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Chapter 296: Suspicion
Chapter 296: Suspicion
Lu Jiaxin was aware that Nie Zhan's father was a scientist, but she didn't know much about his family background. Despite her curiosity, she refrained from asking questions. After all, their relationship was not yet defined as boyfriend and girlfriend.
Nie Zhan asked, "Should we go to Yan Yihua's law firm now, or head back to the hotel first and ask him to meet us there later?"
Lu Jiaxin replied, "Let's go to the bank first. I've kept Auntie's will in a safe deposit box there."
"You really have a will?" Nie Zhan inquired.
Lu Jiaxin explained, "I asked Auntie to make a will last year, but she never got around to it. She gave it to me during my last visit. However, the document wasn't witnessed by a lawyer; it only has her signature. The He family will definitely use her illness as a reason to invalidate this will."
Nie Zhan smiled and said, "Your goal isn't to divide the assets but to buy time and prevent He Zhuliang from continuing to dispose of Ms. Gu's property. With the video and written documents, including the presence of two lawyers in the video, this case won't be settled in less than a year."
Lu Jiaxin was surprised. "A year? That long?"
Nie Zhan understood her concern and said, "Yan Yihua can find various reasons to delay the process until a year has passed. By then, you'll have come of age and can apply to become their guardian."
Lu Jiaxin was touched. "Nie Zhan, thank you."
"Don't mention it, silly girl," Nie Zhan said. Although they hadn't defined their relationship, he already considered Lu Jiaxin as his girlfriend. Of course, he would help her shoulder this burden.
With the documents in hand, Lu Jiaxin and Nie Zhan headed to Yan Yihua's law firm.
Upon hearing that Lu Jiaxin intended to sue He Zhuliang, Yan Yihua frowned and said, "Miss Lu, I've heard that He Zhuliang has invested in a large project and is short on funds. He has put up his shares as collateral. However, the project has encountered problems and is currently halted, causing the initial investment to go down the drain. The deadline for the collateral is almost here, and He Zhuliang needs a large sum of money to redeem his shares. If you proceed with the lawsuit, I'm afraid he might resort to desperate measures that could be detrimental to you."
Nie Zhan added, "He Zhuliang has been inquiring about Lu Jiaxin and found out that she has assets worth seventy to eighty million under her name. They are now insisting that all the assets under her name were given by Ms. Gu, and they want her to return them."
Yan Yihua addressed them both, "If there is evidence proving that Miss Lu's assets were gifted by Ms. Gu after she fell ill, He Zhuliang can legally reclaim them through legal means."
Lu Jiaxin explained, "I've donated the money and shop that Auntie gave me. All the assets under my name now are earned by me and have nothing to do with my auntie."
Yan Yihua understood, "In other words, the He family has no evidence to prove that the assets under your name, Miss Lu, were gifted by Ms. Gu."
"They were all earned by me. Where would they get the evidence? Unless they forge it," Lu Jiaxin stated.
Yan Yihua observed her calm demeanor and nodded, "If they forge evidence, they will be obstructing the course of justice, and everyone involved, including the lawyers, will be held legally accountable."
Noticing Gu Xiuxiu's signature on the document, Yan Yihua nodded and asked Lu Jiaxin to meet him at the court first thing in the morning.
"Okay," Lu Jiaxin agreed.
After dropping Lu Jiaxin off at the hotel, Nie Zhan returned home. As he entered the living room, he saw his aunt, Nie Manli, and his eldest aunt-in-law, Chen Cuiyu, seated on the sofa, engaged in conversation.
Nie Manli spotted him and called out, "Ah Zhan, there are rumors spreading outside that Miss Lu stole Ms. Gu's antiques and jewels and stored them in our bank."
Nie Zhan's expression turned grim as he said, "Aunt, the antiques and jewels Jiaxin pawned at the bank belonged to her parents' collection and have nothing to do with Ms. Gu."
He paused before continuing, "Ms. Gu kept her own collection of antiques and jewels in a safety deposit box at HSBC, with the password and keys given to her grand-nephew, Gu Haifan. However, when Jiaxin and I visited Ms. Gu today, Gu Haifan claimed that he had already given the password and keys to the He family, and those items are now in their possession."
Nie Zhan felt that He Zhuliang's actions might not be as simple as pledging shares, or else he wouldn't have sunk to such lows.
Nie Manli said with a hint of disbelief, "I heard that Miss Lu's batch of pawned items includes many priceless antiques and top-grade jewels. How could their family possess such treasures?"
Nie Zhan's wife, who was more familiar with the mainland, explained, "Mom, while the mainland is quite backward now, it has gone through many dynasties and has its fair share of valuable items. It's very likely that Miss Lu's parents acquired those items through generations of inheritance."
Nie Zhan added, "Jiaxin's family has been poor for three generations. During the years of scarcity in the mainland, her father had connections to obtain some supplies, which he traded for antiques, paintings, and rare jewels."
"Aunt, these antiques and jewels were brought over by Jiaxin from the mainland. She even resorted to special means out of fear that they wouldn't make it past customs. If you don't believe me, you can investigate. If the items have unclear origins, I wouldn't have allowed her to pawn them at our family's bank."
As Nie Manli was about to respond, her daughter-in-law steered the conversation in another direction. "Ah Zhan, Grandpa is in the study. He just asked for you to see him."
Nie Zhan, who had something to discuss with his grandfather, promptly headed upstairs.
After he left, Nie Jingwen's wife spoke up. "Mom, your third brother isn't some impetuous youth. He's capable of handling this matter."
Regarding what her mother-in-law had said earlier, she felt it was rather inappropriate. Someone with a narrow mindset might interpret those words as suspecting him of scheming against their own bank. Ever since Nie Zhan returned, he had always kept his public and private matters separate and would never harm the bank's interests because of his feelings for Miss Lu.
Nie Manli sighed. "That Miss Lu is too cunning. I'm worried that Nie Zhan will be blinded and deceived by her."
Nie Jingwen's wife was left speechless. This isn't even your son. Even if Miss Lu is cunning, it won't affect you. However, knowing Nie Manli's temperament, she knew that today's intervention wouldn't be the last. She spoke gently, "Mom, Ah Zhan only listens to Grandpa. If you feel that Miss Lu isn't a good match, you should discuss it with Grandpa."
In fact, Nie Zhan didn't always listen to his grandfather either. Previously, when Grandpa tried to arrange a meeting between Nie Zhan and the granddaughter of an old friend to strengthen their ties, Nie Zhan not only disagreed but also wanted to resign and return to America. After that incident, Grandpa never interfered in his romantic life again.
Nie Manli felt that her daughter-in-law's words made sense, so she decided to bring it up with Grandpa.
The old man was clearly displeased. "Even if you suspect the origins of those items, you should have discussed it with Jingwen first, instead of questioning Ah Zhan. By saying that, it's as if Ah Zhan is willing to sacrifice the company's interests to please Miss Lu."
Nie Manli clarified, "Dad, that woman is very scheming. If she marries into our family, there will definitely be endless troubles."
The old man retorted in a bad mood, "Don't worry about these unnecessary things. Ah Zhan will definitely move out after getting married and won't live with us."
Seeing that he was unhappy, Nie Manli didn't continue the topic.
(End of Chapter)
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