He Ning looked at He Mei coldly and asked, “Exactly how much does Qiao Mei weigh now?”
Reluctantly, He Mei said, “Slightly more than 100, I guess.”
He Mei also could not believe that the original Qiao Mei was a big fatty. If Xia Zhe was even willing to marry a fat person like Qiao Mei, then what was wrong with her? Why was he not willing to accept her!
He Ning asked again, “She looks as beautiful as a fairy?”
He Mei was even more unwilling to admit this fact and nodded reluctantly.
He Ning sighed. He was unwilling to face the fact that he had failed this time because he had underestimated his opponent. He originally thought he did not need to put in too much effort to handle a country girl, thus he did not ask for a lot of details before getting someone to arrange this matter. If he had paid more attention at the beginning, he would have known what Qiao Mei looked like now.
It was said that after Qiao Mei came to the capital, she visited many prominent families. Her reputation for being beautiful had long spread around and he would have only needed to ask around to know about it. It was his fault for not paying attention and causing the plan to fail.
He Ning stood up and walked around the living room a few times before stopping in front of the French windows. He looked into the distance and said, “I can’t continue to rest anymore. If I continue like this, I’m going to be crippled.”
Ever since he obtained the ginseng, his health had become much better. He no longer felt weak and dizzy like before. The effect of this ginseng was hundreds of times stronger than the normal kind. He also did not feel as lifeless as before, and could feel that his body was much more agile.
He wanted more of this ginseng. One was far from enough!
“Find out where that woman lives now, what time she usually goes out, who she knows and what activities she takes part in. Find out all these for me,” He Ning said.
“I have the information. She’s now living in the Xia family’s old house, that courtyard house. She had followed Xia Zhe around to visit the neighbors, but now she seldom leaves the house,” his attendant said from the corner of the living room.
He Ning’s eyes lit up. When Old Madam Xia died, she left this house solely to Xia Zhe. He had found out long ago that there were many treasures hidden under the Xia family’s courtyard house.
“Is the Cao family still living in that courtyard?” He Ning asked.
The attendant continued, “They’re still around. Recently, they’ve been looking around for a house, but they haven’t found anything they like. They have seen a few really nice places, but they keep rejecting the options. I don’t know why.”
He Ning smiled and said, “Go and tell them to hurry up and give them some pointers. Then, let the Xia family know what the Cao family is doing.”
“Yes.” The attendant went out to carry out the instructions.
In the living room, He Guo and He Mei looked at each other. He Mei did not know anything, but He Guo knew a lot about what had happened back then. He Guo looked at He Ning and said, “You can’t be thinking of…”
He Ning looked at his elder brother with a smile and did not say anything. If the Cao family really dug up something, that would become the Cao family’s weakness. When the time came, He Ning could easily make use of the Cao family. If the Xia family knew that the Cao family had dug up something, Xia Zhe would definitely not be able to stay calm. A young and impetuous lad would not allow his family’s things to fall into the hands of other people.
Then, once Xia Zhe made a wrong move, he would be able to get anything he wanted from the Xia family. If Xia Zhe could manage to keep his cool, He Ning had other plans that he could set in motion.
After the Cao family received the news, the entire family was in an uproar. They did not know why the He family knew about this. They did not leak any information at all and wondered who exactly informed He Ning about this matter.
“What should we do now?” The Cao family’s eldest daughter-in-law said as she looked at Cao Da anxiously.
Cao Da sat on the chair and sighed. “I just know that He Ning would never lose out. He’s threatening us because he has something on us now.”
Old Master Cao had gone overseas to visit his relatives earlier and had recently returned to settle these family matters. He looked at the junior family members in the yard and said, “There’s no other way. It’s too late for us to stop now.”
It was not as if he had not done anything all these years. He had already searched underground. Even if they were not the ones who buried the things, who would be able to give any good explanations if anything was found under their house? Furthermore, they had recently searched under the floor tiles again. Anyone who came to investigate would be able to tell what they had done. If word got out, it would be even more difficult for them to explain. No one would believe anything they said now.
