So what if she's a fake heiress? She's being pampered by a powerful figure in Beijing'

Anyone who has received compulsory education knows what this means.

Moreover, arranged marriages within families always involve sexual intercourse and childbirth.

Thinking of this, the niece burst into tears.

She asked tremblingly:

"Does Father know about this?"

Seeing that she was still not giving up, the Fourth Madam burst out laughing:

"Your father knows."

"Not only did they know, they even silenced everyone who knew about it, completely blocking the news."

"He and that young master's family were planning to let you find out for yourself after you married into the family."

Upon hearing this, the niece was utterly devastated.

She scrambled off the sofa, knelt before the Fourth Madam with a thud, and tears streamed down her face.

"Auntie! Auntie, I don't want to die! Please, save me!"

"I'll do anything as long as it's not a business marriage! Really!"

Inside the house, looking at her niece pleading with her, the fourth wife's eyes flashed with satisfaction, but her face remained one of compassion and pity.

"Good boy, get up! We are all the same."

"As long as you listen to your aunt and successfully marry Huo Shen, your father will not only stop you from marrying, but will also happily provide you with a generous dowry, allowing you to have a grand wedding."

"Once you come to the Huo family, your aunt will help you handle the clan's affairs. As the eldest daughter-in-law of the Huo family, this is much better than being the wife of that consumptive and the stepmother of that bastard!"

On one side is the glamorous matriarch of the Huo family, and on the other is a business marriage arranged for someone who has contracted an infectious disease and is about to become a stepmother at a young age. Anyone with eyes can make the choice in a second.

And the niece, as if grasping at a lifeline, said urgently:

"Auntie, I do!"

"From now on, as long as my aunt can save me, I'll do anything for her!"

Seeing that her once arrogant niece had become completely obedient, the Fourth Madam smiled gently and comforted her.

Finally, the niece, looking dazed, was helped down to rest by the maid.

Watching the girl's departing figure, a mocking smile appeared on the Fourth Madam's well-maintained face:

"What a naive young girl, she's nowhere near as good as I was back then."

The headmistress nodded respectfully and complimented:

"How can that little girl compare to you, Madam?"

"You fought your way out on your own back then, what is she anyway?"

The fourth wife chuckled softly, looking meaningfully at the documents scattered on the table.

Her dear niece and her father will never know this in their lifetime.

The "good match" that her father arranged for her in a business marriage was actually brought together by her kind aunt.

To be precise, the marriage of convenience was also orchestrated by the fourth wife.

It was the fourth wife who bribed someone close to her brother's family to hint to him that the young master of that family was rich in resources, and that he should marry his daughter to that family.

And her money-grubbing brother actually believed it.

Money makes the world go round, so he went directly to the young master's family and asked for a business marriage.

The young master's family, which had previously been unable to find a suitable wife due to their tarnished reputation, immediately offered an exorbitant dowry in return if the marriage was successful and a legitimate son was born.

The two parties quickly reached an agreement.

That young master came from a prominent family and did indeed contract AIDS due to promiscuity, and he also had a son of mixed Chinese and African descent.

But so what.

In her view, the worse the family that was formed through a business marriage, the better.

After all, if things weren't bad enough, how could they force their niece into having no way out but to cling to her and be instructed by her to seduce Huo Shen?

If things go well, her niece will marry Huo Shen, and her plan will be realized.

If things don't work out, then the niece can have a business marriage with a man who has an infectious disease, and she won't lose any of her own interests.

Anyway, no one will know her scheme.

Thinking of this, the fourth wife couldn't help but feel a little smug.

She truly deserves to be called a heroine who rose through the ranks of countless women in her family; she is indeed very intelligent.

As for whether he will suffer retribution for scheming against his own niece?

Hilarious! What's the point of karma anyway?

Unlike the infighting and backstabbing on the fourth branch of the family, Huo Shen's courtyard was filled with a peaceful atmosphere.

Despite Xie Junfei's mockery of him raising fish in the brush washer last night, Huo Shen felt no harm done and had the servants lay out paper to paint two plum blossom pictures.

Xie Junfei sat at the tea table and made incense sticks.

Anything sent to Huo Shen's room was naturally of high quality.

She picked up her tools, loosened the ash, pressed the ash, swept the ash, placed the incense seal, filled it with incense powder, removed the mold, and lit the incense—all in one smooth motion.

Before long, a wisp of purple smoke rose from the simple and exquisite incense burner.

The fragrance of agarwood soothes the nerves. Xie Junfei smelled the aroma and suddenly, as if remembering something, looked up and asked Huo Shen:

"By the way, at lunchtime, which of your relatives' sisters was sitting next to your fourth wife?"

"It doesn't seem to be written in the information you gave me."

Huo Shen put down his pen and thought about it carefully:

"It should be the young lady from the Fourth Madam's family. She was brought to the old house to accompany the Fourth Madam not long ago."

Upon hearing this, Xie Junfei nodded and gave the instructions:

"Why would she come to the old house at this crucial moment when she has nothing better to do? I need to have someone investigate her."

"These are special times. It's better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free, otherwise we might be in danger of a small leak causing a great disaster."

Huo Shen, recalling the fourth branch of the family's recent suspicious activities, immediately realized:

"That's true. I'll send someone to investigate."

"You should also be careful during this time. Holland has already extracted quite a few things from that dean."

"If all goes well, we should be able to leave the old house in no more than half a month."

Xie Junfei smiled and nodded, looking out the window at the swallows pecking at persimmons:

"I miss my brothers so much. I wonder what they're doing now."

Seeing her nostalgic expression, Huo Shen hesitated to speak, but not wanting to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere, he swallowed his words.

He wouldn't let Xie Junfei know in the short term.

Her older brother has already had a palm-shaped paddle custom-made for her in Beijing.

I'm just waiting for her to come back from the old house so I can give her a good spanking.