Ding Wang and Xia Yueyu met up with them at the main entrance. As for the Third Marshal, he was busy attending to the various army officials that had shown up earlier in the day to inquire about Ding Weimin's condition and show their support.
Yang Liu carefully stepped down from the hover car with an automated lugage hovering beside her. Every part of her body was covered in black clothes, leaving just her eyes, nose bridge and forehead.
Yang Zhi stepped out right after and nodded in greeting towards the Ding couple. "Mr. Ding, Mrs. Xia."
Ding Wang gave a curt nod whilst Xia Yueyu merely glanced at Yang Zhi before turning her attention to 'Yang Xue.' She hadn't set eyes on the mandron since he was sent out of the Ding home but the mandron still appeared the same as ever. Reserved, shy and every bit unremarkable.
It was impressive that Yang Zhi had been able to get him here. It seemed the mandron valued the familial ties he had with the Yang family. That was good. She felt relief wash over her bones. With the evidence stored safely in her safe, she was rest assured that the mandron wouldn't dare think of acting up.
Xia Yueyu finally cleared her throat after taking her time to scrutinize 'Yang Xue.' She tilted her chin up in an aloof manner as she said, "Yang Xue. Come."
Yang Liu lifted her head a bit but remained where she was. She had no idea how close Yang Xue and Xia Yueyu had been so she stood still. She could not afford to take any risk until she got to General Ding!
Xia Yueyu took in Yang Xue's unwillingness and scoffed inwardly. The mandron was holding a grudge? Tsk. It didn't matter. As long as he got the job done. She turned to Yang Zhi. "Colonel Yang, that would be all. Yang Liqin would be released from the station and taken to the Yang home in a few hours."
Yang Zhi smiled in relief. "Many thanks Mrs. Xia. As for my son..." He eyed Yang Liu briefly. "You would have to excuse his behaviour. He could be stubborn at times, haha."
Xia Yueyu merely waved. "You may leave."
Yang Zhi hesitated for a moment before getting into his hover car and driving away.
The minute the hover car drove the long lane out of the estate, Ding Wang exchanged a glance with his wife before turning to 'Yang Xue.' "Come with me."
Yang Liu clenched her fists in anticipation before controlling her luggage and following after Ding Wang. Xia Yueyu, on the other hand, walked in the direction of the reinforced room, contacting the doctors as she did.
Ding Wang and Yang Liu walked for several minutes before arriving at the main mansion. Due to the amount of high profile guests present, Ding Wang took Yang Liu through a different entrance and walked straight to a room that had been prepared beforehand.
It was the same room that Yang Xue had used all those years ago.
"You are already familiar with the entire process." Ding Wang began once Yang Liu walked into the room. "In another hour or two, the doctors will finish performing the pre-extraction procedures on my son and we would know when to commence."
Yang Liu tugged at the helm of Yang Xue's hoodie with a confused frown. What role did Yang Xue actually play in all this? Seeing Ding Wang's eyes narrow after several seconds of her silence, she cleared her throat before humming, "Hm."
Ding Wang nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave but then paused at the doorway. "One more thing..." He had his back turned to Yang Liu so he just moved his head sideways. "You might be a mandron but I want you to task your brain extra hard to think deeply on what I'm about to say.
-Whatever had gone on between you and my son all those years ago had been a horrible mistake. Min'er had been in a bad frame of mind so he hadn't thought his actions through. Things are much different now with his engagement to Jin Qi.
-Your job is to simply carry out the extraction process and nothing else. You better not have any silly ideas. You should be clear on what I could do to your family if things don't turn out the way I expect."
Without waiting for an affirmative answer, Ding directly walked out.
Yang Liu took out a CCTV blocker from her pocket and activated it once she was alone. This was just for extra measure. Next, she pulled off the face mask and inhaled deeply. Her eyes wandered around the room as she tried to process the information she'd just received.
It turned out Yang Xue and the General had indeed been in that kind of relationship and... And what was this about Yang Xue carrying out the extraction process?
Did she somehow manage to ignorantly involve herself in something way bigger than her? She quickly took out her bracelet, aactivated the incognito mode that had been installed by her father and sent a communication request to him.
A surprised Yang Zhi accepted the request after two seconds. "A'Liu is there a problem? It hasn't even been up to an hour yet. Did they find out already?"
Yang Liu shook her head and quickly relayed the details of Ding Wang's one-sided conversation with her. "What do you think he meant? What really is this extraction process about?"
Yang Zhi frowned in thought. "Just observe things for now. I'll continue my search for Yang Xue in the meantime."
Yang Liu nodded and ended the connection.
An hour later, Ding Wang and Xia Yueyu watched as the doctors walked out of the observation room. "So when can we start?" Xia Yueyu asked.
The head doctor clicked on his Ipad. "I'm afraid we'll have to wait for three more days to begin the process. The General's body suffered a huge blow this time so extensive preparation is needed."
The Ding parents nodded and the doctors walked away.
"How about you inform father-in-law that Yang Xue has been brought over, hm?" Xia Yueyu said to her husband and when Ding Wang walked away, she headed over to the observation room.
Ding Weimin as having one of the bouts of extreme pain so he was hunched over on his bed, gritting his teeth and groaning. The magnetic tension in the reinforced room was so strong that Xia Yueyu could see zaps in the air from the observation room. Her eyes reddened. "Min'er~"
It took a full twenty minutes before the pain significantly lessened. Ding Weimin shakily lifted his hand and activated the suction by his bedside to clean up the blood coating his body. His clothes were also stained but he paid no mind and activated the intercom next. "Yang Xue is here?"
An hour ago, the doctors had begun the familiar pre-extraction procedure so that wasn't hard to guess. He was still in doubt though so he had to ask.
Xia Yueyu nodded and before Ding Weimin could speak another word, she held up a finger. "No. You absolutely cannot speak to him."
Ding Weimin frowned. He knew how strange the entire situation was. How could Yang Xue suddenly agree to help him after all he'd done? He needed to speak to the mandron to know what he was thinking.
Seeing her son's unwilling expression, Xia Yueyu sighed. "We made a concrete deal with the Yang family. You speaking to Yang Xue is unnecessary. You have to remember that you're engaged."
Ding Weimin scoffed. "Where is she?"
Xia Yueyu frowned. "Jin Qi has been visiting these past days with the Second marshal. There were times when she adamantly demanded to be let into your reinforced room but we had to hold her back. We couldn't even let her into the observation room because she had become increasingly depressed after the last time she was here.
-The young lady genuinely cares for you and you should be glad about it. Compared to Yang Xue who had initially gotten close to you and misled you because he wanted to use your connection to become a soldier, isn't Jin Qi's sincerity much better?"
Ding Weimin remained silent and turned his face away. "I'm tired.
Xia Yueyu shook her head with a sigh and walked away.
After sending off his high profile guests and reassuring the Jins, the Third Marshal finally received news of Yang Xue's arrival. He frowned and was about to go over to the mandron but then held himself back.
There was no need to over complicate things. It was unusual that Yang Xue would readily agree to help but thinking of the evidence that his family had against the Yangs, it wasn't so shocking. Mandrons were naturally peaceful and had submissive personalities so it was understandable that Yang Xue would choose to remain silent.
Still...
The Third Marshal sent out a communication request on his bracelet and when the request was accepted, he said. "I need an armoured soldier in Ding Weimin's reinforced room three days later." He had no idea if Yang Xue had any ulterior motives so he had to be prepared.
"If the mandron tries anything funny then decapitate him on the spot." It wasn't as if the mandron needed complete limbs to carry out the extraction process. He could only blame himself for daring to act against his Ding family. As for other things... He added, "I would deal with all consequences."
"Yes Sir." Came the loyal reply.
Later that day, Yang Liu was informed of the plans. She still wasn't clear on the 'extraction' process so she felt an unsettling feeling in her heart as she waited for the third day.
---------------------------------
Over in the Yang home, Yang Zhi kept trying all possible means to reach Yang Xue whilst his other children were up to different things.
Yang Teng continued his secret rendevouz with Jin Yusheng, spending less and less time in the Yang mansion.
Yang Liqin had returned from the station and locked up herself in her room. The loss of her fans, the downfall of her career and even the expulsion letter she'd received from her top university was too much to handle.
As for Yang Xiang...
Being the obsessive person that she was, Yang Xiang kept tabs on every single one of Jin Yusheng's favourite places, purchased the highest tiers of membership she could afford and constantly visited them in order to 'accidentally' run into her boss outside of work.
She was in one of such places the very night after Yang Liu left when she caught sight of Yang Teng and Jin Yusheng sharing a table at the VVIP section. She was of course not meant to witness this but she had bribed a few workers to let her hover around the VVIP area in hopes of catching a glimpse of her boss and had inadvertently caught this.
Yang Teng was her brother and she knew Jin Yusheng's figure more than she did her own so there way no way she could be mistaking.
Yang Xiang frowned. Why did Yang Teng lie to them? She really wanted to barge into the VVIP section and demand answers from her younger brother but she held herself back and chose to observe.
Thirty minutes later, both men calmly made their way out of the VVIP section and of course, Yang Xiang discreetly followed after. They soon got into a private elevator and she couldn't follow but seconds before the doors closed shut, she watched with horrified eyes as Jin Yusheng pulled Yang Teng closer and engaged him in a very heated kiss.
Very early the next morning, Yang Teng returned to the Yang mansion to find Yang Xiang sitting on the sofa and swirling a glass of strong vodka with a dark look in her eyes. He thought nothing of it but before he could take an extra step,
"Yang Teng." Yang Xiang slowly stood up from the sofa. "Where are you coming from?"