Although Ma Xiumei was a woman, she had courage, methods, and a generous, forthright nature. Though she bore some unsavory stains of her own, they did not affect Su Rui's opinion of her.
In one of his past lives, Su Rui had even stepped in to help Ma Xiumei's company several times, enabling it to reach the pinnacle of the provincial capital and completely transforming its standing.
Through the endless cycles of reincarnation, Su Rui had been a figure much like a mastermind behind the scenes, changing the fates of different people. It was merely one of the few ways he entertained himself and passed the time.
But not everyone could catch Su Rui's eye.
Those whom he noticed and whose fates he changed all possessed their own distinctive merits.
Some were cunning, some forthright, some ruthless, and some fiercely loyal.
There were major problems with Ma Xiumei.
But they were not in her business dealings; they lay in her personal state of mind and family experiences.
Ma Xiumei had started with a tiny tailor shop. After decades of struggle, along with a few fortunate opportunities, she had turned that modest storefront into a luxury brand.
She had indeed been tremendously successful in business.
But what followed was failure in her love life.
Her first marriage had ended because Husband cheated on her.
After that, she never sought a second chance at love. She knew perfectly well that, with her looks, it would be difficult to find a man who genuinely loved her. Most of those who approached her wanted nothing but her money.
The greater her success became, the deeper the void in her emotions grew.
She began spending money to keep young gigolos, but every relationship ended quickly.
A relationship between men and women sustained by money was never secure.
That continued until she met Gao Le.
When they first began seeing each other, Ma Xiumei had intended only to keep Gao Le for a while. But after they moved in together, she discovered that Gao Le was completely different from the gigolos before him. He was attentive and considerate, and even the affection he revealed unconsciously seemed exceptionally genuine.
He took meticulous care of every aspect of her life.
She wavered, believing that heaven had truly favored her and that she had found real love.
So she bought Gao Le a house and a car, and even transferred several storefronts under her name to him. She had never been stingy with expenses; as long as Gao Le asked for something, she had never refused him.
She had even given Gao Le her supplementary Gold Card.
A month earlier, Gao Le had proposed to her at a carefully prepared banquet, and she had accepted.
She was thriving in both business and love.
Her life was complete...
But!
According to Su Rui's investigation in that past life, the truth was nothing like what Ma Xiumei believed!
Gao Le had never sincerely cared for Ma Xiumei.
Gao Le had a son.
During the time he had been involved with Ma Xiumei, he had also kept a mistress outside.
His proposal to Ma Xiumei had been a trap!
A few million was no longer enough for Gao Le. What he wanted was Ma Xiumei's family property worth hundreds of millions.
Ma Xiumei had no children.
After they married, Gao Le would become Ma Xiumei's first-priority heir.
So he and his mistress, who sang at a bar, devised a plan.
Gao Le's mistress was named Han Mei. Because she worked at the bar, she often came into contact with people who moved through society's darker underbelly.
From those people, she could buy certain contraband.
For example, marijuana and samples of medical Clostridium bacteria. Mixed into Ladies' Cigarettes and food, they would slowly erode the body, causing no unusual reactions in the short term and making them difficult to detect.
But over time, marijuana oil would damage the body's central nervous system, causing mental confusion and split consciousness. The medical bacteria would liquefy bodily tissue, impair liver function, and ultimately cause death through liver necrosis.
The process would take nearly three to five years, and once it took effect, there would be no possibility of treatment.
Even hospitals would be unable to determine the cause.
Su Rui also knew that Han Mei had once planned to arrange a car accident to kill Ma Xiumei just one year after Gao Le married her, allowing Gao Le to inherit the estate smoothly.
But Gao Le had rejected it.
The reason was simple. That method could easily arouse police suspicion, and one year was not enough time for Gao Le to smoothly take control of the companies under Ma Xiumei's command.
Gao Le needed time to clear himself of suspicion, so he chose the safer first method.
In one of his past lives, Su Rui had kidnapped Gao Le and Han Mei and forced them to talk, extracting every detail of the plan and the identities of everyone involved.
He knew very clearly what kind of situation Ma Xiumei was in now.
"Gao Le's mistress is named Han Mei. She sings at a bar and now lives in Clearwater Garden. There are three apartments there, all bought with Gao Le's money. Two are under Han Mei's name, and one is under Gao Le's." This was the first thing Su Rui whispered into Ma Xiumei's ear.
He could clearly sense Ma Xiumei's breathing growing heavier.
Ma Xiumei knew Gao Le had bought property in Clearwater Garden, but she had not known it was a nest of debauchery where he kept his mistress.
"Gao Le's original name was Gao Jianjun. He is from Gao Family Village, Zhenjiang County. It is true that he was married, and it is true that he has a son. But his son lives with his ex-wife and has had no contact with him since..."
"His appearance by your side was nothing more than a premeditated scheme. Everyone in Tongzhou City knows that you are worth hundreds of millions, have been divorced for years, and like younger men. Gao Le deliberately approached you and acted differently from other men to win your favor."
"Gao Le wants to use marriage to take a share of your assets and companies, and eventually bleed you dry."
Su Rui spoke at length.
"I had a premarital property assessment done. Even if we marry and later divorce, he will not get a single cent from me." Ma Xiumei spoke softly, her expression blank and devoid of any discernible emotion.
"But what if you die?" Su Rui smiled with his brows and eyes, but his words were icy.
In a marriage, if one party died, the spouse would become the first-priority heir.
"They would not dare use such methods! If something happened to me, he would be the first person suspected!" Ma Xiumei was not agitated. She merely voiced her view slowly.
"They naturally would not dare use something like a car accident... But what if they used a method that took effect slowly?" Su Rui asked with a smile.
"You should have noticed it already. Recently, your craving for cigarettes has been getting stronger and stronger. You have also lost your appetite and often feel exhausted."
If Su Rui had merely said such things unilaterally, they would not have had much effect. What mattered most was connecting them to Ma Xiumei's own condition; she would soon realize that something was wrong.
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