Chapter 305 - Lihua Talks To Old Madam (5)
Chapter 305 – Lihua Talks To Old Madam (5)
Lihua's jaws dropped wide open. "What!? He killed his own brother?"
Old Madam nodded. "Jiang Zemin tampered with his car and in that accident, Jiang Shan…" she trembled, "d-died along with his family. The car caught on to a fire. It was a mess."
Lihua had an urge to collapse. She couldn't believe that a power struggle would make a man kill his own brother. The greed and selfish ambitions had driven the whole Jiang family insane to the point of killing their own kin.
She pressed the space between her brows. "This is really…Damn it. Now, I really wonder if your father-in-law's death was just a heart attack or not."
"It wasn't."
She widened her eyes. "R-really? Even his father?"
Old Madam let out a tired sigh. "That's what Weisheng surmised. He felt extremely suspicious that in the same year, first, my father-in-law died and then Jiang Shan. Now, there was nobody left to challenge Jiang Zemin anymore, and he would easily get the throne. Weisheng was sure that he did something to make his father get that heart attack and kill him. I can guess why. There were some rumors I heard that he would make Jiang Shan's son inherit the position and not Weizhe. He thought that Weizhe would be just like Jiang Zemin, not fit to handle the Underworld. That was the last straw for him."
"Weisheng decided that he would slowly make his presence in the Underworld and soon, he would overthrow Jiang Zemin by proving that he killed his father and brother. He had already begun to work in the Mafia world. My father-in-law had noticed that he was smart and talented. So he kept him under Jiang Shan as his assistant. Weisheng later told me that he planned for this to happen so that one day, he would conquer the Underworld."
Lihua touched her chin and asked, "Hm I don't understand one thing. If Jiang Zemin was incapable, how did he found Jiang Industries? It doesn't seem like he would be able to handle business…"
Old Madam smiled. "It was Weisheng who helped him. Not just helped, it was his idea to step into business. Jiang Zemin was thrilled with it. Business and the Underworld would give him more power so he agreed. He was just the namesake CEO. Truthfully, he didn't know how to handle business and make decisions at all. It was Weisheng who did everything in the background, but naturally, he got the credit. It was Weisheng who actually found the Jiang Industries. Even the Underworld now that Wei is handling is his legacy."
She blinked her eyes in confusion. "How?"
"Because he changed the whole course of the Underworld. Do you know what work Wei does in the Underworld?"
Her mouth twitched.
Somehow…she never got the chance to learn about it.
She sheepishly grinned. "…No."
She chuckled. "It's mostly gold and antique trade, money-lending and assassination but only of those culprits that the law don't want to get their hands dirty for. Those nasty people who the law cannot touch or are difficult to punish but who must die for peace and safety come to Wei to get the job done. Under the table deal."
"Oh!"
"Yes. But this wasn't the type of Underworld that the Jiang family handled. They were into crimes like illegal prostitution, drug trafficking, murder and extortion. Horrendous crimes that would make somebody's blood churn in disgust. But after father-in-law and Jiang Shan's death, Weisheng slowly changed its nature from within. It was challenging, but he tricked Jiang Zemin into thinking that such crimes won't make the Jiangs stay long in the Underworld.
If we toned down, we will be able to manage it without being always on the law's radar. For almost one and half years, Weisheng worked hard in the Underworld and the business world too to gain a foothold. Once he would be successful, he would throw Jiang Zemin and then…then we won't need to hide anymore," she sniffled.
Lihua gently wiped the tears from her cheeks. She faintly smiled and held her hand.
"But then…" Old Madam trembled hard. "Weisheng disappeared one day."
Lihua looked at her, aghast.
"D-disappeared?"
"Yes… I never saw him again."
"B-But what happened?" She gasped. "Did Jiang Zemin somehow-"
Her eyelashes trembled and she stayed quiet.
"…I felt all messed up. I didn't know what happened. I searched for him everywhere. But I didn't find him. None of the maids or butlers knew anything about it either. He was just… gone. And I was once again left with Jiang Zemin. At one point, I even wished to kill myself. What about our dream to live together? We were so close…So close to throwing Jiang Zemin out of our way and finally ending his tyranny. But without him, I felt helpless," she gasped and burst into tears.
"Weisheng…"
Lihua couldn't understand it at all.
"S-So for all these years…he hasn't been found yet?"
She shook her head. Warm drops of tears plopped on her hands and she cried for a long time.
"It was as if… things went back to how they were before I met him. Dark, desolate and hopeless. During that time, Weizhe's Mafia King of training continued. But then Weiyuan declared one day that he wanted to join too."
Lihua whispered, "Dad thinks that you favored Uncle more and left him behind…"
Her old body shook hard. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "I don't know what I was doing… Weisheng was gone, and I wanted to save Weizhe. So I bought Weiyuan's name forward to free him. But he was also my son. How was I supposed to choose one son over the other? To free Weizhe, was I supposed to push Weiyuan into the darkness? I was torn apart… Without Weisheng's support, I-I couldn't stand strong and Jiang Zemin forced his tyranny upon them. I didn't want my sons to be like him, seeing a husband hit his wife, so I would never meet them whenever I was injured… That's why they don't know that he used to beat me a lot."