Yang Chen sneered when no one said anything. “Even if we do hand over our military powers, it wouldn’t belong to the citizens. They wouldn’t benefit from it. In my opinion…those who refuse to let this go must be going after the military powers. We all know…who exactly I am talking about…”
His intention was clear as day and even though they knew who he meant, the others deliberately avoided looking at Ning Guangyao.
He was right. If the Yang clan really did hand in their military powers, they would fall out of the four major clans and their position would be lower than the Tang clan.
The Tang clan might have lost Tang Zhechen but at least their businesses were unaffected. On the other hand, if their Yang clan were to lose their military powers, they would be inferior to the second-rate clan!
As for the possession of the military powers, the Li clan would not be part of it since they owned large groups of special forces and the State Security. The rest of the clans would be no match for the Ning clan.
At the end of the day, the government officials from the Ning clan were the ones who were after it.
The atmosphere fell silent as they whispered to one another, discussing how it would end.
Yang Chen chuckled. “Everyone, I’ll be frank with you guys. My wife’s company, Yu Lei International, has founded an entertainment company and there’s a department for movies. I was trying to look for source material to shoot a movie! I’m planning to publish a memoir about our old man’s story and then turn it into a movie about the two generations. Say, there are gimmicks, fame, gossips, war, love, family and suspense, everything you need for a good movie! Do you know how much we can earn if we sold his story?!”
Everyone on site froze and they stared at Yang Chen as if he was a ghost!
Guo Xuehua was just praising his son. When she heard what he had said, she couldn’t bring herself to watch him anymore and she proceeded to cover her face with her hands.
Yang Chen ran next to Lin Ruoxi with a huge grin plastered to his face. He wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders. “Dear, what do you think about my idea? Are you finally going to recognize my talent for business now?!”
He sounded extremely proud of himself which made Lin Ruoxi blush. She felt so embarrassed. This man was talking about work at a time like this?! It was fine if he mentioned it on his own but why did he pull her in? It made her sound like a capitalist who only cared about money!
Honestly, Yang Chen’s idea wasn’t all crazy nonsense.
Now that Yang Gongming’s past had been exposed, hiding it would look more suspicious. If they were to publish the story in the form of a biography and then make a movie, showcasing a more heroic and human-like version of him, they might be able to change people’s perception of the past!
Ning Guangyao’s gaze turned dark but he couldn’t think of another way to force Yang Gongming to give up on his military powers now that Yang Chen had taken control of the situation.
Being left with no choice, Ning Guangyao said, “If that’s the case, we’ll come up with a draft and organize a news conference to explain everything. However, Sir Yang has to attend the conference.”
Yang Gongming wasn’t opposed to it. “I must since it has to do with me.”
“But…” Ning Guangyao changed his tone. “After this matter has passed, I wish that you can confidently face the military if someone were to question you. After all, a large number of the military officers hold posts in your army because of their respect towards the Old Marshal. They might have a change of heart when they realize the truth.”
He basically meant that since Yang Gongming wasn’t a real Yang descendant, those people wouldn’t see the need to work under you. Ning Guangyao was essentially planning to scout them over openly.
Yang Chen sneered. “Premier Ning, I think so long as they have half a brain, they would not read too much into the situation lest they wish death upon themselves.”
Ning Guangyao’s clenched his jaw and furrowed brows. “Yang Chen, are you threatening them?!”
“Threatening? Who did I threaten?” Yang Chen’s lips curled to form a ghastly grin. “I didn’t specify anyone.”
Everyone could feel chills running down their spine. His smile was technically telling everyone if they dared to take advantage of the situation or chose to betray them, they would be dead soon.
No one dared to harbor any disloyal thoughts, seeing how he had just killed an elder from his clan without any hesitation.
The other elders were especially scared, thinking to themselves that they had to warn the younger ones to be loyal! Even though Yang Gongming was an iron-handed man, he wouldn’t kill recklessly like Yang Chen!
Yang Gongming was happy to see this outcome and he knocked on the table with his knuckles. “Now that everything’s settled, I won’t be sending everyone to the door personally so feel free to help yourselves.”
Everyone else was tactful and the imposing manner they had at the beginning was all gone. They would only feel fear if they chose to stay any longer.
One left after another and once Ning Guangyao had left with the government officials, the clan members took their leave too.
Li Moshen stayed till the last and walked towards Yang Gongming with a smile on his face.
“Old Yang, you’re really blessed to have a grandson like him. You must be able to rest easy now.,” Li Moshen said with a suggestive gaze.
Yang Gongming glanced over at Yang Chen who looked rather indolent before shaking his head and sighed. “Blessings and misfortunes come together. His capabilities come with trouble. I was just gambling.”
Li Moshen nodded knowingly, it was easy to tell that the enemies Yang Chen had to face would be on a different level compared to mundanes like them.
“I won’t talk about it anymore. Tomorrow is Li Dun’s wedding and even though it’s not a grand one, all of you have to attend the wedding!”
Yang Gongming chuckled, “Did you stay back to talk about this?”
“What else? Is there anything more important than my own grandson’s wedding?” Li Moshen sounded bold.
Yang Gongming chuckled. “Alright, but I’m a sincere man and I don’t need to butter you up. You won’t be getting a big red envelope from me.”
Li Moshen gave a cunning smile and glanced over at Lin Ruoxi. “You might be poor but your granddaughter-in-law is one of the wealthiest women in China, I’m sure she knows what to do.”
“Ah…” Lin Ruoxi could barely react to it.
Yang Chen wasn’t pleased to hear this. “No wonder Li Dun is so stingy, he got it from you!”
“How dare you call me stingy!? You’re so mean! I even used to buy you noodles!” Li Dun yelled.
Li Moshen and Li Yunpeng’s faces turned green when they heard this.
For a moment, the others burst out laughing too which caused the hall to be filled with joy.
Yang Pojun didn’t join their conversation. Instead, he dejectedly walked out of the hall.
Guo Xuehua was amused by Li Dun but when she saw the man’s silhouette, she couldn’t stop herself from feeling bad for him and she decided to follow him.
The atmosphere in the hall was noisy because Yang Chen and Li Dun were bickering with each other. In comparison to the hall, the backyard seemed especially quiet.
Yang Pojun had encountered too many ups and downs in the past few days, which was something he had never experienced before. His heart was being tossed around and it had completely shocked his life and values.
It didn’t feel good to suddenly realize that the world wasn’t tas he imagined. The people around him operated at a much higher level than he did
Time had slipped away and his rough edges had been smoothed out which made him look different from the formidable manner he had when he was a commander.
Yang Pojun walked past the garden and stepped into a pavilion.
He seemed to be lost in his thoughts as he stared at the tall locust tree in front of him.
“What are you thinking of?”
A voice was heard from behind him.
Yang Pojun turned around and he saw his familiar yet foreign wife, the woman who had been by his side for more than twenty years.
“Why have you come? The Li clan will be holding a wedding tomorrow and even though we are close to them, you still need to arrange the gifts.”
Guo Xuehua smiled. “It’s always the same. The maids will take care of it.”
Yang Pojun nodded, not knowing what else to say. Before he met Guo Xuehua, he had a lot of questions to ask her but now that he was standing right in front of her, he was at a complete loss for words.
“You..”
”You…”
They spoke at the same time.
At this moment, they couldn’t help but smile at one another.
“Are you feeling better these days? Are your wounds healing?” Guo Xuehua asked first.
Yang Pojun nodded and moved his arms. “They are almost done. The medical treatment in the military hospital is pretty good…how about you? Are you doing alright in Zhonghai?”
Guo Xuehua brightened up. “It’s all the same. Ruoxi adopted a little girl called Lanlan a few days ago, which means that I have a granddaughter now…”
Guo Xuehua thought it wasn’t appropriate for her to talk about this when Yang Pojun had stayed in the hospital on his own.
Yang Pojun caught on and he gave a faint smile. “It’s fine as long as you’re happy. I suddenly feel like none of it matters anymore….”
Guo Xuehua was startled. “Pojun…you….do you really think that way?”
“Why would I lie to you?” Yang Pojun shook his head and chuckled in a self-deprecating manner. “I’ve been through a lot and I’ve thought things through. It’s been a long way and I think it’s time for me to stop and rest.”
Guo Xuehua was moved by this. “You’ve finally gotten over it after so many years! Powers, position, these will only bring you stress. I don’t see the point in thriving for these things when your own life is a mess. Oh well, I won’t talk about this anymore. Then…..then what’re you planning to do in the future? Do you want to stay with us?”
