To avoid arousing Lu Zhengqian's suspicion, he personally sought out Pang Wei, the second-in-command of the Pang Group. In the underworld, if Fu Yuanshan was the king, then Pang Lou of the Pang Group was the little king. For many years, they had lived in peace, but with such close proximity, who wouldn't want to take his place?
The Pon family wanted to replace the Fu family, while the second-in-command of the Pon family group also wanted to take over.
He Zhong offered Pang Wei a lot of benefits in order to get Pang Wei to help him, and he was naturally willing to see Fu Yuanshan help him get rid of Pang Lou so that he could completely control the Pang Group.
The two hit it off immediately.
The following morning, Pang Wei posted nude photos of the eldest daughter of the Lu family on the internet and hired a large number of online trolls to fabricate stories.
Although the news was only posted for a short hour before Lu Zhengqian blocked it from the entire internet, the news spread very quickly among entrepreneurs with his social reputation.
In such matters, the authorities cannot respond, as this could escalate the impact. All Lu Zhengqian can do is hire online trolls to prove that the photos are not of his daughter, minimizing the damage.
But now that it has happened, the Chu family couldn't possibly be unaware of it.
The protagonist, who was secretly manipulating everything, locked herself in her room. She knew that He Zhong would use despicable means to ruin her reputation, and she was mentally prepared.
But when all of this actually happened, seeing the vulgar comments online, the photoshopped images of her nude photos, and even the writing of erotic stories, she still felt very, very upset.
Lu Zhengqian rushed back to Yuanhuai Villa and pried open the silent room. The cups, lamps, porcelain vases... were scattered all over the floor, broken and in disarray.
Lu Zhengqian cleared a path and saw his beloved daughter.
In the sweltering summer heat, the air conditioning in the room felt like winter. Gan Tang huddled in the corner between the bed and the wall, wrapped in a thick quilt. Her face was deathly pale, and her lips were purple from the cold.
"Don't come any closer! Don't come any closer!"
"Tang'er, it's Daddy, Daddy's here." Lu Zhengqian knelt down in front of his daughter with heartache.
Gan Tang's unfocused gaze fell on Lu Zhengqian's face, and with a loud wails, she threw herself into his arms and burst into tears.
"Dad, Jiahe doesn't want me anymore, he won't want me anymore!"
Lu Zhengqian hugged his daughter tightly, his eyes flashing with malice: "Dad will avenge you."
Ever since she learned that he was not her biological father, Gan Tang always felt awkward and uncomfortable with such physical contact. She held his shoulders and looked up, her eyes becoming sharp.
"Dad, it was Fourth Uncle, you killed him, killed him!" As she spoke, Gan Tang started sobbing again, "I only hit him once, and he was going to destroy me."
"Tang'er, give your father some time to find out the truth." In Lu Zhengqian's heart, he didn't believe He Zhong would do something so foolish. He had clearly told Lin Shuang that he would benefit from his daughter marrying into the Chu family. And afterwards, he really didn't do anything.
But Lu Zhengqian still promised his daughter, "If it really is him, Dad will definitely kill him."
Gan Tang just stared at him blankly, trying to figure out if what he said was true or false.
Lu Zhengqian asked, "Tang'er, do you remember those photos?"
"I don't know, I don't know!" Gan Tang covered her head with her hands. Although she could tell at a glance that she had given the photos to He Zhong, she dared not say it.
She knew she wasn't particularly smart, and her acting wasn't flawless. The reason Lu Zhengqian never doubted her was because he never considered her a target for suspicion or research.
Once he finds out that his daughter is a scheming person, no matter how flawlessly he tries to cover it up this time, everything he does in the future will be under Lu Zhengqian's watchful eye.
At this moment, Gan Tang finally understood why Mo Huaixing would rather risk his own life to set up a scheme than dare to expose even the slightest trace of it.
"Then let's not think about it anymore, let's not think about it anymore," Lu Zhengqian comforted his daughter with heartache. The most important thing now is not the truth, but how to explain to the Chu family and how to salvage this marriage.
"Tang'er, pack your things properly in a bit, and come with your father to the Chu family."
"I'm not going, I'm not going!" Gan Tang cried out in frustration, punching and kicking him.
A pool of blood appeared on the ground. Lu Zhengqian lifted the quilt and saw that a piece of broken glass was stuck in the sole of his daughter's foot, leaving it bloody and mangled.
"How could you be so careless?" Lu Zhengqian tenderly picked up his daughter and placed her on the bed, personally applying medicine to her. His movements were very gentle; he truly treated her like a precious treasure. Although their blood relation was fake, he was now a very, very good father to her.
Suppressing her discomfort, Gan Tang continued her act: "Dad, Jiahe will marry me, right?"
Lu Zhengqian couldn't answer her question. His children's marriage hadn't been announced to the public, and if the Chu family insisted on breaking off the engagement, he wouldn't dare to confront them head-on. After all, they were a force he couldn't shake no matter how much money he spent.
That evening, when it was completely dark, Lu Zhengqian brought his daughter to the Chu family home.
Chu Mingxuan and Lu Zhengqian were talking in the study when Mrs. Chu took Gantang to her flower room.
"Xintang, those photos..."
"Don't worry, Auntie, it wasn't me." The room was filled with the fragrance of flowers, mixed with the fresh scent of grass, which gradually calmed her tension. Gan Tang pointed to her collarbone, where there was a mole, which had been added later, and now it served as her proof.
"I have a mole here, have you forgotten?" Gan Tang explained with a smile, "I just hired some online trolls to spread some rumors."
Tears welled in her smiling eyes, and Mrs. Chu felt a pang of heartache seeing it. "Rumors are flying everywhere, who cares about the truth? My poor child, you've suffered so much."
Although the couple's marriage was not announced to the public, the invited guests had already received invitations. If they broke off the engagement at this time, the Chu family would inevitably be the subject of gossip. However, the girl in front of them gave them a good excuse, which, although still subject to criticism, could not be blamed.
Seeing that grateful look in her eyes, which was full of lies, Gan Tang couldn't bear it. She hurriedly looked away, but still had to act: "Auntie, it's my fault for making you the bad guys, but I can't let Dad know. He only has one daughter, and if he knew I couldn't have children, he wouldn't be able to bear it."
The two embraced for a long, long time before Gan Tang softly asked, "Auntie, may I go to Jia He's room to take a look?"
At this moment, she could no longer tell whether she was acting out her deep affection or genuinely couldn't bear to part with that man.
Following the quiet path, Gan Tang entered the room where Chu Jiahe had grown up for the first time.
The gray-black decor, under the bright light, didn't feel oppressive at all; instead, it exuded a profound and mysterious grandeur. The room's furnishings were simple and monotonous, the most vibrant element being a flower-and-bird painting hanging on the wall. It was painted by him, the paper yellowed, radiating the unique youthful vigor.
So, the man who said his handwriting was bad was actually a very good painter. Of course, he was good at everything he did; she should have known.
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