Chapter 32

Chu Wansha bit her lip and thought for a moment, ultimately deciding to tell the truth. It was better to avoid any unforeseen issues in the future. Besides, Chen Che already knew about her family situation — he just didn’t know what Jiang Jingzhu looked like.

“Brother Che, actually… the woman we ran into in the elevator earlier is my father’s illegitimate daughter — Jiang Jingzhu.”

Chen Che was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected that woman to be Wansha’s half-sister.

Since she had already begun, Chu Wansha went on to explain a bit more about Jiang Jingzhu’s mother getting sick and needing money. The gist of it was that her father, Chu Zhenan, had originally intended to help, but had been turned away, and that Jiang Jingzhu and her mother had found a kidney donor and paid for the surgery on their own.

As for where the money came from, no one knew. On top of that, Chu Wansha had seen Jiang Jingzhu shopping lavishly in luxury stores, so she assumed Jiang Jingzhu had gotten involved with some wealthy man. She just hadn’t expected that man to be Huo Xiao’s personal assistant.

She didn’t mention the fact that her mother had failed to inform them about Jiang Jingzhu’s visit and her mother’s illness — only because she had been busy preparing for Chu Wansha’s birthday party at the time and had forgotten. But that sort of thing could easily be misunderstood by outsiders. Chu Wansha didn’t want Chen Che to get the wrong idea about her mother, so she simply chose not to bring it up. After all, it wasn’t that big of a deal.

And in the end, Jiang Jingzhu and her mother had still found someone to help, even without the Chu family’s assistance.

After hearing everything, Chen Che wasn’t sure how to comment. As an outsider, it would be easy to judge, but since someone he cared about was involved, of course, he’d stand on her side.

Chen Che gently touched Chu Wansha’s face to comfort her. “Alright, don’t overthink it. These matters don’t really concern us. As long as we have a clear conscience, there’s no need to dwell on it too much.”

In truth, Chu Wansha had never taken Jiang Jingzhu seriously. No matter how outstanding she might be, in her eyes, Jiang Jingzhu was nothing more than a shameful illegitimate daughter. Even if she’d gotten involved with Huo Xiao’s assistant, who’s to say how long that would last?

And he was just Huo Xiao’s assistant — not Huo Xiao himself — not even worth her attention. No matter how pretty Jiang Jingzhu might be, in the world of high society, status mattered most.

Even she herself had only been accepted by Chen Che’s parents because she was the sole heiress of the Chu family. As the only daughter, everything in the Chu family belonged to her. Once she married Chen Che, the entire Chu enterprise would become her dowry.

Jiang Jingzhu was just an illegitimate daughter. What could she possibly rely on to marry into a wealthy family?

Meanwhile, Jiang Jingzhu’s recent behavior in the socialite circles — where she sent out red envelopes (money gifts) — was being shared by other debutantes on their social media. This incident was about to reach the ears of two more people.

When Li Mingzhu was scrolling through her social feed, she saw the screenshots of the red envelopes and chat logs shared by those debutantes. Her face paled slightly as she held her phone.

Immediately, she dialed Huo Rong’s number.

At that moment, Huo Rong was at the Huo family’s ancestral home, watching TV with her mother and several of her aunts alongside Old Madam Huo. When her phone rang, she casually picked it up and put it on speaker.

“Hello? Mingzhu, what made you call me all of a sudden?”

“Mingzhu’s voice came through, flustered and questioning, “Rongrong, didn’t you tell me that woman was just someone unpresentable? That Brother Xiao didn’t like her and would divorce her at any moment?”

As soon as her words fell, the entire living room fell silent. Every eye turned toward Huo Rong.

The harshest gaze, of course, came from Old Madam Huo.

Under that cold stare, Huo Rong instantly turned pale. She had originally turned on speakerphone so Mingzhu could greet the old lady — she hadn’t expected Mingzhu to sell her out immediately.

Everyone in the Huo family depended on Huo Xiao. Anyone who displeased the old lady wouldn’t have an easy life within the family.

Though she had the title of a Huo family miss, Huo Rong wasn’t like Si Yuwei or Li Mingzhu, both daughters of prominent, legitimate families. She was just the daughter of a branch family and only enjoyed dividends from the Huo family — dividends that Huo Xiao controlled.

So those from branch families bent over backward to please both Huo Xiao and Old Madam Huo. That’s why this monthly ritual of accompanying the old lady existed — and Huo Xiao, seeing their efforts, would sometimes grant them generous shares.

But now, with Li Mingzhu blurting all that out in front of the old lady, it was as good as digging her own grave. Sure, she looked down on Jiang Jingzhu too, but she’d never dare say so openly. After all, Old Madam Huo was very fond of her granddaughter-in-law. Anyone who spoke ill of her in front of the old lady would be harshly dealt with.

And those things she’d said to Li Mingzhu were just idle words — trying to keep Mingzhu’s favor so she would keep vying for Huo Xiao’s attention.

But before she could hang up the phone, Li Mingzhu spoke again:

“Rongrong, you said you wanted me to be your sister-in-law. You said you’d help me get rid of that woman and make your brother marry me. When are you actually going to make that happen…”

Seeing the old lady’s expression grow darker and darker, Huo Rong felt like her world was collapsing. She finally snapped out of it and quickly hung up the call with trembling hands — then shut off her phone entirely, terrified that Mingzhu might call back.

Those things she’d said were only to placate Li Mingzhu. Did she really have the ability to get rid of Jiang Jingzhu? Not even if you gave her a hundred times the courage!

Old Madam Huo turned to the panicking mother and daughter pair and said coldly, “Since when does a daughter from a branch family think she can call the shots in the Huo family?”

The weight of those words was immense. Not only did Huo Rong and her mother break out in cold sweat, but the others in the room were also shocked — they hadn’t expected the usually kind old lady to speak so harshly.

Everyone knew that even the most capable children of branch families were only given roles in subsidiary companies — the Huo Group headquarters was off-limits.

This policy was meant to prevent potential troublemakers from stirring up drama at the core of the family business. As long as the main line took care of the branches’ basic livelihoods, that was enough.

No one from the branches was ever allowed to interfere in the main family’s affairs — unless they wanted to break away completely. And if that happened, the shortcut of being a Huo wouldn’t be available to them anymore.

This rule ensured that the main family retained absolute control over the Huo clan.

What the old lady had just said was essentially a warning — she was accusing Huo Rong of harboring ambitions to control the Huo family, which was a big no-no for any non-heir.

With this clear message, the rest of the women just kept quiet and watched from the sidelines as Huo Rong and her mother were scolded.

Trying to salvage the situation, Huo Rong’s mother acted decisively — she raised her hand and slapped her daughter hard across the face, twice, so forcefully that Huo Rong was knocked to the floor.