Chapter 1456 - Hidden Agendas (Part 6)
Who would be looking for him now? Yang Xinwu muttered as he opened the door.
Standing outside was a young woman dressed in a black dress with white collar and cuffs, white knee-high socks, a white apron, and buckled black cloth shoes—the standard "domestic secretary" outfit.
Transmigrator Yang's eyes fell on the magnificent pair straining against her bodice, and he couldn't help but swallow.
"Are you Chief Yang Xinwu?" the visitor asked timidly. "I'm your new temporary domestic secretary—the Administrative Office assigned me. Here are the orders..."
"Come in first." Yang Xinwu had originally intended to "firmly refuse"—he was well aware of Xiao Zishan's thoughtful purpose—but the mess of his home and the fatigue of eating takeout every day made it impossible to push her away.
"What's your name?"
"I'm Yang Min." The maidservant smiled sweetly, and the two impressive weapons swayed accordingly. Transmigrator Yang quickly averted his gaze.
Let her clean up a bit, cook a meal—that's fine, he thought.
The new maidservant was both diligent and capable. After Yang Xinwu went out for a walk and came back, the house was already in perfect order, and the kitchen was emitting the long-missed aroma of cooking. Transmigrator Yang inhaled greedily and found that he actually had an appetite.
The food was exceptionally good, especially since there was beef—even transmigrators received this rationed in fixed quantities and schedules. Xiao Zishan had really spent the money. Although Yang Xinwu prided himself on seeing through the other party's trick, the hot, fragrant braised beef still made him feel comfortable all over. Especially this new Yang Min—not only was her cup size no less than Yang Jihong's, but her appearance and figure far exceeded hers. The image of Yang Jihong's face in his heart faded a bit more.
Yang Min had lingered an extra term at the maidservant school and was getting anxious. This time, against all odds, she had received a direct assignment from the Administrative Office. Although the orders said "short-term service," before she departed, one of the Administrative Office staffers had given her face-to-face advice: "Don't miss this heaven-sent opportunity."
As long as the Chief said the word, "short-term service" could become "permanent"—she understood that much. If she missed this opportunity and was sent back to school, not only might she never again have a chance to personally serve a transmigrator, she would become the "laughingstock" of the entire school.
Yang Min now deployed every skill she had learned at the maidservant school. The Administrative Office had also specially sent "special supply" ingredients, allowing her to display her talents. Four dishes and a soup, paired with two desserts, featuring both land and sea, balancing sweet and savory, crispy and tender—her skills were a notch above Yang Jihong's. "Awaiting assignment" for longer meant longer training time; it couldn't be compared to the hastily trained first-term students who were assigned after just a few months.
"Chief, would you like some wine?"
"No more, I drank too much at lunch." Yang Xinwu was being served so comfortably that he was in high spirits. Seeing her still bustling about attending to him, he said: "You should eat too."
"No, I'll just have a little after the Chief finishes. Director Dong said we should maintain good figures and eat less at dinner." She finished with a charming smile.
"Haha, that's Dong Weiwei's nonsense. You girls don't exactly have excess nutrition..." As he spoke, his gaze involuntarily fell on Yang Min's chest, where twin peaks strained against her clothes.
Yang Min felt his burning gaze and was secretly pleased, but she lowered her head in feigned shyness. "The Chief is right." She deliberately changed the subject. "This is medicinal wine made by Runshi Tang, personally prescribed by Chief Liu. It's a special supply for the Chiefs from the Administrative Office—excellent for strengthening the body..." She gazed at Yang Xinwu with eager eyes.
Unable to resist those anticipating eyes and the "surging waves," Transmigrator Yang drank a small cup. The wine was mellow, not harsh. After drinking it, he felt a warm current rise from his dantian and circulate through his body—his limbs felt completely at ease.
"Chief, how is the wine?"
"Good, good. Liu San has real skill."
"Who would say otherwise? At school, we often drink the medicinal soups he formulates. Let me go get another dish..." As she spoke, she turned to leave. Transmigrator Yang's gaze fell on her hips swaying beneath her black skirt—unexpectedly ample as well.
Soon, Yang Min emerged from the kitchen with a platter topped with a warming lid.
Removing the lid revealed a plate of grilled oysters—fresh oysters that had come out of the water that very afternoon. The fragrance of "the milk of the sea" instantly permeated the air.
Wu Nanhai noticed over the following days that Yang Xinwu's complexion had markedly improved. His time at the teahouse had decreased dramatically, and his demeanor was far livelier than before. He couldn't help wondering in secret what psychological treatment technique Xiao Zishan had employed. But the next day, when an unfamiliar maidservant came to make purchases with a supplementary card signed by Yang Xinwu, he understood at once. Chuqing even elbowed Wu Nanhai specifically and whispered: "So big."
"Barely seen the old one cry before hearing the new one laugh." Wu Nanhai shook his head. Though he appeared indifferent, his mind had actually been churning with calculations. Before the Lin Xiaoya case was officially reported in the newspapers, it had already appeared in the Weekly Bulletin, limited to transmigrators and high-level naturalized citizens. The details were far richer than the mere thousand-word brief. Wu Nanhai hadn't initially paid much attention, but the covert maneuvering by various factions at the teahouse soon made him realize this case was no ordinary matter. He retrieved that issue of the Lingao Times and Weekly Bulletin and compared them, reading carefully several times. Combined with what he had seen and heard these past days, he knew that though the case was small, it revealed much larger issues—quite a few people were trying to use this case to make a move.
That night, before bed, Wu Nanhai carefully considered all the cause and effect. For this purpose, he even studied the several draft laws that the Arbitration Court had sent for transmigrator review. He concluded that he too could get involved.
It was quite apparent that no matter how fresh the novelty of the new maidservant was for Transmigrator Yang, Yang Jihong's first-mover advantage was obvious. As the saying went, first impressions are lasting. Naturalized citizens who had come to Lingao during the Senate's "arduous march"—whether voluntarily or by force—held a different status in transmigrators' hearts from the "new" ones who came later. Yang Jihong was not only a first-term maidservant school student; she was also pregnant. Though the Senate hadn't issued detailed succession regulations for transmigrators, since ancient times the eldest son was the most valued. Although Yang Jihong's child couldn't be the legitimate eldest, as Yang Xinwu's firstborn, their status was naturally distinct.
From both emotional and face-saving perspectives, Yang Xinwu wouldn't easily abandon Yang Jihong. Helping out in this matter would certainly win him great favor with Transmigrator Yang.
Transmigrator Yang was generally a "soy sauce transmigrator" without faction affiliations, and he normally never participated in activities of clubs like the Mansion Party that claimed to represent "soy sauce transmigrators." If he could be brought into his own base, it would be very beneficial for his future political calculations.
Wu Nanhai was no longer satisfied with mere "reputation." The rise of the Mansion Party and Qian Shuiting's election had disrupted his plan to quietly build prestige and then enter the Executive Committee through the Senate Speaker position.
If he wanted to enter the Executive Committee before the next election, he needed to quickly establish his own political base. In his view, Transmigrator Yang was a highly suitable figure: he was in the education sector and could talk to anyone up or down in education. Before D-Day, he had also worked in finance, with obvious overlap with the "Wudaokou" faction. Finally, with his teaching position at Fragrant Fields as an advantage, in ten or twenty years his students would be spread across the realm—another form of political resource.
Helping out would cause no harm to himself and required no great sacrifice. Whether successful or not, Transmigrator Yang would be grateful for his righteousness. Moreover, among the broad mass of transmigrators, it would build his image of "benevolence." Compared to the current Executive Committee, where everyone was either iron-fisted, democratically rampant, or a Social Darwinist, the "benevolence" niche was practically vacant. "The way of governance is a balance of strictness and leniency." Currently, the Senate was in its founding stage, governing with severity and harshness. In the future, it would inevitably shift toward "benevolence and tolerance."
However, how to help? He shouldn't be the one to stick his neck out—that would be too conspicuous. Wu Nanhai decided he would find someone to wave the flag from the front while he himself played the role of principal supporter. This way he could demonstrate his contribution without attracting certain people's attention.
Wu Nanhai considered for several days. He decided to have Ji Xin be the point man. First, Ji Xin had already openly become the point man for "protecting native rights." He wouldn't mind doing it again, and he had legitimate standing. Second, like Yang Xinwu, he also worked in education, giving them natural common ground—it was reasonable for him to speak up.
Ever since Ji Xin had cobbled together a "Native Rights Protection Association," it had long been a "one-man club." Were it not for Panpan, who sympathized with his ideas and lobbied Ding Ding to regularly publish his theoretical articles in Venus, he would have almost no presence at all. Over time, he became a "forgotten person," holed up at Fragrant Fields teaching. In his spare time, his main activities were attending Jurisprudence Society meetings and participating in the drafting of some laws and regulations. Thus, he could often be seen at the Farm Teahouse.
That evening, Wu Nanhai spotted an opportunity when the Jurisprudence Society meeting had just adjourned and Ji Xin hadn't left yet. He invited him to a private room to "chat."
"What do you want with me?" Ji Xin wasn't close to Wu Nanhai—he had almost no dealings with anyone in the agricultural sector.
Wu Nanhai nodded and dismissed the server who had brought tea, then closed the door.
"I'd like to discuss Yang Xinwu's matter—or rather, Yang Jihong's case."
Ji Xin nodded without showing much surprise. "The case itself has no complicated points."
"Of course, of course. In terms of the case facts alone, there's really nothing to discuss. But don't you think the legal issues that follow are worth considering?"
Ji Xin might be something of an idealist, but he had been navigating society for over ten years before D-Day. Hearing these words, he immediately became cautious.
(End of Chapter)