dongbang and Tan Guiren were the only ones inside the VIP room. Tan Dongbang had just turned 50 but maintained himself well, so he appeared to be in his early 40’s. He had a lean body, handsome face, and looked like a perfect gentleman.
He was standing with Tan Guiren and was in the middle of comforting her, even wiping her tears. His kind, fatherly demeanor made Gu Yanran stare for a long time before she said, “Mr. Prime Minister, Miss Tan.”
Tan Dongbang looked up to see an elegant, beautiful, and alluring woman standing before them. Her jet black hair fell smoothly behind her back, and while she appeared plain at the first glance, she was a delicate beauty that no one could look away from at second glance. Gu Yanran wore a light pink Chanel off-the-shoulder evening gown. Her collar bones were exposed and moved sublty with her breathing. Tan Donbgbang only gave her a glance before averting his eyes. “Miss Gu? What message did my wife give you?”
Gu Yanran walked to Tan Guiren’s side and looked at Tan Dongbang before passing her phone to him. “Mrs. Tan didn’t give me a message, but I was too worried about her wellbeing, so I especially came over to see how I can help.”
Tan Dongbang had no idea what was happening to Cai Songyin and was at his most anxious and frustrated. His mood worsened with Gu Yanran’s words, but he didn’t say anything rude because of his good manners. He also didn’t want to look at Gu Yanran’s phone, but as soon as he looked down, he saw the trending topics related to Cai Songyin. Tan Dongbang’s heart sank as he took Gu Yanran’s phone to read. His hands shook hard just after reading a few of the top news articles. “How could this be? How could this be? What on earth is going on?!”
“Daddy, what’s happening? Don’t scare me,” Tan Guiren said as she began to cry again.
As Gu Yanran comforted Tan Guiren and wiped her tears with a handkerchief, she also said to Tan Dongbang, “Mr. Prime Minister, it’s imperative to bring Mrs. Tan back now. Do you know anyone from the Procuratorate? Can we see what can we do?”
Tan Dongbang shook his head with a sigh. “Miss Gu, you don’t understand. Songyin has been invited to the Procuratorate for tea, so we can’t go asking for her right now.” If they went together right now, it would only make things look worse and do more harm than good with Cai Songyin’s case. He understood that much.
Gu Yanran wasn’t familiar with the bureaucracy of the Hua Xia Empire, but she knew overseas bureaucracy very well. It was a simple matter of offering a big enough bribe. “Mr. Prime Minister, I feel that I have a strong connection with your wife despite just meeting her, so I can’t bear to see her innocent reputation be tainted or injustice affect good people. Don’t hesitate to ask if you need any help. Whether it be money or effort, I’ll do everything to help as long as it’s within my power,” Gu Yanran said very earnestly to instantly win over Tan Dongbang and Tan Guiren.
“Sister Gu, thank you. You’re too amazing.” Tan Guiren was tearful as she refused to let go of Gu Yanran’s hand.
Tan Dongbang renewed his strength and decided to go back to discuss countermeasures with his aides. He said to Gu Yanran, “Thank you for helping us out in this difficult time, Miss Gu. We are still in shock over what happened to us today, so we’ll have to invite Miss Gu over for tea another day. We won’t be taking up any more of your time now.”
“No problem, I understand. Please take care of yourselves and do not be too upset.” Gu Yanran patted Tan Guiren’s shoulder before briskly leaving.
…
Back at Ma Qiqi’s house, Gu Nianzhi and Ma Qiqi cradled their phones and continued to browse all the news channels to follow the newest updates to the incident. “So even the Procuratorate has made a move… Why so quickly?” Gu Nianzhi didn’t expect a long Weibo post to topple the latest First Lady.
Huo Shaoheng leaned back on the sofa behind her. Balling one hand in a fist, he rested it under his chin as he calmly explained to Gu Nianzhi, “Tan Dongbang became the Prime Minister as a dark horse, so there are plenty of people unhappy with him. This is such a good opportunity, no one would let it get away.”
