Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Seeing that Huo Shaoheng was unwilling to give in no matter what, Huo Guanchen’s face turned solemn as well. He stood in front of Huo Shaoheng with his arms folded, gaining his confidence back inch by inch.
No matter what, he had been the director of the Military-Political Department for years, which was the highest-ranking political department in the army. Huo Guanchen was not a pushover.
He looked up at the expressionless Huo Shaoheng and lowered his voice. “You really wish to go by the book with me, don’t you? Fine. Let us go by the book.”
With that, Huo Guanchen looked through the approval for spot check again.
He’d been intimidated by Huo Shaoheng just then and thought that he had really made a mistake.
However, now that he had taken a second look at the document, Huo Guanchen snapped back to reality and shook the spot check approval in front of Huo Shaoheng. “True that this document does not state that entry permits can be forgone, but it also states that I have the permission to ‘do what I have to accordingly.’ Major General Huo, do you understand what ‘do what I have to accordingly’ means?”
To put it simply, the meaning of such wordings was up for debate. It could mean that Huo Guanchen could do however he wished. It could also mean that he should adhere to Huo Shaoheng’s job scope.
These documents were never too rigid with words. They were vague so that the people who received them had to interpret their meaning on their own.
Just like the law of America.
There were a total of 7,500 laws. However, they were all of the laws of that country.
They did not pinpoint exactly who had to be punished if they did something wrong, but it was left to the judge and the panel to decide when a criminal was arrested and put on trial.
To put it in a different light, every single judge could have their very own way of interpreting the laws, and as long as their understanding and explanation could be justified with logic, it would be considered a legal explanation with the powers of the law.
Huo Guanchen was using the same concept to speak to Huo Shaoheng.
His military ranking was higher than Huo Shaoheng’s. No matter how he wanted to interpret the intention of the document, Huo Shaoheng had to abide by it as long as he could not think of a more reasonable rebuttal.
Huo Shaoheng’s pupils constricted.
He took the approval from Huo Guanchen and looked through it carefully.
There was only one sentence on that document and no other instructions.
“To dispatch the Director of the Military-Political Department, Mr. Huo Guanchen, for the spot check of the Special Forces. Relevant departments to cooperate fully, to let the check be carried out by Mr. Huo accordingly.”
It was signed off with the stamp from the secretarial department of the Military Supreme Council. That was the department with the highest powers in the army.
Huo Shaoheng reread the document twice and felt that something was amiss.
He stared at the stamp for a while before realizing what the issue was.
He smiled as he handed the approval back to Huo Guanchen. “General Huo, I am sorry, but your spot check approval is not legal. Please go back and get another one before coming over for a spot check, could you?”
“Not legal?!” Huo Guanchen was taken aback. “This is the stamp from the secretarial department of the Military Supreme Council, and you dare say it is not legal?!”
“General Huo, I think you have forgotten something. When the Special Forces were founded, it was approved by both the Senate and the Military Supreme Council. At that time, it was agreed upon that it would require the stamps from both the Senate and the Military Supreme Council should any national organization want to conduct a check within the Special Forces.”
“Even though your spot check approval has the stamp of the Military Supreme Council, you did not obtain the stamp of the Senate. Therefore, and I am sorry, but even you are unable to enter for a spot check.”
Huo Shaoheng managed to completely block Huo Guanchen with this observation.
He had said that Huo Guanchen could bring one person with him with an A-class entry permit, but now even he could not enter. Such humiliation.
Huo Guanchen was seeing red. His brows furrowed into a line and his disapproval towards Huo Shaoheng was evident in his expression. At that moment, in the parade square in front of the main building of the Headquarters of the Special forces, were the three vehicles that Huo Guanchen had brought with him. Every single person in the cars was as silent as a mouse. No one dared to come down.
Other than that, there were only the armed soldiers surrounding them. No one else was in the area.
…
Gu Nianzhi and Chen Lie leaned against the window on the 18th floor of the medical building as they looked at the direction of the parade square.
The sky was clear and blue. There were no clouds anywhere. Although there was sunlight, it was cooling – the classic winter weather in Di Capital.
Because they were far away, they could not see what was happening clearly.
Chen Lie went back to his office and returned with two pairs of binoculars. He handed one to Gu Nianzhi and used one for himself. They began looking towards the direction of the parade square.
“Brother Chen, it seems like Huo Shao is arguing with his father again,” Gu Nianzhi observed to Chen Lie as she looked on.
Chen Lie chuckled. “Ever since I met Mr. Huo more than a decade ago, this father and son duo have never been on good terms. I would be scared out of my wits the day they get on good terms with each other.”
Gu Nianzhi laughed at Chen Lie’s reply. “That makes sense. The relationship between Huo Shao and his father seems tense.”
Of course, Gu Nianzhi was on Huo Shaoheng’s mother, Song Jinning’s side. Therefore, she could not find any form of positive feelings towards Huo Shaoheng’s father. Since that was the case, there was no reason for her to encourage Huo Shaoheng to repair the relationship between him and his father.
She was not such a saint and she did not wish to meddle in the affairs of family matters in someone else’s family.
It was just that, seeing the father and son arguing on the parade square made Gu Nianzhi feel odd somehow. “…It would be great to know what they are talking about,” Gu Nianzhi mumbled, feeling slightly disappointed.
Chen Lie scoffed. “How is this even a problem? Just give a call to Big Xiong and you will be able to know every single thing they are talking about.”
“Oh? Oh yeah!” Gu Nianzhi happily whipped out her mobile phone and dialed Yin Shixiong’s number.
Yin Shixiong connected his Bluetooth earpiece and was standing nervously to the left behind Huo Shaoheng.
Hearing that there was an incoming call from Gu Nianzhi, he accepted it and took a step back to answer the call. “…Is anything the matter, Nianzhi?” he whispered ever so softly.
Gu Nianzhi whispered back, “…Brother Xiong, is Huo Shao quarreling with his father? What happened?”
Yin Shixiong knew that Gu Nianzhi had gone to Chen Lie’s medical building for her checkup that day. Upon contemplation, he turned off the noise cancellation of his earpiece and whispered, “…Listen to it on your own.”
Now, other than being able to see what was happening, she could also hear everything that was going on through her phone.
The Bluetooth earpiece, which had been manufactured especially for the soldiers who were dispatched overseas for missions, was multi-functional and of extremely good quality. Of course, the ones that we usually get off the shelves from the market are nowhere near to what these earpieces can do.
The sounds were so clear that it was almost like Huo Shaoheng was standing right next to her.
Chen Lie whispered to Gu Nianzhi, “Turn on your speaker, I want to listen too.”
Gu Nianzhi turned on her speaker. She would not have to hold the phone to her ear then.
Gu Nianzhi and Chen Lie both held their binoculars to look at what was happening and listened to the sounds that came from the phone at the same time. It was akin to watching a live ‘father and son feud’ show unfolding right in front of them.
…
Huo Shaoheng raised his chin. “Please go back before I change my mind.”
As compared to being arrested, it was obvious that the current option of returning was a better deal.
Huo Shaoheng did not intend to increase tensions anyway and gave Huo Guanchen an exit route to take.
Huo Guanchen glared at Huo Shaoheng as he clenched his fists. He was using all the sense of control he had within himself to suppress his anger. Even if he was given a route to take, what kind of route was that?!
He was blatantly being chased away. Must he still thank him for that?!
Just as the two men refused to give in to each other, the door of the big vehicle opened. A tall and slender female silhouette appeared, wearing long boots and a short coat.
She had long brows and single eyelid eyes, with an oval-shaped face and a sharp nose. Her lips were colored a bright shade of red. She looked extremely eye-catching.
It was especially true for her gaze. When she was looking at you, it was focused and attractive, like you were the only person in her eyes. However, when she shifted her gaze away, you would feel that your world had just crumbled.
She stood in front of the car and turned back to help another person get out. “Come on down, cousin.”
The person in the car seemed to be hesitating. Only after a few minutes did another tall and slender lady in tall boots emerge from the car. She was in a white woolen coat. It was obvious that she was wearing a dress beneath that coat. She was also in tall boots, but she did not exude the same kind of aura as the lady before her.
The lady who got out of the car was innocent and pure. She looked like a good girl. It was none other than Tan Guiren.
“Cousin…” Tan Guiren felt uneasy. “Let us just go back. Let us not do anything that will break the rules.”
“How would it be against the rules?” The lady who’d gotten out of the car first raised her eyebrows. “Follow me. I assure you that it will definitely be within the rules.”
Tan Guiren looked at her, clearly not believing her.
The lady who’d gotten out of the car first laughed. “Cousin, have you forgotten what I was doing in America? Rest assured, we will not do anything that is not legal.”
It was only then that Tan Guiren relaxed. She followed the lady and walked over.
Standing beside Huo Guanchen, this lady who was dressed to the nines narrowed her eyes and looked at Huo Shaoheng from the top to bottom.
Although she had high expectations for men and had seen her fair share of handsome ones overseas, she could not deny that Huo Shaoheng’s looks were beyond what any words could describe. He was captivating, handsome, and definitely attractive, with a combination of sharp features and extreme masculinity.
“Is anything the matter, General Huo?”
Although she was attracted by Huo Shaoheng’s looks, she had passed the age of being smitten by the looks of men alone. Therefore, she only took one look at Huo Shaoheng before turning her attention back to Huo Guanchen.
Seeing that she had come over, Huo Guanchen’s attitude softened as he said gently, “Madam Cai, I’m sorry to have to let you witness this.”
With that, he turned to Huo Shaoheng and began introducing the two of them. “This is Madam Cai Shengnan who has just returned to the Hua Xia Empire recently. She is currently the representative financial consultant and lawyer of Prime Minister and Mrs. Tan Dongbang. She is also his secretary and has an extremely close relationship with the cabinet.”
The final sentence was meant to give Huo Shaoheng a subtle reminder. Huo Shaoheng’s heart skipped a beat. The information regarding this Madam Cai Shengnan had only been put on his desk recently.
It was safe to say that all the credit went to this Madam Cai Shengnan, who’d returned from America when Prime Minister Tan Dongbang had been able to get off the hook of impeachment smoothly.
Cai Shengnan had just turned 29 years old. She was 6 months younger than Huo Shaoheng. She had been practicing law all that time in America and was the co-founder of the second-largest law firm there.
She was well known in the industry in America. However, not many average citizens knew about her. However, her father, Cai Sumin was known by almost everyone in America.
Decades ago, there had been a president in America who’d had an extramarital affair with his female intern and was impeached by the cabinet. He was almost asked to leave his position.
Cai Shengnan’s father, Cai Sumin, had been the lead lawyer for that President. He was the one who’d helped the president get through his tough times, managed to settle the disputes in the House of Representatives and Senate in America, and saved him from being removed from office.
Decades ago, Cai Shengnan, who had just begun her life as a college student at the time, had gone through the entire case with her father. She’d been extremely inspired by the way her father handled the case and had learned the ropes from there. She’d managed to use the knowledge with flexibility and come up with great ideas for the legal team.
When the impeachment was smoothly settled, Cai Shengnan, who was new to the industry, had put in a great amount of effort as well.
The wife of the Prime Minister, Cai Songyin, was her paternal aunt. When the Prime Minister met with this obstacle, Cai Songyin still went to her maternal family and got help from her older brother. Her older brother sent his daughter, Cai Shengnan, back to the Hua Xia Empire personally to settle this dispute. She was finally was able to calm the Senate down.
Now, this very person was standing right in front of him, rather than being represented by a piece of paper on his desk.
Huo Shaoheng nodded politely to her. “Hello, Madam Cai. Please return to the car. This is not a place where you should be.”
“Oh really?” Cai Shengnan observed Huo Shaoheng while tilting her head. “What will you do if I do not go back? Lock me up and torture me?” she asked, jokingly.
Huo Shaoheng remained expressionless and said calmly, “Our army would never torture captives…”
