Chapter 98: 022 Night 14
Mrs. Qiao immediately became restless when she received the telegram. Combining the five adjectives, there was no one else in the world except Xie Hong's damned son.
What was the life of the Xie family? The story begins with Xie Zeyi's grandfather, Xie Xun. Xie Xun's rise to prominence was inseparable from two things: opium and tax evasion. The taxes evaded were, of course, British taxes, and he managed to keep the British in good stead. Three years after the Opium War, when the British settled in Shanghai, Xie Xun had rendered immense assistance to Balfour. For the British, he was a true cash cow. Balfour and he both coveted the former Bund tidal flats. Xie Xun, knowing better than Balfour how lucrative the land could be, passed the opportunity over to Balfour. Two years later, he opened Sun & Co. in Shanghai, focusing on the film and opium trade with China. He was adopted by a Jewish family in England and educated at Cambridge University. He remained in the East, refusing to return to England, simply because he hated the notion that the Empire had played a significant role in helping his family make such a fortune. Upon learning that paying taxes to the UK would cost him nearly half his income, he transferred all his companies to his son, Xie Hong, Xie Zeyi's father, and moved them to Hong Kong, leaving his wealth in Shanghai. After Xie Xun's death, Xie Hong further expanded his fortune: during the early years of Oriental Film, he foresightedly invested in several Shanghai film companies. Having made a fortune in the film industry, he withdrew when it became clear the profits were dwindling, investing in the American stocking industry and repeatedly purchasing land, building houses, opening banks, businesses, and operating dance halls in Shanghai...
His remarkable character was that despite evading so much imperial tax, the Empire willingly knighted him. Sir Xie Hong was short, with a slight limp in his left foot, and walked with a limp; outsiders said he was weighed down by the money in his pocket. He kept his wealth to himself, much like his persona: he spoke affably, yet was ruthless beneath the surface. Consequently, even the Governor of Hong Kong showed him respect; outsiders, with a mixture of awe and joking, referred to him as the Governor of the South Pacific.
Among the several families, no one in the entire Pacific British colonial region dares to claim to be the number one in terms of assets except his Xie family.
If I were to become the bride of the Xie family, without a matching dowry, I wouldn't know how he would be laughed at by the seven or eight other ladies after the wedding; I wouldn't know how much I would be used against him outside.
If the Xie family really wanted to marry the third daughter, Zhou promised to arrange her dowry, which would be so great that even if they went bankrupt several times, it would not be enough to cover the cost.
But marrying her? How could that be possible?
Mrs. Qiao chuckled twice.
Back then, Ma Ling was a young, beautiful woman, a true beauty even in Hong Kong. Her Qiao family was wealthy, and her integrity was unblemished. Xie Hong would never allow his only son to marry her. How could he possibly marry a girl with such a stigma and no one to rely on?
That afternoon, she called three close friends and invited them to her house to play cards. Some of them had close acquaintances with the Xie family's concubines, and during the meal, Mrs. Qiao asked them, "I heard Xie Hong is looking for a marriage for his precious son. Is that true?"
A woman who was close to Miya's biological mother, Xie Hong's sixth concubine, said, "The sixth concubine said that Miya, that clever girl, seeing that her father and son have been at odds for a long time, seems to be planning to match her brother with a girl from Shanghai. It just so happens that the girl has some friendship with Mrs. Ge, so she wants to use Mrs. Ge's influence to mediate between the two sides."
Few women in Hong Kong had no close ties with Mrs. Ge. They loved to talk about her, and they spoke of her with a certain amount of respect. Even though she knew that Mrs. Qiao had some old grudges against her, she only dared to speak behind her back. In the past two years, she had gradually become more cautious behind her back, and the other wives were no longer afraid to mention Mrs. Ge in front of her.
Upon hearing this, the other ladies couldn't help but sigh, "Oh, Xie Hong is so picky, she'd love to find a fairy for her son. To be able to marry Xie Zeyi in a formal ceremony, this girl must be the reincarnation of the Bodhisattva of Saving the World."
The conversation revolved around the Xie family all afternoon. Mrs. Qiao had lost hundreds of Hong Kong dollars, and after winning against three families, she was practically unable to sit still. The three wives returned home feeling very happy, and they warmly invited Mrs. Qiao to meet again another day.
After seeing the three ladies off, Mrs. Qiao felt dizzy and dazed, calculating over and over in her head: If she really became a daughter-in-law of the Xie family, how much dowry would she have to force the Lin family to prepare for her? If she didn't get enough, Mrs. Ge would use Zhou's telegram to settle all the new and old grudges with the Lin family, and the Lin family would definitely implicate her.
No, that's absolutely not possible.
Thinking this way, she could hardly sit still. Just sitting on the sofa and doing a rough calculation had her panting and sweating profusely. She tried to rise from the sofa several times, but almost failed. She called Zhao Ma to help her to the phone. Trembling, she dialed the number for the Huang residence, summoned Ma Ling, and recounted everything Zhou had said to the Sixth Concubine, including the serious implications of the situation.
Qiao Ma Ling felt a little uncomfortable after hearing this. She smiled awkwardly and said, "Mom, why are you telling me all this? To let me know that I'm not as good as a little girl with a bad reputation?"
Mrs. Qiao said, "You understand, compared to you, what advantages does she have that Xie Hong's son would like her? I've thought about it carefully. Men always remember their first love. If he likes her, how could he not like you? It's just that he remembers all the good things you did for him in the past and can't forget them. She is your cousin after all. When he saw her, he felt that she was somewhat similar to you, which made him miss her."
Mrs. Qiao said this out of sheer urgency. But it's not entirely true that she didn't miss her first love. At least it was true for Qiao Maling herself—her marriage had been rocky for the past few years, and even though Huang Mark had completely cut off all his extramarital affairs, she still harbored resentment. The initial excitement had faded, and they were gradually developing feelings of being in the same bed but living separate lives. Furthermore, she had gotten pregnant once—and lost it. The doctor said it was due to anger and told her to take good care of the baby. But because of the doctor's words, even though Huang Mark treated her well in the future, every thought of that blood clot made her feel a pang, and she no longer felt warm to him.
Every time this happened, she would think of all the good things in the past. If she had been really hardened, poorer, wandering outside and suffering a little, with someone who loved her, it would have been better than now, when everything was cold, from her skin to her bones, with no hope in sight.
If he didn't even want to marry himself, who was so beautiful back then, how could he possibly marry that younger sister?
"Mom, calm down. You don't know where this is from. Besides, if he really likes it, Sir Xie won't agree."
Mrs. Qiao was a little anxious. "You're such a stubborn person! He's angry with his son right now. How can a father and son hold grudges overnight? If Mrs. Ge were to mediate with his precious daughter, the matter would be 50%; 50%, even 30% is unacceptable! If I knew that there was even a 30% risk that the treasures I deposited in the bank would fall into the hands of the woman next door... I would never let that happen!"
Qiao Maling said coldly, "Mom, I'm already Mrs. Huang. You begged Auntie to keep this marriage a secret for me. What can I do now? If people find out, I'll be reduced to my original form for all that money in the bank, and I'll never be able to escape rebirth."
She was so angry that she pushed Qiao Maling and said, "Do you know that this is the foundation of our entire Lin family?"
Qiao Ma Ling said harshly, "So what?"
Unable to hold on any longer, Mrs. Qiao simply buried her face in her hands and cried bitterly, "Your father dotes on that Portuguese bitch. If she takes advantage of her son in the future, I don't know how she will bully me. I don't have a rich family to support myself. How will I, an old lady with no teeth, live in the future? They say that a daughter who is married off is like spilled water. It really is true that you don't value your daughters..."
Qiao Ma Ling's eyes flushed with grievance, "Mom!"
"Just this once," Mrs. Qiao suddenly grabbed her skirt when she saw her wavering. "There's a banquet in Shanghai. I've asked around, and the Xie family kid will be going. I've sent you an invitation, so you can go too. I'll have someone inside to try to win him over so you can have some time to talk to him. There are so many people at the banquet, and no one cares if someone talks to someone else for a few more words. When the time comes, you should dress up nicely and go to him to test his opinion and see if he's really willing to marry that girl, or if he's just thinking about your past affection."
Qiao Maling didn't say anything and turned her whole body away with a look of grievance.
"There's no man in the world who doesn't yearn for the feeling of first love. Years apart, things have changed, but if he could see you still be this good..." Mrs. Qiao's eyes misted over, suddenly recalling the grief-stricken look on Mr. Qiao's face when he first met Mr. Ge's new wife next door, when she was eight months pregnant. His pale face, the tenderness in his eyes... her husband, nearly on the verge of tears, was the source of her lifelong pain, something she would never forget. She continued, "No matter how good someone else is, he'll never forget you."
Qiao Maling hesitated a little. She stared into her mother's eyes and finally nodded solemnly.
The mother and daughter talked for a while, their eyes looking at each other and their hearts being of one mind. They had never felt such love for each other in their lives.
After seeing Ma Ling off, Mrs. Qiao finally felt like she was halfway to her death. With a sparkling look in her eyes, she walked to the phone and called HSBC. The first thing she asked was, "Where's my Ding kiln white tea set?"
The other end replied, "The one from 2014? It's still there."
Knowing that her baby was lying safely in the bank, Mrs. Qiao seemed to have given herself a shot of cardiac stimulant. She breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Okay, it's okay."
——
After making a harsh remark, Mrs. Ge, who was just waiting at home to watch this kind of drama, curled up on the sofa to wait and see who would get the first one to rush and get restless. After listening to Dier, who was passing by on the way to send Leon home from school, Mrs. Ge held a small notebook in her hand, supported her forehead with a pen, and said leisurely and lightly: "Oh, so there is also a set of Ding kiln white tea sets."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
