Chapter 172: Old Master Qiao
"You… could it be you…" Ye Jing's eyes widened as she pointed at Qiao Xier, speechless. "Are you trying to piss me to death?!"
Her eyes rolled back, and she nearly fainted.
Beside her, Qiao Yunfeng glared at Qiao Xier, quickly supporting his wife, then cleared his throat and said, "Qiao Xier, you've gone too far! Apologize to your mother right now!"
"Mom, why are you so worked up? Zhang Yang and I just signed an agreement. I'm simply joining his company—working for Nuwa Company for twen… twenty years. As for what outsiders say, let them talk."
"You scared me to death, you brat." Ye Jing finally caught her breath, patting her chest, then frowned again. "Wait—what? Twenty years? You… you're staying there for twenty years? Who's going to manage Lanchen? Are you insane? Looks like you won't stop until you actually kill me with anger."
"Mom, I'm also a shareholder of Nuwa Company, okay? And Nuwa's future might not be worse than your Lanchen's."
Ye Jing was speechless, rubbing her chest while glaring at her husband, who looked as detached as ever. "Look at the daughter you raised—she's rebelling now."
"Ahem… honey, how about this—let's wait until Father comes back and see how he wants to handle it. Scolding Qiaoqiao won't help right now. Our daughter's being bullied, and we're supposed to help them bully her too?"
"Ugh, I know that, but what about Mother-in-law?"
"I'll handle her." Qiao Yunfeng smiled faintly at his daughter. "Don't worry, sweetheart. Dad's got your back. As long as you think it's right, do it. I'd like to see who dares mess with Qiao Yunfeng's daughter."
"Thanks, Dad." Qiao Xier mimed a hug, then glared at her mother, making Ye Jing nearly spit blood. "I'm hanging up now."
As soon as the video call ended—
Ye Jing turned and glared at Qiao Yunfeng. "You're just helping her rebel! That girl's gone wild, and you're still defending her. What if she brings home a baby one day—what then?"
"A grandson? That'd be great! I'd be thrilled."
"Please, could you act like a normal person? Your mother's old-fashioned enough already—she barely tolerated you marrying a woman reeking of business. Now you want to give her a womanizing son-in-law? She'll kick you out of the family!"
"Ha, getting kicked out? Isn't that what you've always wanted?" Qiao Yunfeng chuckled.
Ye Jing twisted his arm hard. "Of course I do! At least then I wouldn't have to suffer alone while you're never home. You think being your wife is easy?"
"Hehe, honey, I know you've worked hard. Come on, let me give you a massage…"
"Qiao Yunfeng, stop fooling around. I'm asking—what are we going to do about Qiaoqiao? We can't just watch her jump into the fire pit!"
Qiao Yunfeng cleared his throat, glancing at her slyly, and slipped his hand toward her collar. "Huh, honey, long time no see. Your boobs got bigger…"
"Ugh! Qiao Yunfeng, you… you're a soldier! Have some shame!" Ye Jing twisted his wrist and growled, "Qiao Yunfeng, if you don't give me a real answer today, don't even think about touching my bed again!"
"You're ruthless! Fine, fine, I give up." Qiao Yunfeng let go, sat in his chair, pulled out a cigarette—but Ye Jing smacked it away before he could light it.
"No smoking."
Qiao Yunfeng sighed, holding onto the unlit cigarette and tapping it against the table. "Honey, you know how Qiaoqiao is—just like you. The more you push, the more stubborn she gets. If you keep it up, she really might bring home a baby."
"That's your fault! You spoiled her! You were always away, and I had to run the business. She was raised by her grandparents and turned into this."
"I wouldn't say that. Father taught her well. Otherwise, would she have achieved so much? Look at the other rich brats—how many could win a Nobel Prize? And besides, haven't you noticed? Father and Mother adore her now. Because of that, they're much nicer to you too. Even I can't compare."
Ye Jing rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her smugness. "Of course. She's my daughter. Among all the noble families, only the Liu family's girl can rival her."
"Hehe, you're right, honey. I mean, I'm this handsome, so naturally, our Qiaoqiao would end up one of the Four Princesses of the noble families. I deserve some credit."
"So full of yourself. She inherited my genes. And stop dodging my question—what are we going to do?"
"Do what? The old man's already stepped in. Who'd dare ignore him? Last time he came out personally was years ago, when Second Brother got framed. Our girl really made it big."
Ye Jing sighed. "This time's different. If it were that simple, Father wouldn't have gone himself."
"Then we'll wait and see." Qiao Yunfeng chuckled, sneaking a glance at his wife's chest.
Donghua Garden, Nuanshan Pavilion—its furnishings were said to be replicas of ancient imperial designs. There, the head of the Qiao family, Old Master Qiao, sat upright in a soft chair, dressed in a gray Zhongshan suit, eyes closed in meditation.
His expression was stern, though his posture remained perfectly straight—pure military discipline.
Standing beside him was a middle-aged man in his late forties, equally straight-backed. His calloused hands revealed years of service—his name was Wei Hansheng, Old Master Qiao's personal bodyguard.
Also present was another elderly man with white hair and reading glasses—Yuan Zhenfeng, the patriarch of the Yuan family, one of Beijing's great houses. A bodyguard stood at his side as well.
The Yuan family ranked among the second-tier clans. Normally, Yuan had no say in the Qiao-Cai feud, but since it was their rotation year, he had to mediate.
Today's meeting was a political powder keg.
Feuds among the great families usually stayed beneath the surface, resolved quietly—but the Qiao-Cai conflict had turned explosive, shaking all of Beijing.
The Cai family had taken the offensive, seeking to gain dominance in the Southeast Province by striking first at the Qiao family's influence.
They'd even managed to poach the loyal Du family from the Qiaos, then weaponized their media connections to smear them.
The Qiao family, with its administrative edge, should have been able to counter immediately—but they'd underestimated Cai's intent, thinking it was just a display of jealousy over Qiao's rising prominence.
They were wrong. The Cais were serious this time. The smear campaign escalated, spreading even to unaffiliated media outlets.
Within half a day, the Qiao family's reputation was in shambles.
Not only the Qiaos, but even other clans began to worry, pushing for mediation—leading to today's meeting.
But what puzzled Yuan Zhenfeng was that, even with Old Master Qiao present, the Cai patriarch, Cai Yong, was nowhere to be seen.
It was an outright provocation—an insult worse than the feud itself.
So it wasn't just Old Master Qiao whose face darkened—even mediator Yuan Zhenfeng felt uneasy.
Just as Old Master Qiao's anger began to show, the sealed doors of Nuanshan Pavilion opened, and a waiter respectfully led two men inside.
Old Master Qiao's expression turned even colder.
The newcomers weren't Cai Yong himself, but his second son, Cai Xingteng, and an assistant. To Old Master Qiao, Cai Xingteng wasn't even worth acknowledging, let alone negotiating with.
The sight of him made Old Master Qiao's face go from grim to thunderous. Qiao Zhengguo had fought his whole life and had never been treated with such disrespect.
"We're leaving." He stood up with just those two words.
"Oh? Old Qiao, I just got here. Why so quick to go?" Cai Xingteng exhaled white breath, shrugged off his coat to his assistant, and casually sat beside Qiao Zhengguo.
"Apologies, Old Qiao. My father's ill and couldn't make it, so I came in his stead. I hope you'll understand."
"Cai Yong's sick?" Old Master Qiao frowned. Even so, he should've sent word, not some junior to brush him off.
"If he's sick, then I won't stay." Qiao Zhengguo was furious. To be stood up like this—who in Huaxia would dare?
"Come on, Old Qiao, since you're already here, why leave so soon? I can fully represent my father. And I've also invited a few uncles to join us as witnesses. Leaving now would look a bit… guilty, don't you think?" Cai Xingteng smiled faintly.
"You invited others?" Even Yuan Zhenfeng was startled. Mediations like this were meant to be private—no third parties. Yet Cai Xingteng had done exactly that.
"Of course." Cai Xingteng gestured toward the door. "Come, Old Qiao, let's welcome them together."
He strode to the entrance, and moments later, several imposing figures entered. Seeing them, Qiao Zhengguo's brow furrowed.
Among them were the heads or key figures of the Chen family of Shanghai, the Lu family of Jishi, the Duan family of Wuzhou, the Xu family of Huaizhou, and the Gao family of Sichuan—mostly from the second-tier group. But most shockingly, among them stood Shen Fengyun, the eldest son of Old Master Shen, head of one of the first-tier families and a current high-ranking official.
Then Qiao Zhengguo understood—Cai wanted witnesses. He was using this to elevate his family's standing, aiming to push Cai into first-tier status—or at least lead the second-tier.
"Everyone's here." Cai Xingteng glanced around and approached Shen Fengyun, pointing to the main seat respectfully. "Mr. Shen, please, have the head seat."
Shen Fengyun smiled slightly, picked up a remote, turned on the fifty-inch LED TV on the wall, and said meaningfully, "I heard your Yongxing Group's Green Orange TV channel is doing quite well. Let's take a look…"
On the other side, inside Nuwa Residence, Zhang Yang finally stretched, staring at the computer screen with relief. Grinning at his sister-in-law Xu Danying on the video call, he said, "Xiaoying, it's starting. Time to give them a little color. Ready?"
"Ready, brother-in-law! But shouldn't we give this operation a name? What should we call it?"
"Let's call it Blizzard! We'll sweep through these bastards like a storm." Zhang Yang narrowed his eyes at the screen.