Chen Zikang was arrested, and the Lü family, having already investigated and confirmed that the military was indeed interested in the shipment, came out to negotiate with various parties.
Unfortunately, none of the parties made any definitive statements, all saying that the new policy had just been released and no one knew exactly how it would be implemented. They said we should wait and see.
The Lü family believed that these words meant there was still a chance. They then took out a considerable sum of money to bribe various parties. Seeing that those people accepted the money with great ease, the Lü family felt even more reassured.
Not long after, word spread that all opium was to be destroyed. Merchants involved would also be punished; those with serious offenses would have their business licenses revoked and their owners imprisoned.
Upon hearing this, the Lü family immediately contacted the companies that had received their money, but they all said they had not received any messages from above.
However, the rumors circulating outside were becoming increasingly believable, frightening the Lü family into refusing to make any further moves.
Thanks to the efforts of the Lü family, Chen Zikang was released.
After discussing it, Lü An and Chen Zikang both announced to the public that all the goods in this trading company belonged to the Li family.
Unexpectedly, Li Mao immediately issued a statement saying that the Li family's business had long been transferred to Chen Zikang and had no further connection with the Li family.
This made Chen Zikang and Lü An even more worried. Fortunately, the Lü family manager offered some timely advice.
Chen Zikang published a statement in the newspaper, clarifying that the Li family's business had nothing to do with the Chen family. He explained that he had only taken over the business on behalf of his youngest daughter. Now that his daughter, Chen Minghui, had returned, he was returning the business to her.
Anyone who knows the inside story will condemn Chen Zikang for being unfit to be a father.
Xu Keke officially took over the Li family business, which had been shut down, and published a notice in the newspaper severing her father-daughter relationship with Chen Zikang.
Li Wan took the opportunity to divorce Chen Zikang and took Chen Pu out of the Chen family.
With the money Chen Zikang paid for her opium, Xu Ke used it to buy a Western-style house with a garden not far from Master Zhang's house.
Not only did Li Wan and Chen Pu move in, but Xu Keke also took in Li Mao and his wife, who had just been discharged from the hospital after surgery.
Li Mao stayed for a few days before announcing his intention to leave.
“We’ll have to go back eventually. If you need any help, just let us know. You’ve already helped your mother get the Li family’s assets back. Since you’ve said it will be the same as before, with the profits split between us, I trust you. But we won’t waste any more time here.”
Just based on this point alone, the Li family's family tradition is far superior to that of the Chen family.
Knowing that Li Mao and his wife were going back, Xu Keke asked Chen Pu to stay home with Li Mao.
She took Li Wan and Grandma Li with her to the street. After all, they had brought her gifts when they came, and she felt she had to reciprocate.
Unexpectedly, they ran into Huihui at Yongxin Department Store. Behind her were Zhang Ma and a woman who looked remarkably like her.
Upon seeing the woman, Li Wan froze. "She...she's dead, isn't she?"
Upon hearing Li Wan's words, Xu Keke guessed that the woman must be Xia He.
Sure enough, Xia He gracefully walked over and gave Li Wan a slight bow. "I was afraid you would be unhappy, so I haven't dared to come up to you. But I've always wanted to thank you. All these years, thanks to you for taking care of Huihui, I will always remember this kindness."
Xu Keke, with her petite frame, stood in front of Li Wan. "There's nothing to thank me for. Huihui is, after all, Chen Zikang's daughter. Even if she's an illegitimate child, there's no reason to abandon her outside."
“I’m so happy for Huihui that she has such a capable older sister like you.”
"Don't let her fool you, Huihui isn't your father's child," Li Wan said urgently, tugging at Xu Keke's sleeve.
Xia He took off the silk handkerchief from the jade bracelet, covered her mouth, and giggled, "Sister doesn't know, Huihui is actually older than the eldest young lady. She is actually the eldest young lady of the Chen family. It's a pity that our Huihui has never been able to be the eldest sister all these years, and has to give up her name to someone else."
Upon hearing this, Li Wan, who wasn't stupid, immediately understood the key point. Chen Zikang's naming of his daughter Huihui was actually premeditated.
I'm afraid that even without a sudden war, he would have found a way to lose his daughter somewhere else.
Li Wan fainted from shock and anxiety.
Grandma Li sneered, "Don't be so hasty. Heaven is watching what people do. I really don't believe there's no justice in this world. I don't believe that you bad people will get away with it. I advise you to go back and burn more incense and pray to Buddha. You'll get your comeuppance for all the bad things you've done."
With the commotion here, a large crowd had already gathered. Some knew Li Wan, while others knew who Xu Keke was.
They vaguely understood that this was the mistress challenging the wife, and these people, naturally siding with those they knew, started criticizing Xia He. In the end, they simply started a commotion and drove them out.
Huihui, standing to the side, felt embarrassed. She was also a little resentful towards Xiahe, wondering why she had provoked them for no reason.
Xu Keke and Grandma Li never expected that when Li Wan fainted and woke up, she would completely forget about marrying Chen Zikang. She was so angry that she went crazy.
She looked at Chen Pu, ignored him, and started yelling that she wanted to go home. Her behavior and mannerisms were exactly like those of an eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl.
Xu Keke quickly called a doctor, who ultimately confirmed that she had indeed lost a large portion of her memory due to the trauma. Whether this condition can be cured is uncertain.
However, the doctor advised that it's best to go along with her and wait until her emotions stabilize; she might get better in a few days.
With no other option, Xu Keke had to trouble Li Mao and his wife to take the crying and fussing Li Wan back to her hometown.
As for Chen Pu, Xu Keke consulted him. Chen Pu simply suggested that he wanted to go back to Li Wan's hometown with her, as he wanted to take care of his mother.
To Xu Keke's surprise, he actually told her to go ahead and do her work without worry, that he would take good care of her mother, and that she shouldn't worry.
Children do grow up very quickly. They will grow up rapidly whenever needed.
Since Xia He didn't die, she must have had somewhere to stay before.
Xu Keke had someone investigate.
It turns out that back then, Chen Zikang and Xia He were in love. Although he did not intend to marry her, he always wanted to take her as a concubine.
Unexpectedly, the marriage arranged for him by Old Master Chen was with the Li family. Since the Li family was going to spend such a large sum of money, they naturally didn't want their child to suffer. Therefore, they made it very clear at the time of the marriage that no concubines were allowed.
To dissuade him from his idea, Old Master Chen married Xia He off.
Xia He was unwilling to accept this, so she secretly ran away from her husband's family and was kept by Chen Zikang outside.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
