Chapter 335 - Epilogue (II)

It was full of numbers and some names of companies.

What was this?

Then she spotted some familiar company names.

One of them was the CJ Company which had declared bankrupt a year ago. 

Her curiosity was piqued. She clicked the folder with the CJ Company on it.

Inside were doc.u.ments containing various numerical figures, finances, and transactions.

But seeing the dates, figures, and places of transactions, Xiong Zhi's eyes slowly became serious.

These could not be more familiar.

If she was not involved in that case, she would not know much about the numerical figures or what kind of calculations it was pertaining to. 

These were the amounts of diamonds smuggled by CJ, and also the fake diamonds imported to CJ years ago. 

Xiong Zhi had seen enough. If this file she opened already gave her such a crucial list of secret transactions, how about the others?

There were so many in the list. Some she recognized and some she was not familiar with.

Xiong Zhi's eyes narrowed. "These files..."

This must be the files inside that flash drive that Lu Yin Ze was talking about.

Lu Yin Ze said that it came from her mother. 

It was a highly decisive evidence against his father.

Lu Yin Ze's father... what was his name again?

'Right, Ming Zhi Yi'

Ming Zhi Yi came from a humbler background. He was from a wealthy family that did not have that much of a name. When he married Lu Fao Ran, Lu Yin Ze's mother, he was given a huge break. 

He was then akin to a tiger who was given wings.

But after years, there were rumors that the two divorced. When the Lu family's esteemed Madam died eight years ago, the husband disappeared from the society. 

No one talked much about it. 

At first, some only speculated that he might be in the Lu's island, grieving for his wife. Some said he might be abroad and was cultivating his own company. Until the news about him vanished completely.

It was like a stone thrown into the pond without creating a single ripple.

It seemed like the high society forgot the son-in-law of the Lion Lu.

But seeing this file, the rumors might not be true.

Who was this Ming Zhi Yi?

He managed to rope in these companies from different fields to under-the-table dealings.

He could not do that with his 'humble' background alone. He must have his cards, or another identity.

If that Ming Zhi Yi had this flash drive in his hand, it served only one purpose.

It was to put the companies under his thumb. If he wanted to destroy them, he could just leak out a few of the information to the public. People would start throwing stones to that company and will soon be publicly executed, like what she did to CJ.

Not a single one of them would want to betray him due to the consequences it would bring.

Xiong Zhi stared at the flash drive. 

She had an inkling. With this flash drive in her hand, they were getting closer to facing the 'tribulation' of the Lu family.

She put back her attention to the company list and scanned the names of the companies. 

The familiarity grew stronger. 

A light flashed in her eyes. She suddenly stopped.

These companies...

She quickly took out her pad and pen. She wrote down the companies she found familiar and was involved in some major things that happened in the past.

After writing them down, sweat formed on her forehead.

In her previous lifetime, when she was locked in for three years, the beast allowed her to have some forms of entertainment like magazines, newspapers, books, and television. During those few years though, she did turn on the television very often. 

Because she kept on seeing Xiong Wuyue's face, the queen of the entertainment industry and modeling industry, in television and in the news.

However, it did not mean she failed to remember a few things. 

Majority of these companies were the ones who rose in their ranking. It was because they took advantage of the time when the Lu Empire's stock price fell rapidly and short-sold the stocks.

At that time, when Lu Yin Ze died, she did not give importance to it. But the Lu family's reputation and might deteriorated over the years. She did not hear any news regarding Old Lu as well. At that time, she was filled with aversion and indifference to the world. She was also busy facing her grandfather's funeral and the arguments of the Xiong elders regarding the shares. 

Suddenly, Xiong Zhi trembled. A chill rose in her.

Was it a coincidence?

The Xiong family and the Lu family collapsed at the same time. This was too much of a coincidence. At this moment in this lifetime, no one knew about it, but she who had lived two lives saw it clearly now.

When the Old Master Xiong died, followed by the destruction of the treaty, the Xiong family was in a mess. Xiong De got hold of the leading stake of the Xiong Empire, and about fifty percent of the shares were bought by different companies. 

She had always been confused at why the scheming man could allow that to happen.

How could Xiong De allow the other companies, who were practically sharks wanting to grab a bite, get the the shares when that man was full of greed and ambition? 

Unless... It was a part of a deal. 

A long time deal.

But with whom? And why?

Xiong Zhi's heart tightened.

She took out another paper and compared the companies who bought the Lu's and the Xiong's in comparative columns.

Her breathing hitched. They were mostly the same.

Same companies. Same time of fall. Same scenario.

They so happened to be the same companies that this Ming Zhi Yi had formed underhanded dealings with.

Xiong Zhi got an epiphany.

The Lu family was not the only one to suffer the tribulation that the mysterious silver-haired lady revealed.

The Xiong family suffered the same...

And perhaps, if what she was thinking was right...

It was all done by the same person.

- End of Volume 1-