Rebirth 1983: Building My Business Empire
Chapter 324 - Chapter 324 Chapter 313 Suspicion

Chapter 324: Chapter 313 Suspicion Chapter 324: Chapter 313 Suspicion He Zhuliang pondered the matter and eventually felt that Gu Xiuxiu was the most suspicious. When He Mingzhu came to visit him in prison, he voiced his suspicions to her.

He Mingzhu asked in surprise, “You mean Fourth Great Aunt? How is that possible? Fourth Great Aunt is not even lucid now, how could she possibly be the mastermind behind this?”

He Zhuliang wasn’t certain either, so he asked He Mingzhu to probe further, “She has some dirt on me, perhaps she passed it on to Lu Jiaxin.”

Upon hearing this, He Mingzhu shook her head, “Daddy, right after taking Fourth Great Aunt and Haifan away to settle them in, Lu Jiaxin went abroad for a trip and hasn’t come back yet.”

After hesitating, she continued, “Daddy, Lu Jiaxin has been in Hong Kong for just over a year, during which she mostly interacted with Su Heyuan and Nie Zhan. Su Heyuan doesn’t have the capability, and as for Nie Zhan, I don’t think he would do something so detrimental to others without any benefit to himself for the sake of a young girl.”

She believed that the one who put the He Family in crisis must be an enemy of He Zhuliang. The adversary must have been lying in wait for a long time, otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to present so much evidence all at once.

He Zhuliang believed that nothing was impossible in this world, “Have someone check on Nie Zhan, and also, go visit Fourth Aunt later.”

His authority was immense, and He Mingzhu did not dare to refuse openly, replying, “Daddy, do you know Yun Boqiang? The major crime squad is now accusing Uncle Wei of killing this man.”

“Daddy, Yun Boqiang’s son, Yun Cheng, is now a reporter for Oriental Daily, and this man’s father-in-law is a shareholder of Oriental Daily. That your arrest and the company’s issues were exposed so quickly is all his doing.”

He Zhuliang insisted that a mistake must have been made as he didn’t know anyone named Yun Boqiang.

He Mingzhu said, “Daddy, I had someone look into it, and the evidence ICAC received came from Officer Gao’s sister, Gao Wen. This woman has been investigating you in secret for several years.”

He Zhuliang’s expression changed instantly. The fact that this woman had been investigating him for so many years without his knowledge clearly indicated someone was behind this.

Thinking this, He Zhuliang felt a sinking feeling in his heart, “Mingzhu, I have dealt with Officer Gao before, but back then the ICAC had cleared me as being wrongfully accused. I was released as innocent, how could I possibly target him again? Mingzhu, someone is definitely targeting me, you must stay steady and not fall for their trap.”

He Mingzhu nodded, her mood heavy.

He Zhuliang then asked the question he cared about most, “How is the company doing now?”

He Mingzhu hung her head and replied, “The stock price has dropped by forty percent, the board of directors has removed all your positions, and Uncle Zou is currently serving as the acting chairman.”

It was also because the chairman was replaced that the stock price stopped falling. Otherwise, if more bad news came out, the price would drop further, and a trading suspension would become inevitable. However, due to the severe drop, shareholders and investors were extremely dissatisfied with He Zhuliang.

Although He Zhuliang had anticipated this, it was still painful to hear, “Your mom isn’t in good health, and with my current situation, you should comfort her and keep her company.”

He Mingzhu nodded.

As visiting time was coming to an end, He Zhuliang said, “Go to the Guh Residence and see how Fourth Aunt is doing, and try to gauge her intentions.”

Compared to outsiders, he was even less trusting of Gu Xiuxiu, who held too many of his weaknesses in her hands.

He Mingzhu had no choice but to agree. More than an hour later, she arrived at the Guh Residence and, upon hearing from the servant that Gu Xiuxiu was in the back garden, she set down the pastries and fruit she had brought and headed to the back garden.

After Lu Jiaxin brought Gu Xiuxiu back, aside from Aunt Mei and the driver Hu Ming, she also hired a caretaker, a chef, and two servants. The caretaker was responsible for looking after Gu Xiuxiu together with Aunt Mei, the chef prepared three meals a day plus Gu Xiuxiu’s late-night snack, and the two servants were in charge of laundry, cooking, cleaning, and assisting the chef. The gardener no longer received a fixed salary and was paid based on the amount of work done.

The total number of staff previously hired by Gu Xiuxiu amounted to twelve, but this had been reduced to six, yet everything was still well-organized thanks to proper arrangement.

Upon arriving at the back garden, He Mingzhu saw Gu Xiuxiu busily tending to the flowers. She approached and said, “Fourth Great Aunt, let me do that!”

Gu Xiuxiu turned her head and with a puzzled face, asked, “Who are you?”

He Mingzhu’s expression froze for a moment, realizing that confusion had set in again. She quickly regained her composure, smiling as she said, “Fourth Great Aunt, I’m Mingzhu. Don’t you remember me?”

Gu Xiuxiu set down her scissors and after some thought, she frowned and said, “Mingzhu, you shouldn’t keep climbing mountains; the sun damages the skin. Look at your skin now, so rough and dark yellow, even thirty-year-olds don’t have skin as bad as yours.”

Great, her memory was jumbled again.

He Mingzhu forced a smile and said, “Fourth Great Aunt, you’re one to talk, aren’t you also out in the strong sun? Let’s go inside and talk, Fourth Great Aunt.”

Gu Xiuxiu expressed her indifference to such concerns, as she was of an age to no longer be particular: “Your grandfather said there’s no fragrance in the flowers in my room, I need to dig up the soil and cut some fresh ones to put in a vase.”

“First, let’s go inside for a rest, and then come back to cut them.”

The two returned to the living room, and He Mingzhu asked, “Fourth Great Aunt, how have you been these days?”

Gu Xiuxiu said she had been quite well, and then she inquired about He Mingzhu’s studies. Upon learning that she had achieved all A’s again, she praised her, “My Mingzhu is indeed capable. But Mingzhu, doing well is not as good as marrying well. There must be many excellent young men at school; you should pick the best one from among them.”

These words involuntarily drew He Mingzhu’s thoughts back to her university days. She had a lover in college whom she deeply loved, but he came from a poor family and she dared not tell her family about him. The couple secretly dated for three years, and only after Li Xuanqi urged her to go on arranged dates did she reluctantly reveal the truth.

Unexpectedly, after her confession, her boyfriend broke up with her. It was only later that she discovered he had used the money from her family to study abroad. She was deeply hurt by the experience and since then had stopped believing in love, immersing herself entirely in work. As for arranged dates, she would rather die than attend.

Seeing her daydream, Gu Xiuxiu tugged at her hand, smiling and said, “What’s the matter, have you taken a fancy to someone? If you have, bring him back for me to see.”

He Mingzhu snapped back to reality and shook her head, “No, I just want to focus on my studies for now and not think about personal matters for the time being.”

Gu Xiuxiu felt it was time for an eighteen-year-old to start considering these things, “Mingzhu, you should hurry up and find someone in college. If you wait until after graduation for your mother to arrange it, she will only consider family background and whether they can help the He Family, not caring about the other person’s character or capabilities. Marrying such a person, you won’t be happy.”

He Mingzhu’s eyes reddened instantly. Gu Xiuxiu had said these words to her more than a decade ago, but she hadn’t listened at the time and even thought Gu Xiuxiu was trying to drive a wedge between her and her mother. As it turned out, everything the Fourth Great Aunt said was wise and true; it was a pity that she understood too late.

After talking for a while, Gu Xiuxiu began to feel tired. She yawned and said, “As the years pile up, the energy just isn’t what it used to be. Mingzhu, I need to rest in my room, and you should go back to yours too!”

“Alright.”