Returning to the hotel, as soon as he entered the room.
A man in a suit walked over and said, "Mr. Li Chonglou, our boss has been waiting for a long time. Please come this way."
Li Chonglou glanced at him, finding him somewhat familiar.
He then remembered seeing him at Ren He's company; he was likely one of her bodyguards.
So, he followed him towards the coffee shop on the first floor.
Indeed, Ren He, dressed in a qipao with her hair styled up, exuding an antique charm and elegance, was sitting inside, sipping coffee.
Seeing Li Chonglou appear, her beautiful eyes lit up, and she rose to greet him.
Her face was full of smiles: "I just found out you returned to Yong'an, Chonglou. I apologize for my negligence."
"You are too kind, Sister Ren. I'm here on business this time, so I didn't inform anyone," Li Chonglou tactfully conveyed that he was occupied and not inclined for idle chatter.
Xu Lie's matter had left him extremely agitated.
Beyond seeking revenge for him, nothing else could lift his spirits.
Not even antiques.
Ren He seeking him out was undoubtedly related to antiques.
In the past, he would have gladly learned more, but now he had no interest whatsoever.
Hearing this, Ren He revealed a wry smile: "Xiao Yun told me the same thing. I didn't want to disturb you."
"But... for this matter, you are the only one I can turn to for help."
Seeing her expression, Li Chonglou ultimately couldn't bring himself to leave immediately.
He asked, "What happened?"
Ren He's beautiful eyes dimmed, and she waved for her bodyguard to leave.
Then, she said in a low voice, "Do you remember the collection you helped me organize last time? My capital chain has been tight recently, and I intended to mortgage most of it to get some cash flow."
"But unexpectedly, they were all swapped out."
"If these items aren't recovered, I will face bankruptcy and lose everything."
"I know you are resourceful, Chonglou. Please help me..."
As she spoke, her delicate hand reached out and rested on the back of Li Chonglou's hand.
She leaned forward slightly, a unique fragrance entering Li Chonglou's nostrils, intoxicating him.
Although Ren He was in her thirties, her figure, appearance, and demeanor were all top-tier.
She exuded an aura of intellectual elegance.
This action couldn't help but make Li Chonglou's heart skip a beat. It was a hint that if he helped her, their relationship could progress further.
For the helmswoman of an enterprise to resort to such measures showed how desperate she must have been.
Unfortunately, Li Chonglou was not one to be seduced.
He calmly withdrew his hand and did not reply immediately, choosing to consider the situation.
"Chonglou, if you help me, just name your price," Ren He urged, unable to fathom Li Chonglou and resorting to this tactic out of desperation.
"Don't rush. Tell me the whole story," Li Chonglou replied noncommittally.
Ren He then showed a hint of joy and recounted the entire process.
She admitted that her greed had led to this situation.
Her business had been relatively stable, but she was set on taking advantage of the poor economic climate to snap up land.
However, as soon as policies changed, her company was thrown into turmoil.
Banks demanding repayment, suppliers chasing debts – these two alone had made her overwhelmed.
With no other recourse, she decided to use the antique collection. Through an acquaintance, she found a prominent boss who claimed to want to take it all.
She had been cautious and didn't hand over everything, only more than half.
The most valuable pieces were actually kept.
After that person paid a portion of the deposit, he requested to leave the antiques with him for appraisal.
This was against regulations, and Ren He, being a player herself, naturally didn't want to agree to such terms.
But the crisis was imminent, and in a moment of foolishness, she agreed.
Who would have thought that a week later, they would return the goods, claiming all the antiques were high imitations, and refusing even the deposit.
She couldn't detect any issues, thinking they had simply changed their minds. Since the intermediaries were all familiar, she could only let it go.
However, a few days later, a master saw her collection and declared them all to be exquisite imitations.
This thoroughly frightened her. She had him examine them closely, and indeed, they were all expertly forged.
She couldn't find the people involved anymore.
"Is the intermediary still around?" Li Chonglou asked after listening.
This was a classic case of a "cat for a prince," swapping genuine items for fakes. In just a week, Ren He's more than thirty collectibles had been replaced.
The scale of this operation was immense.
Without being very familiar with her, her collection, and having a powerful forgery syndicate, such a feat would be impossible.
There was an inside informant in this matter.
Li Chonglou had no inclination to help her, but he could offer some guidance.
As for the outcome, that would be of no concern to him.
"Yes, yes, he's a broker from your Qin Zhou, named Huang Yongshou..." Ren He quickly nodded. "The boss he introduced was named Deng Chao."
"Damn!" Li Chonglou cursed inwardly.
It was that scoundrel. No wonder he was lingering in Yong'an a few days ago and he had seen him at the Han Palace.
It made sense that she was deceived since she was connected to him.
Moreover, this Deng Chao was none other than one of the many aliases of Tian Shan, whose investigations had already revealed.
Ren He's situation occurred after the Xingzhi Group was investigated and Lü Yunxu was attacked. This beast Tian Shan actually resorted to deception; it seemed he was at his wit's end.
Truly, the shoes were worn out from searching everywhere, but it was found effortlessly.
"Wait a moment." Li Chonglou took out his phone and dialed Huang Yongshou's number.
He asked, "Are you still in Yong'an?"
"Yes, yes, yes. Mr. Li, are you looking to have a drink with old Huang?" Huang Yongshou replied with a fawning smile.
"I'd like to treat you to coffee. The first floor of the Han Palace, come now!" Li Chonglou said, then hung up the phone.
Ren He's beautiful eyes lit up with joy, and she said admiringly, "You are truly resourceful. Xiao Yun told me you are now the president of the Qin Zhou Antique Association. Seeking you out was the most sensible choice."
Li Chonglou remained unfazed. He didn't dislike Ren He.
However, like all successful businesspeople, this woman was driven by profit.
For it, she would even sacrifice herself. Whether it was genuine or strategic, she treated those who benefited her as honored guests and had no dealings with those who didn't.
In this regard, Xiao Yun was much the same.
For them, it was all about the most practical value.
Li Chonglou knew his value was quite precious to them, which was why they treated him as an honored guest and were eager to associate with him.
If he were still just a useless son-in-law as before, no one would have spared him a glance.
Of course, this was the norm for most ordinary people.
Truly being able to see through this and treat everyone equally was extremely rare.
Even he couldn't always achieve it, so what right did he have to demand it of others?
Both of them had things on their minds and remained silent until Huang Yongshou arrived excitedly.
However, his expression froze the moment he saw Ren He.
His expression turned awkward: "Ms. Ren... Ms. Ren, why are you here? You didn't notify me in advance."
"Ms. Ren is here to hold you accountable. Come over here!" Li Chonglou pointed to the seat beside him and asked directly, "How much were you involved in Deng Chao's matter?"
Upon hearing Deng Chao's name, Huang Yongshou breathed a sigh of relief and grinned, revealing his teeth. "This matter? I was just the facilitator. It didn't work out in the end, did it?"
"Actually, I don't even know this person. He said a friend introduced me, so I had to come. I was hoping to earn a commission, but it was a wasted trip."
"Fortunately, I met Mr. Li, who let me pick up a bargain."