Cha Shenlou shouted sternly, “Shut up! Back then, my Cha family was the most prestigious family in Hong Kong. For over a hundred years, from the Qing Dynasty to the present, we had three Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) and two generations of Hong Kong Governors who were appointed Justices of the Peace!”
"Back then, we were the ones who helped the Ning family establish themselves in Hong Kong. To curry favor with us, they even adopted Mei-ling as their goddaughter!"
A flash of resentment crossed Cha Shenlou's eyes—
"As a result, the Ning family has grown stronger over the years and become increasingly aggressive, seizing all business opportunities. Our Cha family has declined day by day and has been suppressed by the ungrateful Ning family. I will never accept this!"
"If you're not satisfied, then go and steal from the Ning family?" Qiu Liyun sneered.
The Cha family has been drifting for too long. Cha Shenlou and his father-in-law's business acumen is not as good as the Ning family's two generations. Even if they had stayed in the background, they would still have been among the four great families of Hong Kong.
Cha Shenlou gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing with an excited yet sinister light—
"How can we, the descendants of the Cha family, face our ancestors if we live a life dependent on others? As long as Meiling gets all the jade peppers from the Ning family and opens the Swiss bank's vault, we will surely return to our peak!"
Qiu Liyun was furious: "You had their transshipment port bombed just to deal with the Ning family? Do you even know that this shipment of goods is military equipment, destined for the north..."
“I did it precisely because I knew that!” Cha Shenlou sneered.
Qiu Liyun and Cha Meiling both looked at him in disbelief.
Cha Meiling blurted out almost instinctively, "Daddy, are you crazy?"
Cha Shenlou remained remarkably calm, his expression twisted with rage: "I'm not crazy. If I don't blow up their port and ruin the Ning family's plans, am I supposed to let them open up new markets and gain the support of absolute power?!"
Cha Meiling looked at her father, trembling all over: "Daddy, if this gets out, Ning Bingyu will take my head, and you—you'll die without a burial place!"
Father has gone mad! Mad!! In order to restore the Cha family, he not only betrayed the Ning family, but also betrayed someone he should never have betrayed!
Not only the Ning family, but also the people in the capital will not let him off the hook!
Cha Meiling recalled that she had accompanied Ning Bingyu, as his fiancée, to the high seas to pick up goods when they were attacked.
She finally witnessed firsthand how the officer surnamed Rong led his men to deal with those people.
It was an almost overwhelming massacre!
The man and his men were all masked and dressed in mercenary camouflage.
But for some reason, it seemed as if she had seen those eyes a thousand times before, and in an instant, she recognized who it was from those seemingly affectionate but actually cold and violent phoenix eyes!
How could a small family possibly withstand the absolute power represented by that man?
Qiu Liyun nearly collapsed, lunging at Cha Shenlou: "You're trying to kill my daughter for your ambition! My daughter!!"
Cha Shenlou grabbed her neck and sneered, "We're in Hong Kong, not the mainland. Besides, who would know? In this family, you and I are husband and wife. You know everything about me..."
He smiled and said, “Of course we are husband and wife, and your Qiu family is also thanks to me. We have the good life we have today, so of course we will live and die together!”
As he spoke, he looked at Cha Meiling with a loving smile: "Meiling...Meiling, you are my most valued eldest daughter. You must shoulder the responsibility of revitalizing the Cha family, don't you agree?"
He raised his daughter well; she has the highest education and the most intelligence—she's a good tool!
Cha Meiling's elegant and beautiful face turned deathly pale as she looked at Qiu Liyun, who was struggling desperately as Cha Shenlou grabbed her throat.
She knew that her father was threatening her—using her mother's life and the lives of her grandparents' family.
Cha Meiling closed her eyes, trembling all over: "Daddy, so what if I get the three jade chili pepper tokens from the Ning family? Once what you did is exposed, our family will be wiped out silently. There are no secrets in this world!"
So what if Hong Kong is currently being managed by the United States?
If the Cha family cannot be dealt with openly, there are plenty of ways to eliminate traitors.
Qiu Liyun's face turned red from being pinched, and she added through gritted teeth, "Yes... and the legend that the old lady of the Ning family carried the Sheng family's legacy is almost impossible to verify! You're cutting off your own path to the Cha family!"
Cha Shenlou laughed chillingly: "Ha... If the Swiss bank's treasury is fake, do you think the Ning family would be so obsessed with finding the lost third jade chili pepper? Do you really think they care that much about a lost daughter?"
He stared at Cha Meiling: "Meiling knows best that the Ning family's two branches are not lacking in offspring, right?"
Cha Meiling remained silent. Yes, she knew that among the entire Ning family, only the second wife was truly waiting for her daughter to return home.
Although Ning Zhengyan, the second wife's future father-in-law, also hoped that his daughter could be found, it was a great pity to lose one of his daughters.
But it's not that painful.
The five brothers of the second branch of the Ning family could live well with one younger sister, but they would still get by even without one.
Not to mention that the main house of the Ning family was separated by a floor, so it didn't matter at all.
Therefore, the Ning family's relentless search for their daughter was driven by familial affection and, more importantly, by the desire to retrieve the Ning family heirloom that the second wife had given to their youngest daughter.
Although the Ning family is wealthy, no one would complain about having too much money, especially since the Sheng family is rumored to have billions of US dollars in Swiss banks.
Based on current prices and purchasing power, that's almost half of the Ning family's entire fortune.
This is why Cha Shenlou is so obsessed with getting the Jade Chili Pepper.
Whether it's marrying her off to Ning Bingyu or having her track down Ning's daughter who was left behind in the mainland.
All of this was to get ahead of the Ning family and collect all three jade chili peppers.
Seeing that Cha Meiling didn't refute him, Cha Shenlou chuckled.
"Look, Meiling was almost able to get the jade chili pepper from the Ning family's daughter ahead of time, so why not take a two-pronged approach and get the jade chili pepper from that old man in the Ning family at the same time?"
Cha Meiling closed her eyes and said wearily, "Daddy, let go of Mommy, I promise you."
Qiu Liyun looked at her daughter in disbelief: "No, Meiling, you can't..."
“Mommy, I’ve thought it through. I’m a daughter of the Cha family, and I enjoy the fine things in life. It’s only right that I take risks!” Cha Meiling interrupted Qiu Liyun.
Qiu Liyun froze.
Cha Shenlou's smile turned into a ferocious grin as he released Qiu Liyun: "Very good, Meiling is indeed the heir of the Cha family that I chose."
Qiu Liyun collapsed to the ground, utterly distraught, and Cha Meiling immediately went over to help her up.
Cha Shenlou patted Cha Meiling on the shoulder, looking earnest: "Look at all the prominent families in Hong Kong and Macau, whose daughters have this opportunity to take on such a major responsibility?"
“Daughters are all sent to marry into political alliances or married off to any property. Only you are the heir of the Cha family that I have chosen. If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight.”
Cha Meiling lowered her eyes: "I know, Daddy."
Cha Shenlou left the room with a smile.
Only the mother and daughter remained.
"Mommy, sit down, I'll go call the family doctor." Cha Meiling helped her sit down.
Qiu Liyun grabbed her arm, her voice trembling with panic, "No, Meiling, you can't agree to him! Run away... to England, to America, to a place they can't find!"
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