Shen Weicheng's worries did not end there. He was still in the hospital, hooked up to an IV, when he received a call from his secretary to find out that Kiaros had sent their team of lawyers with a lawsuit letter for company espionage. When he heard this, he fainted.
When he woke up twenty minutes later, only one thought consumed his mind.
How did they find out?
The person he'd hired to steal Kiaros's product designs was the best in the business. He'd paid the man three times his usual rate for this one job.
Shen Chengwei pressed his palms against his eyes, trying to think through the panic.
To solidify his position as the new patriarch of the family and the CEO of the company, Shen Chengwei had to do several things. He might be the only son of the current patriarch, but he still had an ambitious sister who was eying his position like a vulture.
He knew his father well enough to know how cold-hearted he was. For the Shen family name, he wouldn't hesitate to abandon him if he became a liability. It was the reason why he had planned to poison that old man and take over while he was still in the company's good graces.
Now that the old man was almost in his grave, yet this had happened.
Where did he go wrong?
Before he could fully process the news, his phone rang again, informing him that this had already leaked by a news article, and the board had called for an emergency meeting without him.
Hearing this, he almost fainted again. Forgetting everything, he ran straight to the company while telling his secretary to suppress the news.
.
.
Meanwhile, completely unbothered by the chaos unfolding in the Shen family, Shen Yelan had gone out again today. Sun Lili was pushing the wheelchair through an old marketplace.
They stopped at a small stall that sold traditional style jewelary.
Shen Yelan picked up a hairpin that had a flower design at the top.
"Boss, that person is still following us," Sun Lili told her.
They had noticed they were being followed ever since they left the estate. When they'd gotten out at the marketplace, a man had followed them on foot.
Shen Yelan was not sure why this person was following them, but she did not feel any malicious intent from him, so she remained unbothered.
"Let him be," Shen Yelan murmured as she put back the hairpin and picked up another one that had a fox design. She put it in her hair and looked at the mirror. Even the mirror had a traditional design.
A moment later, she put the hairpin back, and the two left without buying anything.
The moment they left, Mo Jingrui appeared at the spot they had been standing. He picked up the two hairpins Shen Yelan had just been holding. Then, even without asking for the price, he put some money on the table and walked away.
The vendor who was paid ten times the actual price of the ornament stared at the money with a blank look. Then, he stuffed it into his pocket, hoping no one else saw it.
Shen Yelan and Sun Lili stopped here and there before they entered an old Apothecary shop. When the shopkeeper saw them, he immediately led them to the back room.
Outside, Mo Jingrui stood on the street, staring up at the weathered wooden sign that read 'Thousand Herbs Apothecary'. Outside the door, a few dry herbs were hung.
He waited outside for almost half an hour until Shen Yelan and Sun Lili came out. Several bags now hung from one of the wheelchair's handles, clearly filled with herbs and medicines.
Mo Jingrui's eyes went to those bags first. Then to Shen Yelan herself.
She looked fragile and delicate as if she would break with the slightest pressure. Once in a while, she could cough into the napkin that would make her whole body tremble.
Immediately, his thoughts went to the report that contained all the information on her. His gaze slightly narrowed.
The Shen Family
He stood there for a moment and watched the two walk away before he turned and went in the other direction.
"That man has left," Sun Lili informed.
"Mm."
Shen Yelan slightly tilted her head and glanced back over her shoulder. She caught a glimpse of a tall figure disappearing around a corner in the opposite direction before looking away.
"Look into the Mo family and see if they have any connection with the Shen family," she told Sun Lili.
Shen Yelan had recognized the man almost immediately when he got out of the car earlier. There was hardly anyone who did not know Mo Jingrui. The Mo family was one of the five great families in the country that controlled the country's economy. Mo Jingrui himself was the eldest son and the presumed heir to the entire empire.
But what Shen Yelan couldn't figure out was why he was following her.
She had never heard of the Mo family having any dealings with the Shen family. The Mo family was top tier, while the Shens were... well, they liked to think they were important, but in reality, they could even compare to dust before the Mo family.
Besides, if Mo Jingrui had business with the Shen family, he wouldn't need to follow her. He just needed to look once to know that she had zero influence or value to them.
So why was he following her?