Although it's not a war with smoke and flames, swords drawn and bows stretched, the outcome of this battle between two women may not necessarily be any less tragic and devastating.

  "Women, especially successful women, are always in a struggle throughout their lives. However, the biggest enemy of women is still women themselves." Zhū Yè Qīng sat on the sandalwood chair, facing Cáo Jiǎo Jiān without any shame or guilt, looking around with satisfaction at the decoration of the house, especially the wall of bookshelves filled with heavy and abstruse books, which formed a striking contrast with the simple tea table and two chairs in the living room. Zhū Yè Qīng sipped the Dongting Lake Bi Luo Chun tea made by Cáo Jiǎo Jiān, speaking in a gentle tone, "My father told me this when I was 7 years old, and at first, I couldn't understand it no matter how hard I tried. It wasn't until later that I discovered the profundity behind his words. It's not easy for a single father like him to come up with such philosophical ideas."

  "My mom has also said something similar." Cao Jingjian smiled, thinking of the interesting bald man that her husband had mentioned several times. At first, she was a bit moved when she saw him, with his bright red lotus-patterned head, dazzling and charming. She really didn't know where Zhu Yeqing had found such an amazing character. "Don't let Meng Chong come in? It's not right to leave him standing alone at the door like a guardian deity. Besides, we're not discussing anything that can't be seen by others."

  "He wants to come in, I've already lost half."

  Zhu Ye Qing smiled slyly and said, lowering her head to look at the Bi Luo Chun tea in her hand, shaking it slightly, with a disapproving expression on her face. "You're going to let him follow you drinking tea for his whole life? What's the point of Bi Luo Chun, Da Hong Pao, Longjing Tea... all of them are just slowly sipped, one small mouthful at a time, dull and uninteresting."

  Indeed, men should drink. Cao Jing seemed to have no intention of opposing him, and she nodded in agreement everywhere. She looked at the red rope on her wrist and the ancient blue-green wine jug, which was beautifully decorated and set off the arm of Zhu Ye Qing like ivory carving. Cao Jing had never been a hypocrite, and the woman in front of her who made Chen Er Gou feel awe-inspiring was indeed not an ordinary person, without any extra pretentiousness.

  "Cao young lady, did you invite me here today to use courtesy before resorting to force?" Zhu Ye Qing lounged lazily in the purple sandalwood chair, like a small cat that hadn't even sharpened its claws.

  "To be honest, from childhood to adulthood, I've never had the chance. Now that I've finally met someone, I don't care if it's abrupt or not, I just want to get it off my chest." Cao Jingyan smiled, without any pretenses or hypocrisy, her sincerity was almost daunting.

  "Don't try to change my decision."

  Zhu Ye Qing shook his head and said, "If you want to convince me that Chen Er Gou's well water doesn't offend the river water, I advise you to give up on this idea. Even if you speak eloquently, I'll just pretend not to hear it. Actually, you'd be better off bringing out your Cao family's mighty mountain to pressure me. Maybe then I'll be intimidated by the prospect of being burned together with jade and wood, and I'll reward him with a sunny highway."

  "If I could move it, I would have lifted it out long ago." Cao Qianhui said with a sincere smile. "Don't mention nonsense like '玉石俱焚', even if your skills are unparalleled, wanting to stir up trouble with the Cao family to the point of mutual destruction is just a fool's dream. As long as my old master is still lying in that armchair, even if he only has half a breath left, you can't bring down the Cao family even if you rally all of Shanghai. Don't try to intimidate me, I'm not some naive child who hasn't seen the world. Since I agreed to meet with you alone, I didn't think about playing psychological games. Two women fighting over one man, whoever wins or loses, it's all just a boon for the man."

  Zhu Ye Qing stretched out a slender finger wrapped around her wrist with a red rope, and whispered softly: "If you weren't the most favored grandson of Old Man Cao, if you weren't Fu Ying's daughter, if you weren't Cao Ye Hu's sister, I wouldn't be sitting here drinking tea with you. So-called...I've met dozens of big and small ones, made friends with about a dozen, and stepped on several. Cao Jing Jia, don't provoke me, I'm a madman, even if I couldn't make the Cao family half-dead, splashing your face with dirty water isn't difficult, this kind of thing has precedent."

  "You go ahead, I'd be delighted if you could find something for that bunch of vigorous Cao family members to do and vent their frustrations. Otherwise, they would still be thinking of causing trouble for our family's Er Gou even in their sleep. Now that I'm already a daughter-in-law of the Chen family and Er Gou's woman, it used to be me, Chen Qianjin. In my opinion, as long as the Cao family doesn't collapse, I'd be happy if you could make them earn less money. Your appearance is just in time to enrich this generation of Cao family heirs' experience in struggling for power, what a good thing." Cao Qianjin's "heartless" attitude was truly eye-opening.

  "You are different from Ye Yan Zhao's circle, and not quite the same as Fang Yi Ming's Shanghai rich kids. Indeed, there is a saying that 'if there is an older brother, then there must be an older sister', I've heard that your brother has a bit of a notorious reputation, being a difficult person to deal with, but now that I see you, I can somewhat understand his temperament." Zhu Ye Qing sighed.

  "We Cao family have always liked to cultivate wild fox Zen." said Cao Jingjian with a smile.

  "You and Chen Fusheng are both lucky, boys who grew up in poverty and girls who grew up in wealth. The more miserable a man's first twenty years are, the easier it is for him to become rich and noble in his next life. As for you, any of your aura makes people envious, women from poor families compared to you, really lived up to that saying, 'people compare with each other until they die'. Zhu Ye Qing said this with a tone of annoyance, but her voice was calm, as if she didn't have much resentment in her heart."

  "Relatively speaking, every family has its own unspeakable secrets. Absolutely speaking, I really don't have the qualifications to complain about heaven and others, having a wise and powerful old lady is a blessing that ordinary people can't cultivate in several lifetimes." Cao Jingjian was not like other wealthy young masters who were ashamed of their family background, he never deliberately avoided mentioning that red family name that inspired both reverence and envy.

  "Is Chen Ergou, who was dug out from a mountain ditch, really worthy of your lifelong trust?" Bamboo Leaf Qing's eyes were complex as he looked at Bamboo Leaf Qing. "Or are you betting that he is a cowherd who can become the Son of Heaven? Apart from the idea of fate and fortune, I really can't understand what makes him worthy of your attention, someone like you who is 'royal family'. I know that your old man's generation, they have a big mouthful of Marxist materialism, but in reality, they believe in fate more than anyone else. I reckon you're not much different from them."

  "Isn't this a bit insincere?" Cao Jingjian smiled and said, but didn't say it outright.

  "You think you can see people and things as clearly as I do?" Zhu Ye Qing said with a cold smile, this sentence was extremely arrogant, not giving Cao Jing any face at all.

  "What's the point?" Cao Qiang had learned from his family elders that after experiencing great joys and sorrows, one should be unruffled by favors or humiliations, and remain unmoved in the midst of great ups and downs. As a result, he became more and more cunning with age. When dealing with people and situations, one must first learn to control their temper; it was not easy for Zhu Ye Qing's few words to provoke Cao Qiang.

  "What are you comparing with me, Miss Cao?" Zhu Ye Qing leaned back in her chair, her eyes hazy and distant, as if she had returned to that dull gray childhood. Talking about those past years that ordinary people couldn't bear to recall, Zhu Ye Qing's usual resentment surprisingly gave way to a soft gaze, as if those were the most memorable years of her life.

  "In the end, you have a father who has been through ups and downs, I have a Chen Fusheng, we're even, I don't lose to you in anything."

  Cao Jing stroked her abdomen subconsciously, with a calm and peaceful expression.

  "Is it a boy or girl?" Zhū Yè Qīng was also an intelligent person, with a hundred emotions intertwined in her heart.

  "It's still hard to tell now." Cao Qiang said with a smile.

  "He said it would be best if they were twins, the boy named Chen Ping, nicknamed Jiao Jin, and the girl named Chen An, nicknamed Xiao Man." Cao Jing's face was radiant with maternal glory.

  "Chen Ping Chen An, what a common name, but his nickname is still passable." Zhu Ye Qing said disapprovingly.

  "It's enough to live a peaceful life, like my old master who lived to be 100 years old. I think the two names are quite good." Cao Qiang was married off to whoever would take her, first to a rooster and then to a dog, and she became more and more obedient to Chen Fusheng.

  "Alright, I'm leaving Nanjing." Zhuyeqing gazed at Cao Jingzhu's belly and suddenly said this sentence without warning, then stood up and left, not even giving Cao Jingzhu a chance to say thank you. (To find out what happens next, please log in, more chapters available, support the author, support the official version!)