Chapter 149: One necklace, many scandals.
Liwu looked around curiously. Fury was still on every face, so no--absolutely nobody cared that it was his own money. And frankly, neither did she. It was a stupid purchase that would put her own husband in the hot seat so yes, she was not happy.
Madam Xu’s voice was raised above the rest. "This is an insult. It is betrayal. Manman knows the spending rules I set for my children and she violated them. She is a snake. She will bleed you dry and leave you."
Liwu raised her hand. "I agree, what you did is absurd. Tomorrow, Weijun’s political enemies will use this to demand some kind of audit. Now that the system wars are over, if he wants to remain in charge of this city after three years, he has to stand for election. This one billion necklace will be used to discredit him."
A drunk Shen Biao shouted from her chair, "What’s this about a billion chickens?"
Everyone froze. Liwu stifled a laugh.
"Not chickens, Biao. A necklace." Yuening clarified.
"A necklace of chickens?" Shen Biao blinked. "That sounds delicious."
While some people were giggling, Weifeng walked out of the meeting. Shock boiled among the relatives, dismay at his disrespect and inappropriate actions.
Voices rose, in agreement with his temporary suspension as CEO of the company. Someone suggested an audit of the books.
Later, Liwu sat with Weijun in the quiet of their living room. "It’s not just the money," she said. "It’s the shame. The whole family looks foolish. That kind of money is a sum used for investment, not to prove undying love."
Weijun sighed. "My brother is blinded. He thinks doing this proves to Manman that she is more important that any of the women he has dates. But all the world sees is greed."
Her voice softened. "I fight criminals and try to make the world make sense for the people who are struggling. You try to balance the scales and create equity in the city. Yet the biggest enemy to our progress is one of own."
He took her hand. "I hope one of them is clever enough to spin this positively or else, it will be a massacre tomorrow."
***
The next morning, the massacre started.
The very first headline Liwu saw on the first newspaper she opened screamed: "Mayor Weijun’s Brother’s Girlfriend Flaunts Billion Yuan Necklace As Residents Complain About Old School Buildings And Busted Sewage Pipes."
Liwu closed the paper, her eyes narrowing. "They are not going after your brother, they are coming after you."
Weijun sighed. Neither was in the mood for breakfast because there was a fire to put out. He left first and she followed, in her own car. As she drove out of the gates, reporters screamed questions.
From the news, which she was watching as she drove, more reporters were camped out at city hall. The billion yuan necklace was a scandal which had spread like wild fire. It was in every paper, national and international.
Meanwhile, Manman, who was smug as a cat had posted a selfie of herself wearing the necklace captioned: "True love shines brighter in the midst of a storm."
Liwu snorted. "True love? The necklace could fund the education budget of this city for ten years or more. She’s mocking us!"
Her watched buzzed, letting her know of the call from her mother. She answered it reluctantly, "Hey mom, is this about the necklace?"
"Elder Zhang called a family meeting to discuss it." Her mother answered, laughter in her soft voice. "I think it’s a ridiculous purchase but it not exactly our problem. I don’t see why we should get involved in it."
"Because your husband is going to dragged into the mess." Her mother answered. "It doesn’t matter that he was not the one who spent the money, he is going to be blamed. I imagine, you have already seen what every newspaper is saying. Nobody is writing about a wealthy CEO that bought his actress girlfriend a billion yuan necklace. They are all writing about his mayor brother and the suffering of the residents of One city."
In the background, her father’s voice came. "I don’t know why we are still calling it One city. It used to be Suzhou and parts of it belonged to Shanghai. I heard that works are in progress to rename it Suzhou. I support that and....’
"Caishen!" Her mother screamed and then she heard a smack. "We are talking about the potential removal of our son-in-law from a seat he earned righteously through hard work. Who cares about the name of the city?"
"But it’s an important fact." Her father argued back.
There was another smack in the background.
"Who is asking for facts, this is an emergency. You are about to tell her what a herd of elephants is called." Her mother scolded.
Liwu sighed. She knew the smacks were not painful, but she also had no doubt that her father looked aggrieved and he was already anticipating the opportunity to report her mother to her parents.
It was like a game they played. When he reported, his father and mother-in-law would pretend to scold their daughter and she would pretend to listen.
"Mom, dad, can you wait until I hung up. I had to sit through one family meeting with the Shen’s yesterday where there was a lot of arguing. I need some peace of mind." She said, and quickly cut the call.
By the time she arrived at the precinct, reporters had beaten her there. Rather than finding Manman and Weifeng, they had come looking for the wife of the mayor.
Even though they did not get an opportunity to question her, her team members did. They were waiting for her in the break room with fists folded like microphones.
"How bad was the situation the Shen family home yesterday?" Linlin asked.
"Did the necklace really cost one billion?" Xuanji asked.
He Xiao Yi shoved them aside. "Did the money come from the company or a public fund meant for city development?"
Su Jin stepped in front of Xiao Yi. "Do you know that there are public officials asking for your husband’s accounts to be audited."
Before she could respond, Weijun’s voice came from the television screen. He was standing on the top step of City hall, behind a podium. Cameras were flashing like a storm. His expression was composed but the tension between his team was palpable.
"I would hate to be that guy right now." Xuanji said, biting into a doughnut. "Can you imagine being blamed for something you were not a part of?"
Linlin also took a doughnut from the box. "The worst part of all this is how oblivious the trouble causer Manman is a acting. If she had any shame, she would just apologize or something."
Chief Abby laughed from the doorway. "For what? She received a gift from her boyfriend, it is not a crime. Billionaires buy islands, planes and give companies as gifts to their wives, husbands, children and other loved ones. Why does nobody come out to question them and accuse them of corruption? I think the Mayor’s opponents are pushing the agenda to oust him from his office."
He Xiao Yi nodded, and so did Liwu. "Still, his brother should have known better." Xiao Yi argued. "If he wanted to give his girlfriend an expensive gift, he should have done it privately. They didn’t have to flaunt it."
Meanwhile, Weijun was already explaining to the press, "I would like to apologize for the unprecedented chaos that this incident has caused. Before I allow any questions, I want it known that no public finds were touched, like some people are speculating. My brother spent his own money. I don’t control his purchases, they are his own. The city’s accounts remain transparent and are open to auditing."
One reporter pressed forward, microphone trembling. "But doesn’t the extravagance of this gift reflect poorly on your administration? If your family members are spending like this in private, what about you? How sure can we be that this wealth is not linked to your office?"
Weijun’s jaw tightened, but his voice remained calm, "Personal choices by family members do not equate to corruption. I am sure everyone here knows someone in their personal life that makes bad financial decisions. My brother is the CEO of the Shen group, so his financial decisions are usually solid. This was an impulse buy to please a woman he loved. I am sure he has bankrupted himself in many ways as a result. The only thing I stand accountable for is the city’s governance which I have excelled at, not for the luxuries my brother chooses to buy."
The barrage continued, "Mayor Weijun, will you open a formal investigation to prove your innocence?"
He leaned closer to the microphone on the podium. "Audits are already routine at city hall. If further inquiry is required, I welcome it. Transparency is not optional--it is the duty of every public official. I am no exception. I live with a detective that once arrested her own uncle for being a public nuisance, if I was doing something questionable, she would have arrested me already."