Wang Yang looked a little haggard with large dark circles around his eyes. It was evident that Wang Yang had not had a good rest lately. “Have Qiao Nan and Zhai Sheng left yet?”

  Wang Yang’s subordinate sensed that Wang Yang’s tone was strange. Normally, one would put Zhai Sheng’s name before Qiao Nan’s. Given Qiao Nan’s status, one would normally address her as Zhai Sheng’s wife instead of calling her by her name.

  Someone with no status would always be known by someone else’s name. “Don’t worry, Mr. Wang. They’ve left. They left quite quickly, in fact. The chief, in particular, had no intention of pursuing the matter at all.” Chief Zhai had to have the best temper amongst all the chiefs he had ever met.

  But it did not seem easy to talk to that person with such an icy cold expression.

  “Okay.” Wang Yang took a puff on his cigarette before choking on it. “Remember never to let those two meet that old man. The old man’s condition has been getting worse and I guess he won’t have many more months to live. As his only relative, I just want the old man’s last days to be as peaceful as possible. I don’t want him worrying about all these complicated relationships. It’ll just drain him of his energy.”

  “Don’t worry, Mr. Wang. Our hospital understands your concerns. Indeed, Old Chief Zhu shouldn’t be disturbed and needs more rest given his condition.” He had done nothing wrong. These were facts.

  \r \r \r

  Wang Yang rubbed his forehead. “Alright. We’ll need your help to take care of the old man. If there’s any hope, please don’t hide it from us. We have to try it out no matter what. The old master has sacrificed his life for the country and the people. If it was possible, I would exchange ten years of my life for one year of the old master’s.”

  “We will. We all know that you’ve been very good to Old Chief Zhu. I’m sure Old Chief Zhu would be happy to know just how much you care about him. I won’t disturb you any longer. I’ll get in touch with you if anything happens.” After reporting the situation, the hospital staff went back to work.

  As compared to Zhai Sheng, Wang Yang was a nobody. Unfortunately, the hospital staff had no way of getting close to Zhai Sheng. As such, they could not lose out on the opportunity to do Wang Yang a favor.

  Besides, everyone knew that everything of the Zhu family would eventually belong to Wang Yang once Old Chief Zhu passed away. It might be true that Wang Yang could not compare to Zhai Sheng now, but once he inherited the Zhu family’s assets, he would not be that far off anymore.

  Although it was not much, the hospital staff already regarded Wang Yang as a potential investor.

  “You’re back? Nan Nan, are you tired? Come have a seat here.” Knowing that her son had brought her daughter-in-law to visit Zhu Chengqi, Miao Jing could not stand in their way. Qiao Nan might be pregnant, but Zhu Chengqi was seriously ill. If not for Zhai Sheng and Qiao Nan’s insistence, Miao Jing would very much have preferred for Qiao Nan to rest at home.

  Qiao Nan felt fine. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’m not tired because Brother Zhai has been taking care of me. Besides, didn’t the doctor say that pregnant women should have an adequate amount of exercise? Exercise is good for both the mother and the baby. That amount of exercise was actually quite little.” As she approached her fourth month of pregnancy, Qiao Nan could feel her little tummy getting tighter.

  There was indeed a little baby growing inside her.

  In about a week’s time, she would reach the fourth month of her pregnancy and would need to visit the hospital for a checkup again.

  “Alright. I won’t worry about you anymore since you two have already discussed it.” Miao Jing was finally willing to let her go because Zhai Sheng was by her side. If Zhai Sheng was not at home, Miao Jing would never have let Qiao Nan go out of the house. The streets in the capital were terribly crowded and the air quality was poor too.

  At this time, Miao Jing could not help but think back to the environment in Qingshui Town. It was much better for the elderly or pregnant women like Qiao Nan to spend their time in Qingshui Town. “I guess you guys didn’t get to meet him again?” Miao Jing had never had much contact with the Zhu family.

  This was involuntary. Zhu Chengqi’s wife had passed away early and his mother had passed on even earlier. As such, the Zhu family did not even have a mistress. It was thus inconvenient for Miao Jing to visit the Zhu family.

  Miao Jing had not forgotten how Zhu Chengqi had helped out during Zhai Sheng and Qiao Nan’s wedding. Even though Zhu Chengqi had indeed assisted them, Miao Jing did not understand why they were so persistent about meeting Zhu Chengqi. Even after failing to meet him once, they had gone a second time.

  Unable to suppress her curiosity, Miao Jing asked, “Zhai Sheng, Nan Nan’s a pregnant woman, after all. You know very well what the capital is like. Are you still planning to make a third trip?” Was there a need to go to such an extent even if they wanted to express their gratitude toward Zhu Chengqi?

  There was seriously no reason for these two children to be so enthusiastic.

  Thinking about the rumors that she had heard, Miao Jing’s heart ached for her two children. “I didn’t intend to share this with you because I was afraid that you would feel uneasy hearing it, especially Nan Nan. It’s already easy for pregnant women’s minds to run wild and I might very well find those people to settle the accounts if anything happens to Nan Nan. Thinking about it, are there certain things that our family should take note of so as not to cause any misunderstandings?”

  Hearing Miao Jing’s serious tone, Zhai Sheng and Qiao Nan became somber as well, and Zhai Sheng asked, “What’s the matter, Mom? You can be direct with us.”

  Miao Jing let out a deep sigh. “It’s those people…… I heard quite a lot about Zhu Chengqi’s condition. It really hasn’t been easy for him to live like that, but at least, he hasn’t lived his life in vain. I wonder if it’s because the men in the Zhu family have too sinister auras, especially Zhu Chengqi. He doesn’t even have a single relative by his side apart from his nephew. Zhu Chengqi is about the same age as your dad, but his health is in such bad shape. There have been quite a few people spreading rumors that there will be trouble once Zhu Chengqi passes away since there isn’t anyone in the Zhu family to inherit his assets.”

  Everyone knew that if Zhu Chengqi were to leave a will now or a few words at his deathbed, anyone who caught Zhu Chengqi’s eye now would stand to gain the most.

  To put it clearer, anyone who managed to coax Zhu Chengqi and get into his good books now stood to gain from Zhu Chengqi’s death by inheriting all of his assets.