The Young Lady is a Bit Unruly [Fragrant Harbor] - Chapter 98 Shares Acquired

Chapter 98 Shares Acquired

Having likely caught a chill outdoors last night, Ye Baoling woke up feeling dizzy with a foggy head and an itchy throat—she knew a cold was coming on.

Ye Huaizhang advised her: “Don’t go to the office. Take some medicine first and rest at home.”

“Mm.” She lay in bed without wanting to move.

Ye Huaizhang called for Sister Ping, who brought cold medicine. After he fed her the medication, she fell back asleep.

At half past ten, she was awakened by her assistant’s phone call. After handling company matters, she received the latest update from Ye Huaizhang: Fang Dingkun had attempted suicide but was saved.

By the afternoon, Fang Dingkun’s lawyer contacted Ye Qizu—Fang Dingkun wanted to see him.

Ye Qizu immediately summoned Ye Baoling and Ye Huaizhang to discuss the situation.

Ye Qizu had no desire to visit Fang Dingkun in the hospital. “If I go see him, he’ll definitely try every means to pressure me into agreeing to some condition.”

But ignoring him wasn’t an option either.

After all, Fang Dingkun held leverage over him.

Understanding the old man’s intention, Ye Huaizhang said: “We’ll go in your place. Let’s see what demands he makes.”

This was exactly what Ye Qizu wanted. He looked at his granddaughter: “Will you two go?”

Suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, Ye Baoling said: “Isn’t this what you wanted? Why not say it directly instead of beating around the bush and wasting everyone’s time?”

Ye Qizu: “…”

At least the grandson-in-law was more considerate.

After some thought, the old man added: “Tell him I’m unwell and can’t come to the hospital. Whatever he asks for, don’t agree immediately—say you need to come back and discuss it with me.”

Ye Baoling still had doubts about her grandfather: “Grandfather, are you keeping more secrets from us? If so, you’d better tell us now. Otherwise, we’ll be completely passive when we meet Fang Dingkun.”

Ye Qizu made a disapproving sound: “You stay here. Let Huaizhang go. You never trust me.”

Ye Baoling: “Fine, I won’t go. He can go alone.”

Ye Huaizhang hadn’t expected to be caught in the middle.

Ye Qizu seemed to distrust his grandson-in-law too—blood relatives were naturally closer. After further consideration, he finally revealed: “Raymond not only had a wife in England, but after having a child with your grandaunt in Port City, he took up with another French woman.”

So there was indeed something he’d been hiding.

“And then?”

“After we killed Raymond, that French woman searched everywhere for him and eventually came to us. She knew Raymond had disappeared after visiting our family. Afraid she might spread the news, I decided to finish what I’d started and tricked her into being handed over to Fang Dingkun.”

Ye Baoling understood now—among the pile of bones at Silver Snake Mountain were also the remains of this French woman.

“Why didn’t you tell us earlier?”

Ye Qizu always had his reasons: “That French woman had a hand in beating your grandaunt—she deserved to die. Since we’d already killed Raymond, I figured one more French woman wouldn’t make a difference…”

Ye Baoling countered: “It does make a difference. Fang Dingkun must have calculated that this could drag you down with him, claiming you’re also a traitor. Because you did the same thing he did.”

Ye Qizu defended himself: “How did I do the same thing? He worked for the Japanese devils. I was avenging my family and protecting myself.”

Ye Huaizhang hurried to ease the tension: “Let’s first figure out how we should handle this situation.”

After Ye Qizu suffered a stroke, his mind wasn’t as sharp anymore, and he had no particular ideas. In the end, the couple returned to their room to discuss a strategy, and it wasn’t until evening that they went to the hospital to see Fang Dingkun.

Fang Dingkun wasn’t surprised to see them enter.

He knew Ye Qizu couldn’t have come on his own, but he still played dumb and asked, “Why is it you two?”

He had been injured in the right chest, and though his face was pale, he was alert.

It was the spirit of someone unwilling to die, fighting desperately to stay alive.

Ye Baoling gave a slight nod. “Grandpa Fang, I truly admire you. You’re a ruthless man. Injuring yourself this severely—does it make it easier to negotiate terms with the prosecutors?”

Fang Dingkun: “I genuinely wanted to die. It’s just that at my age, when I picked up the gun, I momentarily couldn’t tell left from right.”

Ye Huaizhang called him out: “If you really wanted to die, you wouldn’t have waited until daybreak when the servants were awake to shoot yourself.”

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Fang Dingkun’s mouth. “As long as the prosecutors believe me, that’s all that matters. I’m now a severely injured invalid. I’ve already sent my lawyer to negotiate a plea deal with them. I can inform the prosecutors of the exact location of those dozens of foreign skeletons, and in return, they’ll only charge me with a suspended sentence without imprisonment. Currently, only the arson case pins me as the mastermind, which carries a heavier penalty. The other crimes are past the statute of limitations. I believe the prosecutors will agree to my terms.”

Ye Baoling teased, “Since you’ve already thought it all through, why did you ask for my grandfather? You’re not here to reminisce with him, are you?”

Fang Dingkun didn’t beat around the bush. “If I tell the prosecutors how Raymond died, what impact do you think it will have on your family? The Raymond family in Europe is still an influential aristocratic house. Does your Ye Qingtang still expect to smoothly expand into the European market? Moreover, your grandfather certainly never told you that he, Ye Qizu, personally handed over a French woman named Auvilette to me for human experimentation. How is his behavior any different from that of a traitor?”

Just as they had anticipated, Fang Dingkun intended to use these two matters to blackmail them.

“And then?” Ye Huaizhang asked.

Fang Dingkun laid out his demand: “My assets will be used to compensate for the losses of Nanhua Third Hospital, and I’ll lose everything in the future. If I’m given a suspended sentence without imprisonment, I don’t want to live in poverty. My request is simple: I won’t compensate you for the fire losses or medical expenses, and you’ll give me an additional 200 million. In return, I’ll keep quiet about Raymond and the French woman.”

What audacity.

Ye Baoling couldn’t resist mocking him: “Fang Dingkun, you’re truly impressive. So what if you’re disgraced and abandoned by everyone? You can still use your final efforts to continue living a life of wealth and luxury.”

Fang Dingkun wore his shame as a badge of honor: “All my life, I’ve survived by using my wits. Two hundred million is pocket change for you. In exchange for lasting peace and no further trouble between our families, this deal is a bargain for you.”

Ye Baoling: “Do you think we have no choice but to agree to your blackmail?”

Fang Dingkun, lying in bed, glanced sideways at Ye Baoling. “You can go back and discuss it with Ye Qizu. He has the money—let him pay the 200 million. I think he’ll be willing.”

Ye Huaizhang raised an eyebrow. “How can we guarantee you won’t use this to blackmail us again in the future?”

Fang Dingkun: “When I give my word… I always keep it. This is just a transaction, and I can absolutely keep your secrets.”

Ye Huaizhang leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice: “Only the dead can keep secrets forever.”

Fang Dingkun’s previously smiling face instantly turned cold. “What do you want?”

Seeing his fear, Ye Baoling also bent down: “Do you think we’d kill you ourselves? We’re not that foolish.”

Ye Huaizhang straightened up: “If you hadn’t blackmailed us today, we might have ignored you, and you could have continued your miserable existence. Now, that’s impossible.”

Fang Dingkun swallowed hard: “If… if you kill me, my lawyer will immediately call the police.”

Ye Baoling: “Your lawyer doesn’t have custody over you.”

Only family members held that authority.

As they spoke, a nurse entered and said to Fang Dingkun: “Mr. Fang, your son has arranged your transfer. We’re moving you to Love and Harmony Hospital immediately.”

Transfer to the Ye family’s second branch’s Love and Harmony Hospital?

There, if his son and grandson turned a blind eye, the second branch could make him die however they wished.

Fang Dingkun shook his head in terror: “I won’t go. I refuse the transfer! Please call my lawyer!”

Before he finished speaking, the nurse injected him with what appeared to be a sedative.

Fang Dingkun struggled in extreme fear for a while longer before finally quieting down.

Just last night, he had struggled so hard before gathering the courage to shoot himself, hoping to cling to life. Who could have predicted this outcome?

Two days later, Fang Dingkun died from complications of wound infection.

On the day he died, Ye Baoling happened to be at the hospital signing surgical consent forms for Ye Kaimin.

Zheng Junni had also been hospitalized for treatment as her mind alternated between clarity and confusion, while Ye Baoxin had been so busy lately that she’d gained weight.

When the two women met at the hospital, Ye Baoling smiled and asked: “Do you regret it? Going from your comfortable life as the young mistress to your current situation.”

Ye Baoxin understood the implication in Ye Baoling’s words. How could she dare admit regret? “This is a matter of life and death. If I hadn’t fought back, I might be dead.”Quite awake indeed.”

Ye Baoling nodded slightly and said nothing more.

Watching the anesthetized Ye Kaimin being wheeled into the operating room, Ye Baoxin asked quietly: “Baoling, about the conditions you previously agreed to – will you honor them?”

She wanted to take Ye Baolong to live with her mother. Having grown up with Ye Baolong, she genuinely cared for her younger brother.

Although Ye Baoxin’s current life wasn’t as affluent as before, it was still much better than ordinary families.

Moreover, Ye Baolong received monthly living expenses from the Family Foundation and had a nanny for care, so he wouldn’t be a burden.

Ye Baoling nodded: “It will take some time. I’ll speak with the old master in a while.”

“Thank you.”

Ye Baoxin knew Ye Baoling didn’t want to be friends with her, so she had given up trying to please the other woman. Unless necessary, she wouldn’t initiate contact again.

Of course, since their husbands were good friends, they would still see each other.

After leaving the hospital, Ye Baoling went straight home.

She went upstairs to see Ye Qizu first.

Ye Qizu sat in his wheelchair, trimming bonsai in the third-floor sitting room.

“I heard Fang Dingkun died?” Ye Qizu asked her first.

Ye Baoling: “He’s dead.”

This outcome satisfied Ye Qizu.

His granddaughter and grandson-in-law certainly had their methods.

Still, he expressed some concern: “How are the police handling it?”

“Fang Dingkun’s lawyer has truthfully disclosed the contents of the plea agreement to the prosecution and police. The authorities now know the foreign remains are located somewhere in Silver Snake Mountain and will likely conduct surveys there in the coming days.”

Ye Qizu set down his scissors and asked worriedly: “Does the police also know about Raymond and that French woman?”

She replied: “Even if their remains are found at the medical base, it doesn’t matter. The police don’t know the full story.”

Ye Qizu pondered for a moment, “But the medical equipment from the Second Branch is inside.”

After placing the folder on the table, Ye Baoling helped Ye Qizu move the bonsai back to the flower stand: “We’ve already removed and destroyed all that equipment.”

Ye Qizu turned pale with shock: “You… you went inside? How did you get in? Did you force your way through? If you forced entry, the bricks inside would collapse, and the soil is damp. When the police enter the medical base, won’t they discover our Blue Brick Tunnel?”

The Small Bronze Door was ingeniously designed. On the Blue Brick Tunnel side was a bronze door, while behind the Small Bronze Door was a concealed red brick door that perfectly blended with the surrounding red bricks. Therefore, anyone entering the medical base from the halfway point entrance of Silver Snake Mountain would only see red brick walls, making it difficult to detect the bronze door hidden behind.

Ye Baoling stated truthfully: “We successfully opened both the Great Bronze Door and the Small Bronze Door, then entered.”

Ye Qizu looked at his granddaughter in disbelief, “How did you get in?”

“None of your business.”

“You stole my Ugly King Jade Pendant?” The old man suddenly realized.

He suddenly recalled previously telling his granddaughter about using peach wood to suppress the Ugly King Jade Pendant. He thought Ye Baoling had used this information to locate and steal the pendant.

His hands trembled with anger.

Ye Baoling: “I told you, whatever you won’t give me, I’ll take for myself.”

Ye Qizu was momentarily speechless – she was practically a bandit!

After a long pause, he asked: “Do you have three Ugly King Jade Pendants now? Meaning you also have the one from the Second Branch?”

Ye Baoling smiled and countered: “Does grandfather have any other secrets to share with me?”

Ye Qizu coughed and shook his head: “What secrets could there be?”

“The Ugly King Jade Pendant, the Blue Brick Tunnel…”

So many strange things – she always felt there were more secrets.

“Really, no secrets.”

“Fine, keep your secrets.” Ye Baoling hadn’t come today to discuss the jade pendant or the tunnel – she came to force a confrontation. “I’ve been planning internal company reforms recently. When do you intend to transfer your shares to me?”

“What kind of reforms?”

“You’ll get the documents later.” Clearly, Ye Baoling couldn’t be bothered to report to him.

Ye Qizu: “You haven’t agreed to my conditions yet.”

His condition was that Ye Baoling and Ye Huaizhang would inherit two branches, with the eldest son inheriting the Oldest Branch and the second son inheriting the Third Branch.

Ye Baoling refused: “I’ve also said – you can manage up to my generation. How the next generation inherits is my business.”

Cornered, Ye Qizu gritted his teeth and insisted: “Think carefully. Only after you agree will we discuss share transfer.”

“I heard that French woman named Auvilette was personally handed over to Fang Dingkun by you. I recorded when Fang Dingkun confessed to us.” Actually, she hadn’t recorded anything – she was just bluffing.

Ye Qizu looked at his granddaughter in disbelief – she was blackmailing him.

“What are you doing? Are you planning to tell the police? You’re my granddaughter. If this matter becomes known to the police and public, it won’t bring you any benefit at all.”

“There’s no real harm in it. I could even take the opportunity to drain Ye Qingtang dry.”

That’s what she said, but the cost was still too high. It was a last resort, not the best strategy.

The best strategy, of course, was still to inherit the shares from the old man—whether by seizing them, through coercion and incentives, or by his voluntary transfer—as long as the end result ended up in her hands.

Ye Qizu pleaded earnestly, “If this gets out, it won’t do you any good.”

Ye Baoling softened her tone as well, “Then do something that benefits me. Have you ever lifted a finger to help me get to where I am today? Not even a little.”

Ye Qizu voiced his concern, “You won’t turn the assets of our Oldest Branch into those of the Third Branch in the future, will you?”

“Grandpa, do you think I have an IQ problem or a brain problem? Why would I turn what’s mine into the Third Branch’s?” She was utterly exasperated.

Ye Qizu paused briefly, “Then why can’t you agree to let your first child inherit the Oldest Branch?”

He had conceded, no longer insisting that the first male heir inherit the Oldest Branch.

Ye Baoling smiled and nodded, “If I have children, they will definitely prioritize inheriting the Oldest Branch. But the prerequisite is that you must let me inherit first. When it comes to inheriting the Oldest Branch, it’s not just about the shares or the Ye family mansion—it should also include your status.”

The status of the head of the Ye family.

The status of the clan leader.

The privilege of being the first to offer incense in the ancestral hall.

Watching his granddaughter’s ambitions grow larger, Ye Qizu opened his mouth several times to say something but ultimately held back.

After all, she was the only one he could rely on now.

Ye Baoling picked up the documents on the table and handed them to Ye Qizu. She didn’t care much about the status of the family head and wasn’t in a hurry for it. What she cared about most right now were the shares of Ye Qingtang and Su Manzhu in Ye Qizu’s hands.

If the old man were to pass away suddenly one day, forcing her to fight her father and uncle in court over the inheritance, that would be the most troublesome scenario.

With two or three swords hanging over his head, Ye Qizu had no choice but to take the documents. He made one more request, “Leave 1% for Baoshun.”

The request wasn’t unreasonable, but Ye Baoling didn’t want to agree. “Convert it into money. Give him money, give him properties and estates abroad—I have no objections.”

Ye Qizu still had at least over a billion in savings. Her second uncle and aunt, knowing there was no hope for shares, were now eyeing this money.

Knock, knock, knock!

Xing Shu knocked and entered.

“Sir, the police are here. They want to speak with you about Silver Snake Mountain.”

Ye Qizu looked somewhat nervously at Ye Baoling, who spoke on his behalf, “Ask the police to wait in the study.”

“Alright,” Xing Shu closed the door.

Ye Baoling handed the pen to her grandfather, “Sign quickly, the police will be here soon.”

The police had arrived.

With the sword above his head about to fall, Ye Qizu hesitated for a moment but had no choice but to sign his name.

The moment she received the transfer agreement, Ye Baoling felt an immediate sense of relief.

From today onward, she no longer feared anyone contesting her control over Ye Qingtang and Su Manzhu.

The police came to ask Ye Qizu about his knowledge of Silver Snake Mountain. Ye Qizu had no choice but to admit that he had once leased Silver Snake Mountain to Fang Dingkun for use.

“In 1942, Fang Dingkun said he wanted to plant longan trees, but there hadn’t been much activity. We had no idea it was related to the Japanese.” Ye Qizu, worried that the police’s haphazard exploration might expose their family’s Blue Brick Tunnel, offered another clue: “They built sheds on the northern mountainside back then.”

After obtaining information about the northern mountainside, the police asked several more questions before leaving.

*

It was almost June, and Ye Baoling needed to submit her assignments at Dunhugh University.

She had been spending her free time writing her thesis at home.

That day, she wrote over five thousand words. After finishing, she stood up and stretched.

The satisfaction after completing assignments felt truly wonderful.

Ye Huaizhang had been busy with work lately, and they hadn’t seen each other for several days.

Their first wedding anniversary was approaching. Even if she didn’t mention it, Guan Lao Taijun would bring it up, and Granny Tong would surely organize some ceremony.

This meant their marital agreement was about to expire, and whether to continue would require renegotiation.

According to the agreement, if they divorced, she would have to sell the second and third Ugly King Jade Pendants back to him for 20 million.

Remembering the Ugly King Jade Pendants, Ye Baoling took all three pieces from the safe and placed them on the table.

The three jade pendants were white, yellow, and purple respectively, but the colors weren’t pure. When pieced together, they formed a complete circular jade ring.

The color transitions between the three pieces were remarkably natural.

Just then, Ye Huaizhang returned and asked, “Still studying them?”

Ye Baoling replied, “These three Ugly King Jade Pendants must have originally been one complete jade ring. They were divided into three.”

Ye Huaizhang sat beside her: “Most likely.”

The script she was in was called “Treasure Appraisal Genius.” Could this seemingly worthless jade actually be a treasure?

Should she have it appraised by the male lead Fang Haiming from “Treasure Appraisal Genius”?

Perhaps she could.