Chapter 208: 208: The King's Return (5)
“Brother Ting, the young lady… she…” seems strange.
That Sheng Chuzheng of the past, she’s nothing like she is now.
But the subordinate dared not voice these thoughts.
Fearing he might provoke Sheng Ting.
Sheng Ting’s eyes were dark and heavy: “Have Zhuang Yi come to see me.”
“…” The subordinate responded.
–
The elderly man hurried in: “Miss, Young Master Tang… Sheng Ting’s car has already left.”
Sheng Ting used to be the young master of the Sheng Family.
But after Sheng Min disappeared, he immediately set up his own establishment, an arrangement he had been planning for years.
Sheng Ting took most of the Sheng Family’s people and business with him.
In the end, Sheng Ting was the true cause of the Sheng Family’s current downfall.
Mr. Sheng had raised him for so many years, only to end up nurturing a thankless wretch…
The thought made the old man seethe with anger.
“Hmm.”
Chuzheng sat on the steps of the staircase, facing Yin Hong who seemed on the verge of passing out.
The old man was somewhat trembling with apprehension.
The young lady looked calm at the moment, but for some reason he found her somewhat terrifying.
More terrifying than when Mr. Sheng was furious.
Yin Hong was also scared witless by Chuzheng; at that moment, he wished he could faint away, yet the pain made him all too aware.
Once Yin Hong’s people were cleared out, the old man stood beside Chuzheng, asking with concern, “Miss, where have you been these past days?”
With the master missing, the miss as well…
“I was locked up by Sheng Ting,” Chuzheng said calmly.
Sheng Ting?
The old man couldn’t believe it, his murky eyes flashing with anger: “Miss, Sheng Ting he… he locked you up?”
Chuzheng nodded.
“How dare he!” the old man trembled with rage.
The master treated him like his own son.
How could he do such a thing.
Even as the Sheng Family fell, he did not spare the miss.
Beast!
Monster!!
“Miss…” the old man’s voice choked up: “Did Sheng Ting… did he do anything to you?”
“No.”
The old man heaved a sigh of relief.
Chuzheng asked, “Are there any bodyguards left for the Sheng Family?”
In this vast estate, so far, she seemed to have only seen this one person.
The old man, Gao Ping, used to be the butler.
Gao Ping sighed helplessly and shook his head: “There’s no one left, they’ve all gone.”
When a tree falls, the monkeys scatter; those of the Sheng Family had already sought other branches long ago.
There were indeed some old servants who stayed.
But Yin Hong arrived two days ago, and he made those people leave.
Yin Hong and his people, with countless lives on their hands, preferred the hope of living over certain death.
Now, only he remained here.
However, Gao Ping found it strange that those from the Sheng Family hadn’t touched the estate.
Thinking of this, Gao Ping couldn’t help but have tear-filled eyes: “Miss, they all say the master is dead, but I don’t think it’s true. The master must still be alive; he wouldn’t just abandon you like that.”
Whether Sheng Min was dead or alive, the original host never knew until her death.
Chuzheng fiddled with a broken porcelain shard.
A flash of cold light in her eyes illuminated the indifference and detachment within, not caring in the slightest.
“Miss, what are you going to do now… ”
“Hire bodyguards.” Otherwise, she’d have to fight on her own next time.
“…” Gao Ping was stunned.
He vaguely remembered the money Chuzheng gave to Yin Hong and quickly asked, “Miss, where did you get that money? There isn’t that much cash in the estate…”
“Don’t worry about the money, just do as I say,” she said.
The girl’s expression was cold; her delicate features gave a sharp impression, and her dark eyes were like the pitch-black night sky, radiating an icy chill that dissuaded anyone from meeting her gaze casually.
Filled with confusion, Gao Ping was overwhelmed with doubts.
Of course, Gao Ping wouldn’t think that his mistress had been switched with someone else, after all, the Sheng Family estate was a complete mess now, hardly anything worth scheming for.
He felt even more that his young mistress must have been shocked.
After all, he was just a servant…
There were some matters of the household that he was not clear about.
How many assets, how many contingencies…
Gao Ping took the money to hire a bodyguard for Chuzheng, but the young mistress hadn’t told him it was in cash!
He was carrying several large boxes and was afraid of being robbed whenever he left the house.
Gao Ping was highly efficient at his job, and both the bodyguard and the servants arrived the same day; with money in hand, all the damaged parts of the estate were restored.
Chuzheng stepped down the stairs on the soft carpet.
“Miss, did you rest well?”
“Mhm.”
Chuzheng walked into the dining room, where Gao Ping had prepared her utensils and signaled for the dishes to be served.
Watching Chuzheng eat with leisure, Gao Ping was somewhat dazed.
It was as if nothing had happened during this period.
Mr. Sheng hadn’t disappeared; the Sheng Family hadn’t encountered any trouble.
The young mistress was still the same naive and lively girl she had been before, pampered and cherished by all…
“Miss, what do you plan to do about Mr. Sheng’s matter?” Gao Ping would never have dared to ask this question before today.
She herself was so scared; how would she know what to do?
But having experienced what had happened today, the young mistress was so composed and formidable that he could bring himself to ask.
It’s said that people only grow through hardship.
The young mistress… maybe it was the same for her.
“What do you think?” Chuzheng asked casually.
“I don’t believe Mr. Sheng is dead,” Gao Ping stated with conviction.
Such a capable man as Mr. Sheng, even for the sake of the young mistress, he wouldn’t die just like that.
“Clues,” Chuzheng said succinctly. It wasn’t a matter of simply not believing; one needed results to prove it.
“When Mr. Sheng disappeared, he didn’t take anyone with him. The place he visited was quite remote, and it was overseas where there’s barely any surveillance. There weren’t many clues found.”
But they found Mr. Sheng’s car, with bloodstains inside, which were confirmed through testing to be Mr. Sheng’s own.
Because of this, the Sheng Family concluded that Sheng Min had been killed.
“So, they haven’t even figured out the exact location of the disappearance,” Chuzheng summarized.
Finding the car doesn’t mean that’s where the person disappeared.
Could it be that someone took the car there?
Gao Ping nodded solemnly.
Then what’s the point of the investigation!
Chuzheng stopped talking and continued to eat.
Gao Ping hesitated, feeling pity for his young mistress who was just a girl; surely she couldn’t think as quickly as the others.
In fact, Chuzheng thought very quickly; she had already come up with ninety-nine ways to deal with Zhuang Yi and Sheng Ting.
Unfortunately, she shouldn’t…
Sigh.
After Chuzheng finished eating, Gao Ping placed some documents that were from the initial investigation in front of Chuzheng, possibly thinking that she might want to take a look.
Chuzheng: “…”
No!
I don’t want to, at all!
Really!
In the end, Chuzheng still flipped through those documents.
Bloody fingerprints were scattered around the driver’s seat.
From the photos, it appeared Sheng Min had struggled, and then was dragged out of the car.
The car was intact, which means Sheng Min might have been injured before getting into the car.
But who would have harmed him?
And why would he leave alone?
They didn’t find Sheng Min’s mobile phone, nor any messages he might have left.
Sheng Min’s trusted aides were now either under Sheng Ting’s control or had disappeared without a trace.
This had become an unsolvable mystery.
[Main Quest: Outbid Sheng Ting for a batch of goods he’s interested in at a high price.]
Chuzheng snapped the documents shut.
Not convenient.
Steal the deal.
Small problem.
Chuzheng threw the documents down with a snap and kicked the cabinet beside her.