“What I mean is, Second Aunt has taken so much of our money, she needs to show her sincerity!”

Liu Keying sneered:

“She says that little harlot isn’t with the Second House, fine then – let her get rid of that little harlot, and I’ll believe her.”

Liu Keying used “get rid of” rather than “drive away.”

Liu Tianquan immediately understood, then smiled until the flesh of his face bunched together: “Keying, you scared me just now. I thought you’d lost your mind and wanted me to eliminate that Vivi. So this is your plan to kill two birds with one stone.”

Liu Tianquan had no hesitation about eliminating a woman.

But he wasn’t Du Chengrong’s legitimate brother-in-law – if he moved against Du Chengrong’s woman, how could Du Chengrong not be furious?

Liu Tianquan had feared his sister’s mind was clouded by jealousy and would insist he take action.

“This is a good plan. Let’s do it!”

The siblings reached an agreement and approached the Second Mistress.

Second Mistress was speechless with anger at the Liu siblings: “You want me to eliminate Vivi?”

She wasn’t from a triad background like the Liu siblings, treating human life as a game. Liu Keying wanted the Second Mistress to prove her innocence, but the Second Mistress wasn’t foolish:

“Fourth Sister, Vivi is now Master’s favorite. How do I know you’re not deliberately setting me up to get something to hold over me? I don’t mind scolding Vivi – given our years of marriage, Master won’t scold me for that. But if I take her life, what will Master think of me… Even if Master doesn’t find out, you’ll use this to blackmail me. Let’s not speak of this again!”

Liu Keying’s slender fingers bore bright red nails:

“Second Sister, I’m not discussing this with you. This Vivi makes me uncomfortable now. We’re allies – I provide funds and support for Zaoqi, so you should help ease my worries. Without removing Vivi, how can I know Second Sister’s sincerity? When I say remove her, I just mean ensure she can’t appear by Master’s side anymore. I didn’t say to kill her – why do you think so badly of me?”

If Vivi wasn’t removed, Liu Keying could maintain her alliance with the Second Mistress, or she could turn her back on it.

The second Mistress wanted to tell Liu Keying to get lost.

That little vixen wasn’t planted by the Second House, but she couldn’t explain that clearly now no matter what she said.

But this was the most crucial period, and Zaoqi still needed Liu Keying’s financial support… Du Zhaohui had surprised everyone with his praised electronics plaza in Pengcheng, putting immense pressure on Second Mistress!

Second Mistress had to yield: “Fine, to show my sincerity, I’ll take care of Vivi. But I need time to arrange it. You can’t expect her to be found dead in the street tomorrow just because you made the request today… You think too highly of me!”

If killing people was as easy as killing chickens for her, she would have killed Liu Keying long ago – how much grief had she suffered from Liu Keying over the years!

The second Mistress remembered Liu Keying’s arrogance when she was in favor and gritted her teeth in hatred.

Those who understand you best are often not your friends, but your enemies.

One visit to the Du mansion by Du Zhaohui had thrown Liu Keying’s mind into chaos.

Du Zhaohui deeply regretted not thinking of this sooner.

This move was so effective – why hadn’t he thought of it before?

He should have sent women to the old man earlier. Not only could it deal with Liu Keying, but it would also drain the old man’s vitality. Then he’d retire when he should instead of stubbornly holding onto the Du family business!

“I must have been too filial to think of this move.”

Du Zhaohui praised himself – how could such a despicable tactic occur to an ambitious young talent like himself?

Xia Xiaolan probably wouldn’t think of it either.

Xia Xiaolan probably wouldn’t engage in scheming with a group of women. If it were her, she’d likely drag out the men supporting those women and beat them… As Du Zhaohui thought about this, he smiled, a rather foolish grin, muttering to himself:

“Only I could make use of even useless people… Ah Hua, have someone send a message to Xia Ziyun, warning her not to get killed by the Du family women.”

It wouldn’t be a pity if she died.

But she was more useful alive!

Besides, he’d promised Xia Xiaolan that after the “competition” with Du Zaoqi ended, he would hand over Xia Ziyun. How could he hand over a corpse and frighten Xia Xiaolan?

“Yes, Young Master, I’ll handle this matter well!”

Du Zhaohui trusted Ah Hua more than others. He wasn’t so trusting of others – Xu Zhongyi’s incident had been a wake-up call. Among his people were not only plants from others but also the old man’s people.

“Ah Hua, be careful. Xia Ziyun is still useful, and no one can know about her connection to us. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with this – you’d better handle it personally.”

Every setback made Du Zhaohui more cautious.

With Xia Ziyun around, the old man’s household wouldn’t know peace. Second Mistress and Liu Keying distrusted each other, their alliance would naturally crumble.

Didn’t Du Zaoqi want to invest in Pengcheng?

He wanted to see if Du Zaoqi’s funds were unlimited!

As a kept woman, Xia Ziyun’s life wasn’t monotonous.

Sometimes Du Chengrong couldn’t even find her. This woman didn’t care for shopping, but she insisted on attending dance classes and getting full-body treatments. Her smooth skin required a consistent investment of time and money.

If not at dance class or the beauty salon, she’d be at the swimming pool.

Since learning that swimming helped shape the body, Xia Ziyun fell in love with the sport.

Some say money can’t buy refinement, which has some truth – money won’t transform someone inside and out… but it can remake a woman from head to toe.

Spend enough money, and even your hair strands can exude nobility.

When a woman doesn’t have to struggle for survival and spends most of her day thinking about how to become more beautiful, with financial backing, she really will become increasingly attractive.

Xia Ziyun wasn’t ugly to begin with. After determined plastic surgery, she went from plain to alluring.

After becoming Du Chengrong’s woman, allure gained refinement.

Now, with expensive maintenance and packaging, she was truly transformed.

In a crowd of ordinary people, she caught the eye instantly. Even in Hong Kong’s entertainment circle full of beauties, she could play the decorative female lead in a film.

Her deeply ingrained plainness had vanished, replaced by the refined, wealthy Miss Vivi. If she stood before Wang Jianhua now, he probably wouldn’t recognize the woman who had once been intimate with him… Of course, Xia Ziyun now looked down on Wang Jianhua.

Even if Wang Jianhua would eventually succeed, how many bitter years would that take?

A woman’s best years are in her twenties – to keep contributing and turn into a worn-out housewife before enjoying the glory? The current Xia Ziyun wouldn’t accept that.

Some knew Du Chengrong kept a mistress, but it wasn’t public – not everyone knew Xia Ziyun was Du Chengrong’s woman.

She attended dance classes, went swimming, and loved going to nightclubs. The neon-lit Hong Kong intoxicated Xia Ziyun.

Those who didn’t know she was Du Chengrong’s woman naturally approached her.

Xia Ziyun always just smiled it off, sometimes even accepting dinner invitations from two suitors she found pleasing.

This terrified her maid Madam Sun, who feared Du Chengrong would angrily drive Xia Ziyun away!