MWC – Chapter 157 Old Renault’s Arrangement

I AM DROPPING THIS NOVEL. IF ANYONE WANTS TO CONTINUE THEY CAN. IF POSSIBLE PLEASE SHARE THE LINK SO I CAN BINGE READ TOO.

Old Renault died, and in his handwritten will, he admitted to hiring gunmen to assassinate four border commissioners. In his final moments, he apologized to all those he had harmed and to all the citizens of Donghai City.

……

In the high-class member room 388 of the Wind Bao Club, a circle of people was seated.

These were mainly members of the Renault family, including the current Mr. Renault and his wife, Mr. Renault’s sister, two younger sisters, and their husbands.

Additionally, there was Shaff, the will lawyer of the late old Renault.

Lu Ming sat in the corner, unsure why Old Renault’s will announcement required his presence.

This lawyer named Shaff had a remarkably good nature. When he called to invite Lu Ming, he mentioned that the announcement of Old Renault’s will involved Lu Ming and hoped for his attendance.

When Lu Ming said he was unavailable, Shaff, with his extraordinarily good nature, suggested holding the announcement at the Wind Bao Club, and they would all go there.

Thus, this large group of people came to the Wind Bao Club.

Thinking about it, Old Renault’s suicide note, admitting he was behind the assassination of the border commissioners, likely defied the wishes of the Bucklow family.

If Old Renault had only committed suicide without leaving proof, the case might still have remained somewhat unclear.

That Shelfer was a hardliner; although arrested, he remained silent on any questions.

The gunman, though caught alive in Raccoon City, jumped onto the tracks at the train station and was crushed by an oncoming train. Originally injected with a substance that should have left him powerless, he still managed to use his last ounce of strength to jump onto the tracks, proving to be a ruthless character.

However, Gao Ping, who was caught near Power Station 97, had confessed to impersonating Catfish and receiving telegrams from Catfish’s family.

Additionally, the person who delivered money to Catfish’s family was also apprehended.

Their confessions cleared Catfish of any wrongdoing, and since Catfish wasn’t dead to begin with, it further absolved him.

With Catfish cleared, there was no evidence linking the attacks on the five border commissioners to Lu Ming.

But the reason for their attacks remained a mystery, at least based on the current evidence that could be presented in court.

Wiretapped recordings would be difficult to use as solid evidence.

Old Renault’s will confession truly brought the case to light, which was something the Bucklow family wouldn’t want to see.

At least if the case remained unresolved, Lu Ming would need to keep a low profile, avoiding becoming a hot topic.

From this perspective, Old Renault had, to some extent, helped Lu Ming, though it wasn’t particularly necessary.

Shaff’s persistent invitation to attend this will announcement, combined with the sincerity of the Renault family, led to Lu Ming’s attendance at the Wind Bao Club.

Curiosity also played a part; Lu Ming wondered how Old Renault had arranged his will.

In reality, the Renault Group was already on the brink of collapse, likely facing bankruptcy within a few months.

Old Renault’s death interrupted some of Lu Ming’s plans, which might not be entirely bad for the Renault Group.

Sipping his tea, Lu Ming reflected that, during the phone recordings, Shelfer had inadvertently mentioned Bucklow.

However, this didn’t prove much, as “Mr. Bucklow” wasn’t an uncommon name.

It would hardly stand up in court.

Perhaps Bucklow felt it was not worth pursuing further, seeing the matter as concluded.

For Lu Ming, though, everything was just beginning.

After the announcement of Renault’s will, Lu Ming had spoken with Cheng Lingyu and taken over the investigation of Yang Guiren’s suicide, planning to thoroughly investigate the case.

Of course, all this was kept confidential.

His office, from the Grand Prosecutor’s Office, had taken over a dozen old unsolved cases, appearing to develop an interest in challenging cases. Commissioner Lu Qianxing’s office was now tasked with re-investigating old unsolved serious crimes.

But his true focus was the Yang Guiren suicide case.

“Mr. Lu Qianxing, are you listening?”

Shaff was extremely courteous, his gentle tone and harmless face making it hard to get angry with him.

“Yes, I am listening,” Lu Ming nodded.

“Good, now I will read the will of Baron Hebrew Renault. This will was handwritten by Baron Hebrew Renault and is entrusted to Lawyer Shaff for safekeeping and execution.”

“Baron Hebrew Renault has distributed his estate as follows: The mansion on Leiden Road in the West District will be inherited by his eldest daughter, Frida Renault.” Shaff paused, looking at Frida. “Miss Frida, Mr. Renault asked me to convey that he regrets you didn’t spend much time visiting him when he was alive. He hopes that by leaving you the mansion, you will be reminded of his image and presence.”

Frida, older than Shaquille Renault by a year and a middle-aged noblewoman, remained silent, her face pale.

Shaff continued reading the will, assigning bank deposits, stocks, and several properties to the second daughter, evidently more practical than what was left to the eldest daughter. The second daughter’s husband discreetly clenched his fist in excitement.

“And to my beloved youngest daughter Jennifer, my dear Jennifer, you agreed to my most shameless request, and now I ask for your forgiveness. I love you, and I leave you my private Star Mall and all my real estate, including our family land in the capital. You can sell the properties for cash, but the family land must be kept. My dear Jennifer, your father loves you!”

“I don’t believe it!” Frida suddenly stood up. “I don’t believe my father would be so biased!”

It was understood that the group’s shares would go entirely to Shaquille Renault, the chosen heir, but the remaining estate was unfairly distributed.

Frida’s husband, Johnson, a dandy dressed fashionably, stood up angrily. “We demand verification of Mr. Renault’s handwriting!”

Shaff looked at Frida with a smile. “Miss Frida, do you share this view?”

Frida frowned and glared at Johnson, evidently fearing Shaff, and shook her head. “I just think my father is too biased!”

Shaff nodded. “What I just read were Mr. Renault’s personal words to Miss Jennifer. Next is the formal distribution of Miss Jennifer’s inheritance. The list is as follows…”

He began to read.

Frida’s face became increasingly ugly, and she glared viciously at her younger sister.

Lu Ming shook his head, looking at Jennifer, who had been wiping her tears all along. Jennifer was Renault’s youngest daughter, a few years younger than the young Renault, around fifteen or sixteen. It was obvious she had received a good noble education, wearing a pure and beautiful white gauze dress, lace white socks paired with pearl-heeled black leather sandals, looking extremely elegant and timid. Now, with tears in her eyes, her chocolate-colored long hair, deep blue eyes, and delicate features made her seem like a weak little bunny, now crying like a teary mess.

From the content of the will, the inheritance old Renault allocated to her was quite substantial, with over a dozen properties.

As for the Starlight Mall left to her, its scale was much larger than Liu Laocai’s New Era Mall, being one of the most luxurious malls in the city’s new development area.

“Next is the inheritance and distribution of Renault Group’s shares.”

Everyone immediately perked up their ears, including Frida, who knew there was little hope but still harbored a slight chance that her father might have been confused or that he might have cared for her deeply in his heart, hoping to hear her name.

“Baron Hebrew Renault recently sold most of his shares in other companies and repurchased shares in Renault Group. Currently, he holds 59.31% of Renault Group’s shares.”

“Of this, 29.31% is given unconditionally to Mr. Lu Qianxing…”

Before he could finish, the eldest daughter Frida, her husband Johnson, and the second daughter and her husband all jumped up, “This is impossible! The will must be fake!”

“Shaquille! Are you deaf? Why aren’t you saying anything!” Frida angrily looked at her brother.

Shaquille Renault was expressionless, “I was there when father changed the will, and he personally told me about these changes.”

“What?!” Frida was stunned.

“Miss Frida, Miss Second Daughter, please wait until I finish reading the will before raising any objections.”

Shaff said calmly, completely ignoring the two sons-in-law.

Frida and her sister exchanged glances, then both gave their husbands a look and sat down in a huff.

Shaff continued to read, stating that the remaining 30% of the shares would belong to Shaquille Renault.

In addition to the 5% of shares Shaquille already held, he would own a total of 35% of Renault Group.

However, old Renault required that the voting rights of Shaquille’s shares be handed over to Lu Qianxing.

Such a request in the will had no legal effect, but old Renault asked Shaquille, “Son, you promised me, right?”

At this point, Shaff paused as Shaquille Renault was in tears, “Yes, father, yes! I promised you, I promised you!”

Next, there were some miscellaneous assets and affairs handled, which Shaff read for another ten minutes.

“Alright, I have finished reading the will. Please review it!” Shaff first handed the will document to Frida, “Miss Frida, please review it!”

Frida bit her lip, glaring at the will as if she wanted to tear it apart right now.

Lu Ming, who had been sitting blankly, suddenly stood up, “Forget it! You want me to work like a dog for your family? Are you crazy? Dream on!”

He looked up, “Old Renault, you are truly insane. I won’t hold your sins against you because the dead should be respected, but you want me to work for your Renault family? You couldn’t defeat me in life, and now you’re laughing from the grave? You are too cunning!”

The Renault family was stunned, including Shaff, who was shocked by this turn of events. They never expected Mr. Lu, who had suddenly gained a third of Renault Group and was set to become its future leader, to react like this.

“I don’t want it, Lawyer Shaff, right? I don’t want these shares. If I have to go through the procedures to give them away, you handle it for me. As soon as it’s done, transfer all of them back to Shaquille Renault! Any taxes or fees, you handle it. Count me out!”

Shaff smiled wryly, “Mr. Lu, please calm down. Mr. Renault still had some arrangements that I haven’t mentioned yet.”

Lu Ming waved his hand, “No need to say anything. You should know the current situation of Renault Group. How many problems will it face next? If I were to attack from the outside, it wouldn’t be hard to bring down Renault Group right now. But I think enough is enough. I hope to end all grudges with the Renault family. From now on, whether Renault Group lives or dies has nothing to do with me. I’m already doing enough by not hitting you when you’re down!”

Frida and her husband, as well as the second daughter and her husband, didn’t know who this Central State man was, only that he was a famous lawyer.

But hearing his words and seeing that neither Shaquille nor Shaff objected, with Shaquille even looking dejected and somewhat intimidated by this man, Frida and the others exchanged glances, realizing this man could indeed decide their group’s fate.

Frida and the others’ attitude towards Lu Ming immediately changed.

Jennifer, on the other hand, looked tearfully at Lu Ming, wiping away her tears.

“Mr. Lu, Sir Renault also asked me to tell you that he doesn’t expect you to treat Renault Group as your own business, only hoping it could be one of your minor holding companies, under your protection, especially Renault Films. He hoped it could continue.”

“Moreover, Renault Films has many resources you need. It could be a useful supplement to your Nado Films, a strong alliance. With your intelligence and talent, Sir Renault said, within a few years, the biggest film group in the Empire would surely be under your command.”

Lu Ming was helpless, thinking that even after death, old Renault spoke so eloquently.

But upon reflection, old Renault’s words weren’t without reason.

Taking over Renault Group, as long as the current crisis was overcome, would indeed be a help at this stage.

Moreover, the deep-seated feud with the Renault family meant that many Western aristocrats might sympathize with old Renault’s death.

Old Renault’s suicide didn’t add to his reputation.

If he suddenly became the head of Renault Group due to the will, this dramatic reversal could be interesting.

At least, it wouldn’t be a bad thing for him.

As he was pondering, Shaff said, “Now, Mr. Lu Qianxing, Mr. Shaquille Renault, Miss Jennifer Renault, please stay. Everyone else, please step out. The next arrangements of Sir Renault only concern the three of them.”

Catherine stood up first, but her confused expression showed she had no idea what her father-in-law had arranged before his death.

Frida and the others, still in shock from the massive change, had to go back and think about their next steps.

They knew the inheritance of Renault Group’s shares had nothing to do with them, but giving them to an outsider might not be a good thing. They would consult a lawyer to see if the will could be contested or deemed invalid.

In the small hall, only Shaff, Shaquille Renault, Lu Ming, and Jennifer were left.

“Mr. Lu, you can consider the matter of the gifted shares slowly…”

Shaff took out another document.

At this point, the sofa beside Lu Ming moved slightly. Turning his head, he was surprised to see Jennifer cautiously walking over, sitting gently beside him, her small hand in a white lace glove lightly pinching a bit of his coat, tears in her eyes, “Sir, please grant my father’s request, I beg you…”

The beautiful and gentle noble girl, now timidly looking at him, her delicate face full of pleading.

Elegant white gauze dress, lace white socks, little leather shoes, beautiful chocolate long hair covered by a small silver noble hat, her pretty face full of earnestness, teary eyes.

Lu Ming was speechless. What was this?

On the other side, Shaff continued, “Mr. Lu, you can consider the gifted shares slowly. Sir Renault also had other arrangements.” He paused and coughed, “Sir Renault wishes to marry Miss Jennifer to you as your concubine. The inheritance she received would be her dowry according to Central State customs. Miss Jennifer is fifteen this year, so she would be your fifteenth concubine. Miss Jennifer has agreed to this before Sir Renault’s death.”

“Miss Jennifer, will you go back on your word now? You can refuse.” Shaff looked at Jennifer, his eyes showing sympathy and regret.

Jennifer shook her head lightly, whispering, “I… I won’t go back on my word.” Her tone carried a hint of determination.

Lu Ming was already dumbfounded.

He understood old Renault’s intentions, which were like ancient emperors sacrificing daughters for the empire’s peace.

Old Renault hoped to use his daughter to gain Lu Ming’s support and care for his son.

However, he clearly misunderstood Central State customs, thinking the order of concubines represented status. So, making her the fifteenth concubine was meant to reassure Lu Ming that she wouldn’t seek favor and would dutifully take her lowest-ranking role.

Old Renault’s move was quite ruthless.

No wonder this little Jennifer’s gaze had been different upon seeing him, probably having a kind of resolve to face a beast.

“This is ridiculous!” Lu Ming stood up, “The part of the will involving me, I will consider carefully. But what you just told me, I didn’t hear it, and don’t bring it up again.”

“Let’s go! I won’t stay here any longer.”

He turned and left.

Little Jennifer, teary-eyed, looked at his back, her little hand letting go of the corner of his coat.

Seeing Shaquille standing still in silence, Jennifer suddenly knelt in front of him, “Sir Lu, I beg you, please stay. I’ll be good, very obedient, and won’t trouble you. My father…father…”

She sobbed as she spoke.

Lu Ming’s heart softened a bit but remained silent. He had seen many women in his life, though none were so sincere. But he knew little about her and her intentions.