The vicious female supporting role is posted in the opposite direction by the cub

"What is that?" Jiang Su continued to pretend he didn't understand.

The smile on Catherine Jiang's face vanished completely.

She stared at Jiang Su, her eyes blazing with unbelievable anger and icy scrutiny. "Jiang Su, what do you mean by this?" Her voice was low but sharp. "This isn't what we agreed on before. You've replaced everyone in that section. According to convention, what about the corresponding resource exchange? You swallowed it?"

Third Elder Jiang Su remained seated upright, like a silent iceberg in the hall. Her face was cold and expressionless, her deep gaze shifting calmly from the holographic report in her hands to Jiang Catherine. "The usual practice is the usual practice," she said, her voice flat and even, as if stating the weather, "but this time, the section was personally handed over to me by the young patriarch. The process is different, and the nature is different too."

“Nature?” Jiang Catherine almost laughed in anger. She leaned forward, trying to find a crack in Jiang Su’s machine-like, precise face. “Jiang Su, don’t play word games with me! That sector was in my hands before. I know best how that underground network operated and its connections! By taking over the personnel, you’ve taken over a portion of control over that network. According to our tacit understanding over the years, you should exchange it for the patent agency rights in Northern Europe! This is a balance, an understanding between the elders! Do you want to take it all for yourself?”

Jiang Su's fingers, which had been tapping the table, stopped. She raised her eyes, her gaze deep and unfathomable, as if piercing through Jiang Catherine's anger and focusing on something far away. "Catherine, you're right. You know best how that underground network operates." She paused, her tone still flat and emotionless. "So, why did you entrust it to me, instead of simply dismantling it or handing it over to the Grand Elder? Haven't you considered why?"

Catherine Jiang was taken aback, then sneered, "Why? She just wants to sow discord! That little bit is nothing to me, it's perfect for her to establish her authority. You took it, so you should give me something else in return. This is how we maintain the balance between us. What does a little girl who just got back know?"

"Doesn't she understand?" Jiang Su retorted, his voice carrying a faint, almost imperceptible sarcasm for the first time. "If she didn't understand, how could she have chosen this section so precisely? And how could she have handed it over to me just when you were in a state of panic because that batch of medicinal herbs was seized at the airport?"

Catherine Jiang's expression changed slightly: "You...you know about that batch of medicinal herbs?"

“I don’t know the details.” Jiang Su turned his gaze back to the report, his fingertips tracing a string of data. “But I checked the monitoring system of Yuheng Financial Dark River, and it shows that in the past week, you had three large, unconventional sums of money attempting to transfer to ES Bank through offshore companies, only to have them frozen at the last minute. The source of the funds points to several shell companies in Japan. And that small segment happens to be responsible for a portion of the ‘special logistics’ connections with the Far East.”

She raised her eyes, looking at Catherine Jiang's slightly constricted pupils: "That section may seem insignificant, but it is an important outlet and laundering channel for your 'medicinal herbs' industry chain in China. By taking it away, the young master is essentially strangling your supply chain in China. And you, because the medicinal herbs have been seized, desperately need this channel to divert attention and pressure, and even... to balance the accounts."

Jiang Kaiserlin's fingers unconsciously tightened around the lace trim of her skirt.

Jiang Su is right.

That small sector itself doesn't have a large output value, but it connects to a crucial link in her gray industry chain—transferring and laundering overseas-processed medicinal materials and funds through several seemingly legitimate trading companies on the Chinese border.

Yan Yueqing's move, seemingly casual, actually struck her vital spot with pinpoint accuracy.

What shocked her even more was that Jiang Su could see it so clearly!

"So what?" Catherine Jiang forced herself to remain calm, a sharp glint flashing in her blue eyes. "You figured it out, so you should help me even more! We've been working together for so many years, don't we have enough dirt on each other? If I fall, do you think you can escape unscathed? Don't forget how you covered up that 'accidental' leak at your Nordic renewable energy line last year!"

Faced with the threat, Jiang Su's face remained expressionless, as if what Jiang Catherine said was trivial. "Precisely because I remember, I cannot exchange with you at this time," she said calmly. "The young patriarch giving me the territory is both an order and a test. She wants to know if any of the five elders can still distinguish between family interests and personal interests. Or rather, she wants to know how we will choose when personal interests and family interests conflict."

These are all lies told to appease Catherine.

The real reason is that this sector, along with the channels behind it, can completely revitalize the precision instrument production line that Jiang Su was about to be phased out due to technological barriers, if used properly.

China's demand for high-end medical and scientific research instruments has surged in recent years, but its product line is outdated and lacks compliant channels to enter the market.

This section happens to provide a ready-made, seemingly innocent path to entry.

Regardless of the reason why the young master gave it to her, Jiang Su was overjoyed!

He then emphasized, "She's not trying to sow discord, Catherine. She's redrawing the chessboard."

Jiang Kaiserlin felt a chill run down her spine.

She had always thought Jiang Su was a machine that only knew how to follow orders and lacked flexibility, but she never expected her to see through things so clearly and calculate so meticulously! "You...you really trust her that much? She's only been back for a short time! She's trying to bribe her! She's trying to divide and conquer!"

“Whether it was bribery or not, time will tell.” Jiang Su stood up, looking down at Jiang Catherine with a cold gaze. “But at least she offered a path that would allow the business to survive and benefit the family. What you’ve offered me is only the risk of mutual ruin. Catherine, if you want to regain control of that sector or receive corresponding ‘compensation,’ the person you should be looking for is not me.”

She said clearly, word by word, "It is the young master."

After saying this, Jiang Su no longer looked at Jiang Catherine's ashen face, turned around and left the council hall, his back straight and resolute.

Catherine stood rooted to the spot, her chest heaving violently, her carefully applied makeup unable to conceal the deathly pallor and rage on her face.

Jiang Su, that idiot! That rigid machine! She actually fell for Jiang Xiaoxing's petty favors?! And she even said it was "beneficial to the family"?
What a joke! In the Jiang family, self-interest is the only real thing! What does a mere young girl like the young patriarch know about true power struggles?

No, she can't just accept it like that.

Jiang Su has betrayed her; she must find a new ally. (End of Chapter)