Chapter 80 Chapter 80 Plot/Sophia/This Social...

“Dang—”

In the study of Blossom Manor, a porcelain cup suddenly smashed to the ground and shattered into pieces. The fragments splashed on Sophia, but she hung her head and did not move.

Archbishop Gryffin had a gloomy expression on his face, and behind him were two black-robed believers, who were the leaders of the Mechanical Society from last time.

"The feast of the dead is over, and the church renovations are imminent. And now you're telling me you haven't even collected half the ransom money?!"

Sophia pursed her lips tightly, letting the blood seep out of the wound on the back of her hand, while still maintaining a humble tone.

"Your Excellency, you've probably heard about the situation in Kent County. The White family has united with more than half of the companies to break their technological monopoly, making it difficult to extract ransom money from them."

Gryffin took two steps forward, staring at Sophia and sneering, "If they can't give it to you, then you have to give it to them."

Sophia clenched her fingertips beneath her sleeves.

"Sophia, don't forget why the church is helping you. You're incompetent, and losing to your opponents is your own fault." Gryffin raised his chin, a deep look in his eyes. "Anyway, I'll give you another month. If the money doesn't reach the church account after that month, you know what will happen."

The atmosphere in the room suddenly froze, leaving only the crackling sound of firewood in the fireplace.

These words hit Sophia's heart like a heavy hammer, and she had to mobilize all her endurance to maintain a calm expression.

Sophia gritted her teeth, smiled at the bishop, and nodded, "Yes, sir. I will raise the money in a month."

Gryffin snorted coldly and turned away with the believers.

The oppressive feeling only eased a little when the heavy door was closed.

In the corridor, Lisa pushed Adam out slowly. The two watched the archbishop's back disappear at the stairs, then turned to look at the study.

The door was not closed tightly, and a crack appeared. Adam looked up at his mother.

In the room, Sophia still kept her head down, half of her face buried in the shadows, her jawline tense, as if she was thinking about something.

There is no free lunch in the world. Sophia was able to escape from Isabel seemingly because of Philip, but in fact, she was relying on the church.

Philip looks honest and simple, but he is actually very cunning. He is willing to marry Becky because Sophia has the connection with the Temple of Galan.

The Queen is in her prime, and no one knows how long she will remain in power. Philip and his paternal family do not think the Queen has any special favor for this "first heir."

The struggle for royal power was full of surprises; four or five kings had been guillotined. To gain more leverage, Philip had to win over the church and, ideally, secure the crown prince's position.

Sophia appears at the right time and uses her daughter Becky as a tool to build a marriage bridge between the church and Philip. Philip saves Sophia, which means he saves himself.

Of course, Sophia's bargaining chips did not come for nothing. The close relationship she established with the church was also achieved through the exchange of interests.

Initially, the northern industrial region wasn't as prosperous as it is today. The market was limited, and the church's profits were small. After all, any industry needs fresh capital to keep the money flowing and expand.

The Brusen family, the leading family at the time, was the one Sophia exploited. Brusen wanted fame, Sophia wanted money, so she used the same tactics to play the game again.

On the one hand, they married into the Brusen family and used Adam's noble status to exchange for money; on the other hand, they handed the money over to the church and obtained relaxed policies from the church, allowing Brusen to have the endorsement of both the nobility and the church and attract more small factory owners to develop.

Brusen made money and promoted the church's technology to more factory owners. The factory owners made money, which attracted more speculators to gather in the north. To a certain extent, Haddonfield's development as a center of wealth was inseparable from the development during this period.

The church gained both fame and fortune, and its status steadily improved, so it was naturally willing to continue using Sophia as its spokesperson. With the church as her backing, Sophia could not only control Brusen but also have the bargaining power with Philip.

Everyone in this group is closely connected because of Sophia. When things are stable, everyone gets what they need and everyone is happy.

Once a crack suddenly appears in any link like it is now, it will lead to collapse.

There were footsteps in the corridor, and old Brousson hurried in, his face pale and lacking his usual spirit. He glanced at his granddaughter and grandson-in-law at the door, ignored them, and knocked on the study door.

"The church is pressing so hard, why don't you pay the money and resume operation of the factory?" Old Brousson said in a stiff tone, throwing the approval document on the table. "Starting work now can at least make up for half of the shortfall. You can use your old friendship with the bishop to discuss and make up the other half later."

Sophia glanced at the document and said nothing.

Brusen's face turned pale and he took a deep breath. "Now that you are the master of the Brusen family, and you have watched it collapse, do you still have any leverage in front of the church?"

These properties are the old man's hard work. Even if he is forced to give them to Sophia now, he cannot bear to see his family business completely ruined.

Sophia finally moved. She walked to the sofa and sat down. She picked up a handkerchief and wiped the blood on the back of her hand while slowly tearing the document into pieces.

Brusen: “?!”

Lisa outside the door felt her blood boiling and she looked at Adam.

"There's no need to open those crappy factories of yours." Sophia said in a cold voice, throwing scraps of paper into the air.

"What did you say? A crappy factory?" Brusen sneered. "Have you forgotten how much money these crappy factories have made for you?"

"Time is running out now, and I can't waste the little money I have left here."

"Oh, do you really want to make back your money with interest within a month? There's no such huge profit in the world, unless you go gambling!"

"Yes, it's a bet." Sophia didn't even raise her eyes, her dark pupils showing no sign of concealing her anger. She spoke each word with a raised voice, "Listen, I want to bet!"

Brusen was stunned by that terrifying look.

For a moment, he thought Sophia was a lunatic.

"I've been a complete failure since I came to Kent." Sophia forced a smile, her beautiful face half covered in shadow. "Is it enough to earn back the redemption money, go back to grovel before that old bastard Gryffindor, and start over as a dog?!"

She laughed softly, "Not enough, of course not enough..."

"If you want to gamble, you have to bet big. If you want to win, you have to make a complete comeback." Sophia's eyes suppressed madness, but her voice was strangely sweet. "Hasn't it been like this all along? Betting small to win big. I've never lost..."

Brusen subconsciously took two steps back, feeling a chill in his heart for no reason.

"What do you want to do?" he asked cautiously.

Sophia sat back down, her whole body like a ghost who had put her painted skin back on, regaining her former gentleness. She raised her eyes and slowly uttered the word: "Shipping."

Sea shipping?!

Brusen was stunned, and the couple at the door were also stunned.

"You want to emulate the red-haired Heslan girl from the mechanical conference the other day?" Brusen sneered. "The shipping routes are already saturated with trade. Do you still think you can make huge profits?"

Sophia chuckled and said slowly, "What if it's a new route?"

Brusen froze again, and this time his silence lasted longer.

There are only two ways to make huge profits from new sea routes. One is to get lucky and discover the New World like Lumbu did.

Brusen didn't think Sophia was crazy enough to explore the New World, so it could only be the second option.

"You want to open a route to the Far East?" He heard his own voice become heavy. "Sophia, I admire your vision. Yes, this is indeed the most likely way to make huge profits, but you're not the only smart person. Do you think others don't want to have a piece of this cake? They don't eat it because they can't get it!"

Sophia slowly raised her eyes, her expression turning cold.

That look made Brucen feel a chill down his spine, but the old man still looked at her stubbornly.

"Richard, do you think you have the right to question my decision?" Sophia looked down at Brousson without even pretending. "Go ahead and do it. Don't make me say it a second time."

Brusen opened his mouth, but in the end he just deflated and walked out of the study with his head down.

Outside the door, Adam looked at the old man's dejected back and paused for a long time.

Of course Sophia knew that her son had been guarding there, but she didn't look at him.

Adam was familiar with such mothers.

When outside, he would put on various masks, either passionate or gentle, and move around in the world of fame and fortune.

When I get home and face the tools I have used, I won’t show any emotion, not even anger.

People like Sophia have no time for anger.

All her energy is focused on climbing, just like now.

"Let's go." Outside the door, Lisa patted her husband's shoulder.

Adam was silent for a moment, then gently shook his wife's hand and said, "Okay."

The couple returned to the bedroom, and Lisa massaged her husband's knees, but she looked dazed.

Adam looked at his wife's profile and sighed silently.

The Brusen family spent this Christmas in a gloomy mood. Despite the sumptuous dinner, no one in the family had a smile on their face.

The cold and terrible mother-in-law has completely become the owner of the Brusen industry. Today, she witnessed her grandfather's frustration. How could Lisa not feel uncomfortable?

They were married for the sake of profit, and if Adam did anything wrong, Lisa would naturally take her anger out on him. But over the years, he had been a very gentle and kind man.

In fact, apart from his mobility issues, Lisa couldn't find any faults in Adam.

After a long moment, Lisa sighed and murmured to herself, "It would be great if your leg could get better."

Adam was slightly startled.

Lisa realized that she had said the wrong thing and quickly raised her eyes: "No, that's not what I meant, I just..."

"It's okay, even if that's what you meant." Adam stroked his wife's head. "You've suffered a lot while being with me."

Lisa lowered her head and chuckled. "No, I've always coveted your noble status, and I've been flaunting my power as a Countess. I'm a vain woman, and every choice has two sides. Since I've married you, of course I accept everything. You don't owe me anything."

"If you weren't disabled, I'm afraid your popularity in Mellenwick would be comparable to that of the Duke of Spencer." Lisa smiled bitterly, "Then it wouldn't be our turn to make a deal with your mother."

"So, when I said I hope you get better, I was thinking that maybe then, you..." Lisa paused, struggling for a moment before choosing to be honest, "You can replace your mother and become the true master of the Earl's Mansion. Then, Grandpa and I can have a better life."

Adam lowered his eyes.

"I can continue to show off my power by relying on your name." Lisa smiled again and pretended to change the subject lightheartedly. "Well, after Christmas, it's social season again. I don't think anyone will invite our family this time."

She said this, but still ordered the maid to bring the invitations over for inspection one by one.

After all, they were a large family, so they had been invited. However, they were all meaningless occasions, so Lisa quickly ignored them. She paused until she opened the last letter. "Hmm? A letter from Mrs. Moore?"

Adam, who was reading by the bed, paused and raised his eyes calmly.

"Heh, Moore represents White's side, and we don't usually interact with each other. He must want to drag us over to laugh at him!" Lisa said angrily. She was about to throw away the invitation, but a hand stopped her.

Adam appeared behind his wife pushing a wheelchair and took the invitation.

"What? Is there a problem?"

Adam stared at the cursive words "The More Family Respectfully Invites" for a long time.

Deep meaning is reflected in the dark pupils that are exactly the same as those of the mother.

"Let's go to this social dance."

Lisa was stunned.

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The author has something to say: This is just a foreshadowing of the supporting characters’ plot, so watch less tonight, and countdown to Sophia’s offline.

September 10th, 23:00.

Sorry I'm writing this statement tonight and haven't started cooking yet.

The long version is directly linked to wb and sweet potato, so here is a brief version (although not brief):

1. I did not plagiarize or use AI or other tools for writing. I saw related discussions on other platforms and was afraid that not responding would cause trouble.

2. I have never made malicious attacks on any reader. I can say this from the first article in 2022 to now, even if the other party scolds me.

The plagiarism review comment in Chapter 1 [now deleted] is the only one I have ever spoken back to. In other words, except for those who [are not paying and are involved in plagiarism and fusion], I will not speak ill of other readers, especially genuine readers. Even if you think I have something controversial in this regard, I will definitely explain it clearly. I don't want the people I cherish most to have any misunderstandings about me.

3. My response may have been too forceful and seemed to be over-the-top.

Sometimes being too serious can make people think I'm petty. People who hate me won't like me anymore, and may even find more angles to attack me.

I understand all of this, but I still choose to make these things clear.

Because I used the method in the article to think from my protagonist's perspective. What would they do?

I think if I can't be mature, calm, and steady enough to ignore all the controversies, then I shouldn't pretend to be indifferent. I should openly admit my sensitivity, my cautiousness, and my concern for principles.

After quitting his job, he insisted on publishing this hidden joke. He had originally planned to be left out, but unexpectedly, it gained a lot of love from people.

It is no exaggeration to say that you have illuminated my future.

Genuine readers are my bread and butter. You have the supreme status in my eyes, and this is absolutely not a lie.

Later on, I responded to fewer and fewer comments. It wasn’t because I was disrespectful, but because I was a little afraid that if I said something wrong it would cause unnecessary trouble.

In short, I respect and take seriously any opinions or criticisms you raise.

In other words—

[Authentic readers] Feel free to spit on my head (not really), criticize the plot and writing, and it's all fine. Regarding matters like plagiarism detection, I'll explain them earnestly. This is my responsibility, so don't feel any burden. Apart from my nagging, everything else is fine, and I'm in good shape. I can handle it.

[Non-genuine or non-paying readers] I don't care if you criticize the plot or anything else in the front. I can't control it anyway, so just lie down. But if you make false assumptions and mislead others, I will respond politely.

However, [it’s not genuine and involves plagiarism detection] I lost my manners and just kicked it (Ah!). Although I still deleted it... Oh, it really feels burdened. After thinking about it, I decided to be a shield to protect myself instead of being a spear that is not good at attacking.

Phew, I'm done writing. I feel much better now. Don't worry, everything I need to say is here. There won't be any more long-winded articles in the future. I'll get back to writing!

Happy reading everyone!