Hello, Mr. Major General

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“Thank you so much!” Cai Songyin squeezed Gu Yanran’s hand and was endlessly grateful. “Miss Gu, you are too kind!” She couldn’t help but cry as she spoke. Gu Yanran patted her back gently and was the face of comforting elegance. Tan Dongbang smiled as he sat across from them and thought the scene was strangely harmonious. Cai Songyin felt much better after crying for a bit.

Tan Dongbang came over to take her hand and help her stand up. He said gently, “Go wash your face in the bathroom and take a shower if you’d like. You look exhausted.”

Cai Songyin nodded quickly. “I’ll go freshen up.”

Tan Dongbang walked her to the bathroom, and Cai Songyin reminded him quietly, “The issue with the imitation jewelry actually isn’t too serious. The key is still the misappropriation of campaign funds. Lawyer Jin said that’s the most important.”

“I know. I’ll go ask Gu Yanran about it in a bit.” Tang Dongbang gave her a look. Cai Songyin had been married to him for many years and instantly understood his intentions. The root of the problem with the misappropriation of campaign funds was that it was defalcation. The 26,000 US dollar evening gown was just the tip of the iceberg. There was also a large amount of money that went to their own pockets. If the Procuratorate latched onto this and insisted on auditing the finances of their campaign funds, then more than half their fortune would be lost. Cai Songyin went to wash up in the bathroom while Tan Dongbang invited Gu Yanran to sit in the smaller living room.

The thick gold velvet curtains in the room were drawn even during the day, so only a large pear blossom chandelier was left on. Gu Yanran sat under the pear blossom chandelier and glowed like a blooming flower herself. A look of fascination flashed across Tan Dongbang’s eyes. He composed himself and picked up some paperwork Jin Wanyi left with a smile. “Miss Gu, my wife and I are very thankful for you help. Since you are looking out for us, we won’t treat you as an outsider. This is what our lawyer left behind. Can you take a look and see where we should start?”

Gu Yanran smirked, unable to contain the smugness in her heart. She was finally able to break into the highest echelon of Hua Xia society… And all of this was not with Gu Nianzhi’s help but with her own efforts as Gu Yanran. She sat on the chaise lounge and raised her chin slightly. Her skin glowed like pale jade under the pear blossom chandelier as she smiled and took the information left by Tang Dongbang’s lawyer. She began to read it carefully, and as the seconds passed, her expression didn’t change at all. However, she began to feel her mood shift. The lawyer’s paperwork made it very clear that the key point in the case was the misappropriation of campaign funds. As for the other two things, it didn’t matter if it the jewelry was an infringement of trademark or suspected to be stolen goods. Neither were within the Hua Xia Empire’s jurisdiction. Even if they were, the importance was nowhere close to the severity of the misappropriation of campaign funds.

So Tan Dongbang showed this to her because he hoped she would help with the issue of misappropriation of campaign funds? If she was going to help, it wasn’t going to be spending a mere hundred million US dollars. Gu Yanran began to muse. She was willing to spend her entire fortune, but she needed to see if the profit exceeded her investment. She was essentially a businesswoman, and while she could be in the business of murder, she would never take a loss on a deal. Political investments, however, were another issue. Gains and losses couldn’t be calculated from the numbers on the books. “Prime Minister Tan, these are legal documents, and honestly, I don’t understand them very well.” Gu Yanran had already made up her mind as she slowly closed the file. As expected, she saw a flash of disappointment in Tan Dongbang’s eyes. She held the file and continued, “If it’s possible, I want to take this file home and show it to my legal counsel. What do you think?”

Tan Dongbang had assumed Gu Yanran was unwilling to help and was a bit disappointed, but now that he saw she was only being cautious, he was truly happy. Looking at her with a smile, he nodded and said, “Ok, of course you can take it home. You can read it for as long as you like. This is just a photocopy.”

“Ok, no problem.” Gu Yanran stood up and shook Tan Dongbang’s hand as she said her goodbyes. “Then I’ll be going back now. When Mrs. Tan comes back, please help me say goodbye to her.”

“You’re too kind. Songyin already sees you as a dear friend. No need for such polite words.” Tan Dongbang already treated Gu Yanran as his confidante. After all, a money tree was well liked by everyone.

…

Gu Yanran took the legal documents back to her apartment. Propping her head up with a hand, she laid on the chaise lounge and thought about it for a long time. It wasn’t that she couldn’t understand the legal documents, that was just an excuse to delay things with Tan Dongbang. What she really needed was to think carefully about how to help the case in order to maximize her interests. She wasn’t an idiot saint and would never help someone without expecting a return, but she wasn’t able to think quietly for very long before the communicator rang. Gu Yanran picked up and asked, “What is it?”

The precinct security was calling. “Miss Gu, the Prime Minister’s daughter, Miss Tan, is here to visit.”

Gu Yanran stiffened. “Tan Guiren?”

“Yes.” The security guard called as he discreetly checked out Tan Guiren. How pretty… She is even more beautiful than on TV…

“Ok, let her in.” Gu Yanran hopped up to change in her bedroom. By the time Tan Guiren came to her door to ring the bell, Gu Yanran was already waiting in the living room. She then opened the door and arranged her face into a smile for Tan Guiren. Reaching out her arms she said, “Miss Tan, welcome. It’s my great honor to have you visit.”

Tan Guiren smiled at her and also reached out. They hugged and pressed their faces against each other as per Western customs. But after she stepped inside, Tan Guiren immediately dropped to a kneel and used Eastern greetings. Gu Yanran was shocked and quickly helped Tan Gurien up. “Miss Tan, what are you doing?”

Tan Guiren’s eyes quickly filled with tears as she sobbed to Gu Yanran, “Miss Gu, I came here to beg you without my Mommy and Daddy knowing. Please, save my Mommy!” She knew from Tang Dongbang that Gu Yanran had helped them deal with the issue of imitation jewelry, but Gu Yanran was unwilling to help with the case of misappropriation of campaign funds. This was a time that everyone was looking out for their own necks, so the Tan’s friends and family were just observing without wanting to help. Gu Yanran was the only one standing up and helping in this time of distress. Tan Guiren came to see her secretly in hopes of convincing her to agree to help her family overcome this obstacle. Although she didn’t know much about the world, she knew what would happen to her father as Prime Minister if her mother was jailed.

Gu Yanran was silent. After listening to Tan Guiren finish crying, she gave her a glass of milk. “Sit down and drink.”

Tan Guiren took it with both hands and said hopefully, “Miss Gu, you’re so nice and amazing. You’ll help my Mommy for sure, right?”

Gu Yanran sat next to her with a smile and stroked her head. “Miss Tan sure is adorable. I’ve always wanted a younger sister like you since I was young.” She didn’t need to be too smart; such people were much too annoying.

“Miss Gu is too polite.” Tan Guiren smiled shyly. “If you want, I can call you my older sister.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary. I have a younger sister, so she’ll be unhappy if you call me older sister,” Gu Yanran said. Standing up, she walked to the window and looked out at the blue sky outside. In her mind, she was making the final calculations. If she helped them, then she certainly wanted much more in return. Gu Yanran squinted as she looked back at Tan Guiren. “Miss Tan, are you willing to rescue your Mommy at any cost?”

“Right! What do you want? My Daddy will agree to anything, and I’ll do whatever you want me to,” Tan Guiren said desperately. Her eyes were red and a bit puffy. It was obvious how much she had cried for so many days now.

Gu Yanran patted her shoulder. “Miss Tan, I hope you’ll remember what you said today. Can you swear to it?”

Tan Guiren nodded as she raised her right hand. “I, Tan Guiren, swear on this day that if Miss Gu Yanran can save my Mommy from all charges, then Daddy and I are willing to do anything.”

“Haha, you don’t need to do anything. Just remember what I’ve contributed and don’t forget my help or make complaints once this is all over,” Gu Yanran said as she draped an arm on Tan Guiren’s shoulder. Her hand was very cold.

Tan Guiren couldn’t help shivering, but she still looked at Gu Yanran with hope-filled eyes. She hoped to see a firm answer on the other woman’s face.

Gu Yanran finally nodded. “Ok, I’ll give it a try, but I can’t guarantee your Mommy will be ok. I can only guarantee the incident will not involve your Daddy.”

This was good, too. Tan Guiren thought to herself that the last thing she wanted was for the incident to involve her Daddy. As long as her Daddy was ok, then her Mommy would be ok, even if she got in trouble. “Ok, thank you Miss Gu.” Tan Guiren bowed sincerely.

After she left, Gu Yanran picked up the phone to call Tan Dongbang. “Prime Minister Tan, Miss Tan just left my house.”

Tan Dongbang was very shocked. “Little Darling? Why did she go see you?”

“Miss Tan is very worried about Mrs. Tan’s safety and especially came to beg for my help. But my abilities are limited, so I told her I could only guarantee that the incident won’t involve Prime Minister Tan. I can’t promise Mrs. Tan can escape unscathed. Prime Minister Tan, what do you think?”