My Manor

"From what you said, am I dumb and eating bitter herbs?" Jiang Hai asked as he set down his chopsticks. The beef, which was extremely delicious to others, was indeed tasty in his mouth as well, but Jiang Hai didn't particularly crave it. He usually ate freely and wasn't bothered by missing a meal. However, if he kept his anger bottled up inside, it could cost him his life.

"Of course not. We can't suffer in silence," Qi Li responded immediately after hearing Jiang Hai's words.

She now understood that Jiang Hai didn't fully trust her. If she made a mistake or stood on the wrong side, Jiang Hai would leave at any time. While she had Jiang Hai in mind, she also had to consider his inner thoughts.

"Then what do you suggest?" Jiang Hai asked seriously, meeting Qi Li's gaze.

Seeing his expression, Qi Li signaled to Master Zhang, who was cooking. Master Zhang nodded politely and left the room.

At that moment, while Jiang Hai didn't completely trust everyone in the room, Qi Li trusted them all implicitly.

"If we're going to take action, we need to plan it carefully. We have to figure out how to take him down in one blow, plan for what happens next, and decide who to involve. These are all things we need to consider," Qi Li said seriously, her eyes locked on Jiang Hai.

"Leave it to me. My boss and I came here for this job," Azarina said with a smile, slowly picking up a piece of beef and stuffing it into her mouth.

"You?" Qi Li looked at Azarina, momentarily stunned. She had assumed Azarina was either Jiang Hai's new lover or something like Penelope, an assistant or paralegal, but to her surprise, Azarina was suggesting she would handle the situation.

"Let me introduce you. This is Azarina Vicarborio, a former KGB agent and now my bodyguard," Jiang Hai said, sensing Qi Li's surprise. His voice remained calm as he picked up another piece of beef.

"Excuse me?" Qi Li hesitated, clearly taken aback. She hadn't expected such an expert to be in Jiang Hai's circle.

It seemed Jiang Hai hadn't come here on a whim after all. He had come prepared.

She had thought that Jiang Hai was so angry he came here ready to confront An Changwu, but it appeared that he had unknowingly assembled a very capable team. The beauty in front of her was actually a former agent? It was almost like something out of a movie.

"Since we have the manpower, we still need to prepare. We need to know the timing and location of the attack. If possible, we should take down the entire An family at once. If we only hit one or two, the rest will be on guard, and it will be more difficult to handle," Qi Li continued, focusing on Azarina.

"Whatever you want," Jiang Hai replied with a shrug. Originally, he had planned to break into their house and kill everyone, leaving no survivors. But as Qi Li pointed out, this wasn't the United States, and there were no special privileges here. This was China, where wealth didn't guarantee protection.

In foreign countries, wealth meant power. If you had money, you could influence governments, and the police were like personal bodyguards. But in China, no matter how rich a person was, they were still at the mercy of the government, a "pig" raised by the court. They could be eliminated whenever the authorities chose.

"Bang bang bang!" Just as Qi Li was pondering solutions, a knock suddenly echoed at the door.

Qi Li frowned. She had instructed that no one should disturb them unless it was urgent. Was the restaurant manager ignoring her orders?

Seeing her displeasure, the assistant moved to the door, opened it, and with an unhappy expression, asked coldly, "What's the matter?"

"Sir, you must see Director Qi. We..." The manager of the restaurant began awkwardly. He knew Qi Li's instructions but was too intimidated by the man next to him to ignore the situation.

"Enough. This is a private party, and it's not convenient for us to entertain you. Please leave," the assistant said, glaring at the tall, thin man standing next to the manager.

"Sorry, your level isn't high enough..." The young man ignored the assistant's words, pushing past him and opening the door.

The assistant nearly stumbled, but the manager quickly signaled for the security guards to be on standby. If the man made another move, they would take action, regardless of his status. After all, appearances still mattered.

"Hello, Mr. Jiang Hai. My name is Zhu Wen, and I'm from the National Security Council. I believe we should talk," the man said as he entered the room, but made no move to approach Jiang Hai. Instead, he stood his ground in front of him, speaking seriously.

"National Security Council? National Security Bureau?" Jiang Hai was momentarily stunned before smiling.

The National Security Bureau had made an appearance. Were there going to be Dragon Groups or Phoenix Groups too? If that were the case, Jiang Hai might have to poison himself just to escape the situation. He couldn't believe it—it sounded so absurd.

"Our country doesn't have a National Security Bureau, just the Ministry of National Security. The National Security Council is under the Ministry, and I've been assigned to approach you regarding Mr. Dufamen-Weha-Mohammed-bin-Radhi-Al-Maktoum," the young man continued, without arrogance but with clear purpose.

"Sit down." Jiang Hai was ready to dismiss the man, but hearing him mention Du Famen piqued his curiosity. What could be the connection between him and Du Famen? He motioned to a seat, gesturing for the man to sit.

Without hesitation, the man sat down in the indicated seat. Qi Li, catching the assistant's earlier misstep, signaled for him to close the door and stand guard outside.

"I've come to see Mr. Jiang because my superiors have requested a favor," the man said, getting straight to the point after sitting down.

"What favor?" Jiang Hai asked slowly as he popped another piece of beef into his mouth. He wasn't in the mood for small talk.

"At your level, I think there's no need for too many pleasantries. Our country lacks oil, and the Middle East is a key oil-producing region. In recent years, however, the influence of the United States and European countries in the region has only grown, which has caused us problems. So, when Prince Du Famen visited, the higher-ups wanted to secure access to the region's oil supply through him," the man explained quickly, knowing that Jiang Hai wouldn't have much patience for a lengthy explanation.

He understood the realities of the country: most young people today didn't care much about national pride. If it wasn't for personal connections, few would sacrifice their wealth for the country. This was the reality of the modern era.

"Oil? Doesn't Dubai have no oil?" Jiang Hai's heart skipped a beat. Did the court know about his 400 million worth of oil futures?

He quickly realized it wasn't about his personal oil assets but rather the country's interest in Middle Eastern oil. That made sense—his oil holdings were not the target, but the country's broader ambitions were.

"Dubai doesn't have oil, but the oil in the Arab world is controlled by the royal families, aside from some individual countries. Prince Du Famen came to inspect our high-speed rail projects, which we're confident about, but for the oil issue, we need someone to guide us." The man made it clear that the country wanted to use Jiang Hai's relationship with Du Famen to broker the deal.

Jiang Hai smiled. It seemed they wanted him to act as a lobbyist, which was fine, but what was in it for him?