The Li Family Courtyard!
Li Yi had just gotten out of bed when he received a call from his mother-in-law.
“Hello, who is this?”
As he spoke, Li Yi couldn’t help but yawn—he was so exhausted.
“Yi, it’s me. You haven’t just woken up, have you?”
Hearing his mother-in-law’s familiar voice, Li Yi’s dazed mind snapped back to clarity.
Rubbing his throbbing head, he immediately explained, “I went out for a get-together with Third Brother and Brother Jianhua last night. I had a few too many drinks, so I slept in a bit!”
As he spoke, Li Yi couldn’t help but vent about those two troublemakers.
Last night, Lin Yi had returned from leave at the military base, so Ye Jianhua, as his brother-in-law, organized a get-together to welcome him back.
He had no idea what the guy was thinking, but after organizing the gathering, he called Li Yi and invited him to join.
Li Yi wasn’t really interested in that sort of thing. In his view, he’d rather spend that time cuddling with his wife and doing something romantic—after all, life is all about movement!
Most importantly, he knew his own limits—with a drinking capacity of just two liang, he’d rather not go and make a fool of himself.
But what he didn’t expect was that even after he’d flat-out turned down Ye Jianhua, the guy showed up at his house with Jiang Longcheng to corner him.
Unable to withstand the two guys’ relentless pestering and nagging, Li Yi eventually gave in and tagged along with those two idiots to last night’s party.
Although Jiang Longcheng, Ye Jianhua, and Lin Yi had been looking out for him, Li Yi’s tolerance was too low, and, as expected, he ended up blacking out.
When he finally woke up, it was already nearly 10:30…
“Well, it’s good for you to hang out more with the young people in Longcheng and Jianhua’s circle, but your tolerance is limited—if you can avoid drinking, you really should!” said Ye Lingyun.
“Got it, Mom. Did you call because something was up?” Li Yi asked.
“Bingbing came to see me a little while ago…”
“Who’s Bingbing?”
“Liang Bing—your Grandpa Liang’s youngest daughter!”
“Oh, Sister Bing, was it? What did she want with you?” Li Yi asked, rubbing his eyes.
“Sister Bing? According to family hierarchy, both you and Xiao Xue should be calling her ‘aunt’ or ‘auntie’!” Ye Lingyun said with a laugh.
“I saw Xiaoxue call her ‘sister,’ so I just went along with it!” Li Yi said, looking a bit embarrassed.
“Never mind. Bingbing isn’t much older than you two. Calling her ‘Aunt’ or ‘Auntie’ does sound a bit awkward. It’s fine for you young people to just call each other by your first names!”
Then, Ye Lingyun recounted in detail what Liang Bing had just told her.
“Yi, if Bingbing and Shen get married next year, will something really bad happen?”
“Well, Sister Bing herself will be fine, but her husband will most likely meet with misfortune!”
Li Yi didn’t hold anything back from his future mother-in-law.
After all, even if he hadn’t said a word, the Jiang family had already thoroughly investigated his family history going back three generations.
“Xiao Yi, Bingbing might come looking for you in the next couple of days. If you can help her, please do. I raised that girl from a young age, and I really don’t want her to…”
Ye Lingyun didn’t finish her sentence, but Li Yi understood exactly what she meant.
Without hesitation, he replied, “Mom, since I’ve already warned them, I won’t just stand by and do nothing!”
Although Li Yi generally didn’t like to take on such matters himself, since his mother-in-law had spoken, he had to give her that face.
Most importantly, Liang Bing was a decent person who had always looked out for his wife, and he owed her this favor.
Besides, for him, it was just a matter of a few words. As long as he kept Liang Bing and his wife away from the scene of the incident during that time, there was a high probability they could avoid this disaster.
Once the public security crackdown began, those thugs and hoodlums would inevitably face suppression and crackdowns; even if they went there afterward, it wouldn’t be a big deal.
The only thing Li Yi was unsure of now was whether, if he altered Liang Bing’s husband’s fate, next year’s crackdown would still take place as scheduled—after all, in his previous life, that had been one of the most crucial triggers.
Just as Li Yi was deep in thought, Ye Lingyun’s voice came through the speaker again: “Xiao Yi, Mother knows you’re a child with your own mind and ideas. There are some things I really shouldn’t say, but…”
“Mom, just say what’s on your mind. I know whatever you say is for the best for me and Xiao Xue!” Li Yi replied.
“I’m so glad you think that way!”
Ye Lingyun continued, “What I want to say is, let’s just forget about Bingbing’s situation. But when it comes to others, you need to be more careful. Don’t go blabbing about everything to everyone—not everyone is worthy of our trust!”
“And as for those military and government officials and high-ranking leaders, even if you notice something, don’t blab about it. They’re all politicians—ordinary people like us have no idea what’s really on their minds. Don’t let them treat you like an outsider!”
Listening to his mother-in-law’s deep concern, Li Yi felt a warm glow in his heart.
Her words reminded him of his own mother back home, who would always give him endless warnings whenever he left, afraid he might get taken advantage of.
His mother-in-law was just the same—she truly treated him like her own son.
In comparison, both the old man and Jiang Shiying fell a bit short.
Of course, this isn’t to say the old man or his father-in-law were bad people; it simply had to do with the roles they played in the nation, the clan, and the family.
Men, after all, tend to be a bit slow when it comes to emotions—far less sensitive and perceptive than women.
“Mom, don’t worry. I know what I’m doing!” Li Yi said.
“Then I’m put at ease!”
Ye Lingyun continued, “By the way, one of the old man’s former subordinates sent us a well-aged ham yesterday. Come over with Xue’er on Saturday—I’ll cook it for you!”
“Sure, we’ll come over together then!” Li Yi said with a smile.
“Alright…”
After hanging up the phone, Li Yi fell deep in thought.
In truth, he had known for a long time that posing as a charlatan was like a double-edged sword—it could hurt others, but it could also hurt himself.
After all, while this ability to foresee the future made him seem mysterious and powerful, it also instilled deep fear in some people—including those in the high-ranking decision-making circles.
So, after arriving on Hong Kong Island, Li Yi had subconsciously begun to watch his words and actions, trying his best not to bring up the subject.
He also kept his distance from the high-level officials’ attempts to recruit him into government service.
What if they asked him to divine the nation’s fortunes for the next century, or predict when those bigwigs would pass away? What would he do then?
At his current level, he just needed to keep a low profile; there was no need to play the mystic.
But this situation was unique. The reason he had mentioned in front of Bill and the others that the woman was going to fall was out of sheer necessity.
Mainly, those foreigners wanted to use him to establish their authority; given the imbalance in power, he had no choice but to act that way.
Whether it was bluffing or playing it mysterious, the point was that after taking that fall, the Iron Lady would likely become more cautious.
At the very least, until she figures out whether this was a coincidence or not, she shouldn’t act rashly.
Don’t think it’s just us Chinese who fear tales of gods and ghosts; those “civilized” Europeans who’ve only just emerged from the Middle Ages are actually the most feudal and superstitious people in the world.
Especially among Europe’s elite—a significant portion of them actually believe in the real existence of God. Can you believe it?
In fact, a significant number of them believe that eating human flesh can make you younger and cure diseases—to the point that Europe is the world’s largest consumer market for human fat… Ugh…
Enough of that. His mother-in-law’s words served as a wake-up call. If things get too bad, he could just hide out somewhere for a few days—and it just so happens that Old Huang had asked him to find time to make a trip to Hong Kong.
Li Yi made up his mind: he’d set off in a few days…
…………