Chapter 344 To Relinquish Power

In the afternoon and evening, Wu Zhengmin took Li Tianlan to meet a lot of people.

Jiangzhe was vast; however, in the past few years, the power structure of it had been extremely simple, especially during the years of the Li family’s downfall. No matter how Wu Zhengmin held on, at least from the overall situation, he was also the backbone of the Southeast Group.

After the end of the Youzhou Conference, Wu Zhengmin, who entered the Cabinet, officially left the Southeast Group and rejoined Li Honghe’s clique. And naturally, he was unwilling to let go of the people he had cultivated in Jiangzhe over the years. He must do his best to leave them to the Li family.

Wu Zhengmin was very upright with a sharp eye. In more than 20 years, he had cultivated many people of great talent in Jiangzhe. In his own words, no matter what he did, few people would care about that, for he was an old man who was too old to be active in politics for long. But the people he had promoted over the years were real assets.

It was precisely because of this that they had this meeting today.

Wu Zhengmin, who was deeply rooted in Jiangzhe, was a man whose words carried weight. Zou Yuanshan was the first in the young generation of the Giant Group to reach a high position. Li Tianlan was the heir of the Li family.

When the three stood together, their relationship was subtle and meaningful. The figures in power of Jiangzhe harbored complicated thoughts as they saw the three. Li Tianlan didn’t know how many people he had met over half a day, but he clearly remembered their attitudes.

Except for Zou Yuanshan himself, Wang Jingxin, and Su Xinghe, who had not yet arrived in Jiangzhe, six of the thirteen councilors of Jiangzhe clearly expressed their support for Zou Yuanshan, and two others promised to offer him a certain degree of support. Moreover, the prefectural and municipal authorities’ attitudes were quite optimistic as well. Their inner thoughts may need to be tested by time. However, at least now, no one explicitly opposed Zou Yuanshan taking over the team left by Wu Zhengmin. Today’s visit was fruitful, with this result gained. After Wu Zhengmin left and Su Xinghe assumed office, the real fierce struggle would just begin.

Li Tianlan dined in the second building of the councilors’ compound and then drove back to the villa area beside West Lake.

The lights were still on in Qin Weibai’s two villas, but she and Flaming Fire had left. In the afternoon, when Wu Zhengmin took him to visit a senior vice governor of Jiangzhe, Qin Weibai sent him a simple message with only three words.

“I am leaving.”

Li Tianlan did not reply at that time. At this point, he took out his mobile phone again to have a look and suddenly felt a pang of melancholy.

Li Honghe was drinking tea in the living room.

Lin Fengting, whose whereabouts were secretive in recent days, sat in front of Li Honghe and talked about some funny internal affairs of the Lin Clan with a smile. Li Tianlan’s heart was empty, with a sense of loss that he himself could not detect.

“You are back.”

Li Honghe glanced at him with a gentle look. “How did it go today?”

“Not bad.”

Li Tianlan sat on the sofa and poured himself a cup of tea. “After Senior Wu’s departure, the situation in Jiangzhe will not change much. It is unlikely to get better, but it will not get worse.”

“The fierce struggle and the real key to victory are outside Jiangzhe in three years.”

Lin Fengting accurately pointed out the current situation with a smile.

He paid no attention to worldly affairs, but that didn’t make him a fool. Now that he had decided to help the Li family, he must keep a watchful eye on the current situation in Zhongzhou State. He had a good grasp of the present situation.

“In the general election three years later, how powerful the Li family is will directly determine the situation in Jiangzhe. At present, to make Zou Yuanshan the top leader of Jiangzhe three years later is the bottom line. If this goal cannot be reached, the Li family will be in danger. If Zou Yuanshan is forced to leave Jiangzhe and Wu Zhengmin retires, all the forces the latter has cultivated over the years will undoubtedly swing to the Wang family of Beihai. At that time, the Li family will have nothing. What’s worse, Zou Yuanshan, who stakes his political career, will completely lose the qualification to compete with Wang Jingxin. The interior of the Giant Group will turn its coat due to Zou Yuanshan’s failure. Under pressure from the group, the support for the Li family from the three influential families will decrease sharply. By then…”

Lin Fengting did not go on but cast a glance at Li Honghe, intentionally or unintentionally.

Li Honghe was drinking tea, and his expression was calm.

The general election would hold three years later. By then, Wu Zhengmin would surely retire, and Li Honghe’s health would no be so good to support him any further. If Zou Yuanshan were defeated without receiving any help, the Li family at that time would face a dead end.

On the contrary, if Zou Yuanshan succeeded in moving up the career ladder and taking over the team left by Wu Zhengmin, the Li family would at least have a breathing space with Jiangzhe as its foundation, no matter how terrible the situation it was in.

The Giant Group would definitely give full support to Zou Yuanshan.

The Southeast Group, however, would certainly try its best to oppose him.

And it was not hard to guess the stance of Kunlun City.

By then, the loose Giant Group would probably have difficulty withstanding the joint attacks from the Southeast Group and the Special Warfare Group.

The Academics, nevertheless, had more critical goals in three years, so it certainly wouldn’t offer them much support.

Therefore, to what extent Li Tianlan could develop in the three years and how much support could he offer Zou Yuanshan at that time became the keys.

“I have seen Yuanshan. With him and Zhengmin here, nothing serious will happen in Jiangzhe. For the time being, the matter has come to an end temporarily. When are you leaving?” Li Honghe asked, looking at Li Tianlan.

…

“Now,” replied Li Tianlan.

The storm in Lin’an had settled down, and no big ups and downs would happen in two or three years. There was no point in him staying here.

“Fine.”

Li Honghe nodded. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the door of the villa and smiled.

An agile figure walked into the hall, wearing a red dress, looking charming and attractive, but with a temperament as clear as water. She blinked at Li Tianlan, her voice crisp. “You are back.”

It was Dongcheng Rushi.

Li Tianlan was a little startled and nodded subconsciously. “What are you doing here?”

“I came here with my sister,” Dongcheng Rushi said softly.

She cunningly sat down beside Li Tianlan and took one of his hands.

As Li Honghe watched this scene, his eyes looked warm, and his smile was hearty. “Do you think the two children match, Fengting? When the final maneuver is over, I’ll personally go to Zhongyuan to fix their wedding date early.”

Li Tianlan frowned.

Li Honghe did not seem to notice that. He smiled at Dongcheng Rushi and said, “Girl, what do you think of your engagement to Tianlan?”

“I have no objection.”

Dongcheng Rushi shook her head and glanced at Li Tianlan. “I’ll listen to Tianlan.”

Li Honghe laughed and made no secret of his pleasure.

“There’s no hurry to fix the wedding date. We’ll talk about it in a few years,” Li Tianlan spoke in an insipid tone.

…

“How can you be so busy that you don’t even have time to get married?”

There was a glint of anger in Li Honghe’s eyes.

“Let’s talk about it later.”

Li Tianlan’s words were brief. He was repressing the emotions in his heart.

Dongcheng Rushi looked blankly at Li Tianlan. It was a long time before she lowered her head in silence, but she did not let go of Li Tianlan’s hand.

“Go and pack up your things. We’ll go to Huating later.”

Li Tianlan breathed deeply and squeezed Dongcheng Rushi’s cool hand.

Dongcheng Rushi nodded, got up, and went out.

Packing up was an excuse in itself.

Neither she nor Li Tianlan had anything to pack up.

Dongcheng Rushi walked out of the villa, sitting at the marble table in the yard in a daze, with her chin on her hands.

Inside the villa, Li Honghe looked gloomy at Li Tianlan.

Li Tianlan drank tea calmly.

“The engagement was settled many years ago. There’s no room for discussion.”

After a long while, Li Honghe seemed to have quelled his anger, saying one word at a time.

“I didn’t disagree.”

Li Tianlan added calmly, “I just need to wait.”

“Waiting for what?!”

Li Honghe’s tone was a bit cold. “Waiting for my death?”

Li Tianlan frowned and seemed to be a little annoyed. He lit a cigarette and took drags on it.

“Because of Qin Weibai?” asked Li Honghe, softening his tone.

…

“Yes.”

Li Tianlan spoke his mind.

“Do you know her? Or do you know who she is?”

Li Honghe continued in a deep voice, “I don’t deny that she is very helpful to you at this stage, but are you sure that her help is good for you in the end?”

Li Tianlan looked up.

His eyes were bright and sharp, like the shiny sword light after the sword was unsheathed.

“You don’t believe her?” asked Li Tianlan.

…

“I do believe her.”

Li Honghe added calmly, “But I can’t find a basis to trust her. No one, including you, me, the Wang family of Beihai, and the whole Dark World, knows the Samsara Palace and Qin Weibai. When Qin Weibai first appeared in Huating, the Six has investigated her through their own intelligence channels, only to find that she came from a small village in the southwest. Over the years, the Six has exerted all their energies into the investigation. Nevertheless, they failed to find even a clue about her parents, not to mention the small village. They haven’t found a clue, do you understand?”

He looked at his grandson’s raised eyebrows and sighed softly. “I can trust Qin Weibai, but I’d rather cooperate with the Dongcheng Clan. After all, I know them thoroughly. Not to mention the fact that the Samsara Palace is outside Zhongzhou State, even if it were here, it could not help you as much as the Dongcheng Clan. It would be best for you and for the Li family to marry Rushi.”

“Not the best for me.”

Li Tianlan stared at Li Honghe with burning eyes. “I don’t really know her past, but I believe her feelings for me. For me, that’s the basis of all trust.”

“Feelings?”

Li Honghe sneered, “Do you know where these feelings come from?”

Li Tianlan remained frozen in place, unable to speak.

“What is Qin Weibai’s identity? What is your identity? Now you do have feelings for each other, but where do they come from? How can these inexplicable feelings be regarded as the basis of trust? Do you know what makes her so kind to you?” asked Li Honghe.

…

He took a deep look at his grandson, whose face was changing. Then he said calmly, “Behind the inexplicable deep feeling, there must be a debt. It may come from the past or the future. Perhaps she knows that she is doomed to owe you something, and that is why she is making it up to you now. I believe such feelings, not whole-heartedly, though.”

As he spoke, the muscles of his mouth twitched, and there was a flash of pain and anger in his eyes.

Lin Fengting’s mouth twitched as well.

“I am leaving for Huating.”

Li Tianlan got up and walked out of the living room without looking back.

It was clear that he was not going to say anything more about this issue.

Li Honghe sprang to his feet abruptly, as if to stop Li Tianlan.

Lin Fengting waved his hand with a wry smile, curbing Li Honghe’s temper and allowing Li Tianlan to leave.

“Senior Li, I know what you are worried about.”

Lin Fengting added helplessly, “But what you’re worried about is unlikely to happen. Qin Weibai indeed owes to Tianlan, but she is now making it up for him, not hurting him.”

“She won’t hurt him now.”

Li Honghe sat down and continued, “But she’ll bear the tribulation for Tianlan in the final battle of Snow Country. If she should survive, what would happen in the future?”

Lin Fengting had a complicated look.

He truly knew what Li Honghe was worried about.

However, he knew Qin Weibai as well.

It was a real understanding.

When he was in Australia, he promised to borrow his sword to Qin Weibai on the premise that he could meet the Master of Samsara Palace.

But unbeknownst to all, he did meet the Master of Samsara Palace in Lin’an over the past few days.

When he met the Master of Samsara Palace, he got to know the origin of the Samsara Palace and Qin Weibai. He knew what she owed to Li Tianlan and the karma that Lin Xu said on the day.

“Senior Li, after the final battle of Snow Country, the Samsara Palace is destined to be destroyed,” Lin Fengting whispered.

…

“But Qin Weibai is a different kettle of fish. I cannot fathom her fate.”

Li Honghe added in a deep voice, “She has the fate of messing the world up. If she should survive, in the future…”

Lin Fengting directly interrupted him and said softly, “If she should survive, I’d be willing to relinquish power and let her control the Lin Clan for me for 20 years.”

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