"He used underhanded methods to record something compromising about someone, then demanded five million to buy it back. That's blatant blackmail and extortion!"
"Dad, he's the young madam of the Fu Family! How can our family hold our heads up if he does something this disgraceful?"
So she was just going to slander him outright!
Sorry, the acting bug had bitten.
Xu Chao's face went deathly pale, tears filling his almond-shaped eyes. "No, I never did that."
Jin Feng was utterly smug. "Videos of you committing blackmail and extortion are all over the internet, and you still want to deny it? Hmph, someone from a small-time family really has no manners!"
Xu Chao helplessly stepped back. Just as he was about to ramp up his performance as a fragile little flower trembling in the wind and rain, his back bumped into a warm wall of flesh, and his hand was clasped tightly.
Xu Chao stared blankly at Fu Sichen.
Fu Sichen looked at him earnestly with his dark eyes, his gaze affectionate and resolute. "You wouldn't."
For some reason, his heartbeat stumbled.
Xu Chao looked away, a little flustered.
"I-I certainly wouldn't. My background might not be as noble as Second Aunt's, but the upbringing I received would never allow me to do anything illegal."
"You're right. Background doesn't determine everything. What matters is self-respect." Old Master Fu finished with a smile, then his gaze sharpened. "Jin Feng, what do you think?"
Jin Feng inwardly cursed Xu Chao for putting on an act and hurriedly pulled out her phone to play the recording.
But Old Master Fu looked at their tightly clasped hands and, rather than listening, said, "Chaochao, Grandpa wants to hear your side."
Compared with the way he had just addressed Jin Feng by her full name,
that affectionate "Chaochao" made his favoritism all too obvious.
Jin Feng's eyes widened in disbelief.
Xu Chao's little tail curled up proudly. Young Master Chaochao really was loved by everyone, enough to make flowers bloom.
But the show still had to go on.
"Grandpa, that man owed me money and wouldn't pay it back. I had no choice but to ask him for it. Did that disgrace the Fu Family?"
"Of course not. Paying your debts is only right." Seeing how wronged he looked, Old Master Fu softened and comforted him. "You did exactly the right thing. There's nothing disgraceful about it."
Jin Feng grew frantic. "Dad, don't listen to his nonsense! I personally heard him at the restaurant threatening someone with a compromising video to demand five million!"
Xu Chao gave an innocent "Wow." "Second Aunt, don't tell me you were the one who posted that recording online with the beginning and end cut off?"
Jin Feng jumped and hastily shook her head. "O-of course it wasn't me."
If the old man found out she had been plotting against her own family behind their backs, she would be in trouble!
Xu Chao raised an eyebrow and smiled. Without arguing with her, he simply played the full recording. Of course, he didn't forget to post it on Weibo too, letting the entire internet listen along.
Instantly, everyone jolted!
You lent me the money willingly!
Why should I pay you back?
Those words truly had the beauty of a missing brain stem!
Jin Feng hadn't expected Lou Jun to be such a dumbass either. Flustered, she tried to salvage the situation. "I didn't realize Lou Jun owed money and refused to pay it back. When I first saw the trending topic, I was misled."
Fu Sichen lifted his dark eyes, his voice carrying a bone-deep chill. "Are you sure?"
As though everything had been seen through, Jin Feng stumbled back two steps. "I-I'm sure, of course."
Fu Sichen wasted no more words and simply produced the evidence.
Fu Sichen's team had noticed the recording as soon as it was posted. Then, as major clickbait accounts raced to report on it and "Xu Chao blackmail and extortion" shot up the trending list, the team had swiftly taken action.
The phone screen now showed that the first person to post the recording had been Jin Feng's alternate Weibo account. Every clickbait account that spread it had received a large transfer from Jin Feng.
Xu Chao glanced at it and sniffled pitifully. "Second Aunt, I really never imagined you were deliberately trying to hurt me."
Jin Feng panicked. "It wasn't me. I never did it."
Old Master Fu had fought his way through the business world. How could such petty tricks escape his eyes? "Outrageous!"
Xu Chao was delighted to hear it. Worried that his laughter would be too blatant, he turned and buried his face in Fu Sichen's chest.
Holy shit, his chest was so big and springy!
Xu Chao couldn't resist rubbing against it again and again.
Jin Feng noticed Xu Chao's shaking shoulders and the grin stretching toward his ears, and flew into a rage. "Xu Chao, you're actually laughing! It was you! You staged all this to frame me!"
Fu Sichen tightened his arms around the youth in his embrace, his voice scornful. "Are you worth my wife going to that much trouble?"
Jin Feng: "..." How was she not worth it?
Xu Chao chuckled inwardly, but looked weak and pitiful. "Boo-hoo, I must have done something wrong to upset Second Aunt. Grandpa, if you're angry, be angry with me. Please don't be angry with Second Aunt."
Jin Feng's eyes widened. "You scheming little bitch..."
Suddenly, a cane cracked down.
Old Master Fu slammed his cane hard against the floor.
"You know you're wrong and still refuse to change! Is this how Jin Dabang raised you?"
Jin Dabang was Old Master Fu's close friend, as well as Jin Feng's father.
For him to bring up Jin Dabang's name at this moment was proof enough that Old Master Fu was truly angry.
Jin Feng's legs buckled, and she fell to her knees. "Dad!"
"Do you deserve to have Chaochao call you Second Aunt?" Old Master Fu demanded sternly.
That little bitch Xu Chao didn't deserve to call her Second Aunt!
But now, who knew what dirty tricks Xu Chao had used to win Old Master Fu's trust? Everything the old man said favored him!
Gritting her teeth, Jin Feng said, "Dad, I just lost my head for a moment and believed the rumors online. I really didn't mean it."
"Grandpa, it's all right. I'm the younger one. How could I ask Second Aunt to apologize to me?" Xu Chao was thoroughly considerate and magnanimous.
Old Master Fu nodded. "You're the most sensible one. But Sichen married you so you could enjoy a good life, not suffer grievances."
He glanced at Jin Feng, commanding respect without showing anger.
Enduring the ache in her chest, Jin Feng said, "I-I'm sorry."
"Second Aunt has such good manners." Xu Chao beamed.
Jin Feng was furious, and the next second left her choking back even more rage.
"Grandpa, my husband transferred fifty million to me for spending money today. I really am enjoying a good life. I haven't suffered at all."
Fifty million???!!!
Although Jin Feng held the esteemed position of the Fu Family's second madam and appeared glamorous and respectable in public,
in reality, all the Fu Family's businesses were in Fu Sichen's hands. Everyone else lived off dividends, receiving roughly five or six million a year.
Now she suddenly heard that Xu Chao, whom she looked down on most, had effortlessly received fifty million in spending money-ten times what she got!
Jin Feng lost it. She completely lost it!
"Fifty million? What gives you the right to have that much?"
Xu Chao blinked shyly. "Well, my husband dotes on me."
Jin Feng immediately looked as though she had eaten shit.
Pigs would climb trees before Fu Sichen ever doted on anyone!
But before she could speak, Old Master Fu's rebuke rang out. "Does Sichen need your permission to dote on his own wife? If you're jealous, go ask Fu Tinghao for money!"
If Fu Tinghao were capable of that, would she, a woman, still need to help him scheme for the family fortune?
Jin Feng gritted her teeth, still unwilling to give up. "But Xu Chao is a man, after all. He can't have children. Why not have them adopt a child from the family? My Xiao Lei happens to be just the right age."
That way, the head of the Fu Family would still be her grandson!
Jin Feng thought she had it all worked out.
But.
"Who says the two of us can't have children? We've only been married a few days. Even if I were pregnant, it would still be too early for a test to show it!"
Before you continue