The Favored Heiress
Chapter 577: The Cheongsam is Torn

Chapter 577: Chapter 577: The Cheongsam is Torn

Li Qiao understood, realizing that passing the Second Hall’s examination meant she could freely mobilize the firearms factory.

"Is Qiu Huan also involved?"

With slightly pursed lips and a profound look, Shang Yu responded, "He only needs the intelligence network of the First Hall. He won’t participate in the other examinations."

Although Qiu Huan needed to borrow the strength of the Secret Hall, he wasn’t greedy and had made his position clear quite early on.

...

That afternoon, a message arrived from Yun Lih, who was still in South Sea.

Coincidentally, Shang Yu was about to attend a meeting, so Li Qiao arranged to meet him at the Yan Emperor headquarters.

Just after two o’clock, Li Qiao reclined on the sofa, her posture languid, "Ready to go back?"

Yun Lih blew on the steam of his hot tea and took a sip before replying, "The Mercenary Group received an order yesterday. Liuyun couldn’t handle it; I’m going back to sort it out."

Li Qiao leaned against the armrest, her palm supporting the back of her head, and she nodded, "Then, you should go back. Don’t come here for a while if there’s nothing urgent."

"Why?" Yun Lih paused in his tea-drinking, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

Li Qiao shook her head indifferently, her tone neither warm nor cold, "Just in case."

Yun Lih shifted his shoulders against the sofa and tapped his fingers on his thigh, "You think I’m stupid? I’ve already heard about Li San’s Border Factory."

"Oh."

Licking his back teeth, Yun Lih pointed at Li Qiao, "The Mercenary Group has a branch near the Border Factory. Did you think you could keep it a secret?"

After a moment, he spoke bluntly, "Xiao Yehui’s doing?"

Li Qiao pursed her lips ambiguously, "Maybe."

"Heh." Yun Lih ran his hand through his slicked-back hair, his thin lips curling into a sarcastic smile, "What’s he up to? What’s the point of going out of his way to target your older brother? Or is he just doing it to annoy you?"

Li Qiao closed her eyes briefly, turning to look out at the darkening sky, "He wouldn’t bother with such futile efforts. Intercepting my older brother’s factory orders is just his first step.

The Charlman Family is based in the West, but their businesses span both home and abroad, for being a British Imperial Duke alone wouldn’t make everyone fall in line."

"So he’s... planning to expand?" Yun Lih voiced his speculation.

Li Qiao calmly pressed her lips together, "The more the Charlman Family’s enterprises grow overseas, the greater their influence becomes. Intercepting my older brother’s factory orders is just about consolidating his own businesses."

Yun Lih’s expression darkened, "Even if he wants to expand his power, why intercept Li San’s orders? After all, they’re acquainted. Is he so ruthless as to disregard any past sentiment?"

Damn this thing.

"What sentiment is left." Li Qiao’s expression was calm, but her eyes were filled with dark shadows.

The Huoli Factory had been established in Myanmar for many years. Why act now, at this particular time, using low pricing to pry away her older brother’s collaboration orders?

Xiao Yehui’s first move was to seize what he desired.

Her older brother was not the only one, nor would he be the last.

Don’t underestimate these partners; any that can establish good cooperation would become part of a community of interest and a piece of one’s own power base.

Just as if Li San didn’t have so many cooperative channels, the Border Factory, no matter how powerful, would struggle to continue.

At this time, Yun Lih was half-closing his eyes, appearing rather aggravated, "I’ve heard a bit about the feud between these two families. I’d rather he just made a move directly, which is better than this protracted tug-of-war."

Without a family behind him and having only himself and Liuyun, Yun Lih hadn’t experienced the overt and covert fights within a family.

With his style of conducting affairs in the Mercenary Group, he was accustomed to quick and decisive actions.

Li Qiao raised her eyebrows, her gaze lingering, "It’s not that simple because currently, neither can eliminate the other."

The enmity passed down from their fathers, and with Ming Dailan playing an intermediary role, a duel would only add unnecessary casualties with no meaningful outcome.

The Shang’s have it, and so does the Charlman Family: schemes, cunning, methods, stature. They check and balance each other and also restrain each other.

Once two tangled top-tier families make a move, it would be a situation of ’pulling one hair and moving the whole body,’ hence no one would dare to act rashly.

Especially since it involved Xiao Hongdao and Shang Zonghai.

An opponent that the deeply scheming Shang Zonghai hadn’t managed to eliminate over the years wouldn’t be easily defeated by Shang Yu either.

...

With nightfall, in the Mansion’s living room.

Li Qiao stood at the entrance, her face expressionless as she eyed the ten sets of cheongsams hanging on the movable clothes rack, her feelings indescribable.

The seven burgundy cheongsams stood out particularly under the crystal light, in addition to two pure black ones and one in lake blue.

Li Qiao stood motionless while Shang Yu took her by the hand and led her to the sofa, then commanded Luoyu in a deep voice, "Take them to the dressing room."

Luoyu obediently lifted the rack and went upstairs, while Liuyun and the others failed to react in time.

After all, those cheongsams, the epitome of Eastern charm, should not be carried on the shoulder like a pole, as if such casual handling weren’t shameful.

Li Qiao’s gaze followed Luoyu, and for some reason, she felt averse to going back to sleep tonight.

Because ever since Shang Yu had seen those cheongsams, a scorching flame had ignited in his deep-set eyes.

Did he simply want to enjoy the sight of her in a hundred-thousand-dollar cheongsam just for his pleasure?

The believability... seemed not too high.

...

After dinner, Li Qiao invited Shang Yu for a walk outside to digest.

The night air of South Sea Mountain was slightly cool, and the ground lights around them shone like pearls in the night, casting a thick, yellow glow.

Li Qiao slipped her hands into the man’s, and after walking a few steps, she broached the subject, "I might have to return to the Border Factory in a little while."

Shang Yu led her down the stairs at a leisurely pace, stopping when he heard her, turning to the side, "How long will you be gone?"

Li Qiao’s gaze was clear as she glanced at him casually, "Just a few days."

At that moment, the man caressed her fingers and strolled further into the depths of the lawn, his tone very gentle, "Shall I accompany you?"

Li Qiao looked up to meet his eyes, "No need. I’m just going back to take a look, and to help Li San’s factory solve some troubles."

She was returning to the border to verify something as well.

Shang Yu didn’t speak at once, instead wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close into his embrace, "Are you thinking of helping him solve the problem of the returned orders?"

Li Qiao was not surprised that he knew about this and after some thought, she told him the truth, "Out of the eight cooperative enterprises that returned the goods, two are related to me."

To be precise, she had established the partnerships using her own identity back then.

Li San didn’t know about this.

If Nan Xin hadn’t given her the list, she wouldn’t have expected that in the three years she was away, someone would have broken her rules.

The man pulled back slightly, bending down to look at the delicate face before him, then pinching her chin with a deep and cold voice, "You can go back, but if you don’t come back..."

Li Qiao grasped his wrist, smiling with a raise of her lips and a confident look in her eyes, "With you in South Sea, how could I possibly not come back? Don’t worry, nobody could force me to stay if I could leave back then, and nobody can now."

Li San was right. She hadn’t entered the border for three years for Xiao Yehui, and now... there was nothing that could shackle her anymore.

Shang Yu’s eyes were heavily fixed on her, and he gripped her palm, sighing as if in compromise, "Take Luoyu with you."

Li Qiao cheerfully agreed, "Okay, I won’t be long, I’ll be back quickly."

The man silently pursed his lips, his gaze complex as he pulled her back into his arms.

Her return to the border might mean a definitive end.

The influence and power of the Seven Sons were still present at the border, and because of them, she and Xiao Yehui could never turn back.

He had felt heartache, self-reproach, and even deep fear in the silence of the night.

Yet, despite it all, he still couldn’t convince himself to let go of Li Qiao.

Call him selfish or self-serving, but from the start of that rainy night, he had said that she would never escape him in this lifetime.

...

At ten o’clock, the night deepened.

Li Qiao stood in front of the full-length mirror in the dressing room, hesitating as she looked at the cheongsam on her body, with no next move in mind.

She always preferred loose and comfortable clothes, rarely wearing dresses that fitted closely and showed off her figure unless it was necessary.

The wine-red short cheongsam barely covered her thighs, its tight waist design highlighting her slender silhouette.

To say her curves were fully displayed would not be an exaggeration.

The advantage of a cheongsam is that it accentuates the unique charm of a woman, a quality that evening gowns do not possess.

Li Qiao looked down at herself and took a deep breath to prepare mentally before preparing to leave the dressing room.

It wasn’t that she was being melodramatic; it was just the idea of dressing up in a cheongsam specifically for him to see seemed ludicrous.

Li Qiao’s semi-dry hair draped over her shoulders, and as she turned and looked up, she met the man’s eyes, dark and deep as the ocean.

He was there, unknowingly, wearing a black silk robe, leaning on the doorframe with a blatantly intense stare.

Li Qiao abruptly stopped and tugged at the skirt that was too short, "Does it look good?"

Shang Yu didn’t speak, stepped forward, and... closed the door of the dressing room.

Li Qiao furrowed her brow, the spacious room now filled with his scent, potent and seductive.

She knew what was to come; without a word, he pressed her against the wardrobe and covered her lips with his.

This was Shang Yu’s dressing room.

The wardrobe was filled with stark black, with only the wine-red cheongsam on Li Qiao adding a solitary touch of color.

The pure Eastern cheongsam enveloped the perfect figure, captivating and igniting the man’s passion.

Within moments, buttons popped open, and the hem was torn.

Li Qiao thought at that moment that the quality of this handcrafted cheongsam was... quite poor.

Shang Yu’s fingers tangled in her hair, savoring her lips, sinking step by step.

Later, back in the master bedroom, Li Qiao still wore the cheongsam, now half-exposed, significantly more visually impactful.

The cheongsam costing tens of thousands was ruined, and as she stared at the swaying ceiling, her thoughts were muddled.

In moments of clarity, she couldn’t help but wonder whether he had planned this or it was a spur-of-the-moment desire?

It was probably a mix of their long absence and her lack of the need to rise early for work, which compelled the man to exert his strength fully.

Thus, the night was extraordinarily lengthy for Li Qiao.

...

The next day, well past dawn, Li Qiao lay in bed with red eyes, not wanting to move at all.

Her eyes were swollen, her body languid.

If it weren’t for her smooth breathing, she might have thought she was ill.

Around eleven in the morning, Li Qiao struggled to rise.

Fortunately, the Second Hall’s assessment was tomorrow; otherwise, with her current condition, she would have struggled even to lift a gun, let alone shoot.