Ning Xi was startled, stood up suddenly, and said, "No!"
Wen Liang remained silent. Ning Xi anxiously grabbed his hand and said, "You can't go. Not to mention that he won't see you, even if he does, what will happen?"
Wen Liang held her cold hand with his backhand and whispered, "Your grandfather is not a monster and can't eat me! If you can find a way for me to meet him, I can try to talk to him. If it works, everyone will be happy. But if it doesn't work, at least I know that this road is not working, so I can give up this idea and think of another way, right?"
For the first time, Ning Xi was at a loss. If Wen Liang's amazing performance had not left her with the impression that he was a man of great planning, she would not have hesitated at all. What kind of place is the Ning family? Who is Old Master Ning? Even she, the most favored granddaughter of the family, dared not speak recklessly, so what can you, an outsider, do
But Wen Liang's eyes were as firm and gentle as ever, which made it impossible to refuse. Ning Xi looked at him with a complicated expression, and after a while, she whispered, "You, how sure are you?"
Wen Liang smiled slightly and said, "I'm not even 10% sure, but if I don't take the risk and gamble..." His face gradually showed a bit of solemnity, and he said, "I'm afraid I will regret my cowardice and incompetence for the rest of my life..."
Ning Xi's eyes revealed a painful struggle. She was proud to have a man like Wen Liang who was brave enough to take on everything, but she was also unwilling to let him face a behemoth like the Ning Family alone. Moreover, with her grandfather's temper, she really couldn't predict what would happen next.
Wen Liang said softly, "Okay, don't worry. With your grandfather's status, how could he really embarrass me? That would underestimate him too much, and overestimate me too much. I'm not going to force him to abdicate, nor am I going to negotiate. I just want to meet him as a junior. Or maybe he's waiting for me to come..."
Ning Xi raised her head suddenly, as if a drowning person had grabbed the last straw, and said: "What did you say? He... he is waiting for you..."
Wen Liang shook his head and said, "I'm not sure, but there are always some things about this matter that make me feel more and more strange the more I think about it. If I don't see this side, many doubts can't be solved. If these doubts are not solved, even if I am willing to be a coward and roll back to Qingzhou in disgrace, I certainly can't interfere with your affairs, but I may not be able to be safe myself!"
Ning Xi was completely confused by him. For the past two months, she had to deal with the pressure from her family, hide the truth from Wen Liang, and manipulate the stock market as if nothing had happened, handling all matters in an orderly manner. Her mental strength had long been on the verge of collapse, and her former intelligence and sharpness had become much duller. She did not fully understand the meaning of Wen Liang's words for a moment.
"Oh, I forgot to ask, has your grandpa returned from abroad?"
Not long ago, just on the eve of the exercise, Ning Huchen visited several major European and American countries to sound out the views of various countries and express his own attitude regarding the other side's election and the Taiwan Strait crisis that is likely to break out. Wen Liang has been very busy recently and has not paid much attention to the news. I don't know if he has returned, so I asked this question.
"He came back a long time ago, but he went to the army again yesterday. I don't know when he will be back in Beijing," Ning Xi sighed. No matter how her grandfather treated her, as a descendant of the Ning family, she could not help but feel the admiration for her grandfather. She said, "He is almost eighty years old. He first went to Xichuan, then went abroad. He didn't have a few days to rest after coming back, and he went to the army every day. His health is getting worse day by day..."
"Only when you are happy can you be healthy. Mr. Ning has too many things to let go of, so of course he can't rest."
Wen Liang was being a bit polite. Ning Huchen was still reluctant to leave at the age of eighty because there were not many things he couldn't let go of. To put it more generally, there was only one thing - power! But the politics of the Republic has always been like this for five thousand years. The king has things to do before and after his death, and the ministers naturally have things to do before and after their death. No one wants to be a hero in his life and end up with nothing when he retires. Moreover, this is not an era of imperial supremacy and the supremacy of the emperor. At that time, many party disputes and political struggles were welcomed by the king and served as the final referee. But now with the collective responsibility system, many times in order to achieve balance, stability, development, and keep the red flag up, more efforts and greater efforts are required. Of course, it will also make the court more complicated and changeable. Decades of practice have proved that if the Republic is to stand tall in the east of the world for a long time, the left cannot overwhelm the right, nor the right can overwhelm the left. The left and the right have been fighting for decades, but neither side has been able to completely overwhelm the other. If some fence-sitters and centrists are added, the future of the Republic will be determined by these three forces, and the triangle is the most solid model in the world!
The three factions are intertwined and supervise each other. As one of the leaders with a strong voice in the three factions, Ning Huchen is sometimes helpless. The interests of the Ning family itself, the interests of those followers who depend on the Ning family, the interests of a certain faction represented by the Ning family and its followers, and more importantly, the decisive significance of this faction to the long-term stability and stable development of the Republic, all depend on him. A single move can affect the whole body, and such a burden is heavier than Mount Tai.
On the other hand, carrying the world on one's shoulders and controlling the times, the ultimate pleasure of being at the pinnacle of power can indeed make a person deeply intoxicated. Not to mention when one is eighty, even after another ten years, one may not be able to remain indifferent to it and give it up.
"I really hope he can take some time off and stop working so hard. Just like he did when he went to Xichuan a few years ago to relax, it would be nice to enjoy his retirement life."
"Xichuan?" Wen Liang felt that he had grasped something, but his mind was in a mess, so he subconsciously asked, "Why did he go to Xichuan?"
"He said he was going to meet an old friend. Who knows? Anyway, it's very mysterious..."
Wen Liang thought for a while, and when he was sure that he couldn't figure it out for a while, he gave up. However, what Ning Xi said was right from the perspective of a family member, but it was undoubtedly a pipe dream when it came to the political situation. In this era when the political vortex gradually turned into a storm, without Ning Huchen, the stabilizing force, where would the Ning family go? So this time, Ning Huchen had to either "insist on not retreating" or "retreat but not hide". The former was a fierce confrontation, but the outcome was unknown, while the latter was a temporary defeat, but he could lie dormant and wait for the right time. He weighed the two evils and chose the lesser of two evils. In his previous life, Ning Huchen retired the next year, and chose the second path.
Wen Liang turned to look at Ning Xi and said, "Since we have no objection to me going to see your grandfather, then the next question is, how should I meet him?"
If I go to his house and say directly that I am a businessman from Qingzhou and want to do business with Old Man Ning, then one of my legs will definitely be at risk. Or I can say that I have an affair with your Ning Xi and I came to meet your parents today. In that case, I cannot be sure which leg will be at risk. So the key question is, how can I get Ning Huchen to meet me
Ning Xi didn't dare to guarantee it. Although she had the power to enter and exit the small courtyard freely, looking at the capital and even the entire Republic, there were not many people who were qualified to go in and see the old man. No matter from which angle you looked at it, Wen Liang would not be one of them.
The two of them discussed several ideas together, but rejected them all immediately. In the end, they decided to choose the simplest method, which was for Ning Xi to report in advance that Wen Liang wanted to meet, and whether to meet or not would be up to the old man himself.
When dealing with a man like Ning Huchen, all scheming and tricks are fake. Only sincerity and a calm mind can give you a glimmer of hope in a desperate situation.
"... How are you going to talk about meeting my grandfather?"
"Just adapt to the situation," Wen Liang added before Ning Xi's face turned pale again, "But I have some ideas. Listen to them... Actually, there are two key points to breaking this deadlock. The first is Yang Zong. First of all, we must make him non-threatening. It would be best if he can be used by us, but if he can't be used, he can't cause trouble. With the girl named Lu Zhenzhen, this is no longer a problem. The second point, and the most difficult one, is how to convince your grandfather and make him believe that even without marriage, the Ning and Lei families can be closely combined to become a short-term or long-term, trustworthy community..."
Ning Xi had been too concerned and confused. Being in the middle of a situation, her thinking was greatly restricted. Although she thought of the first point and acted decisively, she never thought of the second point. Perhaps it was because she had never thought that the decision made by her grandfather might be changed, so she had no such concept in her mind at all.
"We can cooperate without marriage..."
"Yes, marriage is just a way to express mutual sincerity, and it has been proven many times that it is not a very reliable method. If we can find a better way than marriage, is there a glimmer of hope to change all this?"
Wen Liang repeated: "Even if there is only a little bit, it is worth our efforts a thousand times!"
Ning Xi's eyes sparkled with excitement as she asked, "Is there any better way?"
Wen Liang leaned over to her ear and said something like this. Ning Xi was half-believing and half-doubting, and asked, "Really?"
Wen Liang nodded affirmatively. He knew this place because his company had trade relations with the local area in his previous life. He had been there many times and had witnessed the grand occasion with his own eyes.
"But we still have to send someone to investigate. We have to investigate it thoroughly before your grandfather comes back!"
Ning Xi said decisively: "I will go there myself, today!"
After the plan was finalized, Ning Xi did not return to her room and hurried out. Wen Liang sat alone in the courtyard for a while. When he got up and returned to his room, he suddenly found that the window of Ning Xi and Zhu Zixuan's room was half open. Zhu Zixuan stood there, revealing her upper body. She looked at Wen Liang with a wooden face and closed the window! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)