Lu Manzhen

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Lu Manzhen (陆嫚臻)
Alias(es)	Aunt Lu
Species/Race	Human
Gender	Female
Affiliation	Su family; Su Corporation; later a shareholder of White Corporation
Occupation/Role	Su Shiyuan's wife; Huo Jiu's biological mother; Su Zhuo's stepmother; corporate shareholder and strategist
First Appearance	Chapter 5 5

Background / History

Lu Manzhen escaped an abusive marriage and left her son Huo Jiu with his father. Huo Jiu later recalls enduring abuse, hunger, and poverty while waiting for her return; she did not retrieve him until Su Zhuo required a bone-marrow transplant and Huo proved to be a compatible match 5 29.

After marrying Su Shiyuan, Lu Manzhen became Su Zhuo's stepmother. She devoted herself to his care, particularly during his recurring illnesses, and considered herself an exemplary stepmother. Her attention to Su Zhuo contrasted sharply with her distance from Huo Jiu, whose habits and preferences she barely knew 143 146.

She initially believed that Huo Jiu should view a bone-marrow donation as an opportunity to earn Su Shiyuan's gratitude and secure a place in the wealthy Su family. She also sought to use Huo Jiu's sharp tongue and knowledge of the household against Su Zhuo's aunt, her rival within the Su residence 8 10.

Personality

Lu Manzhen maintains a composed, gentle, and considerate public image. When confronted with Huo Jiu's accusations of abandonment, she relies on immaculate appearance and controlled behavior as emotional “armor,” though his words repeatedly expose her guilt and resentment 29 31.

She is highly conscious of status and security. Her years of serving the Su household leave her increasingly unwilling to depend on Su Shiyuan, Su Zhuo, or the Bai family for protection; she ultimately decides that wealth and influence of her own are the only reliable safeguards 144 147.

Her care for Su Zhuo is genuine in her own view, but is also bound to her desire to preserve her position in the Su family. She is capable of presenting vulnerability strategically, attempting to win Huo Jiu's sympathy after Su Shiyuan advises her to show weakness 140 141.

Once her schemes are exposed, Lu Manzhen abandons her meek facade. She becomes openly defiant toward the Bai family and resolute in pursuing corporate power, even at the cost of her marriage and former alliances 171 172.

Abilities & Skills

Social Manipulation and Image Management

Lu Manzhen understands how sympathy, appearances, and family expectations can be used to influence others.

• She publicly frames herself as an inadequate biological mother but an excellent stepmother, admitting that she brought Huo Jiu back for Su Zhuo's bone marrow while defending her years of care for Su Zhuo 143.
• She attempts to use meals and displays of maternal concern to repair her image with Huo Jiu, though he identifies the effort as an attempt to provoke feelings of disparity with Su Zhuo 146.
• She knows that Su Shiyuan and the Su family are sensitive to public perception and uses her position as Huo Jiu's mother to make her overtures appear more legitimate 141.

Corporate Strategy

Lu Manzhen develops connections and influence within Su Corporation through her position as the chairman's wife.

• She secretly encourages a director to challenge Su Shiyuan and Su Zhuo at a board meeting, intending to weaken Su Shiyuan's prestige through the failed Su Garden sponsorship affair 160.
• She acquires 10% of Su Corporation shares from Bai family members, reducing the combined Su–Bai family stake to 41.5% 171 174.
• She monitors secondary-market share movements and recognizes that her stake could become decisive in the conflict between Su Shiyuan and Turing Group 173 174.
• She ultimately supports Diwu Ling's side at the extraordinary shareholders' meeting, helping remove Su Shiyuan from management 176 178.
• She negotiates the exchange of her 10% Fifth Group shares for 15% of White Corporation shares after Diwu Ling and Huo Jiu reject her original terms 179.

Relationships

• Huo Jiu — Her biological son. She abandoned him after leaving his abusive father, later bringing him to the Su family because his bone marrow matched Su Zhuo's. Their relationship remains hostile and transactional despite her later attempts at reconciliation 5 29 143.
• Su Shiyuan — Her husband and Su Corporation's chairman. Their marriage is constrained by a prenuptial agreement that excludes her from his shares; mutual distrust escalates into open conflict during the corporate takeover 171 174 177.
• Su Zhuo — Her stepson. Lu Manzhen devoted years to caring for him and prioritized his recovery over Huo Jiu's welfare, but Su Zhuo becomes unsettled after learning of her schemes against the Bai family 143 171.
• Bai Yueling — Su Zhuo's aunt and Lu Manzhen's longtime antagonist. Their conflict culminates in Lu Manzhen slapping Bai Yueling during the dispute over the acquired Su Corporation shares 170 171.
• Diwu Ling — The Turing Group leader who becomes chairman after Su Shiyuan's removal. He negotiates with Lu Manzhen but refuses to let her dictate the terms of White Corporation's acquisition 178 179.
• Bai family — Lu Manzhen's in-laws through Su Zhuo's late mother. Their condescension and refusal to treat her as family fuel her decision to obtain shares and challenge their influence 172.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Bringing Huo Jiu into the Su Family

Lu Manzhen retrieves Huo Jiu after his father's funeral and has him tested as a potential bone-marrow donor for Su Zhuo. Although she argues that joining the Su family benefits Huo Jiu, she openly pressures him to accept the transplant for Su Zhuo's sake 7 10.

Huo Jiu refuses to treat the Su family as his own and repeatedly confronts Lu Manzhen over her abandonment. His accusation that she provided no child support for more than a decade forces her to confront the possibility that she remembered him only when Su Zhuo needed his bone marrow 29 31.

Failed Reconciliation Attempts

After Su Shiyuan reveals that she will not be allowed to have children of her own, Lu Manzhen recognizes how precarious her position in the Su family is. At Su Shiyuan's urging, she tries to appeal to Huo Jiu as a vulnerable mother and brings him lunches at school 140 141.

The effort backfires when Huo Jiu points out that she has brought him meals for half a month without learning what he likes to eat, while knowing Su Zhuo's preferences intimately. The public exchange further damages her carefully maintained maternal image 146 147.

Su Corporation Share Scheme

No longer willing to rely on the Su household, Lu Manzhen leverages her connections and private funds to obtain 10% of Su Corporation from indebted Bai relatives. When confronted, she declares that she wants the value of her years of sacrifice recognized through ownership and influence 160 171 172.

She refuses to return the shares despite Old Master Bai's health crisis and the Bai family's outrage. Her actions reveal her ambition to become a decisive shareholder rather than remain a dependent wife and stepmother 171 174.

Alliance with Turing Group

During Turing Group's challenge for control of Su Corporation, Lu Manzhen initially positions herself as a potential swing vote. Su Shiyuan's refusal to revoke their prenuptial agreement convinces her that he will never grant her equal security within the marriage 174 177.

At the shareholders' meeting, she publicly supports Huo Jiu and Diwu Ling's side, exposes Su Shiyuan and Bai Yueling's affair, and helps remove Su Shiyuan from his chairman position 176 177 178.

She exchanges her Su Corporation stake for 15% of White Corporation, then seeks to use that holding to influence White Corporation's leadership. She later announces that she intends to transfer her shares to Turing Group after completing her property division with Su Shiyuan 179 181 199.

Later-Life Memories

A later account establishes that Lu Manzhen retains memories of a previous life in which she used a similar strategy: acquiring Su Corporation shares from the Bai family, exchanging them for White Corporation shares, cashing out, and leaving. Armed with that knowledge, she seeks to secure her interests before Su Shiyuan can gain the same advantage 216 217.

Notable Quotes

“I, Lu Manzhen, was not born lowly. I put myself in an inferior position because I once looked up to you, hoping you would give me respect and equality. But later, I realized you would never give me what I wanted.” 172

“So I can only reach out and take it myself.” 172