...
“Mommy…” Cha Meiling looked at her mother’s disheveled hair.
Her Chanel haute couture outfit was disheveled, and she no longer possessed the composure of a wealthy socialite. I was heartbroken beyond words.
Qiu Liyun muttered somewhat nervously, "No, that's where the Ning family's influence is located. South America is too chaotic to find people there. Nor is it safe there. Northern Europe is safe and remote..."
Cha Meiling suddenly grabbed Qiu Liyun's arm, staring at Qiu Liyun with bloodshot eyes.
"Mom! I'm not going anywhere! You and Grandpa and Grandma are all here. If I leave, Daddy will drive you to your deaths!"
The Qiu family is a prominent family in Hong Kong, with so many cousins and loving relatives! You can run away, but you can't hide!
Qiu Liyun froze, and after a long while, she covered her face in despair and cried, "It's my fault for being useless. You're my only daughter. If your brother were still alive, your father might have been more considerate!"
Cha Meiling closed her eyes briefly and handed a tissue to Qiu Liyun.
"Daddy's madness didn't just start overnight. Ever since ten years ago, when the second master of the Ning family was made a Justice of the Peace and the eldest master of the Ning family went to England and received a viscount title from the Queen, completely crushing the Cha family, he's been going on like this ever since..."
Envy, jealousy, and—hatred—hatred that the Ning family had stolen the glory from the Cha family.
Qiu Liyun said anxiously, "Your father says you are the family heir, but I know that's just a rhetoric he uses to keep you in check. He values the son born to his second concubine more. Don't let him fool you!"
Chamei sighed softly, "I know, but so what? That's not the point."
Which family head would groom a family heir to risk his life as a corporate spy?
Qiu Liyun's eyes were filled with pain: "It's all Mommy's fault for being useless, marrying a heartless man and dragging you down. Otherwise, the Ning family would have been a great marriage partner, but what can we do now..."
Cha Meiling lowered her long, curled eyelashes and chuckled lightly: "Even if Daddy isn't that obsessive, Brother Yu isn't exactly a good man."
He was handsome and gentle, outstanding and excellent, but like all heirs of noble families, he was the most important person in the family, and women were dispensable to him.
It's not that he lacks sincerity, but sincerity can never compare to family and power.
Qiu Liyun hugged her daughter tightly, heartbroken: "If the Zhou family in Shanghai had left the mainland and gone to Hong Kong instead of England..."
She paused, tears welling up in her eyes: "Perhaps you can find a way to marry into the Zhou family and seek their protection. Your father won't dare to threaten you with me and the Qiu family."
Cha Meiling was taken aback: "What Zhou family? It's... the Zhou family of Shanghai, which was second only to the Sheng family back then, and produced a number of high-ranking officials, generals, and prominent figures in education and the judiciary?"
Qiu Liyun said somewhat absentmindedly, "Yes, but not long after the liberation, the Zhou family moved to England. They were very influential in the banking and financial industry, and many Swiss banks had shares held by the Zhou family. The eldest daughter of the Zhou family helped the Ning family and can be considered a benefactor of the Ning family. If you were to marry into the Zhou family, the Ning family would definitely give in, and your father would not dare to act recklessly."
Cha Mei-ling gave a dejected, bitter smile: "The Zhou family is powerful, but that was more than twenty years ago. And even if the Zhou family is in the Hong Kong government, what does it have to do with me? Why should they help me?"
Mommy is so worried that she's gone mad; she's actually set her sights on a family that disappeared into the dustbin of history decades ago.
Qiu Liyun sighed deeply: "You don't understand. Back then, the eldest daughter of the Zhou family was not only stunningly beautiful, but also incredibly talented. She was the most outstanding banker."
Her eyes were somewhat unfocused, as if recalling news from her youth: "Although she divorced early, she and the second wife of the Ning family were classmates at the St. Mary's Red Cross School in Guangzhou, and the two were close friends."
"When she left the mainland, she had just given birth to a boy. She had made an agreement with the second wife of the Ning family that if the second wife of the Ning family had a daughter in the future, she would marry her son. They had made a marriage agreement."
Cha Meiling paused for a moment. She was a smart woman, and suddenly remembered something: "That second wife of the Ning family couldn't have really had a daughter later, could it be..."
Qiu Liyun nodded: "It's the girl you and the Ning family have been searching for who possessed the third jade chili pepper but lost it in the mainland."
Cha Meiling didn't react for a moment: "But what does that have to do with me? The eldest daughter of the Zhou family is betrothed to the daughter of Madam Ning the Second."
Qiu Liyun smiled wryly and touched Cha Meiling's beautiful face.
"Silly daughter, the Ning family's daughter has been missing for so many years. Even if she were found, she would still be a country girl, and it would be difficult for her to marry into a wealthy and promising family."
She paused, then said, "But you are also the daughter of the second wife of the Ning family, and a goddaughter is also a daughter. You are the young lady of the second branch of the Ning family, whom we raised together."
Her daughter, raised in luxury and privilege, should have been the pride of both families, destined for a life of wealth, honor, and peace.
But now? She's actually going to be a female corporate spy walking the line between life and death!
Qiu Liyun looked at Cha Meiling with heartache and sighed: "If the Zhou family hadn't gone to England but stayed in Hong Kong, you could have chosen not to be the eldest daughter of the Cha family, but instead married into the Zhou family as the goddaughter of the second branch of the Ning family, thus completely escaping the struggle between the Ning family and your father."
She said expectantly, "If you marry the eldest daughter of the Zhou family's son, not only will the Ning family not say anything, but it will also put an end to your father's idea of using you to steal the Ning family's keepsake!"
Given the Zhou family's status back then, they could definitely protect their daughter.
Cha Meiling shook her head: "If the Zhou family had been as powerful as they were in Shanghai back then, and had stayed in Hong Kong instead of going to England, I'm afraid Daddy would have hated the Zhou family instead of the Ning family, and would have forced me to find a way to destroy the Zhou family."
Daddy was unwilling to let the Cha family be subservient to others, despite his mediocre talent and extreme, jealous personality.
Cha Meiling sighed, "Besides, I heard that the eldest daughter of the Zhou family died young. Without her mother's protection, we don't even know if her son is still alive."
The fact that Mommy suddenly brought up these distant memories only shows that she has completely lost hope.
The mother couldn't find anyone in the Hong Kong government who could help her and her daughter.
Cha Meiling sighed inwardly; so this was the taste of despair.
Her father turned her into a complete pawn, pushing her into the struggle against the Ning family as cannon fodder.
Qiu Liyun seemed somewhat dazed, muttering, "Yes, who knows if that child is still alive or not."
"I heard that when the eldest daughter of the Zhou family passed away, her only son was only thirteen years old and was sent back to his father in the mainland."
So many chaotic things have happened in mainland China in recent years. Can that child survive?
Qiu Liyun shook her head, murmuring to herself, "Even if that child can grow up safely in the mainland, his father, holding a high position, wouldn't allow his son to marry a daughter from a Hong Kong family, would he?"
This is hopeless; she's just desperate and making wild guesses.
Cha Meiling gently hugged her mother, comforting her: "Even if the eldest daughter of the Zhou family's son were still alive and had returned to his father's side, would he still bear the Zhou surname and inherit the Zhou family's legacy?"
Rather than relying on vague and unrealistic hopes, it's better to rely on yourself.
Qiu Liyun frowned in pain: "It's definitely impossible. Even if he lives, he'll definitely change his surname to Rong and take his father's surname. Then he won't be a member of the Zhou family anymore, and he won't be able to protect you. Mommy is just overthinking things."
Cha Meiling nodded: "Mommy, I'll think of another way...wait..."
She paused, then looked at Qiu Liyun: "What did Mommy say the eldest daughter of the Zhou family's son's surname is?"
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