The imposing aura I'd been deliberately cultivating was completely ruined by that damned little girl, Qiaoqiao! What's infuriating is that she just looked at me with an innocent expression, grabbed a tissue, and quickly wiped her mouth: "What are you talking about? I don't understand anything?"
I rolled my eyes at her. I really shouldn't have let her come along. I originally wanted to take this opportunity to teach the princess a lesson, but with Qiao Qiao there, she ruined the whole serious atmosphere.
At this moment, the princess suddenly seemed to grasp at a straw like a drowning person, and gritted her teeth, saying, "Chen Yang... you mean, this was arranged by my father? He set up this scheme to deliberately use you to kill Allen, and then take the opportunity to suppress you. Is that what you're thinking?"
"Yes," I answered her readily.
"But... don't you find it strange?" the princess said reluctantly. "After all, there was an assassination attempt at your wedding! This isn't a game; those assassins were real, and the bomb was real too! Don't you think it's illogical? If this was arranged by my father, wouldn't he be worried... what if you were really assassinated, what if you were really killed by the bomb... then all his efforts would have been in vain? Does that logic make sense? Is my father God? Can he foresee the future and be so certain that you'll escape this assassination?"
She grew more and more confident as she spoke, as if she had found a compelling argument to refute me... while I maintained my cold smile, quietly waiting for her to finish, and then I just stared at the princess...
“Sophie…” I didn’t answer her question directly. Instead, I smiled calmly and looked into her eyes: “You asked a very clever question, and you certainly touched on the most crucial issue… Yes, what you said is indeed the biggest flaw in my reasoning.” I continued slowly and calmly: “Actually, at the beginning, I did suspect Allen. Because it’s simple. Although I can’t find out exactly who planned this, if I want to understand the essence of the problem, I only need to figure out one thing… that is, if I were assassinated, who would be the biggest beneficiary!”
I chuckled and muttered to myself, "The biggest beneficiary is often the mastermind behind it all. That logic isn't contradictory, is it...? But it's precisely this logic that almost led me astray. Because no matter how I calculate it, if I die, the only one who will benefit the most is Eren! So, under normal circumstances, I should indeed think that way, and follow your lead to suspect Eren. Isn't that right?"
The princess's face darkened, but then a hint of anger flashed across her face as she shouted, "It seems you're convinced this whole thing was a conspiracy between me and my father! Is that it? In that case, nothing I say will make a difference! It seems I don't need to stay here any longer!"
After saying that, she got up to leave, but I gave a cold smile, then suddenly pulled a gun from my pocket and lightly slammed it onto the table...
"sit down."
My voice wasn't loud, but my pronunciation was exceptionally clear! My voice was cold, and although I didn't even lift my eyelids, the princess involuntarily trembled and stopped moving.
I placed my hand on the gun and said slowly, "Sophie, you really shouldn't have lied to me like this... Now sit down and let's finish talking about what happened today... But before I finish speaking, if you dare to leave this table... if you leave with your left leg, I'll break your left leg; if you leave with your right leg, I'll break your right leg!" I looked at her casually, "Do you believe me?"
Just as I drew my gun, the two bodyguards standing behind the princess were immediately startled! They reacted quickly; one of them bent down to draw his gun, while the other rushed towards me, trying to shield the princess with his own body... I must say they were very responsible, and their reaction was indeed quick.
However, the hammer next to me moved even faster!
With a loud bang, Hammer casually tossed a chair, smashing it directly onto the head of the bodyguard who was trying to draw his gun, knocking him to the ground instantly. Hammer then strode over, grabbing the wrist of another bodyguard with his massive hand. The bodyguard tried to break free, immediately attempting a counter-grappling move, but since training with my senior brother, Hammer had learned many techniques from Chinese martial arts, including dislocating tendons and bones. With a powerful twist of his wrist, the bodyguard let out a groan, his face instantly turning deathly pale, covered in sweat, and slowly kneeling down. Several fingers in his hand, gripped by Hammer, were twisted and spasming. Hammer then punched him in the back of the neck, knocking him unconscious.
Throughout the entire process, I didn't move, not even blink. The princess, however, was stunned and terrified. She looked at me with what seemed like disbelief, then screamed, "Chen... Chen Yang! If you dare lay a hand on me, my father will definitely kill you!"
"Tch... You want to lay a hand on me? I did 'lay a hand' on you last night." I muttered, then gave Hammer a wink. Hammer slowly retreated behind me, standing there like a guardian deity.
"Now, may we sit down and continue our conversation?" I asked the princess with a smile.
Gongzheng looked around with a bewildered expression. He saw that many other customers at nearby tables were also shocked. They had been having a good talk, and suddenly a fight broke out, with guns even being drawn. Immediately, people cried out in alarm. I saw some restaurant staff seem too frightened to come closer, while others immediately got up and tried to run away. Some even pulled out their phones, seemingly ready to call the police…
"Sit down." After I showed a hint of impatience, the princess finally complied.
A satisfied expression appeared on my face: "Now, let's continue what we were saying."
"Xiao Wu," Qiao Qiao suddenly sighed, "you'd better put the gun away." She winked at me and smiled, "No matter what, it's never good to draw a gun in front of a lady, listen to me... okay?"
“OK.” I thought for a moment and slowly put the gun away. “Oh, where were we? Hmm…right. We were talking about the beginning. I did suspect Allen, which is exactly what you wanted…isn’t it? And I think that if I die, the biggest beneficiary will be Allen! So he’s the prime suspect…and even last night…” As I mentioned last night, I immediately saw Qiao Qiao standing next to me…The “sensual” events of last night were naturally inconvenient to recount in front of this female bandit, otherwise, if I stirred up her jealousy, I would be the one suffering. I said vaguely, “Last night, after you told me all those stories, and then you told me that Allen already knew about the agreement between me and your father, which further increased my suspicion of Allen! I must say, your performance last night was absolutely brilliant! I think you should give your acting teacher a raise! Because your performance last night almost fooled me…just a little bit!” I extended my left thumb and forefinger, making a small gesture.
The princess trembled.
"Look. First, you made yourself look like you were in great pain and completely depraved, then you staged a classic family drama in front of me about a personality warped by childhood trauma... My God, your performance was almost flawless! Then, you revealed your relationship with Allen, and that you even conspired with Allen to scheme against your old man... This gave me a psychological suggestion: you and Allen were once in cahoots! So when this former accomplice of Allen tells me that Allen did this, I'll definitely believe it without a doubt! Then, you start betraying Allen... But betrayal can't be without reason... So you put on another excellent show in front of me: a split personality... You're simply a genius at acting... a true genius! You fabricated a completely unfounded so-called..." "You recounted your painful past relationships. Then you pretended to be a woman who had been hurt by love and was driven to the brink of madness... Finally, you even acted like you... cough cough, very... cared about me." As I finished speaking, I couldn't help but steal a glance at Qiao Qiao, only to find her glaring at me fiercely. I quickly said, "And all of this was a deliberate act... to create a 'turning point' for me... to make me feel that you abandoned Allen and reversed your stance to help me, and everything you told me must be true... because you acted so deeply affectionate, so seemingly extreme in your love! Should I believe everything a woman like that says to me? What a brilliant idea! Truly brilliant! This almost made me believe it!"
The princess was speechless.
"You went to great lengths, but you actually gave me the wrong impression... In that situation, any man, facing a girl as devoted as you, would believe whatever you said without hesitation, and would never doubt it! At that time, let alone you telling me that Allen did it... If you had insisted that President Bush orchestrated it, I might have believed you seven or eight parts of it!"
Indeed, when a woman who is "deeply in love" with you is covered in wounds, has boundless affection, and is even a little extreme and simple-minded... in such a situation, you probably wouldn't be wary of whether she is lying to you, right?
This is a weakness inherent in men's nature!
At this moment, the princess's eyes darkened, and she seemed to have calmed down a bit. Suddenly, she asked me in a hoarse voice, "Since everything makes so much sense... why don't you believe it?"
"Because there's a flaw!" I answered her bluntly.
The princess looked confused: "I don't understand."
I laughed: "I once met a very remarkable elder, the smartest and most profound man I've ever met. The first time I met him, I felt that he was unfathomable... And afterwards, in my dealings with him, I never gained the upper hand... I've always respected him deeply. And coincidentally, he once said something to me that I still remember vividly: Simplify complicated things!"
At this point, I drifted off into thought, and couldn't help but recall the image of Mr. Yang sitting on the sofa, talking to me. He had a cigar in his hand, a glass of red wine in front of him, and he smiled as he told me, "The more complex and difficult a matter seems, the better the approach is to try to simplify things as much as possible… The simpler the details, the easier it is to reveal the true nature of the matter!"
I remember that was the first time I met Mr. Yang Er, but this intelligent man left the deepest impression on me! Before that, I always thought that the smartest person I had ever met was Yang Wei, but after meeting Mr. Yang Er, I realized who had cultivated such a remarkable person as Yang Wei.
"Where exactly did we slip up?" The princess had given up all hope at this point.
“No, no, no…” I shook my finger: “The flaw isn’t in you. Your performance was flawless. I even think that if your average performance was up to last night’s level… well, if you were willing to go to Hollywood, then all the other actresses in Hollywood would be out of work! So, the problem isn’t with you. It’s with how this whole thing was arranged.”
"What?"
“It’s all about Allen,” I said slowly. “He shouldn’t be attending my wedding. Even if your father can’t come, you are qualified to represent him… or send someone else. I remember there’s a middle-aged man I know who’s a trusted assistant of your father’s. He’s also someone I know well… If it’s my wedding, he should send someone I know well who is also influential enough… No matter how you look at it, this representation doesn’t fall to Allen. It’s a really inexplicable assignment.”
"Couldn't it have been Allen who asked for it himself?" the princess couldn't help but retort.
"Haha! What an idiotic statement!" I sneered. "If Allen isn't the murderer, he'd hate me too much to ask to attend my wedding. If he is the murderer... then why would he come if he orchestrated the assassination? Does he have a penchant for witnessing explosions? Isn't he afraid of accidentally injuring himself or exposing himself? If he is the murderer, the smartest thing he should do is stay hidden behind the scenes and never show his face!"
"..." The princess was speechless.
I sighed. "That's only one reason. Actually, if it were just based on that one reason, I might still be tempted to suspect Allen... because your performance last night was just too brilliant... so brilliant that I was genuinely fooled! I truly believed you! I wasn't lying. I was telling the truth... and you deliberately told me you knew who the murderer was... but then you pretended to be hesitant and reluctant to speak... considering you just told me you decided to help me instead of Allen... given that premise, plus your hesitant expression, the name of the murderer you were about to reveal was obvious! You see... a perfect performance, you didn't even need to say Allen's name yourself for me to believe he was the murderer! That's the highest level of acting!"
"But then you stopped believing me." The princess's face turned ashen.
“That’s because after leaving the hotel, I got in the car and had someone check Allen’s whereabouts. At the time, I was suspicious, to be honest, I had really fallen into your trap. I thought if Allen was still in Vancouver, I would never let him go back alive!” I raised my eyebrows, then suddenly laughed: “But you know what… later, my men actually found out that Allen really hadn’t left, he was still in Vancouver! They even followed you and easily found Allen’s whereabouts! Now my people even know where he lives and where he is! This… has made me suspicious.”
"What do you suspect?"
I pointed to myself: "I don't consider myself exceptionally intelligent. But it suddenly occurred to me, if I were in charge of arranging an assassination attempt against my enemy...would I be so bored as to personally go to the scene of the explosion and assassination to witness it...? Okay, let's ignore that for now...but after the assassination failed, if I stayed here and didn't leave...am I out of my mind? In a situation like this, the most basic safety measure after a failed operation is to get to a dangerous place as quickly as possible! You see, even someone as not-so-smart as me would think that...and that Allen, he definitely doesn't seem like an idiot! But he didn't leave Vancouver; instead, he stayed here, as if nothing happened, and even...how did I find Allen? After following you, Princess, well, or rather, with you, Princess, personally acting as my 'guide'..."
At this point, I leaned back in my chair: "Just when I was starting to search for the murderer, Her Highness suddenly asked to meet me, and then used her superb acting skills last night to 'guide' me to find the murderer... And just when I was about to take revenge on Allen, it was again Your Highness, leading my people to successfully find Allen... Isn't all of this a bit too easy? Or is my luck so good that even the heavens are helping me?" Then I chuckled: "And I also know the simplest truth: if something seems too good to be true, it's probably a trap!"
The princess bit her lip hard, as if still struggling: "But you still can't explain that loophole! If it was an assassination arranged by my father, why would he want you dead? If you were really killed, wouldn't all the plans have been in vain!"
“Well…” I sneered. “Princess, I was hesitant at first, but thankfully I’ve figured it out now… This loophole is you!” I picked up the cup of red tea in front of me and downed it in one gulp, then smacked my lips and sighed. “After talking for so long, I’m thirsty… Your Highness, how about you explain it to me?”
The princess gritted her teeth and refused to speak, so I sneered and retorted, "What's wrong? Do you want me to come back with a whip to make you confess?"
Part Three: The Pinnacle, Chapter Eighteen: Disrupting the Great Ruler
Upon hearing the word "whip," a blush immediately appeared on the princess's face, and her gaze became somewhat strange. However, her expression quickly darkened, and she regained her somber look, biting her lip: "Chen Yang, what exactly do you want?"
"Well?" I rubbed my temples and said slowly, "You won't tell me? Then how about I say it for you?"
"..."
I smiled. "After thinking it over, I also think this is indeed a loophole... Isn't Thorin afraid that I'll really be killed? If I were really assassinated, wouldn't all his schemes have been in vain? But then I thought of a strange question... Your Highness! I guess Thorin's original plan was this: to set up this assassination plot and draw suspicion to Allen... But to ensure my safety, you, Your Highness, are a key pawn! According to the original plan, you should have tried to remind me before the wedding started, or rather, before the assassination began, you should have deliberately reminded me, or tried to arouse my suspicion of Allen in front of me, or directly told me that Allen intended to kill me... In this way, the assassination would have been prevented before it began, but the effect would have been the same, I would still hate Allen to death! This is probably Mr. Thorin's original plan, right? Only this explanation makes sense! But the problem is, although Thorin designed such a brilliant plan, he made a mistake... He overlooked his precious daughter's innate jealousy!" I looked at the princess. She slowly said, "Your Highness, we've had some conflicts in the past. Afterwards, I was cold to you and even offended you. We had several more clashes... I know you hate me. You probably think I'm ungrateful and hate me to death, right? Also... I know you've always held a grudge against me, but I firmly rejected your... 'kindness' several times. For a woman like you, you can tolerate anything, but this is the one thing you can't tolerate. So, when it came time to execute this plan, you suddenly changed your mind." "The idea...right? I remember at the wedding. You spoke to me, but I didn't think about these things then and coldly rejected you. As a result, you became furious and didn't warn me about the assassination attempt as planned, causing the plan to go awry! I should have been on guard, but your jealousy and resentment led the plan astray! That's why my wedding was bombed! I almost got killed!! You did this purely out of selfish revenge, right? But by doing so, you've also violated Thorin's plan!"
The princess turned pale.
I sighed. "So, you came to me again last night. I guess you probably got a scolding from your father. He must have given you a good dressing down, yelling at you for not considering the bigger picture and for messing things up. Luckily, I wasn't killed in the explosion. That's a stroke of luck amidst misfortune. That's why you were so anxious to find me last night, trying to take remedial measures! That's why you used all your tricks to seduce me last night... and you even made... well, such a big 'sacrifice'. Sigh, you suffered so much to finally fool me. That's how the plan got back on track."
"Speaking of which," I murmured, "Yes, that's how it is. Because of your selfish motives, you almost ruined this plan and almost killed me. But you later took remedial measures, and then you brought me here today to deliver the final blow, to finally identify Allen as the murderer... We had that experience last night, and you acted like you were madly in love with me. Under such circumstances, an ordinary man would definitely believe everything you said, and that would be exactly what you set up..." After I finished speaking, I took a deep breath and smiled, "That's roughly the whole story. Am I right? Well, if I've said anything wrong, Your Highness, please point it out to me."
The princess's face alternated between pale and flushed, clearly indicating an intense internal struggle. Her eyes were filled with panic, and she stammered, "You... how did you come up with that! Someone must have told you, right!"
"No." I shook my head. "On the contrary, it was your selfishness that made me suspicious. If you had told me before the assassination at the wedding that Allen was going to kill me, I might have actually believed it! Although Allen's attendance at my wedding was a bit strange, it was barely understandable given his status as Thorin's godson. But you didn't say anything then because you were jealous of me. You probably hoped I would be assassinated so you could vent your anger... Hehe. Thorin's good daughter, you truly live up to your reputation as that good-for-nothing princess. This plan was ruined by you! It's a pity you didn't tell me then, but only later. Although you performed your best, even perfectly, the reason I became suspicious was because I found Allen's address! As I said before, if he were the murderer, there's no reason for him to stay here after the plan failed! And you yourself led my people to Allen! All of this is too strange! So, it was your actions that made me suspicious... No one told me."
"Then... what exactly do you want now?" The princess said, her voice trembling, looking at me with fear in her eyes: "You... I don't believe you dare to kill me!"
I laughed... my smile was cruel and cold, and then I said casually, "Actually... I really want to kill you."
The princess shuddered.
"If it was just that old Thorin orchestrated this plan to scheme against me, wanting to use me to kill Allen, then use the opportunity to suppress me and take advantage of the situation to steal something from me, then his plan was a good one. Although he was a bit ruthless towards me, people in the martial world do things their own way. Your father and I are not related, and he schemed against me. I won't hate him. At worst, I'll retaliate in kind. Besides, your father didn't want me to die; he just wanted to use the opportunity to harm me lightly and then get what he wanted. But... you! Your Highness! You're different! You woman, I don't know whether to call you stupid or a complete fool! You completely don't understand the importance of priorities! To use a Chinese saying, you're hopeless! Although your father... He schemed against me, but even he knew he could only suppress me, not kill me. My life or death would have a huge impact on him! But you're different. You dared to kill me for a tiny bit of selfishness! You didn't even consider the harm it would do to your father if I died! You'd even suffer in the future! You didn't think about the bigger picture at all, only caring about your own momentary pleasure. To call you short-sighted is an understatement. You're utterly foolish! It's a pity, a woman like you, more trouble than she's worth! While I'm furious that old Thorin schemed against me, I also admire him for setting such a trap for me! But you… I can only feel contempt and disgust for you.”
The princess's face turned ashen, then she suddenly screamed in a hoarse voice, "Chen Yang! You! You! You...you bastard! How dare you insult me like this! You...I, I will definitely make my father kill you! Kill you!!"
I looked at her with even more pity, then deliberately clicked my tongue and sighed, "Look at you... your behavior is just plain stupid! In this situation, if you had even a little bit of sense, you wouldn't dare to threaten me like that! In this situation, your life and death are in my hands... and you still dare to yell at me... and you still dare to say things like that to provoke me... it seems you really have no brains!"
The princess blushed. She glared at me through gritted teeth, both angry and furious, but finally dared not yell at me again.
“Actually, I really wanted to kill you.” My smile vanished, my gaze turning cold. “You know what? Your identity, your background, or your father… those things do give me pause! But this time is different! Because of you, my wedding went wrong! Because of you, my wife is still in the hospital! I’m not afraid of death myself, nor am I afraid of assassination attempts! But during this assassination attempt, my wife, my family, my best friends were all by my side! If anything had gone wrong, not only would I have died, but all my loved ones would have been harmed! Princess! I don’t hate you if you want me dead! But if my family has been harmed because of this, that’s what I can’t tolerate! So you should thank God… because thankfully my wife is fine now, she’s safe, and hasn’t been seriously injured… otherwise, even if you were the daughter of the President of the United States, I would still kill you here!”
After saying this, I stood up and dusted off my clothes. "Alright, I came here today just to confirm something. Now I've done what I needed to do... One last thing I'd like to ask you to go back and tell your father, Mr. Thorin, two things I wanted to say to him." I looked her in the eyes. "I've always respected him and considered him an excellent leader, but my respect for him doesn't mean he can manipulate me at will. Just tell him that. I think with your father's intelligence, he'll make the right choice."
Then I glanced at Qiaoqiao beside me and smiled, "Alright, let's go... You're not still hungry, are you?"
Qiao Qiao beamed, "This place is nice. Please bring me here often in the future."
We turned and left side by side, with Hammer and Xiao Zhu following behind. Only Princess sat there with a blank expression, while her two bodyguards were still lying on the ground.
We went downstairs and outside, and saw two police cars approaching from afar, their sirens blaring. I stood by the cars with a smile, watching them get closer, and then the police cars stopped on the road next to us.
I knew it must have been when the conflict broke out in the restaurant that someone called the police. I didn't get in the car immediately, but waited for the police to get out. Coincidentally, the person who got out of the police car this time was an old acquaintance of mine.
A white police officer, burly and with a gloomy expression, was with two other officers. The three of them got out of the car and walked towards us. After taking only a couple of steps, they recognized me. All three officers froze for a moment, their expressions immediately becoming quite interesting. I knew they recognized me.
I recognize this white police officer... I remember when I first came to Vancouver, I was once arrested and taken to the police station, and this white officer even beat me up. He seemed to have a good relationship with the Vietnamese people back then... Hmm. Unfortunately, I've already forgotten his name.
At the time, he was Jeff's superior, a Chinese police officer. But as I gained power, Jeff and I got along well. Jeff had already been promoted and was in charge of the entire Chinatown police force, while this guy had been reduced to driving patrol cars.
I smiled and took off my sunglasses, then smiled back at him. The white police officer looked embarrassed. He recognized me, but hesitated, and walked over with a forced smile. The two officers behind me also lowered their hands from their waists.
“Mr. Chen…we received a call that someone is here…” The white police officer coughed.
"It's nothing," I said calmly. "I was here on business, and it's finished now."
"Phew..." The white police officer breathed a sigh of relief, but said with a wry smile, "I understand... However, please be a little more mindful of your actions... This is my jurisdiction now, so please don't make things difficult for me."
Before I could speak, Xiao Zhu behind me said coldly, "Who do you think you are? Do you think you have the right to negotiate with Fifth Brother? If you want to talk about something, let your police chief come over... You're not qualified."
I chuckled and waved to stop Xiao Zhu. Instead, I walked over to the white police officer, patted his uniform, flicked his epaulettes lightly, and said with a smile, "No need to be so rude, Xiao Zhu. This officer and I are old acquaintances, aren't we?"
The white police officer's face was very unpleasant; he seemed to want to laugh but couldn't, or perhaps he wanted to say something… I shook my head: “Don't worry, I'm not one to hold grudges. You offended me before, but that's all in the past now. Alright, thank you for making this trip for nothing. There's nothing here, you should go… Oh, I suggest you don't go up. There's a princess up there who's in a very bad mood right now. I'm easy to talk to, but she might not be. She might slap you across the face again, and then you'll be humiliated and there'll be nothing you can do about it.”
"Thank you, thank you." The white police officer smiled wryly.
"Hmm." Suddenly, an idea struck me, and I took out a business card and gave it to him. "This is my business card. Since we've known each other for a long time, you can look for me in the future. Maybe I'll need your help with something, won't I?"
The white police officer's expression was complicated, but he still quickly took the business card and carefully put it away.
I laughed and then got into the car with the people.
As the car drove away from the hotel, I saw the white police officer standing there, somewhat dazed.
"Fifth Brother..." Xiao Zhu asked as he drove, "Why are you being so polite to this patrolman? You've never been this accommodating, not even to the police chief."
"Oh... he's an old acquaintance of mine." I smiled and then briefly recounted how I first met this white police officer.
When Xiao Zhu and Hammer heard that when I was arrested and taken to the police station, this white police officer actually dared to hit me and even kicked me to the ground... their eyes widened in disbelief.
"Fifth Brother... I'll go back and beat him up to avenge you!" Hammer immediately yelled.
"Haha..." I laughed: "Beat him up to vent your anger? Vent your anger for what? I'm not angry anymore."
"But... how dare he lay a hand on you? He's bullying us like this..." Hammer stared wide-eyed, puffing out his cheeks as he tried to gather his strength.
I chuckled and said, "Alright, stop it." Then I said seriously, "Xiao Zhu, Hammer, you two are now my closest confidants... Sooner or later, I will let you go out and do things. But you both need to broaden your horizons. A man's achievements are determined by his ambition! You must remember this principle."