Inside the Fu Family's estate, located in the heart of the Imperial Capital.
In a study filled with classical charm, yet exuding an air of authority.
A capable female assistant, dressed in a black skirt suit, held a tablet computer and reported in a steady voice.
But with each sentence she read, she felt the tips of her fingers gripping the tablet grow colder.
And the source of that bone-chilling coldness was the queen, Fu Yuan, sitting silently behind the desk, her face unmoving.
"According to our investigation, out of the seven cooperation projects that Lu Corporation originally planned to discuss in the Imperial Capital, five of them were postponed indefinitely this morning for various reasons."
The female assistant's voice involuntarily dropped a few octaves as she spoke, as if afraid to disturb the oppressive silence.
"We found that there seems to be more or less a connection behind this with Mr. Yan Che…"
The moment the name "Yan Che" left the female assistant's lips.
Fu Yuan's beautiful face instantly turned as cold as frost!
An invisible, suffocating, terrifying pressure erupted from her petite body!
Making the temperature of the entire room feel as if it had dropped to freezing point in an instant!
The female assistant's body trembled involuntarily, almost dropping the tablet.
"An ignorant fool…"
Her red lips parted slightly as she whispered softly, her voice low, but carrying a chilling coldness that made one's heart palpitate!
Her beautiful eyes, which usually held a hint of indifference and arrogance, now gleamed with an incredibly terrifying killing intent!
Yan Che?
A plaything she had picked up from the mud on a whim.
A humble substitute she had meticulously polished.
He actually… dared to touch her person?
He actually dared!
To touch Lu Cheng, whom she, Fu Yuan, held at the tip of her heart, someone she herself was unwilling to harm in the slightest?
Fu Yuan did not choose to "smooth things over" or "explain misunderstandings" for Lu Cheng like ordinary people.
In her opinion, that would not only be an insult to Lu Cheng but also a great irony to herself and the Fu Family!
She decided!
To solve this "small problem" in the most direct and domineering way!
She wanted everyone in the entire Imperial Capital to know!
Lu Cheng, he, is her, Fu Yuan's, person!
No one can touch him!
No one can!
…She, in her personal name, set up a… unique private banquet at the Purple Celestial Hall, the most exclusive private club in the Imperial Capital.
This banquet did not invite any of the powerful and famous figures of the Imperial Capital.
The sole, one-of-a-kind gilded invitation was delivered by the Fu Family's highest-spec ceremonial motorcade, in a manner that almost declared it to the world, individually, to the hotel where Lu Cheng was staying.
Upon receiving the invitation, Lu Cheng's lips curved into a knowing smile.
Sure enough, whenever he encountered even a little trouble, the female lead was the most eager one… Of course, he would attend.
The substitute male lead winning the favor of the female lead's family, thereby gaining support, and finally achieving a comeback to win the beauty?
He was all too familiar with this trope.
It was just a pity that they had chosen the wrong opponent from the very beginning.
What he wanted to do was to pull the rug out from under her, to completely conquer Fu Yuan, this queen who was arrogant to her bones, to make her unable to leave him, body and soul.
By then, what would family, what would a substitute… even matter?
…However, just before this private banquet, full of special meaning, was about to begin.
A call that Fu Yuan had not expected suddenly came in.
On the caller ID, that name, so familiar it made her heart turn cold, instantly dimmed her beautiful eyes, which had originally been burning with anger.
It was her father, Fu Changqing, who held a high position and immense power.
The call connected.
From the receiver, Fu Changqing's emotionless voice came through.
"Yuan'er."
"I heard that you set up a banquet at the Purple Celestial Hall for that boy from the Lu Family?"
Upon hearing this, Fu Yuan's delicate brows furrowed slightly, but her tone still maintained the respect due to her father, even though this respect had long been eroded to almost nothing by countless disappointments.
"Yes, Father."
"Lu Cheng… it's not often he comes to the Imperial Capital."
"As a friend, it is only right for me to host a welcoming banquet for him."
"Friend?"
Fu Changqing on the other end of the phone let out a disdainful snort.
His calm, unruffled voice, for the first time, carried a hint of stern warning.
"Yuan'er, you should be aware."
"That boy from the Lu Family, he, is not a suitable match for you."
"His ambition, and the vast, almost out-of-control commercial empire he represents, are in inherent conflict with the position our Fu Family currently holds!"
Listening to her father's so-called considerations, a trace of bitterness and… sorrow involuntarily arose in Fu Yuan's heart.
She knew that everything her father said was true.
And it was precisely for this reason that she had lost Lu Cheng back then… However, before she could recover from these complex emotions.
Fu Changqing's next words were like the sharpest dagger, piercing deeply into her already battered heart!
"Moreover, Yuan'er, you should also make good plans for your own future."
He changed the subject, his tone cold and cruel, devoid of any father-daughter affection.
"Your half-brother will turn three next month."
"The future hope and burden of the Fu Family will, in the end, still fall on a man's shoulders."
"As for you…"
He paused, as if weighing the value of a commodity.
"I actually think the young man you chose, Yan Che, who has always been by your side, is quite good."
"Steady, reliable, from a clean background, and easy to control."
"Having him as the Fu Family's son-in-law, to assist your brother in the future, would also be more beneficial for our Fu Family's future."
These words were tantamount to telling her.
You, Fu Yuan, once the most dazzling pearl of the Fu Family.
Now, are merely a chess piece used to consolidate power… a piece that can be sacrificed at any time!
"Oh, I forgot to tell you."
"This time, it can also be considered a small test for Yan Che."
"I also want to see with my own eyes…"
"How much courage and cunning this chess piece you cultivated truly possesses when facing Lu Cheng."
This last passage was even more like a heavy hammer, striking hard at Fu Yuan's heart.
Yan Che's actions against Lu Cheng had, it turned out, received her father's tacit approval, or even… support!
She should have realized it earlier… No wonder he could mobilize so much energy to create so much trouble for Lu Cheng in the Imperial Capital… The substitute she had personally created had now become a tool for her father to control her.
Fu Yuan hung up the phone expressionlessly.
"Father…"
"For your so-called family future, your so-called prospects…"
"My happiness, my feelings, in your eyes, have they never mattered?"
"Good…"
"Very good…"
Her beautiful eyes, which were usually arrogant and cold, were now filled with anger and unwillingness!