The Empress's Confidence
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As Lin Ruoxi arrived before Yang Chen, her eyes looked showed that there was something that she wanted to say but didn’t know how to get it out. She held back when she was about to speak and her cold face looked desperate.
Yang Chen wondered why she refused to speak what she had in mind. The strong and powerful woman didn’t usually behave like that.
"There, there, everyone is watching us. Spit it out if you something to say," said Yang Chen with a smile.
Lin Ruoxi couldn’t be bothered about the people who looked at them. She sighed, “Did you offend someone again?”
“What? Why would you think that I have? Don’t you know who your husband is? I don’t provoke others if they leave me alone. If others displease me… well, they won’t have the chance to do so again,” Yang Chen replied before shrugging his shoulders.
Lin Ruoxi frowned. “I hope that’s the case, but what about Yan Buxue from the Yan clan?”
Yang Chen went blank. The Yan clan? Yan Buxue? Who are they? he thought.
“Who’s Yan Buxue from the Yan clan?” Yang Chen laughed. “Are they famous? If so, why are they looking for me?”
Lin Ruoxi watched Yang Chen. Judging from his expression, it seemed like he really didn’t know them. Lin Ruoxi said worriedly, “You really didn’t know that the Yan clan is one of the four greatest clans in Beijing? They’re much stronger than the Cai clan, and… the head of the Yan clan, Yan Qingtian, just defeated y—I mean Yang Pojun, and became the vice chairman of the military commision. He’s the first vice chairman from the opposition since the establishment of the Republic.”
Yang Chen was confused after listening to Lin Ruoxi’s long and drawn out story. However, he was shocked to hear that Yang Pojun had failed in the election.
That was news Yang Chen was not privy to before this. It was also something he did not care about anyway. However, Yang Chen wondered if Guo Xuehua knew about it.
Yang Chen felt that as if he had no relations with Yang Pojun. The feeling was strange but Yang Chen didn’t feel bad about it.
“I can tell that you really didn’t know about this.” Lin Ruoxi shook her head with distress. “The National People’s Congress had announced the election results the day before yesterday. Yan Qingtian from the Yan clan joined the commission. It was indeed unexpected but the power weilded by the Yan clan was undeniably powerful throughout the years, so there weren't any objections.”
Yang Chen hid his smile and said, “I don’t know about the forces in Beijing, or the clans’ influence within the country. According to what you’ve said, the Yan clan should be busy celebrating and building on top of their new good reputation. What do they have to do with me?”
Lin Ruoxi replied, “The Yan clan has two key figures. One of them is the head who had defeated the popular Yang Pojun and became the vice-chairman recently. He’s in his sixties but he hasn’t led troops in wars before. His success was all because of the Yan clan’s achievements in the military defense and their contributions in astronomy as well as biochemical engineering.
“The other one is Yan Buwen, Yan Qingtian’s grandson. Known as a genius in the scientific genius, Yan Buwen and Lee Dun from the Lee clan are known as the ‘Beijing King Duo’. The Yan clan has dominated China’s research in military science and biochemical engineering ever since the beginnings of the country. Yan Qingtian handed over his knowledge to his grandson Yan Buwen, allowing the latter to contribute in scientific research a lot more than his grandfather has. However, he has what one would consider a unique personality. He has never once accepted the awards given to him. He only concentrates in his own works and he’s even rejected the Nobel Prize twice.”
"Perhaps he just hates leaving the house. Science freaks all behave this way." Yang Chen found it interesting. He then asked, “What about Yan Buxue? Is he the elder brother or younger brother?”
“He’s the younger one,” Lin Ruoxi explained. “Yan Buxue is completely different from his elder brother and not in the good way too. He is a troublemaker and arrogant to boot. He used to wander around Beijing all day. I only found out recently that he was so hard to deal with when he came to Zhonghai.”
Yang Chen expression changed. “He offended you?”
Lin Ruoxi shook her head. “No, he didn’t, but he had his subordinates contact me again and again, saying that you disrespected him and demanded me to fire you.”
“How could I disrespect someone I don’t even know?” Yang Chen exclaimed.
Lin Ruoxi gazed upon the group of musicians nearby and gestured to Christen’s direction. “It’s because of her. Yan Buxue was captivated by Christen. He knew that Christen had come to China so he came all the way to Zhonghai to meet Christen privately, but his request was turned down by you. So naturally, he came looking for me to sort things out.”
Yang Chen immediately realized that the problem lay with Christen.
“Are you guys talking about me?” Suddenly, Christen appeared alone next to Yang Chen and Lin Ruoxi.
Lin Ruoxi went silent, allowing Yang Chen to explain.
Yang Chen had no choice but smile. He knew that Christen must’ve heard their conversation. Her hearing wouldn’t be affected by the noisy environment.
“What was it about Yan Buxue?” Yang Chen asked.
Christen chuckled. “There was a stranger who wanted to meet me but I didn’t want to. I’m all alone in China after all, so I can’t afford to offend anyone. The reason to my refusal is always ‘Director Yang forbids me from doing so’, as simple as that.”
Yang Chen gave the woman a fierce stare. Everything that had happened was because Christen caused it in the first place.
After a brief thought, Yang Chen asked Lin Ruoxi, “What’s the current situation?”
“I’m not sure. Yan Buxue’s subordinate contacted me but I haven’t given a reply. My guess is he’ll be coming over to find me soon. The Yan clan’s power is no joke. Compared to them, I am merely a businesswoman,” said Lin Ruoxi calmly.
Yang Chen knew that Lin Ruoxi wasn’t happy. It wasn’t new for officials to bully businesspeople.
“Since he hasn’t come for you yet, let’s just focus on what we have here. The guest are all here already, let’s kick off the banquet,” Yang Chen said sleekly.
Lin Ruoxi nodded before walking over to inform Wu Yue to start the banquet.
After a short while, the hall went silent. Although Yang Chen was the director of the entertainment agency, Lin Ruoxi was the one who gave the opening speech.
It was at this moment, the majority of the guests realized that the mysterious and beautiful lady was the CEO of Yu Lei International. Most of them exclaimed under their breath as Lin Ruoxi was indeed much much younger than they had anticipated. Besides that, her temperament was more fit to a model. It was hard to imagine that she was a cunning businesswoman.
Yoo Yeonhee noticed that all the eyes were on Christen and Lin Ruoxi. She found it very humiliating.
She was always the center of spotlight, one who was always had everyone’s attention. However, she was embarrassed by a scum and was contrasted with the two women, talking about being left cold-shouldered. The situation made Yoo Yeonhee’s heart break. If not for her practiced composure, she would have left in a fit of rage.
Lin Ruoxi only said a few words before finishing her speech. For her, it was all just formaillity. The banquet was far less important than going back home to rest or continue her work.
Coming down from the stage, Lin Ruoxi went to the round table where Yang Chen and Christen were seated. She sat down on Yang Chen’s right.
The core guest seated at this table were the heavyweights for the Star of Yu Lei. Excluding Yang Chen and Lin Ruoxi, the two company representatives, the others were all influential and famous figures in the entertainment industry.
Yoo Yeonhee was arranged to be seated at this table as well, but she felt extremely uneasy on the seat as if she was sitting on needles. That was because she was facing the man and two women whom she was most unwilling to interact with, not to mention she had to act like nothing had happened.
The guests seated at that table were supposedly up-to-date in trends, so they chatted happily and whole heartedly during thw whole meal. All they talked about were music creations, opera performances, the current design concepts by luxury brands, the Spring fashion trend, etc.
Yang Chen didn’t know much about those things and frankly didn’t care too much for them either. That was why he had put his focus on the dishes before him.
Lin Ruoxi had a headache as watched Yang Chen gulp down the abalone and make slurping sound when he drank his shark fin soup. She pinched his thigh, signalling for him to behave like a gentleman.
On the other hand, Yoo Yeonhee was talking about “high end” topic with a few senior musicians. She acted elegantly and smiled as they talked. The senior musicians were very pleased with her. They didn’t even bother thinking on Yang Chen’s unpleasant eating behavior.
As they were having their conversation, Yoo Yeonhee’s bag caught a musician’s attention. Curious, the musician asked, “Miss Yoo, is your handbag a Hermes Birken?”
Yoo Yeonhee was secretly delighted. She had purposely placed the bag on the table to draw attention, so she finally felt a sense of pride when it was mentioned.
However, Yoo Yeonhee didn’t rush to show off. She replied subtly, “Yes, it is. The company I endorsed last year gave it to me as a gift.”
“Miss Yoo’s fame is incredible. Hermes seldomly looks for the endorsements of Asian artists. They must think that you’re the most influential in Asia,” complimented the senior musician.
Yoo Yeonhee shyly shook her head. “I believe that I was only lucky to have the opportunity.”
“Luck had nothing to do with this. You are being modest, Miss Yoo. Since the founding of Hermes, they’ve had the privilege of purchasing leathers over other companies. Their bags are not of any ordinary quality. Speaking of Hermes Birken, there are many types of leather used. Which one is Miss Yoo’s made of?”
Yoo Yeonhee exclaimed to herself, There’s finally someone knowledgeable here. She replied with a smile, “It’s made of crocodile leather.”
The senior musician went blank before smiling. “It’s truly rare. Hermes Birken is often out of stock while the ones made from crocodile leather are considered the classiest ones. Each bag costs at the minimum hundreds of thousands, not to mention one has to queue to make a purchase. I heard that even some European royals are in line for one. An old man like me had never seen one before. Miss Yoo, you have truly broadened my view.”
Yoo Yeonhee suddenly felt that she had regained her confidence. She waved her hand in disapproval and said, “That’s not the case.” She then turned to Christen. "This actually isn't very impressive. Miss Christen is much more well-known than I am. I bet she has quite a few, while I only have one."
No one at the table was dumb enough to not realize Yoo Yeonhee’s words were meant to taunt Christen.
It was well known that even if one had all the money in the world, they couldn’t simply get their hands on one . The ordinary handbags made with sheep or cow leather were rare enough, let alone the superior crocodile leather. Besides, there were countless wealthy individuals and royal families in the world, making it more difficult to get one.
Christen may have made a glamorous appearance tonight, but no one would dare to say that she had a platinum crocodile leather bag similar to Yoo Yeonhee’s. Everyone knew that Christen had never endorsed Hermes before, so there was a very low possibility that she would have one.
Although it looked like a child’s play, or even a low-level mockery, it had undeniably caused Christen trouble.