HBWMA -Chapter 88 Acting With Impunity

VIP Room 2 of Tonghe Hospital.

A corner of the white curtains lifted in the breeze, and the wind brushed past the green leaves outside the window, casting broken patches of shadow onto the windowsill.

Jiang Huashan was still asleep. Shen Zhuang stared at the walkie-talkie in his hand for a full three minutes without speaking.

This was something Jiang Huashan had secretly pressed into his hand before she fainted. Shen Zhuang had spent decades navigating the rise and fall of power in elite circles—he immediately understood that something was not simple.

“Grandpa…”

Jiang Huashan’s eyelids trembled, faint signs of waking.

Shen Zhuang quickly composed himself, stood up, and patted her shoulder. “Xiaohua’er, Grandpa is here.”

“Grandpa!” Jiang Huashan suddenly opened her eyes. Whatever she had dreamt, her dark pupils contracted sharply, and her body was still trembling slightly.

Shen Zhuang thought she was frightened and reached out to press the call button by the bed.

Jiang Huashan stared at her surroundings for a moment before quickly coming to her senses. She grabbed Shen Zhuang’s hand. “Grandpa, I’m fine. I just had a nightmare.”

Seeing cold sweat still on her forehead, Shen Zhuang felt a wave of heartache. “It’s Grandpa’s fault. I didn’t protect you properly.”

Jiang Huashan shook her head, then her gaze accidentally landed on the walkie-talkie in his hand. “Grandpa…”

This was the walkie-talkie she had found on the killer. Jiang Huashan knew very well that she didn’t yet have the ability to trace the person behind it just from this device, so she decisively chose to hand it over to Shen Zhuang.

But doing so also meant, in a way, admitting that she was the one who killed him.

Shen Zhuang noticed her gaze and smiled as he patted her shoulder. “It’s fine. Grandpa’s here.”

There was an unspoken weight behind those words.

Jiang Huashan hesitated. “That’s it? You’re not going to ask me anything about what happened this time?”

She had actually prepared herself to face interrogation the moment she woke up.

Shen Zhuang chuckled. “What’s there to ask?”

Jiang Huashan: “Like… why I was so certain something would happen to Sui’er, why I insisted on jumping down to save her?”

Shen Zhuang didn’t think there was anything strange about it. He blurted out, “Because you’re a good child.”

Jiang Huashan froze slightly. “Or… why no one else could find Sui’er, but I could?”

Without hesitation, Shen Zhuang replied, “Fate. Some things can’t be explained by fate.”

“And… why I knew how to shoot?”

Shen Zhuang said, “Because Grandpa taught you. Xiaohua’er learned very well.”

Jiang Huashan’s gaze trembled violently as she looked at him in disbelief.

Grandpa was lying.

He had never taught her how to shoot. That was something she had learned in her past life from Zheng Song.

Grandpa couldn’t possibly not remember.

So he was protecting a secret she could never speak aloud.

Jiang Huashan’s eyes reddened slightly. “Before I jumped down, I took the gun from Steward Shen and said a lot of harsh things to Shen Lanxi.”

At the time, everyone thought she had lost her mind—but now, looking at the outcome, a smart person would realize how suspicious all of it was.

Shen Zhuang smiled faintly. “Grandpa knows. That’s your ‘persona’, don’t you remember? Grandpa said before—not only will Grandpa play along with you, the entire Shen estate will play along too.”

Jiang Huashan was stunned.

So it wasn’t that they didn’t know something was wrong—it was that even if she was “wrong,” they chose to trust her unconditionally.

Shen Zhuang gently touched her forehead. “Grandpa doesn’t ask about the process, only the result. The result is that you brought Sui’er back—that’s enough. You are a good child, and that’s enough. A brave and kind child deserves praise, not suspicion.”

Only then did Jiang Huashan understand why she had dared to act so wildly in front of Shen Lanxi.

That confidence had come from Shen Zhuang.

In her previous life, she had been infamous. Framed by Fang Mei, she ended up on Shen Lanxi’s bed. Shen Lanxi despised her, and the Shen family looked down on her—only the old man, upon learning that she truly loved Shen Lanxi, chose to fulfill her wish.

Shen Lanxi wasn’t without resistance, but Shen Zhuang—who had always indulged him—had, for the first time, used iron-fisted methods to force him into submission. Because of this, the relationship between Shen Lanxi and Shen Zhuang developed cracks. No matter how hard Shen Lanxi tried, he couldn’t understand why his beloved grandfather insisted on forcing him to marry a woman he didn’t love—and one who was full of schemes and malice.

And in this lifetime, even when faced with so many things that didn’t add up, Shen Zhuang still chose to trust her without hesitation.

If she was Fu Sui’er’s salvation from bondage, then Shen Zhuang was the only lighthouse in her dark life. Everything she had now that could reflect light outward—all of it came from the gift of that lighthouse.

Knock, knock, knock—

A knock sounded at the door.

Shen Zhuang gently patted Jiang Huashan’s hand and slowly sat back down in his chair. “Come in.”

As soon as he spoke, Shen Qian walked in with a large group of people behind him.

“Dad.”

“Grandfather.”

Everyone respectfully greeted the old man first, then turned their attention to Jiang Huashan.

At this point, she was the hero of the Shen family—not only because she had single-handedly rescued Fu Sui’er, but more importantly, because she had made the old man stay by her bedside all night personally. In the past, the only person who had ever received that kind of treatment was the young heir, Shen Lanxi.

Shen Qian maintained his polite, refined demeanor as he discreetly studied Jiang Huashan. His tone was gentle.

“You’re awake? We didn’t scare you, did we?”

Shen E was the most socially adept. She stepped forward with a pot of nourishing soup she had prepared at home.

“Are you hungry? We didn’t know what you liked, so we just made something simple. Have a little? Next time, tell Auntie what you want to eat, and I’ll have it made for you.”

Jiang Huashan wasn’t shy at all. Her eyes lit up as she looked at Shen E.

“Really? Anything is fine?”

Shen E glanced at Shen Zhuang and smiled kindly.

“What are you talking about, child? Would I joke with you?”

Jiang Huashan said, “I heard from my mom that Auntie has a wild ginseng king. Ever since I woke up, I’ve felt this strange weakness in my chest. I heard ginseng is good for replenishing energy.”

Shen E’s smile almost cracked.

She actually dared to ask for that? That ginseng was worth three million.

Seeing her hesitation, Jiang Huashan pouted.

“Forget it. My mom said Auntie once called me low-born and said I wasn’t blessed enough for it anyway. I guess I really don’t deserve it. I shouldn’t have wished for it. I’ll just have some duck blood soup instead.”

“……”

The entire ward fell into an eerie silence.

Shen Zhuang frowned, his expression darkening.

“You really said that?”

Shen E looked awkward. She had indeed insulted Fang Mei in the past, but did she really say those exact words? She couldn’t even remember.

Shen Zhuang gave a cold snort and pointed at Shen Zhi.

“Wasn’t a ginseng sent by Old Zhou a few years ago?”

Shen Zhi froze, then nodded.

“Then stew it,” Shen Zhuang said flatly.

“Dad!” Shen E’s face turned pale in disbelief.

That ginseng had been a 60th-birthday gift from the Zhou family, worth at least 13 million. That wasn’t even the point—the real issue was that the old man was clearly favoring Jiang Huashan. Wasn’t this a slap in her face?

“Grandfather.”

At that moment, a lazy, teasing voice came from within the crowd.

“I’ve been feeling kind of weak lately too. Since it’s already being stewed, you’re even giving it to outsiders—why not save a bowl for your dear grandson~?”

Huh? Someone’s being cheeky?

Jiang Huashan looked up—and met a pair of faintly smiling phoenix eyes.

The young man’s brows were unruly, his gaze sharp and hidden like a blade.