The Guide to Rising to Power: The Ultimate Schemes of a Green Tea Beauty

How infuriating, how narcissistic.

Shen Yao steadied herself, met his gaze, and spoke each word clearly: "No. You've actually been angry the whole time."

"You're angry that Liang Xiheng installed a listening device in your study, but he wasn't fooled by your performance and caught you with evidence of your crime."

"You're angry that Xue Huaiqing, like you, came from a poor background and both his parents died unjustly, yet he still held onto his principles and didn't do as many heinous things as you."

"Liang Xiheng, he inherited your paranoia, your lack of love, your sensitivity and suspicion, but he didn't drive the woman he loved most to death like you did."

Shen Yao's voice grew louder and louder, like a knife finally sharpened to its utmost point:

"You don't need to make excuses anymore. It's only natural for Aunt Zhenxing to fall for someone else, because you simply don't deserve her!"

She looked him in the eyes and mocked him:

"The two people you're taking pleasure in have both proven to you that going through what you've gone through won't turn you into a monster. And yet you still think you were forced into this and are innocent?"

A crack finally appeared for a moment on Liang Zhenghe's usually gentle face.

Anger and darkness welled up in her eyes, and although it only lasted for a moment, Shen Yao saw it clearly.

He used Liang Xiheng and Xue Huaiqing as tools to vent his anger, and when tools have souls, the Creator cannot tolerate them.

Because they didn't live up to his vision.

Liang Zhenghe closed his eyes, and when he opened them again a moment later, he had regained his calm and composed demeanor.

"I……"

"Shut up, I'll try my best to make you die faster."

Shen Yao left those words behind and walked out of the room without looking back.

The door closed behind her, and she exhaled.

Lu Xiuting stood outside the door, looking at her with a complicated expression.

Shen Yao nodded slightly to him, her voice calmer than before: "May I go see Liang Zhengze?"

Lu Xiuting didn't ask any further questions, only briefly explaining the situation:

"Current evidence suggests that Leung Cheng-chak was not involved in any shady dealings. Leung Cheng-ho never allowed him to do any dirty work from beginning to end."

"After running away with him, Leung Cheng-chak also subjectively refused to go along with him, but we cannot release him for the time being."

He pointed to the door at the end of the corridor. "He's in that room. He just finished questioning me. Go ahead."

With mixed feelings, Shen Yao pushed open the door.

Liang Zhenghe has protected his younger brother so well, keeping him away from all the dark aspects of life.

Those who are protected are often the ones kept in the dark.

Liang Zhengze sat in the chair, looking somewhat disheveled. His beard was unshaven, his shirt was wrinkled, and his eyes were bloodshot with fatigue.

Compared to his brother's calm and collected demeanor, he seemed more like a tormented criminal.

Seeing Shen Yao push the door open and walk in, Liang Zhengze suddenly stood up, took three steps in two, and hugged her tightly.

"Yaoyao, are you alright? Were you affected?"

His voice was low and urgent, as if he was afraid she had suffered some injustice that she was unwilling to tell him.

"What about Xiheng? Is he on trial now?"

Shen Yao was slightly taken aback by his hug, then gently patted his back, her voice carrying a suppressed calm:

"I'm fine. He's fine too."

Liang Zhengze released her, looked down at her for a moment, and finally couldn't hold back anymore. His eyes reddened, and he asked in a hoarse voice:

"Where's my older brother?"

Shen Yao didn't answer the question, but looked directly into his eyes and asked in return:

"Do you know what he did?"

A bitter, self-deprecating smile tugged at the corner of Liang Zhengze's mouth:

"By the time I found out, it was all too late. You wouldn't believe the look on those young people's faces when I told them I knew nothing... like they were looking at an old conman who was making a fool of others."

The man lowered his head.

"But the truth is, I have complete trust in my older brother who shared my hardships, and I also love my nephew."

"From the very beginning, I felt that Hengxin was an asset shared by us brothers and our children. He always said that he would handle business matters, and I would be responsible for public appearances and public relations."

"My older brother is keeping some things from me, and my nephew is difficult to discipline. In my opinion, these are just insignificant cracks in a happy little family that can be patched up easily."

Shen Yao asked again, "Uncle, did you know beforehand that Aunt Zhenxing killed Liang Xiheng?"

She called him "Uncle" relatively calmly.

Liang Zhengze's lips moved, and after a long while he whispered, "...I know."

Shen Yao frowned, looking at the man in front of her who was known as a diamond bachelor.

He knew, but he didn't say it.

He was unaware of the true conflict between Wei Zhenxing and Liang Zhenghe, so from what standpoint did he conceal this matter?

"Uncle, do you... like Aunt Zhenxing?"

Liang Zhengze choked. He seemed to want to deny it, but in the end he just closed his eyes in despair:

"Yaoyao, I do have feelings for her. But she's my sister-in-law, and I respect her more than anything else."

He never intended to overstep his bounds, but he did indeed side with Wei Zhenxing, who refused to say anything, and abandoned Liang Xiheng.

His older brother sent him abroad, and he sighed and agreed.

Keeping children away from this mess might not be a bad thing.

But he never knew that his older brother would...

"What are your plans for the future?" Shen Yao asked. This question was related to how close she would be to Liang Zhengze in the future.

Liang Zhengze gave a wry smile and sat back in his chair:

"Our parents taught us brothers from a young age to be upright people and to do things in a down-to-earth manner."

"I'm driven crazy by Xiheng every day. I don't understand why, even though he's so smart and has such a good start in life, he still has to be so calculating and always thinks the worst of people."

"It turns out that there was already a brother with distorted thoughts by my side, and it was he who led those two children to extremes."

Those years when the two brothers faced scorn, encouraged each other, and slept on the streets were all real.

When he learned the truth, it was like a bolt from the blue.

Only he knows how much pain he felt when he chose to separate from his older brother and return to China alone.

Tears finally streamed down the man's face. He raised his hand to wipe them away, not wanting Shen Yao to see his disheveled state.

He looked up at Shen Yao, his voice filled with a deep, unsettling guilt:

"I'm sorry, Yao Yao. This apology is on his behalf for you, and also on his behalf for Huai Qing and Xi Heng. We owe them, and we owe you too."

Shen Yao stood quietly in front of him, listening to everything he said.

The man slumped in the chair, his back bent low, as if crushed by something.

She walked over and sat down next to him.

Shen Yao didn't say a word of comfort, but simply reached out and gently wrapped her arms around him.

-

Shen Yao walked out of the building, circled around to the flower bed on the side, and her high heels clicked twice slowly on the stone pavement.

She stood in the twilight and took her phone out of her bag.

Liang Zhenghe's words were still lingering in her mind.

Shen Yao decided to try one more time.

She dialed the number.

The other side responded very quickly.

Shen Yao's voice had little variation:

"Get out here and find a way to kill Liang Zhenghe."

Xiao Weixun was stunned for a moment on the other end: "...Me?"

"I'm not talking to you."

Xiao Weixun: "...Uh?"

Shen Yao didn't give him a chance to speak further. She took the phone away from her ear and added before hanging up:

"Liang Xiheng, if you don't want me to beat you to death, settle your father's affairs cleanly. Don't force me to fly to Italy to slap you."