Mr. and Mrs. Huo: Chapter 6

 

Today, Su Rong wore a flaming red dress which meant that the wine stains weren't noticeable, but this was the exact opposite of what her stepsister was wearing. 

Su Qing was wearing a white dress, and coincidentally, most of the wine splash fell on her dress. The red stains looked glaring.

Unable to continue watching her pretentious act, Su Rong reprimanded in a harsh voice, "Stand up!"

As if she had been granted amnesty, Su Qing quickly stood up. "I'm sorry, Su Rong. I just saw you and wanted to greet you. I didn't know this would happen."

Su Qing's beauty was like a hibiscus, delicate and innocent. Her white dress gave her a pure aura. Coupled with her increasingly pale face and red eyes that had welled up in tears, she was a delicate miss that easily aroused the affection of men.

Su Ring sneered. This seemingly weak sister of hers had a bellyful of tricks. Anyone who saw this scene would think that she was a wicked sister that bullied her sister at home and outside. 

Or how else could one explain this submissive behavior her stepsister just exhibited.

If this scheme succeeded, she would be labeled as an unreasonable and wicked person, and her reputation would be in tatters. How would she mingle in the high society then?

But nobody here was a fool. Who hasn't seen a few tricks and schemes? 

This was minor compared to other means they frequently witnessed. 

Besides, everyone knew the story of the Su family. Su Qing's mother was a personal assistant that climbed into the bed of her boss' husband, hoping she could succeed in sending the main wife packing.

Unfortunately for her, Su Rong's father was a spineless man that could only obey his wife. In the end, Su Qing was taken away from her, and she was sent to a mental institution.

After working with Mrs. Su for so many years, she still couldn't grasp her boss' character. 

Now Su Qing was alone and could only rely on tricks to gain the upper hand. Even though everyone knew this, they still wanted to watch a show. No one intervened, wondering how Su Rong would react.

Suddenly, Su Rong raised her hand and gave her lovely sister a resounding slap. 

Slap!

Everyone was shocked, even the person who received the slap. She had expected her sister to create a scene but not by slapping her.

But Su Rong was a domineering lady who didn't allow herself to be wronged the slightest. She didn't care about her reputation. Society would wag its tongue but not raise a single finger to help her resolve her grievances or make her life better. So why should she care what people thought or said? She lived for herself and no one else.

She raised her eyebrows and smiled mockingly. "Su Qing look around you. Look at the people you intend to rely on to bring me down. Nobody here is a fool and nobody cares about you and all they want is to see a joke. Su Qing you are a joke."

Su Qing's face was red and swollen from the slap she had just received. The red mark on her face looked harsh on her pale skin. Her pitiful look would have aroused the protective instincts of others, especially men, but no one came forward to defend or help her.

She looked around her, and all she saw were the mocking looks of others, seemingly watching a joke. Even the man who brought her to the banquet paid her no attention.

It was like she could hear their ridiculing laughter and hurtful words, and none of them was directed at her sister as she had expected.

Why? Why? She was the victim here! Why wasn't anyone on her side? But the reality was cruel.

Unable to stand their gazes any longer, she rushed to the entrance wanting to make an escape. The security appeared to escort her out, making matters worse. The patriarch was expecting a distinguished guest today, and this sort of disturbance needed to be taken care of immediately. 

One would expect that after this, Su Qing would have no courage to show up at any sort of social gatherings.

Su Rong didn't stay to listen to what people had to say. She left to change her dress, leaving people to gossip amongst themselves.

Yu Yuan felt she had entered a new world. Who would have thought that a scene she only imagined could happen in movies or books would happen at a banquet of this sort? 

Indeed, all sorts of things could be heard and seen when associating with the rich. She made her way back to her seat, thinking it was none of her business anyway.

The clamor didn't last for long as the celebrant arrived. Everyone gathered to watch the celebrant give his speech. Despite his old age, Patriarch Ji looked lively and well-spirited. 

After welcoming everyone to the banquet, he made his way to his seat.

One by one, people trailed to give their greetings and show their faces while the rest mingled amongst themselves, hoping to make a good connection. This marked the true start of the banquet. 

Yu Yuan didn't intend to go forward to offer her greetings. While she had an impressive background and impressive achievements, she wasn't known for them and intended to keep it that way.

She was hoping she could meet the patriarch privately, but she knew it wasn't realistic. The celebrant was the center of attention and gas no time to spare.

While the party was going on, someone rushed in and whispered into the ears of Ji Chen, who was standing next to his father attending to guests. His expression changed, and he quickly whispered something to his father.

Patriarch Ji's face turned solemn, and he immediately stood up, making his way to the entrance. The rest of his family followed him, leaving the guests puzzled about what was going on.

Whispers could be heard as people wondered why the patriarch looked so much in a hurry.

Yu Yuan saw this scene too. She moved to the person next to her and inquired about it.

"It looks like someone very important has arrived. But there are very few people who can make Patriarch Ji act like this," he replied.

"Who do you think it is?" Yu Yuan further inquired.

"I can't think of anyone...." His eyes widened as he suddenly thought of a person. Agitated, he spoke quickly, 

"There were rumors that the patriarch of the Huo family would attend but no one believed. He rarely attends this type of gathering but it seems the rumors were not unfounded."

Then he added enviously, "This is a boon to the Ji family."

Patriarch of the Huo family? That sounded familiar.

Yu Yuan had heard tales of him before settling in China. His father, Huo Qi, was the only son of the former patriarch. Unfortunately, Huo Qi didn't inherit the good qualities of his father. At a young age, he only knew how to chase skirts and make merry.

In a bid to control him, the former patriarch arranged a marriage for him. His wife was a well-bred lady from a big family in City B.

Perhaps due to realizing that he had no power and couldn't do anything without his father, after his marriage, Huo Qi acted like he had changed. He entered the Huo family's business to gain some power and, hopefully, eventually take over from his father.

Too bad his facade didn't last long. 

After his wife gave birth to Huo Wei, she was diagnosed with late-stage brain cancer. She battled with it for 2 years before passing on. Following her death, it was discovered that Huo Qi was not as faithful to his wife as he acted.

He had a mistress all through the years of his marriage. She was the lead actress in a movie he once invested in, and her name was Lin Chuo. She even had a son for him that was two years older than Huo Wei. 

This matter should have reminded hidden, but upon hearing about the death of Huo Qi's wife, she rushed to the Huo family with her son making a scene.

The former patriarch was livid and almost disowned his son. He held himself back for the sake of Huo Wei, but he stripped Huo Qi of the powers he had accumulated over the years. In defiance, Huo Qi officially married the mistress and brought her and his son home.

His spite made him neglect Huo Wei and shower affection on his illegitimate son. At first, Lin Chuo didn't dare to mistreat Huo Wei, but after witnessing Huo Qi's disregard for him, she began to get ideas.

If Huo Wei was out of the way, maybe her son would stand a chance.

She tried a couple of times to get rid of Huo Wei, but she was unsuccessful. After a few schemes, the patriarch quickly caught on. Fearing that worse would happen, he brought Huo Wei under his wings and raised him.

He raised Huo Wei to take over after him, but he died too early, leaving Huo Wei at the age of 19 to fend for himself.

After the death of the former patriarch, the Huo family was in shambles, and their businesses almost collapsed. Naturally, the rest of the family didn't want this young patriarch. So, Instead of working together to stabilize things, they turned their weapons to the Huo Wei wanting to pull him down.

But they had miscalculated. Huo Wei was not soft persimmon they could pinch at will. He managed to survive their schemes and stabilize the Huo family's business within 2 years. 

Afterward, he cleaned up all the dissenting voices that had risen after he became patriarch using vicious means. Those who had schemed against him encountered many unfortunate incidents

4 years after he took over, the Huo family was firmly in his grasp, and nothing could pry it from his hands. Seeing they stood no chance against him, members of the Huo family became docile and tried to redeem themselves, hoping Huo Wei wouldn't catch their tails.

11 years had passed since Huo Wei took over. Now, he was a legendary figure in China. The number of times he appeared in public gatherings gradually dwindled until it became impossible to catch him at one, but today he was here. Some people almost couldn't control themselves out of excitement.

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