CHAPTER 754: CHAPTER 461: NOBILITY CATFIGHT!

1. Sui Yi had the strength and confidence to handle these women with ease, especially since few of them were decision-makers in their families regarding major affairs.

2. The Duchess genuinely wanted to befriend her. Previous interactions had laid the groundwork, and now was the opportunity. She spoke openly and honestly to make her intentions clear. However, if Sui Yi still couldn’t see her true intent, then the prospect of friendship was moot.

3. A smart person doesn’t necessarily avoid befriending a simpleton, but a highly intelligent and high-status individual certainly wouldn’t befriend someone prone to easily doubting them.

--if Sui Yi suspected that Cao Qijun intended to harm her.

Undoubtedly, Cao Qijun’s intelligence was evident in that she recognized Sui Yi’s wisdom and temperament through their substantial yet brief interactions, thus offering the token of friendship in front of her former close friend, Little Fatty.

It was up to Sui Yi whether to accept it.

Sui Yi saw through it in a second, paused for two seconds, and before she could speak...

Chark started talking.

"Miss Sui, as the Duchess’ only son, I vouch for her. She is certainly a trustworthy and lovely woman, endowed with riches and leisure, compassionate and righteous, unlike some heartless and shameful people. Besides, if you become her best friend, you’ll gain an adorable and talented godson for free,"

Everyone present: It sounded like Mandarin, and the only word clearly understood was "miss," yet somehow they felt Little Fatty didn’t say anything nice, awkward~

Fatty Gao: Is that the power of noble genes? This Little Fatty has some impressive tactics!

Cao Qijun: What an advertisement, buy one get one free? No, she didn’t buy anything—so it’s a giveaway?

Butler: The lady has taught well, her son is truly filial and also has an astonishing business acumen...

Sui Yi looked down at Chark who was gazing up at her with his pale, bright blue eyes.

He blinked, his expression very serious and earnest...

Meanwhile, Sui Yi quietly observed him, her expression calm, appearing to be just a simple exchange of looks between the tall and the small.

After a while, Sui Yi turned to Cao Qijun and said indifferently, "Life is full of encounters with bad people"

Wo Er: "..."

Is she talking about me?

Before Wo Er could erupt, Sui Yi gently patted Chark’s head and walked out.

She didn’t enjoy interacting with these women in such a manner; it was boring and pointless.

Cao Qijun was involved and couldn’t do otherwise, but Sui Yi was not.

Therefore, she headed towards the source of the raw materials—Cao Qijun hesitated a moment, then smiled again.

She always felt this woman had an extraordinary capacity for tolerance and strength.

However, Cao Qijun also felt inexplicably weary, too tired to deal with these manipulative women. She nodded to a few friends who were on good terms with her yet couldn’t show it excessively, "Wasting time is unwise, do you ladies want to stand here chatting?"

Of course not!

Several noble ladies and socialites, already reluctant to get involved in this conflict, took the cue and jovially suggested going to Gambling Stones...

Wo Er didn’t have the ability to stop them and looked towards her mother...

Her mother, unlike herself who couldn’t hide her feelings, just gave her a glance, then kindly took the other ladies away.

They were here to find enjoyment, after all...

Ye Zixu had no interest in Gambling Stones and stood on the side like a statue, utterly indifferent.

Meanwhile, Fatty Gao and Qu Long, indeed buddies, started chattering away nearby.

Sui Yi and Cao Qijun walked together.

"The Marton Family is also a major part of the Hua Sha evening event. In recent years, its members have shifted from politics to business sectors, and they certainly intend to start with the lucrative luxury goods market at this event. You should be cautious during the Hua Sha dinner,"

Cao Qijun was indeed identifying the backgrounds and identities of Wo Er and her mother.

They indeed had significant influence.

Speaking of the Marton Family, they are noteworthy. A renowned political family in the United Kingdom, their ancestors even included a Prime Minister. Although their power had somewhat declined in recent years, they remained in the center of British power, with many family members holding political authority. They often clashed with Duke Junshi’s Mansion, a major noble house with enormous economic and military-political influence in the UK. However, their views were contrary to those currently held by the Marton family, and they had repeatedly lost in these confrontations...

Of course, the two sides had not openly broken off relations before; mainly because it was not yet necessary, and they still needed to maintain appearances.

That was until Mr. Marton’s daughter, Miss Wo Er, tried to seduce Duke Losar, who was already married. At the time, she was friends with the Duchess...

Then..well, you know~

"Political power... it’s tricky," Sui Yi remarked lightly.

"Of course, that’s why the nobility often shun their involvement... But my relationship with them didn’t sour because of that,"

Cao Qijun had rather peculiar thoughts; she believed that business and political struggles within families or groups were inevitable. Struggles should remain struggles without involving family members. She had her own business, and even when it came to the Duke’s Mansion’s business, she merely helped manage it. She never liked having full control, nor did she participate in some struggles because those were men’s affairs. And by then, having married Losar, she naturally belonged to the family circle with her friend Miss Wo Er.

But unexpectedly, it was this girl...

--My friend seduced my husband.

Indeed, a cliché that entertains the public, had Cao Qijun encountered it too? She was both angry and amused at the time.

"Did she succeed?"

"Ah?" Cao Qijun was surprised by Sui Yi’s unusual reaction. Was this gossip? Her question was very direct.

She couldn’t help but smile slightly, her fingers weighing a piece of not-so-large Chicken Blood Stone, and replied, "If Losar was such a man of poor taste and stupidity, I wouldn’t have married him. But even if he had truly betrayed me, I wouldn’t still be the Duchess."

You cheat with my best friend? Goodbye, I’m not serving you anymore! Divorce!

So Losar did not.

At the time, high society was all astir, and Miss Wo Er became a laughingstock. However, the Marton Family’s influence was truly astonishing, and nothing spread in society, just the nobility knew in secret because the Duke and Duchess felt the matter too shameful to propagate, so it was minimized to nothing.

But a bitch is always melodramatic, right? And here she pops up again.

"Wo Er doesn’t amount to much; it’s this Madam Marton who will be there that day," paused Cao Qijun, her eyes downcast, her tone cool, "She might keep pushing her daughter forward to flaunt herself—she’s not necessarily smarter than anyone else. Just be careful she doesn’t arrange some people at the dinner to embarrass you."

People from great households generally look down on the bickering tactics of someone like Madam Marton.

Letting her own daughter take the brunt and the fire while she herself shoots cold arrows from behind? Though it seems to quietly handle the rivals, keeping herself safe, her daughter’s image...

Moreover, Cao Qijun seriously suspected that Wo Er had set her sights on Losar, encouraged by her parents at the back.

Ha, now very few nobles would want to marry Wo Er.

Such self-damaging actions, even the treasured Cao Qijun of her family was fed up.

Sui Yi knew this was not to be taken lightly, so he nodded, "I know... but today you being so direct... doesn’t quite match your... style."

She had thought this girl would be deft and skillful...

It turned out to be an overwhelming force.

"Heh~ Sui Yi, when you’re in my position, you’ll understand. A lady like me must be both soft and firm, kind and stern... With people like them, compromising is the stupidest thing. If I had been harsher back then, Wo Er wouldn’t even be here today. Just young and naive~"

The Duchess sighed softly, her voice gentle and quiet towards Sui Yi, seemingly unafraid of revealing her true intentions.

The elegant, composed, and gentle Duchess, in fact, has a very ruthless nature.

But why would the most celebrated lady of the Cao Family be timid, wary of this and that, swallowing such an insult just to maintain relationships within the nobility circle?

No, she would not.

Because the Cao Family’s status in China is akin to the powerful diplomatic force of the Junshi Clan in the entire United Kingdom, and her greatest recourse is...

The Grand Duke of Junshi loves her dearly.

This is a woman’s greatest recourse.

Sui Yi cocked his head, picked up a stone, and said softly while looking at it, "They might not refuse to give you a chance to make amends."

If they were to offer one, that is.

The two looked at each other, everything understood without words, then together they settled on buying two pieces of rough material.

"Shall we cut these open right here, esteemed lady?" The rough material trader did not recognize Sui Yi, but he recognized this well-known Duchess all over England. After all, in his business, his customers were these famous nobles, and he had memorized a list of notable ladies before doing business; he recognized all the ladies of distinction here.

So his first reaction was to defer to Cao Qijun, not paying much attention to Sui Yi.

"Let’s cut mine open; Sui Yi, what about you?"

"Together," Sui Yi said lightly.

The rough material trader nodded, though this trader wasn’t Asian, nor strictly Western, but rather...

"This man is from Myanmar,"

"Myanmar? Isn’t Myanmar mostly involved in jade and gambling stones business? How come he’s here selling this now~461"

"But nowadays, business is hard to come by, right? With the never-ending civil war in Myanmar, the entire rough material business is under surveillance. Which merchants would dare go there? They could be shot at any moment and are likely to get robbed—both losing money and risking their lives. As a native Myanmar merchant, it’s risky to challenge the authorities, so he changed his business... Look, this fellow is an example. The Chicken Blood Stones are imported from Yunnan and then sold in London. He’s been in this for over a year now, has gotten familiar with the territory, and even made good connections with these nobles, actually finding it somewhat easier to survive than in previous years..." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)