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

Huo Shen and Xie Junfei both knew very well that the reason why the old house could still maintain this peaceful atmosphere on the surface was entirely based on the fact that the lower four branches of the family did not know that their secrets and incriminating evidence had been seized upon by them.

Holland took away the orphanage director and his henchmen from the lower four branches to interrogate them about this matter. It couldn't be kept secret for long; it would be exposed sooner or later.

Therefore, the only thing these people in the old house could do was to sow discord among the lower four households and break up their alliance before things were exposed.

Huo Shen will handle the men's affairs, but for the women, we'll have to rely entirely on Xie Junfei.

Xie Junfei lowered her head, glanced at the information Huo Shen had given her, and her beautiful brows furrowed slightly.

The Huo family is large and powerful. Apart from the ambitious eldest and second sons, the fourth son's family can be said to have gathered 80% of the world's most eccentric and unorthodox individuals.

The third branch of the family is the most low-profile, with most of their businesses and the development of their younger generation concentrated in the south, and there is very little information recorded about them.

The fourth branch of the family, from the elders to the younger generation, are all smiling tigers. They appear to be amicable, but in reality, they are all hypocrites who secretly stab people in the back with ruthless methods, as vicious as cobras.

The fifth branch is obviously a bunch of good-for-nothings, and the only one of the four lower branches of the Huo family who has squandered all their wealth and only has a few shares left. The old and young are all spoiled brats. They look high-profile and not easy to mess with, but in reality, they are genuine good-for-nothings.

The sixth branch was the most desolate and least powerful. The sixth master was raised by the old lady from a young age, spoiled and pampered, which fostered in him a hands-off, irresponsible personality. Seeing his lack of business acumen, the old master simply left him a large amount of real estate. The sixth master considered himself a charming and talented man, but after the family division, he developed a gambling addiction and was swindled out of 80% of his fortune.

If it ended there, that would be fine, but in recent years, the sixth wife has had an ambitious illegitimate son named Huo Qi.

Huo Qi was a cunning and ruthless man. He built the orphanage and used it to unite his four sons and daughters. They used the orphanage to hold beauty pageants for the powerful and wealthy, embezzle and accept bribes, run underground banks to launder money, and evade taxes.

In modern society, ways to make money are all written in the criminal law.

The Huo family's annual dividends were far from enough for them to squander, and these illegal gains directly blinded the lower four branches of the family.

Therefore, in recent years, the fourth branch of the family has directly pushed out this illegitimate son, Huo Qi, to fight against Huo Shen.

When Xie Junfei was with the Qin family, she also received an invitation from Huo Qi to take sides.

He was incredibly audacious at the time, having stolen Huo Shen's business, only to have Huo Qi come knocking on his door shortly afterward.

The short-sighted Qin family wanted to accept Huo Qi's invitation immediately, but Xie Junfei was clever enough to politely decline.

Looking back now, I realize I was really wise back then.

Anyone who dares to ally with such an illegitimate child who has no moral bottom line, to make dirty money together, and to walk on the edge of the law.

When Huo Shen settles the score, they'll be lucky to escape with their lives.

With this in mind, Xie Junfei roughly figured out the steps to take.

The elders of each branch of the family and the illegitimate son Huo Qiyou and Huo Shen dealt with each other.

The third branch of the family is low-key, and the sixth branch has few members and few women, so he only needs to fight against the female relatives of the fourth and fifth branches.

She had just dealt with Zhao Feier, severely dampening the spirits of the Fifth Branch, and could now put that aside for the time being.

Now, my target is that group of smiling tigers from the fourth branch of the family.

Thinking of the Fourth Madam's silly niece, Xie Junfei slowly curved the corners of his mouth, his expression becoming playful.

After a while, she summoned the butler and gave him instructions:

"Spread the word that I'm inviting Miss Cousin, who serves the Fourth Madam, to my room tomorrow to arrange flowers, and see if she has time."

The butler received the order, respectfully acknowledged it, and then withdrew.

Huo Shen glanced at Xie Junfei and reminded him:

"The Fourth Madam has severe pollen allergy symptoms, so please be very careful."

Xie Junfei glanced at the man with a meaningful smile:

“Honey, I’m not stupid. You don’t need to repeat what you wrote in the documents.”

"The fourth wife is allergic to pollen, but that young lady is not."

"After arranging the flowers, we'll have someone change their clothes before going back, and that'll solve the problem."

Seeing that the girl seemed to have come prepared, Huo Shen didn't say anything more and started drawing on the paper.

Xie Junfei noticed that he had changed to a thin, long brush handle and curiously approached the table.

What came into view was not ink and brush, but lifelike white plum blossoms.

As if noticing the girl's slightly confused expression, Huo Shen gently stroked the jade beads dangling by her ear, his eyes tender:

“When you came home yesterday, my aunt Zhang noticed that you didn’t have a forehead band or anything in the middle of winter, so she thought she would make one for you.”

“Zhang Ma is getting old and her eyesight is failing, so I’ve taken over the delicate work of drawing patterns.”

Speaking of Zhang Ma, Xie Junfei thought of the old woman who had stayed with Huo Shen last night, standing in the wind and snow waiting for her, and she felt only moved:

“Aunt Zhang is so thoughtful. You should also tell her to take care of her health and do it when she has free time.”

Please thank her for me.

Hearing her admonition, Huo Shen felt a little jealous.

The man put down his pen, pulled the girl into his arms, and gently nibbled on the tip of her ear:

"You're only thanking Aunt Zhang, not me?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Junfei, somewhat amused and exasperated, playfully punched the man's chest.

"You're really something, getting jealous for no reason."

"What, is your family's specialty Shanxi aged vinegar? Are you going to endorse aged vinegar?"

Huo Shen then went along with her words:

"The Huo family does indeed have related businesses. If you're interested, we can go and take a look before we leave after we've settled things."

The two laughed and joked around for a while, and then Huo Shen finished tracing the remaining flower patterns and had his servants deliver them to Zhang Ma's room.

At dinner time, Huo Shen found the old folks in the fourth branch of the family disgusting; just looking at them made him lose his appetite. So he simply ordered the servants to set out the meal in the room.

In Shanxi, it gets dark very early in winter. After dinner, Zhang Ma brought over the forehead ribbon.

Looking at the exquisite patterns on it, Xie Junfei was somewhat surprised:

"Aunt Zhang, you are so skillful, and you are so quick."

Upon hearing this, the old woman smiled kindly and helped her put the headband on her head.

"Since the young mistress is in a hurry to use it, I naturally have to be quick."

"Besides, it's just a small thing, and with the young master's pattern, it's easy to embroider."

Xie Junfei put on her headband and looked at herself in the mirror.

Because the flower pattern was white plum blossom, Zhang Ma's forehead band was also a refreshing light blue.

The delicate embroidery paired with thumb-sized pearls, and a light blue aquamarine at the front of the headband, is fresh, beautiful, and unconventional—perfectly suited.

After seeing Zhang Ma off, Xie Junfei placed the forehead ribbon in the dressing box.