Chapter 95: The Defecting President

As Jiang Qing’s somewhat cold voice rang out, the many heads of departments in the conference hall looked at one another, and low murmurs of discussion arose for a moment.

"Young Lady, we already sent someone to the Xiyang House headquarters to pass on the message earlier. Logically speaking, if President Han Zhi received the news, he should have rushed over immediately," Lei Zhang said at this moment.

Jiang Qing nodded lightly and said, "Then it seems something has gone wrong."

Li Luo asked, "Is that President Han Zhi one of Pei Hao’s people?"

Today was the day he, the Young Mansion Master, was making his appearance at the Luolan Mansion, and the various department heads should know the gravity of the situation; even if they didn't give him face, they had to give Jiang Qing face.

And if this Han Zhi didn't want to give either of them face, then he must be a die-hard loyalist of Pei Hao.

However, Jiang Qing shook her head and said, "Han Zhi is not one of Pei Hao’s people. He has always drifted between me and Pei Hao. He is a smart man who knows how to hold out for a better price, so he has no reason not to appear here..."

"And since he hasn't appeared now, something must have gone wrong."

Li Luo said softly, "Or perhaps... he found a third party offering a higher price than what you and Pei Hao offered?"

Once these words were spoken, they immediately startled everyone in the conference hall. They looked at Li Luo with stunned expressions; did this mean... that Han Zhi had directly betrayed the Luolan Mansion?!

Jiang Qing’s long, narrow, bright eyes also narrowed slightly, and then her expression became even colder.

Because she felt that Li Luo’s guess was very likely correct.

And just as the whispering in the conference hall continued, hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside, and then everyone saw a figure burst in.

It was an old man, and Li Luo was actually not unfamiliar with him, because some time ago, it was this old man named Zheng Ping who came to Nanfeng City to confirm Yan Lingqing’s position as branch president.

Zheng Ping was an elder of the Xiyang House headquarters with very high seniority, and at this moment, his stiff, aged face was full of anger.

"Young Mansion Master, Young Lady, that bastard Han Zhi just suddenly announced his departure from Xiyang House and joined the Duze Mansion’s 'Daze House.' Moreover, when he left, he took away more than half of the Spirit Refiners from the Xiyang House headquarters. The most outrageous part is that this animal actually burned the headquarters' formula research institute to the ground!" Zheng Ping’s eyes were bloodshot, and he roared in a hoarse voice.

Hiss!

Amidst his roar, the various department heads of the Luolan Mansion headquarters couldn't help but gasp, their faces filled with shock.

Was Han Zhi crazy? Not only did he betray the Luolan Mansion and pull away the Xiyang House’s Spirit Refiners, but he even dared to burn down the formula research institute?!

In the conference hall, everyone began to curse in anger.

Li Luo’s face also darkened at this moment. Having stayed at a Xiyang House branch, he naturally understood what was most important for a Spirit Liquid and Light house: it was the Spirit Refiners.

If this Han Zhi was dissatisfied with Xiyang House, it would be understandable for him to choose to leave, but if you're going to leave, just leave—why try to dig up the very foundations of Xiyang House?

And then there was the formula research institute, the heart and soul of every Spirit Liquid and Light house, which required continuous investment of large amounts of capital for testing and research. Now that it had been burned to the ground by Han Zhi, one could imagine how great the losses would be.

There was another important point: the other party didn't leave sooner or later, but chose to commit these heinous acts precisely when he, the Young Mansion Master, arrived at the Luolan Mansion headquarters... If this wasn't targeted at him, no one would believe it.

"Quiet."

In the noisy and chaotic conference hall, Jiang Qing’s cold voice rang out, immediately causing everyone to fall silent.

"This is a meticulously calculated move by the Duze Mansion against the Luolan Mansion." On Jiang Qing’s beautiful, fair face, there was no sign of anger; apart from her eyes being a bit colder, she didn't seem to be enraged by this.

Yet it was this calmness that caused the agitation in the hearts of those present to subside.

"It's the Duze Mansion again..." Li Luo sat down in the seat next to Jiang Qing. Ever since he arrived in this Daxia City, he had learned from Si Qiuying’s mouth about the Duze Mansion’s malice toward him, and now, they had prepared such a generous gift for him. It was truly a painstaking effort.

"The Duze Mansion must have paid a significant price to win over Han Zhi; otherwise, he wouldn't have done something so extreme." Jiang Qing glanced at Li Luo. This time, the Duze Mansion’s scheme was not only targeting the Luolan Mansion but also targeting him, the Young Mansion Master.

They deliberately chose this time to expose Han Zhi’s affair, intending nothing more than to sweep away the face of the Young Mansion Master, Li Luo, and lower his prestige within the Luolan Mansion.

After all, the Young Mansion Master had just arrived at headquarters, and the president of Xiyang House had chosen to defect. If this news spread, outsiders would inevitably say it had something to do with Li Luo.

They might even say that the Luolan Mansion’s Young Mansion Master was at odds with the senior management, leading to personnel defecting and leaving.

Li Luo sighed inwardly. Was this the struggle between great mansions? So vicious and cold, leaving absolutely no room for maneuver. Compared to them, the Song family in Nanfeng City could be considered kind-hearted people.

"This Duze Mansion has gone too far, actually using such despicable means!" Lei Zhang’s face surged with anger as he gritted his teeth.

"Both sides are already enemies. It would be too naive to blame the enemy for being unscrupulous."

Jiang Qing said indifferently, "Just keep a record of this debt; there will be a chance to collect it in the future."

Although she felt some anger in her heart, she rationally suppressed it, because the current Luolan Mansion was already teetering in the wind and rain; it was impossible to go to full-scale war with the Duze Mansion.

"Young Mansion Master, Young Lady, the Xiyang House headquarters is in chaos right now. You must come up with a solution."

"That Pang Qianchi is also leading people to cause trouble, saying that since Han Zhi has stepped down, a new president should be elected..." Elder Zheng Ping also suppressed his rage and spoke.

Jiang Qing said to Li Luo, "This Pang Qianchi is truly one of Pei Hao’s people. He has always obstructed me from intervening in Xiyang House. Previously, Han Zhi was neutral and didn't manage things, which led to Pang Qianchi having a high degree of influence in the Xiyang House headquarters."

Li Luo nodded slightly. This situation was actually similar to the Tianshu County branch, but this Pang Qianchi was harder to deal with than Zhuang Yi.

Because even while in Nanfeng City, he had heard of this vice-president of the headquarters. It was said that he was once one of the strong contenders for the position of president of the Xiyang House headquarters, and his momentum had even surpassed Han Zhi’s at one point. It was just that later, his parents didn't choose Pang Qianchi, but instead chose Han Zhi to serve as the president.

Perhaps this was one of the reasons why, after his parents went missing, Pang Qianchi directly colluded with Pei Hao.

But looking at it now, whether it was Han Zhi or this Pang Qianchi, both were useless goods. However, one couldn't blame his parents for having poor judgment; after all, when the Luolan Mansion was first established, its foundation was shallow, and with no one available to use, they had to make do for the time being, waiting to replace them when better people were found later.

It was just unexpected that before anyone could replace these two, his parents would go missing first.

"Elder Zheng, you go and pacify the Xiyang House headquarters first. Tomorrow, the Young Mansion Master and I will personally go to resolve this matter. Rest assured, Xiyang House is the life's work of Master, Mistress, and many elders; we will absolutely not let it be destroyed." Jiang Qing pondered slightly and said to Zheng Ping.

"Understood." Zheng Ping immediately agreed, cupped his fists toward Li Luo and Jiang Qing, and turned to leave in a great hurry.

With Zheng Ping’s departure, the atmosphere in the conference hall gradually returned to normal, but everyone understood that this was only on the surface. The timing of the explosion, meticulously chosen by the Duze Mansion, had ultimately diminished the momentum of the Young Mansion Master’s return ceremony.

It wouldn't be surprising if, after tomorrow, this matter spread throughout Daxia City, and one could only wonder how much of a laughingstock it would become.

This Duze Mansion was truly disgusting.