Chapter 13: One Hundred Million To Marry Into A Marriage Alliance
Liancheng involuntarily twitched, her chest cavity rotting into pus and blood at that moment.
She knew that Mother Liang was no longer her support.
Not a cent.
Liancheng lowered her head and said nothing more.
Liang Chaosu stood motionless, while Liang Wenfei was holding Mother Liang’s arm, enjoying Liancheng’s defeated and dejected expression.
He looked at Liancheng again, her mind lost, her eyes devoid of radiance, head lowered and dejected, standing there, hopeless and sorrowful.
Discovering she had been betrayed by everyone, with no room to maneuver, such despairing, grief-stricken pain.
“For these three days, she is confined to her room,” Liang Chaosu suddenly spoke, “until her medical examination, the servants in the house will keep an eye on her, she is not allowed out.”
A definitive decision.
With a twist of fate, Liancheng looked up at Liang Chaosu, his jet black pupils, for the first time ever, devoid of aggression, not sharp.
Their gazes met fleetingly, Liancheng turned her head away, turned and went upstairs.
Mother Liang was confused and came to ask Liang Chaosu for the reason.
Liang Chaosu casually brushed it off and, without lingering downstairs, strode up the steps.
Passing by Liancheng’s room, her door was tightly shut and silent.
Liang Chaosu grabbed the doorknob; the door was locked from the inside.
Liancheng knew he had the key, and if he truly wanted to enter, a locked door wouldn’t stop him.
Yet she still locked it. Liang Chaosu’s eyes flashed with her hunched figure downstairs, a wave of impatience surging in his chest, “Liancheng.”
Liancheng stood behind the door, motionless.
“What else are you not satisfied with?” he irritably twisted the doorknob, “No blood draw, your objective has already been achieved.”
Liang Chaosu was reminding her to stop while she was ahead.
Liancheng spread her hands, the three lines on her palm, each interrupted by crescent-shaped bruises from her fingernails, bloody; from a fortune-telling perspective, a broken palm line signified a difficult life.
But she was numb, she didn’t feel pain.
Liang Chaosu, who had caused her hardship, wouldn’t feel her pain either; if a knife were to stab him, he’d be told not to resist, to stop while he was ahead.
Liancheng clenched her fist again, the restless thought in her mind becoming clearer and clearer.
It was fierce like a tidal surge, vast and overwhelming her fear of being discovered by Liang Chaosu and punished for sneaking out.
But no matter how rampant the thought was, her reality was that she hadn’t passed the medical examination hurdle yet.
There was a long silence from inside the room. Liang Chaosu, with a dark expression, turned and went back to his room, sitting in a chair for a long while before making a phone call.
“Mr. Bo, did you receive the medical records I sent you this morning?”
“I received them. The uterine cavity issues are complex and require further pulse diagnosis and consultation. However, the request you made might not be realistic.”
Liang Chaosu paused for a moment, “Is acupuncture absolutely necessary?”
Mr. Bo was entertaining a guest, and amidst a low murmur of conversation, he responded, “Acupuncture clears the meridians and is more effective than medication for certain conditions. If you insist—”
The implied unfinished words were not lost on Liang Chaosu, who had extensive experience in the business world. “No acupuncture, and the investment doubles.”
The phone call ended.
Mr. Bo suddenly smiled, “This heir of the Liang family is tough on the outside, tender on the inside.”
The guest chimed in, “What do you mean?”
“He invested 100 million in my traditional Chinese medicine research project, asking me to ensure the safety of Young Lady Liang’s pregnancy. Later, he added another patient with a complex and rare uterine condition, requesting no acupuncture, and doubling the investment. Isn’t that a display of tenderness?”
The guest’s eyes twitched, and he probed, “But I heard this patient is his foster sister, and their relationship hasn’t been good these past few years. Why does he suddenly care so much?”
Mr. Bo waved his hand, “One can’t believe rumors about wealthy families. Hurry and return my medical books; I need to thoroughly research treatment methods.”
Half an hour later, the guest took his leave and approached, Bai Ying greeted him from afar, “Teacher, is it done?”
The guest shook his head. “No.”
“Bo Yizhang’s traditional Chinese medicine project is his lifeline. Liang Family is investing 200 million. Can your friend, with her entire fortune, offer more than the Liang Family?”
“Furthermore, the Liang heir doesn’t seem to detest your friend as you say. Out of the 200 million investment, 100 million was solely to spare your friend the suffering of acupuncture. In that case, your friend doesn’t need to hide her pregnancy; the Liang family would be delighted.”
Bai Ying was shocked and stammered, “100 million… to avoid the suffering of acupuncture?”
The guest nodded, “I was by his side when the Liang heir called Bo Yizhang, I heard it with my own ears.”
Bai Ying was greatly shaken. The upper-class circles were well aware of how Liang Chaosu had treated Liancheng over the years. If it weren’t for Mother Liang keeping Liancheng, Liang Chaosu would have kicked her out long ago.
Moreover, he had competed with Shen Lichuan for Liang Wenfei and forcibly taken Liancheng.
Both openly and secretly, he had tormented Liancheng completely. How could he spend 100 million just to spare her pain?
Could it be that he had developed feelings for Liancheng over time?
Upon her return to Nan Province, she immediately called Liancheng, but her phone was out of service, WeChat was offline, and she requested leave from her company until Wednesday.
The medical examination was scheduled for Wednesday.
Bai Ying’s eyelids twitched wildly. She went to the Liang residence, but the bodyguards at the door politely declined to see Liancheng on her behalf.
This confirmed Bai Ying’s suspicion that Liancheng was under house arrest.
Liancheng also knew that Bai Ying had come to find her on Monday. When the doorman refused, she saw it through the window.
However, Liang Wenfei had snatched her phone away, the room’s internet cable was cut, and her computer could only be used for Minesweeper. All means of contacting the outside world were severed.
She was under 24-hour surveillance; stepping out of her room, no matter where she went, someone would be right behind her.
She had become a trapped beast, left only to wait.
By Tuesday afternoon, Father Liang returned from his business trip.
No sooner had he arrived home, dusty from his travels, than Father Shen arrived with Shen Lichuan.
“The master’s prophecy is a prophecy, but the Shen family has no intention of delaying the marriage. Chaosu doesn’t need to take any action these past two days; the wedding date can be discussed by both families.”
Father Liang remained noncommittal.
Father Shen coughed and gestured for Shen Lichuan to state his position.
Shen Lichuan sat up straight, his gaze scanning the group: Father Liang and Liang Chaosu looked serious, Mother Liang and Liang Wenfei looked expectant.
A pair of biased, unreasonable parents.
A shameless elder brother, and a despicable fiancée.
He smiled, “I just met Miss Bai from the Bai family at the entrance. She said Liancheng is confined to her room.”
“She disobeyed her mother, a small disciplinary measure.” Liang Wenfei’s expectant expression faded, and she retorted, “Why do you care so much about her?”
Shen Lichuan’s eyebrows rose, and he looked at Father Liang, “Uncle, people say you have a happy marriage and no scandals for decades. May I ask, is this the result of Aunt’s strict guarding in private, chasing after shadows, and making things up from nothing?”
The living room fell silent.
Shen Lichuan’s meaning was clear. A simple question had led to Liang Wenfei’s aggressive interrogation, which he disliked.
Father Liang had repeatedly advised Liang Wenfei that while suspicion was acceptable for women, turning it into hypochondria was not. No man wanted to be constantly monitored as if he were a spy.
He raised his hand and called the butler, “Call Liancheng down, and please invite Miss Bai in as well.”
“Dad, Liancheng absolutely cannot see outsiders.”
Liang Wenfei was unwilling. She truly suspected Liancheng and Shen Lichuan of having an affair.
It wasn’t that she was overly suspicious.
Women are born with keen intuition. In relationships, whether a man truly loves you or where his heart lies, even if his words are guarded, it will show in his eyes.
Moreover, Shen Lichuan hadn’t seen Liancheng only once in the past six months. She had checked his itinerary.
