"Please forgive my presumption in speaking out of turn, but it is always best to be forgiving when possible. It's true that the Zhao family offended you before, but you've taught them enough of a lesson by now. Why not let them off the hook?"
Elder Sun said earnestly.
He believed he meant well.
Having recognized Su Ning as a fellow traveler, he felt the urge to guide the younger generation. Business was all about making money through harmony; what was the need to fight to the bitter end?
However, he saw the person before him instantly change her expression, and her frosty voice rang out:
"Are you pleading for the Zhao family?"
Su Ning sneered. She had just been wanting to drop the pretense anyway, so she seized the opportunity to make an issue of it. "First, the Zhao family repeatedly offended me without showing any remorse. Now, they've caused such a scandal, causing my assistant to lose face."
"How could I possibly just let this go!"
She added coldly:
"However, if you want to play the peacemaker, Elder Sun, it's not entirely out of the question. As long as you can afford the price for me to stop, it's fine. So, are you willing?"
Willing? Like hell he was willing.
Elder Sun hadn't expected that his casual words of mediation would be so ruthlessly rebuffed by Su Ning. It was true what they said: names might be given wrongly, but reputations were never spread falsely.
She was truly temperamental and unpredictable!
"Miss Su must be joking. The Zhao family brought this upon themselves. If you wish to vent your anger, please do so."
The words were squeezed out through gritted teeth.
"Ding."
Don't guess wrong; a nameless NPC didn't deserve a special system notification. This was Su Ning making her own sound effects. She watched Elder Sun's stifled, aggrieved expression with great interest, feeling her mood significantly improve.
"It's true... when you feel pain, you should share it with others, and your own pain will thin out."
Su Ning sighed with heartfelt emotion.
System: ...
Is that how sharing works? Well, it's certainly effective.
"Actually, Host, you aren't that angry about the pleading, are you?" Don't even try to fool the great System. With real-time heart rate monitoring, there were barely any fluctuations... If anything, the biggest fluctuation happened earlier when that Young Master Kong threatened her—
It had spiked straight up.
"Mhm."
Su Ning admitted nonchalantly. "Who asked him to be so unlucky as to throw himself right at the muzzle?" She couldn't touch the guy surnamed Kong for the time being, but keeping the anger bottled up inside without venting it would affect her lifespan.
Let's not forget she had transmigrated with her real body.
"However, this old geezer is either extremely arrogant or completely looking down on me—"
The Zhao family was involved in the assassination. Everyone in Beiping who needed to know or wanted to know was pretty much well aware of it. For him to dare come and plead for leniency before her now, it could only be one of these two possibilities.
"I'm still not powerful enough."
Su Ning sighed softly.
This charity banquet was a massive success.
Even halfway through, people were still hurriedly joining. When the socialites hosting the event gave their speeches, they were somewhat dazed to see so many prominent figures in the audience. Their eyes drifted to the center, towards the young woman clapping absentmindedly.
A wave of envy suddenly welled up in their hearts.
Perhaps a woman's reputation wasn't that important after all?
When it came to the donation segment.
Su Ning maintained her persona of a tycoon who didn't treat money as money, overpowering the entire venue. It was just that the numbers were a bit strange, actually including both large sums and odd change... A rich person's eccentricity, perhaps?
If Su Ning knew, she would definitely retort that it wasn't an eccentricity at all.
She was taking from the people and using it for the people. Thanks to the efforts of the tabloids, just the daily NPCs alone provided quite a few rewards. What she donated was exactly the sum of three days' worth of rewards.
"So I need to work harder."
"Hate me a little more."
...
This wish was not hard to fulfill.
The substantial amount of funds raised at this charity banquet was leaked by those with ulterior motives to act as appeasement: Look, the masters are all working hard to save you, hold on and don't make trouble.
Those who donated the most were heavily publicized, but Su Ning, who had donated the highest amount, was intentionally or unintentionally ignored. She had no reaction, but someone else felt the injustice on her behalf.
"Miss, should I give Chief Editor Li a call?"
Lin Sen couldn't help but ask.
He sounded as if the newspaper was at his beck and call... which wasn't far from the truth. The newspaper where Chief Editor Li worked was currently enjoying a monopoly in Beiping and riding high on success, knowing full well who they relied on.
"No need."
Su Ning refused without even lifting her head. Her attention remained on the leather-bound notebook in her hands, flipping through it page by page. A smile spread across her lips as she casually replied:
"It's not like I donated the money for a few words of praise. I just wanted to give it, so I did. If they want to be seen as great philanthropists, let them. What does it have to do with me?"
A few seconds later.
"Understood."
Assistant Lin, who was usually extremely quick to react, was half a beat slow. His expression was slightly dazed. He was actually a pragmatic and worldly person too... He had subconsciously assumed that the Miss was just like other rich people, donating money merely to put on a show and clean up her reputation.
Especially since the Miss's reputation had been quite poor recently.
He hadn't expected the truth to be like this.
—"I just wanted to give it, so I did."
Lin Sen smiled, an indescribable and unclear emotion growing within him. Perhaps it was a feeling of being the only sober person in an intoxicated world?
"How has the Zhao family been these past few days?"
Su Ning had no idea about his inner thoughts. Too lazy to read the repetitive internal struggles and tossing and turning written inside, she casually flipped to the last page. There was nothing important.
She closed the notebook.
"Not very well."
As he answered, Lin Sen subconsciously glanced at the notebook... It was Zhao Hao's diary, which he had personally acquired from a servant of the Zhao family.
That's right, just a diary.
Not a treasure map, nor some crucial secret ledger.
Su Ning listened to the miserable state of the Zhao family. Other branches of the family were clamoring to split the household, and some female family members wanted a divorce—even using Consort Shu's divorce as an example. When disaster strikes, everyone flies their separate ways. Seeing that the Zhao family was about to be ruined, she didn't want to go down with the ship.
As for servants stealing and running away.
That was just standard procedure.
"...After your deal with Elder Sun, the Zhao family heard the news and allied with other sealed rice shops, negotiating to get their rice back. In the end, they failed."
"How laughably naive."
Su Ning sneered.
That man surnamed Sun might look kind, but in reality, he was a ruthless predator who would eat you alive without spitting out the bones. During the previous dynasty, he made his fortune acting as a white glove for the powerful elite, with countless lives on his hands.
In the Republic era, he was even more like a fish in water.
Relying on his sharp eye and ruthlessness, he maintained connections with numerous prominent figures from both the north and south. The ties were so extensive that even Chen Huaiqian was wary of collateral damage and didn't dare make a rash move.
Would such a person spit out the meat already in his mouth just because of a few words?
"They are just unwilling to accept their fate, so they are putting up a dying struggle."
Lin Sen said with a smile.
A hint of envy flashed across his brow. In his view, the Zhao family had committed a grave crime and deserved a swift death, but because of Shang Wenyun, the Miss chose to spend her energy slowly torturing and tormenting them. Even if she just wanted to watch a good show...
That still required the Miss to be willing to watch.
And enjoy watching.
"How truly pitiful," Su Ning said, tapping her bent knuckles lightly against the notebook, producing a muffled thud. "Since that's the case, let me give them a helping hand... Call Assistant Shang over."
"Right away."
...
The atmosphere in the room froze to the extreme.
Clack.
The notebook fell to the ground.
"I'm sorry..." Shang Wenyun apologized instinctively. She crouched down to pick up the notebook, but her eyes caught sight of a few lines written in a familiar handwriting on the open page—
Longing for Zhao Xuewen's biological mother, and pride... yes, it was pride. He had become a hero, saving his pitiful sweetheart so she wouldn't be trapped in a desperate situation because of the child.
"Are you very sad?"
Su Ning's tone was full of surprise. Anyone with eyes could see the obvious, but she couldn't help it—a reward notification had just chimed! Even though it wasn't much, it was still something!
Hadn't they said she was completely squeezed dry?
"I've made a fool of myself in front of you." Shang Wenyun lowered her head, carefully examining her own feelings.
A moment later, she actually smiled.
"I'm not really sad. Rather, I just want to tear Zhao Hao into ten thousand pieces."
"Not right now."
Su Ning offered a half-smile, her voice lazy. "I still need you to help the Zhao family tide over their current crisis and get back the life-saving grain. What do you say, are you willing to go?"
"I am."
Although she didn't quite understand her intentions, Shang Wenyun still subconsciously trusted in Su Ning's... vengeful nature.
After sending her away.
Su Ning rested her chin in her hand and cheerfully called out to the system, "Do me a favor and quickly point out where all my land is located?"
She hadn't even gotten her hands on it yet.
What did she mean by her land? It still belonged to the Zhao family!
The system grumbled inwardly but did as it was told. Sigh, the thrill of bordering on violating the rules was always so addictive for a system...
