1059 The Use for the Aphrodisiac
"But grandmother doesn't treat my cousin like this. She gives him all the good things. I'm the only one she treats this way. Is it because I'm not as outstanding as him?" Xiao Yu said sadly.
Liang Lan looked at her young daughter in her arms and it was like seeing herself when she was young. After Qiao Qiang left, Liang Lan was the worst off. In order to consolidate her own status in the Liang family, Liang Shu only cared about Liang Guo and gave him all the good things as well as the nicest food.
Even after Liang Lan grew up, she was not allowed to make her own decisions. Liang Shu even controlled the type of clothes that she could wear. Whenever Liang Shu was unhappy, she would beat and scold Liang Lan until Liang Lan was covered in bruises. This was all because Liang Lan inherited Qiao Qiang's looks and resembled him a lot.
Even Liang Lan's marriage was pre-arranged. As soon as she was of marriageable age, Liang Shu immediately married her off to the Xiao family because the Xiao family could help to stabilize Liang Shu's status in the Liang family. It was only when Liang Guo gained a firm foothold in the government and Liang Lan was able to take charge of the Liang family that Liang Shu completely defeated her brother, Liang Can.
Liang Can was now living in their old hometown and rarely participated in the Liang family's power struggles in the capital. It could even be said that he was living a life aloof from worldly affairs. He never had any intention of competing with Liang Shu in the first place. It was all a show put up by Liang Shu.
"Our Xiao Yu is so capable and outstanding. It's not your fault. Even if grandmother doesn't like you, Mom likes you very much. I'll try my best not to bring you back to her house in the future, alright?" Liang Lan asked gently.
"Alright." Xiao Yu nodded vigorously. After saying that, she buried her head tightly in Liang Lan's lap, as if this was the safest place in the world.
Liang Lan stared blankly out of the window. She did not know when such a life would end. If she could choose again, she would rather not be born into the Liang family. Even if she was born into a poor family in the countryside, at least she would not live a life without freedom.
That night, the Liang family sent out many of their spies to try and find out how much money He Ning had paid for the "divine medicine". The replies they received vary between 60,000 to 100,000 dollars. It was hardly surprising for them to hear that the He family spent so extravagantly. This amount of money would be enough for Qiao Mei to spend for the rest of her life!
When Liang Shu heard the news, she smashed up everything in the kitchen until there was nothing left to break.
The He family did not remain idle. He Ning had asked Jia Zhong to secretly bring He Mei back from the mountains and find another girl to replace her spot there.
Huo Gao looked at He Ning in puzzlement and asked, "Aren't you afraid that Qiao Mei will hate you for bringing He Mei back now?"
"Why would she hate me? I'm just bringing He Mei home. What does it have anything to do with Qiao Mei?" He Ning asked.
"Have you forgotten how He Mei tried to harm Qiao Mei and her babies? Qiao Mei is due to give birth soon. If the Xia family finds out that you have brought He Mei back, there's going to be trouble," Huo Gao said.
He Ning nodded. What Huo Gao said made sense, but this was the exact effect that he wanted. He felt very much at ease with Jia Zhong handling matters for him. The Xia family's attention was all on Xia Mao and Qiao Mei at the moment and they would not have time to note what the He family was doing.
Furthermore, his intention in bringing He Mei back was not to hurt Qiao Mei. Initially, he had deliberately hurt Qiao Mei only because he wanted to get Xia Zhe on his side, together with the Xia family's support. Later on, when he found out that Qiao Mei had outstanding culinary skills and she was good with flowers and plants, he felt that it was a pity for such a capable person to stay in the Xia family.
He had no qualms about doing everything he could to get Qiao Mei on his side, but he knew that Qiao Mei was a very stubborn person. No matter what he did, he would not be able to affect Qiao Mei's feelings for Xia Zhe. Since he could not break them up, he would make their relationship disintegrate from the inside.
"I remember that Jia Zhong had given me a report on the general route that Xia Zhe would take to return to the capital after his mission? His army unit will definitely stay in the town hospital in South City to recuperate for a period of time. Let's arrange for He Mei to go there to help out. The rest is up to her," He Ning said.
Huo Gao looked at He Ning in admiration. With He Mei's current looks, it was impossible for her to seduce Xia Zhe. No wonder He Ning kept urging him to concoct different types of aphrodisiac some time ago. He had thought that He Ning had finally come to his senses and found someone he liked. He definitely did not expect that it was meant to be used on Xia Zhe!
This really made him feel a little disappointed…
