Chapter 5 Deception: "Who do you think he is?"
For Qiao Yunzheng, meeting Wen Hong was like pouring a bowl of cold water into a boiling oil pan, leaving her in a complete mess. Fortunately, she didn't have much energy to sort out their relationship, because her good uncle, Qiao Zhenhuai, was keeping a close eye on her without letting up for a moment.
She stayed in Shencheng for less than a week before receiving a call from her mother urging her to return to Kuncheng.
"Ah Zheng, your birthday is the day after tomorrow. Do you want to come back early?" her mother asked cautiously on the phone.
Qiao Yunzheng keenly noticed the unusual tone in her mother's words: "What's wrong, Mom?"
Yao Jing hesitated for a long time before saying, "In previous years, your father... your father would always throw you a birthday party." Speaking of her husband, Yao Jing choked up a little, paused, and then continued, "A couple of days ago, your uncle came to our house. He burned incense for your father and said that now that your father is gone, he wants to throw you a birthday party on his behalf... Mom thinks he was quite sincere this time..."
Yao Jing is the kind of virtuous wife and loving mother in the traditional sense. She is considerate to her husband and loves her young daughter, but she does not have the ability to hold up the sky during times of war and chaos. She will soften her heart with a few pretentious words from others, so much so that she forgets how outrageous the person has been in the past.
Qiao Yunzheng disagrees with her mother, but she can understand her.
She sighed and said, "Okay, Mom, I'll be back tomorrow."
Qiao Yunzheng knew that her uncle's purpose was not so simple. Even if she disagreed this time, he must have a lot of tricks up his sleeve.
Two days later, Qiao Yunzheng dressed up and attended the banquet at the Qiao family's old mansion. The only people accompanying her were Yao Jing, who was genuinely happy, and her best friend Su Ran, who was on high alert.
Many people attended the banquet, including not only Qiao's own relatives and friends, but also many of Qiao's long-standing business partners.
Qiao Yunzheng greeted everyone with her wine glass in hand, and then she saw her cousin Qiao Zhenhuai helping an elderly man walk toward her.
"Qiaoqiao, who's that old man? He looks like someone you don't want to mess with," Su Ran muttered to herself.
Qiao Yun maintained her smile and answered softly, "If I remember correctly, that should be the head of the Qiao family ancestral hall. I met him once at my father's funeral."
Su Ran rolled her eyes: "Old-fashioned."
Qiao Yunzheng roughly guessed Qiao Zhenhuai's intention, and became extremely alert, taking the lead in greeting him: "Uncle Huai, who is this...?"
Qiao Zhenhuai said with a reproachful look, "This child... This is your third great-grandfather, the patriarch of our Qiao family ancestral hall, don't you even remember him?"
He meant that she was being rude. Qiao Yunzheng rolled her eyes inwardly, but didn't show it on her face: "So it's Third Grandfather. Please forgive me. I just haven't had many opportunities to go back to the old house."
Because her father had a daughter, he had suffered a lot of ridicule and sarcasm from the elders in the old house over the years, so Qiao Yunzheng naturally wouldn't treat them very well.
Qiao Zhenhuai was about to reprimand him, but the old man waved his hand and said, "Never mind, he's just a kid, it's normal that he doesn't recognize me."
After some insincere pleasantries, the old man abruptly changed the subject, steer the conversation to the main point: "Your father passed away suddenly, leaving you and your children, a widow, and the huge Qiao family business. Fortunately, the Qiao family is large and prosperous. With your Uncle Huai and several other uncles around, the Qiao family business hasn't fallen into complete chaos..."
Qiao Yunzheng listened quietly without replying.
People came and went around her, clinking glasses and exchanging toasts, but she felt a chill run through her body. Su Ran, holding her arm tightly, was also extremely angry.
Seeing that Qiao Yunzheng didn't respond, Qiao Zhenhuai couldn't help but chime in, "Little Zheng, your uncle has watched you grow up and always treated you like his own daughter. Naturally, I don't want to see you working so hard. Look," he pointed in the direction of the young men standing there, "you're not young anymore, and now that your father is gone, your uncle has to worry about you. Those young men are all promising young men from good families. Take this opportunity to get to know them and see if there's anyone you like. Your uncle will introduce you to someone."
Qiao Yunzheng finally had enough of their hypocritical and disgusting behavior and sneered, "Uncle Huai, the Qiao family is going through a lot right now, and I don't have the energy to think about these things. Let's put everything else aside for now!"
"Nonsense!" The old man beside him glared and interjected, "A young lady like you should get married early and focus on being a good wife and mother. The company's affairs are handled by men like Uncle Huai, why would we need a young girl like you showing your face in public?"
"Hahaha!" Seeing them face off 1v2, Su Ran, who had been holding back for so long, couldn't take it anymore and spoke up: "Grandpa, are you getting old and senile? Should I remind you that it's 2023 already! The Qing Dynasty is long gone! Still using that old-fashioned foot-binding stuff! And you call yourself the patriarch? With a patriarch like you, your family will be finished sooner or later!"
As she spoke, she remembered that her best friend also had the surname Qiao, and she nudged Qiao Yunzheng reassuringly.
Qiao Yunzheng squeezed her hand, feeling a little better.
"Su family girl!" Qiao Zhenhuai said angrily, "I'm only giving you some face because of your father, how can you, as a junior, be so rude!"
Su Ran felt no guilt whatsoever: "Thank you for your concern, Uncle Huai, but I have my own father to take care of me, so you don't need to worry about me!"
The group, who had been speaking in hushed tones, couldn't help but raise their voices, attracting a lot of attention.
Qiao Zhenhuai realized he had lost his composure, cleared his throat, and resumed his kind and amiable demeanor: "Xiaozheng, we are doing this for your own good. You need to understand that. Your father was foolish to leave the Qiao Group shares to you, but you are, after all, a girl, and you will eventually get married."
Qiao Yunzheng bluntly stated, "Uncle Huai wants to get rid of me quickly so he can control the Qiao family?"
“Your third great-uncle is right. Girls really don’t need to work so hard. It’s better to earn more money to support themselves… Besides, the Qiao family’s assets can’t be left to outsiders. Once a girl gets married and has children, she will eventually belong to another family. You wouldn’t want your father’s life’s work to benefit outsiders, would you?”
His twisted logic almost made Qiao Yunzheng laugh in exasperation.
Just then, her phone rang at an inopportune moment. She looked down and saw Wen Hong's new message:
Miss Qiao, what's your decision?
In this tense moment, Qiao Yunzheng inexplicably recalled Wen Hong's irritating face from yesterday, so she imitated him and smiled even more brightly: "So Uncle Huai still remembers that Qiao's is my father's hard work? Hearing you say that, I thought it was you who worked day and night to establish Qiao's! As for my marriage, Uncle Huai doesn't need to worry about it. It's my own business. If I don't agree, not even Third Grandfather, or even if all the relatives and friends of the Qiao family came, it wouldn't make a difference."
Qiao Yunzheng had always been gentle and obedient. Qiao Zhenhuai thought that inviting the patriarch and imposing all the etiquette and filial piety would subdue this girl. However, he did not expect that she was a tough person at heart. She was indeed worthy of being his father's daughter.
"Do you want to make an enemy of the entire Qiao family, to go to court against your own uncles and aunts, and to become a laughingstock for everyone?!" Qiao Zhenhuai shouted angrily.
Many people around gathered around upon hearing the noise.
The old man beside her added fuel to the fire: "Girl, you're still young, you may not understand. Now that your father is gone, and the Qiao family is no longer there to support you, what will become of you and your mother in the future? Have you thought about it?"
Qiao Yunzheng focused her mind, pretending to be deep in thought. After a while, she suddenly said, "Third Grandfather, you must have forgotten that women are not allowed to enter the Qiao family ancestral hall. Not to mention me, even my mother has never been there. We couldn't rely on my father when he was alive, so how could we dare to rely on him in the future?"
Seeing that she was unmoved by reason, and with the whispers and pointing fingers of others, Qiao Zhenhuai disregarded his manners as an elder and said through gritted teeth, "Qiao Yunzheng, I originally wanted to leave you some dignity, but you insisted on pushing yourself to the brink! I'm not afraid to tell you, I've acquired quite a few shares now, although not as many as your father left you, but about the same. The Qiao family is currently in dire straits, and I've used my connections to attract a lot of investment, enough to help the Qiao family weather the storm. And what about you? Besides those shares, what connections do you have? You're doomed to lose the shareholders' election next week!"
Qiao Yunzheng understood what he was saying all too well. Like her mother, she had been overly protected by her father, and now, suddenly shouldering such a heavy burden, she was truly alone and helpless.
"Who do you think you are?! She still has me!" Su Ran clenched her fists, gritting her teeth in anger.
"You? The Su family?" Qiao Zhenhuai sneered, adopting a condescending and disdainful attitude.
Qiao Yunzheng held Su Ran's trembling hand, which was actually colder and more shaky than hers.
Qiao Zhenhuai held his wine glass and clinked it against Qiao Yunzheng's: "Do you know which company agreed to invest? I'm not afraid to tell you, it's the Wen family of Kuncheng, the Wen family that your father looked down on a few years ago."
It turns out to be the Wen family.
Several more messages from Wen Hong came in on her phone, but she didn't open them.
Qiao Yunzheng didn't remember how she ended the banquet in a daze. After arriving home, she quickly washed up, ignored her mother's worried gaze, went straight to her room, and buried herself in the covers.
I opened Wen Hong's message.
Article 1: ?
Second: I hope your reply will be within my time limit.
Arrogant and haughty.
Does the timeframe he mentioned refer to next week's shareholders' meeting, or is Wen Jiabao on Qiao Zhenhuai's side?
Qiao Yunzheng was fed up and simply turned off her phone.
Qiao Zhenhuai's words kept echoing in her ears.
Choosing the Wen family was indeed a brilliant move by Qiao Zhenhuai, because he knew about his past relationship with Wen Hong.
Back then, the Wen family wasn't as powerful as it is today. The Qiao family, on the other hand, was a dominant force in Kunming. Countless people, both openly and secretly, wanted to establish connections with the Qiao family to gain business assistance. Among them was the Wen family.
Qiao Yunzheng, who was recuperating in a small town, always thought that her encounter with Wen Hong was a fleeting moment of infatuation, and that Wen Hong was just a boy with a bit of personality whom she met by chance in a remote town.
But to everyone's surprise, one day, Dad found out about their affair.
He rushed to the town with a stack of photos and documents, and slammed them down in front of her.
This was the first time he had reprimanded her in such a stern tone: "Who do you think he is?"
Qiao Yunzheng was confused and assumed that Uncle Zhang's prejudiced words had reached her father's ears. She instinctively tried to defend him: "Dad! Wen Hong is not the kind of person you think he is. He is a very good person and he is very good to me."
"Foolish!" Her father looked at her with eyes full of heartache. "He's the young master of the Wen family in Kuncheng, a dissolute man. Look at all this..."
Those were everyday photos of Wen Hong and the Wen family together, private photos of Wen Hong frequenting various entertainment venues, and financial news about the Wen family's business problems.
"How much sincerity can someone like him have for you? He deliberately approached you from the beginning, I'm afraid he had an ulterior motive!"
The first deception in life comes suddenly and painfully.
A note from the author:
Wen Hong: A huge black pot fell from the sky, one yesterday and another today. Thanks for the invitation.
Oh, I was so silly to forget to thank the darlings who watered my plants with nutrient solution a couple of days ago. Here I am, to make up for it today:
Sunshine, Watermelon Seed, Fairy Girl, Olive, thank you to all the lovely, kind, and beautiful girls who are loved by everyone and admired by flowers for your support! Love you all! (360-degree spin and sticker emoji)
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