It was great to be the Zhai family’s daughter-in-law. The family had hired a caretaker, and Qiao Nan could be lazy about even picking up a call. While she had been married to Chen Jun, the Chen family had said that it was better not to live too extravagantly. As such, even though they had hired a caretaker, she still had to help out around the house as the Chen family’s daughter-in-law.
There was no question that Qiao Nan didn’t need to do that in the Zhai family. From the caretaker’s tone, Qiao Zijin could tell that Qiao Nan was treated like an empress in the Zhai family. The Zhai family’s caretaker was nothing like the caretaker that the Chen family had hired, who treated her with no respect at all.
Qiao Nan leaned back against the sofa. “It’s you. I guess you’ve found out that I sent her back to Ping Cheng. Is that why you’re calling to make trouble for me?”
Didn’t Qiao Zijin’s reason for forcing Ding Jiayi to stay in the capital have something to do with her? Now that Ding Jiayi was gone, Qiao Zijin lacked a helper. It would be a wonder if Qiao Zijin wasn’t infuriated. Ding Jiayi was Qiao Zijin’s best bet.
“Were you really the one who did this? Qiao Nan, don’t you think that you’ve gone a little overboard with your kindness? What has Mom returning to Ping Cheng got to do with you? That’s between Mom and me. Why did you have to interfere in it? Qiao Nan, are you trying to get your revenge through Mom because she likes me more?”
If that was the case, all she could say was that Qiao Nan had better save her effort. No matter how badly she treated her mom and how well Qiao Nan treated her mom, Qiao Nan would never be a likable daughter in her mom’s eyes. They were fated to be enemies in this lifetime!
Since it was rare that she had any free time, Qiao Nan was willing to chat with Qiao Zijin. “If that’s what you think, you’re wrong. I know how she feels about me, and I have no feelings toward her anymore. I only got involved in this matter for myself. If you convince her to stay in the capital, do you really think I can count on you to find a place for her to stay? I’ll be the one paying for the accommodation in the end. Qiao Zijin, I know what you’re up to. Sorry, but the lawsuit will go to court the day after tomorrow. I think that you won’t get that sum of money from Wang Yang.”
“You know about it?!” Qiao Zijin felt as though her fever that had just subsided the previous day had returned, and her head ached badly. “Did Mom sell me out?” She had only told her mom about this. Had her mom betrayed her in order to get Qiao Nan to help her return to Ping Cheng?
“Something along those lines.” If not for Ding Jiayi telling her dad and her dad telling her about it, she wouldn’t have known that Qiao Zijin had gotten involved with Wang Yang.
Qiao Zijin sighed. “Qiao Nan, I’m really sick and I’m still in the hospital. I’d like to have a more formal talk with you regarding the Zhu family’s inheritance. I can’t deny that Wang Yang indeed offered me a good amount of money to persuade you, but I think that I won’t be the only one who’ll benefit from this. We should learn to be content with what we have. If you’re greedy, you might end up getting nothing at all in the end. Anyway, you didn’t do anything to earn or deserve it. It’s better for you to stick to a more practical and safer option.”
“Qiao Nan, I’m not scaring you. If you’re willing to discuss the matter with Wang Yang, you’ll still be able to get some money. But if you go to court, you might not even win the case. If you lose, you won’t even get a single cent. You’d better consider your options carefully now that it’s still possible to change your mind and accept Wang Yang’s offer. Let’s settle this amicably!”
Qiao Nan took a sip of water and comforted Miao Jing. Qiao Zijin wouldn’t be difficult to deal with. “Actually, I’m sure you should be able to guess the situation even if Wang Yang hasn’t told you about it. Yes, it’s true that I’m not a hundred percent confident of winning this lawsuit. But I’m sure that my chances of winning are above eighty percent. Compared to Wang Yang, I should be more relaxed. Otherwise, why would Wang Yang have gotten his wife to befriend me after seeking you out? It seems like Wang Yang has something up his sleeve.”
“What? He got his wife to seek you out?” Qiao Zijin had always thought of herself as the only person Wang Yang had approached. The more people Wang Yang used, the lower her likelihood of succeeding. Her chances of succeeding hadn’t been high to begin with, but Wang Yang had even increased the challenge for her! In that moment, Qiao Zijin’s mood fell. Why was everyone, whether it was her family or outsiders, making her life so difficult?
“Qiao Nan, since you already know about it, I’ll get straight to the point. Even though you have an eighty percent chance of winning, there’s still a one-in-five chance that you’ll lose. You’re a mother to three children. Instead of going to court against Wang Yang, why don’t you lead a more stable life and ask Wang Yang for a high price that will satisfy you and settle this matter out of court? Besides, Wang Yang has indeed promised me benefits. It’ll be good for you if I have that sum of money from Wang Yang too since I won’t have to worry about money in the future. Once I have money, I’ll never need to bother you in the future. As long as you agree to settle with Wang Yang, not only will you get that sum of money, but you’ll even be able to get rid of me. Won’t you be killing two birds with one stone?”
How was Qiao Nan supposed to respond to Qiao Zijin’s confidence? Qiao Nan was at a loss for words. It was better for Qiao Nan to remain silent and let Qiao Zijin go on with her monologue.
“Qiao Nan, why aren’t you saying anything? You should understand that my plan isn’t bad at all. Once you agree to it, you’ll be rid of this big trouble forever. I’m sure you’d rather have less money than have me bothering you in the future. You won’t lose out agreeing to this. I swear I’ll never make any more trouble for you in the future once I get this sum of money.”
With that sum of money, she wouldn’t even need Qiao Nan as her younger sister. It was five million yuan. Five million yuan! Perhaps, she could even save two million yuan for Feng Feng to marry a wife once she returned to Ping Cheng and Feng Feng grew older. She would be a truly impressive mother if she was able to give her son two million yuan.
Not only would her life get better, but she would even be able to leave some money to her son! This was the life that Qiao Zijin longed for. All she asked for was five million yuan. With this sum of money, she would never stir up any more trouble for Qiao Nan in the future.
Even without talking about how much Wang Yang would give Qiao Nan, Qiao Zijin felt that this deal was already a win for Qiao Nan as long as she could get rid of her!
