Even as a "normie," I'm completely oblivious to it.

A hope rose in his heart; he hoped that these elders wouldn't go so far as to turn a blind eye to Qiu Yun's presence in the Su family.

pity.

Yang Qiuyun's assessment of Su Zhenfeng is quite apt.

—Too naive.

Su Zhenfeng naturally inherited the position of the Su family head as the eldest son of the previous head of the family. Although he was full of enthusiasm, his ability and mentality were still somewhat lacking for such a large family.

Yang Qiuyun truly hoped that one day her husband would become capable of holding his position in check.

After a long silence, a remark from the elders' representative, Second Uncle, confirmed Yang Qiuyun's conjecture and shattered Su Zhenfeng's illusions.

He tried hard to maintain a serious demeanor, but many of the more authoritative elders shook their heads at him.

How could he not understand the meaning behind it?

He pressed his palm down at Su Zhenfeng, signaling him to calm down first.

The second uncle turned his gaze to Yang Qiuyun.

After Su Zhenfeng's roar, this veteran of three dynasties of the Su Group finally spoke his mind.

"How should I put it... We originally thought that Qiuyun was stubborn and wouldn't listen to reason, so we planned to use a more direct and ruthless method to make you leave... Alas... But it seems that it didn't work. Qiuyun, we old folks... are really sorry for you, but I won't regret it. I still won't change my mind. You must leave the Su family, otherwise, no one in this family, this Su family... will be convinced, no one wants to live under the protection of the Yang family. Do you understand that?"

Su Zhenfeng opened his eyes wide, unsure of what to say.

The situation was changing so fast that he was a little overwhelmed, but he understood that although his second uncle's tone was somewhat conciliatory, their demand that Qiu Yun leave remained unchanged.

Su Zhenfeng was about to continue trying.

But then, Yang Qiuyun finally spoke.

Her tone was calm, without anger or sadness, as if she were stating a fact.

"No need to understand, it's just a difference in perspective. Just like you don't understand me and let me leave without any reason, I don't understand you, and I don't need any reason either."

"Yeah..."

This time, the anger in my second uncle's eyes was gone, replaced by obvious apology... and resolute determination.

Yang Qiuyun understood what he meant; he had no intention of compromising at all. This situation was perfectly normal and not at all unexpected.

These elders from the branch families weren't bad people to begin with; as she herself said, they just had different stances.

No matter what she said, Yang Qiuyun could only say that she had never forgotten the purpose of her visit.

She lifted her dazzling silver hair with one hand and stood up, tossing it aside with a flourish, exuding confidence and grace, completely unchanged from the effortless demeanor she displayed when she was building the Su family's empire in the business world.

“I believe that we cannot understand each other on this issue, nor is there any need for us to understand each other. I will call you Second Uncle one last time, so I hope you will listen to my advice one last time. What I want to say is that I can leave Fenghai and never come back, but it must be for a normal reason. I cannot accept your previous proposal to fabricate the fact that I have cheated on you. This is an insult to my character and a trampling on my family. Therefore, please declare the previous plan invalid and hear my opinion.”

That wasn't enough; she added, "Of course, when I disappear, I won't take my two children with me. Yu Zhe and Yu Che can continue to develop their careers in the Su family."

Is that enough?

Still no~

Yang Qiuyun then brought up a third point: "Oh, and before I came here, I had a talk with Ms. Elisa from the Ouyang family. I told her that if she hadn't received my message in an hour, someone would follow my instructions and transfer half of the Su family's assets to the Ouyang family free of charge. Sigh... I really do have quite a few Su Group properties over the years, I can't just abandon them, can I? I should let the Ouyang family help manage them."

It means, if all else fails, then we'll fight to the death!

This is the real killer move.

Triple kill.

Yang Qiuyun's approach was truly a combination of soft and hard tactics; the previous elders' methods were far too rudimentary.

The elders looked at each other, all of them panicked.

"Autumn Charm...!"

Su Zhenfeng stood up, wanting to quickly get his wife to sit down. "What nonsense are you talking about? How could you leave on your own? This way, you'll have no way out!"

But Yang Qiuyun simply grasped his outstretched hand...

She smiled at him.

The grip was gentle, the smile was soft, and Su Zhenfeng felt a moment of disorientation.

His intuition told him so.

The outcome is already decided... there's nothing we can do to change it.

The second uncle looked at the scene before him, his fingers trembling slightly. His eyes were sharp, as if he was pondering the feasibility of Yang Qiuyun's statement.

at last...

His tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed.

This elder in the Su family, who was known for his ruthless and decisive methods, actually shook his head with a wry smile, as if admitting defeat.

He got up, walked unsteadily, and bent down to pick up the walnuts he had just thrown there from the trash can.

"Tell me, it's been so many years since I've been directly contradicted and listened to calmly... Alright, what's your solution? If it can convince me, I can consider it. If not, if it can't win over the crowd, we're all old enough to be willing to fight to the death."

16. A wonderful coincidence

Don't they care about a lose-lose situation?

Haha, that's impossible. Yang Qiuyun knows very well that the older the elders are, the more they care about the company's performance.

Otherwise, if the company collapses after Yang Qiuyun leaves, wouldn't they seem incredibly useless?

No one wants to be ridiculed by the world in their old age; everyone wants to leave their name on the honor roll in glory.

Knowing this, Yang Qiuyun spoke with considerable confidence.

"My solution is quite simple, it only has one point."

"Which point?" my second uncle asked.

Yang Qiuyun extended an index finger and pointed at herself: "If I die, everything will be solved."

"!"

It wasn't just my second uncle.

The scene immediately erupted into noise and discussion.

Some said it was outrageous, some said they couldn't understand it, and of course, there were also people who had already grasped Yang Qiuyun's true meaning.

Su Zhenfeng was different; he was already used to his wife's way of speaking.

When she speaks like this, she is definitely only saying the surface meaning; the real meaning requires deeper contemplation.

But... the word "death" made him quite uncomfortable.

Uncle tapped the table twice to signal everyone to be quiet.

Let's turn our attention back to Yang Qiuyun.

“Tell me more, what do you mean by death? You can’t just say things like that.”

"Of course I'm not talking nonsense, nor am I really going to die. I think you've all guessed it. What I'm saying is that I faked my death."

"Fake death?"

"Yes, that is, to announce to the outside world that I died in an accident... no, an accident would be really not good for you. I think it's more reasonable to use illness as an excuse, and the only reason that can be used is to die from illness."

A stone stirred up a thousand waves.

Including his second uncle, the expressions on their faces were all different.

They had considered this option...

Fake death is indeed easier for her to accept than fabricating her affair. Since she's going to leave Fenghai City anyway, faking death can preserve her reputation. Dying at the peak will ensure that Yang Qiuyun's achievements over the years won't be buried, making it a well-deserved honor.

However, the drawbacks are also obvious... It was because of these drawbacks that they rejected the plan in advance.

Her second uncle could explain to her why the plan wouldn't work.

"Listen, your idea may be feasible, but there are too many problems with it."

"for example?"

"For example, even if you agree to fake your death now, several years later, when you want to return from outside and re-enter the Su family's business affairs, you only need to turn around and accuse us of deliberately declaring you dead to eliminate dissidents, because you are alive, and our death certificate for you was forged. That would be the biggest evidence, and we would be speechless in front of the public. You would then achieve a higher status than you are now."

That's why these elders came up with their previous plans, all of which were designed to ensure that Yang Qiuyun wouldn't be able to stand on the moral high ground even if she came back.

Yang Qiuyun is speechless.

"Uh... Second Uncle, how can you say these things so calmly? What you're doing right now is deliberately announcing my death to eliminate dissidents, isn't it?"

"..."

That's true... but as the party with the upper hand in the Su family now, the elders are unlikely to compromise on this issue; it's already a foregone conclusion.

In fact, Yang Qiuyun had anticipated their move long ago.

She didn't come rashly; she had done a lot of preparation before coming here this morning.

Well... she never intended to use the preparations she had made in her life, but in the end, she did.

Thinking of this, Su Zhenfeng

I was surprised to find a hint of sadness in her eyes.

Yeah...

Whether you call it a tacit understanding or a deep connection between husband and wife, Su Zhenfeng gripped Yang Qiuyun's hand even tighter under the table.

This is to give her the courage to say what she wants to say.

It really takes courage to talk about this.

Even someone as capable as Yang Qiuyun took several deep breaths before facing the elders and revealing this final solution.

“If I told you that I would really die once, going through all the processes from illness and hospitalization, medical records, surgery, death, to cremation, openly and honestly, would you still have the concerns you had just mentioned?”

"?"

My second uncle was completely stunned.

He couldn't understand.

If all the procedures were truly carried out in written form and documents, then of course there would be no need for the previous concerns. Since the dead cannot be brought back to life, Yang Qiuyun would never have the opportunity to return to the stage. Once people confirm her death, they will gradually lose interest in her. Without the current public opinion, it would be meaningless for her to come back someday.

By then, everyone had long forgotten about this person; after all, time is such a merciless thing.