Wu Xiufang, in her private villa, lost her usual composure upon seeing Shi Changying. Frantic and agitated, she questioned him about why he hadn't yet found Song Jiaping's whereabouts.
Shi Changying, however, was unhurried. "Miss, my people are searching. As long as he's still in Lancheng, we'll find him."
"But I have a feeling he's holding back a big move this time. There's no time for you to search slowly," she said, feeling more uneasy since leaving the temple.
"Miss, aren't you worrying too much?" Shi Changying asked. "Our people have been keeping an eye on Qin Tianyi and that police officer surnamed Su. We can confirm they're no longer investigating the deaths of other Wu family members. I think they'll give up if they can't find any clues. Even if this Song Jiaping is Zhu Qin's son, he hasn't been in Lancheng for a long time. What big move could he possibly have?"
Wu Xiufang retorted, "If he didn't have something important to do, why would he come back?"
Shi Changying smiled and said, "Miss, I think he must have heard that Miss Mengyao is getting a divorce and that's why he's back."
"Impossible! I will never let him be with Yao Yao," Wu Xiufang felt Shi Changying made sense, but why was she still feeling restless? "Could he have hired assassins abroad to directly… us…"
Before she could finish, Shi Changying immediately said, "Miss, that's even more impossible. I've secretly arranged bodyguards to protect you. Besides, if he were to openly hire people to deal with us, he wouldn't be able to escape himself. Since he's been hiding his identity around your Huangfu family members for so long, he wouldn't suddenly do something foolish."
Wu Xiufang finally sat down, feeling a little more at ease, and asked Sister Fen to serve tea.
"It seems Song Jiaping really came back for Yao Yao. We can't find any trace of him, yet he was able to rescue Yao Yao from Jiaxi's clutches in time. Does that mean he's been keeping track of Yao Yao's whereabouts at all times?" she speculated.
Wu Xiufang's words suddenly reminded Shi Changying, and he had an idea. "If I want Song Jiaping to show himself, I should use Miss Mengyao as bait. If Miss Mengyao is in danger again…"
"No, my daughter cannot be in any danger again!" she immediately objected.
Shi Changying explained, "It's not about truly putting Miss Mengyao in danger. We'll pretend she's threatened to lure Song Jiaping out. Once we control Song Jiaping, we'll have nothing to worry about."
Wu Xiufang's eyes lit up. She felt this was indeed a viable plan and asked, "Then what should we do?"
"We can stage a fake kidnapping. Make it look like some desperate criminals are trying to kidnap Miss Mengyao to extort the Huangfu family. You'll appear to keep a low profile, but you must let everyone in Lancheng know that you're offering a hefty reward for the kidnappers and the rescue of Miss Mengyao."
"We can do that, we can do that, but you must guarantee Yao Yao's safety. She cannot be harmed," Wu Xiufang emphasized.
Wu Changying promised, "Miss, you can rest assured."
At this moment, Sister Fen brought the tea. She overheard them planning the details of the fake kidnapping but still felt uneasy.
Apart from the young master, Miss Mengyao was the wife's most cherished daughter. After Shi Changying left, she couldn't help but ask Wu Xiufang, "Madam, is it really safe to use Miss Mengyao as bait like this?"
"Didn't you hear Old Shi say it's a fake kidnapping?" Wu Xiufang trusted Shi Changying. He had helped her for so many years, and he was definitely her most reliable confidant. "The kidnappers will bring Yao Yao here. What could possibly happen?"
Sister Fen had no rebuttal. If Miss Mengyao were to stay here temporarily, she would definitely take good care of her, so she said no more.
...
After Meng Qi left Huangfu Sisong's office, Huangfu Sisong felt increasingly uneasy. He immediately had someone contact people from the former pharmaceutical factory, wanting to personally inquire about the current situation of the factory.
He didn't know until he asked, and he was truly shocked.
The factory had been shut down for some time, and the workers hadn't been paid for two months.
The people sent by Hong Jiaxi from the pharmaceutical company to manage the factory were all embezzling funds and completely neglected the factory and the well-being of its former employees.
Now, many factory workers had stopped coming to work, seeking their own livelihoods, and the factory's management was in utter chaos.
Huangfu Sisong never expected that a well-functioning pharmaceutical factory entrusted to Hong Jiaxi would be on the verge of collapse in less than half a year.
"What about the records in the factory's archive room? Are they still there?" he asked a former management employee of the factory.
The other party replied, "The archive room has been a mess for a long time, and no one has taken care of it. Documents are scattered everywhere, and the pensions of retired factory workers can't be paid. Some retired workers have come to the factory to cause trouble several times."
Huangfu Sisong anxiously asked, "Have the pensions of those old researchers been paid on time?"
"No, they haven't been paid at all," the other party confirmed.
As expected, the events of the pharmaceutical factory back then would provide an opening for Song Jiaping and his group. This was bad. He hurriedly said, "Tell the former employees of the factory to come back now. Say that my group will still pay their salaries. Also, notify the retired personnel that any outstanding pension differences will be made up. Tell everyone not to panic or cause trouble. No matter what happens, our Huangfu Group will cover it."
The other party was almost moved to tears and said, "Boss, we all thought you wouldn't care about the factory anymore. We didn't expect you to still remember us. That's great!"
"Also, find people to organize all the documents in the archive room and send them all to me," Huangfu Sisong could only try his best to salvage the situation now.
Hong Jiaxi was still in detention. They would have to wait for him to be released before they could reclaim the pharmaceutical factory from him.
Huangfu Sisong truly did not expect that not only Mengyao had misjudged him, but he himself had also misjudged Hong Jiaxi.
He had initially thought Hong Jiaxi lacked great ability but was still somewhat reliable. However, looking at him now, Hong Jiaxi was no different from those idle rich young masters who did nothing productive.
...
Song Jiaping had quietly filed a lawsuit against Huangfu Sisong and his wife at the court, and the court had accepted it.
He only had to wait for the court to schedule a date for a public trial. Once this old case was publicly tried, all the media in Lancheng would be present.
All the crimes committed by Huangfu Sisong and his wife would be exposed to the light of day. The truth would be revealed, and the day they brought justice to their entire family would not be far off.
Besides him, Tianyi and Kangxi were also waiting for the court's schedule.
Before the public trial, they still had to make some thorough preparations.
Susu could see that Tianyi had been in a very good mood recently. Christmas was coming soon, and she wanted to have a Christmas party at home to make the children happy and to help Tiantian overcome her psychological trauma sooner.
That evening, she discussed this matter with Tianyi. Tianyi readily agreed.
"Not just Christmas, but New Year's Day and Spring Festival afterward, we'll celebrate them grandly and joyfully. After the New Year, Little Star will go abroad, so we need to let him feel more of the family atmosphere, so he doesn't forget us once he leaves."