Li Qianfan truly feared Jiao Yin would blab and alert Vice-Manager Su to her current state, so he quickly admonished her in a low voice to leave.
Sensing Li Qianfan's displeased tone, Jiao Yin dared not retort. She could only huff coldly and turn, deliberately swaying her hips as she left, slamming the door shut.
This was a minor incident.
Neither Li Qianfan nor Vice-Manager Su would dwell on it.
Work continued.
"In principle, I agree with your suggestion."
Vice-Manager Su, who considered matters thoroughly, said, "To gain Jiao San's complete trust, I'm even willing to take the risk of using the nine members of the ninth group as accompanying confidantes. However, the prerequisite is that you must ensure their absolute loyalty."
Li Qianfan immediately shook his head, "I disagree."
Su Nan Yin raised her eyebrows, "You disagree with what?"
"Even if they are absolutely loyal, I will never agree to you using them as accompanying confidantes."
Li Qianfan stated seriously, "If they were to harbor any disloyalty, you would be in great danger. Even if you were to suffer the slightest harm, I would..."
He would what.
He stopped speaking after that.
But he didn't need to say more; Su Nan Yin knew what he meant.
Looking at him through the video, her gaze instantly softened considerably.
However, she said lightly, "First, tell me, on what basis do you believe those twelve individuals will be genuinely loyal?"
Li Qianfan replied, "Last night, Yaoyao and I rescued them from Snake's Kiss. I also reported this to you this afternoon."
The twelve maids who had narrowly escaped death at Snake's Kiss would undoubtedly be immensely grateful to Li Qianfan.
Moreover, their mistress had told them this afternoon that she was striving to secure the qualification for their future child to compete for the third-generation master of Dragon's Ruins. If they didn't want to be adrift in the dark web, they had to seize this excellent opportunity for a beneficial marriage and make the right choice.
The twelve maids immediately pledged:
They would always follow President Jiao San's footsteps and never fall behind!
"Mmm. I can't imagine any reason for them to betray Jiao San."
Su Nan Yin hummed and said, "How about this, tomorrow you take them and Jiao Yin to Modu. Using the matters in Modu as an opportunity, you can try them out and closely observe their reactions."
Take them to Modu together?
Li Qianfan pondered for a moment, "Alright."
"It's getting late, I need to rest. That's all for now."
Vice-Manager Su ended the video call decisively right after saying this.
"It's finally over, this nerve-wracking video conference."
Li Qianfan breathed a sigh of relief, feeling liberated, and walked out of the study.
In the hot spring pool.
Jiao San was lounging lazily in the water, still brooding over being reprimanded by Li Qianfan and the other.
"When I'm discussing work with her, even I cannot be presumptuous, let alone you?"
Li Qianfan sat beside her and said softly, "That is her last vestige of dignity. And she is risking her life to protect this final bit of dignity."
Jiao Yin asked coldly, "What about my dignity? Can you just disregard it?"
Li Qianfan asked, "Her heart is entirely focused on me now, willing to do anything for me. She's even willing to die for me. What about you? Can you?"
Jiao Yin fell silent.
She couldn't.
Because her relationship with Li Qianfan, even if they had a son in the future, would be a typical marriage of convenience.
Could a marriage of convenience compare to wholehearted devotion?
"When she is Su Nan Yin, you must respect her. As long as you are obedient, I will also give you..."
Li Qianfan continued to say to Jiao Yin, "As long as you are obedient, I will also grant you the self-respect you deserve."
"Alright, I'll listen to you."
Jiao Yin quickly adjusted her mindset and nodded seriously, "Respecting Su Nan Yin is respecting myself."
"Yes."
Li Qianfan reached out and lifted Jiao San out of the water, "It's getting late, time to rest."
Indeed, it was late.
Precisely midnight. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
The midnight on Island Province was not significantly different in time from that of Tiandong.
The same room.
The same people.
But except for Zhang Tian Ri, Cai Wang Zu and Long De Biao were all looking grave, their eyes filled with lingering fear.
Zhang Tian Ri had not shared the words he muttered to himself with them.
However, the sudden proliferation of frog croaks in the Dyeing Phoenix Pond was itself indicative of something.
What made them feel even more uneasy was the sight of a corpse being carried out of the simple building east of the Dyeing Phoenix Pond!
It was a female corpse.
That woman, whose fate bore a strong resemblance to Su Nan Yin's, had, after the sudden chorus of frog croaks, gone into a frenzy and attacked the four men beside her with near-mad actions.
But as soon as the frog croaks subsided, the woman died.
Her face was contorted in a ghastly expression, her body was bruised and discolored, her eyes were almost bulging out of their sockets, and foul blood was flowing from her ears.
The four men were terrified and cried out in despair.
After being severely disciplined with sticks by Ye Feng Lai and others, they finally calmed down somewhat.
Why did the woman suddenly die?
This had a direct connection to the brass compass spinning without a driver and the sudden surge of frog croaks.
So, was the Dyeing Phoenix formation still necessary?
Yes!
This was the conclusion that Cai Wang Zu and the others reached after plotting until dawn while Zhang Tian Ri, lacking energy, had retired to his room to rest.
The woman was dead; one could simply find another.
After all, everyone had a general understanding of Su Nan Yin's basic fate.
Su Nan Yin, originally destined for early death due to her beauty, was now the East Phoenix in the Four Phoenixes Surrounding the Pillars formation, thus defying fate.
This was also the most significant characteristic of her fate: she was destined to drink water from three wells in her lifetime.
Each well represented a new family.
The woman who had just been hastily buried had already experienced two families, and the third family was naturally to drink from the Dyeing Phoenix Pond.
Women with second, third, or even fourth marriages were not rare.
The only difficulty was the extremely high requirements for this woman's physique, appearance, and especially her life experience (she had to be as close to Su Nan Yin as possible).
"It seems that women from Oriental countries are the most suitable," Long De Biao said slowly. "After all, she has a certain relationship with Li Qian Fan. Her accompanying Du Tian Ci to the East is definitely an opportunity created by fate for us. Perhaps we should have brought her to the Dyeing Phoenix Pond from the beginning."
"At that time, we had no certainty of contacting her secretly and making her willing to work for us."
Cai Wang Zu frowned, "Even now, we have no certainty. The only thing we can be sure of is that she is indeed the best candidate for the Four Phoenixes formation. If she harbors any ill intentions, we will all suffer the backlash of the Dyeing Phoenix formation."
"Mmm."
Long De Biao hummed, "However, we can use the fact that her son was crippled by Li Qian Fan, and she herself was treated as a plaything by a dandy like Du Tian Ci, to completely control her."
Cai Wang Zu looked at him.
Long De Biao said, "As long as we promise to bring her son safely to Island Province. Coupled with Bird Machine Ba Wan Yi's solemn vow, I believe that woman, with her naturally fickle nature, will be tempted."
"Makes sense."
Cai Wang Zu nodded, "Even if that woman cannot come to the Dyeing Phoenix Pond, as long as we can buy her over, she will be of great use to us. Therefore, neither we nor Bird Machine Ba Wan Yi's side must leak the slightest whisper when secretly interacting with her."
"Don't worry about that. Du Tian Ci, that idiot, is so infatuated with that woman that he's lost his bearings. He has no idea that she might be plotting against him for the sake of her son."
Long De Biao added, "My only concern is that Li Qian Fan might have the super hacker within Bai Du Bird secretly monitor her every move."
"How is that possible?"
Cai Wang Zu scoffed, "To have a super hacker secretly monitor a plaything? Wouldn't that be a colossal waste? Unless the super hacker within Bai Du Bird has a direct relationship with that woman herself."
He paused.
Cai Wang Zu said with certainty, "Otherwise, no one will know our secret contact with that woman!"
Long De Biao and the others also found this to be reasonable.
They then changed the subject and began discussing Ye Ru Ming's action plan in Dongtu.
The sky gradually brightened.
Six forty in the morning.
Du Tian Ci, now full of vigor, opened his eyes before his phone alarm even rang.
Every morning, the first thing Du Tian Ci did upon waking was to admire the woman beside him.
Looking at the fair-skinned, tender woman sleeping soundly beside him, Du Tian Ci recalled their passionate encounter last night and felt a surge of pride.
With an expression of adoration, he pulled the blanket to cover her, then slowly sat up and got out of bed.
However, the woman woke up and reached out to grasp his wrist.
"You're awake?"
Du Tian Ci turned back and asked with a smile.
"Actually, I've been awake for a while. I was just thinking, making a difficult decision."
Jiao Mei Bi's eyes were hazy as she looked at Du Tian Ci. "Tian Ci, I've decided. I need to tell you a secret."
"What secret?"
Du Tian Ci sat back on the edge of the bed, putting on a model husband demeanor, and smiled, "What secrets can you possibly have from me now?"
"Yes."
Jiao Mei Bi clutched the blanket with her left hand and slowly sat up.
She looked into Du Tian Ci's eyes, "During this period, someone has secretly approached me several times. They want me to do something that would betray you."