Free The Princeling of Nanjing by Ian Hamilton Page B

don’t get to Lian’s status without being incredibly smart and superbly connected. And you don’t survive for as long as he has without having a highly refined instinct for survival. He’s the kind of man who can anticipate trouble before it has a chance of raising its head and is willing to chop off the head without waiting to see if his instincts were right.”
    “Why would Xu cause him trouble?”
    “He doesn’t have to; Tsai Lian just needs to think Xu’s capable of it. Xu shouldn’t mess with him or, by extension, with his son. Lian would regard any attempt to discredit his son or his family as a direct attack on himself.”
    “I understand.”
    “Good.”
    “But May, I’ve been thinking about what you said at lunch.”
    “I said a lot of things.”
    “Well, one thing you made clear was that I don’t really know much about the deal between Xu and the Tsais.”
    “So?”
    “You sparked my curiosity.”
    “That wasn’t my intent.”
    “I know, but I wouldn’t mind finding out how many companies the Tsai family actually has and who is running what, including which other relatives are in the mix.”
    “Ava!”
    “Don’t panic. I’m not going to run off half-cocked. But I am thinking about it and I am curious.”
    “What did I tell you about how sensitive this situation is?”
    “May, I know how to be discreet, and I know how to keep my head down.”
    “Why bother with it at all?”
    “Well, I’m thinking that if Xu is giving them money, then the likelihood is that they’re doing deals with others.”
    “I’d say it’s closer to a certainty than a likelihood.”
    “It would be interesting to know who they are.”
    “Why?”
    “You never know what you might find,” Ava said with a shrug.
    “That’s the potential problem,” May said. “What if what you find is trouble?”
    “All of the Tsai companies would have to be registered, wouldn’t they?”
    “You’re not listening to me,” May said.
    “I’m listening. I’m just not agreeing.”
    “I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” May said.
    “That won’t stop me thinking about it.”
    “Ava, you just can’t blunder about. You don’t know the system here well enough.”
    “That’s why I’m asking you questions.”
    “You’re making me crazy is what you’re doing.”
    “Look, given our relationship with Xu, we have a stake in this. And I think, like me, you still want us to be doing business with him a year or two from now. I don’t want this drug thing to get him killed or thrown into a Chinese jail.”
    “You’re being dramatic.”
    “Maybe, but don’t forget what organization he’s part of, and don’t start minimizing the danger the Tsai family represents after you’ve just told me so much about it.”
    “Ava, I concede that Xu is in a difficult position, whichever way he turns. What I don’t understand is what you think you can actually do about it.”
    “He needs to find some leverage that will persuade the Tsai family to back off on the lab.”
    “What kind of leverage?”
    “I don’t know. Maybe they’ve been careless somewhere. Maybe I can find a direct link between the Governor and the money. I won’t know until I see it. That’s why I want to take a close look at those companies.”
    “It sounds very iffy to me.”
    “So it should. I have no idea what I’ll find, but I won’t find anything unless I make the effort. If it turns out there’s nothing, then Xu can deal with Tsai Men as best he can and we’ll just hope it works out.”
    May stepped in front of Ava. “If I get involved, you have to actually listen to me and not just pretend to.”
    “I will.”
    “You would have to stay completely under the Tsai family’s radar.”
    “I understand.”
    “That means no direct contact with any of them and no direct contact with anyone who’s one of their partners or works for them. “
    “May, I’ve spent my career following paper trails. They’ll never know I’m