Wen Shen looked a bit troubled. "There are some difficulties on Mr. Lan's side; I cannot infiltrate his inner circle."
Wen Xiang Yuan nodded. "Leave it. It is enough that he knows I am making the move."
"Yes."
Wen Xiang Yuan had never thought about planting her own people around Lan An; there was no point in that.
She had no interest in monitoring his every move.
When he eventually fell from grace and lost everything, there would naturally be no one left by his side.
However, she still had to go through the motions.
She wanted Lan An to know that the first thing she did after gaining power was to monitor and confine Wen Gan Ting, even attempting to stretch her hand into his own backyard. Only then would she be safe.
A granddaughter who was clever but a bit reckless was always more reassuring than one who was deeply calculating and did nothing.
"I never trusted you before."
The two maids withdrew, leaving only Wen Xiang Yuan and Wen Shen in the room.
She turned to look at the woman, whose clothes did not have a single wrinkle.
"But from now on, I will."
"You are the only one I can trust in this world."
Wen Shen's expression shifted slightly, but she still did not have much of a reaction.
"I will certainly protect you with my life, Miss."
Wen Xiang Yuan smiled.
Since waking up from that nightmare in Eden Garden, she had gained a deeper understanding of her own memories and fears.
She had never liked Wen Shen, believing she was someone sent by Wen Gan Ting.
But in Eden Garden, the person who had been protecting her all along was Wen Shen.
So, after returning, she had conducted a small investigation.
Wen Shen was not human; she was an artificial human created by Dingshi Company.
Unlike the later service and domestic models, Wen Shen was created through continuous modifications of the first generation of artificial humans.
The fundamental difference was that Wen Shen used a portion of Wen Xiang Yuan's mother's genes.
This was the final gift Wen Xiang Yuan's mother had left for her.
Wen Xiang Yuan was lonely in the Federation; she could not fully trust anyone.
But she could trust her mother.
"Miss, a message came from the Presidential Palace. They say Master Bai will not be coming to pick you up. The meeting place has been changed to the Presidential Palace."
A maid with large, lively eyes entered to report, her brow furrowed in dissatisfaction.
"It was agreed before that the date would be at the Wen family residence. Now, not only have they changed the location at the last minute, but he is not even coming to pick you up."
Wen Xiang Yuan had replaced the people around her. Everyone was personally vetted by Wen Shen, and she had reviewed their resumes herself.
This was Lu Yue, a fourth-class citizen who cherished this job immensely.
Usually, servants for the upper-class financial magnates were selected from second or third-class citizens, but those people often had countless tangled connections.
Therefore, Wen Xiang Yuan primarily chose fourth-class citizens.
"I understand."
Wen Xiang Yuan was not surprised by Bai Rong's sudden change of heart.
The man was a useless fool, which was why Lan An had pushed him toward the position of the next President.
The magnates all needed the future President to be a puppet who only cared about eating, drinking, and having fun.
"What about the matter I entrusted to you?"
Lu Yue nodded. "I remember, Miss. Dingshi Company has already sent over the technical specifications for the artificial humans in the Scavenger Project. So far, nothing related has been found."
Wen Xiang Yuan turned and headed out. She was going to the Presidential Palace this afternoon for her date with the President's nephew, Bai Rong.
Even though Bai Rong had changed the location at the last minute, Wen Xiang Yuan arrived on time.
She was beyond reproach when it came to etiquette.
In the back garden of the Presidential Palace sat a young man dressed in luxury, with a blonde woman in somewhat revealing clothing sitting beside him.
The woman was flirting and laughing with him.
Wen Xiang Yuan observed her future husband as she walked toward them.
He was good-looking; after all, the genes of the upper-class magnates were excellent.
However, due to years of excessive indulgence, he looked older than his actual age, with heavy dark circles under his eyes.
Bai Rong also saw Wen Xiang Yuan. He had to admit that although he did not like Lan An, Wen Xiang Yuan was indeed the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
The girl beside him sat up straight, looking flustered as she saw Wen Xiang Yuan approaching.
She had not known anyone else was coming today. She had not dared to ask Bai Rong what he meant; she was only a third-class citizen. Bai Rong had taken a liking to her at a banquet, and her family had sent her over the next day.
"Do not be nervous. It is fine."
The first thing Wen Xiang Yuan said after sitting down was to comfort the girl, who looked terrified.
"What is your name?"
"Qing Si."
"What does your family do?"
"My family... runs a security company."
"I am Bai Rong's fiancée, Wen Xiang Yuan."
Qing Si's eyes widened. Before she could say anything, Wen Xiang Yuan smiled and said, "If you do not mind, stay and sit with me for a while."
"Get lost!"
As soon as Bai Rong cursed, Qing Si reflexively raised her hand to shield her face. Once she realized what she was doing, she gave an embarrassed smile and ran off in her high heels.
Bai Rong felt it was boring. He had originally wanted to see two women fighting over him to satisfy his vanity.
Instead, they had started chatting, and the look in Qing Si's eyes when she looked at Wen Xiang Yuan was far more sincere and admiring than the way she looked at him.
What was this!
"So, you are my future wife?"
Bai Rong drained the whiskey in his glass and poured one for Wen Xiang Yuan. "Drink."
Wen Xiang Yuan took the glass and downed it in one go.
"Hahaha, good! I like women like you—beautiful and obedient."
"Once I become the President, you will be the First Lady. The Federation will be mine."
Bai Rong was already drunk. He had consumed too much alcohol even before Wen Xiang Yuan arrived, and now he was slumped crookedly in his chair.
"Take Master Bai back to his room to sleep."
The surrounding bodyguards obediently picked up Bai Rong and carried him toward the western-style building in the back. Bai Rong's room was filled with the scent of debauchery.
Wen Xiang Yuan's expression remained unchanged.
"I will be heading back for today. You all take care of Master Bai. I still need to meet with the President."
Walking out of Bai Rong's building, Wen Xiang Yuan led her people in two circles around the garden before arriving in front of a secluded villa.
"If the Presidential Palace butler comes looking, you need to help me stall him for ten minutes."
Wen Xiang Yuan walked toward the villa alone.
Few people came near this villa. She had left her bodyguards and maids in the garden. This place looked gloomy, quite different from the luxurious Presidential Palace.
Wen Xiang Yuan's expression remained steady as she rang the doorbell.
No one opened the door, but someone appeared behind Wen Xiang Yuan.
"You certainly have quite a lot of nerve."
Wen Xiang Yuan turned around. Sitting on the corridor behind her was a man dressed entirely in black.
The man was handsome, sharing some resemblance with Bai Rong, but he lacked the exhausted look of indulgence. Instead, his face looked somewhat sickly.
His eyes were very dark. When he looked at people, it felt like being stared at by a reptile.
It was very uncomfortable.
Wen Xiang Yuan thought to herself that this was nothing. In the purification project, this would not even qualify as scary.
"Bai Fu Kui."
The President's biological son. Rumor had it he was recuperating in the Presidential Palace due to a serious illness and did not have much time left.
"Wen Xiang Yuan."
Bai Fu Kui smiled. "Being able to find this place, you are more capable than I thought."
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