Chapter 42

"Hey, Second, how are you feeling?" As Li Xu knocked and entered the study, his father, standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, greeted him immediately.

"Pretty good, it's quite lively." Li Xu shrugged and then turned to the elderly man standing beside him: "Hey, Godfather, thank you for coming to my birthday party."

"How could I miss my godson's coming-of-age ceremony?" The elderly man, who was a year or two older than Old Edward, smiled kindly. "That piano piece was well-played, although it might not be to everyone's taste."

"Thanks, that's a great comfort to me," Li Xu said with exaggerated tone.

"You should have played 'Pachelbel's Canon in D Major' instead," Old Edward interjected.

"First, I only have two pieces I'm proficient in; second, most people have already heard my 'Canon,' Dad!" Li Xu gave his father a disapproving look.

"Well, you two can chat slowly. I'll leave first." Randolph Hearst, who had been watching them with amusement, shook his head and said.

But after a few steps, he stopped and turned to Li Xu: "Oh, right, Pipon, Eddie has my investment advisor's phone number. If you're really interested in Disney, you can contact him directly."

"Thanks, Godfather." Li Xu immediately put on a grateful expression.

After Randolph left, Li Xu let out a sigh and tilted his head to look at his father: "You've already talked to Godfather?"

"Of course, it's his birthday gift." Old Edward shrugged.

"Godfather is really a good person." Li Xu sighed with some exaggeration.

Well, he was just joking with his father. In the Hearst family, Randolph was indeed quite gentle and refined. He was lower in the line of succession, not fond of seeking the limelight, and enjoyed literature and art. His five daughters, influenced by him, had also achieved success in the arts.

Li Xu had a good impression of him, even better than of John F. Kennedy Jr., after all, in this life, he was on the side of the capitalists, even if his mother liked to read certain collections.

"But Godfather doesn't seem particularly happy. Is it still about Percy?" he asked.

"Yes, Carter pardoned Percy, but the charges are still there," his father sighed, a rare occurrence. "You know how complicated the Department of Justice's procedures can be."

Li Xu guessed he originally wanted to say how "fucking" complicated it was, because in the United States, once someone is convicted, overturning the conviction becomes almost impossible.

This involves the police who handled the case, the prosecutors who brought the charges, and the judges who handed down the verdict, among many others. If the case were overturned, all these people would be held accountable. So ordinary people can't shake this chain of interests, even if they have enough evidence to prove the defendant's innocence.

Of course, if the top layer of the pyramid were involved, it wouldn't be impossible, as long as the backroom deals were effective. But the problem is, if this layer were involved in a major case, they would be exonerated from the start and wouldn't be convicted.

This isn't to say the Hearst family isn't at the top, but Patricia Hearst was caught robbing a bank with a gun in broad daylight, and it was even filmed. At the time, Stockholm Syndrome wasn't recognized.

To put it simply, Patricia Hearst is Li Xu's godfather Randolph Hearst's third daughter, a very quiet girl.

Then, the Bay Area of San Francisco in the 1970s was a crazy place, with various radical left-wing organizations everywhere, after all, it was the hub of the LGBTQ+ community.

Next, a self-proclaimed left-wing organization called the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) kidnapped Patricia in February 1974, making a series of demands to the government and the Hearst family, such as releasing political prisoners or using money to buy food for the poor.

The former was impossible, and the latter, the Hearst family provided $2 million to buy food and distribute it, almost causing a stampede, but the SLA did not fulfill its promise.

After some time, they announced on the radio that a new member had joined, Patricia Hearst, and Patricia, in a video they sent, declared that she had severed ties with her "decadent" family and changed her name.

Later, she was involved in a bank robbery and a raid on a sporting goods store to rescue a member of the organization who had been arrested as a thief, and was finally arrested in 1975.

This incident caused a huge stir, and Patricia was on the cover of various magazines for those two years, bringing shame to the Hearst family.

Finally, the federal government prosecuted and convicted her. As mentioned, Stockholm Syndrome wasn't recognized at the time, so even though she was a victim, she was still sentenced to seven years in prison.

Of course, the Hearst family didn't give up on her. Randolph, despite having five daughters, cared deeply for Patricia, and psychologists confirmed that she had been brainwashed under extreme conditions.

So, after 22 months in prison, the Hearst family managed to persuade Jimmy Carter to grant her a presidential pardon, and Patricia was released from prison in February of last year.

But the matter didn't end there. The charge of armed bank robbery still hung over her, and this experience completely changed her. She eventually married her bodyguard for security.

All of this worried and exhausted Randolph, and it tarnished the Hearst family's reputation. He had always hoped to have her charges dropped, but it was impossible at the moment.

The family wouldn't use all its resources for this, and getting a pardon was already a significant achievement. Randolph was busy calming the family and didn't feel right to ask for more.

Moreover, it had only been a year since the pardon, and there were already negative reactions, with people accusing the Hearst family of interfering with the judiciary. This year was an election year, and Carter's situation wasn't good. He wouldn't do anything that might cost him points, which is why Randolph still looked worried at his godson's coming-of-age ceremony.

"Didn't you tell Godfather that Carter will definitely be out of office?" Li Xu asked at this point.

"It's only May, the primaries haven't even ended, and it's at least six months before the final results are known," his father replied.

Li Xu wanted to ask, "Haven't you already decided?" but he thought that such an obvious sense of predestination only existed on the other side of the Pacific. In the United States, everything was always kept secret, wrapped in a layer of sugar, and there were no similar poems to recite, so he let it go.

He mentioned Carter because, generally, before a president leaves office, they would grant targeted pardons. If the Hearst family put in more effort, they might get Carter to drop Patricia's charges before he left office.

But since his father had said that, and Godfather's thoughts didn't represent the Hearst family, it was better to let it go. After all, it wasn't possible now, and in 20 years, Clinton would do the same.

"Alright, let's not talk about this. I didn't call you here to discuss this." His father waved his hand.

"Then what is it? Are we opening gifts?" Li Xu asked with a smile.

"No, that's for later, it's a surprise." His father winked and put on a mysterious look.

"Surprise? Okay, what surprise?" Li Xu didn't believe it and leaned in to observe him for a few seconds: "You should be more restrained, Dad, your eyes are already dark."

"Restrained? What restraint?" Old Edward was confused at first but quickly understood and glared at him: "You know your mother is here."

"That's why I said you should be more restrained," Li Xu smiled, showing some concern, as if he really cared. "I don't care what Mom does, but you should pay attention, right?"

His father narrowed his eyes but didn't say much, just pointed at him: "Alright, you can tease me all you want, but I hope you don't regret it later."

"Oh?" Li Xu raised an eyebrow.

Then, Old Edward walked to the door of the inner room, knocked twice, and the door opened. A beautiful woman in white walked out gracefully.

A simple white coat, a knee-length pencil skirt with wavy pleats, short, wavy, golden-brown hair, clean and neat. Standing 5.8 feet tall, she was very well-proportioned, a perfect model. She stood there, exuding a dignified and elegant aura.

She slightly lowered her head, her hands crossed in front of her abdomen, a bit shy, her gray-blue eyes glanced at Li Xu and quickly looked away, but couldn't resist glancing back, very cute.

No wonder Charles wanted her more. Li Xu sighed inwardly and glared at his father, now understanding what "don't regret it later" meant.

But there was no time to think more, as the beautiful woman raised her hand and waved: "Hi, E... Eddie."

"Hi, Diana, I'm... I don't know what to say." Li Xu put on a surprised and incredulous look.

"I think you two young people have a lot to talk about. I won't disturb you." Old Edward patted Li Xu's shoulder, gave a meaningful smile, and left the study.

Well, unlike his grandfather, his father didn't care who he wanted to marry, as long as they were from the same social class. As long as he truly liked them, he supported it.

Li Xu was glad his father thought this way, but he wished he could be more reliable. Who knows what Diana had heard inside.

"Never thought you'd come, Diana, it's really a surprise." He quickly walked over and grabbed the hands of the Earl of Spencer's youngest daughter.

Diana shyly tried to pull her hand away but didn't resist, letting him hold it: "I... I barely got my father's permission, but Mr. Li hoped I wouldn't tell you temporarily to surprise you at the birthday party."

"But..." Li Xu felt a bit strange and asked, "Don't tell me you just got here."

"Well... not exactly, I've been here for about ten minutes," Diana explained.

"I mean, did you just fly in today?" Li Xu looked at her intently.

"Yes," Diana lowered her head, a bit embarrassed, "I arrived by plane at noon, and I was supposed to come here before the party started, but there was traffic, so I was delayed a bit."