If not for the unexpected events of that night, would he and Yu Mengzhi be strangers now?
Chen Jinzhao suddenly felt relieved. Even if he was just a pawn in someone's game, he had to thank that person for bringing him and Yu Mengzhi together. Meeting a woman like Yu Mengzhi was his fortune.
What did it matter if he became a pawn?
More importantly, Chen Jinzhao could see that Yu Mengzhi, like himself, was just a pawn. They could huddle together for warmth.
"Let's not talk about that. After tonight, the Su family's vitality is greatly injured. It will take at least ten years to recover," Chen Jinzhao said with a smile. What he needed to do now was to dismantle the Su family within these ten years.
Yu Mengzhi came back to her senses and hesitated, "Was tonight's incident really not orchestrated by you?"
"If I say it wasn't, would you believe me?" Chen Jinzhao retorted.
Yu Mengzhi instinctively shook her head.
The incident was too coincidental, and Chen Jinzhao seemed to possess foresight, making it difficult for Yu Mengzhi to believe he had no hand in it.
Chen Jinzhao explained with a smile, "Actually, this incident was orchestrated by Su Hao. The story goes like this..."
After listening to Chen Jinzhao's account, Yu Mengzhi murmured in surprise, "If that's the case, then Su Hao is truly heartless, to even harm his own brother. In this way, the Su family will be controlled by a cunning and malicious ambitious man. Won't the situation be even more disadvantageous for you? How about we directly tell the Su family that Su Hao orchestrated it? Perhaps it will cause internal strife."
Chen Jinzhao shook his head. "If I were to tell the Su family, they wouldn't believe me and would just think I was instigating internal conflict within their family."
For the Su family, the threat from Chen Jinzhao far outweighed any internal discord.
"Alas, won't that let Su Hao succeed?" Yu Mengzhi really didn't want to see Su Hao's smug face.
"No."
"You must have a backup plan, otherwise you wouldn't have just sat back and let Su Hao comfortably become the primary heir."
Meeting Yu Mengzhi's suspicious gaze, Chen Jinzhao couldn't help but chuckle.
No one understood him better than Yu Mengzhi.
Chen Jinzhao still had a very important piece in the Su family – Su Wen. His next move was to have Su Wen instigate the interest groups behind Su Yuan to engage in fierce competition with the newly rising Su Hao. It was important to note that the interest groups behind Su Yuan mostly came from his mother's side. Therefore, Su Yuan's prosperity was intertwined with theirs, and there was no reason for them to align with Su Hao.
Either Su Hao dies, or they die.
As long as Su Wen revealed Su Hao's actions to the interest groups established by Su Yuan, these two factions were bound to clash.
Yu Mengzhi's eyes lit up upon hearing this. In this way, Chen Jinzhao could continue to sit back and watch the tiger fight, observing the Su family descend into chaos. And Su Wen, whom Chen Jinzhao supported, might emerge victorious amidst the turmoil with his help, becoming the heir to the Su family.
"I understand. What we need to do next is to provide some assistance to Su Yuan's interest groups so that they aren't utterly defeated by Su Hao, is that right?" Yu Mengzhi said with a smile.
Chen Jinzhao nodded. "President Yu is truly intelligent!"
For such matters, Chen Jinzhao found it inconvenient to step forward, and Qian Deshui had to handle it.
"Let the Su family resolve their own affairs. We just need to be the fisherman who reaps the benefits in the end."
"Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's go back and rest."
At the same time.
A family meeting was being held within the Su family, presided over by Su Shanshui, with all three generations of the Su family present.
The meeting's agenda was simple: to strictly demand that Su family disciples regulate their words and actions and refrain from further incidents. It also required these disciples to confess their misdeeds, and the Su family would use its influence to clean up the mess.
Any repeat offenses would not be tolerated.
Finally, Su Shanshui mentioned another matter: that Su Hao would begin to take charge of family affairs, and any issues faced by family disciples could be brought to Su Hao for resolution.
This was equivalent to elevating Su Hao's status, and it was clear to everyone that Su Hao had become the sole heir.
Among the crowd.
Su Wen, with his honest and simple appearance, kept glancing at the spirited Su Hao, muttering to himself, "Su Hao is without virtue; he can be replaced."
Then he lowered his head, realizing it was not yet his time to shine.
At the end of the meeting.
Su Shanshui symbolically asked, "Does anyone else have any objections?"
At this moment.
A young man in his thirties stood up. This was Su Qing, the eldest son of Su Canghai's younger brother, Su Cangshan.
All eyes fell on Su Qing, including Su Shanshui's.
Su Shanshui frowned. He had merely been going through the motions, so why had Su Qing stood up? Su Shanshui had not paid much attention to this grandson in the past.
"Su Qing, what are your concerns?" he asked.
Su Qing said in a deep voice, "Grandfather, I don't think tonight's incident is that simple. In my opinion, Elder Brother is not that impulsive. You know how close Elder Brother was to Qin Fengwu, and tonight, someone from the Qin family held a meeting for the third generation in Jiangning. How could Elder Brother have acted at this time? Wouldn't that be an insult to Qin Fengwu?"
"What do you mean by that?" Su Shanshui's brow furrowed.
"Grandfather, please let me finish."
Su Qing continued, "Chen Jinzhao is indeed an enemy of the Su family, but his destructive potential should be less than that of some people within our own ranks. I strongly suspect that this incident was carried out by our own people. Whoever benefits from this turmoil is the prime suspect."
For a moment.
The council hall buzzed with discussions, and eyes turned to Su Hao.
Su Hao clenched his fists secretly, but forced a smile. "Su Qing, I don't understand what you mean. Are you suggesting that I orchestrated the entire thing? My relationship with Elder Brother is so good. Don't try to pin the blame on me."
Su Qing sneered, "I didn't say it was you. I'm just raising a possibility. Aren't you in such a hurry to speak up because you have something to hide?"
Su Hao's face turned ashen. He decided not to argue with Su Qing, lest he reveal his true colors.
Su Wen looked at Su Qing again, thinking that he was a good pawn and could be utilized effectively now.
"Enough," Su Shanshui declared. "The Su family is facing both internal and external threats, and is indeed at a precarious juncture. We must not allow internal strife within the Su family. In the future, such words that damage relationships should not be spoken within the Su family."
"There is one more thing."
"Su Qing, from now on, you and Su Hao will jointly manage family affairs. That is all."
Under everyone's gaze, Su Shanshui left the council hall shakily.
The Su family disciples erupted in discussion. Initially, the elder only designated Su Hao to manage family affairs, but now Su Qing had been added. The intention was quite clear.
Whoever performed better in this competition would become the heir.
Su Hao never expected that the usually meek Su Qing would dare to disrupt his plans at this critical juncture, directly impacting his meticulously laid schemes.
However, he dared not fall out with Su Qing now, for fear of damaging his image in the elder's eyes.
Su Qing looked at Su Hao and smiled. "Second Brother, I hope to learn some knowledge from you in the future. What do you think?"
Su Hao remained silent, his face grim.
Su Qing laughed heartily and then strode away.
Su Wen, like many others, hurried to follow Su Qing, fawning over him and trying to gain his favor.
At this moment, Su Qing was like the moon surrounded by stars, drawing everyone's attention.
Su Hao gritted his teeth at the sight, then turned and left in a huff.
Upon returning to his residence, he recounted the night's events to Fang Mingchao. Fang Mingchao congratulated Su Hao, who waved his hand. "What are you congratulating me for? Su Qing has almost ruined me."
"I could have had absolute power, but he's interfering and taking a share."
Fang Mingchao replied, "Perhaps the elder promoted Su Qing precisely to protect you. If you were to stand out too much, you would attract even more criticism. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Su Hao's eyes lit up. If Fang Mingchao hadn't pointed it out, he might not have realized it.
"I understand. It seems I've misunderstood the elder."
Fang Mingchao smiled. "Let's put that aside for now. There's something else I need to tell you. Young Master Han intends to have Yang Qianqian serve those elders, so he wants to send Yang Qianqian to Taoyuan Villa first. We'll teach her some skills ourselves to prevent her from accidentally offending honored guests."
Yang Qianqian?
Su Hao's heart stirred. In his memory, this woman was indeed quite attractive and worth indulging.
"Alright."
"Set a time, and I'll go with you to educate Yang Qianqian."