Lu Yunshi discovered that Du Zhaohui wouldn’t manage the Fifth Concubine’s affairs. She wasn’t a fool. Why did her family want her to collect the debt? Well, she was the younger generation – if she made any mistakes, it could be attributed to youthful inexperience.
Though Xia Ziyu avoided meeting her, Lu Yunshi had ways to corner someone. One might avoid going out, but hospital visits were necessary. Whether visiting the comatose Du Chengrong or attending regular prenatal checkups, the hospital was somewhere Xia Ziyu had to go. Lu Yunshi waited at such places, and when Xia Ziyu appeared, she rushed forward:
“Fifth Madam! Those 30 million-” Seemingly realizing her voice was too loud, she lowered it, though people nearby could still hear clearly: “When will you repay our 30 million? Fifth Madam, it’s not that the Lu family wants to pressure you, but we’re struggling too. We’re just a modest family, unlike Fifth Madam’s wealth. Losing these 30 million has greatly impacted the Lu family!”
Never in her life had Xia Ziyu experienced being cornered for debt collection. The only similar instance was that year at White Stream Temple when she encountered Xia Xiaolan, who demanded Wang Jianhua repay the money in front of everyone. The amount wasn’t much, just 35 yuan. But Wang Jianhua had been so humiliated he wanted to disappear into the ground, especially since he couldn’t produce those 35 yuan. Back then, Xia Ziyu had helped Wang Jianhua out of that situation.
Now it was her turn to be pursued for debt – not 35 yuan, not 3,500 yuan, but 30 million Hong Kong dollars! She could help Wang Jianhua then, but who would help her now?
Xia Ziyu’s face instantly reddened; everyone around seemed to be laughing at her! Unable to respond, she pushed past Lu Yunshi without a word and hurried into the hospital room.
Lu Yunshi didn’t follow. She stood there smiling, put on her sunglasses, and left.
In Du Chengrong’s hospital room, Xia Ziyu sat in a chair catching her breath. Looking at the comatose Du Chengrong, she expressed genuine emotion: “Master Du, why won’t you wake up… Without you, I don’t know what to do…”
Though Du Chengrong had later favored Liu Keying for a while, he had never financially neglected Xia Ziyu. With Du Chengrong around, no one would dare bully her. Even though Du Zhaohui and Xia Xiaolan despised her, they couldn’t do anything to her.
Now, Du Chengrong had been in a coma for two months, and that playboy Du Zhaohui had gradually established himself at the Cheng Rong Group. Meanwhile, Xia Xiaolan had earned several hundred million Hong Kong dollars during the stock market crash! Would these two spare her once they had free time?
She now had no substantial money left, barely supporting her lifestyle. The Lu family was pressing for repayment, but she had no way to produce 30 million in cash!
Crying by Du Chengrong’s bedside, her thoughts kept changing. It would be best if Du Chengrong woke up immediately – her crisis would be resolved, and she wouldn’t fear Du Zhaohui and Xia Xiaolan. Wouldn’t Du Zhaohui still have to mind Du Chengrong’s feelings? He was only temporarily managing the company; the shares hadn’t been given to him!
If he couldn’t wake up… then let her quickly inherit the 200 million to resolve this debt predicament, and take the rest step by step. After inheriting and repaying the Lu family, she would still have over 100 million Hong Kong dollars left.
She didn’t want to stay in Hong Kong anymore. With that money, she could go abroad – surely neither Du Zhaohui nor Xia Xiaolan could reach that far! As for future matters, they could wait. With over 100 million Hong Kong dollars, she could live comfortably for the rest of her life, and might even find better opportunities.
Waking up or dying – either would do. The only impossible situation was remaining in this coma.
Through tearful eyes, Xia Ziyu looked at Du Chengrong’s oxygen mask and life support equipment. A thought emerged from her heart, which she forcefully suppressed.
No! This was Du Chengrong. How could she have such thoughts? Besides, this hospital room had 24-hour security guards and medical staff.
Though Du Zhaohui rarely visited the hospital, he kept tight control over Du Chengrong’s care, seemingly wanting to preserve his life – of course, he did. While alive but comatose, the will remained unpublished, allowing Du Zhaohui to manage the company through his supposed “authorization letter.” If Du Chengrong died, everything would proceed according to the will.
In Du Chengrong’s will, Du Zhaohui might not be the primary heir! So Du Zhaohui needed Du Chengrong alive. During this time, he could first secure control of the company. Even if the will disadvantaged him, he would have room to maneuver.
But the will was favorable to her.
Xia Ziyu never doubted the will’s distribution plan of “100 million for each concubine, 100 million for each child.” If it were fake, Third Madam and the others would have caused an uproar long ago!
So-
Xia Ziyu wiped away her tears.
“I want to see Lawyer Cheng. Have him come see me.”
Lawyer Cheng arrived quickly.
Xia Ziyu asked directly: “First, I now owe the Lu family 30 million. They demand repayment or they’ll seize my assets. You must have heard that I suffered severe losses in the stock market crash. Now even my daily expenses are problematic; I definitely can’t repay the Lu family. Second, Master Du used to provide my monthly living expenses. Now that he’s in a coma, what should I do?”
Lawyer Cheng was somewhat stunned. Du Chengrong couldn’t have anticipated this situation. He had always been generous with women. Though he didn’t give them company shares, which of the concubines, including Second Madam, didn’t have their private assets?
Even Xia Ziyu, who had married last, had received numerous valuable gifts from Du Chengrong. Plus, with CR Investment Company, she had been worth tens of millions.
Whether Du Chengrong was in a coma for two months or two to three years, none of his concubines should have faced daily expense difficulties… No one was as capable as the Fifth Concubine in squandering tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars in just two months.
Lawyer Cheng gathered his thoughts and asked, “Does Fifth Madam want me to negotiate with the Lu family?”
Xia Ziyu nodded, “This is the most urgent matter. You can’t let the Lu family seize all my assets, leaving me homeless and without transportation. I don’t matter, but should I be carrying Master Du’s child while living on the streets?”
If it was just about ensuring she had a place to live and a car to drive, Lawyer Cheng was somewhat confident and agreed immediately. After requesting an inventory of her assets, he offered his advice:
“I can negotiate with the Lu family. Fifth Madam, you should first sell some assets to repay half their money, then gradually pay the rest. At a minimum, your current residence and car must remain untouched.”
Du Chengrong had indeed given many gifts. Including Xia Ziyu’s current residence, there were four properties worth about 25 million Hong Kong dollars in total. The most valuable was naturally her current residence, worth at least 10 million Hong Kong dollars!
Xia Ziyu owned three cars worth 4 million Hong Kong dollars.
They wouldn’t count shoes, bags, and clothes – used items could only be sold second-hand at a significant loss, and she needed clothes to wear.
The other valuable items were jewelry.
Du Chengrong loved giving women jewelry, and cheap pieces wouldn’t suit his status. Expensive jewelry held its value well – Xia Ziyu’s collection was worth about 7-8 million Hong Kong dollars.
“We can sell three properties, two cars, and all the jewelry… Fifth Madam, you know that when people urgently need money, others will lower the prices. Keeping only your current residence and one car, selling everything else might bring in 18-19 million, certainly not exceeding 20 million.”
Setting aside the current 10-million-dollar residence and keeping one car worth about 1 million dollars. The remaining assets, though worth about 24 million, could at most sell for 20 million – this was reality.