The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 406 - 405 Seizing Power from Father

Chapter 406: Chapter 405 Seizing Power from Father

Having known Zhong Qing for nearly three years, this was Shen Mingzhu’s first visit to the Zhong Family home.

Although the Zhong Family’s residence couldn’t match the luxury of the Ning Family or the grandeur of the Yan Family, it was certainly more spacious and majestic than the average home.

The European-style architecture, it was said, had housed many notable scholars and celebrities, before it eventually ended up in the hands of the Zhong Family.

The interior decoration of the Zhong Family home could truly be described as opulent, especially the purple sandalwood furniture filling every room and the valuable porcelain seen everywhere, all proving the immense wealth and prosperity of the Zhong Family.

Throughout the visit, Shen Mingzhu closely monitored her daughter, fearing she might accidentally break one of the valuable ornaments in the living room and that selling their entire family wouldn’t even cover the cost.

Noticing her anxiety, Zhong Qing had Zhong Yin take Pei Ziheng and Guoguo to the entertainment room to play, while she took Shen Mingzhu upstairs to visit her own room.

As for Pei Yang, he and Yan Yi sat in the living room, sick of each other’s company.

Considering Zhong Min was still young and wanting Pei Yang to feel comfortable, Zhong Qing had specially invited Yan Yi over to act as the man of the house and help entertain their guest.

"Dr. Yan isn’t young anymore, when do you plan to tie the knot with Miss Zhong?"

"Next year."

"Really? That’s wonderful."

"What’s so wonderful about it?"

Once you’re married, I won’t have to worry about you stealing my wife anymore.

Pei Yang thought to himself, but replied aloud, "Nothing beats a warm bed with a wife and children, you’ll understand once you’re married."

Yan Yi chuckled and countered, "What about you? You aren’t young either, haven’t you thought about starting your own business? Aren’t you afraid of being mocked for living off your wife, following her around all day?"

Pei Yang shamelessly retorted, "What’s wrong with living off my wife? Others wish they could but can’t."

Downstairs, the two men engaged in a war of words, while upstairs Shen Mingzhu stared dumbstruck at Zhong Qing’s display cabinet full of jade ornaments.

The lyrics of a song—black, white, red, yellow, purple, green, blue, gray—used at this moment, were quite apt.

Not only was there a rich variety of colors in the jade, but all were of the highest quality.

Despite being less than human, Zhong Jiping was quite generous to Zhong Qing, or perhaps, he wanted to use money to keep Zhong Qing as an obedient canary.

This was one of the primary reasons Chu Yuqing was so envious and resentful of Zhong Qing.

She was the real Mrs. Zhong, the lady of the Zhong Family, yet Zhong Qing’s car, clothes, housing, and travels were all superior to hers.

"Feel free to pick anything you like."

Hearing Zhong Qing’s words, Shen Mingzhu casually pointed out several items.

Zhong Qing immediately went to open the cabinet to pack up the items Shen Mingzhu had pointed out, but Shen Mingzhu then said, "Aside from these few, I like everything else."

Zhong Qing paused for a moment.

Shen Mingzhu, however, beamed with delight.

"Just kidding with you, a true gentleman does not snatch what others desire. Actually, I don’t have a particular fondness for jade; even the bracelet you gave me before, I hardly ever wear it."

"Then what do you like? I’ll buy it and give it to you."

Shen Mingzhu laughed in reply, "Oh, there’s plenty I like, but liking something doesn’t mean I need to possess it. Being able to see them up close like this satisfies me just the same."

Zhong Qing truly was a top socialite, with not only a display cabinet full of jade ornaments but also an entire wardrobe of cheongsams, all kinds of valuable jewelry, shoes, bags, garments, and so on.

All of these far surpassed Zhuang Xueqi’s dressing room.

The Zhong Family ancestors had been medical practitioners for generations, with the most glorious time when there were Zhong Family clinics and pharmacies throughout the country.

Later, with the establishment of the new nation, the Zhong Family responded to the call and donated hundreds of their ancestral medicinal recipes without compensation, co-founding the First Pharmaceutical Factory with the provincial government.

Although the First Pharmaceutical Factory was state-owned, half of its shares were held privately.

Among them, Zhong Jiping held the largest personal stake.

After Zhong Jiping’s accident, Zhong Qing held back from clashing with Chu Yuqing, aiming to have Chu Yuqing sign off and allow her to stand in for Zhong Jiping’s shares.

Thinking her husband would be saved, on the eve of departure, as the first in line to inherit, Chu Yuqing personally signed the authorization allowing Zhong Qing to represent the shareholding.

She thought that once her husband returned, she could take back the stock rights.

But she never expected Zhong Qing had secretly planned a coup to usurp her father’s power.

Watching Shen Mingzhu excitedly roam her dressing room, Zhong Qing felt an indescribable sense of relaxation and contentment in her heart.

She had been looking forward to this day for a long time.

I could openly have friends without worrying about the trouble they might endure because of me.

The feeling of freedom made even the air seem sweet.

Shen Mingzhu could clearly feel the change in Zhong Qing, her eyebrows relaxed, and she herself became more at ease.

However, she didn’t think too much of it and assumed that Zhong Qing was in such a good state because she was at home.

"How is your father’s health?"

Shen Mingzhu only knew that Zhong Qing’s father had suffered an acute illness and had gone abroad for treatment, but she was not clear about the specifics of his condition or the illness.

"Um, with my mom taking care of him, I am very reassured."

Hearing this, Shen Mingzhu changed the subject, "Qingqing, how have you been lately? How is the progress with what you need to do?"

"Pretty smooth."

"That’s good."

Zhong Qing looked at her, "Mingzhu, I promised you before that I would tell you everything, but I’ve changed my mind. I want to retain some beauty and dignity in front of you. Can I not tell you?"

"Of course, you can."

"You’re not angry?"

Shen Mingzhu smiled, "In friendship, besides helping and encouraging each other, we should also have understanding and respect. No one wants to expose their scars for outsiders to see. Neither do I."

Zhong Qing reached out and hugged her, softly saying, "Mingzhu, thank you. Meeting you and becoming friends with you is the biggest fortune of my life."

Shen Mingzhu patted her back, "The feeling is mutual; you’ve also helped me out a lot."

Zhong Qing hugged her even tighter, "We will be friends for life, right?"

Without hearing Shen Mingzhu’s reply, Zhong Qing asked with a pitiful tone, "What’s wrong, don’t you want to?"

Shen Mingzhu let go of her and pursed her lips, then asked the question that had been lurking in her mind for days—

"Qingqing, what exactly happened the day I fainted?"

The smile faded from Zhong Qing’s face.

Shen Mingzhu looked at her, "Did your mother, did she drug me?"

"I’m sorry."

"What did she want to do?"

"No matter what she wanted to do, she didn’t succeed in the end, and she won’t pose any threat to you in the future, I can assure you of that on my personal integrity."

Shen Mingzhu chuckled slightly, "But how can I know you won’t deceive me again in the future?"

Zhong Qing hurriedly explained, "I didn’t mean to deceive you; it’s just that it was difficult to speak about, and I didn’t want to lose your friendship. Mingzhu, whether in the past or in the future, I will do my best to protect you, please believe me, okay?"

"So, the reason I was only unconscious that day is that you arrived in time to save me?"

Zhong Qing nodded.

"What would have happened to me if you hadn’t shown up that day?"

Zhong Qing shook her head softly, her tone filled with earnest pleading, "Mingzhu, can you please not ask anymore? I assure you that you will be safe from now on, and my mom won’t be coming back for a while."

Upon hearing this, Shen Mingzhu suddenly thought of the wounds on Zhong Qing’s body and couldn’t help shivering.

"The injuries on your body, were they due to Mrs. Zhong? She did that to you... doesn’t she even spare you? Aren’t you her daughter? Is she still human?"

The last sentence was full of anger from Shen Mingzhu.

As a woman and a mother, she couldn’t understand Chu Yuqing’s actions.

Seeing Zhong Qing’s sad expression and her reluctance to speak, Shen Mingzhu took a deep breath and let it out.

"Qingqing, I won’t force you to talk about things you don’t want to discuss. I understand you, but I can’t forgive you."

"You saved me that day, but if you had told me about Mrs. Zhong’s malice from the start, I wouldn’t have given her the chance to harm me."

"Your concealment put me in danger."

Zhong Qing had no response.

When Shen Mingzhu turned to leave, Zhong Qing hastily grabbed Shen Mingzhu’s hand, "Mingzhu, does this mean you won’t be my friend anymore?"