The next morning, when Lu Jiaxin woke up, Nie Zhan was already not on the bed. She looked at her watch, it was five fifty, yawned, and she got up to wash up.
Lu Jiaxin had left clothes in the Forty-nine City, so she only brought some skincare and other necessities. As for Nie Zhan, he had gotten the maid to help pack everything yesterday.
After breakfast, the two set off. When they arrived at the port, Lu Jiaxin saw bodyguards taking one box after another out of the car, she was a bit stunned: "What did you bring with you, so much?"
Nie Zhan said, "Food, clothing, and essentials, most of it is for Father-in-law."
Another part was prepared for Lu Jiaguang and Lu Ping. As for Lu Jiazong, whether to give them or not depended on Lu Jiaxin’s opinion.
Lu Jiaxin was a bit puzzled: "When did you buy these? How come I didn’t know?"
Nie Zhan smiled and said, "It was Sister-in-law who helped buy them, I don’t know much so I entrusted her with it. It looks like a lot but doesn’t actually cost much."
This was also about saving face for himself, Lu Jiaxin said, "Let’s go, let’s clear customs."
Now there are more and more flights, Lu Jiaxin and Nie Zhan arrived in Yangcheng City, rested a bit, and then took a flight back to the Forty-nine City.
On the plane, Nie Zhan said, "Jiaxin, let’s buy a plane."
The flight attendant sitting nearby heard this and turned her head to look at him. But after being stared at by Qian Xiaoxiao, she immediately walked away.
Lu Jiaxin used to have this idea, but after learning more, she gave up: "It’s too troublesome, let’s talk about it after a few years!"
The money to buy a plane was there, but since Hong Kong hadn’t returned yet, flight routes would be very troublesome. Going abroad, needing to buy flight routes, and each country has different requirements. Too troublesome, let’s not buy it for now.
Seeing that she wasn’t interested, Nie Zhan also gave up.
Upon arriving in the Forty-nine City, Xing Ziyang and Zhang Kun were outside waiting with the car. This time, Lu Jiaxin’s group was large, so they brought six cars, which looked quite imposing.
Xing Ziyang had met Nie Zhan when he was in Hong Kong: "Boss, Mr. Nie, please."
He drove fast, and it wasn’t long before they arrived home. Nie Zhan saw the vermillion gate, asked the driver to stop, and then told Lu Jiaxin he wanted to walk in.
Nie Zhan had seen photos of this house and knew it was about 8000 square feet, truly a big house. But pictures only show so much; now that he was here, he wanted to see the full view of the house.
Getting out of the car, Nie Zhan looked at the five vermillion doors: "Is there any significance to this?"
Lu Jiaxin explained, "In ancient times, only the royals and nobility were allowed to have five doors. And usually, we only enter and exit from the side; only for weddings, funerals or major events like receiving an imperial edict are all five doors opened."
Even for weddings or funerals, it had to be for the legitimate members; for someone like a concubine it wasn’t allowed. But she didn’t elaborate; all were remnants of the feudal dynasty, unnecessary to detail.
Passing through the gate was a spacious courtyard. Here, Lu Jiaxin used it for parking, nothing much to see. The first courtyard was not entered, it was used for guests, filled with tables, chairs, and furniture, nothing much to look at.
Upon reaching the second courtyard, Nie Zhan entered the house and seeing the setup inside, jokingly said, "No wonder Sister-in-law said you sleep in an antique room, where did you find them all?"
Lu Jiaxin glanced at the furniture inside the room, laughed, and said, "I had people find them, spent over a million; buying and renovating the house didn’t cost that much."
She lived in the second courtyard, filled entirely with Chinese-style furniture. The east and west wing rooms had Phoebe zhennan daybeds and chairs, rosewood cabinets, and various other exquisite pieces, but her bedroom was entirely furnished with huanghuali wood. The shelves held genuine antiques, bought at great expense.
Seeing him looking at the gilt openwork peony mirror on the dressing table, Lu Jiaxin laughed and said, "Stop looking, change your clothes and let’s go to the hospital."
Guh Xiuxiu was not home, Aunt Mei had taken her for a walk to Houhai, they would visit after they returned.
Nie Zhan thought his clothes were fine.
Lu Jiaxin found a casual outfit from the box for him: "We are not going for a negotiation, it’s to visit a patient in the hospital, no need to dress formally."
The doctor previously said Lu Hongjun was recovering well, could be discharged in about ten days. But he still hadn’t been discharged, not because he wasn’t recovering well, but because he hadn’t even fully regained consciousness.
Their clothes changed, they went to the hospital, it was already five o’clock, time for dinner. Lu Jiaxin planned to eat outside for dinner, so she left word not to prepare their portions.
At the hospital, Lu Shan was feeding Lu Hongjun dinner. Seeing Lu Jiaxin and Nie Zhan, he was surprised but still stood up to greet them.
Just as Lu Jiaxin was about to speak up, she noticed Lu Hongjun was staring at Nie Zhan, a gaze of assessment and scrutiny. That sharp look was not something a person intermittently lucid and confused should have.
Seeing Lu Hongjun looking at him, Nie Zhan walked up with the supplements in his hand, apologetically saying, "Uncle, I am Nie Zhan. Sorry, I should have visited you earlier, but there was just too much going on."
Nie Zhan wore black pants and a white shirt, Lu Jiaxin was in a pink dress, together they looked like a perfect couple.
Lu Hongjun said with a faint expression, "It’s just minor things here, can’t interrupt your important matters."
Nie Zhan hadn’t expected him to be difficult, but it was indeed his fault.
That sarcastic tone annoyed Lu Jiaxin; after sending Lu Shan out, she said, "Ah Zhan was negotiating a sixteen billion project at the time. I was on my way back, and it wouldn’t have made a difference if he came, so I let him handle work first."
Hearing such a large project amount, Lu Hongjun’s expression softened a lot.
After sitting down, Lu Jiaxin looked at him and asked, "You’re clearly recovering well, why are you pretending to be confused and not discharged?"
It was initially just a suspicion, but what he said to Nie Zhan confirmed her guess. She wasn’t even angry; it was just costing more money, but she needed to know the reason.
Lu Hongjun no longer pretended, saying, "I’m afraid if they know I’ve recovered, they will drag me back for interrogation."
Lu Jiaxin was startled: "Interrogation, what do you mean by that?"
Lu Hongjun glanced at Nie Zhan, said nothing.
Lu Jiaxin knew he had concerns, said, "He knows about the old items, they’re currently stored in his bank."
Only then did Lu Hongjun relax and recount how he was interrogated eight times during the two days he was captured: "Every time, they repeatedly asked the same questions, trying to force me to admit to trafficking goods and national antiques. I admit the trafficking goods part, but the antiques part is completely fabricated, I surely wouldn’t confess."
At this point, he looked at Lu Jiaxin and said, "If I admitted, you’d be implicated too. I’m already halfway into the coffin, dealing with me is pointless. Did you offend someone? They want to attack and retaliate against you; you’re unreachable in Hong Kong, so they’re targeting me."
Lu Jiaxin said, "It’s not that I offended someone, it’s that Xie Kaixiao got promoted again, and someone wants to target him. But he’s so meticulous in doing things, that you just happened to be in the path, so they want to use you as a breaking point."
Of course, it was also because Lu Hongjun did not stand upright, otherwise, he would not have encountered today’s disaster.